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Fish and Wildlife Biology & Management
M.S., M.P.S. & Ph.D.

Introduction

Fish and Wildlife Biology & Management program pages

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Study in this area provides students with advanced preparation in biological concepts of fish and wildlife populations as they relate to resource management. Increasing concern for these wild animal resources has been matched by strong student interest in educational programs that prepare them for careers in the fish and wildlife professions; ESF graduates are employed worldwide.

Graduate education is rapidly becoming a universal prerequisite to employment as a professional fisheries or wildlife biologist. A major strength is the diversity of cooperators including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Geological Survey and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Areas of research include population habitat relationships, predator ecology, fish behavior, wildlife in Adirondack ecosystems, urban wildlife relationships, endangered species studies, feeding ecology of fishes, stream ecology, Great Lakes fisheries, ecology of larval fishes and estuarine properties of Great Lakes wetlands.

ESF is a specialized unit within the SUNY system focused to natural resources and the environment. Perhaps nowhere in the world is there a larger grouping of ecologists dedicated to solving environmental problems through research, teaching and service. With a total enrollment of about 1,000 undergraduates and 600 graduate students, ESF's size creates an intimate College community. The low student/faculty ratio also allows for an active advisory system that provides personal attention and assistance for students. The proximity of the adjacent Syracuse University gives students the added resources of a large, comprehensive institution of higher education, including an array of courses, computer and library facilities, and sports and health services.

ESF's field stations are unmatched, and include the 6,000-hectare Huntington Forest and associated Adirondack Ecological Center, the Cranberry Lake Biological Station in the Adirondack Mountains and the Heiberg Forest south of Syracuse. Other field facilities are available on the St. Lawrence River, including the Thousand Islands Biological Station. These properties form a strong foundation for much of the coursework taken by undergraduate students and field research for graduate students. Undergraduates in Fish and Wildlife Science spend a summer taking classes at Cranberry Lake. Qualified undergraduates are encouraged to intern as field assistants with graduate students to gain direct experience with wildlife research.

Fish and wildlife programs at ESF date back to early studies of Adirondack fishes and work in the Yellowstone National Park. These efforts quickly expanded to include formation of the Roosevelt Wild Life Station in 1919. The Roosevelt Wildlife Museum also was established, and currently houses over 20,000 specimens of vertebrates that are an integral part of today's teaching and research programs. Today, the faculty in fish and wildlife supervise more than $3 million in sponsored research and about 60 graduate students. While much of the research occurs in New York State, international opportunities are available and recent studies have been conducted in Canada, Mexico, Argentina and Madagascar. Studies range from restoration of species, to adaptive management of wildlife in forest ecosystems and urban areas. Technology is often central to this research including extensive use of computer modeling, use of satellite imagery to evaluate habitat, and radio and GPS telemetry to study animal behavior and population dynamics.

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Certification

Graduates can receive certification from either The Wildlife Society or The American Fisheries Society. Information on the coursework required for certification can be found by following the links below.

