Sabin Professor of Conservation Biology | Founding Director @WFUSabinCenter | @CINCIAMDD | Silman Farms

Wake Forest University
Joined January 2008
Important op-ed from @nytimes "...there’s no getting around the fact that we — as a species and as a planet — are now living in the future that climate scientists have been warning us about for more than half a century." @WFUSabinCenter nytimes.com/2026/10/12/opini…
1
3
48
🐐
450 wins as the head coach at Wake Forest! Coach Jen is one of one 🐐
27
Eroding coastal marshes are releasing more than 1.45 billion pounds of carbon into the ocean each year. New Wake Forest-led research uses satellite imagery to reveal a hidden source of carbon emissions along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Read more: wakefo.rest/4gWq3os #WFUresearch
1
4
1,119
@NacionWampis se reunió con delegaciones estudiantiles de la #FEUA (@UNALM_online) y #CEUP. Fortalecemos alianzas académicas por una economía autónoma en territorio Wampís. 🤝🍃
1
1
62
Miles Silman retweeted
Good morning from #7 on ESPN Top 10☀️
6
1
36
2,209
Autoridades de @NacionWampis se reunieron con la diputada Pilar Sulca, coordinadora del Grupo de Trabajo sobre violencia sexual en #Condorcanqui. Denunciamos que la minería ilegal exacerba la violencia hacia mujeres e infancias.
1
4
104
From the Amazon to the Vatican. Wake Forest researchers with @CINCIAMDD and @WFUSabinCenter briefed Pope Leo XIV on mercury pollution in the Amazon and its impact on people and the environment. Read more: wakefo.rest/4hW4g1z #WFUresearch #ProHumanitate
2
8
1,001
Miles Silman retweeted
Cutting old growth forest in 2026 is criminal
4
7
355
Waterfowl conservation looks different across the pond. There are important lessons both European and North American biologists can learn from one another. wildlife.org/managing-ducks-…
1
6
444
15
13
339
Miles Silman retweeted
This paragraph from a good article on administrative bloat in higher ed might be the head-hurtingest thing I've read today
16
132
21
885
78,637
Miles Silman retweeted
Numbers of tiang antelope (Damaliscus lunatus tiang) in Zakouma National Park, Chad, are on the rise, as shown by biennial surveys and supplementary monthly counts. This is good news for the antelope themselves, and for the Zakouma ecosystem: migrating and grazing antelope promote grass regrowth as they move through the landscape.  Unpredictable rainfall patterns and seasonal flooding largely dictate the movements of the tiang (herds alternatively follow receding waters to graze, or retreat to higher ground during seasonal flooding). The tiang depend on some of the same resources as livestock belonging to transhumant herders, which highlights the importance of working together with local communities to ensure sustainable access to the resources that both wildlife and cattle need. Different subsets of Zakouma’s tiang migrate in different ways, with some herds remaining in a very localised area, while others cross greater distances that see them leave the protected area. 📸 Matt Todd Michael Viljoen #ZakoumaNationalPark #Chad #Tchad #Migration #BiodiversityConservation #WildlifeMonitoring #CommunityDevelopment
5
16
611
Mapping the Forest, one tree at a time. 🌳 Led by Professor Ovidiu Csillik, students and campus partners used drones, LiDAR and field research to map more than 1,000 trees and help Wake Forest earn Level II Arboretum accreditation. Explore the interactive 3D tree map: wakefo.rest/4A6VK7l #ProHumanitate #WFUResearch #DeacsDo
5
1
30
2,191
1 drone, 300 million laser data points, and 7 teams of students on foot. 🌲 Using LiDAR technology and field mapping, @WakeForest students helped catalog over 1,000 campus trees across 135 species—earning WFU international Level II Arboretum accreditation! 🔗 news.wfu.edu/2026/08/31/mapp…
3
5
586
🚨#ALERTA Comuneros de Área de Conservación Regional Alto Nanay-Pintuyacu-Chambira (ACR Alto Nanay), denuncian la contaminación y afectación de las aguas del río Nanay. Esta situación amenaza a los peces, principal fuente de alimentación de las comunidades, así como el abastecimiento de agua y la seguridad alimentaria de la población. 🔴 La preocupación es mayor ante los niveles de exposición a mercurio identificados en pobladores de las cuencas del Nanay y Pintuyacu. Un estudio de CINCIA y la Sociedad Zoológica de Frankfurt Perú encontró que el 37 % de las personas evaluadas presentaba niveles altos de exposición y el 42 % niveles medios. 🔵 Exigimos atención urgente de las autoridades para garantizar la calidad del agua y los recursos hidrobiológicos, proteger la salud y salvaguardar el territorio de las comunidades. Defender el río es defender la vida y los derechos de las comunidades amazónicas.
1
153
153
2,603
For Leyla Herrera (’27), summer research means taking science beyond the classroom and into the field. At the Emily Allen Wildflower Preserve, Leyla is studying how ferns function in different environments, measuring photosynthesis, water use and other physiological traits to better understand where these plants can thrive and the role they play in shaping forest ecosystems. Working alongside Dr. Chris Krieg, assistant professor of biology, she’s gaining hands-on experience in fieldwork and data analysis while preparing for her next step: graduate school. #WFUresearch #ProHumanitate #DeacsDo
2
1
9
2,439
Miles Silman retweeted
For 50 years, the Endangered Species Act defined “harm” as not just injury to individuals but to the habitat on which they depend. By narrowing that definition, the Trump administration is putting hundreds of species at risk, Ted Williams writes. e360.yale.edu/features/endan…
1
25
3
46
3,159