2026-2027 IBioS Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Animal Behavior and Cognition Lab, UBC
Department of Forest Conservation Sciences, Faculty of Forestry and Conservation Sciences
Supervisor: Sarah Benson-Amram
Research Themes
Animal Behaviour | Animal Personality | Carnivore Ecology | Human-Wildlife Conflict | Urban Ecology
Geographical Area(s) of Research
Western Canada
Top Three Research Questions on Biodiversity Solutions and Sustainable Coexistence of People and Nature
- How do personality and problem-solving abilities vary among individual bears?
- What does this variation mean for human communities and ecosystem function?
- How can we leverage animal behaviour to develop innovative solutions to human-wildlife conflict and improve conservation outcomes?
Bio
Sage is a wildlife ecologist and postdoctoral fellow in the Faculty of Forestry and Conservation Sciences. Her research takes place within the Animal Behavior and Cognition Lab at the University of British Columbia. In an increasingly human-dominated world, some carnivores come into conflict with people, while others successfully coexist. Using a threatened population of grizzly bears as a case study, Sage’s research examines how animal personality and cognitive abilities determine these outcomes and what that means for ecosystems and human communities.
Sage received her PhD in Ecology from the University of Alberta, where her research focused on the influence of urbanization on coyote behaviour. Specifically, she focused on problem-solving abilities, animal personality, parental care, habitat selection, and the consequences for human-wildlife conflict, including exposure to disease. Sage is also a professional wildlife tracker, offering internationally recognized certifications in the art and science of wildlife tracking.