Oliver C. Stringham

Postdoctoral Research Associate

University of Adelaide, Australia

oliverstringham@gmail.com

https://oliverstringham.com

he/his/him

EDUCATION

2014 – 2018

PhD in Ecology and Evolution, Rutgers University

2010 – 2014

BS in Environmental Science

BS in Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources        

   Certificate in Environmental Geomatics (GIS)        

Rutgers University

PUBLICATIONS

PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL ARTICLES

Underline denotes my co-supervised graduate students

19.

Stringham O.C., Maher, J., Moncayo, S., Toomes, A., Hill, K.G.W., Mitchell, L., Ross, J.V., Shepherd, C.R., Cassey, P. (in preparation) The pet trade of native species outside of their natural distributions in Australia.

18.

Stringham O.C., Maher, J., Lassaline, C., Wood, L., Moncayo, S., Toomes, A., Heinrich, S., Chekunov S., Hill, K.G.W., Decary-Hetu, D., Mitchell, L., Ross, J.V., Cassey, P. (in revision) The dark web trades wildlife, but mostly as drugs.  Preprint

17.

Watters, F., Stringham, O.C., Shepherd, C.R., Cassey, P. (accepted) The U.S. market for imported wildlife not listed in the CITES multilateral treaty. Conservation Biology. Open Access Text

16.

 Toomes, A., García-Díaz, P., Stringham O.C., Ross, J.V., Mitchell, L., Cassey, P. (2022) Drivers of the live pet trade: the role of species traits, socioeconomic attributes and regulatory systems. Journal of Applied Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14138 

15.

Fukushima, C.S., Tricorache, P., Toomes, A., Stringham, O.C., Rivera-Téllez, E., Ripple, W.J., Peters, G., Orenstein, R.I., Morcatty, T.Q., Longhorn, S.J., Lee, C., Kumschick, S., de Freitas, M.A., Duffy, R.V., Davies, A., Cheung, H., Cheyne, S.M., Bouhuys, J., Barreiros, J.P., Amponsah-Mensah, K., Cardoso, P. (2021) Challenges and perspectives on tackling illegal or unsustainable wildlife trade. Biological Conservation. Open Access Text

14.

Cardoso, P., Amponsah-Mensah, K., Barreiros, J.P., Bouhuys, J., Cheung, H., Davies, A., Kumschick, S., Longhorn, S.J., Martínez-Munoz, C.A., Morcatty, T.Q., Peters, G., Ripple, W.J., Rivera-Téllez, E., Stringham, O.C., Toomes, A., Tricorache, P., Fukushima, C.S. (2021) Scientists' warning to humanity on illegal or unsustainable wildlife trade. Biological Conservation. Open Access Text

13.

Stringham O.C., Moncayo, S., Thomas, E., Heinrich, S., Toomes, A., Maher, J., Hill, K.G.W., Mitchell, L., Ross, J.V., Shepherd, C.R., Cassey, P. (2021) Dataset of seized wildlife and their intended uses. Data in Brief. Open Access Text

12.

Stringham O.C., García-Díaz, P., Toomes, A., Ross, J.V., Mitchell, L., Cassey, P. (2021) Reptile smuggling is predicted by trends in the legal exotic pet trade. Conservation Letters. Open Access Text

11.

Stringham O.C., Moncayo, S., Hill, K.G.W., Toomes, A., Ross, J.V., Mitchell, L., Cassey, P. (2021) Text classification to streamline online wildlife trade analyses. PLOS ONE. Open Access Text

10.

Heinrich, S., Toomes, A., Shepherd, C.R., Stringham, O.C., Swan, M., Cassey, P. (2021) Strengthening protection of endemic wildlife threatened by the international pet trade: the case of the Australian shingleback lizard. Animal Conservation. PDF

9.

Sinclair, J., Stringham, O.C., Udell, B., Mandrak, N., Leung, B., Romagosa, C.M., Lockwood J.L. (2021). The international vertebrate pet trade network: data synthesis and a case study of US imports of pet amphibians, birds, fishes, mammals and reptiles. BioScience. Open Access Text

8.

