Research Projects

One of the principal challenges free-ranging animals face is acquiring information about earth’s resources, which are generally patchily distributed and seasonal in nature. In learning about the environment, animals reduce uncertainty and can make informed behavioral decisions about where to find resources and mates, how to evade predation, and move and forage efficiently. The acquisition of information (learning) and subsequent use of it is thus key to individual fitness. In this work I aim to understand what spatial information is learned and how this information influences movement and space use behavior. One particular focus is exploratory behavior and what conditions engender exploration.

Can behavior buffer the effects of a warming climate for large, heat sensitive mammals? In this work we first evaluated the selection of summer day bed sites by moose at the southern extent of their range. We analyzed selection for particular bed site characteristics with the potential to mitgate heat stress. We then used a biophysical model to evaluate the effectiveness of those sites in reducing the risk of overheating. We further evaluated home range selection in regard to heat stress and other risk factors.

Determining which predator species is responsible for killing livestock is important for determining appropriate management actions, especially when there is overlap with predator species of conservation concern. A variety of information can be used to decipher which carnivore species was responsible for making a kill, and mandibular (upper) and maxillary (lower) intercanine width measurements (i.e., bite mark analysis) can aid this process. No research has been conducted to validate the usefulness of bite mark analysis; thus, we used dentition measurements from Mexican wolves, coyotes , feral dogs, bobcats, mountain lions, and gray foxes and an overlap coefficient to evaluate the degree of overlap in intercanine width between these species.

Despite growing attention, diversity in STEM  fields has been declining over the past 20 years and this is especially true for women. The leaky pipeline for women in the sciences starts as early as primary school, however, during undergrad, this problem persists with lower retention rates in STEM fields and fewer women continuing to careers in STEM. Undergraduate Field Experiences (UFEs) are one method to improve, if not fix, the leaky pipeline and are known to improve student attitudes, skillsets, retention in undergraduate programs, as well as increase the likelihood of students continuing to graduate degree programs. We offered a weeklong program, called Women in the Field, for undergraduate students in Wyoming. The program, led by female-identifying faculty, graduate students, and scientists, taught students basic field skills and safety in a combined classroom and field setting. Students learned from a diverse group of scientists thereby improved confidence, built community, and applied newly gained skills. Students then followed-up throughout the school year with the co-PI’s to work on resume building and applying for summer field positions. Our aim was to help female-identifying students not only prepare for careers in STEM, but also gain the awareness of opportunities, confidence to apply, and skillsets to succeed. Read more here.

We investigated the influence of human development and weather on hibernation in black bears, a species of high management concern, whose behaviour is strongly tied to natural food availability, anthropogenic foods around development and variation in annual weather conditions. Using GPS collar data from 131 den events of adult female bears (n = 51), we employed fine-scale, animalspecific habitat information to evaluate the relative and cumulative influence of natural food availability, anthropogenic food and weather on the start, duration and end of hibernation.

While working at Fort Lewis College (FLC), I along with partners at the US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, US National Park Service, Southwest Conservation Corps, and Mountain Studies Institute, created a new internship program to get local students paid experience with federal agencies. This was the first program of its kind at FLC and was wildly successful; it continues to run today. Colleagues at SW Conservation Corps, Mountain Studies Institute, and I were given the Cultural Transformation Award by the USFS for our efforts in designing and implementing the program. You can read more about it here and here.