forest and wildlife ecology...
TRANSCRIPT
by Associate Professor Christine Ribicand Postdoctoral Fellow DonaldBrown, Wisconsin CooperativeWildlife Research Unit
The Kirtland’s Warbler is anendangered migratory song-bird that breeds primarily in
Michigan and winters in theBahamian Archipelago. The speciesis an extreme habitat specialist onthe breeding grounds, showing astrong preference for large, densepatches of young jack pine and well-drained sandy soils. Due to intensivecollaborative management, thespecies has recovered from about200 breeding males in 1971 toroughly 2,000 breeding males today,and is now a candidate for federaldelisting. However, potential post-delisting management changes andclimate change on both the breedingand wintering grounds could impactthe long-term viability of thespecies.
We are working with the US Fish and Wildlife Service andthe US Forest Service to assist in proactive management ofthis species over the next century. We are doing this with aseries of modeling studies to project environmental changeson the breeding and wintering grounds, and linking thosechanges to the Kirtland’s Warbler population. On the breed-ing grounds, we are using a space-for-time approach to proj-ect changes in jack pine establishment probabilities andgrowth rates across Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota
under several climate change scenar-ios. Most of the species’ currentbreeding habitat is created throughjack pine plantations, and highseedling establishment is critical forcreating the dense patches used asbreeding habitat. Thus, the impact ofclimate change on jack pine estab-lishment will affect where futureKirtland’s Warbler ManagementAreas should be located. We are alsoquantifying potential loss of winter-ing grounds foraging habitat due tosea-level rise, and changes in winter-ing grounds habitat quality due tochanges in precipitation. Using afull-annual-cycle approach, thesehabitat changes will be linked to apopulation dynamics simulationmodel we have developed, allowingus to assess how climate changemight influence long-term popula-tion viability.
In addition to climate change, fund-ing for Kirtland’s Warbler breedinghabitat management will decrease
after the species is delisted. In response, managers are cur-rently considering integrating experimental jack pine planta-tions into the Kirtland’s Warbler habitat creation program.The goal of these plantations will be to continue providingmoderately suitable breeding habitat, while increasing timbervalue through changes in tree density and/or configurationand introduction of red pine. In addition, managers are seek-ing to reduce costs of a Brown-headed Cowbird removal
Warbler continues on page 2
FOREST AND WILDLIFEECOLOGY NEWSA Newsletter for Dept. of Forest and Wildlife Ecology Staff, Students, Alumni, and Friends
Vol. 18, No. 1 May 2015
Visit us online: www.fwe.wisc.edu
Kirtland’s Warbler: Setting proactive management guidelines for the next 100 years
Plans for managing breeding habitat quality andcontrol of cowbirds will greatly impact the viabilityof Kirtland’s Warbler in the future.
Artwork by Donald Brown
Page 2 FOREST AND WILDLIFE ECOLOGY NEWS
Congratulations toour newest alum-
ni – our May gradu-ates! We are proudthat we could offerthem strong academ-ic, pre-professional,and community-building experiences.
Our programs for them continue to berecognized as top-notch – a new rank-ing has placed us 5th in the world inforestry programs (pg. 3). In additionto strong academics, our students enjoya wide variety of other activities organ-ized by their own forestry and wildlifeclubs (pgs. 5, 6). Our undergraduatesreceive fantastic mentoring from gradu-ate students like Autumn Sabo and pro-fessors like Scott Bowe, whose mentor-ing activities won each of them campusawards (pg. 4). Autumn guided under-graduate Andy Muench through his sen-ior research thesis, and undergraduatesMorgan Walcheck and Kelsey Raymenteach won competitive fellowshipsbased on their research proposals (pg.6). We have so much to offer under-graduates! Please share that messagewith any new prospects you know.
