Applied Ecology Specialization in
Natural Resource Sciences Graduate Program
Available to MS and PhD candidates.
Students in the Applied Ecology specialization focus on the interactions among ecosystem components. This specialization is designed for students interested in applying ecological principles to the management of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
The School of Natural Resources is an academic unit in the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Most faculty and graduate students in the School reside in Hardin Hall on UNL’s East Campus. The building has excellent laboratory, office, and classroom facilities to support research, teaching and outreach activities.
Faculty members within the Applied Ecology specialization have strong cooperative efforts with other departments and colleges. Graduate students seeking a MS or PhD specialization in Applied Ecology from SNR will find a variety of options available to help tailor the program to their unique interests.
Educational goals and objectives:
- Provide students a learning environment to promote a broad understanding of ecological principles and how they can be applied to the conservation and management of our natural resources.
- Recognize students who have attained an advanced knowledge of ecological science and management.
- Support interactions and cooperation among the community of scientists and students working on applied ecological problems.
Scope:
While there are no specific guidelines or national accreditation programs, students will be encouraged to seek a broad background in several areas focusing on interactions among ecosystem components. The specialization is designed for students interested in applying ecological principles to the management of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The specialization should appeal to students interested in
- agroforestry/agroecology
- aquatic ecology
- fisheries ecology
- stream ecology
- conservation biology
- forest ecology
- grassland ecology
- wildlife ecology
- ecosystem science
Faculty Point-of-Contact
If you are interested in the Applied Ecology graduate specialization, please feel free to contact the following SNR faculty member:
Advising Faculty
- Craig Allen
- Lord Ameyaw
- Matt Andrews
- John Benson
- Mark Burbach
- John Carroll
- Chris Chizinski
- Jessica Corman
- Jenny Dauer
- Joe Dauer
- John Gamon
- Leon Higley
- Clint Leach
- Andrew (Andy) Little
- Keeley MacNeill
- Rene Martin
- Nicholas McMillan
- Gwendŵr Meredith
- Jill Motschenbacher
- Mark Pegg
- Lisa Pennisi
- Kevin Pope
- Larkin Powell
- Karl Reinhard
- Sarah Sonsthagen
- Jonathan Spurgeon
- Dan Uden
- Elizabeth (Liz) VanWormer
- Mark Vrtiska
- Dave Wedin
- Bob Zink
- Rene Martin (starting Aug. 1, 2024)
Admission Requirements
Please see our admission requirements and application procedure pages for more information about our admission and application expectations for graduate degree candidates.
Graduation Requirements
Master of Science
- Thirty (30) hours of graduate courses are required for the degree.
- Individualized programs are developed by the student and their supervisory committee in accordance with the requirements of the M.S. in Natural Resource Sciences degree as detailed in the Graduate Studies Bulletin. Students are encouraged to take a broad array of classes that will provide the background to address ecosystem issues from various perspectives.
- Student must complete a thesis research topic in Applied Ecology.
- Student must complete NRES 801 (2 cr).
- The chair (or one co-chair) of the student’s supervisory committee must be a faculty member from the Applied Ecology Group and a member of the UNL graduate faculty.
- At least two courses of the program must be “NRES” courses or a substitute course approved by the Applied Ecology faculty.
Doctor of Philosophy
- Ninety (90) hours of graduate courses are required for the degree.
- Individualized programs are developed by the student and their supervisory committee in accordance with the requirements of the Ph.D. in Natural Resource Sciences degree as detailed in the Graduate Studies Bulletin. Students are encouraged to take a broad array of classes that will provide the background to address ecosystem issues from various perspectives.
- Student must complete a dissertation research topic in Applied Ecology.
- Student must complete NRES 801 (2 cr).
- The chair (or one co-chair) of the student’s supervisory committee must be a faculty member from the Applied Ecology Group and a member of the UNL graduate faculty.
- At least three courses of the program must be “NRES” courses or a substitute course approved by the Applied Ecology faculty.
