Core Staff

Justin (he/him) is an ecologist and conservation biologist in CSP’s Changing Landscapes Lab who’s work examines how human activities affect wildlife populations and species interactions. His research draws on tools from movement ecology, landscape ecology, and population biology to quantify human impacts on landscapes and their effects on species habitat use and connectivity. A major goal of this work is to promote the sustainable coexistence of humans and wildlife in shared landscapes. To that end, Justin works with NGOs, government agencies, and other partners to co-produce conservation strategies that protect sensitive species and habitats, as well as the ecosystem services they provide to our communities.

Growing up in the suburbs near Washington, D.C., Justin’s infatuation with animals was sparked by hiking trips in the Appalachian Mountains and probably a few too many David Attenborough documentaries. His graduate research at Simon Fraser University (MSc) and the University of Victoria (PhD) examined the behavioral and community ecology of wildlife in human-dominated landscapes, focusing on interactions between majestic (pumas, bears) and not-so-majestic (raccoons, gulls) predators and prey. Justin also spent time as a postdoc at UC Santa Cruz studying human impacts on large carnivore spatial ecology. You can read more about his previous and ongoing research on his website. (justinsuraci.weebly.com).