Research

Current Projects

Wildlife Habitat

Improving our understanding about how forest practices affect wildlife habitat

The Effectiveness of Zoning to Protect Deer Wintering Areas During the Period 1975 – 2007

White-tailed deer that live in areas that receive significant amounts of snowfall during the winter require a special type of habitat known as Deer Wintering Areas (DWAs) that shelter the deer, have reduced snow depths, which improves mobility, and helps with their winter foraging. Loss of this habitat has been identified as a critical factor in preventing the northern Maine deer herd from increasing. One proposed method of countering this would be a new state regulation that would mandate an increase in DWAs. This study uses satellite imagery and other remote sensing techniques to quantify the loss or degradation of DWAs over the past thirty-two years in terms of forest disturbance, changes in forest type, and other biodiversity indicators. The potential impacts of expanding the area zoned as DWA are modeled along with an analysis of how well DWAs function as a coarse-filter for biodiversity conservation. For more on this project, look here.

Documenting the Response of Canada Lynx to Declining Snowshoe Hare Populations in an Intensively Managed Private Forest Landscape in Northern Maine

In 2000, the Canada lynx was listed as a federally threatened species in 14 states, including Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. The primary prey of Canada lynx are snowshoe hare, whose populations are currently in decline. In order to properly manage for the restoration of the Canada lynx population in Maine it is necessary to understand the impact of the reduction in hare population on the lynx. This project addresses this problem by capturing Canada lynx in northern Maine, attaching tracking collars, including new GPS collars, and then monitoring the animals throughout the year under the current conditions. Look here for more information on this project.

Effects of Changing Hare Densities on Lynx Occurrences Throughout the Commercially Managed Landscape of Northwestern Maine

The snowshoe hare is a species of great importance in northern Maine as it is the primary prey species of the federally threatened Canada lynx. Hare populations have been shown to fluctuate over time in different parts of North America, but this has not been well documented in Maine, nor have the implications of these fluctuations on Canada lynx populations. This project adds to a time series of data on hare densities in northwestern Maine, which now spans from 2001 to 2009. This time series allows for better understanding of the dynamics of the snowshoe hare, and this understanding can be paired with research projects investigating the Canada lynx to draw conclusions about how changes in the snowshoe hare population impacts the Canada lynx. For more information on this project, look here

Relative Densities, Patch Occupancy, and Population Performance of Spruce Grouse in Managed and Unmanaged Forests in Northern Maine

The spruce grouse is a species of bird that is protected in Maine, and whose population has recently been classified as fragmented and vulnerable to extinction. The spruce grouse is thought to depend on conifer stands for habitat, which satellite imagery has indicated is declining in the state of Maine. This study investigates the habitat requirements of the spruce grouse, testing the hypothesis that it utilizes a wider variety of habitat types than is currently thought. See the project proposal, here, for more information.