Jessica Dawn Pratt, Ph.D.

I am a community ecologist broadly interested in research and education in the applied fields of conservation science and restoration ecology. Currently, I am an Associate Professor of Teaching in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at UC-Irvine and mainly teach courses in the campus-wide minor in Global Sustainability and the Masters in Conservation and Restoration Science program!

I have been a dedicated researcher and educator in the fields of ecology and conservation since 2003 and have been working and living in Southern California since 2005. I have conducted research on animal behavior, tropical bird foraging ecology, the conservation value of tropical agricultural ecosystems, the dynamics of butterfly species range shifts in response to climate change, and most recently, the effects of plant species responses to environmental change on associated animal communities. My teaching experience spans middle school up to the university graduate level and I have taught courses ranging from genetics to conservation biology. My current work integrates my research and teaching by focusing on ecological grief and climate anxiety in students, or the affective domains of environmental education.

I frequently receive inquiries from students seeking PhD research opportunities in my department. As a Professor of Teaching, I do not run a research lab at UC-Irvine. I hope providing this information up front saves inquiring folks a bit of time. I am always happy to answer questions about graduate school and life in Irvine, so please feel free to reach out.

“In the end we conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught.”  
Baba Dioum, Senegalese Poet & Environmentalist