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Maine Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit |
Current Graduate Students
Erynn Call, PhD candidate Paul Damkot, MS candidate I am currently investigating the effects of riparian characteristics on terrestrial invertebrate input and brook trout bioenergetics in headwater streams of Maine and New Hampshire. Many of these streams are cold, nutrient-poor and unproductive, thereby providing an inadequate aquatic invertebrate prey base to support brook trout persistence. Therefore, it is highly likely that brook trout residing in these streams rely heavily on terrestrial invertebrate subsidies not only for growth and reproduction, but also for metabolic maintenance and survival. Previous studies have shown that terrestrial invertebrate input varies among areas with different riparian characteristics, and an existing bioenergetics model has been used to quantify the amount of brook trout growth that can be attributed to consumption of terrestrial invertebrates. However, this project will be the first to investigate the combined responses of terrestrial invertebrates and salmonine bioenergetics to variation in riparian characteristics and the first to be conducted in the northeastern United States. Previous Research Experience: As an undergraduate, I worked as a student intern and technician at the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute for three years. This sanctuary and research facility houses four chimpanzees that have acquired some of the signs of American Sign Language. My responsibilities included participating in the daily care of the chimpanzees, ensuring their psychological well being by providing various enrichment activities, supervising other student interns and assisting graduate students with thesis data collection. After graduating from Central Washington University, I spent two years working for a small, private consulting firm that conducts fisheries research for a variety of state, federal and Native American agencies. Most of this research focused on Chinook salmon in the Yakima and Cle Elum Rivers. Thomas Danielson, PhD
candidate (part-time) The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (MDEP), Biological Monitoring Program evaluates the condition of Maine's streams, rivers, and wetlands by sampling the communities of aquatic macroinvertebrates (e.g., mayflies, stoneflies) at specific locations. The Biological Monitoring Program uses the biological information with supporting chemical, physical, and landscape data to determine if streams and rivers are achieving the aquatic life goals assigned to them under the State's Water Classification System (e.g., Class A, Class B, Class C). The purpose of my project is to develop an algal biological assessment tool to assess the condition of streams and rivers and to provide additional information for management decisions. Previous Research Experience: I am currently an Aquatic biologist with the MDEP, Biological Monitoring Program where I assess the conditions of rivers, streams, and wetlands by examining their resident biological communities. Before moving to Maine, I was an ecologist with the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Wetland Division in Washington, D. C. While there, I helped states develop wetland bioassessment methods, created an Index of Biotic Integrity for stream fish in northern Virginia, and participated in a wetland bioassessment project in Maryland involving amphibians, macroinvertebrates, and vascular plants. At other times in the past, I was a research assistant with projects related to breeding birds in the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (New Hampshire), forest birds in Belize, and gypsy moths and small mammals in the Quabbin Reservoir (Massachusetts). Sarah Drahovzal, MS candidate I am studying the ecology and habitat requirements of shrubby cinquefoil (Dasiphora floribunda), the sole host plant of the state endangered Clayton’s copper butterfly (Lycaena dorcas claytoni). Little is known about environmental characteristics that affect the distribution and population ecology of this plant, which occurs in circumneutral fens in Maine. I will be studying characteristics of shrubby cinquefoil and the fen habitat at sites occupied by Clayton’s copper, as well as at sites that are unoccupied by the butterfly, but are apparently suitable for the host plant. The ultimate goal of this study is to better understand the ecology of the host plant in order to develop habitat management recommendations for the benefit of Clayton's copper butterfly. Previous Research Experience: While taking post-baccalaureate classes in Biological Sciences at Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA, I conducted an independent research project on the riparian zone of South River located in the metro Atlanta area. In this study I described the composition and structure of the tree and seedling patterns in the riparian zone as well as looked for soil nutrient and pH gradients that could account for these patterns. David Ellis, MS candidate My research will focus on amphibian communities utilizing fishless lakes and vernal pools in Maine’s central mountain region. My work will complement the work by a