We are looking for a M.S. student to join the Oregon Marbled Murrelet Project! Position details and application instructions can be found on the Join the Lab tab.

FAEL alum Dr. Gretchen Newberry's new book The nighthawk's evening - Notes of a field biologist is now out from OSU Press. It's a unique perspective about the iconic Common Nighthawk and how one goes about studying it, as well as a chronicle of Gretchen's path to graduate school and beyond. A must read!

Mark gave a seminar to the Klamath Basin Audubon Society on his Black-backed Woodpecker research. Here is a Zoom link to the recorded presentation; note that the first of couple minutes when Mark was describing broader work in the lab was not recorded, it might seem like an odd place to start the talk. https://oregonstate.app.box.com/s/i3ddtz6rsvv4k9o0h63z2ucyavy8z460

Rachel Zitomer and Mark Kerstens both received grant funding to support their graduate research. Rachel's award is from the American Museum of Natural History and is focused on evaluating the ecology of native pollinators in managed coniferous forest landscapes, whereas Mark received awards from the Association for Field Ornithologists, the Animal Behavior Society, and the Klamath Basin Audubon Society which will be used as part of his study examining how juvenile Black-backed Woodpeckers disperse in a burned-unburned forest mosaic. Well done!

The Oregon Marbled Murrelet Project made its debut on Oregon Public Radio via an episode on Oregon Field Guide. The piece gives a great overview of the complexity of the project and the methodology that we are using to study this elusive species. You can see the episode here.

Jim received the Research Award from the Oregon Society of American Foresters for his research contributions. This award is given annually in recognition of outstanding achievement in any branch of science leading to advancement in either the science or practice of forestry in Oregon. See the full write-up here.  

Rhea Selitto and Lucas Parvin have joined the FAEL this fall to start in on reserach projects related to wild native bees. Rhea is an undergraduate in the OSU Sure Science Program and will be working on a study that evaluates bee body size as a function of early seral forest characteristics. Lucas is the OSU University Honors College and will be undertaking thesis work to evaluate how visual attractants may enhance bee polliation. We are excited to have them both!

Dr. Jonathon Valente has joined the lab! Jonathon comes to us from the Smithsonian where he has been working on land sparing-land sharing work as it relates to biodiversity in coffee-growing regions. In the lab he will be undertaking work to examine drivers of spatial distribution and population dynamics in Marbled Murrelets as part of the Oregon Marbled Murrelet Project.

We have a number of new positions available in the Forest Animal Ecology Laboratory, including a M.S. position to quantify woodpecker vital rates in southern Oregn and seasonal field positions to study woodpeckers and pollinators. Position descriptions can be found under the "Join the lab" webpage.