Ongoing Projects
(See the bottom of the Home page for all the latest updates on data collection and research updates!)
Northern Bobwhite Demography in Longleaf Pine Savannas
Northern Bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) are a popular game bird associated with disturbed ecosystems (e.g., grasslands and savannas with a short fire rotation). Graduate student Autumn Randall has developed a thesis project to better understand how bobwhite movement patterns are driven by habitat availability and quality. She also aims to understand how demographic rates, habitat management, and resource use all interact in a way that points to enhanced
|
conservation strategies for this declining bird. Her work involves tracking adults, tracking chicks, and finding/monitoring bobwhite nests like the one shown here.
|
Eastern Whip-poor-will Movement Ecology in Pennsylvania
The Eastern Whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus) is a nightjar that breeds across eastern North America. These birds rely upon disturbance and, like so many other disturbance-dependent birds, they are declining. Nicole Notarianni has developed a MS thesis project to understand the factors driving habitat use patterns for Eastern Whip-poor-wills in Pennsylvania - and she aims to assess whether habitat use patterns in this
|
species are context/landscape-specific. We aim to generate results that inform the management of this species in central Appalachia.
|
Completed Projects
Does Songbird Habitat Management Benefit Woodcocks?
For species that require conservation action to create/maintain habitat, a "single-species" approach is increasingly unpopular and unfeasible. In our 2023 paper published in the Journal of Wildlife Management, we explored the factors associated with American Woodcock use of stands managed for Golden-winged Warblers. Sites were occupied by woodcocks,
|
however, the Appalachian Mountains had the fewest woodcocks, probably because this landscape is dominated largely by mature forest.
|
Can LiDAR Be Used to Predict Habitat for Forest Songbirds?
For disturbance-dependent birds like the Golden-winged Warbler, identifying sources of potential habitat remains a huge challenge. It's really difficult to identify habitat for these species because traditional remote sensed data sources (e.g., the National Land Cover Database) do not depict young forest well. In our 2023 paper in Forest Ecology and Management, we demonstrate how LiDAR can be a valuable tool for mapping songbird
|
habitat across Pennsylvania. As more states fly LiDAR, this tool will be increasingly valuable for mapping habitat to understand ecological patterns and for identifying areas for conservation.
|
Factors Driving Disease Loads in Native Bumble Bees
As pollinator populations continue to decline from a diversity of stressors, it is important to understand how these stressors might interact. In our 2020 paper, we assessed disease loads in the common eastern bumble bee, Bombus impatiens. For several diseases (e.g., deformed wing virus), loads were driven by landscape stressors such as the lack of food (e.g., lack of flowers),
|
and contact with exotic honey bees (Apis mellifera) which give diseases to bumble bees. Check out the Publications section to download the paper.
|
Habitat Needs for Sensitive Insects: Nocturnal Orthoptera Spatial Ecology
As a growing body of literature indicates global insect declines, biologists are tasked with understanding the drivers behind these declines. Crickets and katydids (Ensifera) are among the most imperiled insects and, in our 2020 study (McNeil and Grozinger, 2020), we developed a new method to quantify Ensifera occupancy by identifying species-specific calls. We found that most species had high detection
|
probability and suburban habitats had more Ensifera species than either mature forest or highly urbanized landscapes.
|
Exploring How Songbird Restoration Success is Dependent on Reproductive Output
For landscape-wide conservation to be effective, researchers must carefully consider management actions within an adaptive management framework. Birds like Golden-winged Warblers are the focus of enormous conservation effort aimed at ensuring their long-term persistence on the landscape.
In our recent 2020 paper published in Biological Conservation, we demonstrate that restoration success id dependent upon high |
local breeding output - and breeding output is largely constrained by fledgling survival. With that in mind, this strict pattern only occurred where birds were rare and not where they remain abundant (i.e., the western Great Lakes)
|
Assessing Factors Driving the Success of Habitat Restoration for an Imperiled Bird
Habitat loss is one of the leading drivers of global biodiversity. A key tool used to fight the impacts of habitat loss is habitat restoration. Unfortunately, many habitat restoration efforts fail to reach beyond the basic 'site demonstration' stage and achieve true widespread implementation.
In our 2020 paper published in Restoration Ecology, we demonstrate that, NO, species present in managed habitat is not 'a given', even for a species limited by habitat availability! |
A large number of factors explained Golden-winged Warbler occupancy of restored habitats including site age (# growing seasons) and metapopulation dynamics!
|
Improving Survey Techniques for Native Pollinators
In recent decades, there is increasing evidence that many wild bee populations are declining. For this reason, appropriate survey methods for bees are essential to conservation. But what if detection probability of bees on surveys varies with the same factors associated with abundance (e.g., habitat)?
In our 2018 paper, we evaluated several field- and analytical methods to assess ways to account for detection of wild bees. |
Hierarchical distance models (HDM) of bumble bee (Bombus spp.) detection probability. Detection varied as a function of survey covariates like 'time of day' and habitat covariates like 'grass cover'.
|
Using a Natural Reference System to Evaluate Songbird Habitat Management
When wildlife species are limited by the availability of habitat, a common solution is the creation of new habitat. But how can conservationists evaluate the value of new habitat to focal species?
In our 2018 paper we compared densities of the imperiled Golden-winged Warbler between a natural reference system (shrub wetlands) and managed upland habitats (timber harvests) in eastern Pennsylvania. |
N-mixture models for GWWA abundance within natural wetlands.
Although densities were equal within the reference system and managed habitat, GWWA required ecotone edges (shown) within wetlands but not within managed uplands. (Figure 4, McNeil et al. 2018). |
Assessing Diets of a Re-introduced Population of Fur-bearers
When extirpated wildlife species are re-introduced to their native range, evaluating diet is key to assessing reintroduction success. This is particularly true for species that may be dietary specialists.
In our 2017 paper, we assessed the diets of fishers re-introduced to Pennsylvania. We found that fishers were not only dietary generalists, but that they rely heavily on other carnivores as prey -- including other fishers! |
Male and female fishers, despite stark body size dimorphism, fed on similar prey. Small prey (e.g., mice, voles) and large prey (e.g., deer) were commonly consumed, however, meso-carnivores like raccoons and other fishers were the most prey sources (Figure 3, McNeil et al. 2017).
|
Nest Success of a Passerine Bird Across Different Management Types
When creating habitat for imperiled wildlife limited by habitat availability, assessing species response is paramount. But what if habitat conditions are imperfect?
In our 2017 paper, we evaluated the extent to which managed sites resembled recommended guidelines and warbler nest success therein. Warblers were largely robust to variation in habitat conditions, even when conditions were imperfect. |
Like many studies on songbird nest success, we detected a significant decline in nest survival rates as the breeding season progressed (shown). We found very few habitat effects suggesting that nest success was generally equal within managed sites (Figure 4, McNeil et al. 2017).
|
Improving Survey Techniques for Rare Forest Birds
When animal species are rare, ensuring accurate assessment of occupancy is important for monitoring population status. Can detection probability be increased for such rare animals?
In our 2014 paper, we found that detection probability for Golden-winged Warblers could be improved by using audio playback of a singing male. The effect of playback varied as a function of survey scale. |
The number of 3-min surveys required to achieve detection probability > 95% varied by method. Unlimited radius point counts with playback achieved the highest detection probability while 50 m radius plots without playback were lowest (Figure 1, McNeil et al. 2014).
|