fisheries, wildlife, and conservation biology · ernst frederick hain/* stacy nelson/james gilliam...

INDEX2014 Graduates ...........................2Asheville site for FWCB urban bear study .....................................3

Program Information and Faculty AchievementsFisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology

NC STATE UNIVERSITY

Online at http://Cnr.nCsu.edu/Fer/neWs/FWCB_neWsletter.php VOlume 11, issue 2 June 1, 2014

Animal movement symposium ........ 6 Graduate student abstracts ..... 7-9Research Publications ................. 10-11

Research Presentations ...............11-13Student and faculty awards .......15

2014 spring graduates

SEE FULL LIST OF GRADUATES, PAGE 2

Amy Starke, Erika Dinkler, Danielle Neujahr, Alexandra Morrison, Erica Brown, Summer Higdon, Keleigh Yelverton, and Elizabeth Van Meter.

Ben Patterson, Sterling Fulford, Michael Biggerstaff, Alex Chappell, Steven Schutz, and Jacob Pearce.

24 StuDENtS rEcEIVE BAcHElor oF ScIENcE DEgrEES; 3 grADuAtE DEgrEES AwArDED

2Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology

Trevor Scott AndrewsAndrew David ArbesMichael T. Biggerstaff*Erica Lauren BrownAdrianna Cardinal-De CasasPreston Alex Chappell *Jennifer L. DaltonErika Leighann Dinkler *Sterling Jarret FulfordRichard Garrett FumarolaAndrew Daniels GaySummer D. Higdon +***

Derrick T. HollomanKyle Joseph HusseyAlexandra J. Morrison~Danielle Marie Neujahr *Alexander Wayne PadgettBenjamin Clark PattersonJacob William Pearce *Steven John Schutz *Amy Kristin StarkeAndrew Taylor WaltersElizabeth I. Van MeterKeleigh C. Yelverton

dOCtOr OF philOsOphY in Fisheries, WildliFe, and COnserVatiOn BiOlOGY

Neil A. Chartier/* Richard LanciaErnst Frederick Hain/* Stacy Nelson/James GilliamMarcus A. Lashley/* Chris Moorman/Chris DePerno

BaChelOr OF sCienCe in Fisheries, WildliFe, and COnserVatiOn BiOlOGY

+Co-major *Cum Laude **Magna Cum Laude ***Summa Cum Laude /*Major Advisor ~ Student Ambassador

2014 spring graduates

slideshOW OnlineAlex Morrison and Julie Savage put together an awesome slideshow for this year’s graduates, their classmates, and their teachers. Check it out at the link. Great job, Alex and Julie! http://youtu.be/ik7YGoUpYI8


OriGinallY puBlished in the asheVille Citizen-times

http://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2014/04/28/asheville-site-major-bear-study/8441519/

ASHEVILLE – An impressive male black bear that biologists cap-tured and fitted with a GPS collar last week just east of Asheville likely didn’t care much for the experience.

But his participation in an intensive new study will help researchers learn more about the city’s growing popula-tion of urban and suburban bears.

State researchers hope the four-year study, the first of its kind in the South-east, will shed new light on how bears survive and even thrive in populated

areas — where they frequent, what they eat and about reproduction and mortality patterns. Knowledge gained will help researchers map out strate-gies for how bears and humans can better coexist.

The study, a collaboration between N.C. State University and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, kicked off earlier this month, with a focus on attaching collars equipped with GPS devices on bears.

“Hopefully, we can learn what these bears are doing — where, when and why they are using Asheville,” said N.C. State University wildlife re-searcher Nick Gould, who’s leading the project.

Biologists have set out a dozen bait-ed culvert traps — large metal con-tainers with a doors that slam shut when a bear goes inside — in and around Asheville, all on private land with landowners’ cooperation. Cap-tured bears are tranquilized to allow researchers to attach the collars, then released unharmed a short time later. Biologists plan to keep collars on about 40 bears.

asheville site of urban bear studyNick Gould (Ph.D student, advisor Dr. Chris DePerno) and Mike Carraway, a biologist for the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission, attach a radio collar to a black bear.

goal of study is to shed light on how black bears survive and thrive in urban areas

mOre Onlinehttp://www.wlos.com/shared/news/features/top-stories/stories/wlos_bears-get-gps-collars-study-16024.shtml

Please see, Bears Page 4

“I’ve never seen a better response from landowners,” Gould said. “There’s just been overwhelming sup-port.”

