Alex Loomis Email and Phone Number

Restoration Center, NOAA Fisheries, Pacific Islands Team

In this role, I am participating in an ORISE-funded research fellowship with the USGS Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs). The mission of the CASCs is to deliver science to help fish, wildlife, water, land, and people adapt to a changing climate. The goal of this research project is to provide rapid, preliminary summaries of climate impacts information for plants on a newly created Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Needs (R-SGCN) list for the Southeastern US, and their habitats. This information is needed by State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) coordinators and authors of SWAP revisions to meet their objective of using best-available science to support the evaluation and conservation of SGCN. Secondarily, this information may help inform SSAs that are conducted by USFWS for rare, threatened, and endangered plant species.

Instructor for upper division course "GIS for Natural Resource Managers" for advanced undergraduate and masters students. Combined lecture and lab course on the basic concepts and principles of geographic information systems, remote sensing, and global positioning system, focusing on practical skills for natural resource applications. Leads course, supervises TAs who primarily focus on lab instruction.

PhD in Biology. Independently developed novel, ecological dissertation research on the effects of alien and native species on native plant demography, using a quantitative, population modeling approach, focusing on populations of the endemic Hawaiian plant genus Schiedea on Oahu, Maui, and Kauai. Analyzed ecological data and provided scientific and technical recommendations for conservation. Worked with a wide range of collaborators and partners to direct research towards conservation needs and better assess the effects of ongoing conservation. Planned and conducts remote fieldwork to collect ecological data, performs statistical analysis of ecological data, and constructs models using demographic data to perform quantitative analysis of ecological interactions, environmental perturbations, and conservation actions.