Biography
I grew up in Southeast Louisiana (USA), and completed my undergraduate degree (B.S. in Biological Sciences) at Loyola University New Orleans. I then did my PhD with Ed Turner and the Insect Ecology Group, studying how management strategies affect arthropods in oil palm systems. My PhD was funded by the Gates Cambridge Trust.
In addition to my research, I am passionate about developing the interests and knowledge of kids who are enthusiastic about science, particularly those who stem from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in the natural sciences. I also enjoy teaching and regularly supervise 1B students in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation. I am a member of the Department's Equalities and Wellbeing Committee. In my free time, I enjoy long-distance running, cycling, and camping.
Research
I am interested in how we can establish and manage tropical agriculture more sustainably. During my PhD, I studied how management strategies affect environmental conditions and arthropods in oil palm systems. Specifically, I studied the effects of replanting, and protecting and restoring areas of land that surround waterways (i.e. "riparian buffers") in oil palm plantations in Sumatra. My research is part of the BEFTA Programme.
Since October 2021, I have been the Marshall Sherfield Fellow in the Insect Ecology Group, leading a new project to study differences in socioecological conditions across land use systems in Liberia. This collaborative research project is being conducted with industry, academic, and local partners. I am additionally a junior research fellow at St Edmund's College (University of Cambridge) and a Varley-Gradwell Travelling Fellow (Department of Biology, University of Oxford). I encourage prospective students to email me, and please include research interests and a CV.
Publications
Pashkevich, M.D., d'Albertas, F., Aryawan, A.A.K., Buchori, D., Caliman, J-P., González Chaves, A.D., Hidayat, P., Kreft, H., Naim, M., Razafimahatratra, A., Turner, E.C., Zemp, D.C., Luke, S.H. (2022). Nine actions to successfully restore tropical agroecosystems. Trends in Ecology and Evolution. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2022.07.007
Pashkevich, M.D., Spear, D.M., Advento, A.D., Caliman, J-P., Foster, W.A., Luke, S.H., Naim, M., Ps, S., Snaddon, J.L., Turner, E.C. (2022). Spiders in canopy and ground microhabitats are robust to changes in understory vegetation management practices in mature oil palm plantations (Riau, Indonesia). Basic and Applied Ecology. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2022.08.004
Pashkevich, M.D., Luke, S.H., Aryawan, A.A.K., Waters, H.S., Caliman, J-P., Dupérré, N., Naim, M., Potapov, A.M., Turner, E.C. (2022). Riparian buffers made of mature oil palms have inconsistent impacts on oil palm ecosystems. Ecological Applications. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2552.
Pashkevich, M.D., Aryawan, A.A.K., Luke, S.H., Dupérré, N., Waters, H.S., Caliman, J-P., Naim, M., Turner, E.C. (2021). Assessing the impacts of oil palm replanting on arthropod biodiversity. Journal of Applied Ecology. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13749
Wilson, O.E., Pashkevich, M.D., Turner, E.C., Rookmaaker, L.C. (2022). Image-based analyses from an online repository provide rich information on long-term changes in morphology and human perceptions of rhinos. People and Nature. DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10406
Wilson, O.E., Pashkevich, M.D., Turner, E.C., Rookmaaker, L.C. (2022). The Rhino Resource Center: accessing and utilizing a unique digital database. Pachyderm. Accessible at: https://pachydermjournal.org/index.php/pachyderm/article/view/490
Gopalakrishna, T., Christmann, T., Pashkevich, M.D., Puttick. R. (2022). Young voices and visions for tropical restoration science in the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Biotropica. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.13085
Hood A.S.C., Pashkevich M.D., Advento A.D., Aryawan A.A.K., Naim M., Caliman J.P., Head J.J. & Turner E.C. (2020). Termite mounds house a diversity of species irrespective of understory vegetation management in oil palm. Biotropica. DOI: 10.1111/btp.12754
Luke S.H., Foster W.A., Advento A.D., Aryawan A.A.K., Adhy D.N., Ashton-Butt A., Barclay H., Drewer J., Dumbrell A., Eycott A.E., Harianja M.F., Hinsch J.A., Hood A.S.C., Kurniawan C., Kurz D.J., Mann D.J., Matthews Nicholass K.J., Naim M., Pashkevich M.D., Prescott G.W., Sudharto Ps, Pujianto, Purnomo D., Purwoko R.R., Putra S., Rambe T.D.S., Slade E.M., Soeprapto, Spear D.M., Suhardi, Tan D., Tao H-H., Tarigan R.S., Wahyuningsih R., Waters H.S., Widodo R.H., Woodham C.R., Caliman J-P., Snaddon J.L., & Turner E.C. (2020). The Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function in Tropical Agriculture (BEFTA) Programme: using large-scale experiments to test and develop more-sustainable oil palm management. Front. For. Glob. Change. DOI: 10.3389/ffgc.2019.00075
