Alexandra B.

Swanson
Ecology and Citizen Science Postdoc
The Zooniverse (www.zooniverse.org)
Junior Research Fellow, Wolfson College
University of Oxford
Address: Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford, UK, OX1 3RH
Tel: +44 (0)1865 283099 email: ali@zooniverse.org
EDUCATION
Ph.D.

B.A.

University of Minnesota (August 2014)

Ecology, Evolution and Behavior
Advisor: Dr. Craig Packer
Dissertation: Living with lions: spatiotemporal aspects of coexistence
in savanna carnivores.
University of Virginia (May 2005)
Biology, Specialization in Environmental and Biological Conservation
Distinguished Majors Program, High Distinction (3.8 GPA)
Thesis: Extinction Risk in African artiodactyls and predator-prey
interactions.

PUBLICATIONS
Swanson A., M. Kosmala, C. Lintott, R. Simpson, A. Smith, and C. Packer (2015). Highfrequency, fine-scale annotated camera trap images of 40 mammal species in Serengeti
National Park. Scientific Data.
Swanson A., M. Kosmala, C. Lintott, C. Packer (In Review). Citizen science online: producing
high-quality data from camera trap images. Conservation Biology, special section on
citizen science.
Swanson A. (2014). Living with lions: Spatiotemporal aspects of coexistence in savanna
carnivores. Ph.D. Dissertation. University of Minnesota.
Swanson A., T.M. Caro, M., H. Davies-Mostert, D.M. Macdonald, G.L. Mills, M. Borner, S.
Cleaveland, E. Masenga, and C. Packer (2014). Cheetahs and wild dogs show contrasting
patterns of suppression by lions. Journal of Animal Ecology.
Cusack, J., A. Swanson, T. Coulson, C. Packer, C. Carbone, A. Dickman, M. Kosmala, C. Lintott
(2015). Applying a random encounter model to estimate lion Panthera leo density from
camera traps in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. Journal of Wildlife Management,
in press.
Hines, G., A. Swanson, A., M. Kosmala., C. Lintott (2014). Aggregating User Input in Ecology
Citizen Science Projects. In Proceedings of the Twenty-Seventh Annual Conference on
Innovative Applications of Artificial Intelligence (IAAI-15).
Packer, C., A. Swanson, S. Garnett, S. Canney, A. Loveridge, D. Macnulty (2013). The case for
fencing remains intact. Ecology Letters 16 (11): 1414-e4.


Packer C., A. Swanson, H. Kushnir, D. Ikanda (2011). Fear of darkness, the full moon, and the
nocturnal ecology of African lions. PLoS One 6 (7).
Eby, S, A. Mosser, C. Packer, M. Ritchie, A. Swanson (2012). The impact of burning on lion
Panthera leo habitat choice in an African savanna. Current Zoology 59 (3): 335339.
Packer, C, S. Canney, A. Loveridge, S.T. Garnett, M. Pfeifer, K.K. Zander, A. Swanson, D.
MacNulty, G. Balme, et al. (2013). Conserving Large Carnivores: Dollars and Fence.
Ecology Letters 16:635-641.
Packer C, M. Kosmala, H.S. Cooley, L. Pintea, D. Garshelis, H. Brink, G. Purchase, M. Strauss,
A. Swanson, G Balme, L. Hunter, K. Nowell (2009). Sport hunting, predator control and
conservation of large carnivores. PLoS One 4 (6).
MAJOR FELLOWSHIPS ($137,000 in total)
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship: 2010-2014 ($92,000 three years full
support, plus tuition)
Graduate School Fellowship, University of Minnesota: 2008 2010 ($45,000 two years full
support, plus tuition)
GRANTS IN SUPPORT OF RESEARCH ($85,264 in total)
National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: $13,800 (2014)
Save Snapshot Serengeti Crowd-Funding campaign: $36,324 (2013)
Ulysses S Seal Conservation Grant University of Minnesota Zoo: $1,000 (2012)
Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Department Travel Grant: $800 (2012)
Scifund Challenge, Crowd-funding Initiative: $6,800 (2011)
Office of International Programs Global Spotlight: $15,000 (2010)
Graduate School Thesis Research Grant: $5,000 (2010)
Explorers Club, Exploration Fund: $2,500 (2010)
American Society of Mammalogists: $1,290 (2010)
Bell Museum Dayton-Wilkie Fellowship: $750 (2011)
Bell Museum Rothman Fellowship: $1,000 (2010)
Bell Museum Rothman Fellowship: $1,000 (2009)
OTHER AWARDS, GRANTS, AND FELLOWSHIPS ($18,350 in total)
Wolfson College, Junior Research Fellowship (2015)
National Science Foundation DEB-1357368: Predator-Prey Interactions "From Genes to
Ecosystems to Human Mental Health" Gordon Research Conference: $450 (2014)
Council of Graduate Students Travel Award: $1,400 (2012)
Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Department Summer Block Grant $6,100 (2013)
Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Department Summer Block Grant $5,200 (2011)
Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Department Summer Block Grant $2,200 (2009)
Foreign Language Area Studies Summer Fellowship: $3,000 (2009)
SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATIONS
Citizen science from the Zooniverse. Invited Speaker, World Conference of Science Journalists.
Seoul, South Korea. June 2015.
Citizen Science: a stopgap and stepping stone for automated image analysis. Invited Speaker,
IEEE Winter Conference on Applications of Computer Vision. Waikoloa, Hawaii. January 2015.

