Disciplines

Ecology and Conservation Biology 

Mammal behavior, population dynamics, ecosystem interactions

Anthropology 

Indigenous knowledge systems, cultural practices, community-based conservation

Biodiversity economies

Resource management, sustainability, wildlife economics

By working closely with Indigenous Maijuna communities in the Peruvian Amazon, Dr. Brian M. Griffiths, an Assistant Teaching Professor at the Earth Commons, studies mineral licks—critical wildlife resources—and examines how traditional hunting practices, cultural values, and local conservation efforts influence biodiversity. By combining field ecology, community engagement, and interdisciplinary methods, their work aims to advance conservation strategies that respect cultural knowledge, sustain wildlife populations, and inform global environmental solutions.

Impact areas

Where we work

The lab is focused on the Maijuna-Kichwa Regional Conservation Area (MKRCA) in the Peruvian Amazon. The region lies in the Napo-Putumayo corridor, northeast of the city of Iquitos, the capital of the Department of Loreto in Peru.

Research areas

News & Stories

Read all

All, In the Press

The Conversation: A mais nova área protegida da Amazônia peruana e os povos que dependem dela enfrentam uma ameaça existencial

O governo peruano aprovou este mês a criação de uma nova Área de Conservação Regional (ACR): o Medio Putumayo Algodón, localizada no corredor Napo-Putumayo, perto da fronteira do Peru com a Colômbia, a nordeste da cidade amazônica de Iquitos.

July 31, 2025

All, Common Home Series, International, University Stories

Food, Culture, and Conservation in Maijuna Lands

This memoir is a creative account of Dr. Brian Griffiths’s research on mammal ecology and conservation conducted in collaboration with the Indigenous Maijuna people of Peru.

March 15, 2024

All, University Stories

What It’s Like to Live in the Amazon for Three Weeks

For three weeks in July, Gleeson and her team — led by Brian Griffiths, an assistant teaching professor in the Earth Commons, and in conjunction with the Amazon Center for Environmental Education and Research, OnePlanet, the Detroit Zoological Society and the Maijuna Federation — ventured into the rainforest to study mammalian species in the Amazon.

August 15, 2023

Contact

brian.griffiths@georgetown.edu

Publications

^† Student authors

Griffiths, B. M., Dimitrie, D., Schierbeek, E.^†, Chinchilla Perez, E.^†, Nirenblatt, E^†., Arcos Cano, N., & Gilmore, M. P. 2025. Proposed highway in the Peruvian Amazon threatens vulnerable Indigenous communities and their lands. Ambio.

Briceño Huerta, F., Gilmore, M. P., Bowler, M., & Griffiths, B. M. 2025. Socioeconomic drivers of wild meat consumption in Iquitos, Peru. Conservation Biology.

Griffiths, B. M., Stabach, J., & Kolowski, J. 2025. Perceived predation risk affects mammal behavior at Amazonian mineral licks. BioTropica. 57:e70009. 

Gilmore, M. P., Schierbeek, E.^†, Wingfield, A., & Griffiths, B. M. 2025. A rush to pave the Peruvian Amazon: Bypassing the law, a highway megadevelopment project threatens Indigenous land rights and biocultural resources. Georgetown Journal of International Affairs.

Griffiths, B. M., Luther, D., & Pollock, H. 2025. Mineral licks: An overlooked model system for studying species interactions. BioTropica. 57(1) e70003.

Griffiths, B. M., Hansbrough, G.^†, Griffiths, L., Valderrama, D., & Gilmore, M. P. 2024. Drivers of geophagy of large-bodied Amazonian herbivorous and frugivorous mammals. Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-80237-0

Hogan, K. M.^†, Gilmore, M. P., McCarron, G. P., Griffiths, B. M., Koehler, J. W., Garcia, G. A., & von Fricken, M. 2024. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding malaria transmission and prevention in an Indigenous Maijuna community: A qualitative study in the Peruvian Amazon. Malaria Journal. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-024-05121-8

Goodale, A.^†, Gilmore, M. P., & Griffiths, B. M. 2024. 21^st-century stewardship: Infusing environmental stewardship education with global citizenship to further its relevance in an increasingly globalized society. Environmental Education Research.

Arruda, L. G. L.^†, Hermance, P., Cox, J., Benson, E., Griffiths, B. M. … & Papettas, C.^† 2024. Planetary health and intercultural learning in a residential experience with K-12 teachers. In Growing green hearts: Inspiring the next generation with planetary health education. The Planetary Health Alliance. 

Griffiths, B. M., Griffiths, L. G., Jin, Y., & Gilmore, M. P. 2024. Drivers of geophagy of the red brocket deer (Mazama americana) at Amazonian interior forest mineral licks. Ecology and Evolution. 

Duvall, E.^†, Griffiths, B. M., Abraham, A., & Clauss, M. 2023. Allometry of sodium requirements and mineral lick use among herbivorous mammals. Oikos. 

Griffiths, B. M., Gilmore, M. P., & Bowler, M. 2023. Hunter territoriality creates refuges for threatened primates. Environmental Conservation, 50:2, 93-98.

Griffiths, B. M., Gonzales, T., & Gilmore, M. P. 2023. Spatiotemporal variation in hunting in a riverine Indigenous community in the Amazon. Biodiversity and Conservation, 32, 1005-1018.

Griffiths, B. M., Jin, Y., Griffiths, L., & Gilmore, M. P. 2022. Physical, landscape, and chemical properties of natural interior forest Amazonian mineral licks. Environmental Geochemistry and Health. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-022-01412-8

Griffiths, B. M.  & Gilmore, M. P. 2022. Differential use of game species in an Indigenous Amazonian community: Navigating economics, subsistence, and social norms. Journal of Ethnobiology. https://doi.org/10.2993/0278-0771-42.3.3