Personnel | biogeographylab

Scott H. Markwith, Ph.D.

Professor

Ph.D. University of Georgia

M.S. University of Georgia

B.A. University of Mary Washington

Research Interests

Ecological Biogeography
Environmental Restoration
Sustainability and Conservation
Human-Wildlife Interactions
Vegetation Dynamics and Disturbance
Terrestrial, Wetland, and Nearshore Environments
Population, Community, Ecosystem, and Landscape Level Analyses
Statistical, Spatial, and Ecosystem Modeling

In my lab we study the processes, natural and anthropogenic, that interact and shape the spatial patterns we see in wild populations, communities, and ecosystems and how those patterns can feedback to influence management of human systems. My interests span gradients from terrestrial to aquatic systems, with research experience in freshwater and estuarine wetland ecosystems, such as the Everglades, Kissimmee River, Indian River Lagoon, and Lake Worth Lagoon, the Pantanal of Brazil, in rivers of the southeastern Piedmont, upland forest of the Appalachian and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, and alpine zones in the Himalaya of Nepal.

Current Graduate Students

Heather Smith

Ph.D. student, Fall 2021 - Present

M.S. Florida Atlantic University

B.S. Millsaps College

Heather is developing an ecosystem model of Lake Okeechobee to measure the impacts of habitat restoration and climate change. She is interested in restoration ecology and human-environment interactions, and has conducted research on pesticide impacts on loggerhead sea turtles, wading bird prey availability, and mapped restoration projects and examined predator-prey interactions in the lower Mississippi River.

Kelly Spindler

M.S. student, Spring 2023 - Present
B.S. University of Florida

Kelly is interested in the interactions of changes in electrical power production and warm water discharges on manatee habitat and movement along with the coupled impacts of climate change on habitat suitability and use.

Jennie Paul

Ph.D. student, Fall 2023 - Present

M.S. Southeast Missouri State University

B.A. University of Jos

Jennie is interested in the long-term impact of nature-based education on children’s empathy development, conservation behaviors, and environmental stewardship. By combining insights from environmental education, geoscience, and social science, she aims to examine how exposure to these programs fosters empathy and pro-environmental behaviors and how socio-economic factors influence these outcomes.

Mike McCallister

Ph.D. student, Summer 2023 - Present

M.S. University of North Florida

B.A. University of Miami

Mike is a marine biologist with 11 years of experience studying south Florida marine ecosystems. He is currently working as the Research Coordinator for the Fisheries Ecology and Conservation Lab at FAU’s HBOI campus with Dr. Matt Ajemian, and joins the Biogeography lab as a part time Ph.D. student. His research primary research focuses include movement ecology, habitat use, foraging ecology, and predator-prey interactions of elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) and commercially and recreationally important teleost fishes. For his dissertation, Mike will be examining the spatio-temporal trends of shark depredation in Florida’s recreational fisheries, the factors influencing this human-wildlife conflict, and it’s management implications.