Quantitative Ecology
I developed an interest in quantitative ecology during my undergrad studies at Colorado State University. After several field seasons post-graduation, my interest was strengthened as I learned about the many large datasets gathered over the years within various agencies, and among different study areas. These datasets often sit idle due to a lack of expertise and/or time to commit to learning new methods, so I decided to take a crack at one myself.
I joined Dr. William's quantitative ecology lab at the University of Nevada, Reno, and was fortunate to work with a mule deer GPS collar dataset gathered over eight years in Mojave National Preserve in California. These data consisted of about 200 animals and just under one million locations. Despite being analyzed in chunks as it was collected, there were, and always will be, unanswered questions. Over the span of my master's degree, my time was spent developing a Bayesian hierarchical model to describe animal movement in relation to landscape features, with the goal of increasing resource managers' understanding of the importance of these landscape features while also adding to the movement ecology literature by looking through a statistical lens.
Despite primarily working in a Bayesian framework, my curriculum was dominated by courses in the Mathematics and Statistics department so I am able to interpret and implement frequentist analyses as well. If you are in interested in quantitative ecology, or any type of data science, please feel free to reach out to me!
I joined Dr. William's quantitative ecology lab at the University of Nevada, Reno, and was fortunate to work with a mule deer GPS collar dataset gathered over eight years in Mojave National Preserve in California. These data consisted of about 200 animals and just under one million locations. Despite being analyzed in chunks as it was collected, there were, and always will be, unanswered questions. Over the span of my master's degree, my time was spent developing a Bayesian hierarchical model to describe animal movement in relation to landscape features, with the goal of increasing resource managers' understanding of the importance of these landscape features while also adding to the movement ecology literature by looking through a statistical lens.
Despite primarily working in a Bayesian framework, my curriculum was dominated by courses in the Mathematics and Statistics department so I am able to interpret and implement frequentist analyses as well. If you are in interested in quantitative ecology, or any type of data science, please feel free to reach out to me!
Movement Ecology
Animal movement is one of the most interesting aspects of ecology for me. Understanding where they are and why is a great step in seeing inside the mind of an animal! For some, resource selection seems simple - but for others, it can answer complex questions about metabolic needs, temporal and seasonal behavior, and the cultural nature of some species.
While working on a long-term waterfowl project in Suisun Marsh in California, I was able to gain first-hand experience tagging and tracking ducklings. While ducklings themselves may not always make conscious choices about their movement and habitat selection, they are able to adapt to changing landscapes - to a point. Understanding where these points occur gets us closer to understanding waterfowl breeding ecology and management needs. We also deployed transmitters on adult female waterfowl, Northern Harriers, and common nest predators (skunks and raccoons).
In my master's research, we had enough animal movement data to truly link behavior to movement in addition to resource selection. Linking behavior requires more data and uses different methods - it's really cool! If you have an interest in animal movement, either practically or on an analytical level, feel free to reach out!
While working on a long-term waterfowl project in Suisun Marsh in California, I was able to gain first-hand experience tagging and tracking ducklings. While ducklings themselves may not always make conscious choices about their movement and habitat selection, they are able to adapt to changing landscapes - to a point. Understanding where these points occur gets us closer to understanding waterfowl breeding ecology and management needs. We also deployed transmitters on adult female waterfowl, Northern Harriers, and common nest predators (skunks and raccoons).
In my master's research, we had enough animal movement data to truly link behavior to movement in addition to resource selection. Linking behavior requires more data and uses different methods - it's really cool! If you have an interest in animal movement, either practically or on an analytical level, feel free to reach out!
Predator Ecology
My PhD research focuses on coastal bobcat ecology in the southeastern US. I have been fortunate enough to work with several predator species during my career - black-footed ferrets, skunks, raccoons, and now bobcats - and I find that mesopredators hold a very special place in our world. They are adaptable, have complex social boundaries, and are extremely important in the balance of our ecosystems.
In the southeastern US, barrier islands dot the coastline. These barrier islands support numerous species of birds, reptiles, mammals, least of which is the bobcat! These islands are also attractive to people due to their beauty, and intense development often directly borders valuable wildlife habitat. I aim to understand the effects of human development, which can include habitat fragmentation or encroachment, alteration of prey communities, and introduction of rodenticides, on a population of bobcats on one of these barrier islands. My research will focus primarily on Kiawah Island near Charleston, SC, but will include several other barrier islands along the coast.
In the southeastern US, barrier islands dot the coastline. These barrier islands support numerous species of birds, reptiles, mammals, least of which is the bobcat! These islands are also attractive to people due to their beauty, and intense development often directly borders valuable wildlife habitat. I aim to understand the effects of human development, which can include habitat fragmentation or encroachment, alteration of prey communities, and introduction of rodenticides, on a population of bobcats on one of these barrier islands. My research will focus primarily on Kiawah Island near Charleston, SC, but will include several other barrier islands along the coast.