PhD candidate examining similar systems in Maine’s eastern foothills. In addition to documenting amphibian community composition between fish-containing and fishless lakes, I will be particularly focused on the influence of adjacent habitat parameters (e.g. wetland area and connectivity) on reproductive effort for Maine’s vernal pool indicator species: wood frog (Rana sylvatica), spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum), and blue-spotted salamander (Ambystoma laterale). This project will also examine the terrestrial habitat use of wood frogs to determine beneficial habitat characteristics and migration distances in this biophysical region of Maine. The project will ultimately contribute to amphibian conservation by providing biologically relevant data to inform land use practices in montane environments that will support pool-breeding amphibian populations. Previous Research Experience: As an undergraduate I participated in numerous research projects in Maine. I worked on the ongoing LEAP (Land-use Effects on Amphibian Populations) project using mark-recapture to study the dispersal of amphibians through different forestry treatments, as well as microhabitat selection by juvenile wood frogs. I’ve spent my fair share of days counting snowshoe hare pellets for the ongoing hare-lynx study in northern Maine examining forest practice influence on hare abundance and subsequent lynx population responses. Also in northern Maine I assisted on a research project conducting callback surveys, radio-telemetry, and mist netting of the rapidly-declining rusty blackbird. As an undergraduate with the university’s chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology I helped initiate an annual wetland survey of the lower Penobscot River, estimating size and boundaries of wetlands and recording species diversity to hopefully document changes in littoral wetlands after completion of the Penobscot River Restoration Project. Cory Gardner, MS candidate Dimitry Gorsky,
PhD candidate My project is investigating possible causes for local declines in Lake Whitefish populations throughout Maine focusing on model lakes in the Allagash Watershed in northern Maine. State biologists have documented declining populations in many lakes in Maine. Once a favorite target for ice fishermen, whitefish are now found in only 75 lakes in Maine, with only 18 providing a sports fishery. Whether man’s earlier exploitation of the lake whitefish population had anything to do with their present abundance cannot be proved. Water level changes, introduction of competing and/or prey species, or other natural phenomenon may be contributing factors. I will be investigating competitive and predatory interactions between lake whitefish and rainbow smelt. I will also be compiling historic data on whitefish lakes to develop a model that may explain ecological food web based stability which may allow smelt and whitefish to coexist in some lakes. Finally, I will be observing spatial and temporal movements of lake whitefish in two model lake systems in order to identify year round habitat use. Previous Research Experience: Masters thesis - For my masters thesis I described upstream movement of sea-run Atlantic salmon in the Penobscot River, Maine. I related transit speed through the river system to environmental factors and observed path choice of individuals based on stocking locations. In this study I used TIRIS PIT tag technology which allowed me to passively monitor over 1600 fish using a series on nine fishways ranging over 100 kilometers of river. Margaret Guyette, PhD candidate Current Research: My research examines the role of marine derived nutrients (MDNs) in freshwater ecosystems within the Penobscot River watershed, Maine. Anadromous fish runs have declined over the past 200 years as a result of overfishing, pollution, and increased barriers to migration in the form of dams. These declines have decreased the transfer of MDNs into the freshwater systems. This research will include two projects that will document the presence of MDNs indicating historic anadromous fish runs in Penobscot River watershed lakes and determine the influence of MDNs on Atlantic salmon nursery streams in the Penobscot River watershed. In the first project, lake sediment cores will be used to examine the historic presence of MDNs and document MDN absence in these lakes concurrent with declining anadromous fish populations. In the second project, first-order Atlantic salmon nursery streams will be stocked with Atlantic salmon and MDNs will be added to examine the community productivity response through Atlantic salmon growth and macroinvertebrate and algal biomass. Together, these projects will reveal how MDNs integrate into freshwater ecosystems in the Penobscot River watershed, which may inform restoration efforts currently under way. Previous Research Experience: My Masters project involved using stable isotopes, community structure, and metal concentrations to examine aquatic communities in an historic mining district in Cooke City, Montana. The project developed out of an undergraduate thesis examining food web structure and copper contamination in this same system. As an undergraduate I was also involved in research