Research - Response to disturbance

Avian community response to acute and chronic disturbance

We usually assume that a diverse biotic community indicates a system that is able to rebound quickly from disturbances, but we rarely measure the capacity for resilience (i.e., time and resources required to return a system to the original state). Resilience capacity is a fundamental aspect of ecological community dynamics, and is critical for planning conservation areas for wildlife populations and sustaining the ecosystem services they provide to human communities (e.g., safe and sufficient food and water). However, measuring resilience to extreme weather events is difficult because data must be collected before an event that is unpredictable in both location and time. This study measures the capacity for resilience in the diverse avian community of the Gulf Prairies and Marshes that experienced the acute disturbance of Hurricane Harvey as well as the chronic disturbance of agricultural land-use and drought.

Physiological response to hunting pressure and land management techniques in waterfowl

Texas wetlands provide critical migratory habitat for North American waterfowl, however, recent research suggests that body condition in at least one duck species, the pintail, is not improving on these wintering grounds as expected. This study investigates how body condition and population characteristics change across the hunting season in waterfowl, and whether differences in water management techniques and/or weather impact duck health on Texas wintering grounds This research utilized donated duck bodies from local hunters to establish duck health and condition. The results of this research were published in the Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.

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