Career Opportunities
The specialization should appeal to students interested in academic, state/federal agency, NGO, and professional careers in
- agroforestry/agroecology
- aquatic ecology
- fisheries ecology
- stream ecology
- conservation biology
- forest ecology
- grassland ecology
- wildlife ecology
- ecosystem science
Selected Dissertations & Theses
Spatial Ecology of Mountain Lions Throughout Their Distribution in California - Kyle Dougherty
- Dissertation Defense
- 07/26/2024
Impacts of Invasive Carp and Their Population Dynamics on Fish Communities in the Missouri River - Joshua Kocik
- Thesis Defense
- 07/26/2024
Hybridization between the Rare Gray-Headed Chickadee and the Abundant Boreal Chickadee in the Midst of Shifting Climates. - Matthew Armstrong
- Thesis Defense
- 07/23/2024
Virtual Fencing in Livestock Management: Effects on Beef Cattle Stress and Enhancing Wildlife Conservation - Kaitlyn Dozler
- Thesis Defense
- 07/17/2024
Assessing, Restoring, and Centering Social-Ecological Relationships for Advancing Social-Ecological Resilience in the Northern Great Plains Grasslands - Katia Carranza
- Thesis Defense
- 07/15/2024
Ecological Impacts of Restoring Fire-Grazing Interaction in Sandhills Prairie through Patch-Burn Grazing - Nolan Sipe
- Thesis Defense
- 11/30/2023
Precipitation and Greenness in Pastoral Lands of East Turkana, Kenya - Paul Akpejeluh
- Thesis Defense
- 11/21/2023
Population Demography of a Glacial-Relict Stream Fish Mediated via Anthropogenic Alteration - Joseph Spooner
- Thesis Defense
- 11/15/2023
Habitat heterogeneity in Nebraska streams and distribution prediction for tier-1 cyprinids using multi-scale modeling of fluvial and landscape features - Connor Hart
- Thesis Defense
- 11/13/2023
Understanding the Factors Affecting Nebraskan Farmers' and Landowners' Decision to Adopt Precision Agricultural Technologies and Programs - Corrin Winter
- Thesis Defense
- 08/07/2023
Agriculture intensification has increased during the past 50+ years resulting in simplified cropping systems (e.g., monocultures of high-yielding crops such as corn and soybeans). Additionally, agricultural intensification has led to the removal of non-crop habitat to maximize field size for production. Concomitantly, agricultural intensification coupled with increased chemical and mechanical inputs has led to adverse environmental impacts on soils, water, and biodiversity. To address these issues, new precision agriculture technologies and conservation planning frameworks have been developed with the goal of optimizing agricultural production systems while reducing negative environmental impacts soils, water, and biodiversity. Despite these opportunities to optimize agricultural production and environmental sustainability, farmers still face many constraints and limitations when choosing to adopt these precision technologies.
To identify the factors that facilitate or constrain farmers and farmland owners’ willingness to participate in targeted conservation delivery (via precis ion agriculture), we surveyed 7,503 individuals across Nebraska. These individuals were selected based on two criteria: 1) they were farmers and/or farmland owners who own or work land in Nebraska; and 2) were over the age of 19. We received 1,040 completed surveys (response rate = 13.9%). Our preliminary results indicate that upfront costs, upkeep costs of equipment, and the right to repair were the most common constraints identified by farmers and farmland owners’ willingness to adopt targeted conservation approaches using new precision agriculture technologies. We also found that inheritance and being a renter had a significant impact on their perceived limitations. Finally, we examined how farmers and farmland owners preferred to receive information about conservation programs across Nebraska. Survey participants preferred receiving information from: 1) farm equipment manufacturers; 2) farm-oriented news networks; and 3) farm service agencies. Non-government organizations (e.g., Pheasants Forever), university extension, Nebraska Natural Resources Districts, and the USDA-Natural Resource Conservation Service were preferred more by applicants who had applied for conservation program compared to those who had never applied for a conservation program. We also examined the perceived sufficiency of the expert advice the respondents received when applying to a conservation program. The study found that the more agencies or organizations the producer worked with, the more likely they were to find the information they received sufficient. Knowledge gained from this study will also help conservation agencies/organizations improve their outreach and engagement methods with Nebraskan farmers and farmland owners with the goal of optimizing agricultural production and environmental sustainability for future generations.
