Current
Research Projects
Impacts of
Herbicides on Endangered
Butterflies
Next to habitat loss and
fragmentation, invasive plant species represent the second
largest threat to several endangered prairie butterfly
species in the Pacific Northwest as well as other regions
of the world. Control of invasive woody plants, forbs, and
grasses has historically focused on the use of mowing,
fire, and biological control to manage invasive plant
species. However, these methods can have severe impacts on
species occupying those systems. For example, fire can kill
a large percentage of larvae and pupa butterfly in the path
of the flames. For this reason land managers and
conservation biologists working with endangered butterflies
are unable to employ these methods at effective invasive
weed management scales for fear of extirpating or severely
impacting local butterfly populations. Increasingly land
managers and conservation biologists have turned to
herbicides as alternative management tool. Many herbicides
have been developed to target specific taxa (e.g. grasses)
while causing little to no visible impact on native
non-target plant species. However, little research has been
conducted to date on the potential impacts, both positive
and negative, of herbicide exposure on butterflies. Through
a combination of greenhouse and field studies I am
investigating the impacts of grass-specific and
broad-spectrum herbicides on butterfly behavior,
morphology, survival, and fecundity as part of my
dissertation research at Washington State University -
Vancouver in the Conservation Biology lab of Dr. Cheryl
Schultz.
Optimizing a
Range-wide Monitoring Plan for an Endangered
Butterfly
I am working with the
USFWS to develop a range-wide a monitoring plan for the
federally endangered Fender's Blue Butterfly. The species
is found only in the Willamette Valley prairies of western
Oregon. Monitoring of the adult Fender's Blue is
complicated by a short one month flight season
characterized by intermittent periods of appropriate survey
weather and the presence of dozens of isolated populations
scattered across a 1,000 square mile region. In addition,
the Fender's Blue occurs sympatrically with the
morphologically similar and common Silvery Blue Butterfly.
Distinguishing the two species in flight is nearly
impossible for even the experienced observer. I am
currently working to pilot a hybrid Distance-sampling based
(at intensively managed) and peak count approach (at
outlying sites) to balance precision to detect management
impacts and to meet information requirements for recovery
criteria set by USFWS with cost and logistical feasibility.
Pilot work began in the spring of 2010 and will continue in
the spring of 2011 to inform monitoring design within the
context of a structured decision analysis.
Impacts of Tidal Flat Loss on the
Avifauna
in the Yellow Sea Ecoregion
The tidal flats in the
Yellow Sea ecoregion are disappearing at an alarming rate.
These rich ecosystems provide important stopovers for
literally hundreds of thousands of migratory shorebirds as
they migrate north to their breeding grounds on the Russian
and Alaskan Arctic tundra and when they return southward in
the fall. Exact measures of tidal flat loss are difficult
to ascertain. However, a number of large scale tidal flat
reclamation projects have been completed in the past decade
including the environmentally devastating Saemangeum
reclamation project that destroyed over 400 square
kilometers of tidal flat and estuary. The Saemangeum
estuary once hosted internationally important numbers of
the Spoon-billed Sandpiper and Great Knot as well a host of
other bird species. Remaining tidal flats still support a
wide array of species including the globally vulnerable
Saunder's Gull and Chinese Egret and provide feeding
grounds for endangered Nordmann's Greenshank and
Black-faced Spoonbill. I am working with the avian
conservation group Birds Korea to quantify remaining
tidal flats. I am using high-resolution publicly
available satellite imagery (Daum and Google Earth) and
Arc-GIS mapping technologies to relate remaining tidal
flats to bird distributions and to focus conservation
efforts in the region. (click here for more
information)
Ecology and Impacts
of Forestry Practices on
the Pacific Banana Slug
(I know they don't have
wings)
The Pacific Banana Slug is
the second largest slug in the world and can be found in
damp forests from California to southeast Alaska. While
there is a vast amount of literature on slug ecology and
impacts in an agriculture little is known about forest slug
ecology. I am interested in learning more about the basic
life history traits and ecology of Pacific banana slugs
using recently developed fluorescent pigment marking for
use in mark-recapture techniques to explore the impacts of
forestry practices on the species.
Impacts of Wildlife
Based Recreation on Wildlife
Wildlife based recreation
(e.g. photography, birding, ecotourism) is among the
fastest growing forms of recreation in the United States.
Recreation wildlife watchers can affect wildlife behavior
in a variety of way. I am interested in quantifying the
impacts of recreational activities associated with wildlife
based recreation. I have been working with student Ryan
Blazer and professor Dr. Pat Magee Western State College of
Colorado to investigate the
impacts of birders at a Gunnison Sage-Grouse lek in the
Gunnison Basin of western Colorado. In addition, I am
interested in determining the impacts of playback, a
method employed by birders to lure birds into view using
audio recording of the species, on nesting success and
territory establishment and maintenance.
