Victoria Zdanowicz of the Knott and Scmitt Labs was selected as the winner of the 2024 Denton Award for her master’s research thesis in Biology titled “Local ecology and dietary selectivity at indicators of differing orangutan habitat quality within Gunung Palung National Park, Borneo, Indonesia.” This award is given for excellence in scholarship and research accomplishment during a master’s thesis under the mentorship of a faculty member of the Department of Biology.
Victoria conducted a challenging field study of how anthropogenic disturbance impacts the trees and lianas utilized by wild orangutans in Gunung Palung National Park, West Kalimantan (Borneo), Indonesia. Her research focused on understanding why orangutans utilize degraded secondary forest habitats, analyzing relationships between forest structure data, plant phenology data (fruiting and flowering patterns), dietary selectivity records, and nest survey data. She discovered that orangutan nests vide higher densities of preferred fruits than primary (undisturbed) forests. Her thesis illustrates that degraded habitats can safeguard wild populations of threatened and endangered species, advancing our understanding of anthropogenically altered habitat suitability for wildlife. Victoria now conducts outreach work at the Stone Zoo.
Congratulations, Victoria!