Bay, Benjamin
<h2>Current and Future Prospects of the Biological Diversity of Vertebrates in the Protected Areas of a Megadiverse Country: Ecuador</h2>
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jack Sites Jr, Biology Department

Project

I collected, cleaned, and organized data on animal species in Ecuador, a megadiverse
country (harbors a vast proportion of Earth’s species and is home to high numbers of
endemic species). These data were crucial for a larger project which modeled the
impacts of climate change on species conservation over time. I designed the algorithms
that cleaned and organized these large data sets.

The data I worked with represented tens of thousands of animal species and
subspecies. I also managed associated data points such as catalog number and
location of each specimen’s finding. I combed through dozens of other data types,
eliminated irregularities and missing data, and cleaned them down to these essential
categories. I primarily used R scripts to parse csv files. Towards the end of my work I
also manually approximated species coordinates from books on Ecuadorian
ecosystems to support our knowledge base of Ecuadorian species (see below map).

Discussion

I received this grant in February 2016; I worked on the project for one year, from August
2015 to August 2016. I was unable to see the project to completion during Fall
Semester because of incompatibility with a faculty advisor. Thankfully, I am still being
included as co-author in Dr. Site’s publication for my contributions. Not only was this an
exciting project, but my limits were stretched and I learned new skills under a talented
mentor.