Benedetta Sarno Student Profile

Benedetta Sarno

Choosing the Cummings School

My previous work includes projects on a variety of animals, which often studied their behavior in response to human impact: feeding behavior of in-town wintering Black-headed gulls; human disturbance on daily migrations of fallow deer in a conservation area; tracking individual Atlantic salmon in their upstream migration in Scottish rivers; detailed ecology and ethology of wild gadoids in inshore waters. My interest in becoming a veterinarian lies mainly in the many applications of ethology to veterinary medicine, both in wild and domestic animals. I believe that the detailed study of behavior, both at the species level and at the individual level, is fundamental to the success of veterinary practice in restoring and maintaining health in animals. I am particularly interested in the impact of humans on the health of wild populations affected by human impacts.

Education

  • Doctor of Philosophy in Biology, Universita' di Pisa, Italy (1990)
  • Doctor of Philosophy in Marine and Fisheries Science, University of Aberdeen, UK (1996)
  • Master's of Science in Animal Behavior and Biology, Universita' di Pisa, Italy (1989)

Experience

  • Marine Fisheries Division at Manomet, Center for Conservation Sciences, Research Assistant, Manomet MA
  • Wetland Division at Manomet, Center for Conservation Sciences, Research Assistant, Manomet MA
  • Scottish Salmon Strategy Task Force (SSSTF), Research Assistant, Aberdeen, Scotland

Special Interests

  • Wildlife Population Health
  • Ecology and Ethology
  • Animal Behavior

Additional Skills and Interests

I am an active member of an Italian Playgroup, Watertown, MA, where I help plan children's activities to practice the Italian language and learn about Italian culture and traditions. My interest in languages had led me to study informally about language acquisition and use in minority communities.