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News and Announcements

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  • December 20, 2024

    • Virginie Rolland got interviewed by a graduate student at MIT about the recently published natural selection paper. This interview will result in an article that may be picked up by the Smithsonian magazine, so stay tuned. In addition, a postdoc at University of California - Merced wrote a press release about this same paper. I'll share when it is published.​

    • Monica Reusche got her Ozark pocket gopher distribution paper accepted for publication in Southeastern Naturalist.

    • Monica Reusche presented a summary of the whole Ozark gopher project at the Arkansas Wildlife Action Plan symposium.

    • Ty Sharrow presented his kestrel research at the American Ornithological Society conference in Colorado in October.

    • Jen Terry presented some of her turtle physiology research at the World Herpetological Congress in Borneo in August.

    • Virginie Rolland got two collaborative papers on bluebirds published. The first, led by Sarah Knutie (UConn), on bluebird nest parasites and success is in the Journal of Animal Ecology. The second on bluebird natural selection caused by the severe 2021 winterstorms is in the American Naturalist.

    • Ty Sharrow and Jen Terry both finished their field data collection and are drafting manuscripts.

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  • July 9, 2024

    • Virginie Rolland got interviewed by the local TV (KAIT8) about the recovery of our Jonesboro bluebird population.​

    • Monica Reusche presented her results on a unique louse species of the Ozark pocket gopher and dispersal patterns of that gopher species via three talks at the annual meetings of the Southwestern Association of Parasitology, the American Society of Parasitologists, and the American Society of Mammalogists. She won the David A. Becker Memorial Award at the former conference.

    • Monica Reusche submitted a manuscript that updates the distribution of the Ozark pocket gopher in Southeastern Naturalist.

    • Ty Sharrow presented his preliminary results in a poster at the annual meeting of the Association of Southeastern Biologists.

    • Ty Sharrow got his unique observation of kestrel nest failures accepted for publication in the Journal of Raptor Research as well a county record of leaf miner in Southeastern Naturalist.

    • Ty Sharrow, who is completing his last field season, received funding from both the Arkansas Audubon Society Conservation Trust and the Arkansas Hawking Association, totaling $1,650.

    • Jen Terry completed her last field season after submitting to Frontiers for Young Mind a manuscript explaining how hormones inform on the health status of an animal. She also drafted a manuscript on turtle ability to kill E. coli to be submitted later this year.

    • Michael Trusty is publishing, in Southeastern Naturalist, his first manuscript on the effectiveness of axle grease on poles to which nest boxes are attached.

    • Virginie Rolland and colleagues submitted grant proposals for the demography of chicken turtles and alligator snapping turtles in Arkansas, but unfortunately neither was awarded.

    • Aliyah Durham joined the bluebird team as an intern for this season. Katelyn Huber and Amanda Trusty returned. The team worked on a project led by Sarah Knutie (University of Connecticut) and funded by NSF to determine how temperature (through the manipulation of nest temperature) affects nestlings' immune system.

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  • December 21, 2023

    • Anneka Lamb presented her research at the North American Society for Bat Research a conference in Winnipeg, Canada.​

    • Ty Sharrow finished his second field season and drafted two short communications, one on unreported observations at kestrel nests and another on a leaf minor county record.

    • Jen Terry successfully passed her qualifying exams, defended her dissertation proposal.

    • Jen Terry also got two papers got published General and Comparative Endocrinology and she has been nominated for the PEO Scholar Award.

    • Joe Schroeder got his observation of a brown female bluebird accepted for publication in the Ecology and Evolution.

    • Michael Trusty completed his his manuscript on the effectiveness of axle grease as a predator guard for bluebird nests. Soon to be submitted.

    • Monica Reusche resumed fieldwork with another 8 transmitters deployed on juvenile Ozark pocket gophers and almost 40 individuals sampled for DNA.

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  • May 18, 2023

    • Anneka Lamb presented her research at two conferences: Southeastern Bat Diversity network and Western bat Working Group.​

    • Ty Sharrow led a kestrel field trip for bird enthusiasts who attended the Arkansas Audubon Society Spring meeting.

