FNR Research Was Well-Represented at Fall Organizational Conferences

Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources and the cutting-edge research being performed by its faculty, staff and students has been on display nationally at major organizational conventions and conferences throughout the fall.

Purdue FNR affiliated individuals gave five oral presentations and five poster presentations at the American Fisheries Society convention in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Aug. 21-24.

• Genome-wide differences between drowned river mouth and main-basin Lake Michigan Yellow Perch – Peter Euclide, senior aquatic ecology research scientist
• Evaluating Nutrient Loading and Fish Community Trends in Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron – Justin Meyer, master’s student under Drs. Tomas Hook and Paris Collingsworth
• Bottom-up modeling of ecosystem processes to simulate recruitment of two Lake Michigan fishes - Spencer Gardner, PhD student under Dr. Tomas Hook
• Quantifying the importance of alternative nursery habitats to alewife recruitment in Lake Michigan - Les Warren, PhD student under Dr. Tomas Hook
• Walleye (Sander vitreus) length influence reproductive phenology - Scott Koenigbauer, PhD student under Dr. Tomas Hook

Poster presentations

• Genetic identification of gizzard shad and alewife larvae – Rachel Kraus, senior wildlife major
• Evaluating seasonal and diel activity patterns of bluegill and largemouth bass – Megan Merryman, senior wildlife and aquatic sciences major
• Vertical habitat use of Cisco in Indiana glacial lakes – Dominique Turney (BS Wildlife 2016), aquatic ecology research scientist
• Modeling land-use practices to reduce nutrient loading in lakes with endangered Cisco – Jelsie Kerr, master’s student under Dr. Tomas Hook
• Testing acoustic telemetry in a steel-walled and busy waterway – Luke McGill, master’s student under Dr. Tomas Hook

Purdue FNR affiliates made nine oral presentations and seven poster presentations at the Society of American Foresters Convention in Sacramento, California, Oct. 25-29.

• Assisted Migration: Perspectives on Forest Health, Sustainability and Climate Resilience – Dr. Akane Abbasi (PhD 2023), postdoctoral research associate
• Artificial White Oak (Quercus alba L.) Regeneration Responses to Light and Competition Gradients - Elias Gaffney, Mike Saunders co-author
• Use of Unmanned Aircraft System and Multi-Temporal Imagery to Monitor the Effects of Prescribed Fire - Cameron Wingren, Unmanned Aerial Systems Data Collection Specialist, master’s student under Drs. Songlin Fei and Joseph Hupy
• Fast Tree Inventory with UAV LiDAR in the Plantation - Jinyuan Shao, PhD student under Dr. Songlin Fei
• Advance the Health, Productivity and Sustainability of America's Forests - An Interactive Discussion with the National Association of University Forest Resource Programs – Bob Wagner
• Tree Species Identification from UAV RGB Images Using Deep Learning Techniques - Yunmei Huang, PhD student under Dr. Songlin Fei
• Tree Species Shift and Climate Change Across Conus in the Past 20 Years - Jianmin Wang, research assistant professor of digital forestry
• The Forestry Grand Challenges Survey: Understanding the Nations Forest and Forest Products R&D Priorities – Dr. Bob Wagner
• Economic Analyses of Growth & Yield and Thinning Decision on Hardwood Plantations - Sayon Ghosh (MS 2022)

Poster Presentations

• Differences In Herbaceous Species Composition in Government Cost Share Sites across Indiana Ecoregions - Aubrey W. Franks, master’s student under Drs. Mike Jenkins and Jingjing Liang
• Estimating Aboveground Biomass in Indiana State Forests: From Trees to Stands - Bowen Li, master’s student under Dr. Guofan Shao
• Forest Regeneration Dynamics in Response to Mulch, Fertilizer, and Planting Density in Georgia’s Maritime Forests - Brianne Innusa, master’s student under Dr. Doug Jacobs
• Global Navigation Satellite Systems Location Variations Associated with Trees - Audrey R. Ward, high school senior working under Dr. Guofan Shao.
• Two-Step Tree Crown Delineation for Natural Broadleaf Forest with UAS RGB Imagery - Aishwarya Chandrasekaran (MS 2020), PhD student under Dr. Guofan Shao
• What Factors Determine the Fate of Hardwood Trees Planted on Reclaimed Coal Mines? - Caleb Redick (MS 2019), staff research assistant
• 'Iliahi (Hawaiian sandalwood) Stocktype Trial: Matching Stocktypes to Planting Sites - Emily Thyroff, postdoctoral fellow

Purdue was represented at 14 oral presentations and nine poster presentations at The Wildlife Society conference in Louisville, Ky., Nov. 6-9.

