# Evan Hockridge Graduate Student ![EHockridge Headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum6851/files/styles/hwp_4_5__320x400/public/davieslab/files/evan_portrait_at_capitale-.jpg?itok=KvdMD9lp) email laptop\_windows [Research Gate](https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Evan-Hockridge) I view myself as a tropical landscape ecologist interested in the dynamics of open canopy habitats in rainforest mosaic ecosystems. Most of my work involves trying to understand the unique role of tropical open canopy ecosystems and how they remain stable surrounded by a sea of trees, and when they fail to do so, what fine scale mechanisms do rainforest communities utilize to carry out the state change. I often take a community ecology perspective to answer my research questions, considering the roles of numerous plants and animal species and their interactions in shaping the structure, functioning, and trajectories of tropical landscapes. The savannas and unique bai ecosystems of the Congo Basin are my focal ecosystems, but I have also worked extensively in Afromontane forests in Rwanda and semi-arid savannas in South Africa. Utilization of high resolution remote sensing, especially drone-based LiDAR to capture metrics of vegetation structure, is a common thread in all of my projects. My background before becoming an ecologist was in unoccupied aerial systems (UAS) operations, and I leverage this specialty with conventional field ecology methodologies to conduct holistic studies of ecosystem structure and composition. I am passionate about mentorship and collaboration and I am always happy to have a conversation about working with other people at any career stage. please reach out! - ## People Categories [Graduate Students](/people-categories/students)