Noah Charney

Dr. Charney uses the tools of spatial ecology to guide conservation of sensitive species and ecosystems in the face of global change and expanding human populations.  Recent projects include: modeling impacts of climate change on Galapagos plants and tortoises; forecasting and mapping future tree growth across North America; developing computer algorithms to map forest structure with satellite data; untangling the ecology, evolution, and management challenges of unisexual salamanders; landscape ecology and conservation of vernal pool amphibians; and many other taxa in a variety of settings.  In the applied arena, as the executive director of a nonprofit in Nashville, Tennessee (Radnor to River), Dr. Charney works to transform how conservation planning is approached within the urban environment.  A naturalist at heart, Dr. Charney’s forthcoming book from Yale University Press uses a narrative format to teach audiences how to read ecological stories in landscapes; his previous book – a co-authored field guide to insect tracking – won two national awards.   Dr. Charney completed his dissertation in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology in 2010 at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.  Between obtaining his Ph.D. and joining the University of Maine in January 2021, Dr. Charney worked as a Charles Bullard Fellow at Harvard Forest, Harvard University; as a researcher with the University of Arizona; as a collaborator with the Galapagos Conservancy; and as the primary caregiver for his two children.