Dr. Jeffrey L. Beck

Ecosystem Science and Management

Professor
Wildlife Habitat Restoration Ecology

I joined the rangeland ecology faculty in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management in summer 2007. My research interests lie in wildlife habitat ecology and restoration ecology with a focus on restoring the functionality and structure of wildlife habitats in disturbed rangeland systems, particularly sagebrush habitats.

The types of research questions that my lab addresses typically are guided by ecological concepts that are used as a framework to evaluate conservation questions. We use a variety of tools to obtain data to answer our questions including estimation of demographic parameters, field experimentation, habitat modeling, nutritional analyses, population monitoring, statistical modeling, and vegetation measurements.

Two general areas of emphasis that my lab is pursuing are:

1. understanding the direct and indirect impacts of anthropogenic disturbance on vertebrate species (greater sage-grouse and ungulates as model taxa) inhabiting sagebrush habitats, and
2. evaluating the efficacy of mitigation techniques and conservation practices intended to enhance habitat conditions or mitigate effects of anthropogenic development in sagebrush habitats.

In all studies we seek to understand responses of habitat restoration efforts across a range of spatial and temporal scales to better inform conservation practices.

I have additional interests in habitat and population assessment and monitoring and foraging ecology and a general interest in wildlife ecology.

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• ResearchGate