On July 1 Professor Mark Rickenbachwill take over as department chair.Mark, a 15-year member of the depart-
ment, has been Associate Chair since2009 and has an excellent understand-ing of the programs and staff in thedepartment and college. Join me inwelcoming Mark into his new position,and also in welcoming our newestAssistant Professor Craig Johnston (pg.4). As I am stepping away from theChair towards regular faculty status, Iam reflecting again on how pullingtogether and working as a team the fac-ulty, staff, students, and alumni helpmaintain our excellent forest andwildlife programs. To foster this spirit,and especially to enable us to fundcommunity-building activities, thedepartment recently created a “Sense ofCommunity Fund.” We need such afund because the spending restrictionson other gift funds have made it diffi-cult to do such simple things as providea gift of condolence to an ill or mourn-ing colleague, or refreshments at our“Friday Flock” social that followsFriday departmental seminars. To helpkick off this fund, I will contribute upto $1000 in match to contributions tothis fund in the coming year (see pg. 7for how to contribute). Please join mein further building our sense of commu-nity, which ultimately helps us succeedin an enterprise that transcends our per-sonal life stories in time and impact onthe world – providing a continuingstream of well-trained people, as capa-ble as our alumni, to carry into thefuture the important work of manage-ment and conservation of naturalresources.
Ethan Lee (BS Forest Science 2014)is parks and forestry coordinator forthe City of Janesville. He works withthe public to resolve park and forestryrelated problems throughout the com-munity, works with friends groups andother community groups, inspectsprojects underway, and identifies areasfor new tree [email protected]
Veronique St-Louis (PhD Forestry2009) is the wildlife biometrician forthe Minnesota Department of NaturalResources. Veronique obtained herMS in Biometry at the UW-Madisonas well as her PhD. [email protected]
Joe Huck (BS Forest Science 2007)has transferred from a position asforester on the Clearwater NationalForest in northern Idaho to a timbermanagement assistant position,Chequamegon-Nicolet NationalForest, Great Divide Ranger Districtbased in Glidden, [email protected]
Brian Beisel (BS Forest Science1981) retired on Jan. 2, 2015, afterserving 33 years in the Forest Service,most recently with the Land Betweenthe Lakes National Recreation Area inKentucky. [email protected]
Ted Sickley was recently appointeddirector of Cartographic Databases forthe National Geographic Society. Priorto that position, he was with the USCensus Bureau and an earlier positionwith National Geographic. Ted was aGIS analyst and research programmanager in the Mladenoff Lab for17 years. [email protected]
Alumni Update
Warbler, continued from page 1
program. This program has been imple-mented continuously since 1972, withremoval of this nest parasite resulting indramatic increases in Kirtland’s Warblerfledgling production. We have used ourmodel to assess the impacts of changinghabitat management and reduced cowbirdremoval on the Kirtland’s Warbler popu-lation. Our preliminary results indicatethat moderate reductions in breeding
habitat quality will not threaten the per-sistence of the species, but reduced cow-bird removal would likely have substan-tial negative impacts on abundance.Ultimately, our project will assist man-agers with understanding the importanceand influence of different Kirtland’sWarbler management strategies on popu-lation viability, and provide geographical-ly-focused information that will assistwith adaptation strategies to mitigate cli-mate-induced habitat changes.
News from the Chair
Bill Karasov
UW-Madison near top in ag and forestryThe UW-Madison has been ranked 5thin the world in the area of Agricultureand Forestry by QS World UniversityRankings. The rankings highlight theworld’s top universities in 36 individ-ual subjects based on academic reputa-tion, employer reputation, and researchimpact, according to QS’s web site[http://www.topuniversities.com/unive-rsity-rankings]. Ranked 1st through 4thwere University of California-Davis,Cornell, Wageningen University in TheNetherlands, and University ofCalifornia-Berkeley.
Craig Johnston joins theFWE faculty
In January theDepartment ofForest andWildlife Ecologywelcomed a newfaculty mem-ber—AssistantProfessor CraigJohnston. Craiggrew up in
Canada and earned his undergraduatedegree at Queen’s University inOntario. He continued his studies at theUniversity of Victoria, earning his MAin 2011 and PhD in 2014.
