I know it’s been a depressingly long time since I’ve written a post – I hope you all forgive me for my lack of attention during the final steps of my dissertation! I’m excited to say that even though I haven’t been blogging regularly I’ve been working like mad to continue our giant panda work which has included applying for grants, writing & signing contracts, and hiring two new interns for the upcoming winter research. We’re super excited to have two interns this time around because the workload for our new project, male-male competition in captive breeding, will be large and require extra help. We’ve invited Ryan Boarman and Maria Blanco Perez to participate in this new and upcoming study but because I still want to give each of them the credit they deserve for making it through this extremely competitive process I’ll introduce Ryan this week and Maria next.
Ryan Boarman graduated from California State University, Long Beach, and is a Wildlife Biologist and Environmental Geographer. Ryan’s research interests include the conservation of threatened and endangered species and ecosystems. While working on his Bachelors Degree in Geography, Ryan was awarded research internships with NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the United States National Science Foundation. He also has a certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Ryan developed his field biological skills and gained conservation experience through extensive fieldwork on native and invasive plant species, the conservation of Atlantic bluefin tuna, coastal ocean pollution, Desert Tortoises, raptor nesting ecology, and other species of concern. Working in the Mojave Desert, Ryan has radio tracked, surveyed and x-rayed hundreds of desert tortoises to study the effectiveness of translocation and to monitor the effects of humans on desert tortoises. Ryan’s research on the Atlantic bluefin tuna and their habitat, using NASA’s high-resolution radar satellites and in situ measurements, has further helped scientific understanding of identifying the floating algae that Atlantic bluefin tuna spawn in.
Ryan has traveled to multiple countries in Asia, Latin America, Europe, and Africa. His passion for traveling and nature has given him the opportunity to appreciate various environments, cultures, and different ways of life. It has taught him to be very flexible, creative, and adaptable. Both his professional experiences and his traveling have given him the desire to develop and apply unique solutions to everyday problems, which makes him and ideal candidate for researching abroad in China with us.
We’re so excited to welcome Ryan to the panda team and are looking forward to updates he will be sending us from the CCRCGP very soon!
-Meg