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My research collaborators and I work on a variety of projects.  You may also browse other pages with my current postdocs and students, former postdocs and grad students, former undergraduate researchers, and previous research projects.

 

Links are available to my students' dissertations and theses, as well as my research publications.

Current research.

Check out a video description of our recent 2019 paper in Ethology that evaluates whether wind turbines have effects on the noise propagation from male prairie-chickens on the booming grounds. We also explore the function of this 'male chorus'--is it really to advertise the location of the lek to females?

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Radio-marked northern bobwhite quail released in the fall for winter movement, habitat selection, and survival assessment in Colorado. Photo by graduate assistant, Joseph Wolske. 

Grassland landscapes, bird communities, and grazing

I have worked for several years with colleagues in UNL's range program, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, and in the School of Natural Resources on grassland birds in the Sandhills region of Nebraska.  We sought this unique system, because of the lack of research on birds in the Sandhills.  It is the largest contiguous grassland in North America.  In the past, we have worked on waterfowl, songbirds, and prairie-chickens. 

 

Our most recent project assessed a vast landscape--across ranches and different landowners--to assess the variability of bird communities as a function of grazing systems and the underlying topographic variation of the Sandhills. We also conducted human dimensions research to better understand the users of the land in the Great Plains and their decision process.

I am currently a part of a 3-state team seeking funding with USDA for a Collaborative Adaptive Management research and outreach project based on university properties. This new project will build on the results of our previous work. 

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Non-breeding season dynamics of northern bobwhites

Following several years of work with pheasants and prairie-chickens in Nebraska, I began a collaboration with Colorado Parks and Wildlife to investigate the importance of non-breeding season dynamics on populations of northern bobwhites at Tamarack Ranch State Wildlife Area in northeastern Colorado. 

We are investigating survival patterns and habitat use of bobwhite in this unique linear riparian habitat along the Platte River. 

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Tern and plover Conservation Partnership
Long-term turtle population dynamics

UNL is host to the Tern and Plover Conservation Partnership, which was led for many years by my late colleague, Dr. Mary Bomberger Brown. In 2020, I served as interim coordinator of the Partnership and supervised the field monitoring of nests on sand and gravel mines along the Platte River in eastern Nebraska. Dr. Mark Vrtiska is now the Coordinator, but I remain engaged as a participant in these efforts--including assisting with analysis of data.  

In 2005, I started a long-term monitoring project of western painted turtles near Keystone, Nebraska.  I use the project for classes and undergraduate student projects.  We have marked and recaptured turtles in the population since 2005, and a nice set of data is developing from this project that can be used to answer questions about turtle fidelity to ponds during periods of varying climate conditions.  Students have looked at stress hormones, diets, movements, and fluctuating asymmetry within the larger scope of the project.

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