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Areas of Interest

Biodiversity Conservation
Capacity Building
Conservation Technology
Biodiversity Conservation
Capacity Building
Conservation Technology
Actionable Data-Driven Insights
Biodiversity Conservation
Capacity Building
Conservation Technology
Actionable Data-Driven Insights
Wildlife Ecology

Meredith is a wildlife ecologist and conservation technologist with over a decade of applied experience across academic, governmental, private, and NGO sectors. Her scientific focus lies in leveraging biodiversity sensors to develop data-driven strategies for protecting and restoring ecological systems. Moreover, she is dedicated to promoting safe, accessible, and ethical conservation tools and practices while enhancing scientific and technical capacity in marginalised groups and regions.

Prior to joining the BGC Center, Meredith led the technology and analytics department at Fauna & Flora, a wildlife NGO with a global conservation portfolio. Her efforts drove innovation and thought leadership in the conservation technology space, particularly in generating actionable insights to inform decision-making. Meredith got her PhD and completed two postdocs integrating and analysing data from animal-borne and remote sensing tools to derive insights into animal behaviour and restoration ecology, working primarily with large carnivores in Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

Beyond her scientific endeavours, Meredith leads capacity building and empowerment programs for women and other marginalized individuals. She is a board member of Field Inclusive and advocates relentlessly for a safe, inclusive, and equitable STEM environment where all individuals can thrive.

Hobbies

roller derby, hiking, camping, bee keeping, petting dogs

Anderson TM, Hepler SA, Holdo RM, Donaldson JE, Palmer MS, …, Packer C (2024). Body-size dependent grazing during migration generates facilitation and promotes savanna stability. Science, 383(6684):782-788

Palmer MS, Gaynor KM, Abraham J, Pringle RM (2023). The role of humans in dynamic landscapes of fear. Trends Ecol. Evol, 38(3):217-218

Walker RH, Hutchinson M, Becker JA, Daskin JH, Gaynor KM, Palmer MS, ..., Long RA (2023). Trait based sensitivity of large mammals to a catastrophic tropical cyclone. Nature, s41586-023-06722-0

Palmer MS, Gaynor KM, Becker JL, Abraham JO, Mumma MA, Pringle RM (2022). Dynamic landscapes of fear: understanding spatiotemporal risk. Trends Ecol. Evol., 37(10):911-925 | doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2022.06.007

Isbell F, Balvanera P, Mori AS, …, Palmer MS (2023). Expert perspectives on global biodiversity loss and its drivers and impacts on people. Front. Ecol. Evol., 21(2):94-103

Norouzzadeh MS, Nguyen A, Kosmala M, Swanson A, Palmer M, Packer C, Clune J (2018). Automatically identifying, counting, and describing wild animals in camera-trap images with deep learning. PNAS, 115(25), E5716-E5725

Palmer MS, Fieberg J, Swanson A, Kosmala M, Packer C (2017). A "dynamic" landscape of fear: Prey responses to spatiotemporal variations in predation risk across the lunar cycle. Ecol. Lett.: 20(11), 1364-1373