Graziella V. DiRenzo
Assistant Unit Leader – Wildlife
U.S. Geological Survey
Massachusetts Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
I am a quantitative ecologist interested in disease dynamics, community and population ecology, and species conservation.
To mimic natural hierarchical systems, I develop hierarchical Bayesian models, and I exploit data collected over space and time to separate ecological and observational processes to answer ecological questions.
My research program focuses on unifying ecological and evolutionary theory to address fundamental questions in disease ecology using field, experimental, and quantitative approaches.
Massachusetts Coop Unit Biennial Reports
Primary Interests
Quantitative ecology, population dynamics, applied ecology
Education
Ph.D. in Biology (2016) – University of Maryland, College Park, MD
B.S. in Biology Summa Cum Laude (2011)– University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
Languages
| Language | Speaking | Reading | Writing |
| English | Fluent | Fluent | Fluent |
| Spanish | Fluent | Fluent | Fluent |
| Italian | Proficient | Proficient | Proficient |
| R | NA | Advanced | Advanced |
Selected Publications
Zipkin, E. F., DiRenzo, G. V., Rossman, S., Ray, J. M, & K. R. Lips. 2020. Tropical snake community collapses following pathogen-induced amphibian loss. Science 367: 814-816
Russell, R., DiRenzo, G. V., Alger, K., Grant, E. H. C., & J. Szymanski. 2020. Principles and mechanisms of disease resistance and resilience in wildlife. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 8: 344.
DiRenzo, G. V., C. Che-Castaldo, S. P. Saunders, E. H. C. Grant, & E. F Zipkin. 2019. Disease-structured N-mixture models: A practical guide to model disease dynamics using count data. Ecology & Evolution 9, 899–909.
DiRenzo, G. V., E. F. Zipkin, E. H. C. Grant, J. A. Royle, A. V. Longo, K. R. Zamudio, & K. R. Lips. 2018. Eco-evolutionary rescue promotes host-pathogen coexistence. Ecological Applications 28, 1948–1962.
DiRenzo, G. V., E. H. Campbell Grant, A. V. Longo, C. Che-Castaldo, K. R. Zamudio, & K. R. Lips. 2018. Imperfect pathogen detection from non-invasive skin swabs biases disease inference. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 9, 380–389.
DiRenzo, G. V., C. Che-Castaldo, A. Rugenski, R. Brenes, M. R. Whiles, C. M. Pringle, S. S. Kilham, & K. R. Lips. 2017. Disassembly of a tadpole community by a multi-host fungal pathogen with limited evidence of recovery. Ecological Applications 27: 309-320.