Uploaded March 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Ankita Gupta is a PhD candidate at the Nicholas School of the Environment. Her dissertation aims to understand the role of water availability from irrigation canals in shaping the hydrology and ecological value of small wetlands in a rural agricultural setting. Centered on the wetlands of Gujarat, India, her research employs a mix of field surveys, remote sensing, GIS, and spatial modeling to understand waterbird distribution in relation to land use, water management, and agriculture. This work will highlight the biodiversity value of human-dominated ecosystems and promote conservation efforts that balance biodiversity preservation with natural resource access.
During the spring semester of 2025, Gupta spoke at the John Hope Franklin Center’s ‘Wednesdays at the Center’ series with her lecture ‘New Hydrologies, Novel Habitats: How Waterbirds Thrive in Irrigated Wetlands'. In this talk, Gupta shares findings from her dissertation research on how seasonal changes in wetland extent influence waterbird communities in agricultural landscapes. Using field surveys and remote sensing, Ankita examined how waterbirds respond to these dynamic wetland patterns, revealing the ecological consequences of human-managed water systems on waterbird species. The event was sponsored by the John Hope Franklin Center and von der Heyden Fellowship Program.
Website: https://jhfc.duke.edu
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/duke-university-john-hope-franklin-center
Instagram: instagram.com/jhfc_duke
Facebook: facebook.com/jhfcduke
X (Twitter): twitter.com/jhfcduke
Ankita Gupta is a PhD candidate at the Nicholas School of the Environment. Her dissertation aims to understand the role of water availability from irrigation canals in shaping the hydrology and ecological value of small wetlands in a rural agricultural setting. Centered on the wetlands of Gujarat, India, her research employs a mix of field surveys, remote sensing, GIS, and spatial modeling to understand waterbird distribution in relation to land use, water management, and agriculture. This work will highlight the biodiversity value of human-dominated ecosystems and promote conservation efforts that balance biodiversity preservation with natural resource access.
During the spring semester of 2025, Gupta spoke at the John Hope Franklin Center’s ‘Wednesdays at the Center’ series with her lecture ‘New Hydrologies, Novel Habitats: How Waterbirds Thrive in Irrigated Wetlands'. In this talk, Gupta shares findings from her dissertation research on how seasonal changes in wetland extent influence waterbird communities in agricultural landscapes. Using field surveys and remote sensing, Ankita examined how waterbirds respond to these dynamic wetland patterns, revealing the ecological consequences of human-managed water systems on waterbird species. The event was sponsored by the John Hope Franklin Center and von der Heyden Fellowship Program.
Website: https://jhfc.duke.edu
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/duke-university-john-hope-franklin-center
Instagram: instagram.com/jhfc_duke
Facebook: facebook.com/jhfcduke
X (Twitter): twitter.com/jhfcduke