Snapshot Serengeti: A case study in citizen science for ecological research. Invited Speaker,
British Ecological Society Special Interest Group: Public Engagement Workshop. London, UK.
November 2014.
Contrasting patterns of lion-inflicted landscapes of fear. Gordon Research Conference on
Predator Prey Interactions. Ventura, CA. 2014 (Poster)
Snapshot Serengeti: A case study in citizen science for ecological research. Invited Speaker,
University of Minnesota, Dept of Plant Biology Colloquium Series. Saint Paul, MN. January
2014.
Behavior matters more: the role of large-scale displacement in carnivore communities. Ecological
Society of America. Saint Paul, MN. August 2013
Serengeti Live: The adventure of Discovery. Ecological Society of America. Portland, OR.
August 2012.
Living (or not) with lions: mesopredator suppression in the Serengeti. Ecological Society of
America. Portland, OR. August 2012. (Poster)
Fine-scale partitioning facilitates lion-cheetah coexistence in Serengeti. The Wildlife Society.
Portland, OR. October 2012. (Poster) Winner of Best Student Poster Award.

PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS
Living with lions: How camera traps and citizen science uncovered the mystery of carnivore
coexistence. Invited Speaker, Abingdon Science Society. Abingdon, UK. January 2015.
Snapshot Serengeti: Carnivores, camera traps, and citizen science. Invited Speaker, Zooniverse
Annual ZooCon. Oxford, UK. August 2014.
Carnivores, Camera Traps, and Coexistence. East Africa Interpretive Guide Society. Arusha,
Tanzania. March 2013.
Carnivores, Camera Traps, and Coexistence. Minnesota Zoo. Saint Paul, MN.November 2012.
Mechanisms of Carnivore Coexistence. Conservation Biology Program Breakfast Seminar
Series. Saint Paul, MN. December 2011.
Lions, Hyenas, and Leopards, Oh My! Understanding Coexistence Among Africas Top
Predators. Minnesota Zoo. Saint Paul, MN. December 2011.
WORKSHOPS
Master R Workshop, R Studio (Chicago, IL, May 2015)
Movement and Spatial Ecology (Zurich, Switzerland, August 2013)
Bayesian Hierarchical Modeling (Minneapolis, MN, August 2013)
Introduction to Python (Minneapolis, MN, August 2013)
Zooniverse: Developing data-visualization tools (Chicago, IL, July 2013)
Occupancy modeling in Bayesian and maximum-likelihood frameworks (Patuxent, MD,
November 2012)
Multivariate State-Space Modeling (Portland, OR, August 2012)
Spatial Ecology in R (Portland, OR, October 2012)
MEDIA COVERAGE
TV/film:
BBC Truth About Lions; National Geographic Television, Nat Geo Wild Killer
Shots; First Light Films; National Geographic Television Big Cat Wars;
Minnesota KSTP Eyewitness News (1 interview in Serengeti, 1 interview in US)
Radio:

Minnesota Public Radio Daily Circuit (2012, 2013).

Print:

Star Tribune; Smithsonian Magazine, National Geographic Magazine.

Online:

New Yorker, Wired (US and UK), BBC News, Washington Post, LA Times,
LiveScience, Discovery News, New Scientist, IFL Science, The Conversation,
Newsweeks The Daily Beast; BBC Nature; Institute on the Environments Eye on
Earth series

TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Developed and presented lectures, led students through lab exercises, and developed and graded written
assignments and exams.
BIOL 3411: Animal Behavior (50% TA, 2 lab sections) Fall 2009.
BIOL 1009: General Biology (50% TA, 4 lab sections) Spring 2010.
NON-ACADEMIC RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
2007 Water Policy Intern, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.
Assisted with development and implementation of lake management program; led field
reconnaissance, developed outreach and education materials; assisted with stream flow and water
chemistry analysis.
2006

Research Assistant, University of Montana: Effect of beaver activity on fish invasion

ecology.
Investigated the potential for beavers to compromise the viability of endangered West-slope
cutthroat trout by facilitating brook trout invasion in higher reaches of watershed.

2005

Research Assistant, University of Arizona: Habitat selection and juvenile dispersal of

endangered cactus ferruginous pygmy owl.
Radio-tracked dispersing pygmy owls through Sonora, Mexico, to assess potential for major
highways to serve as a barrier for dispersal in small, low-flying birds. Project coincided with
controversial re-evaluation of owls endangered status.

2005

Research Assistant, Princeton University. Leadership and decision-making in feral horses.

Conducted behavioral research on feral horse population on barrier islands. Data assisted
National Park Service conservation efforts.

2004

Research Intern, Conservation International.

Assisted with joint the Conservation International/United Nations Environmental Program global
mammal assessment and revision of World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List.