    • Jen Terry got her master's research manuscript accepted for publication in General and Comparative Endocrinology.

    • Valerie Kearny has her second manuscript in press in the Canadian Journal of Zoology.

    • Katelyn Huber stated her internship on the bluebird trail

    • Amanda Trusty came back on the bluebird trail to provide assistance. She is working toward a banding subpermit too!

    • Michael Trusty resumed his research on the effectiveness of axle grease as a predator guard for bluebird nests, and is writing his manuscript.

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  • December 21, 2022

    • Anneka Lamb presented her research at two conferences: North American Society for Bat Research and Arkansas Karst and Bat Conservation.​

    • Ty Sharrow successfully defended his thesis proposal looking at kestrels as a potential natural control agent of crop pests.

    • Perry Galloway and Joe Schroeder just graduated with a MS in Biology and a BS in Wildlife, Fisheries and Conservation, respectively!

    • Jen Terry submitted a revised manuscript resulting from her master's research on the red-eared slider's physiology.

    • Valerie Kearny submitted her second manuscript for publication.

    • Stacy Sherman has her first manuscript published in Global Conservation and Ecology. It is open access and can be found here.

    • Sara Harrod has her penultimate dissertation manuscript published in PLoS One. You can find the original article here or you can read a quick summary of the findings featured in the NestWatch blog.

    • Joe Schroeder assisted all summer with bluebird nest monitoring and then joined the lab as an undergraduate researcher leading two projects, one on a leucistic female bluebird captured this summer and for which he received $1,000 in grant funding, and another on the bluebird natal dispersal.

    • Monica Reusche led the bluebird program during my month-long backpacking trip and then assisted Ty Sharrow with kestrel nest monitoring, small mammal trapping, and insect sampling. 

    • The search failed because Monica Reusche, graduate student in charge of the pocket gopher project, had to take a break. We all wish her to recover soon.

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  • August 4, 2022

My lab is looking for a field technician to radio-track Ozark Pocket Gophers in Izard Co., Arkansas

Salary: $1,300 per month

Start Date: October 2022.

Last Date to Apply: August 15th, 2022

Where to Apply: https://phe.tbe.taleo.net/phe02/ats/careers/v2/viewRequisition?org=ARKASTAT2&cws=46&rid=29715 

Description: Radio tracking of eight Ozark pocket gophers will be conducted daily at five sites in Izard Co. to assess juvenile dispersal during fall and early winter. To radio tag individuals, box trapping will be conducted at the beginning of the season. As a supplement to radio tracking, drift fences and pitfall traps will be checked twice daily (approximately 1 hour daily). Any newly trapped individual will be processed and released from pitfall traps. Radio tracking will take approximately 1-2 hours most days and will require walking through fields potentially with cattle. Housing provided.

Qualifications: Applicants should have field work experience and a background in biology or environmental studies. Previous radio-tracking experience is preferred but not required. The project involves tracking on private property so applicants must be professional with landowners to maintain a positive relationship throughout the project. Applicants must be comfortable outdoors in Arkansas climate.

Application material:

1) Letter of Intent

2) CV or detailed resume with contact information for at least two references

For questions, contact Monica Reusche (monica.reusche@smail.astate.edu) but do not submit your application material to that email. use the website linked above. Thank you.

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  • May 13, 2022

    • Anneka Lamb received funding from the Arkansas Audubon Society.​

    • Perry Galloway has been promoted supervisor.

    • Valerie Kearny has her first manuscript in press in Southeastern Naturalist.

    • Valerie Kearny received the best MS Biology student award for class summer 2021-spring 2022.

    • Stacy Sherman resubmitted her first manuscript which now needs some revisions.

    • Monica Reusche received the best student poster award at the annual Colloquium on the Conservation of Mammals of the Southeastern US.

    • Jen Terry drafted a grant proposal that received funding from the Memphis Zoo Conservation Action Network.

    • Sara Harrod is working on the revisions of one of the last two manuscripts of her dissertation.

    • Monica Reusche received the genome sequences for the 15 lice from which she successfully extracted DNA.

    • I shipped the first 20 nests of the bluebird nesting season to my wonderful collaborator, Dr. Sarah Knutie.

