Data Scientist
michaela.peterson@briwildlife.org

Michaela is a behavioral ecologist whose research has focused on quantifying the spatiotemporal activity patterns of mammals. For her doctoral dissertation, she examined the effects of climate and land-use change on the activity of a threatened species, the white-lipped peccary, in Brazil. In the course of her research, Michaela developed expertise in managing large ecological datasets, as well as in modeling and statistical analysis. She came to BRI in 2024, where she will contribute to data management and analysis for a variety of projects.

As a data scientist, Michaela will be collaborating on database management for large-scale projects at BRI. She is currently working with the Mercury Center to develop global databases on mercury contamination.

• Ph.D., Earth and Environmental Sciences – Vanderbilt University, 2024
• M.S., Environmental Science – Pace University, 2018
• B.A., Biology – Skidmore College, 2016

• Behavioral Ecology
• Camera Trap Research
• Tropical Ecology
• Movement Ecology
• Climate Change Impacts
• Temporal Activity Patterns

Peterson, M.C., Jorge, M.L.S.P. and Keuroghlian, A. 2024. A predominantly diurnal tropical mammal increases nocturnality in response to high temperatures. Biotropica 56(1):18-27.

Peterson, M., Jorge, M.L.S.P., Jain, A. Keuroghlian, A., Oshima, J., Richard-Hansen, C., Berzins, R., Ribeiro, M.C. and Eaton, D. 2021. Temperature induces activity reduction in a Neotropical ungulate. Journal of Mammalogy 102(6):1514-1524.

Peterson, M., Baglieri, M., Mahon, K., Sarno, R.J., Ries, L., Burman, P. and M.M. Grigione. 2020. The diet of coyotes and red foxes in Southern New York. Urban Ecosystems 24(1):1-10.

Bandak, S., Sarno, R.J., Peterson, M., Farkas, D. and M.M. Grigione. 2020. Active humans, inactive carnivores, and hiking trails within a suburban preserve. Suburban Sustainability 6(1):4.

Grigione, M.M., Peterson, M., Johnson, M., and R.J. Sarno. 2020. Managing Wildlife Amidst Development: A Case Study of Sustaining Mountain Lion Populations in California, in Case studies in Suburban Sustainability, Edited by R. Brinkmann and R. Guerrin. University of Florida Press, Gainesville. p. 255-272.

Riesgo, A., Novo, M., Sharma, P.P., Peterson, M., Maldonado, M. and G. Giribet. 2013. Inferring the ancestral sexuality and reproductive condition in sponges (Porifera). Zoologica Scripta 43:101–117.

2024 PMF Finalist.

2022 Alberstadt-Reesman-Stearns Student Travel Award. Vanderbilt University.

2021, 2019 Tinker Field Research Grant. Vanderbilt Center for Latin American Studies.

2020. Graduate Leadership Institute Dissertation Enhancement Grant. Vanderbilt University.