The Mccleery labDepartment of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation The University of Florida |
Welcome to the Mccleery lab
Our goals are to foster healthy populations and communities of wild animals and to advance the relationship between humans and the environment. Through research and teaching we provide regional and international leadership in mammalian conservation, global change ecology, and endangered species management.
Research PhilosophyThe precipitous decline of the planet’s vertebrate diversity has created immense challenges for human well-being and the maintenance of ecological functionality on our rapidly changing planet. Our research program focuses on understanding the influence of large-scale anthropogenic changes to the environment (e.g., urbanization, intensive agriculture, shrub encroachment, defaunation, sea-level rise, invasive species) on wildlife populations and communities. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, we work to understand how anthropogenic drivers alter communities and ecological processes that are important to humans. We also work to understand how to recover endangered species and manage wildlife into human-dominated landscapes, such as agricultural and urban settings.
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Teaching PhilosophyToday’s students are increasingly separated from nature, with minimal understanding, experience, skills, and confidence working in natural settings. Without an ability to understand and appreciate the natural processes and recourses needed to maintain biodiversity, feed a growing population, and enhance human well-being, our students will be unprepared to tackle their generation’s most pressing issues. Our students are awash in scientific information, but the challenge is to teach them to comprehend and synthesize this information, foster critical thinking skills, and apply that knowledge to novel situations. Finally, as the spread of information has accelerated the process of globalization, we are increasingly connected to economic, social, and political activity outside of our borders. To thrive in this new reality, our students must be able to work effectively in a cross-cultural and global environment. To address these challenges, we believe it is critical to engage students in natural setting, foster active learning and incorporate field activities into our classes. To promote problem solving and engagement, we often use a flipped classroom approach and emphasize experiential learning techniques. To enhance students’ cultural intelligence, we created and continue to lead a study abroad classes to Eswatini and South Africa. Additionally, we have run intensive undergraduate research programs (NSF funded) that pair students with African researchers. Today more than ever we also believe that successful instruction necessitates dynamic teachers. As teachers, we continually adapt and change to our students’ needs, technological advances, job opportunities, and political and social realities. |
Lab News
June 2021
Alex successfully passed his qualifying exams, and is officially a PhD Candidate!
May 2021
Rebecca gave an invited presentation to an FWC gopher tortoise working group.
Rebecca's MS research was highlighted in the May/June issue of The Wildlife Professional.
The Journal of Wildlife Management used 2 of Rebecca's photos for the cover of their most recent issue.
February 2021
Marina successfully defended her MS proposal!
November 2020
Zoe defended her dissertation! Congratulations Dr. Nhleko!
Bob received one of 6 regional Excellence in Teaching awards from the U.S Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA)! Read more about this prestigious award here.
October 2020
Congratulations to Katie on her new job as a research scientist with the Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) in Tallahassee, FL!
Congratulations to Lorna on her new job with the National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) in Fort Collins, CO!
September 2020
We welcome Rebecca McKee to the lab as a new PhD student! Rebecca's research will focus on interactions between mammals and invasive Pythons in the Everglades.
August 2020
Three McCleery Lab members successfully defended last month! Congratulations to Dr. Fezile Mtsetfwa, Dr. Katie Hooker, and Lorna McCallister, MSc!
Click here to watch Katie's exit seminar.
Click here to watch Fezile's exit seminar.
Alex, Jack, and Maggie successfully defended their proposals and are looking forward to starting their field work.
Bob published an editorial in Science calling for a conservation bailout.
Former McCleery Lab member Karen Bailey co-authored an editorial to Nature calling for equity in recognition of Black women scholars.
Alex successfully passed his qualifying exams, and is officially a PhD Candidate!
May 2021
Rebecca gave an invited presentation to an FWC gopher tortoise working group.
Rebecca's MS research was highlighted in the May/June issue of The Wildlife Professional.
The Journal of Wildlife Management used 2 of Rebecca's photos for the cover of their most recent issue.
February 2021
Marina successfully defended her MS proposal!
November 2020
Zoe defended her dissertation! Congratulations Dr. Nhleko!
Bob received one of 6 regional Excellence in Teaching awards from the U.S Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA)! Read more about this prestigious award here.
October 2020
Congratulations to Katie on her new job as a research scientist with the Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) in Tallahassee, FL!