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  • December 23, 2021

    • Valerie Kearny just graduated and will be eligible for a federal job in her field.​

    • Valerie Kearny submitted her first manuscript for publication. Fingers crossed!

    • Monica Reusche received grant funding for her research from the Arkansas Audubon Society.

    • Monica Reusche and Anneka Lamb successfully defended their respective thesis proposals.

    • Sara Harrod, Perry Galloway (formerly Caitlin De Bellis), and Amanda Trusty have a short communications in press in the Wilson Journal of Ornithology

    • Sara Harrod and I have another short communication in press in the American Midland Naturalist.

    • I coauthored two manuscripts now published in the Journal of Mammalogy and Ecology and Evolution, and another in press in Applied Engineering in Agriculture.

    • I re-invented myself as a stand-up comedian to talk about animals undergoing shape-shifting at Science Riot in Denver for the science festival.

    • Alex Parette and Aiyana Dawson joined the lab for a month each as part of a rotation to select the lab they want to work in for their research. We hope we made a good impression.

    • Perry Galloway is making big strides with the writing of their thesis despite their full-time job as an Environmental Project Coordinator 1 with the city of Memphis Industrial and Pretreatment program.

    • Tristan Bulice became a full-time employee with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (congrats!), but keeps chipping away with his research tasks.

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  • June 23, 2021

    • Student Caitlin De Bellis is conducting her second and last field season, and is transitioning to a job with the City of Memphis.​

    • Student Valerie Kearny has successfully defended her thesis and is interning with the US Fish and Wildlife Service on an endangered plant project while revising her thesis document.

    • Student Anneka Lamb is working on various bat projects in the Ozarks with Environmental Solutions and Innovations and the US Forest Service.

    • Student Monica Reusche is recruiting a field technician to start working in September on Ozark pocket gopher trapping and radio-tracking. If interested, you can find more details on the Texas A & M Wildlife Job Board where she is about to post the job description.

    • Student Abby Barlow joined the lab to conduct her internship with Monica and Caitlin.

    • Student Tristan Bulice is starting radioimmuno assays on the deer hair samples he collected while building the antler 3D models and working part-time for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission wildlife division.

    • Collaborators and I have two more small mammal manuscripts accepted for publication in the Journal of Mammalogy and in Ecology and Evolution.

    • Other collaborators and I have been collecting morphological measurements on bluebirds that survived the February snowstorm for a natural selection study (funded by the Arkansas Audubon Society Trust) as well as nests that hosted bluebird chicks for an ectoparasite (mite, lice, blowfly, etc.) study that hopefully will be extended to include more objectives if funded by the National Science Foundation.

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  • March 23, 2021

    • Students Caitlin De Bellis, Monica Reusche, and I are recruiting interns to assist with bluebird and pocket gopher fieldwork.​

    • Student Tristan Bulice presented at the Southeast Deer Study Group meeting and is transitioning from the fisheries division to the wildlife division of Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

    • Students Anneka Lamb and Taylor Fiedor are finishing the first season of road culvert survey for tricolored bats.

    • Student Caitlin De Bellis just started her second field season  with bluebird nest monitoring and has for this purpose created the following social media pages for those interested in following her: 

      • Facebook: @JonesboroEABLMonitoringTrail

      • Twitter: @JBoroEABLTrail

      • Instagram: @jboroeabltrail

    • Student Valerie Kearny received the award for best student oral presentation at the Arkansas Chapter of The Wildlife Society meeting.

    • Former student Sara Harrod has been nominated best Environmental Science PhD student for the period summer 2020-spring 2021.

    • Former student Wayne Smart published his second manuscript in Ecology and Evolution.

    • Collaborators and I have our woodrat manuscript accepted for publication in the Journal of Mammalogy.

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  • December 19, 2020

    • Student Monica Reusche is joining the lab in January to work on the pocket​ gopher dispersal and genetic diversity.

    • Student Anneka Lamb has joined the lab as a field tech to identify, this winter, road culverts that can potentially host tricolored bats, but she will start a thesis on this project in January 2021.

    • Student Taylor Fiedor joined the lab to assist Anneka in the field for the tricolored bat project.