at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, specifically looking at female compensation in feeding rates in the absence of males at Black-throated Blue Warbler nests. Before coming back to graduate school, I was an environmental educator in Grand Teton National Park, a high school science teacher in northeastern Vermont and Blue Hill, Maine, and an education coordinator for a non-profit in coastal Maine. Jeremiah "Jed" Hayden, MS candidate My project is aimed at determining long-term population trends of secretive march birds in southern and central Maine wetlands. I will be using birds fixed with radio transmitters to determine accurate detectability rates for call back surveys. I am also looking at habitat factors limiting the population of least bitterns, common moorhens, and pied-billed grebes in Maine. Previous Research Experience: Populations of saw-whet and boreal owls in northern Idaho; diet of northern flying squirrels in central Idaho; canvasback productivity in Ruby lake National Wildlife Refuge, Nevada; botulism in marshes of the prairie potholes of North Dakota; transferability of avian cholera in captive mallards at the National Wildlife Health Center Madison, Wisconsin; productivity of piping plovers on Long Island, NY; American lobster population and migration aboard the F/V Rebecca EB Long Island, NY. Janice Huebner, MS candidate Wild turkey behavior and crop depredation in wild blueberry agrosystems in Maine Wild turkeys were once extirpated from Maine and reintroduction efforts have restored them throughout the state. In recent years wild blueberry growers in Maine began expressing concern over wild turkeys damaging their blueberry crop. Due to the wild turkey’s conspicuous, diurnal behavior and use of field habitats they are often perceived to be responsible for agricultural damage. My research will determine the concerns, attitudes, and beliefs of Maine’s commercial blueberry growers towards wild turkeys. I will also study wild turkey behavior and foraging, estimate rates of blueberry crop loss from wild turkeys and wildlife, and identify other wildlife species responsible for major wild blueberry damages. Previous Research Experience: As an undergraduate at UNH, I worked on white-tailed deer, moose, and wild turkey research projects. I spent two seasons with the Utah Division of Wildlife in southern Utah as a wildlife technician and served on a variety of projects concerning native and threatened/endangered wildlife. These projects required sampling, surveying, banding, and monitoring many species including fishes of the Virgin River watershed, desert tortoise, ferruginious hawks, peregrine falcons, MAPS bird banding, southwestern willow flycatchers, pygmy rabbits, and Utah prairie dogs. I spent a season with the U.S. Forest Service out of Petersburg, Alaska conducting northern goshawks and marbled murrelets surveys. Jessica Spelke Jansujwicz, PhD candidate My research focuses on the theory and practice of collaborative watershed management. In theory, a collaborative approach is a logical framework for decision-making and action. Heralded as a preferred alternative to the regulation/litigation model embodied in the Clean Water Act and similar legislation, partnerships are highly acclaimed for their ability to achieve better environmental outcomes. In practice, however, partnerships between government and private interests represent a new form of management tool with uncertain success. I am interested in bridging the gap between theory and practice by comparing local cases of community based management (with an emphasis on small, isolated wetlands) to the theoretical level. I am also interested in the link between private property and the protection of a common good (wetland functions and values). The overall goal of my research is to offer a set of recommendations for designing a participatory decision-making process producing effective policy outcomes and “on-the-ground” changes in wetland resources. Previous research experience: As an undergraduate I studied population structure, growth and fecundity of the salt marsh snail (Melampus bidentatus). Graduate work has included baseline ecological surveys for a salt marsh restoration project in Rhode Island, a site conservation plan for a tidal wetland on the lower Connecticut River, and research on the private property rights movement. Most recently, I was a graduate fellow with the Association of State Floodplain Managers . My research focused on the implications of the property rights movement on flood hazard mitigation and the efficacy of partnership approaches to reconcile competing interests on private lands. David Kazyak, MS candidate My current research focuses on Growth, survival, and movement of brook charr (Salvelinus fontinalis) in coastal Maine Previous research experience: Prior to arriving at Maine, I spent 4 summers working on the Maryland Biological Stream Survey. I also spent two summers in Yellowstone National Park working on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem amphibian monitoring project. While at Frostburg State University, I held several part time jobs, including a research assistant for a book to be titled "Fishes of Maryland". I also worked at the University of Maryland Appalachian