https://www.caranlove.com/home daily 1.0 2026-03-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ec321c2af33de48734cc929/1618497259178-6XJGK9GR6YAVBQL5L519/20140301_Trade-151_012-2.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/151f6389-1390-4796-bf1d-006f496bc5c8/DSC_0522.jpg Home - Cara’s interdisciplinary research examines the mechanisms by which anthropogenic change impacts population biology and health https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/4d554df4-07e5-4f6a-b5fe-09e3d6102750/_WOL6733_356.jpg Home - Cara works with diverse species worldwide to explore ecological and evolutionary responses to novel anthropogenic stressors https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/b153340d-bff1-4e73-b383-ee57d41f2ae7/DSCN3882.jpg Home - This work aims to improve our understanding of evolutionary and physiological implications of novel stress exposure, and how these data can go beyond wildlife to help answer persistent complex questions in human health. https://www.caranlove.com/publications daily 0.75 2026-03-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/dcf913a5-0f96-427b-b171-7c62dfa260b9/DSCN2341-2.jpg Publications Pripyat River, Chernobyl https://www.caranlove.com/about daily 0.75 2026-03-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/3968b690-75ce-4840-b99c-6bda5f371d49/DSC_0467.jpg About - Cara's research investigates the mechanisms of resilience to anthropogenic stress in wildlife, and how those mechanisms may shed light on persistent challenges in human health and disease. We are living through a period of unprecedented environmental change, one in which few ecosystems remain unaltered by human activity. How wildlife populations respond to these pressures, and whether some individuals or species carry biological traits that confer resilience, are questions with consequences that extend well beyond conservation. Disruptions to wildlife health and immune function can reshape disease dynamics in ways that ultimately affect and inform human health. Cara's work sits at this intersection: using wildlife as a window into the biology of stress, adaptation, and survival. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/de437545-1475-4fe4-ab0d-d258106851a4/DSC_0142.jpg About - Informing conservation, scientific theory, and mechanisms important to individual and population health Cara integrates fieldwork with molecular and lab techniques to characterize the physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying resilience to chronic environmental stress. By studying how wild populations respond, and in some cases adapt, to contamination and/or emerging diseases, her work advances both conservation science and our broader understanding of how biological systems sustain function under pressure. These insights carry direct relevance for human medicine, particularly in areas of immune resilience, toxicological response, and disease susceptibility. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/628f53b8-ed4a-4255-9a32-c2907e389d3e/unsplash-image-ghtTSfjSBoE.jpg About - A good question can take you anywhere Cara’s research encompasses numerous systems and species worldwide. https://www.caranlove.com/contact daily 0.75 2022-05-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/4063e3d7-6184-4773-a8aa-6eba07de53ca/17553883_10154492726475753_2506732523326373284_n.jpg Contact https://www.caranlove.com/amphibian daily 0.75 2026-03-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/1649192602249-SXCASKA8TDMJB1NJK6XD/unsplash-image-TUJud0AWAPI.jpg Amphibians Aquatic environments accumulate high levels of contamination through runoff, atmospheric deposition, and ecological cascades Terrestrial runoff and atmospheric deposition deliver a complex mixture of contaminants, including agrochemicals, heavy metals, and industrial byproducts, into freshwater systems. Many of these compounds are endocrine disruptors or neurotoxicants and bioaccumulate within aquatic environments over time, reaching concentrations far exceeding those of surrounding inputs. For organisms that rely on these aquatic systems, this accumulation presents a persistent and escalating physiological challenge. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/cc0a8c0c-35b2-4eb0-bd93-4017efc97a71/DSCN3882.jpg Amphibians Cumulative and interactive stressors in amphibian population decline Population-level declines rarely result from a single stressor acting in isolation. Sublethal contaminant exposure may not cause immediate mortality, but can suppress immune function, alter hormonal signaling, or reduce pathogen resistance, leaving populations significantly more vulnerable to secondary threats such as emerging infectious disease. These interactive effects between chemical and biological stressors are among the most complex and consequential phenomena in contemporary conservation biology. Cara's research examines how chronic stress reshapes amphibian populations at the genetic, epigenetic, and immunological levels, and why some populations exposed to contamination for multiple generations exhibit measurable resilience while others show signs of irreversible decline. Identifying the molecular mechanisms that differentiate these outcomes is central to the work. Understanding how biological systems respond and adapt to cumulative environmental pressure has implications that extend beyond amphibian conservation, informing our broader understanding of toxicological resilience across vertebrate taxa, including in humans. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/e7353e31-7455-456d-86b3-fba9f4e6882d/20230425_164223-scaled-e1755878024632-1024x693.jpg Amphibians Why amphibians? Lessons beyond the pond The value of studying amphibians under environmental stress extends far beyond conservation. Because amphibians occupy an evolutionarily pivotal position, sitting between aquatic vertebrates and fully terrestrial lineages, the biological systems they employ to manage contamination, infection, and physiological stress are versions of systems found throughout vertebrate life. When we identify a molecular pathway that allows a salamander population to tolerate heavy metal exposure across generations, we are often looking at a modified version of the same pathway operating in fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals. The endocrine-disrupting effects of heavy metals, agrochemicals and induced secondary metabolites, the mechanisms by which chronic contaminant exposure suppresses immune competence, and questions of why some populations develop tolerance while others deteriorate are all important in biomedical research. Amphibians, sensitive, tractable, and physiologically unique, provide a means of investigating these questions that other model systems cannot. What begins as a question about a declining frog population may ultimately contribute to our understanding of developmental toxicology, immune resilience, and the biological basis of environmentally induced disease in humans. https://www.caranlove.com/chernobyl daily 0.75 2026-03-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/2ac61797-d57d-4d21-86ed-9a9fd346fd77/DSC_0380+%282%29-2.jpg Chornobyl https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/c1408aae-e298-42bc-8dac-ebce470322ac/DSCN3494+%282%29.jpg Chornobyl https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/a5144e20-e673-4d29-bdae-c557ce4cf3eb/DSC_0165-2-2.jpg Chornobyl https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/1649168370134-KIABBU9HD4QMZGB6IA8Y/unsplash-image-dtfyRuKG7UY.jpg Chornobyl - Chornobyl’s Legacy To this day, Chornobyl is the most disastrous radioactive accidents in history and the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone remains one of the most radioactive environments worldwide. Our team seeks to determine the effects of long term radiation exposure, from characterizing chronic dose, to molecular and ecosystem level responses. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/90f3cdd2-2627-4e9b-94ab-62b6ed2cacd1/Cesium-137-contamination-map-of-Ukraine-Belarus-and-the-Russian-Federation-Source_W640.jpg Chornobyl - Make it stand out Radiation contamination levels across Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia (Nakamura et al. 2019) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/65c90e94-77aa-443c-82d1-a1e53bb44ba6/MFDC1294.jpg Chornobyl - Make it stand out Przewalsksi’s horses utilizing an abandond barn in the CEZ. (Photo credit P. Schlichting) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/93136117-06bf-4d9a-896c-2a08d4b502b9/DSCN0426-2.jpg Chornobyl - Make it stand out A cow and calf moose grazing in the CEZ. (Photo credit C. Love) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/51e6bbd1-5a57-46a5-9dd6-75082202fa3c/DSCN0230.jpg Chornobyl - How much radiation are they exposed to? Our team assesses the spatial and temporal variation in radiation levels experienced by wild, free-ranging mammals in areas surrounding the nuclear accident. We deployed unique GPS collars that recorded geographic location and radiation exposure in real time. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/1650921628165-OTMG4KSGE1KS9Z0ITWV3/unsplash-image-Hu2yPu0vFQ8.jpg Chornobyl - Physiological and immunological consequences of lifelong radiation exposure Ionizing radiation damages DNA, disrupts cellular repair mechanisms, and can dysregulate immune function. But the nature and magnitude of these effects under chronic, low-dose conditions remain poorly characterized relative to acute exposure. Using a suite of physiological, hematological, and immunological assays, our research works to define what sustained radiation exposure does to the bodies of wild animals living in the CEZ across their entire lifespans, and across multiple generations. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/1abfdbee-fd02-48b9-8eec-fabbe1cbf9f7/Gray_Wolves_D_Shamovich%29.jpg Chornobyl - What can we learn from the genomic architecture of populations experiencing multigenerational radiation exposure? We utilize genomic and transcriptomic techniques to examine this question from many angles. Is there evidence chronic radiation exposure is acting as a selective force on these populations? Does the CEZ act as a barrier to gene flow? Is there evidence that genetic variation within Chornobyl populations allows for increased resilience to radiation exposure? (Photo credit Dmitry Shamovich) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/dd3e11b1-41e6-4d99-a574-f3aad0084d8a/DSCN3318-2.jpg Chornobyl - Translational implications for human medicine and cancer biology The biological challenges faced by Chornobyl wildlife in the form of chronic genotoxic stress, elevated oxidative damage, and persistent