Current Projects

Identifying areas of avian abundance and richness to prioritize renewable energy exclusion zones in Colorado

Objectives 1) Use eBird occurrence and richness predictions to evaluate spatial overlap with predicted renewable energy development in Colorado, and 2) create a decision tool to evaluate tradeoffs in optimizing renewable energy development areas that minimizes conflicts with birds.

Team: Jonathon Crossley (M.S. Student), Brian Gerber (PI), and Casey Setash from Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

---

Using non-indidual based data and modeling to estimate New England Cottaintail Abundance

Objectives 1) Evaluate the attributes of the spatial count statistical model to estimate abundance using simulation, and 2) integrate spatial count and telemetry data to estimate the abundance of New England cottontails to inform translocation decisions.

Team: Edwige Bellier (Postdoctoral Researcher), Amy Mayer (Research Associate), Brian Gerber (PI), David Kalb, and Dylan Ferreira and the RI Department of Environmental Management, Fish and Wildlife Division.

---

Semi-Aquatic Mammal Distribution in Rhode Island

Objective: To understand the limiting factors associated with the distribution of muskrats, beavers, and river otters in Rhode Island.

Team: John Crockett (PhD student), Amy Mayer (Research Associate), Brian Gerber (PI), and Charlie Brown and the RI Department of Environmental Management, Fish and Wildlife Division.

---

Animal Diel Ecology

Objective: 1) To understand how wild animal’s change their activity and behavior across the 24-hour light-dark cycle to carryout their life history strategy and 2) to develop flexible and conceptually-based modeling approaches to make inference and predictions on animals diel activity use and selection.