My work explores the origins and maintenance of small mammal (mainly rodents and shrews) diversity in Africa. I use integrative taxonomy for species identification and delimitation. Using genetics I study how climate change over since the Plio-Pleistocene has shaped contemporary diversity. This work can help inform conservation priorities in the face of human-driven climate change. My research program is museum and field-based.
I work both in disturbed and relatively undisturbed areas to study human impact on small mammals’ communities. My work in West Africa showed that one of the most suitable management practices to restore forest while preserving small mammal biodiversity could be to perform an alternation of native seedling plantation lines and fallows.
