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Neil Carter

Dr. Neil Carter
Associate Professor
Geospatial Data Sciences
Conservation + Restoration
[email protected]
(734) 764-3763
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2502 Dana
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About

Dr. Neil Carter’s interdisciplinary research examines the complex dynamics that characterize interactions between wildlife and people (e.g., provision of ecosystem services, conflicts) in a global change context. His work addresses local to global wildlife conservation issues, utilizes a multitude of spatial techniques and tools, engages different stakeholders, and informs policymaking. General research interests include: spatial ecology, landscape ecology, wildlife management and policy, wildlife ecology and conservation, human dimensions of wildlife management, complexity of coupled human and natural systems, and sustainability science. Projects use field monitoring, social surveys, remote sensing, GIS, and spatial and simulation modeling to investigate human-wildlife coexistence in a number of contexts, such as the American West, Midwest, Nepal, and Mozambique. Prior to SEAS, Dr. Carter was an Assistant Professor in the Human-Environment Systems research group at Boise State University. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center and Princeton University.

Publications

Abrahms, B., Carter, N.H., Clark-Wolf, T.J. et al. 2023. Climate change as a global amplifier of human–wildlife conflict (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01608-5). Nature Climate Change 13: 224-234

Carter, N.H. and Linnell, J.D., 2023. Building a resilient coexistence with wildlife in a more crowded world (https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad030). PNAS Nexus 2, pgad030

Carter, N.H., Killion, A., Easter, T., Brandt, J., and Ford, A. 2020. Road development in Asia: range-wide risks to tigers (https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/18/eaaz9619). Science Advances 6, eaaz9619

Gaynor, K.M., Hojnowski, C.E., Carter, N.H., and J.S. Brashares. 2018. The influence of human disturbance on wildlife nocturnality (http://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6394/1232.full). Science 360: 1232-1235

O’Bryan, C., Beyer, H.L., Braczkowski, A.R., Carter, N.H., Watson, J.E.M., and E. McDonald-Madden. 2018. The contribution of predators and scavengers to human health and well-being ((https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-017-0421-2). Nature Ecology and Evolution 2: 229–236

Carter, N.H. and J.D.C. Linnell. 2016. Co-adaptation is key to coexisting with large carnivores (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2016.05.006). Trends in Ecology and Evolution 31: 575-578

Carter, N.H., B. Shrestha, J. Karki, N. Pradhan, and J. Liu. 2012. Coexistence between wildlife and humans at fine spatial scales (https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.1210490109). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109: 15360-15365.

Google Scholars page
Research
  • Endangered Species Conservation in Shared Landscapes
  • Understanding Human-Wildlife Coexistence
  • Spatial Ecology for Conservation Decision Making
  • Interdisciplinary Approaches to Reducing illicit Wildlife Trade
Education

PhD, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University (Fisheries and Wildlife)
MS, School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan (Terrestrial Ecology)
BS, University of California San Diego (Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior)

In the News
A photo of a Chilean Fjord, a mariculture operation.
February 19, 2025

We can farm more seafood while minimizing its impact on biodiversity, U-M research shows

Contact: [email protected] New research led by the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) shows that people can farm more food from the...

SEAS PhD student Jason Hagani studies the impacts of human activity on wolves in Michigan’s UP
January 7, 2025

SEAS PhD student Jason Hagani studies impacts of human activity on wolves in Michigan’s UP

Jason Hagani, a second-year PhD student at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS), earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees from...

Concept illustration of a panoramic view of the mountainous wilderness, with forests, meadows, and a river in the foreground; a cityscape including skyscrapers and modern buildings in the background; various animals like deer, foxes, elk, and birds visible around the landscape; a sunny day; in the style of realistic digital art. Image credit: Nicole Smith, made with Midjourney
August 21, 2024

Human-wildlife overlap expected to increase across more than half of land on Earth by 2070

Contact: [email protected] According to a new University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) led study, as the human population grows, it's...

SEAS Associate Professor Neil Carter
January 4, 2024

5 questions: Neil Carter on how global biodiversity monitoring can perpetuate social inequities if the underlying reasons are not addressed

University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) Associate Professor Neil Carter is co-author of "Biodiversity monitoring for a just planetary...