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Faculty

John M. Farrell; jmfarrell@esf.edu
riverine fish ecology, freshwater coastal wetlands, great lakes, fisheries science & management, aquatic ecology, wetlands restoration, st. lawrence river studies, invasive species, zooplankton ecology
Jacqueline Frair; jfrair@esf.edu
vertebrate and landscape ecology, wildlife and landscape ecology, animal movements and habitat use, predator-prey interactions
James Gibbs; jpgibbs@esf.edu
herpetology, vertebrate conservation biology, genetics and ecology in birds, reptiles and amphibians, songbirds, giant tortoise, statistics, wildlife population monitoring, galapagos islands, conservation biology, ecological monitoring, population genetics, applied demography, undergraduate conservation education
Karin E. Limburg; klimburg@esf.edu
riverine fish and estuarine ecology, fisheries ecology, watershed ecology, systems ecology, ecological economics, fisheries and ecosystem science, coupled human-natural systems, biogeochemistry, fisheries ecology, ecosystem ecology, biogeochemical tracers, modeling
Mark V. Lomolino; island@esf.edu
conservation biology, wildlife, ecology, evolution and biogeography
Stacy A. McNulty; smcnulty@esf.edu
forest ecology, landscape ecology, long-term monitoring, and applied geographic information systems. focused on exploring long-term changes, biodiversity conservation in the northern forest, and impacts of recreation, development, and forest management in the adirondack mountains and northern forest, phenology, amphibians, beaver, songbirds, white-tailed deer, animal movements and habitat use, wildlife management
Neil H. Ringler; neilringler@esf.edu
fish ecology and behavior, foraging behavior of fishes, salmon reproduction, vertebrate anatomy, aquatic insect ecology, stream ecology and management, aquatic and fisheries restoration, aquatic entomology
Sadie J. Ryan; sjryan@esf.edu
disease and landscape ecology, wildlife conservation biology, public health, climate change
Kimberly L. Schulz; kschulz@syr.edu
nutrient and exotic species effects on aquatic ecosystems, ecological stoichiometry, aquatic community and ecosystem ecology, bioenergetics, nutrient cycling, lower food web studies, great lakes, finger lakes, plankton, limnology, aquatic ecology, biogeochemistry, invasive species
Donald Stewart; djstewart@esf.edu
ecology and systematics, lake systems ecology, aquatic ecology, fish conservation, ecology and population biology in tropical and temperate systems, fish ecology and fisheries management, ecological energetics, modeling predation and production processes, Great Lakes ecosystems, Amazonian ecosystems, ecology and systematics of neotropical freshwater fishes
Brian Underwood; hbunderw@syr.edu
wildlife ecology, deer, small mammals, songbirds, quantitative ecology and biostatistics, population surveys, ecological modeling and simulation, national park management, applied population analysis, life-history evolution, trophic dynamics, large mammal management
Christopher Whipps; cwhipps@esf.edu
fish parasites and diseases, wildlife diseases, parasitology, microbiology, taxonomy, molecular systematics, diagnostics, parasites as biological tags and ecological indicators, epidemiology and control of pathogens of ecological and veterinary importance, evolution and biology of disease causing organisms in animal populations using molecular systematics

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Current Graduate Students in Fish and Wildlife Biology & Management

Current Students

Only currently registered students appear—new student names are added at the start of the academic year.

