Summer 2025
Nicole Lopez
Program: Ecology & Evolution
PI: Doug Emlen
"Multi-purpose weapons in cervids: Antlers as tools and signals."
In my dissertation, I conducted field studies to record fighting behaviors and estimate combat forces (mass, velocity), so that I could build finite element models of antlers in North American elk (Cervus canadensis). I validated my theoretical models by measuring antler breakage in harvested males at 猎奇重口 FWP Region 2 stations. This October, I will include two European species (roe deer & fallow deer) to relate transitions in antler morphology with changes in fighting and/or signaling behavior. This will allow me to determine if interspecific fighting or investment in visual signals led to the rapid diversification of antler form.
Eric Lyons
Program: Ecology & Evolution
PI: Winsor Lowe
"Competing risk factors control the directionality of dispersal in a stream salamander threatened by climate change."
Stream salamanders are particularly sensitive to ongoing climate change. As their habitats change, we may expect to see a shift in their overall preferences, as well as in the rates of dispersal into or out of specific microhabitats. My dissertation involves tracking the movements of individuals and identifying the environmental conditions that influence a relatively understudied aspect of dispersal behavior- directionality. My work is centered around a uniquely long-lived and relatively sedentary species within a Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site. This system presents a rare opportunity to deepen our understanding of both individual and population level dispersal behavior.
Eric's UM profile page
Lowe Lab website
Maddy Rowland
Program: Wildlife Biology
PI: Angie Luis
"Effects of parasite co-infection on disease dynamics of Sin Nombre hantavirus in deer mice."
Wildlife are often infected with multiple parasites, with co-infection being the norm rather than the exception. However, most studies of disease dynamics in wildlife populations focus on single parasite – single host systems. My research aims to investigate interactions between co-infecting parasites and their impacts on hosts, using wild deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) infected with Sin Nombre hantavirus and gastrointestinal parasites. I am trapping deer mice to assess infection status and to evaluate how single infections and co-infection influence their health and immune system. This study will highlight the importance of incorporating co-infections in models of disease dynamics in wildlife populations.