Using Data Generated
by Amateur Ornithologists to
Document Changes in Phenology and Range of Birds
Birding is one of the most popular and
rapidly growing recreational activities in the United
States. Vast quantities of data are recorded by birders and
stored in a variety of open digital sources including:
submissions to rare bird records committees, breeding bird
atlases, birding list-servs and newsletters, and recently
through online checklist programs such as eBird. Using
these sources I am interested in documenting range
expansion and changes in migratory bird phenology using
this data. In addition, I am interested in determining how
accurately the birding community can detect species
declines.
Past Research
Projects
Sperm
Morphometry and Ejaculate Characteristics
in Gunnison and Greater
Sage-Grouse
My Sr. thesis (2008)
project at Western State College of Colorado focused on
comparing sperm morphometry and natural ejaculate
characteristics of the two species of Centrocercus grouse
occurring in Colorado: Greater Sage-Grouse
(Centrocercus
nevadensis) and Gunnison Sage-Grouse
(C.
minimus). In spring 2008 we
collected natural ejaculates from strutting male Greater
Sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in Moffat County,
Colorado and from Gunnison Sage-grouse in Saguache County,
Colorado. Natural ejaculates were collected by placing
freeze-dried female greater sage-grouse in the copulatory
position fitted with false cloacas on leks. We compared the
ejaculate characteristics of sperm concentration, percent
viable sperm, percent motile sperm, relative motility of
sperm, percent structurally normal sperm, and the types and
predominance of abnormal sperm in ejaculate samples. This
study was intended as a preliminary investigation into the
potential effects of inbreeding on Gunnison sage-grouse.
With the exception of sperm concentration, we found few
differences in ejaculate characteristics between the two
species. However, we compared and found significant
differences in the sperm morphometry of the two species.
This study is the first to document natural ejaculate
characteristics and sperm morphometry in a non-passerine
bird species utilizing a polygnous lek mating system.
Life
History and Conservation of the
Queen Alexandra's Birdwing
Butterfly
The Queen Alexandra's
Birdwing Butterfly (QABB) (Ornithoptera
alexandrae) is the largest butterfly
in the world.The male's wingspan averages an impressive 178
mm and the larger females average an impressive 200 mm.
However, females with wingspans of up to 250 mm (8+ inches)
have been recorded. QABB is restricted to a small
geographic area in the Oro (Northern) Province of mainland
Papua New Guinea. Here they reside in the lush secondary
and primary forests growing on volcanic soils. Throughout
its range QABB occurs at low densities and an observer can
spend several days in suitable habitat without encountering
an adult. Three widely separated populations of QABB can be
found in the region. One population can be found found on
the volcanic Popondetta Plain but widespread logging and
development of plantations, primarily oil palm, have
destroyed and severely fragmented forest habitats in the
region. A second high elevation population occurs in the
Afore region and appears to be less impacted by
anthropogenic activities. A third isolated population in
the Cape Ward region has yet to be quantified in any
systematic way. Due to the isolation and small size of each
population, habitat loss, and demand for this species in
the specimen trade the species has been listed as CITES I,
endangered. During the summer of 2008 I worked for
Conservation International and with the Oro provincial
wildlife office to document the status of the species in
the region, shed light on the species life history, and to
identify and make contact with traditional land owners,
with QABB residing on their land, interested in conserving
the species.
Butterfly
Communities and Abundance in
Mechanically Treated Sagebrush-Steppe
Working with the the
Bureau of Land Management I investigated butterfly
communities and abundance within mechanically treated plots
in a sagebrush ecosystem in the upper Gunnison Basin of
Colorado. Using transect based Distance-sampling techniques
I assessed adult butterflies density in treated and
untreated plots. I compared butterfly community composition
using a multi-variate approach and found only minor
differences in butterfly communities across treatments.
Some butterfly species occurred at higher densities within
treated areas. In addition, treatments significantly
affected the distribution of butterflies within plots with
greater than expected numbers of butterflies occurring
within disturbed areas within treated plots.
Vocal Ecology of
Boreal Owls
I monitored the vocal
ecology of several territorial male Boreal Owls in
sub-alpine habitats in southwest Colorado using automated
listening stations. I collected over 7000 hours of data and
recorded Boreal Owl vocalizations as of yet not described.
I also documented the first displacement of a Boreal Owl
from its nesting cavity by the smaller and closely related
Northern Saw-Whet Owl. Results from this data have also
been used to optimize monitoring protocols for small owls
by government agencies and ngo's in southwest Colorado.
Impacts of Grazing
on Prairie Butterflies
Working with the USFWS and USGS I compared butterfly species richness and relative abundance using Pollard-Yates style transect counts within different grazing regimes on Valentine NWR in the sandhill prairies on north-central Nebraska. I did not find major differences in species richness and abundance between grazing treatments. However, I did document the presence of a rich and diverse butterfly community including several rare and uncommon species.