Sarah Sonsthagen

Sarah Sonsthagen

  • Contact Information
  • Publications
  • Background
  • Interests
  • Grants
  • Advising

Contact Information

TitleWildlife Scientist | Assistant Unit Leader NCFWRU
Faculty RankResearch Associate Professor
Address424 South Hardin Hall
3310 Holdrege Street
Lincoln NE
68583–0984

East Campus
Phone
  • office: 402-472-0985
E-mailssonsthagen2@unl.edu

 

Selected Publications

Wilson, R.E., Boyd, W.S., Sonsthagen, S.A., Ward, D.H., Clausen, P., Dickson, K.M., Ebbinge, B.S., Gudmundsson, G.A., Sage, G.K., Rearick, J.R., Derksen, D.V., Talbot, S.L. 2024. Where east meets west: Phylogeography of the high Arctic North American brant goose. Ecology and Evolution. 2024;14:e11245. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11245Online
Augusto da Silva Coelho, F., Gill, S., Tomlin, C.M., Papavassilou, M., Farley, S.D., Cook, J.A., Sonsthagen, S.A., Sage, G.K., Heaton, T.H., Talbot, S.L., Lindqvist, C. 2023. Ancient bears provide insights into Pleistocene ice age refugia in Southeast Alaska. Molecular Ecology. 2023;00:1–16.Online
Christie, K., R.E. Wilson, J.A. Johnson, C. Friis, C. Harwood, L. McDuffie, E. Nol, and S.A. Sonsthagen. 2023. Movement and genomic methods reveal mechanisms promoting connectivity in a declining shorebird: the lesser yellowlegs. Diversity. 15:595. Online
De Amaral, F., Wilson, R.E., Sonsthagen, S.A., Sehgal, R. 2023. Diversity, distribution, and methodological considerations of haemosporidian infections among Galliformes in Alaska. International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife 20 (2023) 122–132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijppaw.2023.01.008Online
Franz, M., L. Whyte, T. Atwood, D. Menning, S. Sonsthagen, S. Talbot, K. Laidre, E. Gonzalez, and M. McKinney. 2023. Fecal DNA metabarcoding shows credible short-term prey detections and explains variation in the gut microbiome of two polar bear subpopulations. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 704:131-147.Online
Eaton, M. D., Benites, P., Campillo, L., Wilson, R. E., Sonsthagen, S. (2022). Gull plumages are, and are not, what they appear to human vision. Annales Zoologici Fennici, 59, 187-203.Online
Greiman, S. E., Wilson, R. E., Sesmundo, B., Reakoff, J., Sonsthagen, S. (2022). Detection of Splendidofilaria (Onchocercidae: Splendidofilariinae) microfilaria within Alaskan ground dwelling birds in the grouse subfamily Tetraoninae using TaqMan probe based real-time PCR. Journal of Parasitology, 108, 192-198.
Sonsthagen, S., Swem, T., Ambrose, S., Flamme, M., White, C. M., Sage, G. K., Talbot, S. L. (2022). The DDT-induced decline influenced genetic diversity in two naturally recovered populations of peregrine falcons nesting within the Alaska Arctic and eastern Interior. The Ibis, 164, 1265-1272.
Sonsthagen, S., Wilson, R. E., Talbot, S. L. (2022). Species-specific responses to landscape features shaped genomic structure within Alaska galliformes. Journal of Biogeography. Online
Wilson, R. E., Sonsthagen, S. (2022). Species-specific responses to landscape features shaped genomic structure within Alaska galliformes.
Wilson, R. E., Sonsthagen, S., DaCosta, J. M., Sorenson, M. D., Fox, A. D., Weaver, M., Skalos, D., Kondratyev, A. V., Scribner, K. T., Walsh, A., Ely, C. R., Talbot, S. L. (2022). As the goose flies: Migration routes and timing of strategies influence genetic diversity patterns of a circumpolar goose. Diversity, 14, 12.Online
Wilson, R. E., Sonsthagen, S., Lavretsky, P., Majewski, A., Arnason, E., Halldórsdóttir, K., Einarsson, A. W., Wedemeyer, K., Talbot, S. L. (2022). Low levels of hybridization between sympatric cold-water adapted Arctic cod and Polar cod in the Beaufort Sea confirms genetic distinctiveness. Arctic Science.Online
Krejsa, D. M., Talbot, S. L., Sage, G. K., Sonsthagen, S., Jung, T. S., Majoun, A. J., Cook, J. A. (2021). Dynamic landscapes in northwestern North America structured populations of wolverines (Gulo gulo). Journal of Mammalogy, 102, 891-908.Online
Lavretsky, P., Wilson, R. E., Talbot, S. L., Sonsthagen, S. (2021). Phylogenomics reveals ancient and contemporary gene flow contributing to the evolutionary history of sea ducks (Tribe Mergini). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 161, 107164Online
Rosenfield, R. N., Sonsthagen, S., Riddle-Berntsen, A. E., Kuhel, E. (2021). Record fledging count from a seven-egg clutch in the Cooper’s hawk (Accipiter cooperii). The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, 132, 460-463. Online
Wilson, R. E., Matsuoka, S. M., Powell, L. L., Johnson, J. A., Demarest, D. W., Stralberg, D., Sonsthagen, S. (2021). Implications of Historical and Contemporary Processes on Genetic Differentiation of a Declining Boreal Songbird: The Rusty Blackbird. Diversity, 13, 103.Online

