Zabibu Kabalika

Biography

Dr. Zabibu Kabalika is a young conservation biologist from Tanzania, East Africa. Her research interests lie in the areas of conservation of migratory animals, human-wildlife interactions and the resilience of ecological processes to long-term changes. She has recently defended her PhD thesis at the University of Glasgow, focusing on the application of isotopic methods to understand movement patterns and niche differentiation between migratory ungulates across the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem in Tanzania. Her research investigates the use of isotopic methods to understand the evolution of niche differentiation and alternative life history strategies. For example, Zabibu has developed forensic techniques to differentiate resident versus migrant life history strategies using the isotopic signatures found in continuously growing tail hair from both live and dead animals. Her research has also demonstrated periods of dietary overlap in species that migrate together to understand how competition for food may have structured these ungulate communities and their seasonal movements.
Dr. Kabalika holds Bsc. Wildlife Management from Sokoine University of Agriculutre, Tanzania and an MSc. Conservation Management of African Ecosystems (CMAE) from the University of Glasgow. During her MSc, she developed a novel approach for geolocating migratory animals across the greater Serengeti ecosystem using sulphur isotopes in tail hairs, which is published in the journal Movement Ecology (https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-020-00222-w). As an early career researcher, Dr. Kabalika is eager to build her research career in wildlife conservation and she is interested to explore the evolution of life histories of migratory populations more generally. She is currently seeking opportunities to further her knowledge, skills and experience in wildlife conservation research as well as opportunities to form international collaborations.