    • Former student Sara Harrod's manuscript on freshmen's view on climate change has been accepted for publication in BioScience.

    • Student Valerie Kearny presented her research on small-footed bats at the Arkansas Audubon Society fall meeting and at the Arkansas Karst and Bat Conservation meeting.

    • Student Tristan Bulice had a successful first field season collecting antler pictures, hair samples, and measurements on about 170 male white-tailed deer.

    • Student Caitlin De Bellis completed all data collection from banding stations and museums.

    • Student Olivia Sitzes obtained her first results: green and gray tree frogs may use nest boxes under different conditions

    • Student Chase Simpson completed the dissection of all the fecal sacs collected in the summer and will start DNA extraction in January.

    • Student Samantha Burnett estimated the size of a Mississippi mud turtle population and is measuring museum specimens to complete her project.

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  • September 22, 2020

    • The lab is recruiting an MS student to work on an Ozark Pocket Gopher funded project. For more info about the project or how to apply, visit the Texas A&M Wildlife Job post 111​796.

    • The lab stayed afloat during this past field season despite the pandemic.

    • All manuscripts accepted for publication are now published:

      • Former student Shelby Moseley's manuscript in the Wilson Journal of Ornithology​

      • Former student Wayne Smart's manuscript in the Journal of Caribbean Ornithology

      • Former student Sara Harrod's manuscript in Population Ecology

      • My manuscript in Marine Ornithology

    • Student Cameron Rhoden, despite an appendectomy in the middle of a pandemic, has successfully and enthusiastically completed her internship.

    • Student Valerie Kearny completed her second field season with 10 times more data than last season!

    • Student Caitlin De Bellis obtained a banding subpermit and completed her first field season, collecting data for her project as well as for Chase Simpson (to minimize risk related of COVID19 and disturbance to nests).

    • Students Amanda Trusty and Samantha Burnett also successfully completed their internship and research field season, respectively.

    • Student Tristan Bulice has made significant progress with his thesis proposal that he will defend in about 3 weeks.

    • Student Olivia Sitzes found the same gray tree frog use the same box more than once... more to come.

    • Student Sara Harrod submitted a revised manuscript to BioScience, successfully defended her dissertation, and graduated in August!

    • Former student Wayne Smart submitted a new manuscript to Ecology and Evolution.

    • Collaborators and I submitted a manuscript to the Journal of Mammalogy.

    • I have received the 2020 A-State award of excellence in teaching.

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  • May 20, 2020

    • Student Tristan Bulice joined the Neuman-Lee and Rolland lab​s as a MS student in January to work on the environmental and physiological causes of asymmetry in deer antlers.

    • Students Chase Simpson, Valerie Kearny, and  Caitlin De Bellis received grant funding for their respective research projects from the Arkansas Audubon Society.

    • Student Shelby Moseley got her manuscript on tufted titmice usurping and raising bluebird chicks accepted for publication in the Wilson Journal of  ornithology.

    • Student Shelby Moseley, who is graduating, also received the department award in the Wildlife, Fisheries Conservation program for her excellent scholarship, leadership and service.

    • Student Sara Harrod got her manuscript on the influence of climatic variability on bluebird demography accepted for publication in Population Ecology.

    • Former student Wayne Smart got his paper on seabird harvest in the Grenadines accepted for publication in the Journal of Caribbean Ornithology.

    • My manuscript on Royal Tern movements has been accepted for publication in Marine Ornithology.

    • Student Valerie Kearny presented her preliminary results on eastern small-footed bat distribution at the Arkansas Chapter of The Wildlife Society meeting and Southern Bat Diversity Network conference.

    • Student Caitlin De Bellis defended successfully her thesis proposal and started her first field season.

    • Student Cameron Rhoden joined the lab as an intern to assist Valerie in her second field season.

    • Because of COVID19, Caitlin and I are collecting data for Olivia's and Chase's projects.

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  • December 19, 2019

    • Student Valerie Kearny​ submitted a grant proposal to Bat Conservation International and successfully defended her thesis proposal.

    • I gave a video interview on climate change and plastic pollution for students from Cross County High School for a CSPAN2 contest.

