Laura C. Loyola

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• Laura C. Loyola

Assistant Professor (Teaching) of Spatial Sciences and Director of Undergraduate Studies

• 2015: Ph.D., Biological Sciences, University of Southern California
• 2010: Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Science and Technology, University of Southern California
• 1998: B.A., Biology, Amherst College

Laura C. Loyola, Ph.D., is an assistant professor (teaching) of spatial sciences and director of undergraduate studies in the Spatial Sciences Institute at the University of Southern California Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

Her research is in the behavioral ecology and conservation of the Tana River red colobus (Procolobus rufomitratus). She investigates the behavioral observations and spatiotemporal analyses on the relationship between habitat quality and metabolizable energy for endangered species in its natural habitat, which have consequences for wildlife conservation and forest management. She uses geographic information science (GIS) and remote sensing techniques to achieve applied conservation goals on a broad scale.

Her honors and awards include the 2013-2014 Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) Merit Fellowship. She currently serves as a reviewer for the University Consortium of Geographic Information Science (UCGIS) Geographic Information Science and Technology Body of Knowledge and served on the USC Dornsife College Faculty Council Curriculum Caucus.

She is a member of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Sciences (SACNAS), the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, the Animal Behavioral Society, the International Society of Primatologists, the American Society of Primatologists, The Sierra Club, the Wildlife Conservation Society and The Nature Conservancy.

Selected Works and Presentations

Coiner-Collier, S., Scott, R.S., Chalk-Wilayto, J., Cheyne, S.M., Constantino, P., Dominy, N.J., Elgart, A.A., Glowacka, J., Loyola, L.C., “Primate dietary ecology in the context of food mechanical properties.” Journal of Human Evolution. 98: 103-118 (September 2016).

Loyola, L.C., Moore, T., Turcotte, L.P., Delgado, R.A. The Tana River red colobus mediate seasonal variations in metabolizable energy intake through behavioral modifications. Paper presented at the Joint Meeting of the International Primatological Society and American Society of Primatologists, Chicago, IL 2016.

Loyola, L.C., Delgado, R.A. The Tana River red colobus (Procolobus refomitratus) exhibit behavioral flexibility to changes in habitat quality: A longitudinal and spatial comparison of behavioral ecology. Paper presented at the 84th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, St. Louis, MO, 2015.