Gabrielle Koerich
Ecologist
University of Canterbury
PhD candidate
Gabrielle Koerich is a PhD candidate exploring how a warming climate will affect the distribution of terrestrial Antarctic species. She is using hybrid distribution models to understand how species respond to their environment and to forecast their geographical ranges under novel environmental states.
The aim is to use diverse mathematical tools that can improve forecasts of Antarctic biodiversity, as much of the quality of the data currently available hinders the use of more common models. Improved forecasts of how climate change will alter species’ distributional ranges is central to guiding decision-making about conservation in Antarctica.
Supervision of this work is being undertaken by the University of Canterbury and the University of Waikato's International Centre for Terrestrial Antarctic Research.