Name: Britney Mosey
Hometown: Prior Lake, MN
Other colleges/universities attended (undergrad and/or graduate): UW-Madison
Advisor: Jay Hatch
Degree anticipated: MS
Research interests: animal behavior (mainly fish) and how humans are influencing them
Favorite hobbies: running, traveling, diving, hanging out with my dog Reagan
Favorite thing that’s green: stride gum
Last read: Harry Potter. I reread them at least once a year.
Favorite place on Earth: Hogwarts (kidding), Hawaii
Guilty pleasure: Harry Potter, ABC shows
Hometowmn: Albuquerque, NM
Other colleges/universities attended (undergrad and/or graduate): University of MN-Duluth
Advisors: Dr. Cuthbert and Dr. Niemi
Degree anticipated: PhD in Conservation Biology
Research interests: Avian Conservation
Guilty pleasure: I enjoy antique stores and shopping for records
The diversity of conservation: Exploring narratives, relationships and ecosystem services in Melanesian market-based biodiversity conservation. PhD Dissertation Defense by Bridget M Henning
Date October 20th, 2014
Time: 9:00 am
Place: R-380 LES
Abstract:
Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a biodiversity hotspot with large carbon pools making it a target of international conservation efforts. Protection of biodiversity in PNG requires conservationists to work with customary landowners, whose land rights are ensured in the constitution. New projects utilizing market-based conservation are now being attempted in PNG. Landowners welcome direct payments from conservationists, but different cultural perspectives exist. This dissertation examines the perspectives of landowners and conservationists in a market-based project. The first chapter describes Wanang village and the development of the Wanang Conservation Project, the first project in PNG to use direct payments for conservation. The second chapter explores the multiple meanings of conservation to villagers; conservation is discussed in term of as ancestral resource protection, material benefits, exchange relationships, political leadership, and as a connection to ancestors. These narratives demonstrate the diverse roles that conservation plays in Wanang, far more complex than simple biodiversity protection. In the third chapter, villagers’ and conservationists’ interests in ecosystem services and how these interests align are discussed through an examination of the bundling of carbon storage, hunted game, useful plants, and forest spirits in primary and secondary forests. Villagers’ interests in hunting, forest spirits, and plants used for tools, medicine, food, and rituals, bundled with conservationists’ interests in carbon storage in primary forests. The fourth chapter examines the complexity of using economic incentives in Melanesia. Conservationists use economic discourse to explain how the project functions and how they appeal to villagers as rational, self-interested, economic actors. However, villagers see incentives as part of an exchange relationship with moral obligations that extends beyond the transaction. The two sides are able to build a relationship around the idea of material exchange, though they understand it differently. This dissertation demonstrates the complexity of payments for environmental services in PNG. Villagers have multiple interests and expectations of conservation; villagers and conservationists have different interests in conservation, and also have different understandings of how projects work. Despite these differences, villagers and conservationists can find common ground to work together. Future research should examine the role of social relationships, incentives, and ancestors in the sustainability of the direct payments model.
Wild turkey reproductive ecology and survival in the urban environment. PhD Dissertation Defense by Karl Tinsely
Date: Wednesday, October 8th
Time: 9 am
Place: 203 Green Hall
Abstract
Once extirpated from large portions of it historic range, the wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) serves as a prime example of a conservation success. As North America’s largest game bird, the species represents a valuable recreational asset in many rural areas throughout the United States and Canada. As such, research has traditionally focused on habitat quality and species demographics in rural settings. Wild turkeys, however, have recently colonized urban areas, residing in habitat once thought of as unsuitable. As wild turkeys increasingly enter the urban setting, the species is coming into conflict with human residences. An important first step in understanding a species response to new or changing environments is understanding the influence on the species demographics and use of this habitat. For the wild turkey, we will need a basic understanding of these traits in order to effectively manage urban populations. Additionally, the wild turkey offers us the opportunity to gain insights into broader questions regarding the effects of urbanization on ground nesting species.