Craig’s research focuses on the rela-tionship between the forest and its rolein climate change mitigation.“Governments around the world arequick to adopt legislation that rely on
forests as an answer to climate change, yet little is known about the true costof these policies,” says Craig. “Mygoal is to better understand how we canmaximize the carbon sequestrationpotential of forests, while at the sametime improve the economic viability ofthe forest products industry. With thisin mind, my research group works onissues in forest management, interna-tional trade, and bioenergy systems.”You can learn more about Craig and hisresearch at his web site at:http://labs.russell.wisc.edu/Johnston/
Craig Lorimer retiresAfter serving as amember of theForest andWildlife Ecologyfaculty for 37years, ProfessorCraig Lorimerretired at the endof December2014. Craig has
made a significant impact on thedepartment and in his field of foreststand dynamics and in teaching andadvising undergraduate and graduatestudents. Over the years he advised 31graduate students (20 MS and 11 PhD).He also taught and advised manyundergraduates. He estimates that thesilviculture course he taught was takenby more than 750 students and his firebehavior/management course by morethan 600 students across a wide rangeof majors. Last year the Forestry Clubhonored Craig by awarding him theExtra Chain Award for his excellencein teaching and advising.
Craig has also made a number ofresearch contributions ranging fromstudies on oak regeneration problemsto the dynamics of old-growth forests.
These contributions include developinga widely-used method to estimate pastdisturbance frequency and intensity toforest canopies based on tree-ring evi-dence and, more recently, completing acomputer model (CANOPY) that wascalibrated with data spanning the com-plete range of forest developmentalstages. This model has made it possi-ble to investigate a number of difficultlong-term issues in forest dynamics,including the question of whetherolder forests are a carbon sink orcarbon-neutral (important for globalwarming implications). Craig is authoror co-author on about 90 scientific publications. In addition to his teachingand research, Craig participated innumerous outreach and service activi-ties over the years. We wish Craig allthe best in retirement, although we maysee him around the office for a whileas he wraps up several projects inprogress.
Stanosz appointed toForestry Research AdvisoryCouncil
Professor GlenStanosz has beenappointed to theForestryResearchAdvisory Council(FRAC), anational-levelcommittee.FRAC meets
annually to provide advice to theSecretary of Agriculture regarding pri-orities for forestry research throughland-grant colleges or agriculturalexperiment stations and other State-supported universities offering graduatetraining in forest sciences. Glen spe-cializes in forest pathology.
Department News continues on p. 4
Page 3FOREST AND WILDLIFE ECOLOGY NEWS
DepartmentNews
Craig Johnston
Craig Lorimer
Glen Stanosz
Department News, continued from p. 3
Radeloff selected for Kellett Award
Professor VolkerRadeloff washonored with aKellett Mid-Career Award.The award, sup-ported by theWisconsinAlumni ResearchFoundation
(WARF), recognizes outstanding mid-career faculty members. The awardincludes $60,000 in research funding.Volker’s research focuses on land usechange and its implications for biodi-versity conservation.
CALS selects Bowe for Extra Mile Award
Professor Scott Bowe, wood productsspecialist, was selected to receive theCALS Arthur J. Mauer Extra MileAward. Current and former students,faculty members and colleagues at WIDNR all supported Scott’s nominationfor the award, which was presented at aceremony on campus on April 29. Hisnominators were all adamant that Scottis willing to go beyond normal expecta-tions in his teaching, extension andservice activities. Scott’s professionalinterests focus on wood products manu-facturing in both Wisconsin and theglobal forest products industry.
Two selected for McCabe-Keith AwardThe Forest and Wildlife EcologyDepartment selected MS student WynneMoss and PhD student Brendan Reid toreceive this year's McCabe-KeithAward. Wynne’s research focuses onthe impacts of human development onmountain lions. She uses stable isotopeanalysis, capture and monitoring, demo-graphic models, and spatial analysis incollecting and analyzing her data. Shehas an impressive list of publications inher field and is actively presenting herwork at professional meetings and inthe classroom.
Brendan’s research focuses on thedemography and genetics of turtlespecies in Wisconsin, in particular, theendangered Blanding’s turtle. He hasbuilt upon and eventually assumed con-trol over a long-term mark-recaptureprogram initiated by WI DNR in 1990.
