My research at Brockport primarily focused on the ecology and conservation of breeding birds in early successional habitats in the Northeast, mostly grasslands and shrublands. However, my students and I worked with a variety of organisms in many different systems, from tiger beetles on river banks to lungless salamanders in deciduous forests. Much of my pre-Brockport research occurred in desert, arctic, and alpine habitats and I returned to the alpine and desert during my 2000, 2010, and 2017 sabbaticals. Most recently I have become obsessed with the Inyo Mountains salamander (Batrachoseps campi), which is endemic to about 20 rugged and isolated canyons in the (go figure) Inyo Mountains, just west of Death Valley National Park. Although retired, I still pursue research on B. campi and several other questions. Some of my current and recent research interests are described below.
Natural history, ecology, and distribution of the Inyo Mountains salamander. I began detailed work on this species - one of only 2 among 766 +/- salamander species whose range occurs entirely within desert habitat - during my 2017-2018 sabbatical. I made two additional research trips to the Inyo Mountains in 2019 and plan on spending more time there in 2022, now that I am retired. I am fascinated by this species' ability to survive in such an arid world, its isolation and tenacity in the face of major environmental changes, including uplift of the Inyo Mountains, explosion of the Long Valley Caldera some 760,000 years ago, and the more recent post-glacial mega-drought, which lasted about 3,000 years. In addition to my basic field work, I have collected small bits of tissue from many salamanders for a conservation genetics project, in collaboration with Elizabeth Jockusch and her graduate student, Nick Van Gilder, at the University of Connecticut, Storrs. In 2022 I published a paper in the Western North American Naturalist describing the distribution, ecology, and status of the species.
Birds and early successional habitats in the Northeast. My major objective was to use data on habitat selection and breeding biology to develop management techniques for grassland birds in the region, many of which have declined in abundance since the 1960's. Along with one graduate student, Nate Grosse, I completed a 5-year research project on the effects of vegetation and management practices on grassland birds at the John White Wildlife Management Area in western New York. One of my recent graduate students, Greg Lawrence, conducted field work on grassland birds in the St. Lawrence River Valley of northern New York, a project funded by the NYS Power Authority. I also remain active in the New York State Grassland Bird Working Group, which has developed a management plan for grassland birds in the state.
Wildlife use of natural and created wetlands. Several of my graduate students conducted research on wildlife use of natural and created wetlands, including stormwater retention ponds. Much of this work occurred in coastal Lake Ontario wetlands, supported by a multi-year grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which funds monitoring work in coastal wetlands throughout the five Great Lakes. Master thesis projects undertaken by my students include a comparative study of wildlife use of natural and created wetlands, the value of stormwater retention ponds as wildlife habitat, and the effects of anthropogenic disturbance on calling amphibian and breeding bird communities in Lake Ontario coastal wetlands.
Rare and endangered aquatic species of the Death valley region. Since 2010 I have conducted fieldwork on, and written and spoken about, seven taxa restricted to aquatic habitats in the Death Valley area: the Inyo Mountains salamander (Batrachoseps campi), black toad (Anaxyrus exsul), Devils Hole pupfish (Cyprinodon diablois), Salt Creek and Cottonball Marsh pupfish (C. salinus), Owens pupfish (C. radiosus), the Ash Meadows Amargosa pupfish C. nevadensis mionectes), and the Warm Springs pupfish (C. nevadensis pectoralis). A major goal of my work has been to craft an argument about biodiversity's inherent right to exist - why we should work to conserve these organisms and their habitats. In 2014 I published a book describing these organisms and my argument: Relicts of a Beautiful Sea: Survival, Extinction, and Conservation in a Desert World (see "Creative Writing").
Ecology of arctic and alpine systems. Although the current lack of arctic/alpine habitat in western New York affected my activity in this area, I have a long-standing interest in (and attraction to) these habitats. My MSc research at Washington State University focused on bird communities of the subalpine forest/alpine tundra ecotone of the Beartooth Mountains, while I studied the comparative breeding biology of the Harris's sparrow (Zonotrichia querula, pictured) and white-crowned sparrow (Z. leucophrys) in the Northwest Territories, Canada, as part of my doctoral program at the University of Kansas. In 2000/2001 I completed a sabbatical project on the breeding biology of Richard's pipit (Anthus novaeseelandiae)in alpine habitat in the Snowy Mountains of Australia. I also have participated in four U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-sponsored surveys of waterfowl productivity in the Kuskokwim River Delta of Alaska, which resulted in a published paper on Sabine's gull colonies (Xema sabini).
Stopover ecology of migrant songbirds. Brockport is located only a few miles from the southern shore of Lake Ontario, which has a number of locations favored by migranting songbirds during their spring and fall journeys. Once such place is the Braddock Bay Bird Observatory, where five of my graduate students studied various aspects of the ecology, behavior, and physiology of migrating songbirds.