Kyla Funk spent two years on another continent because she couldn’t make it back to Canada during the pandemic. But that didn’t stop her. Her time away from home led to an idea. Now as a PhD student with Memorial University’s Wildlife Evolutionary Ecology Lab, she studies elephants in South Africa.

Where are you from?

I grew up moving around Canada quite a bit. I’d say Alberta and British Columbia feel most like home.

Are you the first person in your family to go to grad school? If so, how did that shape your graduate experience?

I’m a first-generation university student. So it’s not only been a completely novel experience for me but also for my family. Even though they might not understand everything I am doing (or understand my passion for walking around in the bush for months on end doing fieldwork) they have provided me with unwavering support.

Where, and in what area, did you do your undergraduate or previous graduate work?

I did both my Bachelor of Science and my Master of Science in psychology at the University of Lethbridge, Alberta. I was involved in the Vervet Monkey Project where I explored research topics relating to animal cognition, ethology and ecology.

Why did you choose to pursue a graduate degree?

It’s a bit of a long story— when I was completing field work for my master’s in South Africa, the pandemic hit, and I ended up getting stuck in South Africa for about 2 years before I was able to return to Canada safely. I stayed on a wildlife reserve and offered to help with various monitoring and ecological roles on the reserve. During this time in South Africa, I identified several ecological and social consequences of elephant management practices that merit further investigation. In order to sufficiently answer these questions, I knew I needed external financial, logistic and academic support, and a PhD seemed like a great way to achieve this! I started collecting data, and more formally structured these questions into what is now my PhD project.

Why did you choose Memorial for graduate studies?

Why study elephants in Newfoundland? I get this question a lot! I came here primarily for my supervisor, Eric Vander Wal. Eric is well known for his work in wildlife ecology, and the techniques and methods he specializes in are highly applicable to the kinds of questions I want to answer.

What is your degree program and area of specialization?

I am doing my PhD in Cognitive and Behavioural Ecology and studying the social and spatial repercussions of birth control interventions in hyperabundant species (i.e., elephants in South Africa).

Why did you choose this area of study?

The Cognitive and Behavioural Ecology Program is an interdisciplinary program that merges animal behaviour and behavioural ecology. This matches my interdisciplinary training in psychology and biology, making it the perfect fit for me!

How would you describe your experience as a graduate student at Memorial?

It’s been a whirlwind! I feel like I've only just started my journey but have already learned so much. Before moving here for graduate studies, I had never been to Newfoundland, but I've found both the university and the local community to be incredibly supportive. It's a privilege to live in a vibrant city with easy access to cafes, bakeries, live music and various community activities while also being close to the ocean and miles of pristine cliffside trails.

In terms of my research, I appreciate the freedom I have to shape my research questions and actively participate in all stages of the scientific process. This level of involvement isn’t always available to graduate students and was a factor in my decision to choose Memorial. So far, most of my work has involved fieldwork and data cleaning, but I’m excited to dive into the data analyses and see what emerges!

What is your research/thesis about? What is the goal of your research? What are the implications of your research project for the province, the country and the world?

My research focuses on the side effects of birth control interventions used in populations of elephants in South Africa. Elephants are globally endangered, but often locally hyperabundant. To deal with hyperabundance, conservation efforts have shifted from promoting fertility to using contraception on private reserves and national parks. For my PhD project, I am interrogating the intersection of contraception-induced changes to habitat selection and sociality. The results are relevant for reserves experiencing elephant overpopulation and will hopefully contribute tangible management plans for private reserves and national parks using contraception on hyperabundant species.

Why did you choose this research question/topic?

Inhibiting normal reproductive hormone cycles in wild animals affects behaviour and creates knock-on ecological effects. Contraception is already widely used in many different wildlife species across nearly every continent, including kangaroos in Australia, white-tailed deer in North America, and elephants in Africa. With ongoing habitat degradation, wildlife populations are becoming more isolated in fragmented habitats— a factor that can lead to localized hyperabundance. As such, I believe contraception will become an even more prevalent tool in conservation for managing hyperabundant wildlife species. Given its widespread application and continued use, it's crucial to understand the behavioural and ecological side effects in order to make informed conservation decisions.

How do you work with your supervisor? Does your work involve other students?

My supervisor is a great mentor and overall super supportive person. We have different backgrounds in training, and I think this makes us a good team as we approach questions in multifaceted ways.  I’m also very fortunate to be a part of a tight-knit lab community who offer a tremendous amount of encouragement (sometimes in the form of potlucks). Both Eric and the lab members make doing science a less intimidating process and, overall, a kinder space.

Are there any difficulties in life that you’ve overcome to pursue graduate studies?

Doing research internationally has its challenges. It took me nearly two years to deal with bureaucratic hurdles such as getting permits and visas, which was exhausting and expensive. There were many times that these barriers felt insurmountable, and just giving up on the project would have been easier. I am fortunate to have had great support systems both in Canada and in South Africa. From the family who housed me and supported my research on the wildlife reserve, to Eric and the team at Memorial who assisted with the paperwork and logistics, I couldn’t have done it without them!

What are you planning to do after you complete your degree?

This is a question that graduate students get asked a lot – and to be honest, I don’t know! Ideally, I would like to continue working in the field of conservation, where my work is informed by the local community and has relevant implications and conservation strategies for managers and community members.

Do you have any advice for current and/or future graduate students?

Absolutely! My advice is to embrace every opportunity that comes your way. Say yes to new experiences, projects, and collaborations, even if they seem outside your immediate interests or comfort zone. You never know where these opportunities might lead or what valuable insights and connections they might bring!

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