Kambwiri Banda (MS) Widlife Conservation Network Shenk Fellow

Kambwiri quantified the consequences of desnaring programs for population dynamics and demography of Zambian lions, having removed a great many snares as a wildlife veterinarian and field supervisor for the Zambian Carnivore Programme in Kafue National Park. He found that in addition to saving individual animals and preventing suffering, de-snaring can significantly increase the growth rate of a lion population.

Milan Vinks (MS) MSU GTA and ZCP GRA

Milan used long term data from Kafue National Park in central Zambia to examine the hypothesis that large carnivores,  lions and leopards, are limited by prey depletion.  He used distance sampling to measure the density of of the most abundant prey species, tested whether prey density is affected by anthropogenic variables, and compare density to other miombo ecosystems.  He used mark-resight models to estimate lion abundance and survival, test whether variation in lion survival is related to prey density within a home range, and compare lion density and survival to other ecosystems.  Because Kafue is one of a small set of remaining 'stronghold' lion populations, this information is needed to inform national and regional efforts for lion conservation.

Wigganson Matandiko (PhD) Fulbright Fellow and NSF GRA

Wigganson was co-supervised by Matt Becker of the Zambia Carnivore Programme, and was the chief veterinary officer for ZAWA, the Zambian Wildlife Authority, before beginning his PhD with a Fulbright Fellowship. His PhD thesis examined the role of anthropogenic effects, bottom-up and top-down ecological factors on the distribution, abundance and herd sizes of the highly diverse antelope guild in Kafue National Park. After recently returning to Zambia, he will either teach at the University of Zambia and/or work in private practice as a wildlife veterinarian/ecologist.

Egil Droge (PhD) MSU GTA and NSF GRA

Egil examined how the spatial and temporal distribution of predation risk in Liuwa National Park affects subordinate carnivore species (wild dogs and cheetahs) and prey species (wildebeest, zebra and oribi), with a particular focus on integrating proactive responses to long term variation in risk and reactive responses to short term variation in risk. One component of the work used data from GPS collars on wildebeest to examine how risk affects the speed and linearity of movements. The data for his project is unusual because the entire carnivore guild and all of their prey are under study simultaneously, with unusually powerful data (e.g. more than 500 kills to examine patterns of predation).  Egil went on to be the head instructor for the postbaccalaureate degree in Wildlife Conservation at Oxford University's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit.

Eli Rosenblatt (MS) MSU GTA and NSF GRA

Eli's project had three main elements.  First, he examined factors that affect survival rates and population size of leopards and their prey in South Luangwa National Park and the adjacent Game Management Areas, using data from a grid of motion sensitive cameras and robust design CMR models.  Second, he developed a new method to estimate population size through pedigree reconstruction, conducting simulations to validate the method, and is working to apply it to the lion population of South Luangwa with SNP genotypes (in collaboration with Goran Spong at SLU in Sweden).  Last, he is used CMR models to examine the effects of trophy hunting on lion population dynamics in the Luangwa Valley. Eli went on to a PhD fellowship at the University of Vermont, examining the dynamics of hunted ungulate populations in the region.

Jassiel M'Soka (MS) Wildlife Conservation Network Scholarship and NSF GRA

Jassiel examined the demography and ecology of spotted hyenas in an ecosystem with very low density of their strong competitor the lion. His field work was in Liuwa Plain National Park, where he was also involved in a study of the migratory wildebeest population. Jassiel was co-supervised by Matt Becker of the Zambia Carnivore Programme, and was an ecologist for the Zambian Wildlife Authority prior to beginning his graduate work. He became a Senior Ecologist at the Zambia Department of National Parks and Wildlife and then at US AID.

Angela Brennan (PhD) NSF GRA and Fulbright Fellow

Angela, co-advised by Dr. Paul Cross of USGS, examined the ecology and epidemiology of brucellosis in elk on Wyoming feedgrounds and the Yellowstone Ecosystem. Her main project examined the factors that affect the size and spatial distribution of elk herds, and the relationship between these variables and changes in the seroprevalence of Brucella. Angela went on to a postdoc at the USGS Rocky Mountain Science Center, and then to work with WWF on connectivity issues as a research associate at the University of British Columbia

Paul Schuette (PhD)

Paul studied interactions between top carnivores (particularly lions), their competitors, their prey, humans and livestock, working on the Olkiramation and Shompole Maasai group ranches in Kenya. A lot is known about the ecology of large African carnivores, but very little of this work has been conducted outside of centrally-protected National Parks. Paul's study area included regions with permanent human settlements and livestock, seasonal human use, a conservation area with limited human use, and a buffer zone. He found that lions coexisted with people and attained high densities by adjusting their occupancy of the landscape in response to seasonal movements of people and livestock. Most ungulates and large carnivores attained higher densities in the conservation area than with other land uses, but all species were found in all of the land uses. Paul went on to do a postdoc with the Zambian Carnivore Programme, establishing a study of large-carnivore ungulate dynamics and conservation in Kafue National Park, and then became a professor at the University of Alaska

Tyler Coleman (PhD)

Tyler, co-advised by Dr. Chuck Schwartz, evaluated the effectiveness of Yellowstone National Park's grizzly bear management policies, focusing on the closure or restriction of use in bear management areas. His field work was with Kerry Gunther of Yellowstone National Park. Tyler's analysis was based on an innovative approach that put GPS collars on grizzly bears and distributed logging GPS units to humans using the same area at the same time. Tyler went on to a job with the National Park Service as a bear biologist in Yellowstone National Park.

