Student Panel Update (July 2020)

The CPN student community is now 116 members strong, spanning a wide range of career stages, institutions, and disciplines. Together, our members represent 80 institutions across 22 countries. The Student Panel was created to help students connect with other members in the network, represent student perspectives within the CPN leadership, and organize resources, training opportunities, and other community-building activities to help prepare students for future careers in conservation paleobiology.

Postcard from the Field: Lauren Clark, Canada

Lauren Clark is broadly interested in the applications and methods employed in ancient sediment DNA (sedaDNA) studies in service of both archaeology and conservation paleobiology. To combine her interests, she has chosen to focus her thesis research on comparing the efficacy of various extraction methods of sedaDNA among stored sediment samples obtained from the Bridge River archaeological site in interior BC.

Research Highlight: Caribbean’s Anthropocene biota

Iguana on rock near the ocean

The Caribbean, a biodiversity hotspot, has experienced multiple distinct waves of colonization beginning around 7,000 years ago. As a result of human migration and extensive trade networks, this insular system has undergone intense cultural, economic, and demographic changes, which have, in turn, triggered substantial ecological change.