James Burnham
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Education Background
since 2009: Ph.D., Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison 2007: M.Sc., Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development, University of Wisconsin-Madison 1999: B.A., Denison University, Biology, Minor in East Asian Studies/Chinese View Curriculum Vitae (pdf) |
I study the wintering ecology of cranes and other waterbirds around China. Most of my work centers on Siberian Cranes at Poyang Lake and involves understanding of wetlands, landscape ecology, environmental monitoring, remote sensing, and spatial modeling of dynamic ecosystems through time. I want to use the ecological knowledge of this system to inform policy makers who represent Poyang’s 10 million human inhabitants and conservation initiatives for multiple bird species that depend on the lake. Additional research focuses on documenting patterns of wetland change in south-western China and how these changes affect wintering distributions of Black-necked Cranes.
Anything that gets me outside: running, biking, hiking, birding, back-country camping (especially in the Appalachians), playing soccer or ultimate frisbee, surfing, travelling, and helping out with prescribed burns for prairie restoration. I’m also interested in both Chinese and Mongolian languages, respective histories and cultures. A native of Atlanta, I’m a sucker for southern cooking and will go to great lengths to get good fried chicken, honest-to-goodness barbeque, grits, cornbread and some sweet tea.
