School of Natural Resources Seminar\: Dan Sullins
Abstract
Working lands in the United States provide an array of food, fiber, and energy resources for a growing human population and can be critically important for wildlife habitat and population connectivity, particularly in Kansas and Nebraska, which are ~97% privately owned. Many game and nongame wildlife species have persisted and can thrive in these working landscapes composed of a mosaic of cropland, grazed pastures, and other working lands. Unfortunately, the continued intensification of agriculture and energy extraction, compounded by altered ecological drivers, threatens wildlife. For example, lesser prairie chickens have lost about 85% of their presumed historical habitat, northern bobwhites have declined 78% nationally, and mule deer and several grassland songbirds have experienced similar declines. My research has focused on generating applied science founded on basic population and landscape ecology principles to benefit declining wildlife species in working landscapes. Research produced by my lab and collaborators provides information that multiple stakeholders can use to target conservation efforts to strategic locations, inform population impacts of large-scale disturbances, and draw inferences based on the foraging ecology of wildlife. We have evaluated threats to grassland bird populations, including woody encroachment, conversion to cropland, and increased pesticide use. Provided evidence of Conservation Reserve Program grasslands providing nesting cover 3X greater than grazed pastures and providing refugia for lesser prairie-chickens during drought and following megafire. Demonstrated that raccoon (Procyon lotor) occupancy increased in areas with greater cropland and woody cover. Identified grassland composition (>60% within 5km) and woody cover as landscape constraints to habitat use for greater prairie-chickens and lesser prairie-chickens. Last, we evaluated habitat use and diets of wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) and documented prevalent consumption of annual cicada by poults. Overall, the persistence of abundant wildlife populations in these working landscapes will require rigorous science to inform adaptive and strategic conservation among changing agricultural practices, land uses, and climate change.
Speaker's Bio
Dr. Dan Sullins attended Texas A&M University where he graduated with a Bachelor Science in Wildlife and Fisheries in 2008. As an undergraduate he worked as a fisheries intern and upon graduation he worked multiple seasonal technician positions.
In spring 2010, he started graduate studies at Stephen F. Austin State University and since then he has conducted research related to the conservation of avian populations. As a PhD student and postdoctoral research associate at Kansas State University his work largely focused on lesser prairie-chicken ecology and conservation.