He said Asheville is the ideal site for the study.

“There are a lot of bears and a lot of people who like seeing bears,” Gould said. “People want to live with bears. We just want to make sure we’re liv-ing with them correctly.”

The GPS collars are programmed to automatically unclasp and fall off col-lared bears after three years, or collars can be unclasped by biologists re-motely at any time.

studY OBJeCtiVesData from the collars will allow re-

searchers to get an in-depth look at the habits of city bears, which despite their size are elusive and difficult to study. The collars will update biolo-gists about a bear’s location every 15 minutes.

“It’s as close to real time as you can get,” Gould said.

Researchers will be able to deter-mine whether bears spend all of their time in the city or come and go de-pending on food supplies. It will tell them what bears eat, including wheth-er they are supplementing natural foods by raiding garbage cans, bird feeders and other human sources of food.

“I have a feeling we’re going to find these bears are near peoples’ homes, and they don’t know it,” said Wildlife Resources Commission biologist Col-leen Olfenbuttel. “The information we get from the study is going to pro-vide us the science to make manage-ment decisions here but also in any developed area where bears are start-

ing to populate.”Biologists also will be able to track

female bears to their dens to learn more about den sites and reproduction rates, getting a better idea of the num-ber of bears in the city.

Managing bears could come in the form of minimizing human food sources, or by changing hunting rules to allow more bears to be harvested, among other options. But researchers said it’s too early to say what findings may come from the study because the data haven’t been collected yet.

Most nuisance bear problems stem from people either intentionally or in-advertently providing food for the an-imals, Olfenbuttel said.

While a few other states, including Pennsylvania, have conducted studies on urban bears, the Asheville project is considerably longer in duration and should yield more conclusive infor-mation, she said. It will be the longest-running study of its kind yet in the eastern U.S.

WhY sO manY Bears?The bear comeback story in North

Carolina began in 1970, when the Wildlife Resources Commission es-tablished a number of bear sanctuar-

ies, where hunting isn’t allowed, on national forest land. At the time, bear numbers had dwindled to as few as 1,500 animals statewide.

“There were very few bears,” Wild-life Resources Commission biologist Mike Carraway said. “People won-dered if they would disappear.”

Today the state’s bear population is estimated at 17,000-20,000, most of them in rural eastern North Carolina. Western North Carolina has an esti-mated 6,500-8,000 bears.

Bear numbers slowly began to in-crease after 1970, then accelerated about a decade ago partly because of increased land development, Carr-away said. New housing develop-ments create de facto sanctuaries, he said.

“It’s counterintuitive because typi-cally development is bad for wildlife,” Carraway said. “Development actual-ly is protection for bears because it creates bear sanctuaries.”

Bears are opportunistic omnivores, quickly learning how to take advan-tage of any food source available and how to live in close proximity to hu-mans, he said. The animals can live


Bears continued from page 3

A black bear fitted with a GPS collar.

Please see, Bears Page 5


up to 30 years, with the main causes of mortality being hunting and vehicle collisions.

“Over time, we found that bears are much more adaptable to human popu-lation than we ever thought they were,” Carraway said.

lOCal aCtiOnsAt least one Buncombe municipali-

ty, Montreat, has taken proactive steps to prevent bear problems. Town offi-cials in 2003 approved an ordinance that requires residents to wait until the day of garbage collection to place trash at the curb, unless they have a bear-proof metal container. Town leaders also launched a public educa-tion effort about bird feeders and oth-er sources of food.

“A lot of people were putting their garbage out the night before, and that was causing a problem,” Montreat town manager Ron Nalley said.

Town residents today have few prob-lems with bears, he said.

“It’s the exception rather than the rule now,” Nalley said.

Retiree Betty Andrews, a longtime resident of the Bent Creek area on the southern outskirts of Asheville, didn’t need a municipal directive for her and her husband, Dan, to change some of their habits.

