A5101671001- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Avian ecology and behavior
- Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies
- Plant and animal studies
- Fire effects on ecosystems
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Rangeland and Wildlife Management
- Forest Insect Ecology and Management
- Insect-Plant Interactions and Control
- Higher Education Research Studies
- Wildlife-Road Interactions and Conservation
- Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management
- Indigenous and Place-Based Education
- Cerebral Palsy and Movement Disorders
- Balance, Gait, and Falls Prevention
- Plant Parasitism and Resistance
- Climate variability and models
- Parkinson's Disease Mechanisms and Treatments
- Economic and Environmental Valuation
- Career Development and Diversity
- Mathematics Education and Programs
- Forest Management and Policy
- Veterinary Orthopedics and Neurology
- Global trade, sustainability, and social impact
Humboldt State University
2015-2024
National Park Service
2021-2024
University of Minnesota
2023-2024
California State Polytechnic University
2022-2024
California Polytechnic State University
2023-2024
US Forest Service
2018-2020
Tulane University
2000
Abstract: Coffee farms can support significant biodiversity, yet intensification of farming practices is degrading agricultural habitats and compromising ecosystem services such as biological pest control. The coffee berry borer ( Hypothenemus hampei ) the world's primary pest. Researchers have demonstrated that birds reduce insect abundance on but not documented avian control or quantified benefits to crop yield farm income. We conducted a bird‐exclosure experiment in Blue Mountains,...
Abstract: As tropical forests are cleared, a greater proportion of migratory songbirds forced to winter in agricultural and disturbed habitats, which, if poorer quality than natural forests, could contribute population declines. We compared demographic indicators habitat for focal species, the American Redstart ( Setophaga ruticilla ), wintering Jamaican citrus orchards shade coffee plantations with those four habitats: mangrove, coastal scrub, palm, dry limestone forests. Demographic...
Abstract The reduction of insect pests by birds in agriculture may provide an incentive for farming practices that enhance the conservation value farms and other wildlife. We investigated pest services insectivorous on a coffee farm Jamaica, West Indies. Our results suggest reduced our study site. Infestation berry borer Hypothenemus hampei , world's most damaging coffee, was significantly elevated shrubs from which were experimentally excluded foraging. Overall, we estimated economic 18 ha...
Significance How land use can support both natural and agricultural resources is a key sustainability question. This question more complicated when nature agriculture each other; here, birds consume pest insects, coffee provides bird habitat. We used model based on field research to study the effects of uses birds, control services that provide, crop production Jamaican farms. Our conclusions address whether small forest-like areas are valuable for than large intact forest, how size number...
Abstract We combined tenets of learning communities and place-based to develop an innovative first-year program for STEM students. Using a quasi-experimental design, we found that participants in the community had stronger sense belonging, improved academic performance, increased persistence relative matched reference group. also showed participation narrowed equity gaps outcomes students underrepresented sciences. A place arises not just from location, but interrelationships between people...
I provide a detailed description of an arthropod sampling technique, “branch clipping,” and evaluate its efficacy in measuring food availability for three foliage-gleaning migratory warbler species wintering Jamaica. incorporated foraging observations into the protocol to facilitate match between distribution branch-clip samples attacks over available microhabitats. Where was imprecise, weighted branch clip accordingly. Foraging indicated that most maneuvers used by warblers were directed at...
Abstract Variation in fire characteristics, termed pyrodiversity, plays an important role structuring post‐fire communities, but little is known about the importance of pyrodiversity for individual species. The availability diverse habitats may be key fire‐associated species if they require different resources at life‐history stages. We tested age‐specific habitat relationships black‐backed woodpecker, a specialist. used radio‐telemetry to track fledgling and adult woodpeckers burned forests...
ABSTRACT I examined the effects of two farm management variables, shade‐tree species and crop structure, on winter (dry season) arthropod bird communities in a Jamaican shade coffee plantation. Birds canopy arthropods were more abundant areas plantation shaded by tree Inga vera than Pseudalbizia berteroana. The abundance (potential pests) crop, however, was unaffected species. Canopy arthropods, particularly psyllids (Homoptera), especially late winter, when it producing new leaves...
Nearctic-neotropic migrant birds need to replenish energy reserves during stopover periods successfully complete their semiannual movements. In this study we used linear models examine the habitat use of 11 species in northeastern Costa Rica better understand influence food and structural resources on presence periods. Our indicated that frugivorous migrants primarily abundance, while insectivorous chiefly vegetation structure as cues for stopover. addition models, documented fruiting plant...
Abstract Recently burned coniferous forests host wildlife communities that respond to variation in burn severity, post-fire habitat structure, and patch configuration. Habitat selection theory predicts birds inhabiting these variable landscapes will select nesting locations confer an adaptive advantage through increased fitness reproductive success. Understanding the effect of on avian ecology can provide valuable information guide restoration management after wildfire. The Black-backed...
Diets reflect important ecological interactions, but are challenging to quantify for foliage-gleaning birds. We used regurgitated stomach samples from five primarily insectivorous species of long-distance migrant warblers (Parulidae) wintering in two moderate-elevation shade coffee farms Jamaica assess both foraging opportunism and prey resource partitioning. Our results, based on 6120 items 80 collected during a one-week period March 2000, confirm opportunism. The diets all warblers,...
Abstract Pyrodiversity, defined as variation in fire history and characteristics, has been shown to catalyse post‐fire biodiversity a variety of systems. However, the demographic behavioural mechanisms driving responses individual species pyrodiversity remain largely unexplored. We used model specialist, black‐backed woodpecker ( Picoides arcticus ), examine relationship between characteristics juvenile survival while controlling for confounding factors. radio‐tracked fledgling woodpeckers...
Summary Recent evidence indicates that insectivorous birds in shade coffee farms provide economically significant ecosystem services by reducing insect pests, which should encourage cultivation practices favouring and other wildlife. However, the provisioning of this service may be dependent on landscape composition movement patterns these mobile consumers. Very little information is currently available bird movements coffee-dominated landscapes. We examined roosting behaviour Black-throated...
Fire is a dynamic ecosystem process of mixed-conifer forests the Sierra Nevada, but there limited scientific information addressing wildlife habitat use in burned landscapes. Recent studies have presented contradictory regarding effects stand-replacing wildfires on Spotted Owls (Strix occidentalis) and their habitat. While fire promotes heterogeneous forest landscapes shown to be favored by owls, high severity may create large canopy gaps that can fragment closed-canopy preferred Owls. We...
Agricultural expansion to meet rising crop demand is one of the greatest threats terrestrial biodiversity. Coffee, most valuable trade items in tropical countries, can provide both economic livelihood and wildlife habitat. Previous work, conducted primarily on Neotropical coffee farms, indicates that birds are generally more abundant diverse farms with a canopy shade trees, though regional variation exists. To date, few studies have examined Africa, which contains 20% world's acreage. We...