Ryan Almeida, PhD

The global wildlife trade is an expansive and growing industry that touches nearly every branch of the tree of life. Wildlife trade is a known threat to global biodiversity, threatening species directly through overexploitation and indirectly by facilitating the spread of invasive species and zoonotic pathogens. At the same time, wildlife trade can also be an essential source of human livelihood and food security, underly important cultural and community traditions, and foster connections between people and nature. Dr. Ryan Almeida seeks to understand the biological and socioeconomic conditions that can result in wildlife trade becoming unsustainable.