College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Fisheries and Wildlife

Major Advisor:

Brett DeGregorio

Background:

Originally from Flagstaff, Arizona, Bianca earned her B.S. in Environmental Sciences from Northern Arizona University in 2019. As an undergraduate, she studied abroad and completed internships in South Africa, where she studied African elephant behavior, and Costa Rica, where she conducted biodiversity inventory assessments. Following graduation, she worked for the U.S. Forest Service and contributed to research examining the reproductive success and population dynamics of several federally and/or state-listed bird and mammal species. She went on to earn her M.S. in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her master’s research evaluated the effectiveness of multiple small mammal monitoring techniques, including live trapping, bucket camera traps, and environmental DNA (eDNA), and investigated how local vegetation characteristics and landscape composition influenced species-specific occupancy.

She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Fisheries and Wildlife at Michigan State University in Dr. Brett DeGregorio’s lab. Her doctoral research examines how incorporating fine-scale habitat features into forest management practices influences co-occurring species of conservation concern. She is also studying the movement and habitat use of Snowshoe Hares (Lepus americanus) in Michigan to better understand how they respond to and use these habitat features. In her free time, she enjoys playing soccer, painting, biking, gardening, and spending time with friends and family