The couple have learned to live with bears, putting out their garbage on the morning of pickup instead of the night before. They also now use a rope to hoist a bird feeder high into a tree, which the bears haven’t been able to reach.

Andrews, an Asheville native, said she’s seen firsthand the spike in bear numbers. Bear sightings increased in

her neighborhood about five years ago, she said.

“I really don’t remember bears com-ing around before then,” she said. “They’ve crushed every bird feeder we’ve ever put out.”

Despite those issues, Andrews said she doesn’t mind the bears.

“This used to be all forest before they

built the houses here,” she said. “We’re not afraid, but some people with little kids are concerned about it.”

Garbage collection in her neighbor-hood is on a Tuesday, but don’t tell the bears.

“They haven’t figured out trash day yet or they could make a killing,” she said.

A black bear fitted with a GPS collar.

Bears continued from page 4


From 5-8 May 2014, FWCB hosted a symposium on Animal Movement and the Environment at the North Carolina Mu-seum of Natural Sciences. The event was hosted by NCSU Professor Roland Kays, attracted 175 scientists from 11 countries, including numerous FWCB staff and students. The meeting included research talks on movement ecology and statistical tu-torials meant to help scientists keep pace with the rapid development of techniques being developed to understand animal movement. Video recordings of all presentations are available at http://amovee2014.com.

FWCB hosts animal movement symposium

The Animal Movement and the Environment symposium was hosted by NCSU Professor Roland Kays, and attracted 175 scientists from 11 countries, including numerous FWCB staff and students.


Coyotes (Canis latrans) recently expanded into the eastern U.S. and potentially have caused localized white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virgin-ianus) population declines. As novel predators, coyotes are exerting a pressure on deer that has been absent for nearly 100 years in many areas of the southeastern United States. Re-cent research indicated neonatal fawns may be particularly vulnerable to coy-otes, so understanding survival rates is crucial for managing deer popula-tions in the presence of coyotes. In 2011 and 2012, we radiocollared 65 neonates at Fort Bragg Military In-stallation in North Carolina, moni-tored them intensively for 16 weeks, and assigned mortality causes. We determined survival and evaluated the impact of covariates on survival (Chapter 1). Additionally, we relocat-ed neonates to quantify space use and movement, particularly in the context of avoiding predation risk. We used movement and bedsite cover data to evaluate the possibility that coyotes and cover conditions at Fort Bragg were creating an evolutionary trap for neonates (Chapter 2). We used locally derived vital rates to build a population model and perform sensi-tivity analysis and manipulated vital rates to explore potential effects of management actions under “what if” scenarios (Chapter 3). Results indi-cated that neonate survival was low and coyote predation was the leading source of mortality. Selection analy-sis provided support for an evolution-

ary trap because neonates with great-er movement rates and bedsites in less dense cover were more likely to escape predation by coyotes. These results are counter to the expected hider strategy common among ungu-late neonates. Population modeling revealed a declining deer population, and proposed management scenarios resulted in various population trajec-

tories (subject to model uncertainty). We concluded that reducing adult fe-male harvest was the least expensive, most effective strategy to mitigate negative effects of coyotes on deer populations. Overall, results indicat-ed that coyotes can have profound impacts on white-tailed deer popula-tion dynamics in the southeastern U.S.

colter chitwood

White-tailed deer population dynamics in the presence of a novel predator

(under the direCtiOn OF ChristOpher e. mOOrman and ChristOpher s. depernO)

aBstraCt: miChael COlter ChitWOOd


Practitioners have espoused the emerging paradigm of ecosystem-based land management to restore and maintain functioning ecosystems. As a result, management prescriptions often are based on historical and em-pirical references of keystone ecologi-cal processes. A keystone process in the longleaf pine ecosystem is fire dis-turbance, which historically occurred most frequently during the growing season. Currently, the emphasis in this ecosystem is on frequent early growing-season fire disturbances. Hence, land managers have applied fire based on average historical fre-quencies and primarily during the growing season. However, little is known about the effects of this fire re-gime on native plants and wildlife sensitive to fire season and frequency, particularly when natural stochastic variability is ignored. Therefore, I measured plant distributions, growth, and reproductive allocations (fruit production) of native fire-adapted flo-ra, hypothesizing differing fire sea-sons and fire-return intervals would be necessary to maximize heteroge-neity on the landscape. During the 2011 and 2012 growing seasons, I as-sessed the distribution of important hard and soft mast producing tree spe-cies, understory vegetative biomass, and overstory and understory fruit production of native plants in relation to fire frequency and seasonality in the longleaf pine-wiregrass ecosys-tem at Fort Bragg Military Installa-tion, North Carolina. Also, I used compositional analysis to measure the

