Angela J Costanzo, M.S., Ph.D. ABD
Instructor of Biology & Environmental Science
Email: acostanzo@hpu.edu
Phone: 808-544-1122
Office: MP 407
Education: B.S., Biology & Chemistry, University of New Mexico; M.S., Ecology, University of Washington; Ph.D., In Progress, Botany, Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology, University of Hawai’i Mānoa.
Interests: Conservation Biology, Invasive Species, Forest Disturbances and Recovery, Ethnobotany, Forest Management Practices
Courses Taught: BIOL 1000 Intro to Biology; BIOL 1500 Conservation Biology; BIOL 3081 Ecology Lab; BIOL 4950 Senior Biology Practicum; ENVS 1030 Tropical Ecology & Sustainability, Study Abroad Costa Rica; ENVS 6070 Conservation and Sustainability in the Tropics; ENVS 6920 Graduate Seminar in Environmental Science
Principal Research Interests
My research interests start with in two locations in Costa Rica. One is managed by the Huetar people, an indigenous community named "Zapaton", about 35 miles SW of the capital city of San Jose. The other is the field site for my Master’s thesis, within La Cangreja National Park, Mastatal, Puriscal County. I am comparing the two areas, looking at how the forest has recovered after disturbances from humans and natural disasters (logging, farming, storms, etc.), overall forest health, composition, and management practices of each site (both local and governmental). By comparing the sites ecologically and interviewing locals as to how they utilize their forest community (what trees they harvest, where, frequency, medicinal use, etc.), this project will be of great interest to the scientific community and Costa Rica as whole.
