Courtney Pike

Senior Researcher - Giant tortoise conservation

Courtney has a passion for science and conservation, with over a decade of experience working with conservation projects in the Galapagos Islands. She is originally from Illinois, USA and obtained her Bachelor and Master degrees in biology from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Given her interests in tropical ecology and conservation, her journey to Galapagos began in 2013 to help with projects on avian health and potential vectors of disease. Since 2015, she worked with the CDF Philornis downsi project to investigate methods for controlling the parasitic fly and with the Landbird Conservation project further monitoring landbird health. She recently conducted her PhD research with the University of Vienna (Austria), specializing in behavioral ecology and host-parasite interactions.

She has always had a keen interest in working on health and conservation initiatives of reptiles, especially in the Galapagos Islands. In July 2024, she assumed the role of Senior Researcher, leading the Galapagos Tortoise Movement Ecology Program in research projects on the movement, ecology, and health of giant tortoises. Courtney also maintains collaborations with CDF projects focused on the health of endemic species and ecology of the introduced species.