Erin Conlisk

As a quantitative ecologist and conservation biologist, Erin Conlisk integrates field experiments with quantitative techniques to understand California plant and wildlife responses to climate change, land-use change, and their interactions with changing wildfire regimes. Her research ranges from applied land management to academic ecology and is typically multidisciplinary, focusing on conservation co-benefits in socio-ecological systems. Currently, Erin is interested in using empirically-driven vegetation and wildfire simulation modeling to understand the influence of climate change, urban development, and forest management on California wildfire risk.

Previously, Erin has used vegetation simulation models to understand the impacts of wildfire, examined satellite data to support waterbird management in the Central Valley of California, modeled landscape connectivity for iconic wildlife in Southern California, created mechanistic models of species’ distributions and abundances, analyzed data from a treeline warming experiment, and worked in the social sciences with an emphasis on educational equity and environmental justice. When Erin is not working you will find her getting outdoors, talking to young people about newfangled things they didn’t have in her day, and combining these two pastimes.