influence of time-since-fire and fire season on deer selection of burned ar-eas and the impacts of burning on 95% home range and 50% core area space used and site fidelity. Understo-ry plant biomass was greatest follow-ing dormant-season fires. Wiregrass biomass was greatest in upland pine

stands, but was unaffected by season of burning. In longleaf pine stands, 94% of the fruit was detected 2 years after growing-season fire and 6% one year after growing-season fire. Fruit

Marcus lashley

the importance of including natural variability in fire prescriptions: fruits, forages, and white-tailed deer space use

(under the direCtiOn OF ChristOpher mOOrman and ChristOpher depernO)

aBstraCt: marCus alan lashleY

Please see, lashleY Page 9


production was greater in July follow-ing dormant-season fire and in Sep-tember following growing-season fire but was greatest in upland hardwood stands because of the mosaic in fire spread in the vegetation type. Unnat-ural distributions of important hard-wood mast producers near man-made firebreaks and variability in fruiting response and plant biomass to timing and frequency of fire, indicate sto-

chastic variability in fire season and frequency is essential to the mainte-nance of landscape heterogeneity, high plant diversity, and abundant fruit pro-duction. Further, our compositional analysis showed that deer selected un-burned drainages and areas that had been burned ≥2yr previously, while avoiding areas that had been burned more recently. Individuals with greater percentage of their home range burned increased the size of their core area during the same year of the fire, but not their overall home range area. Further-more, site fidelity across years de-

creased as the percentage of the core area in the previous year was burned. Guided by our best knowledge of vari-ability in historical fire regimes, vary-ing fire applications should include growing- and dormant-season fires, in-corporating shorter and longer fire-re-turn intervals, incorporating a varia-tion in firing techniques, and avoiding burning adjacent areas in the same year. These recommendations will better emulate historical fires and, therefore, cater to a larger array of na-tive taxa, including threatened and endangered flora and fauna.

lashleY continued from page 8

Photos courtesy of Steve Allen A northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon) basks in the sun on a rock in the Eno river at the Eno river State Park. Share your best wildlife photos with the FwcB Newsletter. E-mail high resolution images to Steve Allen at [email protected].

snapshot: eno river state park

research publicationsArchambault, J. M., W. G. Cope, and T. J. Kwak. 2014. Influence of sediment presence on freshwater mussel ther-

mal tolerance. Freshwater Science 33:56-65.

Charles-Smith, L. E., M. E. Rutledge, C. J. Meek, K. Baine, E. Massey, L. N. Ellsaesser, C. S. DePerno, C. E. Moorman, and L. A. Degernes. 2014. Hematologic parameters and hemoparasites of nonmigratory Canada geese (Branta canadensis) from Greensboro, North Carolina, USA. Journal of Avian Medicine and Surgery 28:16-23.

Dodge, S., G. Bohrer, K. Bildstein, S. C. Davidson, R. Weinzierl, M. J. Bechard, D. Barber, R. Kays, D. Brandes, J. Han, and M. Wikelski. 2014. Environmental drivers of variability in the movement ecology of turkey vul-tures (Cathartes aura) in North and South America. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biologi-cal Sciences 369:20130195.

Garabedian, J. E., R. J. McGaughey, S. E. Reutebuch, B. R. Parresol, J. C. Kilgo, C. E. Moorman, and M. N. Peterson. 2014. Quantitative analysis of habitat using high-resolution airborne LiDAR estimates of forest struc-ture and composition. Remote Sensing of Environment 145:68-80.

Garabedian, J. E., C. E. Moorman, M. N. Peterson, and J. C. Kilgo. 2014. Systematic review of the influence of foraging habitat on red-cockaded woodpecker reproductive success. Wildlife Biology 20:37-46.