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  • September 21, 2019

    • A-State ranks 76 for best undergraduate teaching and 190 for its graduate degrees in Biological Sciences, in the 2020 National Universities edition

    • Former R2 Lab student Amy Wynia and I got a manuscript on Magellanic Woodpecker detection accepted in Ecology and Evolution.

    • Hosted Dr. Lise Aubry (Colorado State University) for a seminar on individual heterogeneity in life history traits.

    • Students Chase Simpson (undergraduate), Olivia Sitzes​ (undergraduate), and Caitlin De Bellis (graduate) joined the lab as SUPERB scholars.

    • Student Samantha Burnett is developing her honors thesis proposal on mud turtle demography.

    • The bluebird and bat seasons are over, both challenging but productive.

    • Student Shelby Moseley submitted a note to the Wilson's Journal of Ornithology.

    • Student Stacy Scherman successfully defended her thesis and graduated in August. She just started a new position as a biologist for the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.

    • Former student Wayne Smart submitted his first manuscript to Journal of Caribbean Ornithology.

    • Student Sara Harrod submitted two manuscripts to Population Ecology and BioScience.

    • My grant proposal on tricolored bats has been accepted by the state agency. It is now waiting for federal approval.

    • Student Sara Harrod and I gave a talk and offered four activities at the lighthouse center for autism.

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  • May 16, 2019

    • Student Shelby Moseley and Samantha Burnett joined the lab as interns to help with the bluebird program and our research project on small-footed bats, respectively.

    • Student Wayne Smart has successfully defended his thesis and has graduated earlier this month.

    • Former R2 Lab student Megan Huffman (formerly Buckley) got her first manuscript accepted for publication in the Journal of Mammalogy.​

    • Student Sara Harrod has received a travel award to present her work at the American Ornithological Society in June.

    • I have been quoted in The Atlantic (here is the article).

    • Student Valerie Kearny has joined the Rolland lab to survey eastern small-footed bats in the Ouachitas of Arkansas.

    • Had a successful Christmas Bird Count with 17 participants. We counted fewer 73 species than last year but more individuals (47,471). This year was also special in that we hit new records: 7 species for record low but 5 species for record high.

    • Student Stacy Scherman presented her research at the North American Society for Bat Research conference in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, last October.

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  • October 12, 2018

    • Student Sara Harrod invited to present to a freshman class taught by Dr. Joni Palmer at University of New Mexico her research about US college freshmen about their attitude and beliefs towards climate change​.

    • Student Sara Harrod publishes her first manuscript about Bewick's wren nesting habitat and nest success in Southeastern Naturalist.

    • Former R2 Lab student Sam Schratz submitted his second manuscript for publication.

    • Former R2 Lab student Megan Buckley, under the guidance of postdoc Dr. Anna Doty, submitted her first manuscript for publication.

    • Black skimmer foraging movements study accepted for publication in Waterbirds.

    • Pinyon mouse demography paper accepted for publication in Population Ecology.

    • Student Stacy Scherman's research presented at the American Society of Mammalogists and Arkansas Wildlife Action Plan symposium in June and September, respectively.

    • Small-footed roost selection grant proposal accepted. Currently recruiting a MS student to start in January 2019.

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  • May 14, 2018

    • Student Sara Harrod is collecting data for her third field season. The bluebird nesting season is in full swing.

    • Student Samantha Burnett assisted Sara in the field until the end of the semester. 

    • Students Amanda Trusty, Michael Trusty, Stacy Scherman, and Sara Harrod presented their research poster at various meetings: STEM Posters at the Capitol on Feb. 14, 2018 in Little Rock, Arkansas Academy of Science on Apr. 6-7, 2018 in Jonesboro, create@astate on Apr. 17, 2018 on campus,  Arkansas Chapter of the Wildlife Society on Mar. 1-2, 2018 in Little Rock, and American Ornithological Society on Apr. 10-15, 2018 in Tucson, Arizona.

    • Former R2 Lab student Sam Schratz got his study published in the Journal of Arkansas Academy of Science.

