Katie joined the Applied Wildlife Ecology and Spatial Movement (AWESM) Lab in the Spring of 2023 as a PhD student. She will be collaborating with the Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, and the University of Georgia to study wild turkey populations in the state of Nebraska.
Katie received her BS in Environmental Biology and a Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) from the University of Dayton in 2020, and later went on to receive her MS in Forest Resources from the University of Arkansas-Monticello in 2022.
As a spatial ecologist, Katie's research focuses on the application of geospatial data to wildlife and landscape problems. Having worked in Ohio, Oregon, Arkansas, and Nebraska, Katie has worked with species ranging from black bears to bats, but always finds herself drawn to projects that provide usable data and managment recommendations to local communities and stakeholders.
Katie's PhD research with wild turkeys in Nebraska aims to identify and address the cause of species decline in the state. Using survival and harvest rates, resource selection data, and temporal movements Katie and collaborators will work to build the foundation of knowledge for the species within the state of Nebraska.