Background

 

Affiliations

 

SNR Program Areas

  • Applied Ecology

Areas of Interest/Expertise

  • Molecular ecology
  • Population genetics
  • Evolution
  • Evolutionary biology
  • Molecular biology
  • Genetic diversity
  • Phylogenetic analysis

Grants

Currently this page only displays grants that were awarded on 1/1/ 2009 to the present. If a grant was awarded prior to 1/1/ 2009 and is still active, it will not be displayed on this page.

Grant TitleEvaluating Spatial Distribution and Composition of Mesopredator Communities in Western Nebraska
Starting Date09/23/2024

Investigator(s)

Ending Date07/31/2027
Funding Level$146,750.00
Funding AgencyNebraska Game and Parks Commission

 

Grant TitleAssess Reference Condition Alaskan Small-Mammal Population Dynamics and Genetic Variation Prior to Ambler Road Development and Ongoing Climate Change
Starting Date08/23/2024

Investigator(s)

Ending Date09/30/2028
Funding Level$30,000.00
Funding AgencyU.S. Geological Survey

 

Grant TitleHave Population Size Fluctuations Influenced the Effective Population Size in Monarchs?
Starting Date07/01/2024

Investigator(s)

Ending Date06/30/2026
Funding Level$20,000.00
Funding AgencyNebraska Game and Parks Commission

 

Grant TitleEffects of Woody Encroachment and Management on Grassland Birds in Nebraska (Additional Funding)
Starting Date06/27/2024

Investigator(s)

Ending Date07/31/2028
Funding Level$166,640.00
Funding AgencyUS Geological Service

 

Grant TitleEffects of Woody Encroachment and Mgt on Grassland Birds in NE Sandhills
Starting Date10/18/2023

Investigator(s)

Ending Date07/31/2028
Funding Level$168,690.00
Funding AgencyU.S. Geological Service

 

Grant TitleEvaluating Reproduction, Harvest, Timing of Season, Connectivity, and Spatial Ecology of Wild Turkeys in Nebraska
Starting Date09/15/2022

Investigator(s)

Ending Date12/31/2026
Funding Level$1,885,893.00
Funding AgencyNebraska Game and Parks Commission

 

Grant TitleInvestigating Hybridization between the Declining Gray-Headed Chickadee and a Recent Colonizer
Starting Date07/01/2021

Investigator(s)

Ending Date09/30/2024
Funding Level$65,086.00
Funding AgencyUS Geological Survey

 

Advising

Graduate Programs

Master of Applied Science

Master of Science in Natural Resource Sciences
including specializations in

  • Applied Ecology

Doctorate of Philosophy in Natural Resource Sciences
including specializations in

  • Applied Ecology