PhD Students

Becky Zug, 2018
Wildlife Ecology, UW – Madison
Dissertation:”Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus), biodiversity, and puma (Puma concolor) conservation on private lands in the ecuadorian andes : implications for conservation in a human-dominated landscape”
Current position:

Andrew Norton, 2015
Wildlife Ecology, UW – Madison
Dissertation: “Integration of harvest and time-to-event data used to estimate demographic parameters for white-tailed deer”
Current position: Biometrician, Iowa DNR

Jen Stenglein, 2014
Wildlife Ecology, UW – Madison
Dissertation: “Survival of Wisconsin’s gray wolves from endangered to harvested, 1980 – 2013”
Current position: Quantitative Wildlife Ecologist, Wisconsin DNR

Erik Olson, 2013
Environment and Resources, UW – Madison
Dissertation: “As a wolf: A Wisconsin case-study of wolf-human conflict and predator-prey ecology”
Current position: Assistant Professor of Natural Resources, Northland College

Karl Malcolm, 2011
Wildlife Ecology, UW – Madison
Dissertation: “Responses of two ecologically similar bear species (American black bear and Asiatic black bear) to human-dominated landscapes and consumptive use”
Current position: Presidential Management Fellow, USDA Forest Service

Dave MacFarland, 2009
Wildlife Ecology, UW – Madison
Dissertation: “Population estimation, habitat associations, and range expansion of black bears in the Upper Midwest”
Current position: Large Carnivore Specialist, Wisconsin DNR

Patrick Hubert, 2004
Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois
Dissertation: “Wild turkey ecology in two intensively farmed landscapes in central Illinois”
Current position: Wildlife Biologist, Ontario MNR

Todd Gosselink, 2002
Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois
Dissertation: “Social organization, natal dispersal, survival, and cause-specific mortality of red foxes in agricultural and urban areas of east-central Illinois”
Current position: Wildlife Biologist, Iowa DNR

Dwayne Etter, 2001
Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois
Dissertation: “Ecology and management of overabundant white-tailed deer from suburban Chicago, Illinois”
Current position: Research Wildlife Biologist, Michigan DNR

M.S. Students

Bijit Khadka, 2021
Wildlife Ecology, UW – Madison
Thesis:””
Current position: PhD student in Wildlife Ecology at UW – Madison

Anna Brose, 2021
Wildlife Ecology, UW – Madison
Thesis:”Value of permanent forest openings to Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus canadensis) in Wisconsin”
Current position: Project and Communications Manager, Fate of the Caribou Project at SUNY-ESF

Megan Morrison, 2021
Environment and Resources, UW – Madison
Thesis:”Environmental cues for migration in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the Great Lakes region”
Current position:

Yunyi Shen, 2021
Wildlife Ecology, UW – Madison
Thesis:”Decoding Latent Processes in Community Assemblage and Population Dynamics using Probabilistic Graphical Models”
Current position: PhD student at MIT

Olivia Cosby, 2020
Wildlife Ecology, UW – Madison
Thesis:”Large Mammal Distributions Relative to Human Settlements Bordering an Important Protected Area in Borneo”
Current position:

Lucas Olsen, 2019
Wildlife Ecology, UW – Madison
Thesis:”Physical factors shape distribution patterns of two Wisconsin ungulates”
Current position: Cooperative Mule Deer Biologist, Mule Deer Foundation

Nicole Tu-Maung, 2019
Nelson Institute for Environmental Science, UW – Madison
Thesis:”The Spirit of a Serpent: Seeing Buddhism, Environment, and Politics through the ‘Snake Temples’ of Myanmar”
Current position: Faculty at Parami Institute for Liberal Arts and Sciences, Myanmar

Emily Iehl, 2019
Wildlife Ecology, UW – Madison
Thesis:”Recruitment & Retention Dynamics of First-time Hunters in Wisconsin”
Current position: R3 Coordinator Wisconsin DNR

Heather Kaarakka , 2019
Wildlife Ecology, UW – Madison
Thesis:”Summer distribution and habitat suitability for two threatened bat species in Wisconsin”
Current position: Conservation Biologist, WDNR

