Payge Neals ’26
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Connecting Resource Availability to Large Mammal Diets in Akagera and Nyungwe National Parks, Rwanda
My project aimed to increase our understanding of how variations in resource availability impact the behavior of elephants and chimpanzees. I worked alongside my research partner Daisy Prosser and under the supervision of Megan Sullivan. We were first based in Akagera National Park doing field work, conducting non-invasive dung surveys for savanna elephants. Understanding the diets of these megafauna will allow researchers to recognize their foraging strategies and investigate how environmental changes impact them. We also worked on individual ID cataloging for the elephants to help determine how group dynamics are altered with variations in resource availability. Additionally, Daisy and I were tasked with utilizing R to format and clean a long-term phenology dataset from Nyungwe National Park. Our changes significantly improved the usability of the dataset for future analyses of how fluctuations in fruit availability relate to the movement patterns of chimpanzees. We also attended the 60th Annual Meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology & Conservation, which gave me insight into the global research that is being conducted to conserve our natural world. This experience has inspired me to continue exploring research as I complete prerequisite courses for my pre-vet interests.
2024
Biodiversity and Conservation
Pringle Lab, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University - Akagera National Park, Rwanda; Kigali, Rwanda; Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda
Robert Pringle, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Megan Sullivan, Fulbright Scholar, Research Affiliate, Center of Excellence in Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management, University of Rwanda