Biographical Sketch

Anastasia Couvillon, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Biology at the University of Louisiana at Monroe and Principle Investigator of the Applied Wildlife Ecology & Conservation Research Lab (https://sites.google.com/view/acouvillon-lab/home). She is a conservation biologist whose work focuses on the development and application of quantitative, spatially explicit tools to support wildlife conservation and management decision making.

Dr. Couvillon’s research integrates spatial ecology, population modeling, and structured decision analysis to address applied conservation problems across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Her work emphasizes translating ecological data into transparent, evidence-based decision-support tools that inform habitat prioritization, species management, and resource allocation. She has extensive experience working with threatened and endangered species, waterfowl, and mammalian systems, and collaborates closely with state and federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, and conservation practitioners to ensure management relevance.

Prior to joining ULM, Dr. Couvillon served as a Research Ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, where she was a principal investigator on regional and continental-scale conservation planning initiatives under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. Her work contributed to the development of multi-criteria optimization models and spatial frameworks used by conservation partners across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. She has published in peer-reviewed journals including Ecological Applications, Journal of Environmental Management, and Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management, and has received competitive funding from agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ducks Unlimited, and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

In addition to her research program, Dr. Couvillon is dedicated to teaching and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students through experiential learning and applied research. Her lab provides training in quantitative analysis, spatial modeling, and conservation decision science, preparing students for careers in wildlife research, management, and policy.

Licensure & Certification

Research Interests

My research focuses on the conservation and management of wildlife populations through the integration of spatial ecology, quantitative modeling, and decision analysis. I develop spatially explicit decision-support tools to inform habitat conservation, population management, and resource allocation across multiple spatial scales. Current projects include examining landscape use and occupancy dynamics of Gray Fox in managed forest systems, modeling Baird’s Pocket Gopher distributions to support Louisiana Pine Snake recovery efforts, and reconstructing white-tailed deer populations using harvest-based population reconstruction models to inform statewide management. A central goal of my work is to bridge ecological science and conservation policy by collaborating closely with agencies and practitioners to produce transparent, evidence-based management tools.

Courses Taught

BIOL 1001LIVING WORLD, 1 course(s)

BIOL 1022PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY II, 2 course(s)

BIOL 2041HUMAN ANATOMY LABORATORY, 2 course(s)

BIOL 3002PRINCIPLES OF ECOLOGY, 2 course(s)

BIOL 3016COMPARATIVE ANATOMY, 2 course(s)

BIOL 4099SENIOR BIOLOGY SEMINAR, 2 course(s)

BIOL 5005RESEARCH METHODS, 1 course(s)

BIOL 5006RESEARCH METHODS LABORATORY, 1 course(s)

BIOL 5007SEMINAR, 1 course(s)