Frank Juma Ong'ondo, 2021

Thesis:

Bird abundance and diversity in shade coffee and natural forest in Kenya

After Humboldt, Frank went on to pursue a PhD at Mississippi State University. For his thesis, Frank investigated how shade coffee can harbor forest-associated species of birds in Kenya. Previous research has shown that coffee farms in the Neotropics can provide good habitat for birds, but it remains uncertain how well coffee supports birds strongly associated with forests, and much less work on this topic has been done in Africa. Frank compared and contrasted bird abundance and diversity between shade coffee farms in central Kenya and adjacent natural forests of Karura forest and Ngong road forest. His analysis revealed which Kenyan forest bird species are and are not able to occupy shade coffee farms. This understanding helps clarify the role of natural forests and agriculture in Kenyan bird conservation and helps inform land use planning that incorporates the management and diversification of the anthropogenic matrix in which natural areas are embedded.

Amy Roberts, 2008

Thesis:

Bat use of redwood basal hollows with increasing isolation in contiguous, remnant, and legacy redwood forest stands.

After Humboldt, Amy worked for the EPA in Sacramento.

Fr her thesis, Amy investigated how roost isolation and distribution may affect bats' use of redwood basal hollows located in Redwood National Park and adjacent private land. She used guano-traps placed within hollows to determine the use of roosts in three different spatial scales. The information collected advanced our understanding of forest-dwelling bats and their roosting ecology.

Dane St. George, 2019

Thesis:

Barn owl prey delivery rates in Napa Valley vineyard ecosystems.

After Humboldt, Dane went on to be a wildlife biologist with the California Dept of Fish and Wildlife.

For his thesis, Dane studied barn owl prey delivery in winegrape vineyards in Napa Valley. Using nest box cameras, he documented the rate at which adults deliver prey items to birds in the nest box throughout the breeding season. Dane also analyzed how prey delivery rates relate to various local and landscape habitat variables and ultimately, how habitat affects the ecosystem service of rodent pest control delivered by barn owls in vineyard ecosystems.

Allison Huysman, 2019

Thesis:

Barn owl hunting responses to wine country wildfires.

After Humboldt, Allison went on to work as a research associate at Georgetown University and the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center.

For her thesis, Allison studied barn owl response to wildfires in Napa Valley by monitoring nest boxes and placing GPS transmitters on owls. She used this information to analyze how nest box occupancy and barn owl hunting habitat selection vary depending on the degree to which habitats near a nest box burned. This has implications for barn owls’ potential to provide pest control as an ecosystem service in vineyards and can inform management in the face of wildfires that are increasingly affecting both people and natural areas.

Jherime Kellermann, 2007

Thesis:

Assessing an economic incentive for bird-friendly coffee cultivation in Jamaica, West Indies.

After Humboldt, Jherime went on for a PhD at the University of Arizona, and then on to be a professor at theOregon Institute of Technology.

For his Humboldt thesis, Jherime’s project focused on “ecological services” provided birds in an agricultural setting. He used experimental cages to exclude insect-eating birds from coffee bushes and test if birds can decrease crop damage caused by insect pests. His work was in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, home to some of the world’s most elite coffees and a hot spot of endemism and an important area for global biodiversity.

Dominic Bachman, 2008

Thesis:

Aleutian Cackling Goose Habitat Management [co-advised with Dr. Jeff Black].

After Humboldt, Dominic worked for US Fish and Wildlife Service in Alturas, CA.

For his thesis, Dom conducted an experiment to identify management practices that may attract geese to public grasslands. Specifically, he tested fertilizer versus clover cultivation as a means to provide abundant, nutritious forage for Aleutian geese. This species was formerly endangered but now has increased in numbers such that their grazing of short-grass pastures threatens the livelihood of local ranchers and dairy-owners. Dom’s project aimed to reveal realistic management activities that may attract geese to public land and ease the impact of the geese on private pastures.

Tiana Williams-Claussen,

Thesis:

A Case Study in Integrating Federal, Tribal, and State Legislation to Support Northern California Condor Restoration

Tiana is conducting intersectional analysis of the conservation of prey-go-neesh, or California Condors, in the North Coast of California. Specifically,her project will seek to review and analyze the 19-year journey toward successful reintroduction of prey-go-neesh to Yurok ancestral territory, with particular focus on the complexities of integrating federal, tribal, and state legislation into northern California condor restoration, and critical milestones in overcoming related barriers.This will include assessment and delineation of logistical barriers to establishing a new site, historical and current lack of recognition of tribal sovereignty and capacity as land stewards; federal, tribal, and state legislation which were not initially compatible; and failure to include long-term management planning inclusive of the full historical California condor range, and region-specific restoration priorities and stakeholder needs. It will culminate in an assessment of the mechanisms that were ultimately required to overcome these difficulties in order to develop and implement a regionally integrated California condor restoration approach.

Makenzie Henk, 2021

Thesis:

Using noninvasive genetic sampling with a Bayesian spatial capture-recapture analysis to estimate abundance of Roosevelt Elk (Cervus canadensis roosevelti)

Makenzie is conducting a spatial capture-recapture analysis on Roosevelt elk in central Humboldt County. Her research utilizes non-invasive methods to collect fecal DNA in two primary habitat types, open grassy hillsides and forest. Her field work consists of using an unstructured search method and a detection dog to test different methodologies for finding elk scat. The scat will be genotyped to get individual identities, and Bayesian models will be developed to obtain population estimates for the elk in this area. The results are expected to help government agencies better manage the elk population in Humboldt County.

Andria Townsend, 2019

Thesis:

Tree squirrels and fishers in Northern California: The effects of masting hardwoods on stand use

In western North America, tree squirrels such as western gray (Sciurus griseus) and Douglas squirrels (Tamiasciurus douglasii) are potentially important prey for fishers (Pekania pennanti). Masting trees including black oak (Quercus kelloggii) and tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus) produce an important food source for tree squirrels; therefore, forest stands containing these trees may be useful to foraging fishers. Using remote cameras, Andria investigated the effect of mast production capacity on tree squirreloccupancy in forest stands in the northern Sierra Nevada mountains,and how fisher stand use is influenced by the tree squirrel occupancy in a stand.The results of Andria's work indicate that the retention of masting hardwood trees across the landscape may improve foraging habitat for fishers, which will become increasingly important for a species facing the effects of large-scale wildfires, habitat loss, and climate change.

Rudy Mena, 2019

Thesis:

Targeting social cohesion in female roosevelt elk (cervus canadensis roosevelti) groups minimizes survey efforts for fecal dna capture-recapture estimates of abundance