My research addresses how wild turkey demographics and habitat use may change in response to differing urban intensities. For three years, I monitored wild turkey habitat use, survival, and nesting behavior using radio-equipped birds at three study areas across the Twin Cities metropolitan area. For this study I examined: 1) reproductive measures, 2) nest site characteristics, 3) survival, 4) cause-specific mortality, 5) home range characteristics, and 6) habitat use. For this lecture I plan to present my nesting ecology and survival data. I will discuss several reproductive measures, including percent nesting, clutch size and hatch rate differences between my study sites, as well as nesting area traits. Lastly I will review survival and cause-specific mortality of urban turkeys, focusing my discussion on survival during the reproductive period.
Get to Know the New Cons Bio Cohort- 2013 Edition (Part 2)
Get to know more about the new UMN Conservation Biology students:
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Name: Joey Lechelt
Hometown: Chanhassen, MN
Other colleges/universities attended (undergrad and/or graduate): University of Wisconsin-Madison
Advisor: Przemek Bajer
Degree anticipated: MS Conservation Biology
Research interests: Common Carp Recruitment, including biocontrol mechanisms and movement
Favorite hobbies: Fishing, watching sports, beach volleyball
Favorite thing that’s green: Pine Trees
Last read: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World
Favorite place on Earth: Glacier National Park
Guilty pleasure: Ice Cream
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Name: David Pavlik
Hometown: Holt, MI
Other colleges/ universities attended (undergrad and/or graduate): Northern Michigan University for undergrad
Advisor: Rob Blair
Degree anticipated: Master’s
Research interests: Butterflies and butterfly conservation, disturbance and nectar availability
Favorite hobbies: Birding and Photography
Favorite place on Earth: Homer, Alaska
Guilty pleasure: Fantasy Hockey
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Name: Nate Banet
Hometown: Saint Louis, MO
Other colleges/universities attended (undergrad and/or graduate): University of Portland
Advisor: Peter Sorensen
Degree anticipated: MSc
Research interests: Seabird and salmonid habitat conservation, saltmarsh habitat and avian research, invasive species control
Favorite hobbies: backpacking, climbing, biking, skiing, traveling, running, anything outdoors
Favorite thing that’s green: Pacific Northwest
Last read: The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw
Favorite place on Earth: Queensland, Australia
Guilty pleasure: Craft breweries
Get to Know the New Cons Bio Cohort- 2013 Edition (Part 1)
Get to know more about the new UMN Conservation Biology students:
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Name: Bega Inaho
Hometown: Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea
Other colleges/universities attended (undergrad and/or graduate): University of Papua New Guinea
Advisor: Dr. George Weiblen
Degree anticipated: MSc
Research interests: Forest Ecology, Plant Systematics and Conservation
Favorite hobbies: Backyard gardening, watching movies and music
Favorite thing that’s green: Trees
Last read: Local Newspaper
Favorite place on Earth: Nothing’s better than Home
Guilty pleasure: Cigarettes
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Name: Kathryn Swanson
Hometown: Spring Lake Park
Other colleges/universities attended (undergrad and/or graduate): University of Minnesota (Ecology, Evolution and Behavior and Spanish/Portuguese) and La Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (Undergrad Exchange)
Advisor: Susan Galatowitsch
Degree anticipated: PhD
Research interests: Wetlands, hydrology and global climate change
Favorite hobbies: Camping, biking, pottery, reading, photography
Favorite thing that’s green: Rain gardens
Last read: Finding Mañana: A Memoir of a Cuban Exodus, by Mirta Ojito
Favorite place on Earth: Ilha do mel, Paraná, Brazil
Guilty pleasure: Corny ABC Family TV shows
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Name: Rodrigo Villalobos Aguirre
Hometown: Santiago, Chile
Other colleges/universities attended (undergrad and/or graduate): Veterinarian, Universidad de Chile
Advisor: Ron Moen
Degree anticipated: PhD
Research interests: Mammals, carnivores, Wildlife Conflict
Favorite hobbies: Travel, trekking, snorkeling
Favorite thing that’s green: Older Trees
Last read: Top of the World by Hans Ruesch
Favorite place on Earth: Chilean High Plateau, Chilean Rainforest, Ko rok Thai island
Guilty pleasure: Wine and beer
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Name: Aaron Claus
Hometown: Rochester, MN
Other colleges/universities attended (undergrad and/or graduate): University of Denver
Advisor: Peter Sorensen
Degree anticipated: M.Sc.
