Personal Summary

My main interests comprise wildlife management and conservation through research and field work. Primary avenues of my investigation revolve around reintroduction biology and the influence of translocation on: animal movement and habitat selection, behavioral and physiological stress response, population dynamics and conservation genetics. Population restoration is an increasingly common tactic in wildlife conservation and becoming even more prevalent as climate, land use and habitat availability continue to shift. I am working on elk restoration to the Missouri Ozarks under Dr. Josh Millspaugh throughout my tenure here at UM.

Education

M.Sc. in Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, 2015

B.Sc. in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology, Michigan State University, 2013

Ph.D. in Wildlife Biology, University of Montana, 2021

Research Interests

My main interests comprise wildlife conservation and management through research and field work. Primary avenues of my investigation revolve around reintroduction biology and the influence of translocation on: animal movement and habitat selection, behavioral and physiological stress response, population dynamics and conservation genetics. Population restoration is an increasingly common tactic in wildlife conservation and becoming even more prevalent as climate, land use and habitat availability continue to shift.

Selected Publications

Pero, E., M. C. Chitwood, A. M. Hildreth, L. C. Breuner, B. J. Keller, J. A. Sumners, L. P. Hansen, J. L. Isabelle, and J. J. Millspaugh. Physiological acclimation of elk (Cervus canadensis) to restoration. In Press. Conservation Physiology. Pero, E., M. C. Chitwood, A. M. Hildreth, L. K. Berkman, B. J. Keller, J. A. Sumners, L. P. Hansen, J. L. Isabelle, L. S. Eggert, C. L. Titus, and J. J. Millspaugh. 2021. Acclimation of elk (Cervus canadensis) mating system following restoration to the Missouri Ozarks, U.S.A. Restoration Ecology. In Production, doi: 10.1111/rec.13623 Pero, E., D. A., Bell, Z. L. Robinson, M. C. Chitwood, A. M. Hildreth, L. K. Berkman, B. J. Keller, J. A. Sumners, L. P. Hansen, J. L. Isabelle, L. S. Eggert, C. L. Titus, and J. J. Millspaugh. 2021. One size does not fit all: genetic considerations from the Missouri elk restoration. Conservation Science & Policy, e598. https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.598 Pero, E., and J. F. Hare. 2018. Costs of Franklin’s ground squirrel (Poliocitellus franklinii) ectoparasitism reveal adaptive sex allocation. Canadian Journal of Zoology 96 (6): 585-591. Pero, E., and J. F. Hare. 2017. Demography and life history of a Manitoba, Delta Marsh population Franklin’s ground squirrels (Poliocitellus franklinii). Canadian Wildlife Biology & Management 6(1) 42-52.