    • Student Amanda Trusty got hired by the Crowley's Ridge Nature Center in Jonesboro, but will also continue assisting with nest box monitoring throughout the 2018 field season. Michael Trusty, on the other hand, will be assisting with the Indiana Bat survey, two R2-Lab graduate student projects on Rafinesque's big-eared bats, and a lizard project in the Neuman-Lee lab.

    • Student Stacy Scherman got offered a summer internship with the National Park Service in South Carolina. She will start upon returning from Costa Rica where she will assist with a Neotropical Bat summer course.

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  • January 15, 2018

    • Student Stacy Scherman presented her research at the North American Society for Bat Research conference in Knoxville, TN.​

    • Student Stacy Scherman completed her last field season: 201 bats caught, 23 tracked. It's a total of 79 roost trees identified over two seasons.

    • Student Sara Harrod received funding from the Arkansas Audubon Society (~$500) and the North American Bluebird Society ($924).

    • Students Jenny Rohrer and Micah Mitchell joined the lab as interns and helped greatly in Stacy's last field season in the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge.

    • Students Amanda and Michael Trusty submitted an abstract each on their bluebird research to the STEM Posters at the Capitol.

    • Had a successful Christmas Bird Count with the participation of 12 students (including 3 undergrads), 4 volunteers, and my colleague Dr. Boves. Counted 77 species in the Jonesboro circle of AR, an increase of 12 species from last year's count.

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  • September 24, 2017

    • We now have a Facebook page! Like it to follow us.

    • Student Stacy Scherman received a $5,000 grant from the Conservation Support Fund of the Riverbanks Zoo & Garden.

    • Student Wayne Smart's interview was published in The Chronicle (p.19) of St George University, Grenada.

    • Former student Patrick Moore's paper is not only published online, but also on paper in the September issue of the Journal of Wildlife Management.

    • Student Sara Harrod closed the bluebird season, the most productive in 6 years!

    • Students Amanda and Michael Trusty joined the lab during the bluebird nesting season and are now investigating their own research questions.

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  • August 10, 2017

    • The bluebird season is not yet over and we have already broken our record of number of chicks produced in a season since 2013.

    • Students ​Sara Harrod and Stacy Scherman received the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission scholarship.

    • Student Sara Harrod received the annual Randall Mathis scholarship from the Arkansas Environmental Federation.

    • Student Wayne Smart presented his research at the BirdsCaribbean conference in Cuba.

    • Collaborator Bill Tietje presented my poster on Big-eared Woodrats at the American Society of Mammalogists 2017 conference.

 

  • June 9, 2017

    • Still waiting for the final approval by the Board of Trustees, but I have been recommended for tenure and promotion all the way up to the Provost.​

    • Students Wayne Smart, Sara Harrod, Stacy Scherman, and Erin Langley have presented posters and talks at several conferences: Arkansas Chapter of the Wildlife Society meeting (ARTWS), Southeastern Bat Diversity Network conference, and create@astate throughout the Spring semester.

    • I have been elected secretary-treasurer of the ARTWS, effective January 2018.

    • I gave an oral presentation on bats using the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge at the Arkansas Academy of Science meeting.

    • The AState Wildlife Club won the quiz bowl against UoA-Fayetteville, UoA-Monticello, and ATU at the ARTWS meeting. At the Southeastern Student Wildlife Conclave (held at MSU, Starville, MS), the club competed against 23 schools. They ranked 15th overall with the following notable specific achievements: 8th on the quiz bowl, 6th on the essay, 5th on telemetry (Karen Wright and Alex Gurley) and orienteering (Joshua Bates), 3rd place on miscellaneous calls (Kara Oliver), and 1st on free form (with NiKayla Bowen and her awesome frog on rock) and poetry (Kara Oliver). 

    • Student Wayne Smart received a BirdsCaribbean research grant.

    • Student Sara Harrod successfully passed her qualifying exams and is now a PhD candidate.

    • Students Karen Wright and Erin Langley received several awards (see their bios).

    • Student Gunnar Muckelberg helped me create the "Nest Monitoring Protocol" page of this website.

    • My first two academic advisees Kara Oliver and Karen Wright graduated in May 2017 in addition to several interns: Gunnar Muckelberg, Tyler Foster, Erin Langley, and Gracie Orfanos.