Research interests: Fish behavioral manipulation, conservation biology, invasive species control.
Favorite hobbies: Angling, Competitive Paintball, Soccer
Favorite thing that’s green: A productive lake or river
Last read: World War Z
Favorite place on Earth: Rio Juruena, BR
Guilty pleasure: JIF reduced fat peanut butter
Life and Boats
Editorial note: The following is a repost from http://lifeboat.com/blog/2013/03/life-and-boats by CB student Leif Devaney
In an enormously influential article published in 1974 in Psychology Today, and in a longer version published later that year in BioScience, Garrett Hardin introduced the metaphor of the lifeboat for economic and ethical consideration. This conceptual construction was intended as an improvement over the then-popular ecological metaphor of “spaceship earth” coined by Kenneth Boulding in 1966. Interestingly, in the opening paragraph of “Living on a lifeboat”, Hardin indicates that metaphors in general may be understood as only an early stage in mentally approaching difficult problems, and that this stage may be surpassed as theory advances and becomes more rigorous.
In Hardin’s analogy, large entities such as nations or the biosphere are likened to a boat, while smaller entities – for example, migrating individuals or groups – are likened to swimmers trying to board the already cramped vessel and exploit whatever resources are on board. In the imagined scenario, it is believed that the boat is near carrying capacity, but exactly how near is not known with certainty given the many future possibilities. A central question focuses on at what point, if any, the risk of sinking the entire boat outweighs the good provided for each additional rescued swimmer.
The metaphor of the lifeboat has structured thought about conservation, economics, ethics, and any number of other disciplinary areas for decades. The question I would like to pose is the following: Is the lifeboat scenario still (or was it ever) an apt metaphor for structuring thought about ethical conservation of resources, or have we reached a stage where the boat should be scuttled in favor of either a new metaphor or more literal language? Please feel free to post any thoughts you may have on this issue.
About the author: Leif DeVaney is a PhD candidate in the Conservation Biology Program with a minor in Philosophy at the University of Minnesota, and obtained his MS in Conservation Biology from the U of MN in 2010. A native Minnesotan, Leif studied philosophy and biology at Bethel University as an undergraduate. His master’s research included a Q study focused on the conflict over all-terrain vehicle use on Minnesota public lands, and he has performed social science research with the USDA Forest Service. Leif is broadly interested in philosophy of conservation and the interactions of wildlife, humans, and technology, and his doctoral research is centered on an investigation of and argument for the compatibility of wildlife rehabilitation and conservation. Leif is advised by Dr. David Bengston.
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PLEASE NOTE: Opinion blogs do not necessarily represent the unanimous opinion of those affiliated with the Conservation Biology Program at the University of Minnesota. Rather, they are meant to broaden and elevate the educational and scientific discourse related to various topics in conservation biology
FWCB Quantitative Ecologist – candidate interviews week of 4/1
The FWCB department search for a new quantitative ecologist faculty position continues this week with Dr. Elise Zipkin. Dr. Zipkin will be visiting Tuesday 4/2 and Wednesday 4/3. Many faculty members in the Conservation Biology Graduate Program are based in FWCB. New faculty appointments have many important teaching and research implications for the department, as well as the CB graduate program. Students are strongly encouraged to attend the graduate student lunch and research seminar as feedback from students is critical in informing the selection process. Research seminars can be accessed through a link on the FWCB website (right side of page) if you cannot attend in person. Please contact Nancy Rothman in the FWCB office for more information about the candidates.
The graduate student lunch with Dr. Zipkin will be this Wednesday (4/3) in 100 Skok Hall from noon to 1. A research seminar will follow at 3pm in Hodson 495. We hope to see you there!
