Reyhane Rastgoo

Conservation Social Scientist Interested in Human Dimensions of Natural Resources and Human-Wildlife Interactions.

About

I am Reyhane Rastgoo, a Ph.D. student in the Fish and Wildlife Conservation program at Virginia Tech, working in Dr. Ashley Dayer's Human Dimensions Lab. I hold a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and a master’s in Biodiversity Conservation and Management from the University of Tehran, Iran. As a conservation social scientist, my research focuses on the intersection of conservation and social science, particularly the human dimensions of natural resources and human-wildlife interactions. As a Graduate Research Assistant at Virginia Tech, I am investigating the motivations behind longleaf pine landowners' participation in the Conservation Reserve Program.

Education

Ph.D. Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. 2024-Present.M.S. Biodiversity Conservation, University of Tehran, Karaj, Alborz, Iran. 2021B.S. Environmental Science, University of Tehran, Karaj, Alborz, Iran. 2019

Research Interest

  • Human Dimensions of Natural Resources

  • Human Dimensions of Wildlife

  • Quantitative Social Research

  • Qualitative Social Research

  • Human-Wildlife Conflict

Publications

  • Rastgoo, R., Oppong, D. K., Allred, S., Holland, K., & Dayer, A. A. (2025). A Practitioner’s Guide to Landowner Participation in the Longleaf Pine Restoration and the Conservation Reserve Program. Blacksburg, VA: Virginia Tech.

  • Rastgoo, R., Nayeri, D., Mohammadi, A., Bath, A. J., & Farhadinia, M. S. (2025). Who welcomes the bear: Evidence for a disconnect between attitudes and acceptability of killing brown bears. People and Nature, 7, 2106-2118.

  • Nayeri, D., Rastgoo, R., Mohammadi, A., Farhadinia, M. S., Bruskotter, J. T., & Vucetich, J. A. (2025). The influence of culpability, harm to animals, and professional education on attitudes about killing animals in the name of conservation. Biological Conservation, 307, 111204.

  • Nayeri, D., Arianejad, M., Rastgoo, R. (2022). Challenges of Human-Bear Conflict Management: Case Studies from Iran. International Bear News. (Vol. 31 no. 3, Pp 21-22).

  • Rastgoo, R., Nayeri, D., Mohammadi, A., Bath., A. J., Alizade Shabani, A. (2021). Attitudes toward Brown bear (Ursus arctos) in Northern Iran. International Bear News. (Vol. 30 no. 3, Pp 18-19).

Welcome to the photo album of my master's thesis, titled "A Study of Attitudes of Local Communities in Rural Areas of Golestan Province toward Brown Bears"