Curriculum Vitae

Shermin R. de Silva
Contact Information
Department of Biology
Leidy Laboratories
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6018
Phone: 215.898.0332
E-mail: sdesilva(at)sas.upenn.edu
Homepage: www.sas.upenn.edu/~sdesilva
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
2004-Present Doctoral candidate, University of Pennsylvania Graduate Group of Ecology & Evolution, U.S.A.
Advisors: Cheney, Dorothy L. and Seyfarth, Robert M.
1998-2002 B.A. Biology & Philosophy, University of California at Berkeley, U.S.A.
2000-2001 University of Leeds, England.
2006 Introduction to GIS and Remote Sensing for Wildlife Managers - Smithsonian Institute Conservation and Research Center
POSITIONS HELD
2010 – Present Trustee, Elephant Forest and Environment Conservation Trust (EFECT), Sri Lanka.
2005 – Present Founder and director, Uda Walawe Elephant Research Project.
LANGUAGES
English: Native
Sinhalese: Native, spoken and written
Sri Lankan Malay: Native, spoken only
French: Spoken and written

CITIZENSHIP : Sri Lankan-American (dual)
HONORS & AWARDS
2009 International Ethological Conference 2009 travel grant
2009-2010 International Elephant Foundation conservation research grant
2006-2008 NSF-IGERT Language & Communication Science Graduate Fellow
2007 Wilidlife Without Borders- Asian Elephant Conservation Program, US Fish & Wildlife.
2007 Animal Behavior Society Student Research Award
2005 Binns/Williams Grant for Research in Ecology and Evolution, University of Pennsylvania
1998-2000 Alumni Leadership Scholarship, University of California at Berkeley
1998 National Society of Collegiate Scholars honoree
RESEARCH
2005-Present Field researcher. Social organization & acoustic communication of free-ranging Asian elephants at Uda Walawe National Park, Sri Lanka. Local collaborator: Dr. Devaka Weerakoon, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka
2002-2004 Research assistant. Context of groan vocalizations by spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta), Berkeley hyena colony. Advisors: Dr. Steve Glickman, Depts. of Psychology/Integrative Biology and Dr. Frederic Theunissen, Dept. of Psychology, UC Berkeley.
2000 Research assistant. Secularism and Islam in Europe, national constitutions within & outside Europe. Advisor: Dr. Renate Holub, Dept. of Interdisciplinary Studies, UC Berkeley.
1999 Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program, Spatial memory and caching behavior of free-ranging fox squirrels. Advisor: Dr. Lucia Jacobs, Department of Biology, UC Berkeley.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2004-2009 Teaching assistant, University of Pennsylvania,Department of Biology
BIOL 219, Introduction to Brain and Behavior (1 semester)
BIOL 231, Animal Behavior (3 semesters)
BIOL 121, Molecular Biology of Life, laboratory (1 semesters)
2002 Democratic Education at Cal (DeCal), UC Berkeley
"Prelude to a Non-Profit" - Dept. of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (1 semester)
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
2005-Current Animal Behavior Society (Student member)
Ecological Society of America (Student member)
2004 Association of Women in Science (Student member)

PAPERS

de Silva, S.R. 2010. “Acoustic communication in Elephas maximus maximus, the Asian elephant.” Behaviour, 147(7), 825-852.

de Silva, S.R. Ranjeewa, A.D.G., Weerakoon, D. In preparation. “From individuals to societies: multi-level social organization of the Asian elephant in Sri Lanka.”

de Silva, S.R. S. A. Kryazhimskiy & J. Dushoff. In preparation. “Inferring group structure from space-use in a social mammal, the Asian elephant.”

de Silva, S.R. In preparation. “On predicting elephant population dynamics.”

de Silva, S.R. Gamage, A.R.D., Weerakoon, D.K. In preparation. “Demography of Asian elephants from identified individuals at Uda Walawe National Park, Sri Lanka.”


POSTERS, CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS AND REPORTS

de Silva, S.R. 2009. “Circles of Friends: Social organization of the Asian elephant.”
Allee Competition paper & presentation. 46th Annual meeting of Animal Behavior Society, Pirenopolis Brazil.

de Silva, S.R. 2008. “Saved by a thread: the status of Asian elephants in Uda Walawe National Park, Sri Lanka.”
Paper and published abstract, International Elephant Conservation and Research Symposium, Pattaya, Thailand.

de Silva, S.R. 2008. "The Asian Elephant Vocal Repertoire."
Published abstract and poster. 45th Annual Meeting of the Animal Behavior Society, Salt Lake City Utah.

de Silva, S.R. August, 2008. "Uda Walawe National Park Elephant Population Status Report."
Department of Wildlife Conservation, Sri Lanka, report to the Director General, August 2008.

Glaeser, S.S., de Silva, S.R., Cook, M.L.H., 2007. "Acoustic communication in Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus)."
Published abstract and poster. Proceedings of the 2007 International Elephant Foundation Annual Symposium.

Glaeser, S.S., de Silva, S.R., Cook, M.L.H., 2007."Acoustic communication in Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus)."
Poster. Elephant Managers Association Annual Meeting 2007.


PRESENTATIONS

“Circles of Friends: Social organization of the Asian elephant.”
Allee Competition paper & presentation. 46th Annual meeting of Animal Behavior Society, Pirenopolis Brazil, June 2009.

“Acoustic communication in Elephas maximus maximus, the Asian elephant.”
International Ethological Conference. Rennes, France, August 2009.

“Saved by a Thread: the status of Asian elephants in Uda Walawe National Park, Sri Lanka.”
Oral Presentation, International Elephant Conservation and Research Symposium. Pattaya, Thailand November 2008.

“Saved by a Thread: the status of Asian elephants in Uda Walawe National Park, Sri Lanka.”
Guest lecture, EEB Conservation Biology. Princeton University, Princeton NJ 2008.

“Circles of friends: socio-ecology of the Asian elephant."
Invited lecture, ZooNet Society. Open University, Sri Lanka, July 16 2008.

“Social organization and vocal communication in Elephas maximus, the Asian elephant."
Oral presentation, Department of Wildlife Conservation, Sri Lanka. July 7 2008.

“Circles of friends: socio-ecology of the Asian elephant."
Oral presentation. Penn – Princeton – Rutgers Conference, Princeton University, April 5 2008.

“Social organization and vocal communication in Elephas maximus, the Asian elephant."
Oral presentation, Penn – Princeton – Rutgers Conference. University of Pennsylvania 2006.
ORGANIZING EXPERIENCE
2003-2004 Youth Coordinator - EarthTeam, bay-area based nonprofit promoting environmental activity with high school students.
2001-2002 Co-founder and president - The Environmental Coalition, UC Berkeley.
2001-2002 Society for Conservation Biology, Berkeley student chapter.
2001-2002 Organizer - Earth Weekend Climate Change Conference, UC Berkeley.
2000-2001 People and Planet student network, United Kingdom.
1999-2000 Students Organized for Using Resources Conscientiously and Efficiently (S.O.U.R.C.E.)
This page was last updated in June 2010