Lab Members

ZUZANA BURIVALOVA
Principal Investigator

  • Tatiana Maeda - Graduate researcher

    I am a Brazilian biologist with a MS in Environmental Conservation pursuing a PhD in Environmental Studies. I collaborate with The Nature Conservancy and local communities in Mexico to understand the impacts of wood harvesting and habitat loss on tropical biodiversity. I am interested in developing novel ways to monitor tropical forest health using soundscapes as well as promoting conservation strategies that protect biodiversity while respecting the rights of local and Indigenous people. Previously, I conducted geospatial analysis to support Conservation International restoration projects in the Amazon and worked with wildlife-sighting ecotourism in the Pantanal-Brazil.

  • H S Sathya Chandra Sagar (Sagara) - Graduate researcher

    I am a conservation scientist and a field biologist interested in developing effective conservation strategies to protect biodiversity, particularly in tropics. I use a combination of field observation, conservation technology, econometrics, and policy research to address delicate issues and provide evidence for conservation advocacy. Currently I am evaluating the co-benefits of REDD+ project in Sierra Leone and devising a strategy to reduce human-wildlife conflict. I grew up in the Western Ghats to a coffee-farming family beside a Tiger reserve. I love to walk wilderness, observe wildlife, and sail. website: Conservation Chorus

  • Walter Mbamy - Consultant

    I have completed my Master’s at the Omar Bongo University (Gabon) in the Geography department. I am interested in questions on biodiversity conservation. In my Master’s research project I tried to mitigate Human-Elephant-Conflict, which is a problem that afflicts most of the rural villages in Gabon. I had a managerial role for a forest elephant seed dispersal project in Ivindo National Park (Gabon) and I am currently working on a soundscape project with the Sound Forest Lab in Gabon.

  • Laura Berman - Postdoctoral researcher

    I am a conservation ecologist interested in the dynamics of ecological systems, and how those dynamics can be disrupted by climate change and environmental degradation. I completed my PhD at the National University of Singapore and have worked in affiliation with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the Great Basin Bird Observatory, USGS, and NASA. My research past and present includes long-term soundscape monitoring, tropical phenology, population genomics, acoustic niche partitioning, machine learning, and biodiversity modeling. My field work has primarily been in Southeast Asia, South America, and the United States. As part of the Sound Forest Lab, I work on the Soundscape Baselines project.

Previous lab members

  • Grace Ingram

    Grace was a Research Intern in the Sound Forest Lab, working on the Soundscape Baselines Project. She is interested in community based conservation and community based natural resource management on the African continent. Grace is particularly interested in exploring these things through ecotourism and cultural and heritage tourism initiatives.

  • Natalie (Tally) Yoh

    Postdoctoral researcher (2022-2023)

    Tally is a conservation scientist focused on understanding the impacts of landscape-scale disturbance on tropical biodiversity. Her research in the Sound Forest Lab focused on using soundscapes to assess the value of forest certification for species in logged forests in Gabon. Tally is a co-chair of the British Ecological Society ALDER network, and a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Kent.

  • Zakher Bouragaoui

    MSc in Wildlife Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

    Zakher is an ecologist and conservation scientist from Tunisia, who completed his masters degree with the Sound Forest Lab in 2023. Zakher was a Fulbright student at UW-Madison and is the Vice-President of the Tunisian Association for Wildlife.

  • Bennett Rabach

    Undergraduate Researcher, Zoology and art major at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

    ”Working in the Sound Forest Lab allowed me to conduct research investigating the effectiveness of various restoration techniques while analyzing the environmental, social, and economic effects of forest restoration globally.”

  • Gwen Richardson

    Undergraduate Researcher, Political Science major with minors in Environmental Studies and Biology at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

    “Through my work as an undergraduate researcher in the Sound Forest Lab, I aspire to make an impact in preserving wildlife and their habitat. I am interested in the effectiveness of various conservation strategies and the impact they have on the environment, economy, and local community. It is my hope that through this holistic approach to research more inclusive solutions to environmental problems can be found.”

  • Isaac Youb

    Masters at the Bern Applied University of Sciences.

    Isaac worked with the Sound Forest Lab on comparing bioacoustics and camera trapping in Gabon’s rainforest. Isaac is currently based in Gabon where he applies his expertise in managing the environmental impact of infrastructure.

  • Yuren Sun

    Undergraduate Researcher, Computer Sciences and Economics major at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

    “I am interested in the applications of Computer Sciences, especially data analysis and machine learning, to other fields to try to solve challenging problems. I used machine learning for research on the rainforest biodiversity.”

  • Tatiana Satchivi

    Graduate student in Tropical Forest Conservation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

    “I have a strong interest in wildlife monitoring in African countries and ecology. I am also interested in bringing awareness about the importance of biodiversity to local communities and to find a balance between the daily needs of these communities and the protection of biodiversity.”

  • Fangjun Zhou

    Undergraduate Researcher, Computer Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

    “I’m interested in topics concerning machine learning and computer graphics. I am also a video game developer. My team and I have developed several games and I hope I can develop games that can educate young players and advertise concept of environmental protection.”

  • Lauren Carlson

    Undergraduate Researcher, majoring in Environmental Science and Conservation Biology at UW-Madison.

    “I am interested in the ways that bioacoustics and new technologies can be used for conservation and what they can tell us about the ways that humans are affecting the environment.”