Expedition Team

Ted Gilliland

My name is Ted Gilliland. I was born in Cleveland, Ohio where I have spent most of my life. I am seventeen years old and graduated from high school this spring (2003). I have spent the past five years studying the environment in formal and informal ways. Incorporating everything from classes at Ohio State University and research at Cornell to birdwatching in local parks, I continuously build upon my interest in the environment. Studying birds and other wildlife, I continue to learn about ecological problems facing our planet, and am consequently interested in environmental conservation. I have dedicated my personal and professional life to protecting the future of the world’s biodiversity and one of my favorite species, humans. I will be enrolling as a freshman at Duke University in the fall where I will likely major in Environmental Science and Policy.

My role as an assistant on the Carnivores of Madagascar project is to (1) assist trapping, tracking, and general study of the fossa, and (2) Conduct the first entomological surveys in the Ambodimanga Field Station in Ankarafantsika National Park. In addition to establishing a baseline index of the insects present at the Station, my entomological surveys seek to study the insect communities that are included in the diet of the carnivores of the region. I will focus specifically on those insects that can be determined to be a regular part of the diet of any carnivore species included in Luke Dollar’s Carnivores of Madagascar Project.