Chengcheng Zhang

I conducted my Master research in China, focus on two flag species – the Snow Leopard in the Roof of the World, and the Common Leopard in lowland forests. During which I published four papers, including two on distribution and status assessment of these two big cats across China.

Later on, I joined Dr. Qiang Dai’s lab in Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Science, as a research assistant. Where I enjoyed my time exploring science-based solution to better mitigate the threats our target species – the Giant Panda and the Grey Wolf – face, and further developed my data analysis skills through various wildlife monitoring and research projects. In the meantime, I published another four papers, including three on identifying conservation units and gaps, ranging from species to national and global scales.

About my PhD

Those experiences paved the way and led me to GMA. My PhD project, Mapping Asian Bears, in between of species-focused study at local scale and macroecology at global scale, offers an exciting opportunity to bridge the two ends in biodiversity conservation. In close collaboration with experts from the IUCN Species Survival Commission Bear Specialist Group, using four Asian bear species as model system, I am developing new methods in mapping large-scale species ranges to inform conservation.

Contact

chengcheng.zhang@uniroma1.it