The Cohen Lab blog has been on a long hiatus as students became busy with their field seasons, and as I became focused on preparing my tenure dossier. But now it is turned in, and over the last few months it became clear to me what a tribute the dossier is to my excellent grad students and post doc, who have been tireless in their dedication to wildlife conservation and endlessly productive. A highlight of my job has always been my travels to visit their projects or accompany them to conferences. With that I offer my own tribute to my lab, through an account of our activities since the last blog post, in February. -- Jonathan Cohen
“Field biologists are, on the whole, a guild of extraordinary people—smart, passionate, patient, congenial, and physically as well as intellectually tough.” – David Quammen, The Reluctant Mr Darwin
“Field biologists are, on the whole, a guild of extraordinary people—smart, passionate, patient, congenial, and physically as well as intellectually tough.” – David Quammen, The Reluctant Mr Darwin
Michelle places a radio transmitter on a piping plover, assisted by fellow Ph.D. student Alison Kocek. Radio-tracking these threatened birds will allow Michelle to better understand how habitat changes and predators affect their population. She has documented interesting, unexpected movements within single breeding seasons. May 25 to 29: Cape May, NJ
Alison Kocek accompanied me to visit Michelle Stantial in southern New Jersey. Michelle's study species is the piping plover, a threatened shorebird that has climbed from low numbers along much of the Atlantic Coast thanks to protections from human disturbance and predators. In New Jersey, however, the species is still not increasing despite intensive management efforts, and Michelle is working to understand why. She and her crew must cover an 80-mile long study area each week, because piping plovers nest in a few widely-separated locations in the state. On a given day her team may be banding birds, hiking for miles to look
Alison Kocek accompanied me to visit Michelle Stantial in southern New Jersey. Michelle's study species is the piping plover, a threatened shorebird that has climbed from low numbers along much of the Atlantic Coast thanks to protections from human disturbance and predators. In New Jersey, however, the species is still not increasing despite intensive management efforts, and Michelle is working to understand why. She and her crew must cover an 80-mile long study area each week, because piping plovers nest in a few widely-separated locations in the state. On a given day her team may be banding birds, hiking for miles to look
Michelle inspects a recently-raised telemetry tower with her field assistant Rebeca, as Alison sets up a guy wire. These stations will remotely log the locations and movements of piping plovers, providing important information on habitat use and travel distances. for banded plovers or to count predator tracks, recording the foraging behavior of piping plover chicks, and building and setting up nest cameras and radio telemetry towers. This summer, Michelle instituted an internship program to train college students in piping plover research and conservation. She also found herself unexpectedly short-staffed, just before our arrival. Luckily we were able to give her a hand during our visit, and as the summer went on the Cohen lab rallied together as Master's student Justin Droke and post-doc Abby Darrah spent several weeks in New Jersey to assist Michelle. In what little free time she had during the field season, Michelle
Alison, Michelle, and Dr. Cohen finish placing a radio-tag on a piping plover female helped to spearhead a collaborative effort among state and federal agencies to develop a coastwide standardized data collection system and monitoring database for piping plovers. While still in the field, she also wrote a lead-authored manuscript in cooperation with scientists from another University. It has been fun to see her emerge as a leader in the conservation of a species that I spent much of my career working on!
