RMRS - Wildlife Biology: Science Resource Center

Science Application & Integration

Scientists

Wildlife Biology

Wildlife biology is a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of wild animals and their habitats. Research and technical investigations are performed by scientists educated in wildlife biology, zoology, botany, chemistry, mathematics, or various combinations of these disciplines. Their official professional career title is "Wildlife Biologist" (USGS.gov).

At the Rocky Mountain Research Station, Wildlife Biology research is focused under the Wildlife and Terrestrial Ecosystems Program.

Wildlife Genetics

Genetics is a branch of Biology which deals with the heredity and variations of organisms. It is the genetic makeup and phenomena of an organism, type, group or condition.

The Wildlife Ecology Program of the Rocky Mountain Research Station, with its partners, recognized the contemporary role that molecular genetics plays in the management of wildlife. Currently the RMRS Conservation Genetics Program focuses on conducting research that is highly integrated with USFS management needs across the country. The Wildlife Genetics Laboratory works with States, Tribes, Universities and private groups answering state-of-the-art questions in wildlife genetics, and providing answers to pressing wildlife management needs.

Image courtesy of the Wildlife Genetics Lab

Genetic monitoring has the potential to become a valuable tool for resource managers in the management and conservation of wild populations of plants and animals. Rapid recent advances in molecular genetic techniques now make it relatively easy and inexpensive to quantify temporal changes in the genetics of populations over tens or even hundreds of years (i.e., genetic monitoring). more

Black Bear with Bald Eagle - Photo by Anan Interpretive Staff

Sustaining Species & Ecosystems of Concern

More ecosystems occur within RMRS boundaries than any other station, spanning prairie, temperate and tropical steppe, desert, coniferous and riparian forests, and tundra. Many of the 16,800 species of plants and animals are of concern for conservationists.

Public Use Effects

Research informs federal, state, tribal, and local resource agencies on interactions between people and fish/wildlife. It provides better understanding of public-use effects such that they can be mitigated by appropriate management actions. Numerous studies are underway to elucidate social and economic values associated with consumptive and non-consumptive uses of fish/wildlife. Predictive habitat models provide a range of management alternatives for simultaneously enhancing commodity and non-commodity uses of fish/wildlife.

Image of Diettert crops from hill.JPG

Stream flow in the salt river, Arizona; photo- RMRS Wildlife and Terrestrial Ecosystems

Terrestrial and Aquatic Habitat Management

Most of the remaining habitats for many species of concern are now found on National Forests and Grasslands. RMRS scientists answer questions about the amount, kind, distribution, and connectivity of habitat critical to the persistence and abundance of these species, while monitoring these species' changes at the same time. Scientists also investigate the spatial and temporal aspects of processes that create and maintain habitats crucial for sustaining biodiversity, including the role of fire.

Land & Water Uses and Natural Disturbances

A wide array of anthropogenic and natural disturbances affects our grasslands, forests, and waterways. Natural and prescribed fires, silvicultural prescriptions, livestock grazing, spread and control of invasive species, drought, global climate change, insect and disease outbreaks and fragmentation all affect, and potentially threaten wildlife habitats. Researchers are determining immediate, long-term, and cumulative effects of disturbances on species of concern and interest in the Intermountain West.

All Scientists

Scientist

Research

Deborah Finch
Supervisory Research Wildlife Biologist

Albuquerque Forestry Sciences Lab

Interests:

Riparian environments
Evaluating the effects of fire
Removing invasive plant species and fuel loads to reduce the risk of fire
Determining the effects of those measures on TES species, water resources, soils, and interactions between different elements of the ecosystem
Evaluating how processes and functions change and how managers can improve ecosystem conditions
Evaluating the impacts of natural resources management practices and natural effects such as weather, climate, and fire on threatened and endangered species populations and developing conservation techniques and tools to recover TES
Examining neotropical migratory birds in relationship to the effects of natural resource practices and natural phenomena; part of developing Partners in Flight (PIF) organization

Geographical Areas: Northern Great Plains; Southwestern Ponderosa pine forests; Middle Rio Grande Basin; North-central Michoacan Mexico; Gila River NM; American Southwest; Bosque Middle Rio Grande.

Curtis Flather
Research Wildlife Biologist

See Also: Biology

Fort Collins Forestry Sciences Lab: Natural Resources Center

Interests:

Modeling wildlife population and community response to landscape patterns
Theoretical and empirical examination of species persistence thresholds in heterogeneous landscapes
Applying mathematical programming techniques to spatial ecology problems
Assessing the impacts of error in cartographic-based biodiversity assessments
Documenting trends in critical wildlife resources for land use policy

Geographical Areas: California; Mediterranean Basin; Southern Rocky Mountains of New Mexico.

