Luca Morreale

Luca Morreale (he/him) is a postdoctoral researcher working as part of the Animal Migration Research Group and the Global Change & Biodiversity Lab. He is using interpretable machine learning techniques to study forests as migratory bird habitat in the Appalachian Mountains.

Prior to joining UMCES, Luca was a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Institution where he conducted research as part of the Forest Global Earth Observatory (ForestGEO) network. Before that, Luca earned his Ph.D. in Earth & Environment at Boston University in 2023 and a B.S. from Cornell University in 2013. His research broadly focuses on how global change drivers (e.g. fragmentation, spreading pests and pathogens) alter temperate forest ecosystem processes including structure, carbon cycling, and habitat provisioning. Outside of work, Luca can be found enjoying the outdoors and tending to his garden.