Welcome to the Conservation Science and Urban Ecology Lab at UMass Boston
We integrate approaches in the natural and social sciences towards the conservation of biodiversity in a rapidly urbanizing world.
LAB NEWS
1/20/2026: Congrats to Marquez C. White (Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University ’24) on his paper “Factors influencing survival of rescued Amazonian manatees (Trichechus inunguis) during clinical rehabilitation in Peru“, published in the journal Conservation Science and Practice! This research is part of a collaboration with our local partners at the Amazon Rescue Center (CREA – Centro de Rescate Amazónico) in Iquitos, Peru. This study is the first to characterize factors associated with survival during the clinical phase of rehabilitation for imperiled Amazonian manatees at a wildlife rescue center.
12/7/25: Our new paper titled “A Framework to Analyze Primate Species Vulnerability to Trade in Urban Markets” was published in the American Journal of Primatology, a leading journal in the field of primatology. In this paper, we integrate concepts in primatology and conservation criminology to develop a framework that relates primate characteristics to supply- and demand-side variables. This tool is both explanatory and predictive and can be used to better understand why certain species of primates may be observed in urban markets over others. Check out the open-access paper here!
9/1/25: After three years as an Environmental Research and Teaching Fellow at Princeton University’s High Meadows Environmental Institute, Christian Rivera starts a new position as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the School for the Environment at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
Christian J. Rivera 