New subject editor: Maciej Szewczyk

My name is Maciej Szewczyk, and I recently joined the Wildlife Biology team as a new subject editor. I am really looking forward to this new role!

I have a background in molecular biology and genetics, but I have always been passionate about wildlife research, especially large carnivore ecology. I did my PhD at the University of Warsaw, Poland, in molecular biology (mitochondrial RNA metabolism in human cells). However, parallell to my PhD project I was involved in gray wolf research, both in the fieldwork (wolf tracking and collection of non-invasive DNA samples) and laboratory genetic analyses. After completing my thesis, I returned to my hometown Gdańsk and decided to fully devote myself to wildlife genetics and ecology.

Since 2019, I have been working at the Department of Vertebrate Ecology and Zoology, University of Gdańsk, as an assistant professor. My current research is focused on different aspects of gray wolf ecology in human-dominated landscapes, e.g. prey selection, population dynamics, sex asymmetry in dispersal patterns and effects of human/dog presence on wolf spatiotemporal activity patterns. In my work, I always try to use an interdisciplinary approach, when possible integrating classical ecological methods with remote sensing and non-invasive genetics.

Outside of work, I have many other interests, e.g. Baltic amber, meteorology, geopolitics and history. I also enjoy good literature, progressive metal music, hiking with my Samoyed dog and travelling to remote places. 

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