Brian Crawford, PhD
decision scientist / conservation ecologist
About me
I'm from Olney, Maryland, and like my parents, I'm a Terrapin. I received my B.S. in Ecology and Evolution from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2008. While there, I gained experience in field research through an internship with Dr. Bob Denno's Insect Ecology Lab and a study abroad course to the Galapagos Islands. After graduation, I completed a Research Experience for Undergraduates internship at the Savannah River Ecology Lab (Aiken, SC) and assisted with some of the longest running studies on reptiles and amphibians. I also studied the threat-sensitive responses of the greater siren (Siren lacertina) to predator scents. During this time, I worked under Drs. Whit Gibbons, Judy Green, Kurt Buhlmann, and Tracey Tuberville and owe them greatly for their invaluable mentoring.
I then worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Georgia Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit at UGA. Together with federal, state, and other partners across the Southeast, we're focused on range-wide modeling and conservation planning for five at-risk species of reptiles and amphibians that are candidates for listing under the Endangered Species Act.
In 2021, I joined Compass Resource Management - a private decision science consulting group based in Vancouver, BC - as an Associate. There, I work as a decision analyst, quantitative ecologist, and facilitator on a variety of environmental management problems. Examples of projects include: reversing declines of Delta Smelt while considering water use and other interests, strategic salmon recovery in California's Central Valley, and whooping crane population management in northern Canada.
Since 2009, I have called Athens and the University of Georgia home. Most of my work has focused on conservation ecology, management, and decision making in order to protect one declining species on the Georgia Coast: the diamondback terrapin. I worked under the great mentorship of Drs. John Maerz (UGA), Clint Moore (USGS), and Terry Norton (Georgia Sea Turtle Center) throughout this long-term, multi-staged project, on Jekyll Island, GA and received an MS and then a PhD in UGA's Integrative Conservation Program. During this program, I completed a fellowship at Rare - a conservation non-government organization that uses social marketing to motivate communities of people to replace destructive behaviors with ones that sustain natural resources.
Random favorites: My dog Maeby, playing bass, craft beer, live music, the coast, running, hiking, Arrested Development, Breaking Bad, and the Simpsons.