Grote, A. B., M. M. Bailey, J. D. Zydlewski, and J. E. Hightower. 2014. Multibeam sonar (DIDSON) assessment of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) approaching a hydroelectric dam. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquat-ic Sciences 71:545-558.

Grovenburg, T. W., R. W. Klaver, C. N. Jacques, T. J. Brinkman, C. C. Swanson, C. S. DePerno, K. L. Monteith, J. D. Sievers, V. C. Bleich. J. G. Kie, and J. A. Jenks. 2014. Influence of landscape characteristics on retention of expandable radiocollars on young ungulates. Wildlife Society Bulletin 38:89-95.

Lashley, M. A., M. C. Chitwood, M. T. Biggerstaff, D. L. Morina, C. E. Moorman, and C. S. DePerno. 2014. White-tailed vigilance: The influence of social and environmental factors. PLOS ONE 9(3): e69213. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0090652.

Lashley, M. A., J. R. Thompson, M. C. Chitwood, C. S. DePerno, and C. E. Moorman. Evaluation of methods to estimate understory fruit biomass. PLOS ONE 9(5): e96898. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0096898.

Niemuth, J. N., C. W. Sanders. C. B. Mooney, C. Olfenbuttel, C. S. DePerno, and M. K. Stoskopf. 2014. Nephro-lithiasis in free-ranging North American river otters (Lontra canadensis) in North Carolina, USA. Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 45:110-117.

Porter, K. M., C. S. DePerno, A. Krings, M. Krachey, and R. Braham. 2014. Vegetative impact of feral horses, feral pigs, and white-tailed deer on Currituck National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina. Castanea 79:8-17.


Publications & Presentations



Raabe, J. K., and J. E. Hightower. 2014. American shad migratory behavior, weight loss, survival, and abundance in a North Carolina river following dam removals. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 143:673-688.

Raabe, J. K., B. Gardner, and J. E. Hightower. 2014. A spatial capture-recapture model to estimate fish survival and loca-

tion from linear continuous monitoring arrays. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 71:120-130.

Rudershausen, P. J., J. A. Buckel, and J. E. Hightower. 2014. Discard mortality of a U.S. South Atlantic reef fish estimated from surface and bottom tagging. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 71:514-520.

Si, X., R. Kays, and P. Ding. 2014. How long is enough to detect terrestrial animals? Estimating the minimum trap-ping effort on camera traps. PeerJ 2:e374.

Smith, W. E. and T. J. Kwak. 2014. A capture-recapture model of amphidromous fish dispersal. Journal of Fish Biology 84:897-912.

Smith, W. E. and T. J. Kwak. 2014. Otolith microchemistry of tropical diadromous fishes: spatial and migratory dynamics. Journal of Fish Biology 84:913-928.

Zimova, M., L. S. Mills, P. M. Lukacs, and M. S. Mitchell. 2014. Snowshoe hares display limited phenotypic plasticity to mismatch in seasonal camouflage. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B. 281:20140029

research presentationsBiggerstaff, M. T., M. A. Lashley, M. C. Chitwood, D. L. Morina, C. S. DePerno, and C. E. Moorman. 2014.

Age-dependent sexual conflict impacts vigilance behavior at concentrated food sources. 2014 Annual Meeting of the North Carolina Chapter of The Wildlife Society, Haw River State Park, Browns Summit, North Carolina.

Biggerstaff, M. T., M. A. Lashley, M. C. Chitwood, D. L. Morina, C. S. DePerno, and C. E. Moorman. 2014. Age-dependent sexual conflict impacts vigilance behavior at concentrated food sources. 23rd Annual NCSU Undergraduate Research Symposium, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Biggerstaff, M. T., M. A. Lashley, M. C. Chitwood, D. L. Morina, C. S. DePerno, and C. E. Moorman. 2014. Age-dependent sexual conflict impacts vigilance behavior at concentrated food sources. 37th Annual Meeting of the Southeast Deer Study Group. University of Georgia Hotel and Conference Center, Athens, Georgia.

Chitwood, M. C., M. A. Lashley, C. E. Moorman, and C. S. DePerno. 2014. Deer and coyotes: business as usual or adaptive management? 2014 Annual Meeting of the North Carolina Chapter of The Wildlife Society, Haw River State Park, Browns Summit, North Carolina.

