Conservation
Projects dealing with conservation were my introduction into research and, since those early days, I’ve been fortunate enough to be involved in many more. Although my current research interests have veered into other areas, the projects below have shaped my development and education tremendously.
Muitú (past)
Cracids are a family of turkey-like birds that highly threatened due to their sensitivity to environmental changes and hunting pressures. In Argentina there are six species of cracids, with the Muitú (Crax fasciolata) being the most endangered and geographically restricted. We conducted a study in the gallery forests of the Guaycolec Ranch to (1) produce the first systematic and quantitative study of a Muitú population in the country, and (2) to evaluate the effectiveness of population assessments conducted through land, water, camera traps, and playbacks as techniques for assessing the population status of the species. To see what we found out, please see the paper below!
Collaborators: Eduardo Fernandez-Duque, The Owl Monkey Project
House Sparrow Management (past)
In North America, House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) compete with native species for nest cavities, which are often limited. Due to the difficulties of extirpating an invasive species and the growing desire from the public to help in conservation matters, we sought to test a potential technique for managing invasive cavity-nesting passerines that could be successfully deployed by professionals and citizen scientists alike. To see what we found out, please see the paper below!
Collaborators: David N. Bonter, Robyn L. Bailey
Supplemental Feeding (past)
The variety of foods offered to breeding birds continues to diversify, yet the consequences for wildlife of this widespread human activity are relatively unexplored. To investigate the potential costs and benefits of supplemental feeding, we experimentally examined the relationship between providing supplemental insect prey and nestling growth rates. To see what we found out, please wait to see the (hopefully) soon to be published paper or email me for the manuscript!
Collaborators: David N. Bonter, Robyn L. Bailey