Gabriel Fiorini

Statement of Purpose for Application to UNO Conservation Biology Graduate Program

My goal over the next five years is to develop the skills, experience, and connections needed to begin a career in academic research, specifically research surrounding the identification, implementation, and maintenance of biodiversity reserves. I am looking to become proficient in the theories, techniques, and management strategies required to productively attack such questions as where new reserves should be sited, what factors predict the success or failure of a reserve, how candidate reserves can be identified and presented to policymakers and stakeholders in such a way as to maximize their chance of success, and how existing reserves can be maintained and improved so that they can function as stable reservoirs of biodiversity. I realize that these are all very large questions, and I dont expect that I will ever be in a position to effectively address them on my own. What I want is to have the skills and experience necessary to address some of the core ecological questions pertinent to my larger aims, and to be a successful project manager and collaborator such that I can build or be a part of the cross-disciplinary teams that are needed in order to address the overarching themes of my desired research path in a comprehensive, holistic, effective way. Dr. Anthonys project at UNO is an example of the sort of projects that I would like to be involved in throughout my career. It is an international cross-disciplinary research collaboration the goal of which is to acquire and integrate ecological, biogeogrpahic, evolutionary, and socioeconomic data into a master plan that can be used to update and improve Central Africas existing network of biodiversity reserves and their attendant support structure of policies, regulations, and enforcement strategies. This project satisfies many of the conditions that I see as essential to the success of a project such as this. It will be analyzing a wide range of taxa across a wide geographic area to provide as complete a picture as possible of Central Africas biodiversity makeup. It will attempt not only to map existing biodiversity, but also to make predictions about where the greatest adaptive potential for said biodiversity lies, such that some educated guesses can be made about the flexibility and resilience of hypothetical reserve and policy configurations. It will integrate both macro- and microsocioeconomic data, providing some insight into where new reserves might be sited and how they might be structured so as to have the maximum chance of success not only in the implementation phase but also in terms of their future maintenance and stewardship. It explicitly engages local researchers and forms partnerships between developed and developing nations that will strengthen the capabilities of both (and especially the latter) to help ensure that the ongoing research, reassessment, and refinements necessary for the continuing maintenance of reserves and for the creation of new management

Gabriel Fiorini recommendations in general. It also has a significant outreach component, as it will bring members of the scientific community from the undergraduate to the senior researcher level into Central Africa for workshops and exchanges to help improve the base of conservation research being done in that part of the world into the future. I think it is an excellent project and I would be very excited to be a part of it in whatever capacity I can. As to the specific role I have been offered (surveying, sampling, and analyzing Phrynobatrachus auritus [golden puddle frog] biodiversity and adaptive potential) it is one that I would be more than happy to fulfill. It will offer me a chance to gain expertise in the combination of fieldwork, labwork, and research collaboration that I will need going forward in my career. I have been assured of the opportunity to work with multiple researchers both in the U.S. and Gabon/Cameroon at every stage of the process from the initial field sampling to the final analysis and synthesis of the resulting data, and I see in it the potential for me to experience a wide swath of the kind of research pertinent to my long-term objectives. I will be learning a great deal of practical research knowledge as well as gaining experience in cutting-edge research and analysis techniques, and will meet researchers from across the country and world. I would be overjoyed to be able to occupy this spot on the large team of researchers involved in this project, and see it as both a worthwhile project for myself for the next several years and as a launching pad toward a career in conducting the sort of research that the larger project is engaged in. It is something that I could gladly apply myself to as I seek my PhD. I think it is clear that I have some unique qualifications that make me well-suited to this position. Firstly, I have been working for Dr. Anthony for the past year and am already integrated into her lab. I think I can say with some confidence that I have a good working relationship with her and with my labmates, and that it is an environment where I feel I can be productive and where I can reach my highest potential. I am already something of a known quantity among the faculty and graduate student communities in UNOs biology department, which will esure an easy transition from undergraduate assistant to graduate assistant. I already come with two years of laboratory experience (in Dr. Schluchters and Dr. Anthonys labs) and over the last year in particular have been exposed to many of the techniques and concepts that will directly pertain to my graduate work should I be accepted into this program. I think I would make an excellent addition to the team and am eager to apply myself to this project. In short, I am very excited by the prospect of continuing at UNO as a graduate student. I think that the position I have been offered in Dr. Anthonys lab is one to which I would be well-suited and one which matches my research interests almost perfectly. It is an ambitious and exciting project and one that I would be excited to be a part of even if it

Gabriel Fiorini were not such a close match to my interests, but given the design and goals of the project I feel that there could hardly be a better place for me than there. If accepted I am prepared to give my very best to my work and to make myself an asset to my PI and a credit to the department. I hope that there is a place for me at UNO in the graduate program, and if so then I look forward to continuing my education here.