Chitwood, M. C., M. A. Lashley, C. E. Moorman, M. B. Elfelt, J. C. Kilgo, and C. S. DePerno. 2014. White-tailed deer fawn space use and movement distance in a predator-dominated landscape. 2014 Annual Meeting of the North Carolina Chapter of The Wildlife Society, Haw River State Park, Browns Summit, North Carolina.


Publications & PresentationsFish, A., C. E. Moorman, and C. S. DePerno. 2014. Influence of military training activity on breeding productivity

and density of Bachman’s sparrow. Fort Bragg DPW/Endangered Species Branch Research Symposium, South-ern Pines, North Carolina.

Fritts, S. R., C. E. Moorman, D. W. Hazel, J. A. Homyack, C. B. Farrell, S. Grodsky, K. H. Pollock, and S. B. Castleberry. 2014. Amphibian response to woody biomass harvesting. Texas Chapter of the Wildlife Society Annual Conference, Austin, Texas.

Garabedian, J. E., C. E. Moorman, M. N. Peterson, and J. C. Kilgo. 2014. Population density mediated space use by red-cockaded woodpeckers. 17th Annual Zoology Graduate Student Research Symposium, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Garabedian, J.E., C.E. Moorman, M.N. Peterson, and J.C. Kilgo. 2014. Population density mediated space use by red-cockaded woodpeckers. Annual Meeting of the North Carolina Chapter of The Wildlife Society, Browns Summit, North Carolina.

Garabedian, J.E., C.E. Moorman, M.N. Peterson, and J.C. Kilgo. 2014. Population density mediated space use by

red-cockaded woodpeckers. The Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge 75th Anniversary Poster Exhibit, McBee, South Carolina.

Grodsky, S. M., R. B. Iglay, C. E. Sorenson, and C. E. Moorman. 2014. Invertebrates are wildlife too: representa-tion of “The Little Things That Run the World” in wildlife journals. 17th Annual Zoology Graduate Research Symposium, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Grodsky, S. M., C. E. Moorman, S. R. Fritts, S. B. Castleberry, and T. B. Wigley. 2014. Effects of biomass har-vesting guidelines on avian habitat use. Annual Meeting of the North Carolina Chapter of the Wildlife Society Brown’s Summit, North Carolina.

Heise, R. J., W. G. Cope, T. J. Kwak, and C. B. Eads. 2014. Effects of small dam removal on a freshwater mussel assemblage in the Deep River of North Carolina: findings and lessons learned. Invited speaker to a workshop on “Lessons Learned by Researchers and Decision Makers Involved in Dam Removal” at the Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society Biennial Workshop, Portland, Maine.

Lashley, M.A., M.C. Chitwood, C.A. Harper, R. Kays, C.S. DePerno, and C.E. Moorman. 2014. Adapting con-temporary fire regimes to emulate historical variability. 2014 Annual Meeting of the North Carolina Chapter of The Wildlife Society, Haw River State Park, Browns Summit, North Carolina.

Lashley, M. A., M. C. Chitwood, R. Kays, C. A. Harper, C. S. DePerno, and C. E. Moorman. 2014. White-tailed deer burned area selection and site fidelity following prescribed fire. Symposium on Animal Movement and the Environment, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Lee Pow, C., W. G. Cope, D. D. Aday, J. A. Rice, T. J. Kwak, J. M. Law, and S. W. Kullman. 2014. Landscape assessment of estrogenic contaminants and intersex fish in North Carolina streams and rivers. Carolinas Re-gional Chapter of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Clemson, South Carolina.



Mills, L. S. 2014. Can camouflage keep up with climate change? Seasonal coat color confronts a globally decreasing snowpack. Fondazione Edmund Mach, Trentino, Italy.

Mills, L. S. 2014. Seven billion humans meet nine million other species. Monmouth College Distinguished Lecturer, Monmouth, Illinois.

Mills, L. S. 2014. How camouflage hides animals while revealing mysteries of climate change. Monmouth College Departmental Seminar, Monmouth, Illinois.

