Laboratory of Avian Ecology

Welcome to our lab! We are fortunate to have had the opportunity to collaborate with a dedicated and talented group of students are researchers. This page provides some highlights of the research accomplishments of current and former members of the lab.

L. LaReesa Wolfenbarger and John P. McCarty

University of Nebraska Omaha

Current Graduate Students

Chelsea Forehead

Jonas Grundman

Past Graduate Students

Conor Gearin. 2018. The effects of bobwhite and pollinator conservation on grassland songbirds in Nebraska. MS Thesis, University of Nebraska at Omaha. (Position after graduation: Digital and Social Media Specialist, Whitehead Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA)

Lindsay Brown 2018. Landscape and local features that influence habitat use and behavior of shorebirds in agriculture fields during migration in the Rainwater Basin, Nebraska. MS Thesis, University of Nebraska at Omaha. (Position after graduation: Conservation Biologist at Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program, Corpus Christi, TX).

Emily Geest 2017. Recruitment, survival, and parasitism of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) in residential gardens and conservation areas. MS Thesis, University of Nebraska at Omaha. (Position after graduation: PhD Candidate, Integrative Biology Program, Oklahoma State University).

Aaron Young 2017. Seasonal fecundity and post-fledging survival and habitat selection of Henslow’s Sparrow (Ammodramus henslowii). MS Thesis, University of Nebraska at Omaha. (Position after graduation: PhD Candidate, Natural Resources, University of Idaho).

Chase Wickard. 2017. Landscape effects on Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) densities and upland bird abundances in CRP patches. MS Thesis, University of Nebraska at Omaha. (Position after graduation: Environmental Consultant).

James Nooyen, Jr. 2016. The Effect of Arthropod Biomass on Post-fledging Survival and Movement of the Dickcissel (Spiza americana). MS Thesis, University of Nebraska at Omaha. (Position after graduation: Lab Technician, Iowa State University, Rangeland Monitoring Intern, Chicago Botanic Garden and Bureau of Land Management).

Jason E. Andersen. 2015. The Effects of the 2011 Missouri River Flood on the Populations of Breeding Grassland Birds at DeSoto and Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuges. MS Thesis, University of Nebraska at Omaha. (Position after graduation: Pheasants Forever Wildlife Management Specialist at Iowa Department of Natural Resources).

Heather D. Wills. 2013. Physiological Impacts of Wind Turbines on a Grassland Breeding Galliform, the Greater Prairie Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido). MS Thesis, University of Nebraska at Omaha. (Heather's thesis was nominated by the Department of Biology for the university-wide 2014 Elton S. Carter Award for Excellence in a Master’s Thesis. Position after graduation: Dual Enrollment Coordinator for the Department of Biology at UNO).

Michelle C. Biodrowski. 2013. The Effects of Patch Burn Grazing on Breeding Grassland Birds. MS Thesis, University of Nebraska at Omaha. (Position after graduation: Pheasants Forever Wildlife Management Specialist at Iowa Department of Natural Resources).

Melissa E. Mount. 2013. Effects of Urbanization on the Species Richness and Abundance of Native Grassland Birds. MS Thesis, University of Nebraska at Omaha. Position after graduation: Biology Instructor, University of Nebraska Omaha.

Erin M. Kucera. 2011. Effects of Grazing on Vegetation and Grassland Bird Densities in the Nebraska Sandhills Prairie. MS Thesis, University of Nebraska at Omaha. (Position after graduation: Biology Instructor, Northeast Community College & Pheasants Forever Farm Bill Biologist).

Joel Jorgensen. 2007. Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Tryngities subruficollis) Abundance, Habitat Use, and Distribution During Migratory Stopover in the Rainwater Basin, Nebraska. MS Thesis, University of Nebraska at Omaha. (Department of Biology’s nominee for the university-wide 2007 Elton S. Carter Award for Excellence in a Master’s Thesis. Received Best Student Paper Award at the 2005 Natural Areas Conference. Position after graduation: Non-game Bird Program Manager, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and Ph.D. Candidate, Applied Ecology, School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska at Lincoln.)

Nichollette ZooknRider. 2006. The cumulative effects of using transgenic herbicide-tolerant (HT) soybeans on plant and butterfly diversity in marginal field habitat. MS Thesis, University of Nebraska at Omaha. (Position after graduation: Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA).

Page Klug. 2005. The effects of local grassland habitat and surrounding landscape composition on the predators of grassland bird nests. MS Thesis, University of Nebraska at Omaha. (Selected for the Best Student Paper Award at the 2004 Annual Meeting of the Cooper Ornithological Society. Position after graduation: Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Kansas State University, currently Research Ecologist, Ft. Collins Science Center, USGS.

Shannon Engberg. 2004. Landscape and Habitat Effects on Grassland Birds. MS Thesis, University of Nebraska at Omaha. (Department of Biology’s nominee for the university-wide 2004 Elton S. Carter Award for Excellence in a Master’s Thesis. Position after graduation: Conservation Genetics Lab Manager, Henry Doorly Zoo, Omaha, NE).

Lorelle Berkeley. 2004. The postfledging ecology of Dickcissels (Spiza americana). MS Thesis, University of Nebraska at Omaha. (Awarded the university-wide 2005 Elton S. Carter Award for Excellence in a Master’s Thesis at UNO. Position after graduation: Ph.D. Wildlife Ecology and Management, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, currently Research Wildlife Biologist, Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks)