Research




Photo: Tayler LaSharr

Our mission is to conduct research that bridges science and management

We seek to conduct research that is grounded in ecological theory to advance scientific understanding while also providing tools and resources that are relevant to wildlife managers and conservation practitioners.

Our research falls within the following themes:

Resource tracking and animal movement

Spatial and temporal variability in resources is ubiquitous in ecological systems. For many animals, movement is often the adaptation to this resource variability. Moving to seek out key resources that change across space and time is a behavior known as resource tracking. For example, mule deer carefully choreograph their migrations with the flush of nutritious spring green up that progresses along elevational gradients (see video). Pronghorn shift space-use patterns to avoid deep snow and moose modify fine-scale habitat selection to seek out favorable thermal environments. Our group uses animal movement as a lens into the resource requirements of wildlife. We have also developed new methods and frameworks to model the spatiotemporal dynamics of resources to advance our understanding of the causes, consequences, and conservation of resource tracking by wildlife.

Selected Relevant Publications

Abrahms B, EO Aikens, JB Armstrong, WW Deacy, MJ Kauffman, and JA Merkle (2021). Emerging perspectives on resource tracking and animal movement ecology. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 36(4): 308–320. [link]

Aikens EO, et al (2020). Wave-like patterns of plant phenology determine ungulate movement tactics. Current Biology 30(17): 3444–3449.e4. [link]

Aikens EO, MJ Kauffman, JA Merkle, SPH Dwinnell, GL Fralick, and KL Monteith (2017). The greenscape shapes surfing of resource waves in a large migratory herbivore. Ecology Letters 20(6): 741–750. [link]

Mule deer tracking spring green-up as they move from low elevation winter ranges to high elevation summer ranges during their spring migration in western Wyoming, USA. This video illustrates how plant growth changes across the landscape, and how deer move in response to these changes in resource dynamics.

Wildlife responses to environmental change

Across the globe, the environments that wildlife inhabit are experiencing unprecedented change. Development reduces and fragments habitat, while increasing human disturbance can alter animal behavior. Likewise, climate change is shifting the timing and location of key resources, which may cause wildlife to adjust space-use patterns and annual cycles in novel and surprising ways. We use animal movement to understand how wildlife respond to various forms of environmental change, with our most recent work focusing on the impacts of energy development and drought on mule deer migration.

Selected Relevant Publications

Aikens EO, Wyckoff TB, H Sawyer, and MJ Kauffman (2022). Energy development decouples ungulate migration from the green wave. Nature Ecology and Evolution [link]

Aikens EO, KL Monteith, JA Merkle, SPH Dwinnell, GL Fralick, and MJ Kauffman (2020). Drought reshuffles plant phenology and impedes green-wave surfing for a migratory ungulate. Global Change Biology 26: 4215–4225. [link]

Photo: Mark Thonhoff

Strategies for conserving ungulate migration and other wide-ranging movements

From seasonal migrations to meet annual resource requirements and long-distance movements to avoid extreme weather events, the ability to freely move across large landscapes is often an essential component of how wildlife make a living in harsh and seasonal environments. Yet, the landscapes that animals move across are facing unprecedented change from human disturbance and development that threaten the persistence of these essential movements. Ensuring that these ecologically, culturally, and economically important movements persist into the future requires innovative approaches and collaborations across diverse stakeholders. Our group is actively participating in both the West-wide migration mapping effort catalyzed by US Secretarial Order 3362 and the Global Initiative on Ungulate Migration supported by the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species.

Selected Relevant Publications

Kauffman MJ,...91 other authors, including EO Aikens...(2021). Mapping out a future for ungulate migrations. Science 372 (6542), 566–569. [link]

Cognitive underpinnings of animal migration

Migration is a complex behavior that requires many decisions about when and where to move. The outcomes of these decisions are critically important because mistimed migration or navigational errors can expose migrants to risks, negatively impact future reproduction and may even be fatal. Furthermore, migratory movements often expose animals to unfamiliar and dynamic environments. We are interested in understanding how animals gather information to mitigate the risks and maximize the rewards of migration. In particular, we investigate the roles of individual experience and social learning on migratory behavior. Better understanding the cognitive underpinnings of migration can provide important insights into the adaptive capacity of animal migration in a changing world.

Selected Relevant Publications

Aikens EO, I Bontekoe, L Blumenstiel, A Schlicksupp, and A Flack (2022). Viewing animal migration through a social lens. Trends in Ecology and Evolution. [link]

Abrahms B, EL Hazen, EO Aikens, MS Savoca, JA Goldbogen, SJ Bograd, MG Jacox, LM Irvine, DM Palacios, and BR Mate (2019). Memory and resource tracking drive blue whale migrations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116 (12) 5582–5587. [link]

Jesmer BR, JA Merkle, JR Goheen, EO Aikens, JL Beck, AB Courtemanch, MA Hurley, DE McWhirter, HM Miyasaki, KL Monteith, and MJ Kauffman (2018). Is ungulate migration culturally transmitted? Evidence of social learning from translocated animals. Science 361 (6406), 1023–1025. [link]

A juvenile white stork fitted with a tracking device that will record the stork's lifetime movement and energetics - from the first flight out of the nest until death.