What Being Black Across the Diaspora Taught Me About Ecology. The Xylom. September 16, 2021

"St. Kitts and Nevis is one of the many small independent island nations in the Caribbean, and it happens to be where my dad was born and raised. By the time I was born, my family had moved from the Caribbean to the U.S mainland and back again, finally settling in the Southern United States when I was three. However, we would return to the islands every now and again, since most of my extended family still call the islands home. One of my most vivid memories of my trips to St. Kitts as a child were the monkeys, mischievous little primates that delight tourists and frustrate locals. St. Kitts is special in that way, most Caribbean islands don’t have native primate species (other than humans of course). However, the Vervet monkeys you find on St. Kitts are not monkeys you’d find in nearby Central or South America. Their closest relatives and kin are across the Atlantic Ocean in Western Africa, their ancestors brought over on slave ships alongside my own ancestors...."

From the field - A tale of two chipmunks. Berkeley Science Review. May 28, 2021

"Have you ever heard the call of Clark’s Nutcracker? In the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, this bird’s nasal caw is a ubiquitous fact of life, an obnoxious pronouncement that yes, this specific pine tree does indeed belong to the handsome black, grey, and white bird perched atop its narrow crown. Joining in the chorus, you might hear the piercing alarm call of a concerned yellow-bellied marmot, the melodic song of a foraging flock of white crowned sparrows, or, if you listen closely, the high-pitched cheep of a little chipmunk hiding in the trees or shrubs...."