Institute at Brown for Environment and Society

Bethan is an evolutionary ecologist whose research focuses on understanding how rapid environmental change impacts species’ traits, diet-microbiome linkages, and host health and fitness. Her past research has investigated how urbanisation influenced genetics, morphology and host-microbiome interactions of city eastern water dragons in Australia. Whilst more recently, Bethan investigated how environmental factors influenced the specialised gut microbial communities of koala populations across South East Queensland. At Brown, Bethan will be working with Dr. Tyler Kartzinel to determine the spatial and temporal diet-microbiome interactions of herbivorous ungulate species across Yellowstone National Park whilst they embark on some of the largest migrations known to exist.

Bethan earned her Bachelor’s (with Honors) degree in Conservation Biology and Ecology, and M.Sc. in Conservation and Biodiversity at University of Exeter in the UK. She earned her PhD within the Global Change Ecology Group at The University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia, where she then completed a 12-month postdoctoral research associate position within the Detection Dogs for Conservation Team.