RESEARCH

WHAT I DO

My primary interest is problem solving to achieve actionable conservation. 

Science is but one of many avenues to achieve this.  Although policy change can be a goal, so can be altering attitudes, inspiring others, or solving mysteries.  My own work tends to be with species larger than a bread box, and thematically on issues concerning population ecology, thermal ecology, effects of people on species as landscapes change, migration, and climate stressors.  Understanding how we’ve altered food webs is also important.  Much of my efforts continue to be in remote ecosystems, although there are clear advantages to work on biodiversity issues in the mountains and deserts of the Intermountain West.  

Current projects that excite me are also at the policy level, where we’re trying to establish a National Petroglyph and animal icons as formal symbols of respect and tolerance at International Peace Parks. 

THEMES

Among the key questions in my lab are:

    1

    To what extent are ecosystem processes driven by top-down and bottom-up forces?

    2

    What, if anything, might be done to assure the conservation of cold-adapted species?

    3

    How best might we dampen human footprints so that connectivity can be maintained or restored?

    4

    How do we enhance conservation for lesser-known species (e. g. those without iconic imagery)?

    To progress, we mesh applied with basic questions – often with methods steeped in behavioral ecology. We use empiricism (descriptive and experimental) in the field and blend geographical approaches: contrasts within- and between populations, ecological or environmental gradients, and settings that vary across community membership (animal or human).

    LOCATIONS

    The geographical scale is large – with current or recent projects situated in the Northern Rocky Mountains and deserts to the west, the Arctic in both Asia (Wrangel Island, Chukotka, Russia) and Alaska, and some areas within central or high elevation Asia [Mongolia, China (Tibet), and Bhutan]. Why? The Northern Rockies possess the best chance for persisting intact ecological communities – including large carnivores and ungulates. The Arctic is vast, unpopulated and abundant in challenge. Patagonia is sparsely populated and with phenomenal opportunities to study biodiversity while benefiting from local knowledge and perspective.