Moorman, C., L. Garner, D. Cobb, and B. Gardner. 2014. Distribution and abundance of the American alligator at the northern extent of its range. Annual Meeting of the North Carolina Chapter of The Wildlife Society, Browns Summit, North Carolina.

Moorman, C. E. 2014. Biomass Harvesting Guidelines (BHGs) Panel: Status and current research, wildlife and bio-mass. Utilizing Woody Biomass for Energy: Policy, Perspective, and Practice, Jordan Lake, North Carolina.

Moorman, C. E. 2014. Biomass Harvesting Guidelines (BHGs) Panel: Status and current research, wildlife and bio-mass. Utilizing Woody Biomass for Energy: Policy, Perspective, and Practice, Kinston, North Carolina.

Moorman, C. E., and G. Hess. 2014. Designing urban greenways to conserve wildlife. Duke Conservation Society Symposium on Urban Ecology and Management, Durham, North Carolina.

Morina, D. L., M. A. Lashley, M. C. Chitwood, M. T. Biggerstaff, C. S. DePerno, and C. E. Moorman. 2014. Comparison of acorn production of white oaks and sawtooth oaks. 2014 Annual Meeting of the North Carolina Chapter of The Wildlife Society, Haw River State Park, Browns Summit, North Carolina.

Daniel Morina won the Best Student Poster award at the Annual Meeting of the North Carolina Chapter of The Wildlife Society. Beth Stevenson with her poster at the Zoology-FWCB Graduate Student Symposium.



Morina, D. L., M. A. Lashley, M. C. Chitwood, M. T. Biggerstaff, C. S. DePerno, and C. E. Moorman. Com-parison of white oak and sawtooth oak acorn production and attractiveness. 23rd Annual NCSU Undergraduate Research Symposium, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Morina, D. L., M. A. Lashley, M. C. Chitwood, M. T. Biggerstaff, C. S. DePerno, and C. E. Moorman. 2014. Comparison of acorn production of white oaks and sawtooth oaks. 37th Annual Meeting of the Southeast Deer Study Group. University of Georgia Hotel and Conference Center, Athens, Georgia.

Stevenson, E. R., M. C. Chitwood, M. A. Lashley, C. E. Moorman, and C. S. DePerno. 2014. A preliminary as-sessment of home range size and movement of white-tailed deer in the presence of a novel predator. 17th Annual Zoology Graduate Symposium, David Clark Labs, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina.

extension and OutreachDurso, K.P., and C. S. DePerno. 2014. Abundance estimate of a human introduced population of Mediterranean

geckos (Hemidactylus turcicus). Herpetology Club at North Carolina State University, David Clark Laborato-ries, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Durso, K., and C. DePerno. 2014. Geckos in your home: The Mediterranean gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus). Pre-sented at the 2014 Reptile and Amphibian Day at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Fish, A. C., C. E. Moorman, and C. S. DePerno. 2014. Influence of military training on Bachman’s Sparrow den-sity and reproductive success. Presented to 30 individuals of the Fort Bragg Endangered Species Branch. Wey-mouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve, Southern Pines, North Carolina.

Mills, L. S. 2014. Wild Hares: A New Model System to Understand Adaptation to Climate Change. NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine “PopMED” Seminar Series, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Mills, L. S. 2014. Life as a Wildlife Biology Professor. Wake Forest Women’s Book Club, Wake Forest North Carolina.

popular pressPrince, A., C. Moorman, and C. DePerno. Survival rates and home ranges of fox squirrels in the North Carolina

Sandhills. The Upland Gazette, Wildlife Conservation and Habitat Management Spring 2014:8.

student awardsDaniel L. Morina, 1st Place Student Poster; Annual Meeting of the NC Chapter of TWS.

Daniel L. Morina, 2nd Place Student Poster; Annual Meeting of the Southeast Deer Study Group.



Jennifer Archambault was awarded the W. Don Baker Memorial Award for the Best Platform Presentation given by a Professional Member at the 25th North Carolina Chapter American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting held February 18-19, 2014 in Durham, North Carolina.