Stringham, O.C. & Lockwood, J.L. (2021). Managing propagule pressure to prevent invasive species establishments: Propagule size, number, and risk–release curve. Ecological Applications. PDF

7.

Stringham O.C., Toomes, A., Kanishka, A., Heinrich, S., Ross, J.V., Mitchell, L., Cassey, P. (2020). A guide to using the internet to study the wildlife trade. Conservation Biology. PDF

6.

Toomes, A., Stringham, O.C., Ross, J.V., Mitchell, L., Cassey, P. (2020). Australia’s wish list of exotic pets: biosecurity and conservation implications of desired exotic pet species. NeoBiota. Open Access Text

5.

Lockwood, J.L., Welbourne, D., Romagosa, C., Cassey, P., Mandrak, N., Strecker, A., Leung, B., Stringham, O.C., Udell, B., Episcopio-Sturgeon, D., Tlusty, M., Sinclair, J., Springborn, M., Pienaar, E., Rhyne, A. (2019). When Pets Become Pests: The Role of the Exotic Pet Trade in Producing Invasive Vertebrate Animals.  Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. PDF

4.

Stringham, O.C. & Lockwood, J.L. (2018). Pet problems: Biological and economic factors that influence the release of alien reptiles and amphibians by pet owners. Journal of Applied Ecology. PDF

3.

Maslo, B., Stringham, O. C., Bevan, A. J., Brumbaugh, A. Sanders, C. Hall, M. & Fefferman, N. H. (2017). High annual survival in infected wildlife populations may veil a persistent extinction risk from disease. Ecosphere. PDF

2.

Robinson, O. J., Lockwood, J. L., Stringham, O. C., & Fefferman, N. H. (2015). A novel tool for making policy recommendations based on PVA: helping theory become practice. Conservation Letters. PDF

1.

Stringham, O. C., & Robinson, O. J. (2015). A modeling methodology to evaluate the efficacy of predator exclosures versus predator control. Animal Conservation. PDF

REPORTS

Underline denotes my co-supervised graduate students

5.

Stringham, O.C., Chekunov, S., Toomes, A., Cassey, P., Heinrich, S. (2021). Response to the Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment on their ‘Proposed amendments to the Appendices of CITES for Australian Native Reptiles’. PDF

4.

Hill, K., Cassey P. Stringham, O.C., Toomes, A. (2020). Response to the Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment on their ‘Import risk review for psittacine birds from all countries’. PDF 

3.

Cassey, P., Wittmann, T., Toomes, A., Stringham, O.C. (2020). Illegal Wildlife Trade: A Threat To Environmental Biosecurity, Biodiversity, Human Health and Wellbeing. Center for Invasive Species Solutions & University of Adelaide, Australia. PDF

2.

Boicourt, K., Pirani R., Johnson, M., Svendsen, E., Campbell, L. (2016) Connecting with Our Waterways: Public Access and Its Stewardship in the New York – New Jersey Harbor Estuary. New York – New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Program, Hudson River Foundation. New York, NY. [Stringham, O.C. as GIS Specialist]. PDF

1.

Van Abs, D.J., Stringham, O.C., Gao, Y., Evans, T. (2014). Effects of Land Development on Water Resources of the Pinelands Region. Prepared for New Jersey Future. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. New Brunswick, NJ. PDF

TEACHING

2018

Ornithology & Lab. Instructor (1 semester), Rutgers University

GUEST LECTURING

2018

Plant Ecology, Guest Lecturer, Rutgers University

2017 – 2018

Ornithology. Guest Lecturer (2 lectures), Rutgers University

2017

Seminar in Invasion Ecology. Guest Lecturer, Rutgers University

2014

Evolution, Disease, and Medicine. Guest Lecturer, Rutgers University

TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIPS

2018

Plant Ecology, Teaching Assistant (1 semester), Rutgers University

2017 – 2018

Ornithology. Teaching Assistant (2 semesters), Rutgers University

2016

Concepts in Biology Lab. Teaching Assistant (1 semester), Rutgers University

2015 – 2017

General Biology. Teaching Assistant (6 semesters), Rutgers University

        

PRESENTATIONS

Conference presentations

2022

“The pet trade of native species outside of their natural distributions in Australia” Stringham OC, Moncayo S,  Hill, KGW, Toomes A, Mitchell L, Ross J, Cassey P. Australian Biosecurity Symposium. Gold Coast, Australia.