Laboratory as a research assistant, primarily collecting and analyzing surface water samples. I conducted an undergraduate research project comparing the effectiveness of nocturnal and diurnal visual encounter surveys for streamside salamanders. Emily S. Knurek, MS candidate The Clayton’s copper butterfly (Lycaena dorcas claytoni Brower) was first discovered in Maine and described as a distinct subspecies in 1940, morphologically different and geographically isolated from the nominate subspecies, Dorcas copper (Lycaena dorcas dorcas Kirby). In 1997, Clayton’s copper was listed as endangered in Maine. Basic information about Clayton’s copper taxonomy and population status is necessary to effectively manage this endangered species. My objectives are to 1) determine the taxonomic status of Clayton’s copper butterfly as a distinct subspecies through morphological and genetic analyses and comparison with nominate species, Dorcas copper and 2) estimate size of Clayton’s copper subpopulations in Maine and establish a baseline for future population monitoring. These data will aid in determining the national and global conservation status of Clayton’s copper and informing conservation planning and recovery efforts. Previous research experience: I worked for the Toledo Zoo's Conservation and Research Department for four field seasons, participating in captive rearing and release programs for two federally endangered and two state endangered butterflies: the Karner blue butterfly, Mitchell's satyr, swamp metalmark, and purplish copper. In addition to daily care of these butterflies and their hostplants as well as population and habitat surveys, I examined feeding preferences for Mitchell's satyr larvae. As a field assistant at BGSU, I conducted behavioral assessments of oviposition for a project that examined the effects of habitat management on the Karner blue. As part of the Brabander Lab at Wellesley College, I examined the concentration, distribution, fate, and transport of heavy metals in contaminated urban soils, local produce, and lake sediments using x-ray fluorescence technology. David Mallett, MS Candidate My research focuses on determining spatial responses of Canada lynx during a decline in snowshoe hare densities. Snowshoe hares are the dominant prey species of Canada lynx and both species will go through a population cycle in the boreal forest. In Maine, it is unknown if this cycle exists, and if so, how similar it is to the cycle found in the boreal forest. However, hare densities have been monitored in northern Maine since 2001 and there is currently a significant decline in hare density. I will focus specifically at how habitat choices, territory, and reproduction are influenced by a decline in hare density by researching ecological responses of lynx that include habitat selection, habitat composition of home ranges, home range size, home range overlap, and recruitment. Comparisons will be made of these repsonses between a high period of hare density to a period of declining hare density. Additionally, another aspect of my research includes determining how the spatial arrangement or patchiness of conifer stems within stands, with a known timber harvest history, influence hare densities. Conifer stem density has been found to be a key vegetation characteristic in determining hare density, but it is unknown how this distribution of conifer stems will influence the distribution of hares within stands. Previous Research Experience: At the University of Missouri I worked as an undergraduate TA for a Dendrology course for two semesters and worked for the U.S. Forest Service in Rifle, CO for one summer as part of a timber cruising crew. After gradaution I spent one month at the Pinon Canyon Manuevering Site in southeastern CO as part of a antelope fawn capture crew. This was part of a coyote sterilization study based out of Utah State University. For the next six months I worked as a radio telemetry technician in Custer State Park, SD where I tracked antelope and bison. Before arriving at the University of Maine I spent time in Grand Teton National Park and the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming working on a moose browse study. Corinne Michaud, PhD candidate The focus of my research is to analyze the genetic structure of Clayton's copper butterfly populations in the state of Maine. Clayton's copper is a state endangered species and is currently found at only eight sites in Maine, however nothing is known about the metapopulation structure of this subspecies. My research will estimate levels of gene flow among sites, which will help us to understand the metapopulation dynamics of Clayton's copper butterfly by estimating levels of dispersal and isolation that contribute to population stability. Results will contribute to efforts to estimate the diversity and size of the Clayton's copper population in the state, and will aid in developing a management strategy for the species in Maine. There is also very little known about the chemistry of the host plant, shrubby cinquefoil, and what ties the Clayton’s copper solely to this plant. As part of an ongoing effort to understand the butterfly-host plant ecology, another component of my research will include a chemical analysis of