He also designed and implemented astatewide, four-year survey of multipleturtle species. He has published 9 arti-cles and made 11 conference presenta-tions. In addition, he actively dissemi-nates his research findings at publicevents, classroom lectures, as a gueston public radio, and teaching and men-toring undergraduate students. Wynneand Brendan will each receive $500.The McCabe-Keith award is limited towildlife ecology graduate students.
Sabo receives undergradmentoring awardThe Office of the Provost and ViceChancellor for Academic Affairs hasselected graduate student Autumn Saboas this year’s recipient of the Award forMentoring Undergraduate Students. Theaward highlights the important rolementors play in fostering intellectual,personal, and professional growthamong undergrads. Autumn was hon-ored April 16 during a ceremony at theIdeas to Excellence Reception held fol-lowing the UW-Madison UndergraduateSymposium. Autumn is workingmentoring award continues on page 5
Page 4 FOREST AND WILDLIFE ECOLOGY NEWS
Student News
Volker Radeloff
CALS Dean Kate VandenBosch (left) with ScottBowe and Ellen Mauer at awards ceremony.
Alum donatesdeer skeleton to department
The department is fortunateto take ownership of a deer
skeleton display donated byUW-Madison alumnus GlennHelgeland of Mequon, Wis.Glenn no longer uses the skele-ton at the deer and turkey exposhe produced for 31 years. So hechose to donate it to the department as “a small way to say thanks toan educational institution and department I thoroughly enjoyed.” The skeleton is profes-sionally mounted and enclosed in a Plexiglas case. Anna Pidgeon has already used theskeleton in her Terrestrial Vertebrate Ecology course for a lab exam on mammals. Futurestudents will be fortunate to have the skeleton as a visual teaching aid. Thank you, Glenn,for choosing our department as the skeleton’s next home.
mentoring award, continued from p. 4with Eric Kruger on a PhD in Forestry. Her research interests include forestresilience and recovery, rare plant con-servation, climate change, invasivespecies, and restoration. Her disserta-tion focuses on how white-tailed deeraffect understory plant communities.
FWE announces BestDissertation AwardsThe Department of Forest and WildlifeEcology announced the recipients of itsBest Dissertation Awards. JenniferStenglein and Christina Locke sharethe honor of inaugural award recipients.Awards are based on a combination ofintellectual merit and broader impactsof the PhD research. Candidates musthave completed their dissertation withinthe past 2 years. Each recipient willreceive a $500 award.
Jennifer Stenglein earned her PhD inWildlife Ecology in 2014. Her disserta-tion is titled, “Survival of Wisconsin’sgray wolves from endangered to har-vested, 1980-2013.” Jennifer used datafrom WI DNR on recovered wolf car-casses, annual population counts, andradio-tracked wolves to study the sur-vival of an endangered wolf populationduring initial reestablishment to recov-ery and into the first year of harvest. Inher dissertation she developed newmodels in a Bayesian framework thathave broad application to wildlife con-servation. Jennifer’s graduate advisor,Tim Van Deelen, notes that her disserta-tion stands out because of its “profoundand immediate impact on conserva-tion.” Jennifer currently is QuantitativeWildlife Research Scientist with WIDNR.
Christina Locke earned her PhD inForestry in 2014. Her dissertation istitled, “Spatial heterogeneity of policyeffects on land-use change.” She notesthat the goal of her dissertation research
was to quantify the effects of localland-use policies on residential andindustrial development and forest frag-mentation at regional scales. In order toconduct her research, Christina took amultidisciplinary approach, combiningmethods and research designs in novelways. Her advisor, Adena Rissman,
states that Christina’s dissertation“makes important advances in thecausal analysis of zoning policy onhousing development, forest fragmenta-tion, and natural resources use.”Currently, Christina is a Post-DoctoralResearcher in the Claudio Gratton Labat the UW-Madison.
