Wildlife

Migrating animals and the risks posed by encountering vehicles is the topic of the Harlow Summer Seminars Thursday, June 30, at the University of Wyoming-National Park Service (UW-NPS) Research Center. The center is located at the AMK Ranch in Grand Teton National Park.

Corinna Riginos, a UW adjunct associate professor, will discuss “Oh Deer! The problem of wildlife-vehicle collisions and roads as barriers to deer migrations and movements in Wyoming” at 6:30 p.m. at the AMK Ranch, located north of Leeks Marina. A barbecue, at a cost of $5 per person, will take place at 5:30 p.m. Reservations are not required. For more information, call the UW-NPS Research Center at (307) 543-2463.

Riginos, also a research associate for Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative in Jackson, says Western Wyoming is home to some of the longest distance and most intact ungulate migration routes in North America. Along these migration routes, animals face numerous challenges, coming into contact with human development, including roads.

“Roads cause considerable stress to animals attempting to cross them, and animals often get hit by vehicles posing a threat to both wildlife populations and human safety,” Riginos says. “In other cases, roads can create a complete barrier, truncating animals’ migration and movement corridors.”

As human development and traffic volumes increase, it is important to understand and mitigate the effects of roads on ungulate movements, she adds. Riginos will present new research that illuminates the relationships among mule deer, their migration and movement patterns, and roads in Wyoming.

Her overall research focuses on wildlife-habitat interactions and spans topics including road ecology, rangeland restoration and management, African savanna ecology, and the impacts of invasive species, climate change and land-use change on natural systems.

Riginos has published more than 30 scientific papers and maintains active research and outreach programs in Wyoming and in Kenya. She earned her bachelor’s degree in environmental science from Brown University and her Ph.D. in ecology from the University of California.

Last year, she was named an Early Career Fellow by the Ecological Society of America in recognition of her contributions to the ecology field.

For more information, contact Riginos at (307) 413-2280 or criginos@gmail.com.

The UW-NPS Research Center provides a base for university faculty members and government scientists from throughout North America to conduct research in the diverse aquatic and terrestrial environments of Grand Teton National Park and the greater Yellowstone area.

For more information about the Harlow Summer Seminars, contact Michael Dillon at (307) 543-2463 or Michael.Dillon@uwyo.edu.