Johnson Wildlife Habitat Ecology Lab 

Habitat Ecology -- a unifying theme.

Our lab is fascinated by all aspects of wildlife Habitat Ecology - from the theoretical to the practical. Habitat ecology is the study of how animals interact with their habitats, which we investigate by identifying animals' critical resources and the factors that constrain their use. Such studies advance our ecological understanding and refine our conservation and management efforts. Most of our work is with birds, but we have also worked with other taxa to better understand emergent relationships between animals and their habitats. Therefore, students in the lab work on a diversity of study systems, yet share a unified focus on habitat.

Top-cited Publications

• 2007 Johnson, M.D. Measuring habitat quality: a review. Condor 109:489-504 PDF

• 2011 Wenny, D., T.L. DeVault, M.D. Johnson, D. Kelly, C.H. Sekercioglu, D.F. Tomback, and C.J. Whelan. The need to quantify ecosystem services provided by birds. Auk 128: 1-14. PDF

• 2001 Johnson, M.D. and T.W. Sherry. Effects of food availability on the distribution of migratory warblers among habitats in Jamaica, West Indies. Journal of Animal Ecology 70:546-560 PDF

• 2008 Kellermann, J.L., M.D. Johnson, A.M. Stercho, and S. Hackett. Ecological and economic services provided by birds on Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee farms. Conservation Biology 22:1177-1185 PDF

• 2006 Johnson, M.D., T.W. Sherry, R.T. Holmes, and P.P Marra. Assessing habitat quality for a migratory songbird wintering in natural and agricultural habitats. Conservation Biology 20:1433-1444. PDF

Interested in joining the lab? 

If you share some of the lab's research interests and would like to inquire about being a graduate student in it, there are a few steps you can take to express your interest. Understand that space is limited and competition can be strong; we typically only accept 1-3 new students per year from among top candidates (see current students). Matt typically advertises funded graduate research positions on the Texas A&M Natural Resource Job Board, and also often the Ornithology Exchange job board. Successful applicants send Matt a sample of their writing in a 1-2 page thesis project idea proposal via email along with a CV and references (matt.johnson@humboldt.edu). Be sure to also mention possible funding sources if you have them. If there is space and funding and we share interests, you may also want to arrange for a visit to the Humboldt campus. If requested, you will send a formal application to the Graduate School.