Our philosophy is to conduct collaborative, interdisciplinary research in both the field and laboratory that will have direct implications for improving environmental quality and the conservation of species of concern and their natural habitat.
Anthropogenic stressors (for example, climate change, habitat fragmentation, and pollution) are causing the first human-caused mass extinction event and widespread destruction of ecosystems across the globe. But we can reverse the damage caused by anthropogenic stressors by taking action through research and conservation management. Therefore, our research focuses on understanding the effects of anthropogenic stressors on adaptive life history and behavioral strategies in species of conservation concern. In addition, we study and develop conservation management strategies to mitigate the impacts of these anthropogenic stressors on wildlife and the environment.

Learn more about our research:

Featured Lab News

Mikaila Ek receives scholarship

Undergraduate student Mikaila Ek was given a prestigious scholarship from the Charles Jacob's and Mariann Younger Foundation! Congrats Mikaila!

New publication in Animal Behaviour

Dr. Liz's peer-reviewed manuscript with Drs. Misty McPhee, Rachel Chock, Bruce Schulte and Julie Young in the special issue "Conservation Behaviour and the Anthropocene" in the Animal Behaviour journal was published! It can be found here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347225002477 

New EIU TWS Student Chapter created

Nolan and Isabella-Rose started an EIU Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society! The chapter has been officially recognized by the EIU Student Government as a Registered Student Organization (RSO) and they have been supported by The Wildlife Society and the Illinois Chapter of The Wildlife Society as a student chapter!
For more news on our team, see the Lab News site!
Mailing Address: Department of Biological Sciences, Eastern Illinois University, 600 Lincoln Avenue, Charleston, IL 61920 USA
Email Dr. Elizabeth Peterson (Principal Investigator) at [email protected]
Research laboratory is located in Annex of Life Science Building
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