The BEAST Lab
Columbia University · Ecology, Evolution & Environmental Biology

Quantitative ecology for a world losing its wildlife.

The Biodiversity, Ecosystems and Animal Studies Team builds rapid, practical, evidence-based solutions to reverse biodiversity loss, from Carpathian bears to Appalachian hellbenders.

Explore our research Join the lab
About the lab

Taxonomically (or beastly) agnostic.

We tackle challenging biodiversity and conservation problems across many systems: Eastern US deciduous forests, British Columbia, the Romanian Carpathians, the Peruvian Amazon and Western China.

We work with management agencies, NGOs, industry and communities to deliver applied solutions to real-world conservation problems: overexploitation of wildlife, rapid biodiversity monitoring, trade-offs between renewable energy and biodiversity, endangered species recovery, and the effects of multiple stressors on sensitive amphibians.

Based at
Columbia E3B, New York City
Field systems
USA · Canada · Romania · Peru · China
Publications
85+ peer-reviewed papers, incl. Science & Nature Communications
Textbook
Fundamentals of Conservation Biology, 4th ed.
Research

Four questions we keep coming back to

How do human actions reshape animal–habitat relationships, from individual behaviour and physiology to populations and whole communities, and how do we turn that knowledge into resilient conservation plans?

Carnivore ecology & coexistence

Brown bear management and human–wildlife conflict in Romania, the recovery of Ohio's bobcats, interactions within Carpathian mammal communities, and European bison rewilding.

Brown bearBobcatLynx & wolfBison

Amphibian & reptile conservation

Eastern hellbender headstarting, nesting and paternal care; carryover effects of pesticides and drought on pond-breeding frogs; road ecology of turtles and snakes.

HellbenderWood frogRoad ecology

Biodiversity monitoring

Rapid, scalable surveys with eDNA and leech iDNA, camera traps, drones and machine learning, analysed with hierarchical occupancy and abundance models.

eDNA / iDNACamera trapsOccupancy models

Systematic conservation planning

Spatial prioritization under climate and land-use change, biodiversity trade-offs of renewable energy development, and evidence for Natura 2000 and wildlife policy.

ZonationEnergy transitionPolicy
People

The team

Dr. Viorel Popescu holding a hellbender

Dr. Viorel D. Popescu

Lab PI · Senior Lecturer · Director, M.S. in Biodiversity Data Analytics

A broadly trained ecologist and environmental scientist from Romania who accidentally fell into conservation biology and never looked back. I love herps and large carnivores, spend too much time doing stats, and enjoy teaching conservation and working alongside conservation practitioners.

Email CV (PDF) LinkedIn X / Twitter
Graduate students
Matt Huang

Matt Huang

MA student · 2025–

Nest abandonment and filial cannibalism in Eastern Hellbenders. Cornell grad, turtle conservationist, rock climber.

Luveen Wadhwani

Luveen Wadhwani

MA student · 2025–

AI and machine learning for large-mammal movement ecology. CTO of Voices for Asian Elephants and 15 years a software engineer.

Undergraduate researchers
Marcella Servedio Willett

Marcella Servedio Willett

Columbia EEEB

Meta-analysis of genetic abundance estimation in brown and black bears.

QJ

Quinby Janes

Columbia SIPA

Sustainable Development.

KM

Kaya Mims

Barnard College

Undergraduate researcher.

Lab alumni (50+) and where they are now

  • PhD

  • Dr. Courtney Silver-Peavey (2019–24, Ohio U.): neonic pesticide carryover effects in wood frogs
  • Dr. Matthew Kaunert (2017–24): Eastern hellbender ecology. Now Director, Clean Water Institute, Lycoming College
  • Dr. Marissa Dyck (2018–23): bobcat viability and carnivore guild interactions. Now Postdoc, U. Victoria
  • Dr. Cassandra Thompson (2016–22): multiple stressors in amphibians. Now Asst. Prof., Lees-McRae College
  • Dr. Mihai Pop (2015–19, U. Bucharest): brown bear ecology. Now Senior Scientist, ACDB Romania

