I am a graduate student at the University of California in Santa Cruz, in the department of Environmental Studies, where I study agroecology. I am currently conducting field research in Yucatan, Mexico. My study is about the biodiversity that farmers use and manage, and how farmers make their livelihood from that biodiversity. I have always been impressed with the diversity of organisms farmers care for and use, and I'm interested in why they manage such high levels of diversity.
Since I suspect that one of the reasons is that biodiversity helps make agroecosystems more stable and adaptable, I am particularly interested in how farmers make decisions about biodiversity during and after shocks and disasters. Specifically, I look at how a hurricane in 2002, a dramatic rise in prices of food and inputs in 2007-2008, and a drought in 2009 influenced farmers decisions about how to change or adapt their agroecosystems.