Jennifer’s winning presentation was entitled “Sensitivity of Freshwater Mol-lusks to Hydrilla-Targeting Herbicides”. The paper was co-authored by Chris-tine M. Bergeron,

W. Gregory Cope, Rob Richardson, Mark Heilman, Michael D. Netherland, Ryan Heise, and J. Edward Corey. The research that Jennifer presented has al-ready been used by natural resource managers to help guide aquatic herbi-cide applications to control Hydrilla, a highly invasive aquatic weed, in Lake Waccamaw, North Carolina, which supports a number of rare, endemic fish and mollusk populations.

Jennifer is a 2004 alumnus of the NC State University Fisheries and Wildlife Program and received her M.S. degree with a major in Zoology and minor in Environmental Toxicology in 2012 from NC State University. Her thesis research assessed the thermal sensitivity of native freshwater mussels and was co-advised by Drs. Greg Cope and Tom Kwak (both FWCB Faculty and Professors of Applied Ecology). Jennifer is currently a Research Associate in the Department of Applied Ecology, and previously worked as a Wildlife Biologist at Dr. J.H. Carter III & Associates, Environmental Consultants, in Southern Pines, North Carolina.

student awards

hiGhtOWer aWardDr. Chris Moorman (left) and Dr. Joe Hightower

(right) present Steve Grodsky (FWCB PhD student at center) with the 2014 Joseph E. and Robin C. Hight-ower Graduate Student Award. The Hightower en-dowment provides financial awards to foster educa-tional opportunities for graduate students enrolled in the FWCB Master’s and Ph.D. degree programs.

W. dOn Baker memOrial aWard FOr the Best platFOrm presentatiOn

Jennifer Archambault

Editor: Christopher S. DePerno, Ph.D.Professor, Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology

the neWsletter Compiled and edited by:

Department of ForestryCollege of Natural ResourcesNorth Carolina State UniversityTurner House, Box 7646

Raleigh, NC 27695-7646919-513-7559 (office)919-334-8935 (cell)[email protected]

Steve Allen Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology graduatedesign and editing336-209-5093 (cell) [email protected]

Got a story idea or a great photo?Send your article submissions or pictures of North Carolina’s native wildlife to [email protected].

OrGanizatiOns and OppOrtunitiesNorth Carolina State University Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology

students and faculty are active in a number of peer and industry organizations devoted to aspects of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology.

The Leopold Wildlife Club offers students the opportunity to network and learn from professionals in wildlife science and management. Meetings are held twice a month and typically feature speakers on a variety of topics. Past speakers have included falconers, fishing guides, taxidermists, decoy carvers and more.

The Student Fisheries Society is a sub-unit of the North Carolina Chapter of the American Fisheries Society. It encourages the exchange of fisheries and aquatic science information among students, faculty and regional professionals while also providing career guidance to students. The American Fisheries Soci-ety is the oldest and largest not-for-profit professional society for government, academic and industry scientists associated with conservation, development and management of fishery resources in North America.

The NC Chapter of The Wildlife Society provides a forum for wildlife pro-fessionals and others to interact to improve wildlife conservation and manage-ment while fostering high professional standards and ethics within all related fields. It is an acknowledged source of current scientific information and exper-tise and acts as a collective voice on matters relating to wildlife biology, manage-ment, education and policy.

summer Camp student endOWments

Please consider giving to our two Summer Camp student endowments. These endowments help undergraduate students attend the Fisheries and Wildlife Sum-mer Camp. For more information on how to contribute, contact Dr. Chris Moor-man at 919-515-5578 or [email protected]

phil dOerr endOWment Fund

Also, you may consider giving to the Phil Doerr Endowment Fund. The en-dowment, established with the North Carolina Natural Resources Foundation, will be used to fund an annual award to assist undergraduate or graduate student(s) in gaining valuable field experience. For more information on how to contribute, contact Dr. Chris Moorman at 919-515-5578 or [email protected]

read BaCk issues OnlineIf you missed the last issue of the Fisheries and Wildlife newsletter you can catch up on back issues on the department’s Web site under the news tab.

http://cnr.ncsu.edu/fer/news/FWCB_newsletter.php


Co-editor: Christopher E. Moorman, Ph.D.Professor and coordinator, Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation [email protected]

fisheries, wildlife, and conservation biology · ernst frederick hain/* stacy nelson/james gilliam...

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