HELENA RHEAULT

FIELD & LAB EXPERIENCE

Center for Wildlife Management, Tanzania

Here are some of the projects and surveys I worked on during my abroad experience in Tanzania studying wildlife management:

A dung survey to study the relationship between wildlife and livestock that occupy the same grasslands
A grass survey within livestock grazing areas to determine if the area was due for controlled burning
One of the few remaining wildlife corridors connecting Tarangire National Park and Manyara Ranch was analyzed and as a class we developed a mock habitat management plan
Conducted formal interviews in rural households to gather data on human-wildlife conflict and consumption of natural resources
Bird survey in Serengeti National Park using a point-count method
Used focus scan sampling to study olive baboon activity budget and presence of Treponema pallidum
Conducted a general survey of elephants in Tarangire National Park to study the population's general demography and behavior
Employed distance sampling to compare areas with varying levels of protection and human presence
Six day camping expedition in Yaeda Valley using distance sampling and sign of wildlife (i.e. feces and tracks) along walking transects in various habitats to produce the first estimates of wildlife populations in that region
For my personal directed research project I used distance sampling to complete a 56 year analysis on population trends of herbivore species in Lake Manyara National Park as well as participated in total counts and mark-sight-recapture surveys to verify the validity of the estimates. This manuscript is currently in review for publication in PLOS ONE

Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection

In 2015 and 2016 I volunteered with the CT Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP). I have done data entry for the Nuisance Wildlife Program, black bear telemetry (essentially radio collar communication) , and had the privilege of visiting a black bear den for observation of annual radio collar battery replacement and cub data collection for the ongoing CT Black Bear Project.

I have been a part of the goose banding and purple martin banding projects. During goose banding season (June) geese are molting their feathers and are unable to fly. By safely herding them into a net their legs can be banded with a single metal band and their migratory patterns can be studied.

For the Purple Martin Project I have assisted with the aging, weighing, and banding processes to help the state of CT determine the stability of this bird population that is completely reliant on the existance of man-made housing gourds.

Westfield State Biology Department

Since my freshmen year at Westfield State University I have been a lab assistant in the Biology Department. This position requires me to assist the lab manager in prepping lab sequences for all the biology lab course components. This includes the handling of the vast majority of general biology lab equipment and the preparation of solutions. Through this opportunity I have gained confidence and comfortability in biology labs including my ability to independently handle equipment and prepare solutions, as well as working with the professors in the department.