Beth Wojcik, 2019
Wildlife Ecology, UW – Madison
Thesis:”Deer Recruitment in Wisconsin: Development and Evaluation of Standardized Roadside Surveys”
Current position:

Brittany Peterson, 2016
Wildlife Ecology, UW – Madison
Thesis: “Dispersal of yearling male white-tailed deer in Wisconsin”
Current position: Wildlife Biologist, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

Michael Wheeler, 2018
Nelson Institute for Environmental Science
Thesis:”Population dynamics of sandhill cranes in south central Wisconsin”
Current position:

Bryn Evans, 2016
Wildlife Ecology, UW – Madison
Thesis: “Recovery if semi-aquatic mammals in the St. Louis River (Minnesota and Wisconsin) Area of Concern”
Current position: Graduate Research Assistant, University of Maine

Jimmy Doyle, 2015
Wildlife Ecology, UW – Madison
Thesis: “Space use and habitat ecology of American badgers (Taxidea taxus) in southwestern Wisconsin”
Current position: Big Game Biologist, South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks

Camille Warbington, 2013
Wildlife Ecology, UW – Madison
Thesis: “Cause-specific mortality of neonatal white-tailed deer in different ecological contexts”
Current position: PhD student, University of Alberta

Christine Anhalt-Depies, 2011
Conservation Biology & Sustainable Development, UW – Madison
Thesis: “Testing a non-lethal gray wolf deterrent and human-wolf conflict on the landscape scale”
Current position: PhD student, UW – Madison

Stephanie Steinhoff, 2010
Wildlife Ecology, UW – Madison
Thesis: “Habitat associations of southern flying squirrels in managed northern hardwoods”
Current position: Furbearer Researcher, Flint Hills National Wildlife Refuge, Kansas

Travis Bartnick, 2010
Wildlife Ecology, UW – Madison
Thesis: “Investigating prey and habitat shifts in cougars during the recolonization of wolves in the southern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem”
Current position: Climate Ecologist, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission

Ryan Walrath , 2009
Wildlife Ecology, UW – Madison
Thesis: “Effects of baiting and relatedness on contact rates between individual white-tailed deer”
Current position: Pronghorn Biologist, New Mexico Game and Fish

Karl Malcolm, 2008
Wildlife Ecology, UW – Madison
Thesis: “Contraceptive efficacy of a novel intrauterine device (IUD) in white-tailed deer”
Current position: Presidential Management Fellow, USDA Forest Service

Elizabeth Berkley, 2008
Wildlife Ecology, UW – Madison
Thesis: “Fatty acid techniques for estimating diet composition and spatial variation in diet of grey wolves in the Great Lakes Region”
Current position: Wildlife Biologist, US Fish and Wildlife Service

Abbey Thompson, 2006
Wildlife Ecology, UW – Madison
Thesis: “The role of supplemental feeding in infectious disease transmission in white-tailed deer”
Current position: Student Services Coordinator, CALS, UW – Madison

Chad Stewart, 2005
Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois
Thesis: “Effects of seasonal browsing on tree seedlings in a bottomland forest in east-central Illinois”
Current position: Deer Program Leader, Michigan DNR

Brian Piccolo, 2002
Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois
Thesis: “Behavior and mortality of white-tailed deer neonates in suburban Chicago, Illinois”
Current position: Private Lands Biologist, Michigan DNR

Shana Lavin, 2002
Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois
Thesis: “Dietary variations among red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in urban and rural agricultural settings in Illinois using stable isotope analysis”
Current position: Research Manager, Disney Parks

Todd Gosselink, 1999
Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois
Thesis: “Seasonal variations in habitat use and home range of sympatric coyotes and red foxes in agricultural and urban areas of east central Illinois”
Current position: Wildlife Biologist, Iowa DNR

Post-docs

Dr. Max Allen
Current position: Assistant Wildlife Ecology Faculty, Illinois Natural History Survey – Prairie Research Institute

Dr. Shawn Crimmins
Current position: Research Ecologist/Wildlife Biologist, Alaska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit

Dr. Baishali Bakshi
Current position: Environmental Economist, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Dr. Tracy Rittenhouse
Current position: Assistant Professor of Wildlife Ecology, Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Connecticut