immune modulation, are not unlike those confronted by cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy, or by human populations living in proximity to contaminated environments. In collaboration with academic and private cancer research groups, our work investigates whether the molecular mechanisms underlying radiation resilience in CEZ populations can inform the development of novel therapeutic or protective strategies in human medicine. Animals that have survived and reproduced across multiple generations of radiation exposure may carry biological solutions to problems that remain unsolved in clinical oncology. https://www.caranlove.com/additional-projects daily 0.75 2026-03-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/846dde4c-4b5e-46f8-889d-0b640bc44824/DSC_0169.jpg Additional Projects AVIAN MALARIA AND MERCURY CONTAMINATION This project investigated the potential for combined or synergistic effects of blood protozoans and mercury contamination in wading birds in the southeastern US. Mercury is a ubiquitous environmental contaminant resulting largely from atmospheric deposition as well as anthropogenic activities such as mining, coal incineration, medical wastes, and metal processing. Environmental contaminants have been shown to negatively affect wildlife health, and in the southeastern US certain species of wading bird are known to be exposed to, and bioaccumulate, high levels of mercury. Additionally wading birds of the southeast US are known to be host to avian malaria. Avian malaria (Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) is a vector born protozoan disease which can cause severe anemia if sufficient burdens occur. Samples were collected from a variety of species across a range of diets and foraging habitats in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina . This work was conducted in collaboration with Dr. Stacey Lance and Larry Bryan through the Savannah River Ecology Lab. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/1e400bb5-9c92-496b-816d-233fa99a5e20/DSC_0235.jpg Additional Projects CONSERVATION EFFORTS IN FAR-EASTERN RUSSIA Through a collaboration with Muraviovka Park, the International Crane Foundation and other international research and conservation agencies, Cara worked to establish mammal and bird monitoring protocols to be implemented by future researchers. The Amur Oblast is located in the middle of the East Asian-Australian Flyway and provides critical habitat for migratory birds on their long migration. This region is utilized by numerous species of special concern, including 7 species of endangered crane for either migratory stop-over or breeding purposes. Breeding behavior and success of breeding pairs was monitored while they resided in the region. Community involvement and education was an important element of this project. worked closely with schools, summer camps, and government officials to educate the community about regional conservation concerns. Our captive breeding pairs of Red-crowned Cranes, White-fronted Geese and other threatened species of waterfowl were important elements in engaging the public in local environmental issues. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/a483bd23-ada5-4d4f-9a74-419e9fd9f303/unsplash-image-BvFp9BerH_A.jpg Additional Projects EVOLUTION AND BEHAVIOR Cara worked with Dr. Al Uy and his lab in examining evolution and behavior in various species. Projects ranged from: 1) The genetic analysis of plumage variation along an avian hybrid zone of Bearded Manakins to look at divergent natural and sexual selection in rapid speciation. 2) Exploration of the maintenance of genetic color polymorphism in five male color morphs of parae and how behavioral and ecological factors contribute to the persistence of this polymorphism. 3) How human disturbances affect signals used in mate choice and territory defense in birds. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/ca7a2e7a-eff8-48c3-9d76-9090c8870b3e/unsplash-image-5AbiLeMm9xk.jpg Additional Projects ACOUSTIC REMOTE POPULATION MONITORING Working with Dr. David Buehler’s lab and a collaborative team of researchers from around the US, the team worked to develop and optimize methods for acoustically monitoring threatened and endangered avian populations in remote areas using Autonomous Aerial Acoustic Recording Systems (AAARS). https://www.caranlove.com/research2 daily 0.75 2026-03-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/1effa686-070c-48bb-9e34-b64c592bc6fb/_WOL6733_356.jpg All Research - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/d388a8cc-70fa-4687-afde-9d3a296d69a1/DSC_0066.jpg All Research - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/2e024c30-49f1-4a1f-b89a-8a27c977d9f7/article_327eff50f40718757f9bbb77cea59c70.jpg All Research - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/b6cedb39-6905-4b98-9bc9-e573fa5765a5/DSC_0169.jpg All Research - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.caranlove.com/condors daily 0.75 2026-03-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/30174909-64b8-46e0-8480-5a78879b8d47/DSC04398.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/03f4e6f4-a03e-4f87-8828-ebbfbba5989e/20251216_122452.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/61fec18c2cf90c6b7b4f1c02/ab48a24d-8f60-4a03-a14a-98ce8902b2b2/condor_release_condors_circling_jim_shane_small.jpg