Environmental Internship Program - 2019 Booklet

BIODIVERSITY AND
CONSERVATION
PROJECT TITLE
Monitoring the Ecological
Restoration of Species
and Their Interactions in
Gorongosa National Park
ORGANIZATION(S)
Pringle Lab,
Department of Ecology
and Evolutionary Biology,
Princeton University
LOCATION(S)
Gorongosa National Park,
Mozambique
MENTOR(S)
Robert Pringle, Associate
Professor of Ecology and
Evolutionary Biology;
Matthew Hutchinson,
Ph.D. candidate, Ecology
and Evolutionary Biology
Zoe Rennie ’21
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
I primarily researched how the reintroduction
of wild dogs to Gorongosa National Park has
affected the behavior and diet of herbivore
species, with a focus on reedbuck, warthog,
waterbuck, impala and oribi. I performed
vigilance surveys to record how often herbivores
grazed or watched their surroundings. I also
performed roadside counts of herbivores to
understand how their populations are distributed
in the floodplain and savanna, their two main
habitats. Additionally, I collected fecal samples
and prepared them to be processed in the lab.
I helped count parasite eggs in fecal samples
to get an additional measurement of herbivore
health, and these samples will later be used to
extrapolate herbivore diet. I learned so much
about hands-on fieldwork and experimental
design. Working alongside a Ph.D. candidate was
a great source of insight and helped me think
about what I’d like to pursue after I graduate.
The training I received, my own self growth, and
what I learned about collecting data in the field
have definitively shaped the way I plan to move
forward with my major.
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