• Adapting an Agent-Based Model Designed for Tiger Conservation to Simulate Bobcat Harvest Dynamics - Landon Jones, former postdoctoral researcher in the Zollner lab
• Evaluating a Novel Chronic Wasting Disease Control Strategy Using an Agent-Based Modeling Approach - Jonathan Brooks, PhD student under Dr. Pat Zollner
• Opportunistic Activity Response of a Mammal Community to a 17-Year Cicada Emergence Event - Alexis Proudman, senior wildlife major, undergraduate researcher under Dr. Elizabeth Flaherty and Dr. Landon Jones (MSU).
• Deer Activity Levels and Patterns Vary Along Gradients of Food Availability and Anthropogenic Development - Zackary Delisle (PhD 2023)
• Can Population Genomics Inform On-the-Ground Conservation Efforts? - Erangi Heenkenda, PhD student under Dr. Andrew DeWoody
• Predicting Niche Space of Expanding Evening Bat Populations Following White-Nose Syndrome Emergence in Indiana - Sally Martinez (BS Wildlife 2022), master’s student under Dr. Pat Zollner
• Survival and Abundance of Arctic Foxes on Shemya Island, Alaska - Griffin Broviak (BS Wildlife 2023), undergraduate researcher under Dr. Pat Zollner.
• Resource Pulses from White-Tailed Deer Hunting Season Constrict Black Vulture Home Ranges - Alex Dudley, senior forestry and wildlife double major, undergraduate researcher under Dr. Pat Zollner
• Evaluation of Carrion Use and Resource Partitioning for Managing Populations of the Threatened American Burying Beetle - Evan Kinnevan, senior wildlife major, undergraduate researcher under Dr. Elizabeth Flaherty
• Creating Equitable and Inclusive Wildlife Undergraduate Courses and Programs - Dr. Elizabeth Flaherty
• Effects of Density and Food Availability on Captive-Reared, Larval Eastern Hellbender Growth Rates - Shelby Royal (BS Wildlife 2019, MS 2023), laboratory manager for the Wildlife Ecology Research Facility
• Agent Based Modeling of the Interactions of Primate Populations and Poachers in West African Forests - Emmanuel Akom, PhD student under Dr. Pat Zollner
• Habitat Use of Pacific Juvenile Green Turtles in North Costa Rica - Fanqi Wu, PhD student under Drs. Frank Paladino (PFW) and Elizabeth Flaherty
• Food Resource Use by Recolonizing American black Bears (Ursus americanus) in Mississippi (230) – Isabella Livingston (North Carolina State), co-author Dr. Elizabeth Flaherty

Posters

• Competition During Scavenging Between Black Vultures and Turkey Vultures - Marian Wahl, PhD student under Dr. Pat Zollner
• Eastern Gray Squirrel Occupancy in Response to Forest Treatment Types - Raven Moore, senior wildlife major, undergraduate researcher under Drs. Elizabeth Flaherty, Pat Zollner and Rob Swihart
• Temporal Change of Raccoon Behavior in Response to Forest Management Treatments - Angie Ayala, senior wildlife major, undergraduate research under Drs. Elizabeth Flaherty, Pat Zollner and Rob Swihart
• Using Camara Traps to Estimate Responses of White-Tailed Deer Abundance to Silvicultural Treatments - Rachel Pate, senior wildlife major, undergraduate researcher under Drs. Elizabeth Flaherty, Patt Zollner and Rob Swihart
• Forest Management Treatment Influence on Eastern Gray Squirrel Activity Levels - Kayla Durden (BS Wildlife 2023)
• Assessing the Effectiveness of Bluetooth Tags as a Wildlife Tracking Method - Julia Godsey (BS Wildlife 2023)
• Assessing How Parasite Exposure Frequency and Dosage Influences Infection Risk in PFAS-Exposed Gray Tree Frogs – Alyssa Johnson, junior wildlife major, undergraduate researcher under Dr. Jason Hoverman
• Agent-Based Modeling of the Combined Effects of Snow Condition and Land Use Change on American Martens (Martes americana) dispersal within the Laurentian Mixed Forest South of Lake Superior in the Years 2074 and 2124 In Progress – Ramona Dwyer, graduate student under Dr. Pat Zollner.