2021

Reptile smuggling into Australia is predicted by trends in the legal exotic pet tradeStringham OC, Toomes A, Mitchell L, Ross J, Cassey P. Australasian Vertebrate Pest Conference (AVPC). Melbourne, Australia (Virtual).

2020

“Monitoring internet sales of wildlife to detect illegal trade” Stringham OC, Toomes A, Mitchell L, Ross J, Cassey P. Australasian Environmental Law Enforcement and Regulators neTwork (AELERT) and the International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement (INECE) Conference, Adelaide, Australia.

2018

“Incorporating propagule pressure into invasion risk assessment” Stringham OC & Lockwood JL. North American Congress for Conservation Biology. Toronto, Canada.

2017

“Predicting long-term dynamics of Indiana bat populations infected with white-nose syndrome” Maslo B, Stringham OC, Bevan A,Brumbaugh A, Sanders C, Hall M, Fefferman N. Ecological Society of America. Portland, OR, USA.

2017

“Pet problems: Factors that influence releases of exotic pet reptiles and amphibians” Stringham OC & Lockwood JL. Ecological Society of America. Portland, OR, USA.

Invited talks

2022

“Internet Surveillance of Wildlife Trade”. Stringham OC & Cassey P. Presentation for Belgium Wildlife Inspectors, a workshop held by the Invasive Alien Species National Scientific Secretariat of Belgium. Brussels, Belgium (Virtual).

2021

“Internet Surveillance of Wildlife Trade: Understanding and intervening in illegal trade in non-native species”. Stringham OC & Cassey P. Presentation for the Environment and Invasives Committee (EIC): (i) Terrestrial Vertebrate, (ii) Terrestrial Invertebrate, and (iii) Freshwater Vertebrate and Invertebrate Working Groups. Australia. (Virtual).

2020

“The wildlife trade in relation to ecotourism”. Stringham OC & Cassey P. Perspectives in science-based ecotourism: mini conference. The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.

2020

“Invasion Science and Wildlife Ecology Introduction” Stringham OC, Cassey P, Toomes A, Maher JA. Australian Institute for Machine Learning. Adelaide, Australia.

2019

“The wildlife trade as a driver of biodiversity loss and source of invasive species”. Stringham OC & Cassey P. Perspectives in science-based ecotourism: mini conference. The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.

2019

“Understanding the processes leading up to establishment of non-native species”. Stringham OC. Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers (ACEMS) Seminar. The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.

2018

“Preventing biological invasions by understanding the processes leading to establishment”. Stringham OC. PhD Defense Seminar for Rutgers Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources. Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.

2017

“Get your herps here! Dynamics of reptile and amphibian exotic pet trade and what that means for invasive species management” Stringham OC & Lockwood JL. Rutgers Ecology Graduate Student Association Seminar. Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.

2017

“Exploration of the spatial and temporal dynamics of the reptile and amphibian pet trade” Stringham OC. 7th Annual Rutgers GIS Day. Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.

2016

“Factors associated with non-native introductions of pet reptiles and amphibians” Stringham OC & Lockwood JL. Rutgers Ecology Graduate Student Association Seminar. Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.

2014

“Determining the efficacy of predator exclosures vs. predator control: a modeling case study of the red fox and piping plover in New Jersey” Stringham OC, Robinson OJ & Lockwood JL. G.H. Cook Undergraduate Honors Thesis Presentation. Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.

Informal presentations

2022

“For loops in R”. Stringham OC. Invasion Science & Wildlife Ecology Lab. The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.

2021

“Scientific Writing Workshops”. Stringham OC. Invasion Science & Wildlife Ecology Lab. The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.

2021

“Coding GIS in R”. Stringham OC. Invasion Science & Wildlife Ecology Lab. The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.

