Research
Research Interests
My students and I focus our research on northern ecology including biogeochemistry and nutrient cycling, physiological plant ecology, soil-plant-animal interactions, and wildlife ecology. We engage in experimental field investigations, modeling studies of plant and animal populations, as well as interdisciplinary socio-ecological research. Since 1991 I have been an investigator with the Bonanza Creek Long-Term Ecological Research (BNZ-LTER) program focusing on ecological processes in boreal forest ecosystems in the context of climate change. I have a strong interest in interdisciplinary research as indicated by previous projects addressing issues such as the ecology and economics of caribou-reindeer interactions (NSF 1999-2005) and the effects of river ice dynamics on subsistence activities in rural Alaska (NSF 2009-2013). I also maintain collaborations with state and federal resource agencies on projects related to the ecology and management of wildlife in Alaska.
Recent and Current Projects
Interactions of succession and herbivory by insects and mammals in boreal forests
Habitat use and migratory behavior of caribou
Winter ecology of wolverines
Reproductive biology and diet of great horned owls
Nutritional ecology of snowshoe hares
Vegetation - herbivore interactions in relation to climate change in the Arctic
Population dynamics of snowshoe hares
Movement ecology of lynx
Prey selection and reproduction in marten
Grants
Senior Investigator, Bonanza Creek LTER: Cross-scale controls over responses of the Alaskan boreal forest to changing disturbance regimes, NSF 2017-2023, $6.7M
PI - Movement Patterns, Dispersal Behavior, and Survival of Lynx in Relation to Snowshoe Hare Abundance in the Boreal Forest , USGS, 2020, $139,376
PI - Spatial Ecology of lynx, USF&WS, 2018, $75,000
PI - Movement patterns of lynx in relation to snowshoe hare abundance, Northwest Boreal LCC, 2017 - 2018, $60,000
PI - Dietary analysis of martens in interior Alaska based on stable isotopes
PI – Ecology of lynx near their northern range limit, USGS, 10/14 – 10/15, $22,876
PI – Dietary analysis of furbearers in interior Alaska based on stable isotope analysis, ADF&G, 12/13 – 12/14, $10,000
PI - Interactions of Fire and Thermokarst Affecting Ecological Change In Alaska, USGS, 6/11-5/16, $379,470
PI - Integrating Remote Sensing and Local Knowledge to Monitor Seasonal River Ice Dynamics, National Institutes for Water Resources,3/11 – 3/12, $22,290
PI - Nutritional Ecology of snowshoe hares, National Park Service, 9/10 – 9/14, $11,179
PI – Dangerous Ice: Human perspectives on changing winter conditions in interior Alaska, NSF Social Sciences ARO, 08/09 – 07/12, $359,264
PI – Primary Succession on Yukon River Floodplains, USDA Forest Service, 07/01/07-06/30/12, $75,000
PI – Feedbacks between river hydrology and terrestrial nitrogen dynamics in taiga forests,The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, 6/02-9/05, $296,291
PI - Reindeer herding in transition: feedback between climate, caribou and local communities in Northwestern Alaska, NSF, 11/99-6/05, $1,257,636
PI – Arctic hunters as reindeer herders, NSF, supplement to Reindeer herding in transition, 10/01-6/04, $23,119
PI – Controls over white spruce establishments in floodplain plant communities, US Forest Service, 10/01-10/06, $55,000
PI - Effects of moose on dynamics of floodplain communities, US Forest Service, 9/99-8/04, $56,533
PI - The role of organic nitrogen in the nitrogen economy of taiga trees, USDA-NRI Ecosystems 6/99-5/02, $467,500
Co-PI – Mutualistic partner choice in alder across a forest successional sequence in interior Alaska (Ruess PI), NSF 06/-1/07 – 05/31/10), $796,227
Co-PI – Lake Clark moose habitat/calf survival study (Griffith – PI), National Park Service, 7/03 – 8/08, $405,999
Co-PI - Moose herbivory and browse quality along latitudinal gradients in Alaska and Scandinavia, (Edenius – PI), STINT, 7/00-12/03, $15,000
Co-PI - Bathurst calving ground studies, West Kitikmeot Slave Study Society (Griffith PI) 1998-2001, $297,764
Co-PI - Landscape patterns of heavy metal concentrations in reindeer and caribou in Northwestern Alaska, Natural Resources Fund, 3/99-3/00, $18,350