The people in my research group consist of myself, six to eight graduate students, and an occasional post-doc when funding is available. Undergraduate students are also welcome to participate in research activities usually by assisting grad students with their projects.
My graduate students are mostly enrolled in the Wildlife Ecology M.S. and Population and Conservation Biology (PCB) M.S. programs. Students come from various places and backgrounds. Each typically has a fairly unique research project. My goal as an adviser is to help each student complete a high-quality thesis or dissertation research project, and also prepare the student for the next step in their career path, whatever that may be.
CURRENT GRAD STUDENTS
Dawn Houston (Ph.D.) – Analysis of upland and riparian habitats as stopover sites for migrating songbirds. Dawn has a B.S. degree from Florida Institute of Technology and an M.S. degree from Texas State University. She is in the Aquatic Resources and Integrative Biology Ph.D. program.
Daniel Guerra (Ph.D.) – Ecology and conservation of Texas tortoises in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Danny has a B.S. degree from Texas A&M University – San Antonio and an M.S. degree from Texas State University. He is in the Aquatic Resources and Integrative Biology Ph.D. program.
Drew Berdo (M.S.) – Assessing the potential impact of wind turbines on habitat use by grassland birds. Drew has a B.S. degree in Geographic Science from James Madison University. He is in the Wildlife Ecology M.S. program.
Erin Berkenkamp (M.S.) – Evaluating the success of prairie dog reintroduction in Texas. Erin has a B.S. degree from Texas State University. She is in the Population and Conservation Biology M.S. program.
Elisa Williams (M.S.) – Between a rock and a hard place: an investigation of rock squirrel (Otospermophilus variegatus) response to anthropogenic change. Elisa has a B.S. degree from North Carolina State University. She is in the Population and Conservation Biology M.S. program.
Sarah Khayyatzadeh (M.S.) – An assessment of reservoir embankments in providing habitat for grassland birds. Sarah has a B.S. degree from UT – San Antonio. She is in the Wildlife Ecology M.S. program.
Tanner Shepard (M.S.) – Representativeness of avifauna in Texas state parks. Tanner has a B.S. degree in Biology from Morehead State University. He is in the Wildlife Ecology M.S. program.
Tate Taylor (M.S.) – Recognition and use of artificial burrows by three species of kangaroo rats. Tate has a B.S. degree in Biology: Ecology and Evolution from Trinity University. He is in the Population and Conservation Biology M.S. program. Co-advised with Dr. Ivan Castro-Arellano.
FORMER GRAD STUDENTS
Danielle Gay (M.S., 2023) – Effects of canopy cover and impervious surface cover on occurrence of coyotes (Canis latrans) and gray foxes (Urocyon cineroeargenteus) throughout the United States. Current Position: Ph.D. student at Texas State University
Tate Gregory (M.S., non-thesis, 2023) Current Position: pending
Christian Guajardo (M.S., Wildlife Ecology, 2023) – An analysis of canopy cover within the home ranges of Mexican Wolves (Canis lupus baileyi) reintroduced into New Mexico and Arizona. Current Position: self-employed
Carli Martinez (M.S., Population and Conservation Biology, 2022) – Do Tufted Titmice, Black-crested Titmice, and their hybrids occupy different types of habitat within their hybrid zone? Current Position: San Antonio School of Science and Technology
Joseph Plappert (M.S., Wildlife Ecology, 2021) – Habitat characteristic profiles: an intuitive approach to evaluate species-habitat relationships as demonstrated on several Texas bird species. Current Position: Biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Nick Johns (M.S., Wildlife Ecology, 2021) – Does urbanization facilitate the establishment of introduced Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) populations? Current Position: Environmental consultant and field biologist
Daniel Guerra (M.S., PCB, 2020) – Characterization of Texas tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri) home ranges, habitat use, and landscape-scale habitat connectivity in Cameron County, Texas. Current Position: Ph.D. student at Texas State University
Grady Terry (M.S., Biology, 2019; coadvisor w/Jim Ott) – Spatial and temporal use of caves by Eleutherodactylus marnockii and Craugastor augustii in the western Edwards Plateau of central Texas. Current Position: Field biologist for various environmental consulting companies.
Jared Haney (M.S., Wildlife Ecology, 2019) – Using museum and citizen-science data to examine the range contraction of a threatened lizard species. Current Position: Environmental consultant and field biologist.
Skyler Flaska (M.S., Wildlife Ecology, 2018) – Impact of red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) on harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex barbatus) colony spacing along an invasion gradient in Texas. Current Position: Biologist working for an NGO.
Caley Zuzula (M.S., PCB, 2017) – Effects of urbanization and resource availability on the relative occurrence of Ruby-throated (Archilochus colubris) and Black-chinned Hummingbirds (Archilochus alexandri) in landscapes of central Texas. Current Position: Program Coordinator at Travis Audubon Society (Austin, TX).
Silas Ott (M.S., Wildlife Ecology, coadvisor w/Randy Simpson, 2017) – The Texas Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys elator): Identifying the extent of its available habitat and estimating its current population size. Current Position: Field biologist for various agencies and employers.
Alyssa Fink (M.S., Wildlife Ecology, 2017) – Survival, movement, and fine-scale habitat selection of reintroduced Texas Horned Lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum). Current Position: Biology teacher at a charter high school in San Antonio.
Laura Bliss (M.S., Wildlife Ecology, 2016) – Habitat availability assessment for the Gulf Coast Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys compactus) in south-central Texas. Current Position: Ph.D. student at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada.
John Muller (M.S., Wildlife Ecology, 2015) – Landscape scale habitat associations of Sprague’s Pipit (Anthus spragueii) overwintering in the southern United States. Current Position: Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma, currently postdoctoral researcher at Virginia Tech University.
Suzanne Whitney (Ph.D., Aquatic Resources, 2015) – Examining avian communities in wetlands at multiple spatial extents. Current Position: Science and Restoration Manager, Cascade Forest Conservancy, Portland, Oregon.
Stephanie Miller (M.S., PCB, 2014) – Species-specific traits versus site-specific properties as factors influencing the abundances of species. Current Position: Ph.D. from Northern Arizona University, currently postdoctoral researcher at the University of Maine.
Matt Haverland (M.S., Wildlife Ecology, 2014) – Examining the effects of urbanization on occurrence of mammal species in natural areas of the eastern Edwards Plateau. Current Position: Environmental consultant in San Marcos
Katherine Cummings (M.S., Biology, 2013) – Assessing the imprint of geography, host species, land cover, and space on the local abundance of a generalist nest parasite, the Brown-headed Cowbird. Current Position: High School Biology Teacher in Naples, FL.
Doug Phillips (M.S., Wildlife Ecology, 2012) (coadvised w/Randy Simpson) – Determining microhabitat use by the Gulf Coast Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys compactus) using motion sensitive cameras and estimating population density at their northern distribution limit. Current Position: United States Fish and Wildlife Service in Washington, D.C.
Erin Feichtinger (M.S., Wildlife Ecology, 2012) – Fine-scale habitat associations of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers (Tyrannus forficatus) in south-central Texas. Current Position: Graduate of Ph.D. program at University of South Florida. Data analyst at the Bank of Canada in Minneapolis, MN.
Bindu Viswanathan (M.S., PCB, 2010) – Conservation biogeography of endemic birds in India.
Aaron Rinker (M.S., Biology, 2008, University of Northern Colorado) – Resource use by sympatric deer species as related to fawn survival.