    • Former students Rhett Raibley from AState and AC Lee from Hendrix College as well as Freshmen Amanda and Michael Trusty have joined the bluebird team.

    • Former student Patrick Moore got his first paper accepted for publication in the Journal of Wildlife Management.

    • Sad news of this update: students and I submitted several grant proposals to federal and state agencies as well as national societies, but none got accepted, with the exception of the BirdsCaribbean one.

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  • January 16, 2017

    • I am going up for tenure and promotion. The application is in. Fingers crossed.​

    • Student Wayne Smart received a National Geographic Young Explorer research grant.

    • Students Sara Harrod and Stacy Scherman both successfully defended their proposals in Sept-Oct 2016.

    • I presented our Grenadine seabirds research at The Wildlife Society conference in Raleigh, NC.

    • Students Tyler Foster and Karen Wright joined the lab to assist with fieldwork to identify fall-winter roosting trees.

    • Student Gunnar Muckleberg is about to join the lab as an intern to work on bluebirds.

    • Three manuscripts reviewed with the decision: revise and resubmit.

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  • September 21, 2016

    • All students Wayne Smart, Stacy Scherman, and Sara Harrod​ have received the Arkansas Game and Fisch Commission Scholarship.

    • Student Wayne Smart presented his research at the NAOC conference in Washington DC in August after ending his 3rd field season funded partially through the crowdsourcing project Global Giving. He has been featured by EPIC and BirdsCaribbean for his contribution to a workshop that aims to train the Caribbean community in seabird conservation through monitoring and patrolling. 

    • Student Wayne Smart successfully defended his thesis proposal.

    • Student Stacy Scherman is recruiting a field technician for her first field season this Fall.

    • Student Karen Wright is joining the lab to assist Stacy with bat field work as an intern.

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  • June 30, 2016:

    • Student Wayne Smart obtained a travel award to present his research at the North American Ornithology Conference 2016​.

    • Student Sara Harrod  was interviewed by the local TV station KAIT8 on her research. Click here to check it out.

    • Former student Daniel Istvanko got his first paper accepted for publication in the Journal of Mammalogy.

    • Students Gracie Orfanos and Trevor Grubb joined the lab to assist Sara with bluebird monitoring.

    • Colllaborator Bill Tietje presented our work on Big-eared Woodrats and Brush Mice at the American Society of Mammalogists 2016 conference.

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  • May 7, 2016:

    • Student Sara Harrod has obtained a research award from the Arkansas Audubon Society.

    • Student Emily Greene has joined the lab to assist with bluebird field activities

    • Student Wayne Smart has submitted his full proposal to National Geographic - Young Explorers Grant and was invited to submit it to BirdsCaribbean.

    • Student Patrick Moore won the Best MS Biology graduating student award of the year.

 

  • March 11, 2016:

    • Student Sara Harrod has obtained a research grant award from the North American Bluebird Society.

    • Student Wayne Smart has been invited to submit a full proposal to National Geographic.

    • Student Patrick Moore presented his research at the Southeastern Bat Biodiversity Network and the Arkansas Chapter of the Wildlife Society, and has defended his thesis March 7.

    • Stacy Scherman has become a full-time MS student in my lab after her first exploratory season in the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge this winter.

    • Student Emily Reynolds after helping with bat field work this winter has started assisting with bluebird field work in parallel with student Candice Ashley.

    • I participated in the first Arkansas Quail Council to implement the Quail Strategic Management Plan. We created sub-committees including a technical one of which I am now a member.

 

  • November 22, 2015: 

    • Student Sara Harrod started in my lab as an EVS PhD student this past August and has obtained an award from the Arkansas Audubon Society Trust.

    • Student Wayne Smart finished a field season collecting seabird nesting data in the Grenadines and presented a poster of his preliminary data at the 20th International meeting of BirdsCaribbean in Jamaica.

    • My grant proposal for the fall and winter roost ecology of the Rafinesque's and Southeastern bats in the bottomland hardwoods of the Cache River National Refuge has been accepted.