Michelle Avis mlavis@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: MS Advisor(s): Cohen	Undergraduate Institute: Marietta College (Biology) Graduate Research Topic Flight Behavior of Breeding Piping Plovers: Implications for Risk of Collision with Turbines and Other Human Structures
Eric Bauer efbauer@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: MS Advisor(s): Whipps
Andrew Brainard abrainar@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: PHD Advisor(s): Schulz	Previous Graduate Study: West Chester University PA (Biology )
Elaina Burns ekburns@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: MS Advisor(s): Underwood	Undergraduate Institute: Nazareth College of Rochester (Biology) Graduate Research Topic Habitat selection and non-invasive abundance sampling of North American river otter in the Finger Lakes.
Michael Connerton mjconner@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: PHD Advisor(s): Ringler	Previous Graduate Study: ( ) Graduate Research Topic Wild reproduction of Chinook salmon in Lake Ontario and its tributaries.
Lindsay Denhoff ladenhof@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: MS Advisor(s): Shields and
Katharine DeVilbiss kdevilbi@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: MS Advisor(s): Farrell	Undergraduate Institute: Clemson University (Fishery Sciences) Links Web Link Graduate Research Topic Responses of esocid fishes to warming temperatures: laboratory experimentation on species metabolic rates Virtual Portfolio Web Link
Maureen Durkin mmdurkin@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: MS Advisor(s): Cohen	Undergraduate Institute: Connecticut College (Biology) Graduate Research Topic Effects of human-caused disturbance on Snowy Plover behavior, habitat selection, and reproductive success in the Florida Panhandle.
Geofrey Eckerlin geeckerl@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: PHD Advisor(s): Farrell	Graduate Research Topic Effects of viral hemorraghic septicemia (VHS) on smallmouth bass during ontogeny: the role of condition and stress on susceptibility and virulence.
Thomas Evans tevans03@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: PHD Advisor(s): Limburg	Undergraduate Institute: Juniata College (Biology) Previous Graduate Study: Ohio State University of Columbus (Ecology )
Joseph Folta jefolta@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: PHD Advisor(s): Underwood	Undergraduate Institute: SUNY ESF (Wildlife Management) Previous Graduate Study: North Car State University of Raleigh (Wildlife Management )
Rebecca Fuda rkfuda@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: PHD Advisor(s): Ryan	Undergraduate Institute: Boston University Personal Statement My research interests lie at the human-wildlife interface in African landscapes. In particular, I am interested in investigating the effects of anthropogenic disturbances on wildlife populations as well as factors contributing to human-wildlife conflict and potential strategies for mitigation. Graduate Research Topic Response of large carnivores to human disturbance in Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda Home Page beckyfuda.weebly.com
Matthew Gunderson magunder@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: MS Advisor(s): Kapuscinski	Undergraduate Institute: University of Wisc Stevens Point (Fishery Sciences) Graduate Research Topic Habitat preferences and seasonal succession of aquatic vegetation in the upper Niagara River
Sara Hansen sjhansen@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: MS Advisor(s): Frair	Personal Statement Prior to starting work on my MS at SUNY ESF, I was a biologist for the NPS on the island fox project for 2 years and logged 5 years as a seasonal biologist for several universities and NGO's prior to that. My recent experience has mainly been with management and research involving mammalian predators though I am more generally interested in population dynamics and spatial ecology of vertebrates and have worked with birds, large ungulates, small mammals, and reptiles in the past. I am also interested in human-wildlife conflict issues and improving education and communication between the scientific community and the general public. Graduate Research Topic Thesis title: “Estimation of eastern coyote abundance through distance sampling and vocalization surveys” Favorite Quote “Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” -Judy Garland
Cathy Hazell cjhazell@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: PHD Advisor(s): Shields	Previous Graduate Study: ( ) Graduate Research Topic Keystone predators in Kyrgistan.
Theodore Hermann thermann@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: PHD Advisor(s): Stewart	Undergraduate Institute: Cornell University (Earth Systems) Personal Statement Before coming to ESF, I worked in several laboratories at Cornell. The focus of the work was broad in scope, including ichthyology, limnology, stable isotope analysis and microbiology. My graduate work focuses on the catfish of the family Pimelodidae, particularly the giants of the genus Brachyplatystoma, which undertake spawning migrations of thousands of kilometers in the Amazon River. Using microelemental analysis of otoliths, I aim to determine phylogenetic patterns of migration within the family. Graduate Research Topic Determining patterns of migration within the Amazonian catfish family, Pimelodidae, using otolith microelemental data.