  • Masters

  • Brigitte Harbers (2024–26): ML elk detection from drone imagery
  • Soham Mehta (2024–26): human–wildlife conflict, Peruvian Amazon
  • Hannah Hess (2024–26): Carpathian mammal trophic interactions
  • Adrian Casanova (2024–26): ecotourism in Madre de Dios, Peru
  • Arel Triyono (2024–26): hellbender space use and infrastructure
  • Dani Pergola (2023–25): hellbender density and behaviour
  • Henry Hardy (2023–25): bobcat–coyote co-occupancy
  • Jared Kannel (2023–25): bison rewilding effects on habitat
  • Lucy Holland (2022–24): translocated European bison spatial ecology
  • Sam Mathes (2022–24): water quality and hellbender larvae. Now PhD, Mississippi State
  • Ryan Brown (2020–22): conductivity and hellbender eggs. Now Pheasants Forever / USDA-NRCS
  • Heidi Bencin (2016–18): bobcat occupancy and road mortality
  • Marcel Weigand (2016–18): highways and box turtles. Now The Nature Conservancy

  • Postdocs

  • Dr. Iulia Miu (2023–24, Fulbright): conservation planning
  • Dr. Chris Baker (2019–21): eDNA hierarchical modelling. Now Asst. Prof., UMass Boston
  • Dr. Florina Stanescu (2018, Fulbright): amphibians and climate change
  • Dr. Ruben Iosif (2015–17): hierarchical wildlife modelling. Now Conservation Carpathia

  • Undergraduates

  • Jillian Sullivan, Peyton Munroe (Barnard 2026) · Ashlynn Canode, Madeline Kenyon, Andrew Connolly, Paige Roswell, Era Bakia, Helena Littler (OHIO 2023) · Sarah Romer (2021) · Ryan Wagner, Megan Sweeney, Andrew Travers, Sanketh Menon (2020) · Christine Hanson, Julia Golias (2019) · Noah Skinner (2018) · Kyle Brooks, Mackenzie Rich (2017) · Eva Garcia (Montpellier intern, 2018)
Publications

Selected & complete list

Lab members are marked with *. Search by species, place, journal or co-author.

Fundamentals of Conservation Biology cover

Fundamentals of Conservation Biology, 4th edition (2021)

Hunter, M.L., J.P. Gibbs & V.D. Popescu · Wiley

Publisher page · Download all references (.RIS)

Book chapters in Reptile Ecology and Conservation (OUP 2016), Amphibian Ecology and Conservation (OUP 2009), Conserving Wildlife Populations in a Changing Climate (Chicago 2012) and Problem-Solving in Conservation Biology (Blackwell 2007).

Editorial roles: Associate Editor, Conservation Science and Practice · Senior Editor, Scientific Reports · Editor, Integrative Conservation

News

Lab updates

  • 2026

    New papers on translocated European bison in Ecosphere (Lucy Holland), hellbender nest boxes as a density tool in Aquatic Conservation (Dani Pergola), and a dispatch in Current Biology.

  • Fall 2025

    Welcome to new E3B MA students Matt Huang and Luveen Wadhwani!

  • Spring 2025

    A new Letter in Science on lethal brown bear management in Romania, continuing 10+ years of pushing for evidence-based carnivore policy (see also 2019 and 2021).

  • Winter 2024–25

    Fieldwork in Madre de Dios, Peruvian Amazon: ecotourism sustainability in Tambopata and camera-trap biodiversity surveys near Iñapari.

  • Fall 2024

    Three new MA students (Arel Triyono, Adrian Casanova, Hannah Hess). Dani, Henry and Jared present at TWS 2024 in Baltimore and the AMNH Student Conference on Conservation Science.

  • Summer 2024

    Lucy Holland becomes our first Columbia graduate, after bison fieldwork in Romania and a poster at ECCB 2024 in Bologna.

  • Summer 2023

    The lab moves from Ohio University to Columbia E3B in New York City.

In the media

Prospective students

Join the lab

I am recruiting Master's students through the Columbia E3B MA in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology. Core directions are amphibian ecology, carnivore ecology and spatial conservation planning, and students are welcome to develop their own conservation projects.

PhD applicants: I am happy to serve on committees; admission to the E3B PhD program goes through an E3B core faculty member.

How to reach out

  1. Email v.popescu@columbia.edu
  2. Attach your CV
  3. Include a short cover letter on your interests and background in ecology & conservation
Contact

Get in touch

We collaborate with agencies, NGOs, industry and researchers on applied conservation problems. Get in touch if you'd like to work together.

Email
v.popescu@columbia.edu
Address
Dept. of Ecology, Evolution & Environmental Biology
Columbia University, New York, NY 10027
Elsewhere
LinkedIn · X / Twitter