Congratulations to Lorna on her new job with the National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) in Fort Collins, CO!
September 2020
We welcome Rebecca McKee to the lab as a new PhD student! Rebecca's research will focus on interactions between mammals and invasive Pythons in the Everglades.
August 2020
Three McCleery Lab members successfully defended last month! Congratulations to Dr. Fezile Mtsetfwa, Dr. Katie Hooker, and Lorna McCallister, MSc!
Click here to watch Katie's exit seminar.
Click here to watch Fezile's exit seminar.
Alex, Jack, and Maggie successfully defended their proposals and are looking forward to starting their field work.
Bob published an editorial in Science calling for a conservation bailout.
Former McCleery Lab member Karen Bailey co-authored an editorial to Nature calling for equity in recognition of Black women scholars.
Publications
For access to all McCleery Lab publications, click here
Bold names indicate current and former McCleery lab members
For access to all McCleery Lab publications, click here
Bold names indicate current and former McCleery lab members
Accolades & Awards
Alex was selected by WEC faculty to receive the Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award.
Rebecca received a $1000 WEC Jennings Scholarship.
Fezile won the best student presentation award at the Savanna Science Networking Meeting.
Alex was awarded $1000 from the Florida Wildlife Federation Scholarship and received a $1140 grant from the University of Florida Open Access Publishing Fund to pay for open access fees for a recent publication.
Cat was awarded $1000 from the African Safari Club of Florida Scholarship
Marina received a $1000 WEC Jennings Scholarship.
Cat received a $1000 UF Doris Lowe and Earl and Verna Lowe Scholarship and a $2000 UF Courtney A. Tye Memorial Graduate Student Scholarship.
Rebecca received a $1000 WEC Jennings Scholarship.
Fezile won the best student presentation award at the Savanna Science Networking Meeting.
Alex was awarded $1000 from the Florida Wildlife Federation Scholarship and received a $1140 grant from the University of Florida Open Access Publishing Fund to pay for open access fees for a recent publication.
Cat was awarded $1000 from the African Safari Club of Florida Scholarship
Marina received a $1000 WEC Jennings Scholarship.
Cat received a $1000 UF Doris Lowe and Earl and Verna Lowe Scholarship and a $2000 UF Courtney A. Tye Memorial Graduate Student Scholarship.
Southeastern Fox SquirrelsWe study a variety of aspects of southeastern fox squirrel ecology, including fox squirrel movement (in conjunction with NEON sites), behavior, genetics, and conservation initiatives. You can find out more about how we use NEON sites to transform wildlife research by clicking here.
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South African LandscapesWe have ongoing long-term research in South Africa and Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) focusing on everything from plant communities to rodent monitoring to megaherbivore impacts on ecosystems.
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Invasive pythonsWe research the effects of invasive Burmese pythons on mammal communities in the Florida Everglades ecosystem. We partner with various state and federal agencies, along with private landowners to determine how pythons are impacting native animal communities and try to identify novel ways to remove invasive pythons from the ecosystem.
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For more information about our research, check out our publications, follow us on Twitter and YouTube, or contact us directly.
Please contact graduate students directly for inquiries about specific research or opportunities to help out on a project
Click here to see McCleery Lab alumni
Click here to see McCleery Lab alumni
Alex Potash
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Cat frock
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jack hartfelder
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maggie jones
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Marina McCampbell
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Paul Taillie
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Rebecca mckee
degree: phd
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Rebecca joined the McCleery Lab in the fall of 2020. Originally from the mountains of North Carolina, Rebecca completed her B.S in environmental studies at Davidson College and her M.S. in wildlife ecology and management at the University of Georgia in 2019. She is broadly interested in wildlife ecology and animal behavior. Her PhD research will focus on the interactions of mammals and invasive pythons in the Everglades.
Website Google Scholar ResearchGate Email: rmckee@ufl.edu |
ramccleery@ufl.edu | (352) 846-0566
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Feel free to contact Dr. McCleery using the form below. Please contact graduate students directly using their contact information above.
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For website issues, please contact Alex Potash
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314 newins-ziegler hall
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"Our ability to perceive quality in nature begins, as in art, with the pretty. It expands through successive stages of the beautiful to values as yet uncaptured by language."
-Aldo Leopold