Forestry Club networks withSteven’s Point studentsby Donnie Radcliffe
This semester the Forestry Club has focused on professional developmentand networking with members of the Steven’s Point Forestry Club. In
February, the club traveled to Steven’s Point for their annual forestry student’sbanquet. The Society of American Foresters (SAF) President, Matt Manashes,was also in attendance. Club leaders from Madison and Steven’s Point ForestryClubs met with Mr. Manashes and discussed ways to increase contact amongdifferent student groups. Cooperation is becoming especially important becausethe SAF National Convention is coming to Madison in Fall of 2016. In March the Steven’s Point Forestry Club came down to Madison. The twoclubs toured the Forest Products Lab, grilled out, and went to a Badger hockeygame together. (The Badgers lost to Ohio State on the 9th shootout, but it was aheck of a game!) In addition to the networking events, several students attended chainsaw certifi-cation and a wildland firefighting class. The club also hosted a tree walk,where older students were able to refresh their leafless tree identification skills,and learn new ID tricks. Some club members went camping and hiking in theKickapoo Valley Reserve in western Wisconsin.
As we head toward the end of the academic year, the club is gearing up for theannual forestry vs. wildlife kickball game and is planning a tree climbingdemonstration. Stay tuned!
Page 5FOREST AND WILDLIFE ECOLOGY NEWS
In March the UW Forestry Club invited the Steven’s Point Forestry Club to join them for a tourof the Forest Products Lab followed by a grill out and hockey game
Undergrads selected forHolstrom and HilldaleawardsMorgan Walcheck was selected arecipient of the HolstromEnvironmental Scholarship. Morganwill be collaborating with Bill Karasovon a project titled, “Effects of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid (2,4-D)
Exposure on Hormone Concentrationsin Larvae of Fathead Minnows.” Shewas awarded $3,000 and Karasov willreceive $500-$1,000 to support the col-laboration. A grant from Carleton andMary Beth Holstrom supports theaward.
Kelsey Rayment was awarded aHilldale Research Fellowship to sup-port her research project titled,
“Intestinal Digestive EnzymeModulation in Northern BobwhiteQuail.” Kelsey will also receive $3,000along with $500-$1,000 in support forher advisor Bill Karasov. The HilldaleFellowships are funded by grants fromthe Hilldale Foundation and theWisconsin State Legislature.
Both Morgan and Kelsey were recog-nized at the Chancellor’sUndergraduate Awards Ceremony onMay 4.
Evans chosen for bestresearch presentationThe Wisconsin and Minnesota chaptersof The Wildlife Society selected MSgraduate student Bryn Evans to receivethe Best Graduate Student Poster awardat its joint meeting in Duluth, MN, inFebruary this year. Her poster titled,“Recovery of Semi-Aquatic Mammalsin the St. Louis Area of Concern,” wasco-authored with her advisor Tim VanDeelen and post-doctoral researcherShawn Crimmins. The poster summa-rizes her research on mammal popula-tions—focusing on mink, river otters,and beavers—in the highly degradedhabitat of the St. Louis River Estuaryon Lake Superior.
Global Health Instituteselects CorneliusThe Global Health Institute selectedPhD candidate Emily Cornelius toreceive a $5,000 Graduate StudentResearch Award for her proposal titled,“Investigation of the ReservoirCompetency of Two Resident PasserineBirds for West Nile Virus.” Emily’sadvisor is Bill Karasov. The GlobalHealth Institute is based at the UW-Madison and strives to improve healthin Wisconsin as well as across theworld through research, education, andservice.
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Student Chapter of The WildlifeSociety has busy springby Jade Arneson
With chesty honking by Canada Geese cruising over cornfields and guttur-al calls of sandhill cranes flying over marshland, we wildlifers are
happy to know that spring has arrived in Wisconsin. With spring’s arrival, TheWildlife Society’s (TWS) officers have been busy hosting events for studentchapter members. Here are highlights of our spring activities so far: Carolynfrom the Madison Audubon Society headed an Owl Prowl at Picnic Point, weled an early morning Picnic Point birding trip, helped educate kids at WingraSchool about common Wisconsin wildlife during a Family Science Night,assisted David Drake in aiding salamanders across high traffic roads, organ-ized a highway cleanup, and lent a few hands to help with pre-elk releasepreparations in Black River Falls. Our club members were excited to learn that26 elk were recently translocated from Kentucky to an acclimation pen inBlack River State Forest, Wisconsin. Three of our members helped move haybales as part of the pre-elk release preparations. The student chapter recentlyhosted officer elections as well as participated in a frog and toad survey withthe WI DNR.