Tyler Creech (MS)

Tyler co-advised by Dr. Paul Cross of USGS, used proximity collars that recorded contacts between individual elk to examine the ecology and epidemiology of brucellosis in elk on Wyoming feedgrounds and the Yellowstone Ecosystem. Specifically, he examined the effect of different methods of distributing food on feedgrounds on elk contact rates. His work showed that contact rates among elk at feedgrounds are  much higher than is observed in herds on native winter ranges. This result parallels a result from Vicki Forristal, a former student on the project, who found that glucocorticoid stress hormone concentrations are substantially higher in feedground elk than on winter ranges. Tyler went on to a PhD study with Clint Epps and then to work with the Center for Large Landscape Conservation.

Leslie Frattaroli (MS)

Leslie, co-advised by Dr. Chuck Schwartz, used downloadable GPS collars to visit foraging sites of black bears soon after their use, to assess recreation impacts on habitat use and to assess the affects of grizzly bear range expansion on black bears. Her field work was with Steve Cain in Grand Teton National Park.

Dave Christianson (PhD)

Dave examined changes in elk foraging behavior in response to the presence of wolves, and the impacts of these changes on elk diets, nutrition, and demography. He went on to an EU Fellowship with Anne Loison's research group at the Université de Savoie, to examine interactions between predation and resource limitation on chamois nutrition and population dynamics, and then to become a professor at the University of Arizona.

Tiffany Holland (MS)

Tiffany, co-advised by Dr. Marcel Huisjer of WTI, examed factors that contribute to vehicle collisions with deer on US 93, testing for reductions after mitigation measures that included fences with 'jump outs' that allow deer to escape if they accidentally enter a fenced section of highway.

Cecily Costello (PhD)

Cecily studied black bear social organization and space use as they relate to population genetics and patterns of relatedness, using data from two populations in NM. Wildlife Conservation Society/Hornocker Wildlife Institute grants. Cecily went on to research with the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team on the genetic structure of N. Rockies populations of grizzly bears and issues to do with ESA protections.

Stewart Liley (MS)

Stewart used model selection methods to test the relative strength of predator, prey and environmental characteristics in predicting antipredator responses of elk to the presence of wolves. Surprisingly little prior work has attempted to determine the relative importance of these three types of variables in determining the strength of antipredator responses. Stewart went on to a job as the head elk biologist for the state of New Mexico.

John Winnie (PhD)

John studied the effects of predation risk from wolves on elk behavior, grouping patterns and spatial distributions, producing wide ranging data that revealed strong responses by elk in almost every aspect of their behavior that we considered. He went on to a postdoc with Wayne Getz and Paul Cross, studying habitat selection by African buffalo, to work for WCS on the conservation of argali (Marco Polo sheep) in the Wakhan corridor of Afghanistan, and to become an adjunct professor at MSU.

Aaron Wagner (PhD)

Aaron studied striped hyenas on the Laikipia Plateau of Kenya, including aspects of behavior, ecology, endocrinology and genetics. He went on to a postdoc to continue his work on striped hyenas in Kenya, with Kay Holekamp at Michigan State University (thereby keeping his career wholly within institutions called MSU).

Julia Nelson (MS)

Julia studied the impacts of coyotes on the use of space and stress physiology of endangered San Joaquin kit foxes, working with Dr. Brian Cypher. She went on to do some world traveling, study languages and work in Belize for the Peace Corps.

Goran Spong (PhD)

Goran studied population genetics and social evolution in African lions (in the Selous Game Reserve). Goran went on to a postdoc at Cambridge university with Dr. Tim Clutton Brock, studying meerkats, and then became a Professor at the University of Umea where he now is the head of a population genetics lab and director of the graduate program.

Jennifer Sands (MS)

Jennifer studied interactions between aggression, social status and glucocorticoid stress hormones in wolves (in Yellowstone National Park). Jennifer went on to become a secondary science teacher in Boulder.

Amanda Hardy (MS)

Amanda studied the impacts of winter recreation on elk and bison (in YNP). Amanda went to a job as a wildlife ecologist for the Western Transportation Institute, and then a PhD at CSU.