HANNAH HENRY
The Full Story
I’m one of the rare Floridians who was born and raised in the Sunshine State, growing up in inner-city Orlando, Florida. The most prominent memory I have of experiencing animals was at SeaWorld. As a young girl, I was inspired by watching trainers care for, train, and rehabilitate wildlife. It was an emotionally enriching experience that fostered a sense of stewardship for these animals and their environments in a place where first-hand interactions with nature were rare. I not only developed a strong passion for the animals in their care, but also for the species in the wild. It was SeaWorld that sparked my interest in environmental conservation. That curiosity and kindness towards living things and their habitats is a principle I have carried with me to the present day. My desire for an enriching education and training in wildlife science brought me to the University of Florida (UF).
I gained my first hands-on wildlife research experience with the UF Sea Turtle research project. After a competitive interview process, I spent my weekends performing boat surveys in western Florida looking for sea turtles, recording habitat conditions, collecting biological samples, and applying satellite tracking tags. I learned the value of being extremely organized and comprehensive to ensure high-quality data while in the field. While working directly with my Ph.D. mentor, my data was used to characterize the environmental factors of sea turtle habitats in a report to US Fish and Wildlife. I saw how our results provided wildlife managers with a novel understanding of this threatened species. These real-world wildlife management applications established the foundation for my fascination with scientific research.
However, as I progressed through my program, I realized that although I loved learning the technical sciences of wildlife, I was consistently attracted to the human dimensions of conservation (especially while working at SeaWorld!). I wanted to learn how we can turn the technically rigorous research and publications we produce as scientists into useful information that the public and policymakers can understand. This reinforced what I found throughout my academic, professional, and volunteer work, which is that people are at the core of meaningful conservation and management actions. I am convinced that effective conservation cannot happen purely by conducting wildlife research. Instead, we need to complement these efforts with the support and involvement of the public, particularly the communities, industries, and people most locally affected by wildlife and environmental issues.
To explore my interest in wildlife policy in real-world applications, I worked for 2 years with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). In my role, I supervised 30 seasonal educators, developed 4 new educational programs, and frequently presented to the public and school groups about wildlife and conservation. It was here that I realized that because public wildlife policy is formed as a collective effort between governments, institutions, and everyday citizens, engagement of diverse stakeholder groups is always necessary for successful policy implementation.
Furthering my transboundary management skills, I was selected as one of six U.S. graduate students to participate in the 7th Student Workshop on International Coastal and Marine Management. In this program, I am collaborating with Cuban, Mexican, and U.S. scientists to construct a database of economic assessment methodologies for recreational fisheries and gather information from regional stakeholders around the Gulf of Mexico. I am currently leading a peer-reviewed social science survey to develop a report that will provide the most up-to-date multinational recreational fisheries economic assessment so decision-makers in the Gulf will have information to develop public policies for sustainable ocean use. It has been an incredible opportunity to experience the reality of international management, working across multiple languages and cultures to study shared resources. I believe the skills I have gained will readily transfer into my Ph.D. studies to strengthen and enhance collaborative conservation efforts of wildlife and fisheries resources between the USA and other countries.
My thirst for research grew into the desire to conduct an independent project. My journey began with Dr. Kathryn Sieving, who eagerly welcomed me to the world of academia. She guided me through the research process and introduced me to the valuable tools of artificial intelligence, which I used to analyze the vocal complexity in perching songbirds and the landscape of highly useful social information they produce for other wildlife. I collected sound data and trained a model to characterize my 434 samples using bioacoustics software, which I ultimately quantified and statistically analyzed using R. My time with Dr. Sieving included directly working with a Ph.D. collaborator in France for over 2 years. My data will appear in a larger publication that will provide a greater understanding of complex avian communication systems here in the U.S. and Europe. In my senior year, I presented our work at the UF research symposium and was ecstatic to receive the Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award.
I applied my new understanding of wildlife management in an international setting with Florida International University as an NSF IRES awardee to investigate the management practices and protection of endangered charismatic species in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. I worked directly with the national ministries of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries to provide scientific training as well as collected current wildlife data by establishing population monitoring programs and conducting over 150 social science surveys in local communities. This mixed-methods approach brought together results from both biological and social science research, providing a holistic picture of what was happening on the island. My interactions with local communities shed light on a crucial discovery: the public was not aware of the wildlife policies in place to protect the imperiled species in their country, nor could they identify the authoritative bodies responsible for their protection. I came to understand how important it is to engage people where they are to increase public interest in science and scientific literacy.
I graduated summa cum laude with my B.S. in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation in 2022 and was awarded the UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Outstanding Senior Award: The J. Wayne Reitz Medal of Excellence from a candidate pool of around 4,000 students, the first wildlife degree recipient in over 20 years. I am currently an M.S. student at Auburn University where my research is the first of its kind in Alabama. I am assessing the perceptions of wildlife tourism operators, commercial anglers, and coastal tourists on their knowledge of wildlife, associated policy, and their willingness to change behavior for dolphin and sea turtle conservation. I have conducted more than 80 field interviews with various coastal stakeholders in Alabama and collected over 1,200 tourist survey responses. This work allows me to integrate my passions for research, conservation, and science education. My work in advancing wildlife policy was recognized in a nationwide competition as the 2023 recipient of the Wildlife Society’s Ronald F. Labinsky Graduate Fellowship in Wildlife Policy.
In the Summer of 2024, I successfully defended my Master's thesis titled "Conservation Compliance and Public Awareness: Assessing Dolphin and Sea Turtle Interactions in Coastal Alabama." This research aimed to deepen our understanding of the complex dynamics between marine wildlife and human activities in Mobile Bay. Despite existing federal protections, dolphins and sea turtles face ongoing threats due to various human-induced pressures. Through a comprehensive analysis of public perceptions, knowledge, and behaviors, my study uncovered gaps in public knowledge concerning critical conservation laws such as the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act. By illuminating these gaps, my research advocates for enhanced education and awareness initiatives to foster greater public stewardship of marine resources and habitats.
I am currently a Ph.D. student in Earth, Marine, and Environmental Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, working with Dr. Laura Moore in the Coastal Environmental Change Lab and the C-CoAST program. My research focuses on applying interdisciplinary approaches to coastal resilience, blending geomorphology, ecology, and community-based strategies to develop adaptive management solutions for vulnerable barrier island ecosystems. Guided by Dr. Moore’s expertise in coastal geomorphology and coastal dynamics, I am dedicated to advancing our understanding of how environmental changes impact both natural habitats and coastal communities, with the goal of promoting sustainable management and conservation practices.
