Kristy Ferraro

I am an ecosystem ecologist working at the intersection of biogeochemistry, animal movement, and conservation ethics. My research examines how mammals shape biodiversity, carbon storage, and elemental cycling across space and time, and how these ecosystem changes feed back to affect animal populations. Using ecological theory, empirical studies, and agent-based models, I link animal behavior and movement to ecosystem heterogeneity, with much of my work focused in strongly seasonal boreal and temperate systems. I also study conservation ethics, analyzing how values and assumptions enter scientific and management decisions and developing tools to make these judgments more transparent and accountable.