    • Field technician Stacy Hitt joined the lab to conduct an exploratory season in the Cache River. Pre-med students Emily Reynolds and Brittany Bailey will assist.

    • Student Patrick Moore presented his research at the North American Society for Bat Research 2015 conference in Monterey, CA.

    • The manuscript co-authored with former student Jonathan Elston from Dr. Trauth's lab has been accepted for publication in Herp. Con. Bio.

 

  • June 29, 2015:

    • Team-taught a Professional Development for Grade 5-9 teachers: The History and Culture of Quail in Arkansas, May 16, with Drs. Miller and Dougan.

    • Looking for a MS student to work on a research project focusing on the fall and winter ecology of Rafinesque's and Southeastern Bats.

    • Data collection on-going in Arkansas caves, on Jonesboro Bluebird trail, and in Grenadine Islands.

 

  • March 27, 2015:

    • Went to the North American Joint Bat Working Group Meeting in St. Louis, MO. with most of the R-square lab.

    • Student Daniel Istvanko has defended his thesis, won the best student oral presentation award at the bat meeting. He has also started a new job as Wildlife Inventory Manager for the TN Wildlife Resources Agency.

    • Recruited Candice Ashley to assist voluntarily in bluebird nest monitoring.

    • Participated in a review panel for the FRQNT

    • Went to the Southeastern Deer Study Group meeting in Little Rock, AR, with an undergraduate student.

 

  • January 10, 2015:

    • Student Daniel Istvanko has almost completed his thesis and will be ready to graduate this semester.

    • Jessica Fowler Neal's manuscript about the house sparrow nest paratisitized by a bluebird has been accepted for publication.

    • Recruited Wayne Smart as a MS student to work on a project about Caribbean seabirds and anthropogenic effects.

    • Student Brandi Cansler has enrolled in a Special Problem class with me to write a manuscript on her research with me.

    • Student Ashley Hart has graduated in December 2014, leaving behind her a great number of repaired bluebird nest boxes.

    • Michael Gates, freshman pre-vet student, volunteers in nest boxes monitoring for roosting birds since Novembre 2014.

 

  • September 21, 2014:

    • Student Jessica Fowler has graduated last month and is now working on manuscripts

    • Hosted the AR Wildlife Society Fall 2014 Chapter.

    • About to go to the AOU meeting at Estes Park, CO.

    • Jonesboro, AR, ranks 5th top destination for foreign students. Read the Washington Post report of Aug. 29, 2014

       

  • June 23, 2014:

    • Student Patrick Moore is mastering aerial telemetry on gray bats... promising first season

    • Student Jessica Fowler is now married and has successfully defended her thesis. A few more edits and she'll be my first fledgling.

    • Student Michael Lee has joined the bluebird crew and rotates in the field with Ashley Hart and Erica Olney.

    • Student Ashley Hart is rehabbing an orphan bluebird.

 

  • May 15, 2014:

    • Recruited Ashley Hart for an internship on bluebird banding and nest monitoring. She's picking up quickly... already banded 19 chicks...

    • Still looking for a PhD student to study bluebird population dynamics.

    • Student Jessica Fowler presented winter roosting biology of bluebirds to the Arkansas Audubon Society meeting on May 3, 2014

    • Students Patrick Moore and Daniel Istvanko have been quoted in Outdoorsman magazine because of their discovery of white-nose syndrome in Arkansas caves. Click on A Killer in the Dark to read it.

 

  • April 22, 2014:

    • Students Patrick Moore successfully defended his thesis proposal, and Brandi Cansler won 2nd place with her poster at create@astate.

    • Nikki Davis is being recruited to assist Daniel Istvanko in the field with mist-netting and radio-tracking evening bats.

    • Still looking for a field technician to control house sparrows on the bluebird trail.

    • Looking for a PhD student to study bluebird population dynamics.

 

  • April 7, 2014: The Rolland Lab is looking for field technicians for bluebird nest monitoring and banding as well as for house sparrow control.

    • May 15: Positions Filled.

 

  • April 4, 2014: Student Brandi Cansler presented a poster (Bluebird Diet, Behavior, and Prey Water Content) at the 98th Arkansas Academy of Science Meeting, Searcy, AR.

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