Spatial Conservation
As quantitative ecologists with a spatial focus, our group typically creates spatial products that guide aspects of wildlife management & conservation or informs policy & decision making.
01
Creating robust predictions of CWD risk
CWD is spreading across the southeastern U.S . A fatal disease in infected deer, our team is looking to create predictions of this diseases' transmission across the landscape as a function of deer movement and known disease properties. We are starting on a pilot state with lots of data for deer that can help create these predictions: the state of Mississippi.
02
Black Skimmer and Least Tern Conservation
Following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the northern
Gulf of Mexico, efforts to restore damaged ecosystems and wildlife populations have been numerous and wide-ranging. Two coastal seabird species that have been identified as needing research and conservation action are Least Terns and Black Skimmers as many knowledge gaps about their life histories remain in affected coastal regions. Our team aims to describe Tern and Skimmer foraging patterns, movements, and demographic patterns to better inform stewardship and management efforts along the Mississippi coast.
03
Catfish Movement & Disease Susceptibility
Understanding how catfish move and behave is a daunting task given their lack of observability within the murky ponds they inhabit. Our team (in collaboration with USDA-ARS researcher Brian Ott) are working to use biologging technology to understand [1] how catfish respond to temporal changes in pond temperature and oxygen levels and [2] how changes in movement and behavior influence their susceptibility to disease. Our work aims to create best practice recommendations to enhance catfish production systems.