cinquefoil. This research will aid in the identification of potential defense chemicals or aromatic compounds that may attract the butterflies. Together with the genetic analyses, these data will help us understand the ecology of Clayton's copper subpopulations to ensure persistence of the species in Maine. Previous research experience: My masters thesis focused on evaluating different preservation methods and tissue sample types for future DNA analysis. Tissue samples were taken from decaying pig carcasses and preserved using six different methods. I developed a series of PCR experiments to assay the length of DNA in each sample (quality) and the quantity of DNA in each sample. The preservation methods were compared primarily on the quality of the preserved DNA samples, and secondly on the practicality of using the methods in the field when obtaining tissue samples. The goal of this research was to make recommendations for easily and rapidly preserving high quality tissue samples, in the event of a mass disaster or other situation where tissues must be preserved in remote locations or large quantities. Dawn
Morgan, MS candidate Assessment of vernal pool resources in the town of Orono will offer biologically significant information necessary for informed decisions regarding town planning. Our goal is to engage community members, including high school students, members of the Orono Land Trust, and town officials (conservation commission, town planner, planning board etc.) by training them to assist as citizen scientists with a town wide vernal pool mapping project. We hope that by providing the town with a GIS layer showing the location of vernal pools that meet the criteria to be considered Significant Wildlife Habitat by the Maine Natural Resources Protection Act, and by working with the town planner to incorporate other critical natural community and wildlife habitat data available from the Beginning with Habitat program, we may be able to assist with and encourage a proactive approach to conservation planning at the Town level. Previous research experience: While working on an undergraduate degree, I received funding from the KECK Geology Consortium to study the sedimentology and paleontology of Cambrian age shallow marine deposits in northwestern Wyoming. As a middle school educator I taught the skills necessary for students to collect and contribute data to local, state and national citizen science projects. Field work included amphibian monitoring, nesting bird surveys, forest inventories, and wildlife corridor mapping. As a summer field technician I helped with a project studying the effects of development and disturbance on breeding shorebirds on the arctic coastal plain in Alaska. This past summer I assisted a University of Maine PhD candidate with her research on the role of aquatic habitats (fishless ponds, vernal pools, fish ponds) in supporting amphibian assemblages. Pilar Palacios, PhD candidate The main focus of my doctoral research is wetland conservation. We were asked by the Chilean government to classify Chilean wetlands and prioritize their conservation. For this, we are using a geographical information system to classify wetlands into different ecotypes based on their physical features such as temperature, precipitation, soil permeability, and slope. To determine watershed-based conservation priorities for wetlands, each ecotype will be associated with functions and threats. This information will be combined with data on proximity to populated areas and water extraction to identify a hierarchy of sites to conserve based on landscape-scale characteristics of the wetland. Previous Research Experience: Environmental Biologist Thesis - Effect of forest fragmentation on litterfall production and decomposition, at Los Queules National Reserve, Chile. Biological Advisor on the Marine Environment Observation Program, initiated by the Chilean Navy to monitor the levels of pollution of the country's main ports. Monika Parsons, MS candidate My research focuses on quantifying behavioral responses of Common Eiders, Black Guillemots, Double-crested Cormorants, Great Black-back Gulls and Herring Gulls to eagle presence, research activity, and boat movements around a nesting island in Maine. I also am developing methods for use of remote monitoring equipment (cameras and temperature loggers) to monitor nesting activity on an island without researchers present. The goal of this project is to provide managers with tools and methodology for monitoring seabird responses to disturbances and to provide insight into the possible effects of placing a finfish aquaculture facility near a seabird breeding island. Previous Research Experience: I have worked as a seasonal field technician an a variety of projects including monitoring nesting seabirds at French Frigate Shoals atoll, Northwestern Hawaiian NWR, color banding and re-sighting migrating Ruffs in The Netherlands, monitoring nesting seabirds on Middleton Island, Alaska, monitoring lekking greater sage grouse near Hudson Wyoming, monitoring nesting terns at Monomoy NWR, Massachusetts, and banding passerines and surveying overwintering Monarch Butterflies in Big Sur, California. As an undergraduate I completed a research project comparing 30 