Project ISF: Niches Corridor Project Program DUIRI - Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship Term Spring 2024 Status Accepted Research Area wildlife, computer science, conservation, land trusts Description Study of interstate wildlife corridor with mixed land ownership in Wabash River valley in partnership with Niches Land Trust and how climate change influences wildlife corridor development. Current research questions for this theme (each undergraduate researcher will have their own specific research question related to the larger theme of corridor ecology): What is the Influence of mesocarnivores in a midwestern river valley in the presence or attraction of the bobcats using AI-CNN technology and remote sensing method? How does a detection algorithm perform when adapting a current CNN to monitor human influence on a remote acoustic sensing project? How does distance of road in Tippecanoe county impact acoustic richness and dispersal of birds using a comparative AI vs human-based recognition? What vegetation indicates preference for habitat selection of bobcats for corridor development? What is the public perception of bobcat presence through a Niches Land Trust, state and county parks, and conservation easement properties that are shared with the public? Supervisor Kristen Marie Bellisario Mentor Kristen Marie Bellisario Type of work required conservation, remote sensing experience, GIS spatial analysis, field work, vegetation surveys, analyses using AI-based tools, wildlife behavior, public outreach designer, grant writing Websites learn about Niches at nicheslandtrust.org/, learn about HIFI Lab at www.kristenbellisario.com/projects-6 Qualifications candidate will be from any college or John Martinson Honors College with interest in remote-sensing conservation methods through physical, technical, or creative effort; freshman-senior; prefer experience in one of the work fields Credit Hours 0 Weekly Hours 10 (estimated)