TWS club members Lucas Olson (second from right), Kyle Andreska (third from right), andCody Tisdale (fourth from right) help move 750 hay bales as part of pre-elk release prepara-tion near Black River Falls.
Page 7FOREST AND WILDLIFE ECOLOGY NEWS
Forest and Wildlife Ecology FundWe invite you to join us in our efforts to provide support for important department priorities. Donations to the three funds are,respectively, used to support activities that promote a sense of community in the department, help cover the costs of the sum-mer field camp and host activities such as special lectures, and support student travel to professional meetings.I/we would like to donate to: ____Sense of Community Fund ____General FWE Fund ____Grad Student Travel FundI/we would like to donate: ____ $25 ____ $50 ____ $75 ____$100 ___ Other (please specify amount)I/we would like to pledge $______ each year for ______ yearsPlease charge my gift of $________ to my (please circle): Mastercard Visa American ExpressCard Number: __ __ __ __ - __ __ __ __ - __ __ __ __ - __ __ __ __ Card Expiration Date: ________________________Cardholder’s Name (please print)__________________________________________________________________________Cardholder’s Signature____________________________________________ Date ________________________________Name(s)______________________________________________________________________________________________Street Address _________________________________________________________________________________________City, State, Zip ________________________________________________________________________________________If paying by check, please make your gift payable to UW Foundation and mail to: University of Wisconsin Foundation,US Bank Lockbox, P.O. Box 78807, Milwaukee, WI 53278.
Donations may also be made online at: http://fwe.wisc.edu/alumni
Thomas and Mary AlbrechtAnonymous DonorsTerrence BushMichael Wagner and Karen ClancyRobert CochraneCommunity Foundation National CapitalRegion
The Connor FamilyTom Dew
Disney Worldwide Services, Inc.Kristi DuBoisAnnette DurrerEli Lilly and CompanyGerald and Lise EschKeith GillessJames Hall and Karen HaleAndrew HancockAmanda HarfordRegina HirschDeborah Hobbins and David Mladenoff Steven Hoffman and Mary HoffmanProf. and Mrs. Scott HygnstromFrancis KirschlingJohn Kress and Jacqueline KressRose KyprianouProf. and Mrs. Ronald LabiskyMichael Lardy and Cynthia LardyThomas LarsonDavid LinderudDavid Liska
Martha MallettJames MarchPaul MarshallColleen McCabeRichard McCabe and Jami McCabeMargaret McCabeJill McGovernIsabel McKayMerrill and Emita Hastings FoundationEdwin MeslowDaniel MoultonThomas O’BrienWendy OrthJames PeaseLisa PeterfreundThaddeus PyrekRuffed Grouse SocietyVaughn RundquistDaniel SchmoldtJohn Sproul, Jr.Williams Companies
Thank you to thosewho donated to FWEDonations from alumni and friends of theDepartment of Forest and Wildlife Ecologyallow us to do things and support activitiesthat would be difficult or impossible with-out your support. We extend a heartfeltthank you to all who donated in 2014. Ifwe’ve mistakenly left you off the list, weapologize, and ask that you please alert us.
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RESEARCH CAPSULEChadwick RittenhouseAdena Rissman
QUESTIONHave changes in winter weather conditions impacted timber harvestingin Wisconsin?
PROJECTWe analyzed weather station recordsfrom 1948 to 2012. We looked at timber harvest records from Wisconsin state andcounty forests from 1996 to 2012 for associations with winter weather.
FINDINGSFrozen ground declined two to three weeks between 1948 and 2012, which is important for timber harvesting. Years with less frozen ground or snow duration had more harvest of jack pine and red pine and less harvest of aspen, black spruce,hemlock, red maple, and white spruce.