Robin Holevinski raholevi@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: PHD Advisor(s): Frair	Previous Graduate Study: Cornell University (Natural Resources ) Graduate Research Topic Dissertation title: “Foraging ecology of coyotes in NY State”
Danielle Hurley dmhurley@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: MS Advisor(s): Ringler
Curtis Karboski ctkarbos@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: MS Advisor(s): Ringler	Undergraduate Institute: Paul Smiths College Arts Science (Fishery Sciences)
Christina Killourhy cckillou@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: MS Advisor(s): Farrell	Undergraduate Institute: Cornell University (Environmental Science)
Alison Kocek arkocek@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: MS Advisor(s): Cohen	Undergraduate Institute: University of Arizona (Ecology) Web Link Graduate Research Topic Avian demographic response to salt marsh restoration, with emphasis on salt marsh breeding sparrows in coastal New York state.
Stewart LaPan sjlapan@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: MS Advisor(s): Gibbs and Farrell
Christopher Legard cdlegard@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: MS Advisor(s): Ringler	Undergraduate Institute: Oregon State University
Mark Leopold mfleopol@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: MS Advisor(s): Farrell	Undergraduate Institute: Cornell University (Natural Sciences — O) Graduate Research Topic Exploring the history of and possible causes and explanations for the heavily female-skewed sex ratios of northern pike on the St. Lawrence River Favorite Quote "Our life is an apprenticeship to the truth that around every circle another can be drawn; that there is no end in nature, but every end is a beginning, and under every deep a lower deep opens." -R.W.E.
Andrew MacDuff ajmacduf@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: MS Advisor(s): Frair	Graduate Research Topic Thesis title: “A non-harvest based assessment of river otter populations in NY State”
Joie Matillano jdmatill@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: PHD Advisor(s): Stewart	Undergraduate Institute: Western Phillippines Univ (Aquatic Biology) Personal Statement I am a Ph. D. student majoring in Fish and Wildlife Biology and Management at SUNY ESF in Syracuse, NY. I also worked with Dr. Donald Stewart’s lab for my MS Degree but before I came to ESF, I was a faculty member of the Aquatic Biology Program of Western Philippines University in Puerto Princesa, Philippines. My MS research focused on taxonomy and conservation of the minnow genus Puntius in northern Palawan, Philippines. Currently, my graduate research in ESF deals with fish community patterns in riverine and coastal ecosystems of Honda Bay Basin. My research aims to compare the species composition of fishes from rivers, estuaries, and coral reef areas in Honda Bay area in Palawan, Philippines. The main goal is to assess the connectivity of these ecosystems in terms of supporting the different life history stages of several commercially important species in Honda Bay. I hope that through the results of my study, sound management programs will be formulated and implemented to effectively delineate marine protected areas that will provide umbrella protection to the different ecosystems that support the Honda Bay area fish communities. Graduate Research Topic Riverine and Coastal Fish Community Patterns in Honda Bay, Puerto Princesa City, Philippines Homepage Web Link
Seth Myers sjmyers@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: PHD Advisor(s): Hall and Hall	Undergraduate Institute: Fairmont State College (Biology) Previous Graduate Study: Marshall University (Biology )
Christopher Nack ccnack@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: MS Advisor(s): Limburg	Undergraduate Institute: SUNY ESF (EFB) Previous Graduate Study: SUNY ESF (Fisheries Sci )
Laurel Nowak-Boyd ljnowakb@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: MS Advisor(s): Cohen
Emily Ogburn eogburn@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: MS Advisor(s): Limburg and Whipps	Graduate Research Topic "Fish Parasite Communities in the Hudson River Estuary's Littoral Habitats"
Silvia Saldivar Bellassai sssaldiv@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: MS Advisor(s): Frair	Undergraduate Institute: Universidad Nacional de Asunci (Biology) Personal Statement I am interested in population ecology, management and conservation of mammalian species. I have studied harvested populations of large mammals in Paraguay and I would like to continue by using different quantitative methods including spatial data and occupancy analysis. Graduate Research Topic Peccaries persistance in the Paraguayan Dry Chaco
Errol Scheid ejscheid@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: MS Advisor(s): McGrath	Undergraduate Institute: Cornell University (Natural Sciences — O) Graduate Research Topic Lake sturgeon summer habitat use in the Erie Canal System
Alexander Smith ajsmit04@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: PHD Advisor(s): Ringler and Limburg	Undergraduate Institute: SUNY ESF (EFB)
Sara Turner smturner@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: PHD Advisor(s): Limburg	Undergraduate Institute: University of Mass Dartmouth (Biology) Graduate Research Topic Assessment of River Herring Movement Patterns at Small and Large Scales using Natural Tags
Sarah Wilkinson sawilkin@syr.edu	Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Degree Sought: MS Advisor(s): Underwood and McNulty	Graduate Research Topic Urban deer population dynamics, habitat restoration, land use shifts, GIS landscape analysis