An AI-identified animal: Nathan Fox trained an AI model to detect animals in photographs. The red bounding box highlights where the animal is detected, and the percentage shows how confident the AI model is in its accuracy.
November 27, 2023

Using AI to Accelerate Wildlife Conservation Efforts

Although artificial intelligence (AI) programs were first developed decades ago, they made an undeniable splash in 2023. Now, researchers at SEAS, alongside collaborators in the U-M School of Information, are focused on laying the groundwork for using AI to accelerate wildlife conservation efforts using social media.

U-M-led study investigates lions’ interaction with humans in a diminishing habitat
October 17, 2023

U-M-led study investigates lions' interactions with humans in a diminishing habitat

A new University of Michigan study highlights the combined impacts of human activity and climate change on lion populations. Lions tend to avoid human-dominated areas...

Policy framework for coexisting with wolves, bears and mountain lions could benefit both people and the environment
August 22, 2023

Policy framework for coexisting with wolves, bears and mountain lions could benefit both people and the environment

This article originally appeared in The Conversation and is reprinted with permission. A video showing a close encounter between a hiker in Utah and a mountain lion...

truck traffic nepal
February 6, 2023

Rapid behavioral response of Nepalese tigers to reduced road traffic during COVID-19 lockdown

Contact: [email protected] University of Michigan researchers and their colleagues used a nationwide COVID-19 lockdown in Nepal as a natural experiment to test the...

In the Media
02/27/2025
Neil Carter
Boosting seafood production while protecting biodiversity (Earth.com)
01/31/2025
Neil Carter
More rats infesting cities amid warmer temperatures, scientists say (ABC News)
11/12/2024
Neil Carter
The jaguar has become a victim of drug trafficking in Central America (Mongabay)
10/09/2024
Neil Carter
Issues of the Environment: Wildlife and human overlap to increase significantly around the world and in Washtenaw County (WEMU)
10/04/2024
Neil Carter
DNA Reveals the Origin Stories of America’s Captive Tigers (The New York Times)
09/02/2024
Neil Carter
As Human Population Grows, People And Wildlife Will Share More Living Spaces Around The World
08/24/2024
Neil Carter
What does a growing human population mean for cohabitating with wildlife? (Audacy)
08/21/2024
Neil Carter
Human population boom will increase contact with wild animals (Natural History Museum)
08/21/2024
Neil Carter
Humans to push further into wildlife habitats across more than 50% of land by 2070 – study (The Guardian)
08/21/2024
Neil Carter
As human population grows, people and wildlife will share more living spaces around the world (The Conversation)
08/21/2024
Neil Carter
Human-wildlife overlap will increase across 57% of planet by 2070 (Environment Journal)
08/22/2023
Neil Carter
Policy framework for coexisting with wolves, bears and mountain lions could benefit both people and the environment (The Conversation)
08/18/2023
Neil Carter
PhD student Amy Zuckerwise awarded NASA fellowship
04/15/2023
Neil Carter
Yak milk consumption, tigers walking into traffic: 5 unique University of Michigan research studies (MLive)
02/28/2023
Neil Carter
Covid Lockdowns Brought Tigers Closer to Roads (The Wildlife Society)
02/27/2023
Neil Carter
For tigers in Nepal, highways are a giant roadblock best avoided (Mongabay)
05/20/2022
Neil Carter
Roads and Railways Would Threaten Tiger Survival in Nepal (Futurity)
12/09/2021
Neil Carter
Hydroelectric dams linked to tiger and jaguar losses (BBC News)
12/07/2021
Neil Carter
Hyenas’ unpicky feeding habits help clean up a town in Ethiopia (The Conversation)
10/11/2021
Neil Carter
Hyena Habits Help to Curb Disease (The Times of London)
09/30/2021
Neil Carter
Scavenging hyenas benefit public health in African cities (Futurity)
01/04/2021
Neil Carter
Losing Darkness and Natural Sound (National Parks Traveler)
12/21/2020
Neil Carter
Keeping you current Light Pollution Is Causing Birds to Nest Earlier, Mitigating Some Effects of Climate Change (Smithsonian Magazine)
12/18/2020
Neil Carter
Noise, light pollution impact bird reproduction (The Wildlife Society)
12/15/2020
Neil Carter
Light Pollution Is Causing Birds to Nest Earlier—Which Might Not Be a Bad Thing (Scientific American)
11/11/2020
Neil Carter
Study shows light pollution attracts deer to urban areas, and cougars follow (The Salt Lake Tribune)
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