Lay Abstract Version
To improve both environmental conditions and farmer profitability, we delved into the challenges faced by Nebraskan farmers and landowners when adopting new farming technologies. We looked at data from a 2022 survey with 7,503 participants which included farmers and landowners from across the state of Nebraska. Our goal was to uncover why some adopt new precision agricultural and conservation technologies while others don't. Precision agriculture is the use of technology to improve farmland conditions. For example, using a yield monitor to monitor how many crops grow in each area. Precision conservation is similar, however it focuses on improving environmental conditions on the farm, like soil erosion. In addition, our research was designed to help agencies better share information about precision farming and conservation in a way that benefits the people of Nebraska. Our findings highlighted that finances were the main reason many people were hesitant to adopt precision farming tools. Factors like renting land or being a first-generation farmer also affected which factors influence these decisions. People also preferred getting information about precision farming technologies from friends, family, and fellow farmers, rather than government agencies. Interestingly, those who did favor information from non-governmental agencies were more likely to apply for conservation programs. This shows the importance of government agencies working together with non-government organizations and private companies to promote precision farming technologies and practices. Furthermore, our research showed that farmers and landowners were more satisfied with expert advice when they worked with more agencies and companies. As such, we should encourage cooperation between various agencies and organizations. Cooperation is key to fostering positive attitudes toward the adoption of precision agricultural and conservation technologies and practices in Nebraska.
Light alters leaf breakdown rates and metabolic activity in anthropogenically-impacted Nebraska streams - Reilly Farrell
- Thesis Defense
- 07/17/2023
Proghorn Survival and Resource Selection in Nebraska’s Agriculturally Dominated Landscape - Katie Piecora
- Thesis Defense
- 07/13/2023
Primate social interactions and pathogen shedding in a biodiversity hotspot - Marnee Roundtree
- Dissertation Defense
- 07/13/2023
Interconnected wildlife health and behavior play vital roles in population dynamics, ecosystem functions, biodiversity, and wildlife conservation. Research and public interest in zoonotic pathogen transmission -- transmission from animals to humans -- has increased with the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing concern about zoonotic spillover from wildlife to people. Diverse zoonotic pathogens have been linked to wildlife reservoirs, highlighting the importance of understanding human-wildlife interfaces and interactions. However, humans and domestic animals impact the health and conservation of threatened and endangered species, including primates. Both primate and human behavior can influence the risk of pathogen transmission at the primate-human interface. While zoonotic pathogen sharing is of concern, less research has focused on pathogen transmission among wildlife and integrating social behavior into wildlife health research.
To better understand the links between primate social behavior and pathogen transmission, we used long-term ecological transect data from the Udzungwa Ecological Monitoring Centre and a cross-sectional survey of pathogen shedding in overlapping primate populations living in forests of varying protections status and human disturbance in the Udzungwa mountains of Tanzania. Our research quantifies inter-specific associations among free-ranging primates in two forest blocks of the Udzungwa Mountains to investigate the relationship between forest protection status and inter-specific associations. Using bias-reduced logistic regression and social network analysis, we found significant and varied trends in inter-specific associations in well and less protected forests among primate species. We then examined the relationship between habitat primate inter-specific associations in the well-protected Mwanihana forest. Using mixed model logistic regression and a co-occurrence checkerboard score, we found that habitat and species were significant predictors of inter-specific associations. We found strong inter-specific associations between Udzungwa red colobus (Piliocolobus gordonorum) and Peter’s Angola colobus (Colobus angolensis palliatus) across habitats. To investigate connections between primate social interactions and health, we assessed the relationship between viral shedding and interspecific interactions observed in the field. While the relationship was not significant, the majority of animals with viral shedding detected were sampled at sites with inter-specific associations. These results highlight the need for integrated wildlife behavior and health research to understand connections between primate social interactions and pathogen transmission.