years of productivity data from two pelagic cormorant colonies to indices of ocean condition. Dan "Viorel" Popescu, PhD candidate I am investigating the response of amphibian communities to different forest management practices in Maine, specifically at understanding the effects of forest regeneration on habitat use by wood frogs, spotted salamanders and green frogs. Additionally, I am interested in amphibian movements (migration ad dispersal) through the landscape and use of GIS and landscape ecology methods applied to amphibian conservation. Previous Research Experience: I was employed for 5 years at the Center for Environmental Research of the University of Bucharest, were I worked as a research assistant in various conservation projects, including: GIS-based habitat suitability analyses for the protected long-nosed viper and Hermann’s tortoise in the Iron Gates Natural Park, Romania and telemetry study of large carnivores in the Putna-Vrancea Natural Park (southeastern Carpathians). Separately, as part of an environmental NGO, I conducted amphibian and reptile inventories in the Semenic National Park (southwestern Carpathians). My MS thesis research at SUNY-ESF looked at the effects of multiple scale environmental factors and climate change on the distribution of mink frogs in New York State. Kyle Ravana, MS candidate I am studying how urbanization can impact plant and mammal communities, and how that can in turn influence the abundance of ticks, and the prevalence of Lyme disease, along an urban-rural gradient, in the New York Metropolitan area. Habitat fragmentation caused by urbanization has been shown to cause losses in native biodiversity. Loss of biodiversity has been linked to an increase in the density of some generalist species, such as the white-footed mouse. Species such as the white-footed mouse, as well as other small mammals, are often highly competent reservoir hosts for zoonotic pathogens, such as for example Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria responsible for Lyme disease. Thus, an increase in the density of competent reservoirs may result in an increase in the prevalence of B. burgdorferi, and potentially increase the transmission of the disease to people. Because urbanization can have adverse effects upon wildlife communities, as well as the health of people living in urban areas, it has become essential that we further enhance our understanding of urban ecology. Furthermore, relatively few studies have explicitly examined the impacts of urbanization on mammals, parasites, and zoonotic pathogens. Those that did often failed to adequately define what constituted an “urban environment” thereby limiting their utility in comparative studies. This study will allow ecologists, urban planners, and epidemiologists to begin to understand how the mechanistic underpinnings of urbanization influence wildlife, and wildlife diseases. Previous Research Experience: As an undergraduate I worked with NOAA-Fisheries studying the effects of dam removal on riverine ecosystems. I help to design and implement a Before-and-After Control Impact study (BACI) for the Sedgeunkedunk Stream, in the towns of Brewer and Orrington, Maine. Before the removal of two dams on the stream, we collected baseline information on the stream’s fish communities, riparian habitat, water chemistry, invertebrate communities, and shape of the stream channel. I also worked with NOAA and USFWS biologists to trap and VIE tag smolts in Maine’s rivers. Furthermore, I prepared a manuscript to be published in a small, regional journal, discussing the gains in habitat for Maine’s diadromous fish following the removal of two dams on the Penobscot River. This is a matter of great concern, and alone should serve as an impetus for increasing our knowledge of urban environments. However, Thus, I propose to conduct an urban-rural gradient analysis to assess how the proportion of cultivated plant species relative to patch area affects plant and wildlife communities in the New York metropolitan area. I will also quantify the densities of I. scapularis, and the prevalence of individuals infected with B. burgdorferi along the gradient to determine how the changes in the communities influence the bacteria and its vector. Furthermore, most urban-rural analyses have assessed the effects of broad scale measures of urbanization on ecosystems (e.g., population density, proportion impervious surfaces, etc. [McDonnell & Hahs 2008]). Also, it will allow comparisons to be made between different levels of urbanization, and how those urban environments can influence wildlife communities in and around metropolitan areas. My project is investigating possible causes for local declines in Lake Whitefish populations throughout Maine focusing on model lakes in the Allagash Watershed in northern Maine. State biologists have documented declining populations in many lakes in Maine. Once a favorite target for ice fishermen, whitefish are now found in only 75 lakes in Maine, with only 18 providing a sports fishery. Whether man’s earlier exploitation of the lake whitefish population had anything to do with their present abundance cannot be proved. Water level changes, introduction of competing and/or prey species, or other natural phenomenon