Dr. Elise Zipkin is a Postdoctoral Researcher for the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, MD. Dr. Zipkin received her Ph.D. in Biology in 2012 from the University of Maryland. Her research focuses on hierarchical models of species distributions and abundances.
A big thank you to those of you that have attended the previous activities for the other candidates!
FWCB Quantitative Ecologist – candidate interviews week of 3/25
The FWCB department search for a new quantitative ecologist faculty position continues this week with Dr. Judith Toms. Dr. Toms will be visiting Tuesday 3/26 and Wednesday 3/27. She will be giving a research seminar at 3pm in Hodson 495 on Wednesday. Many faculty members in the Conservation Biology Graduate Program are based in FWCB. New faculty appointments have many important teaching and research implications for the department, as well as the CB graduate program. Students are strongly encouraged to attend the graduate student lunch and research seminar as feedback from students is critical in informing the selection process. Research seminars can be accessed through a link on the FWCB website (right side of page) if you cannot attend in person. Please contact Nancy Rothman in the FWCB office for more information about the candidates.
The graduate student lunch with Dr. Toms will be this Wednesday (3/27) in 100 Skok Hall from noon to 1. We hope to see you there!
Dr. Judith Toms, is a Postdoctoral Researcher at Eco-Logic Consulting in Victoria, British Columbia. Dr. Toms received her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences in 2011 from the University of Missouri – Columbia. Her research focuses on species interactions and annual-cycle ecology of Neotropical migrant birds.
Stay tuned for more blog posts about the candidates!
FWCB Quantitative Ecologist – candidate interviews week of 3/4
The FWCB department search for a new faculty position continues this week with Dr. John Fieberg. Dr. Fieberg will be visiting Tuesday 3/5 and Wednesday 3/6. He will be giving a research seminar at 3pm in Hodson 495 on Wednesday. Many faculty members in the Conservation Biology Graduate Program are based in FWCB. New faculty appointments have many important teaching and research implications for the department, as well as the CB graduate program. All students are strongly encouraged to attend the graduate student lunch and research seminar. Research seminars can be accessed through a link on the FWCB website (right side of page) if you cannot attend in person. Please contact Nancy Rothman in the FWCB office for more information about the candidates.
The graduate student lunch with Dr. Fieberg will be this Wednesday (3/6) in 100 Skok Hall (note new location) from noon to 1. We hope to see you there!
Dr. John Fieberg, Biometrician for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Forest Lake, Minnesota. Dr. Fieberg received his Ph.D. in Biomathematics in 2000 from North Carolina State University. His research focuses on species distributions, event-time analysis, sightability surveys, and home range ecology.
Stay tuned for weekly blog posts about the candidates!
FWCB Quantitative Ecologist – candidate interviews
Many faculty members in the Conservation Biology Graduate Program are based in the Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology Department. A new faculty position was recently advertised in FWCB for a Quantitative Ecologist. This appointment will have many important teaching and research implications for the department, as well as the CB graduate program. Four individuals were selected among the dozens that applied for the position. Beginning this week, candidates for the position will be interviewed on campus. Graduate student lunches will be held on the Wednesday of each week at 12-1 in 224 Hodson Hall. A research seminar will also be given on the same day at 3pm in 495 Hodson Hall. Student opinions are influential in informing the hiring process and we strongly encourage students to attend the lunches and research seminars. Needless to say, the student lunches will have free food and beverages. All research seminars can be accessed online if you cannot attend in person. Please contact Nancy Rothman in the FWCB office for more information about the candidates.
The first lunch will be this Wednesday (2/27) with Dr. Charles Yackulic. We hope to see you there!
Dr. Charles Yackulic, Research Statistician for the U.S. Geological Survey, Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center. Dr. Yackulic received his Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in 2009 from Columbia University in NY. His research focuses on species distribution dynamics, animal movement, and population ecology.
Stay tuned for weekly blog posts about the candidates!
The Cons Bio Blog 