Research Overview
I am trained as a wildlife biologist, so I am generally interested in the response of wildlife to
their habitat, especially the biology of "urban wildlife" that live in
suburban and urban areas. With the recent creation of the Trinity
College Field Station (TCFS) at Ashford, I
am also involved in research on more rural mammal populations at TCFS.
Read below to find out more about the main topics of research I work on
with students.
To learn more about the students in my "lab group" and
specific research projects,
CLICK HERE. If you are
interested in joining my lab group, E-MAIL ME, call me, or see me to set up an appointment to discuss your interests.
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A "camera trap" catches us (Betsy Treado, on the right; Desi Hernandez, center) as we set up scent lure at a camera station at TCFS (summer 2005).
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O'Donnell Lab Research Projects
A fisher poses for the camera outside a track plate box.
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Studies of mammals at the Trinity College Field Station (TCFS).
For the last few years, students in my lab have been investigating various methods of monitoring mammal populations and habitat use at TCFS. Although we have used traditional live trapping techniques (summer students), we are especially interested in non-invasive methods of recording abundance, such as camera-trapping with infrared-triggered cameras, "track plate boxes" and "track tubes" to record animal tracks, fecal pellet counts (for white-tailed deer), and non-invasive DNA sampling from hair or feces.
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A buck rubs a branch at a scrape site during the rut. |
White-tailed deer behavior at TCFS.
With the use of motion sensor cameras, students have investigated deer behavior at (1) natural or artificial scrapes during the rutting season, and (2) supplemental feeding sites. These feeding sites can be used to survey the deer population, and to investigate behaviors that might increase risk of disease transmission.
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Foraging behavior and small mammal response to predation risk.
- With the use of motion sensor cameras and track tubes, students have examined the effects of perceived predation risk on mammal activity at TCFS, as delivered by adding predator odors to the area.
- Students have studied foraging behavior of gray squirrels in urban/suburban habitats. According to optimal foraging theory, squirrels would seek to maximize energy gain while expending the least energy and exposing themselves to the least risk of predation. These studies examine predation risk and behavioral adaptations, examining whether squirrels that live in a protected urban/suburban area optimally forage for their food.
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Urban wildlife ecology and behavior
- Surveying mammal activity in urban/suburban areas. Past students have investigated the use of track transects to monitor mammal activity. We hope to use some of the non-invasive techniques we're perfecting at TCFS (camera traps, track tubes, DNA extraction from hair and feces) in urban and suburban habitats.
- Human-wildlife interactions in urban/suburban environments. With emphasis on studying "nuisance animals," students used radiotelemetry techniques
to examine the effects of translocation on female raccoon habitat use and infant survival. As the prevalence of urban and suburban wildlife/human conflicts increase, there is little known about the fate of nuisance animals (and their offspring) once they are removed from their original den site.
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