may be contributing factors. I will be investigating competitive and predatory interactions between lake whitefish and rainbow smelt. I will also be compiling historic data on whitefish lakes to develop a model that may explain ecological food web based stability which may allow smelt and whitefish to coexist in some lakes. Finally, I will be observing spatial and temporal movements of lake whitefish in two model lake systems in order to identify year round habitat use. Kevin Ryan, MS candidate Shonene Scott, MS candidate My research focuses on quantifying and describing the influence of forest management practices on snowshoe hare and Canada lynx populations in Maine. In general, my objectives are to 1) document the variability in snowshoe hares density across forest stands with differing harvest management strategies and histories; 2) examine trends in snowshoe hare density between 2001-2008 in regenerating conifer stands to determine if snowshoe hare populations cycle in Maine as they do in the Boreal forest region; 3) to evaluate the relative importance of location, forest succession, and structural vegetation characteristics in explaining the observed variation in snowshoe hare density in regenerating conifer stands, and specifically to determine if changes in density are synchronized over a geographic area; 4) use available VHF and GPS radio telemetry data to describe the spatial ecology of Canada lynx in Maine relative to changes in snowshoe hare populations. Previous Research Experience: Myotis yumanensis and Myotis lucifugus bats are morphologically similar and difficult to distinguish from one another, resulting in frequent species misidentification in the field. The purpose of my research was to use mtDNA analysis to identify M. yumanensis and M. lucifugus to species in Oregon in order to investigate their geographic distribution and to describe morphological and acoustical similarities and differences between the two species. A portion of the 16s rRNA mtDNA gene was amplified and a RFLP protocol was developed to confirm species identity of each bat using a tissue biopsy collected from each individual bat in the field. Logistic regression models were developed using genetically confirmed species identities to estimate the probability of correct species identification based on morphological, behavioral, and echolocation characteristics. Amanda Shearin, PhD candidate My research examines the effects of fish introductions on amphibian communities in historically fishless lakes in Maine. The objectives of this study are to 1) identify the amphibian species that occur in Maine's naturally fishless lakes, 2) determine if there are differences in amphibian communities of naturally fishless lakes and those that are stocked with fish, 3) determine recruitment success of amphibians typically associated with vernal pools that breed in these lakes, and 4) determine lake characteristics that affect breeding success by vernal pool amphibian species. Previous Research Experience: My M.S. research examined the effects of cropping practices on the abundance and distribution of the beneficial invertebrate weed seed predator Harpalus rufipes DeGeer in Maine. My undergraduate research was based in Kabanjahe, Indonesia, with the International Potato Center (CIP), where I studied the efficacy and adaptation of new methods to control the potato tuber moth (Phthorimaea operculella Zeller) by indigenous farmers. Following graduation, I assisted several marine research projects in Friday Harbor, WA, Discovery Bay, Jamaica, and Nahant, MA. Prior to my graduate studies in Maine, I was an educator and teen volunteer coordinator at the Ecotarium, an environmental learning center and museum in Worcester, MA. While at the museum, I developed and delivered interactive public programs on forest, freshwater, and marine ecology, initiated a teen volunteer amphibian monitoring project, and trained volunteers for public presentations. From 2002 to 2005, I also served as a part-time naturalist and staff scientist aboard whale watching vessels based out of Bar Harbor, ME and Gloucester, MA. Richard "Gus" Wathen, MS candidate I am investigating the competitive interactions between native Atlantic salmon and introduced smallmouth bass. Specifically, I want to determine if juvenile smallmouth bass compete for preferred habitat with juvenile Atlantic salmon, thereby reducing Atlantic salmon foraging success and reducing survivorship. I will be using a simulated stream located at the Aquaculture Research Center to test competitive interactions and data collected in various Maine rivers to assess microhabitat use and growth rate when Atlantic salmon and smallmouth bass exists in sympatry and allopatry. Previous Research Experience: Before coming to the University of Maine I worked as a fisheries technician on the Effectiveness Monitoring Project, part of the Rocky Mountain Research Center. With EMP I investigated the effects of logging and road building on the stream geomorphology of endangered bull char and steelhead trout spawning streams throughout the upper Columbia River basin. I have also worked with Alaska BLM doing impact assessment of proposed gold mines on spawning Pacific salmon populations in remote rivers. |