lab alumni

I completed my Ph.D at the University of Minnesota in 2014 studying how American black bear movements, diet and physiology are influenced by habitat fragmentation in a largely agricultural region. My current research, for the Minnesota Zoo, is studying how moose movement and habitat selection are influenced by wolves. Additionally, I am continuing my previous research utilizing cardiac biologgers, inserted in bears subcutaneously in conjunction with GPS-collars, to better understand causes of stress in wildlife (e.g., road crossings, drones).

I study how watershed and lake features influence transitions between clear and turbid states in shallow lakes. My current projects involve classifying lake states and estimating critical nutrient levels that differentiate highly resilient clear lakes, highly resilient turbid lakes, and lakes that may switch between states due to system perturbations.

I was a post-doctoral researcher in the Fieberg lab prior to accepting a tenure track position at Concordia College in Moorhead MN.  I extended a previously developed Bayesian abundance model (Fieberg et al. 2013) to allow modeling of multi-year survey data and incorporation of spatial predictors.  The guiding quest throughout all of my research has been to answer interesting and important ecological questions with the appropriate quantitative techniques. When the models are working but I’m not, you can find me laughing, eating, or traipsing about in the woods with my family.