Adam Eichenwald

TIE Affiliation

Research

Adam's work combines community ecology and conservation biology, investigating how knowledge of species interactions can be applied for environmental management. He will be examining whether the decline of the desert tortoise in the Mojave Desert negatively impacts other native species, as the tortoise digs burrows that these other animals can hide in to escape from lethal summer heat. This analysis of how species in this community react to variations in traditional behavior will provide critical information for adaptive management of the ecosystem, particularly as temperatures increase due to climate change.

Experience

Adam is a Ph.D. candidate at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in the Biology department. He expects to complete his studies in May 2023. He completed his undergraduate degree at Bowdoin College, and received a Masters in Environmental Science from Yale University. I have worked on research projects studying birds of prey in Kenya and Alaska, bats in Acadia National Park, and songbirds in Atlanta, Georgia.

Current Studies and Future Goals

When asked what he found most meaningful about his field of study, Adam responded with the following: “I am a community ecologist, which means I investigate how species interact with one another (predation, competition, etc). It's incredible how interconnected nature is, where anything that happens to one part of the ecosystem might have a completely separate and unpredictable impact elsewhere. Tracking these cause-and-effect scenarios is almost like being a detective searching for clues, and successfully finding the cause for a given effect means everything to me!"

When asked what interested him in becoming a TIE Fellow, Adam responded with the following: “The greatest draw was the support offered to assist in my fieldwork."

Adam Eichenwald

TIE Affiliation

Research

Experience

Current Studies and Future Goals

Fun Facts!