Marie Tosa is a PhD candidate in Wildlife Science at Oregon State University. Originally from Boston, MA, Marie earned her BA from New York University and her MS from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Currently, Marie studies how the animals, insects, plants, and fungi in federal forests of the Pacific Northwest are impacted by disturbances. Specifically, Marie is examining how the diversity of these groups is different in old-growth forests compared to recently thinned forests and plantations of Douglas fir. In addition, Marie studies the ecology of the western spotted skunk, an understudied but important carnivore species, and how they use the heterogeneous landscape. Through her research, she hopes to inform forest management and improve ways in which humans coexist with and protect natural areas.