Joseph Ganey
Research Wildlife Biologist

See Also: Biology

SW Forest Science Lab, Flagstaff

Interests:

Effects of fuels-reduction treatments on Mexican spotted owls in the Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico
Monitoring dynamics of snag and log populations in southwestern mixed-conifer and ponderosa pine forests
Contributing to informed resource management decisions and increased scientific understanding of natural resource issues

Geographical Areas: Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico; Southwestern mixed-Conifer and Ponderosa Pine Forests; Pine Oak Forests of Northern Arizona; Southeastern Arizona; Rio Penasco Watershed.

Teryl Grubb
Research Wildlife Biologist

See Also: Biology

SW Forest Science Lab, Flagstaff

Interests:

Two-year cooperative research (NFS, Clemson University, U.S. Army CERL) into potential effects of heli-skiing on golden eagles in the Wasatch Mountains, Utah
Effects of off-highway vehicle and other recreational noise on Mexican spotted owls and other raptors
Long-term study of population dynamics/habitat requirements of bald eagles wintering in northern Arizona
Long-term cooperative research (Clemson University, Michigan State University, Voyageurs National Park, and R-9 National Forests) into using bald eagles as a bio-indicator of Great Lakes ecosystem health

Geographical Areas: Northern Arizona; California; Great Lakes Basin; Wasatch Mountains, Utah; Kaibab Plateau, Arizona; Lincoln National Forest, New Mexico; Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota.

Kevin McKelvey
Research Ecologist

See Also: Biology, Ecology

SW Forest Science Lab, Flagstaff

Interests:

Leading Ecology and Management of Invasive Species, biological control, invasive species ecology, and wildlife biology team
Integrating community and invasion ecology to advance fields of research and improve invasives management
Understanding processes of community assembly by removing individual system components and examining the outcome

Geographical Areas: Western Montana; Northern Rocky Mountains; Bitterroot National Forest.

Richard Reynolds
Research Wildlife Biologist Supervisor

See Also: Biology, Ecology

SW Forest Science Lab, Flagstaff

Interests:

Distribution, territory occupancy, demography, dispersal, and habitats of northern goshawks on the Kaibab Plateau, Arizona
Factors affecting nest locations and habitat quality of northern goshawks on the Kaibab National Forest
Post-fledgling movement, habitat use, survival, and dispersal of juvenile northern goshawks in Arizona
Factors affecting northern goshawk fecundity on the Kaibab Plateau, Arizona
Genetic fingerprinting for identifying individual goshawks from molted feathers to supplement recapture histories
Ecology, territory occupancy, demography, dispersal, and habitat quality of flammulated owls in Colorado

Geographical Areas: Kaibab Plateau and Kaibab National Forest, Arizona; Colorado.

Len Ruggiero
Deputy Program Manager, Wildlife and Terrestrial Ecosystems Program

See Also: Biology, Ecology

SW Forest Science Lab, Flagstaff

Interests:

Wolverine Science Team Leader and Special Section of the Journal of Wildlife Management
Marten ecology in the Sierra Madre Mountains of Wyoming
Publishing on the interface between science and politics
Conservation Genetics, including the importance of population substructuring in conservation

Geographical Areas: Sierra Madre Mountains, Wyoming; California; Western Montana; Northern Rocky Mountains; North American Boreal Forests; Northern Mixed/Sub Alpine Forests.

Mark Rumble
Research Wildlife Biologist

Forest and Grassland Research Lab, Rapid City

Interests:

Wildlife Biology
Bird conservation
Riparian environments
Fire effects
Invasive species
Fuel loads
TES species
Water resources
Soils
Restoration
Natural resource management
Conservation
PIF, decision support tools

Geographical Areas: Black Hills, South Dakota; Northern Great Plains; Middle of Missouri River; Wyoming.

Mike Ryan
Research Ecologist

See Also: Biology, Ecology

Missoula Wildlife Genetics Lab

Interests:

Population demography
Behavioral ecology
Habitat use
Emphasis on research that provides practical answers to natural resource problems, population, conservation, and landscape genetics
Conservation Genetics, Genetic Monitoring, Landscape Genetics
Ecology of threatened and endangered species

Geographical Areas: Northern Idaho; Maine; Minnesota; New Brunswick; California; Western Montana.

John Squires
Research Wildlife Biologist

See Also: Biology

SW Forest Science Lab, Flagstaff

Interests:

Seasonal changes in resource use of Canada lynx in managed southern boreal forests
Lynx demography and population viability analysis
Predicting lynx movements relative to landscape pattern
Sustaining lynx habitat in managed landscapes
Social and spatial structuring of lynx based on based on telemetry and genetic data
Probability of detecting lynx using snow-track surveys
Coyote’s habitat, behavior and activities
Predicting the effects of forest management on lynx populations
Conducting applied wildlife research that addresses the pressing issues confronting the management and conservation of sensitive, threatened, and endangered species

Geographical Areas: Western/Northwestern Montana; Rocky Mountains; South-Central Wyoming; California; Greater Yellowstone Area; Southern Boreal Forests.

Other Wildlife Biologists and Collaborative Scientists

Samuel Cushman
Research Ecologist