Title: Bat use of afforested and encroached patches and their role in extending bat habitat into the Nebraska Sandhills. - Jacob Wagner
- Thesis Defense
- 05/17/2023
Linking child stunting, water quality, and pathogen sharing at the human-animal-environment interface in Rwanda: A One Health study - Ben Ndayambaje
- Dissertation Defense
- 04/23/2023
To examine the relationships among stunting, water quality, and zoonotic pathogen sharing, we used primary data collected in Karongi district in western Rwanda, an area with high stunting prevalence, as well as secondary national survey data. We linked data from the 2019-2020 Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) with national water quality testing data. We used generalized linear regression to identify demographic, socio-economic, livestock ownership, and water quality factors associated with stunting. Child factors (birth order, age, gender) and household factors (wealth status, mother’s education, rural or urban location, number of children in the household) were associated with increased stunting. Water quality (pH) was also marginally associated with stunting.
In our Karongi district field study, we paired household surveys with biological sample collection from children, livestock, and drinking water in upstream and downstream communities in the Musogoro River watershed. Water samples from surface water, public taps, and household drinking water storage containers were tested for basic physical water quality parameters, bacterial contamination (total coliform bacteria and E. coli), and potential hazardous elements (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mn) with public health importance. We cultured and isolated potentially zoonotic pathogens (Campylobacter, E. coli, and Salmonella) from child stool samples, livestock fecal samples, and drinking water. Surface water sources and household drinking water containers had high levels of biological (total coliform/E. coli) and chemical contaminants (iron and manganese). The prevalence of Campylobacter was high (>60%) across child, livestock, and water samples in upstream and downstream communities. High levels of E. coli were also detected across samples (>40%), with significantly higher prevalence in upstream children and livestock. Salmonella was less commonly detected, but the prevalence was significantly higher in upstream livestock. Whole genome sequencing analyses of cultured pathogens are planned to define population structures and assess pathogen sharing at the child-livestock-water interface. Our results highlight the need for further research to assess environmental factors associated with child stunting and to facilitate development of more holistic household- and watershed-based intervention strategies to improve human, animal, and ecosystem health outcomes.
The influence of landscape on exposure to and the genetic diversity of Toxoplasma gondii in felids and canids from coastal California - Kleidy Camela
- Thesis Defense
- 04/07/2023
Landscape composition and anthropogenic pressure can shape the transmission of pathogens between hosts in shared or adjacent habitats. Human-driven environmental changes such as urbanization can increase contact between people and animals, increasing the risk for pathogens to be transmitted at the human-domestic animal-wildlife interface. Toxoplasma gondii, a globally distributed zoonotic parasite shed by domestic and wild felids, can accumulate in terrestrial and aquatic environments leading to exposure in diverse hosts. As T. gondii can be spread through food webs (consumption of infected animal hosts) as well as by ingesting oocysts in contaminated soil, plants, and water, changes in landscape composition and configuration can impact exposure by changing contact among hosts or the potential for contacting oocysts in the environment. Although most animals and people infected with T. gondii experience mild or no clinical signs, the severity of the infection is highly dependent upon the immune system of the hosts and the strains of T. gondii involved. We used logistic regression to assess the association between landscape characteristics and T. gondii exposure as well as T. gondii genetic diversity in bobcats, coyotes, foxes and feral domestic cats from coastal California. We analyzed anthropogenic (human population density and global human footprint), demographic (sex and age), landscape composition (urbanized, agricultural, and less developed areas), and landscape configuration (diversity and evenness indices) factors as potential predictors. We found that landscape heterogeneity was positively associated with T. gondii exposure in feral cats. Animal age was consistently a strong predictor for exposure in all wild and domestic species. We also found associations between human population density and occurrence of novel atypical strains of T. gondii in wild host species. Results from this study provide insight into the ecology of T. gondii transmission among sympatric hosts in heterogeneous landscapes and highlight the need for further research to identify areas where new strains of T. gondii may emerge.
