Durga Nanda YadavMFS Candidate
Yale School of the Environment Pronouns: he/him Curriculum vitaeClick here to download my cv.
EducationBSc 2022, Institute of Forestry, Pokhara Campus
ResearchBroadly speaking, I am interested in trophic interactions, species interactions in food webs, human-wildlife conflict, and how predator-prey relationships influence ecosystem function.
My research focuses on understanding how predator–prey interactions and trophic interactions shape ecological processes and human–wildlife coexistence across heterogeneous landscapes. I am interested in how food web dynamics influence carnivore space use, ecosystem function, and how human activity-led landscape modification interacts with these dynamics to generate conflict and alter species persistence. My current research will focus on exploring the ecological drivers of predator-prey dynamics across a landscape in a mountain ecosystem, where I will investigate how variations in natural prey abundance, primarily blue sheep, influence snow leopard predation on livestock across landscapes with different degrees of human dominance in the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) of Nepal. It will explore the factors influencing top-down and bottom-up processes in shaping predator–prey interactions in that ecosystem and try to understand how this interaction balances between predators, prey, and people in high-altitude landscapes. Previous ResearchOver the years, I worked across landscapes from flat land to mountainous Himalayan terrain for the conservation of species ranging from tigers, leopards, elephants, snow leopards, and the Himalayan wolves. Before joining Yale, I worked as a Natural Resources Conservation Assistant at the National Trust for Nature Conservation stationed at Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA), where I led large-scale carnivore surveys across a landscape ranging from 3,500 to 5,500 km², targeting snow leopard, common leopard, Himalayan wolf, and Himalayan black bear and their prey. My work spanned population assessments, habitat overlap studies among sympatric carnivores, and scat collection for genetic analysis. I also conducted community-based surveys examining local attitudes toward wildlife and perceptions of climate change impacts in high-altitude Himalayan communities.
As an undergrad, for my senior thesis, I investigated the spatial and temporal patterns of human-wildlife conflict, mapped conflict hotspots, and assessed people's attitudes towards conflict in the human-dominated landscape of Bardiya National Park. I also worked as an intern in Bardiya National Park, where I led a swamp deer survey focused on estimating their population. 
A herd of blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) traverses a snow-covered ridgeline.
Camera trap image of a snow leopard (Panthera uncia) in close proximity to livestock, Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal
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ContactEmail: [email protected]
Website:durganandayadav.weebly.com/ Mailing Address: Yale University School of the Environment 195 Prospect Street New Haven, CT 06511 USA 
Durga with a field assistant writing up the field data
Blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur)
Blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) skulls documented during field surveys in Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. GPS unit included for scale
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