READINGS
LISTCurrent students:
Lindsey Rich earned her BS in WIldlife Biology (2005) from Colorado State University. Lindsey is pursuing a MS in WIldlife Biology at the University of Montana, assisting in the development of monitoring protocols for wolves in Montana and studying spatial behavior of wolf packs under different ecological and management scenarios.
Bill Sparklin earned a BS in Environmental Biology as well as a BS in Applied Geography from Millersville University of Pennsylvania. Bill is pursuing a MS in Wildlife Biology at the University of Montana, studying the behavior, distribution, and habitat relationships of a manipulated feral hog population.
Barbara McCall earned a BS in Wildlife Resources from the University of Idaho in 2002. After working as a wildlife technician with Idaho Fish and Game for 4 years, she has returned to academia to pursue a MS in Wildlife Biology at the University of Montana. Barb's research will focus on using genetic tools to understand demography of a populatrion of black bears living in the Idaho panhandle.
Ben Jimenez earned a BS in Natural Sciences from the University of Puget Sound in 2000. He has performed extensive field work on fishers working with the Rocky Mountain Research Center and is currently pursuing a MS in Wildlife Biology at the University of Montana. Ben will be studying the behavior and management of black bears at the urban/wildlands interface.
Chris Hammond earned his BS in WIldlife Biology from the University of Montana
in 2004 and began his work on a MS degree shortly thereafter. His research
is investigating the use of demographic and landscape analysis to guide conservation
planning for common loons in Montana.
Past students:
Lara Brongo earned her BS in Environmental and Forest Biology (concentration in Wildlife) in 2000 from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. She began her graduate work at Auburn in Fall 2001 and completed her MS in Wildlife Science at Auburn University in December 2003. Her research evaluated changes in population growth rate for a protected population of black bears over a 22 year period, how changes in survival and reproduction contributed to changes in the growth rate, and how baited trapping in the vicinity of bait station sampling can bias estimates of relative abundance. Her work resulted in 3 manuscripts, 2 of which have been published and the third is under review for publication in peer-reviewed journals.
Nick Sharp earned his BS in Biology from the University of Alabama in Huntsville in 2001. He began work toward his MS in Wildlife Science at Auburn University in 2001 and graduated in 2004. Nick's research used intensive population modeling to evaluarte how small mammals characteristic of the longleaf pine ecosystem respond to management for fire and fire alternatives. Nick's work employed novel analytical methods to explore stand- and landscape-scale influences and source/sink dynamics on the populations he studied. His research resulted in 2 manuscripts submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals.
Melissa Reynolds earned her BS in Wildlife Biology from Colorado State University in 2000 and is working toward her PhD in Wildlife Science at Auburn University. She is interested in understanding how forestry practices affect habitat for black bears, whether and how bears respond to these changes in habitat, and how spatio-temporal patterns in habitat affect quality and use. Melissa was selected as one of Auburn University's top 10 outstanding doctoral students for 2004-2005. She successfully defended her dissertation in May 2006. Her research has resulted in 8 manuscripts in various levels of acceptance in scientific journals.
Laura Hanson earned her BS in Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology from the University of California, Davis in 2001. She earned her MS in Wildlife Science at Auburn University in 2006, her research was on the demography response of a feral hog population subjected to experimental lethal control. Laura's work showed that intensive removal of feral pigs resulted in compensatory increases in recruitment, primarily through emigration. She also showed that any removal program that did not focus intensively on juveniles could hope, at best, to only slow population growth. Her research has resulted in 2 manuscripts currently in review with scientific journals.