Sturgeon Chub Stats, Distributional Patterns, and Habitat Use and Benthic Fish Assemblage Structure in Missouri River Tributaries of South Dakota - Mitchell Magruder
- Thesis Defense
- 11/22/2022
A Biome in Transition: Co-production of Science for Grassland Conservation - Dillon Fogarty
- Dissertation Defense
- 11/21/2022
Different legacies, similar journeys: how factors within and outside management control structure prairie restorations and remnants - Katharine Hogan
- Dissertation Defense
- 11/18/2022
Understanding Conservation Specialists' Role in the Adoption of Precision Agriculture in Nebraska - Morgan Register
- Thesis Defense
- 06/30/2022
The Delphi Method is used throughout a wide range of scientific disciplines for collecting copious amounts of qualitative data about topics of interest. However, the structure and process can be vague and variable. Within 81 peer-reviewed scientific journals, we identified 115 publications addressing the use of the Delphi Method in the fields of natural resources, fisheries, wildlife, and conservation. Our research showed that the Delphi method can successfully provide insight into a wide range of natural resources topics when reported and explained in the methodological structure. Specifically, this project used the example of the adoption of precision agriculture for conservation purposes, to display the Delphi methods abilities to address prominent questions and provide feedback that will help guide researchers to the best next steps in research and management decisions. Our research meets the demonstration of a complex issue by the need for strategic development of agricultural lands to ensure we can feed a growing world, while simultaneously reducing impacts on our natural resources such as water pollution from runoff, soil degradation, and habitat fragmentation.
To address these growing concerns, researchers are looking for ways to optimize both agricultural production and natural resource conservation. Therefore, precision conservation was developed to ensure sustainable ecosystems for future generations. Precision conservation leverages various precision agricultural tools like yield monitor data, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). to identify areas in fields that can be diversified to optimize financial return on investment while benefiting conservation. The role conservation specialists play and their influence on the implementation and adoption of emerging precision agricultural practices remains in question. To ensure conservation specialists can clearly articulate how precision conservation can help agricultural producers feed a growing world, while simultaneously reducing impacts on our natural resources, we convened a panel of 20 conservation specialists to examine the current diverse perspectives on the progression and integration of precision agriculture in conservation management prescriptions. We used the E-Delphi method to gather data through a series of three surveys to test the hypothesis that the use of precision agriculture is becoming increasingly prevalent in the field of conservation. Our results support the hypotheses, suggesting that conservation specialists are, in fact, using precision agriculture practices in their conservation positions, but with noticeable variance in the confinements of which practices were utilized. Furthermore, the results highlight the need to provide a united message when delivering precision agriculture across varying agency and organizational platforms
An investigation of the attitudes and behavioral outcomes of Nebraskan hunters towards tick-borne disease - Dominic Cristiano
- Thesis Defense
- 04/19/2022
As changes in climate, land-use, and vegetation alter the landscape of the Great Plains, new threats to public health are emerging. Incidences of tick-borne disease contraction in Nebraska have increased nearly 250% over the past two decades – newly established species like Ixodes scapularis may introduce challenges for health practitioners, including more cases of Lyme disease. Strategies for tick-borne disease prevention must incorporate effective health messaging. Audience segmentation may be a useful technique to provide health communication, as it allows for targeted messaging that speaks to specific attitudes and beliefs of a given population. One tool for usefully segmenting populations is the Risk Perception Attitude Framework (RPAF) – this groups individuals into four categories based on their perceived risk towards a threat and their efficacy in protecting themselves from the threat. We applied the RPAF to a sample of hunters in Nebraska to assess differences in level of intention to perform preventative behaviors between the four RPAF groups. Our Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) model found significantly higher behavior intent among individuals in the RPAF group with highest perceived risk and self-efficacy, backing up previous RPAF literature. This information can be used to identify clusters of individuals with similar beliefs towards tick-borne disease and provide more effective health messaging about this threat.
Impacts of Anthropogenic Pressures on Ocelots (Leopardus Pardalis) in the Maya Biosphere Reserve in Guatemala - Gabriela Palomo-Munoz
- Dissertation Defense
- 01/14/2022