2021

“Data wrangling in R with tidyverse”. Stringham OC. Invasion Science & Wildlife Ecology Lab. The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.

2020

“Plotting in R using ggplot2”. Stringham OC. Invasion Science & Wildlife Ecology Lab. The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.

2019

“Creating a website for academia”. Stringham OC. Invasion Science & Wildlife Ecology Lab. The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.

GRANTS

2020

Australian Research Council Discovery Grant. Drivers of the Live Pet Trade in Australian Reptiles. (Contributor). A/Prof Phillip Cassey - Chief Investigator. ($420,851)

2018

Teaching Assistant/Graduate Assistant Professional Development Grant. Rutgers University. ($752)

2017

Teaching Assistant/Graduate Assistant Professional Development Grant. Rutgers University. ($925)

2017

Conference Travel Award. Rutgers University. ($150)

HONORS AND AWARDS

2014

Environmental Science Senior of the Year, Rutgers University

2014

Outstanding Senior in Environmental Geomatics (GIS), Rutgers University

SUPERVISING/MENTORING

PhD Candidates

2020 –

Freyja Watters, PhD Candidate, The University of Adelaide, Co-supervisor. Topic: The unregulated trade of wildlife: exploring the dynamics of the wildlife trade of species not recognized by CITES

2020 –

Jacob Maher, PhD Candidate, The University of Adelaide. Co-supervisor. Topic: The ornamental plant trade in Australia: conservation and biosecurity implications.

2020 –

Katherine Hill, PhD Candidate, The University of Adelaide. Co-supervisor. Topic: The trade of native Australian parrots as pets.

2019 – 2022

Adam Toomes, PhD Candidate, The University of Adelaide. Co-advisor. Topic: The biosecurity risks of the Australian illegal pet trade.

Honours/Undergraduates

2021

Charlie Lassaline, Honours Student, The University of Adelaide. Co-advisor. Topic: The online trade of invertebrates as pets in Australia.

2020

Jade Birmingham, Honours Student, The University of Adelaide. Co-advisor. Topic: Survivorship during international plane travel of exotic pet species: implications for animal welfare.

2019

Abilash Sivadasan, Honours Student, The University of Adelaide. Co-advisor. Topic: Does illegal smuggling of wildlife scale to measures of population density in Australia?

2017 – 2018

Katharine Mattaliano, Undergraduate Research, Rutgers University.

Topic: Domestic breeding of exotic pets: a risk for biological invasions.

2017 – 2018

Jacqueline Cavaliere, Undergraduate Research, Rutgers University.

Topic: Legal frameworks for releases of exotic pets in the USA.

2016 – 2017

Jacey Corrente, Undergraduate Research, Rutgers University.

Topic: The secondary market of exotic pet reptiles and amphibians: why do people relinquish their exotic pets?

2015

Elizabeth Newton, Undergraduate Senior Thesis, Rutgers University.

Topic: Sustainable harvest model of black bears in New Jersey: maintaining the cultural carrying capacity.

SERVICE

Peer reviewer

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, Conservation Letters, Conservation Biology, Biological Conservation, Conservation Science and Practice, Global Ecology and Conservation, Ecography, Global Ecology and Biogeography, Communications Biology, Biological Invasions, Journal for Nature Conservation, Management of Biological Invasions, Animals, Urban Naturalist

Publon Profile

WORKING GROUPS

2019

Illegal Wildlife Trade Workshop & Working Group. Environmental Biosecurity Office, Canberra, Australia.  

2017 – 2018

National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) Participant. Project: “Linking Trade, Biology, and Pet Owner Decisions to the Risk of Vertebrate Invasions in the US”

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

2021

Leadership Development Training. Environment Institute, The University of Adelaide, Australia

2017

COMPASS: Science Communication Training. Rutgers University

2016

AAAS: Communicating Science Workshop. Rutgers University

OTHER PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS

2015

Research Assistant, Endangered & Nongame Species Program, New Jersey Department of Fish & Wildlife

2015

GIS Research Assistant, Harbor & Estuary Program, Hudson River Foundation

2014 – 2015

Research Assistant, Rutgers University, Department of Human Ecology