Journal Club: What mountain lions teach us about trophic cascades and coexistence
Welcome to STEMdentity Journal Club! Every month, I find an exciting peer-reviewed journal article and interview one of its lead authors. We talk about their paper, their work, and their STEM identities.
My guest today is Chinmay Sonawane, who is a PhD candidate at Stanford University in the Department of Biology. We’re talking about his 2026 paper “Mammal Community Responses to Increasing Puma Activity in a Suburban Preserve” in the journal Ecology and Evolution. This is such a fascinating study that points to potential trophic cascades within even a relatively small wilderness space near urban corridors with pumas (aka mountain lions aka panthers!) returning to Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve ('Ootchamin 'Ooyakma) in California, USA. We also talk about easy ways to make better figures and science communication tips!
Here’s the ScienceDaily press release for Chinmay’s paper!
Song of the week: Beautiful Mess by Gin Wigmore
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