Dr. Anita MorzilloProfessor Morzillo

Associate Professor

Department of Natural Resources & the Environment
Human Dimensions

Research Website

Office: University of Connecticut U-4087, 1376 Storrs Road, Storrs, CT 06269-4087 (Room #320)
Phone:  860-486-3660
Email: anita.morzillo@uconn.edu

Education

Professional Experience

Research Interests

Publications

Education

PhD Michigan State University Fisheries and Wildlife
Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior (dual-degree program)
MS Southern Illinois University Carbondale Zoology
BS State University of New York (SUNY) College at Plattsburgh Biological Sciences

Professional Experience

2020 - Present University of Connecticut Storrs, CT Associate Professor
2014 - 2020 University of Connecticut Storrs, CT Assistant Professor
2010 - 2014 Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University Assistant Professor
2005 - 2009 US Environmental Protection Agency, Western Ecology Division Biologist

Research Interests

My research focuses on interactions between human activities and natural resources. I apply tools from both natural and social science to understand relationships between them. Broad research areas include landscape ecology and human dimensions of natural resource management. Topics of focus include wildlife management, forest management, water resources, urban ecosystems, outdoor recreation, urban-rural relationships, and human-nature conflict within the wildland-urban interface.

Selected Recent Publications

  • Walrath, M.C., A.T. Morzillo, K.P. Bell, C.R. Colocousis, M.S. Crandall, M.I. Poppick, and D.K. Munroe. 2024. Rural forested community shocks as perceived by in-migrants versus long-term residents. Journal of Rural Studies 105:103188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2023.103188  [Available online]
  • Dunn, A.R., A.T. Morzillo, L.S. Keener-Eck Larson, and R.A. Christoffel. Spatial analysis of attitudes toward timber rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) where encounter occurs within an exurban landscape. Society & Natural Resources. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2023.2269554  [Available online]
  • Cabral, J., A.T. Morzillo, and R. Xu. 2023. Forest stressors and roadside vegetation management in an exurban landscape. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 85:127954. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2023.127954
  • Everett, G., A.M. Matsler, F.K.S. Chan, M.A. Naclerio, A.T. Morzillo, and J.E. Lamond. 2023. Lifestyle and language barriers influence community engagement with green infrastructure. Ambio 52:1650-1660.  doi: 10.1007/s13280-023-01877-6
  • DiFalco, S., A.T. Morzillo, and D. Ghosh. 2022. Interpolating resident attitudes toward exurban roadside forest management. [Special issue: Strengthening bidirectional linkages between social and ecological systems in landscape ecology] Landscape Ecology.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-022-01537-2  [Available online]   2023 Outstanding Paper in Landscape Ecology Award
  • Morzillo, A.T., C.R. Colocousis, D.K. Munroe, K.P. Bell, S. Martinuzzi, D.B. Van Berkel, M.J. Lechowicz, B. Rayfield, and B. McGill. 2015. "Communities in the middle": interactions between drivers of change and place-based characteristics in rural forest-based communities. Journal of Rural Studies 42:79-90. doi: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2015.09.007
  • Morzillo, A.T., K.M. de Beurs, and C.J. Martin-Mikle. 2014. A conceptual framework to evaluate human-wildlife interactions within coupled human and natural systems. Ecology and Society 19:44. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-06883-190344
  • Massie, M., T.M. Wilson, A.T. Morzillo, and E.B. Henderson. 2016. Natural areas as a basis for assessment of ecosystem vulnerability to climate change. Ecosphere 7:e01563. doi: 10.1002/ecs2.1563
  • Kline, J.D., M.E. Harmon, T.A. Spies, A.T. Morzillo, R.J. Pabst, B.C. McComb, F. Schnekenburger, K.A. Olsen, B. Csuti, and J.C. Vogeler. 2016. Evaluating carbon storage, timber harvest, and potential habitat possibilities for western Cascades (US) forests. Ecological Applications 26:2044-2059. doi: 10.1002/eap.1358
  • Morzillo, A.T., B.J. Kreakie, N.R. Netusil, J.A. Yeakley, C.P. Ozawa, and S. Duncan. 2016. Resident perceptions of natural resources between cities and across scales in the Pacific Northwest. Ecology and Society 21:14.http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-08478-210314
  • Everett, G., J. Lamond, A.T. Morzillo, and F.K.S. Chan, and A.M. Matsler. 2016. Sustainable drainage systems: helping people live with water. Water Management 169:94-104. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1680/wama.14.00076
  • Morzillo, A.T., C.R. Colocousis, D.K. Munroe, K.P. Bell, S. Martinuzzi, D.B. Van Berkel, M.J. Lechowicz, B. Rayfield, and B. McGill. 2015. "Communities in the middle": interactions between drivers of change and place-based characteristics in rural forest-based communities. Journal of Rural Studies 42:79-90. doi: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2015.09.007
  • Morzillo, A.T., K.M. de Beurs, and C.J. Martin-Mikle. 2014. A conceptual framework to evaluate human-wildlife interactions within coupled human and natural systems. Ecology and Society 19:44. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-06883-190344