Ellen Irwin Email and Phone Number

I lead the operational side of Zealandia's conservation & restoration programmes. As part of this, I manage a team of skilled rangers, volunteers and interns, to carry out fauna/flora restoration and management, biosecurity, and research. I seek and provide technical advice to the Conservation team, ensuring Zealandia's conservation programme meets best practice and actively upholds the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Implemented species monitoring programs, researched mouse control and population dynamics, organised pest audits and biosecurity operations, managed volunteers and interns

Identified and controlled pest plants, mapped infestations, performed sanctuary opening/closing duties, co-authored plant biosecurity report

Conducted project in coordination with ZEALANDIA Eco-sanctuary and the Wellington City Council, monitoring the re-introduction of endemic birds into the Wellington region. Project involved bird capture and handling, transmitter attachment, and radio telemetry. Funded as a James B. Reynolds scholar.

Helped develop massive open online course (MOOC) for Introduction to Environmental Studies course, by creating unit readings (writing them and locating relevant open-access articles), writing exam questions, and composing introductions to course video lectures. Also graded exams for Dartmouth Introduction to Environmental Studies course.

Assisted with a study examining cyanobacterial blooms in northeastern lakes. Work included multivariate data analysis using R, modeling (General Lake Model), fieldwork, lab work.

Funded to conduct archival research in Washington, D.C. in National Archives II, examining U.S. foreign policy in 1971 South Asia crisis. Conducted phone and in-person interviews with State Department officials, reporters, and persons related to the Bangladesh War for Independence. Received a Citation of Excellence for seminar paper.

Collaborated with advisor Professor Kathryn Cottingham to complete thesis titled “Benthic macroinvertebrate community dynamics and the implications for biological monitoring." Researched how best to monitor the effects of Pebble Mine using aquatic insect community data, and examined insect community dynamics using multivariate statistics using R software.Received High Honors from Dartmouth Biology Department.

Assisted in the preparation and execution of labs for Introduction to Ecology Class, guiding students through data collection, data analysis, and writing reports.

•Worked with graduate student Ramsa Chaves-Ulloa (lab of Professor Brad Taylor) on a study on the effects of land use on aquatic macroinvertebrate communities in dry forest streams•Traveled to Costa Rica to serve as a full-time field assistant in Spring 2012, collecting samples of aquatic insects and nutrients, funded by the Barbara Crute Memorial Internship and the Porter Family Fund for Sustainability Science•Processed and identified aquatic insects in collected samples;… Show more •Worked with graduate student Ramsa Chaves-Ulloa (lab of Professor Brad Taylor) on a study on the effects of land use on aquatic macroinvertebrate communities in dry forest streams•Traveled to Costa Rica to serve as a full-time field assistant in Spring 2012, collecting samples of aquatic insects and nutrients, funded by the Barbara Crute Memorial Internship and the Porter Family Fund for Sustainability Science•Processed and identified aquatic insects in collected samples; conducted preliminary data analysis•Worked as a Presidential Scholar Research Assistant from June – December 2012•Presented poster at Karen Wetterhahn Science Symposium in 2011 and 2013 in Hanover, NH Show less

Assisted Professor Mark McPeek with field and lab work for study on sexual selection and evolution in damselflies.

Assisted with aquatic ecology fieldwork in Bristol Bay, processing and identifying benthic macroinvertebrate samples, data analysis of macroinvertebrate data