Current Lab Projects
Red wolf habitat use and demography
The red wolf (Canis rufus) once covered most
of the southeastern United States, but due to the persecution and extermination
that humans historically imposed on large carnivores, this species was driven to
extinction in the wild. In 1987, a small experimental population, made up of
captive animals, was reintroduced to the
Alligator National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina. The population has
expanded over the past 20 years and appears to be doing well. In current
research with Dennis Murray
(Trent University, Ontario), Dr. Steury is using the 20-years of data that has been
collected from the recovery program to assess habitat use, and the potential for
range expansion of the reintroduced population. We are also examining the
factors that influence survival and reproduction. Graduate student
Peter Mahoney is building population viability models
of the population to generate
predictions and recommendations for improving the probability of long-term
success of the red wolf in the wild. Graduate student
Karen Tenaglia is using
modeling to examine population aspects of hybridization and introgression in red
wolves.
Inventory and conservation planning in Alabama
Alabama is home to 117 endangered species, which is third
among U.S. states (behind Hawaii and California), and numerous other
species are potentially at risk. Yet, often little is known about these species,
including where they are located in the state, the habitats they occupy, and how
many individuals of a species exist. As part of a larger project (with
James Grand, USGS) to estimate the
presence and abundance of all species on state lands in Alabama, graduate
student Jesse Boulerice
is sampling
for mammals of all sizes using combinations of trapping, game cameras, and
auditory detectors (for bats). Graduate student Allie
Hunter is putting together a project to sample more intensively for eastern
spotted skunks and long-tailed weasels, which are two carnivores of conservation
concern, using dogs trained to find scat from these species.
For information on past projects, see the list of publications
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