 Abby Darrah releases a banded piping plover. She will survey miles of beach with a spotting scope, recording the location of uniquely-banded birds for Michelle's study. |  M.S. student Justin Droke (second from left) is assisted by Bridget, Zach, and Kristen in weighing a brood of plover chicks. These efforts will help Michelle to determine how foraging habitat quality and human disturbance affect growth rates of plovers. |
Maureen places an extremely tiny radio-tag on a snowy plover chick. This technique has helped her to identify the cause of mortality for many of these vulnerable young birds. June 9 to 17: Gulf Islands National Seashore, FL
Ph.D. student Maureen Durkin and her crew drive at a crawling 10 mph along 14 miles of road nearly every day for five months, recording roadkills of the imperiled snowy plover, least tern, and many other wildlife species at Gulf Islands National Seashore in coastal Florida. Maureen is studying the factors affecting reproductive success and population growth of snowy plovers, which are considered threatened in Florida, at a site where they are struggling to persist. In an already difficult environment, the threat of being run over on the paved road that runs the length the site creates an especial challenge for nesting birds and their chicks. Maureen is working with park officials to test strategies for conservation, including
Ph.D. student Maureen Durkin and her crew drive at a crawling 10 mph along 14 miles of road nearly every day for five months, recording roadkills of the imperiled snowy plover, least tern, and many other wildlife species at Gulf Islands National Seashore in coastal Florida. Maureen is studying the factors affecting reproductive success and population growth of snowy plovers, which are considered threatened in Florida, at a site where they are struggling to persist. In an already difficult environment, the threat of being run over on the paved road that runs the length the site creates an especial challenge for nesting birds and their chicks. Maureen is working with park officials to test strategies for conservation, including
Dr. Cohen and Maureen work with her field crew to band snowy plovers. Each day the team carefully searches miles of habitat for the banded birds, to learn about survival, movements, and reproductive success. vehicle speed reduction, so that managers can better protect the species. In addition to surveying the road, her crew painstakingly zigzags on foot for miles each day among the dunes and vegetated beach areas in search of camouflaged nests and young of the snowy plover. Along the way, they stop to band nesting adults, or adults with their chicks, a crucial technique for accurately determining productivity. They also record any previously-banded birds that they encounter. For several days in June I joined her team as they hit the beach at daybreak to avoid nest-searching in the worst of the sun’s glare, pressing on into the increasingly oppressive heat of
A stretch of road at Gulf Islands, which runs through miles of habitat including sensitive bird-nesting areas. Maureen and her team drive the road through the Fort Pickens and Santa Rosa Units of the Seashore each day to document wildlife road mortality. early afternoon. When the daily searching and monitoring surveys are done, Maureen and her team deploy and maintain cameras that record predators at snowy plover nests, and radio-track chicks to discover possible mortality sources. In her off hours during this past field season, she devoted herself to assisting other organizations with snowy plover field research, and grant writing to help build conservation programs for birds on the Gulf Coast and new projects for our lab. Maureen has fast become one of the most sought-after experts in Florida beach-nesting birds!
 Snowy plover as seen through a spotting scope |  Try to spot the snowy plover eggs! Maureen and her crew comb the dune fields and beaches, using plover tracks in the sand to locate nests like this one. |
Sam describes her study, "Parasite meditated competition between the New England and eastern cottontail," at the American Society of Mammalogists conference. June 25 to 29: ASM in Minneapolis
Ph.D. student Amanda Cheeseman and M.S. student Samantha Mello spend their days in the woods of the lower Hudson Valley of New York, where they study the elusive New England cottontail. The only cottontail rabbit native to eastern New York and New England, this once widespread species has dwindled to low numbers in a few remnant strongholds. The decline has been spurred by loss of young forest and shrubland, shifting predator communities, and competition from the non-native eastern cottontail which uses similar habitat. I met the two grad
Ph.D. student Amanda Cheeseman and M.S. student Samantha Mello spend their days in the woods of the lower Hudson Valley of New York, where they study the elusive New England cottontail. The only cottontail rabbit native to eastern New York and New England, this once widespread species has dwindled to low numbers in a few remnant strongholds. The decline has been spurred by loss of young forest and shrubland, shifting predator communities, and competition from the non-native eastern cottontail which uses similar habitat. I met the two grad
Amanda, Dr. Cohen, and Sam at the ASM conference closing banquet. The conference included 5 days of presentations with topics ranging from the evolutionary history of rodents and bats to the spread of coyotes in modern-day New York City. Amanda and Sam were among the very few researchers at ASM focused on lagomorphs, which are rabbits and their kin. students in Minneapolis for the American Society of Mammalogists conference in late June. At this meeting, over 200 of North America's leading experts in the evolution, ecology, and conservation of mammals gather each year to share their research. In Minneapolis, Sam gave her first major poster presentation, focused on parasites of the rabbits. Amanda gave a talk comparing habitat preferences of the two cottontail species. Her study will help wildlife managers determine how to plan forest restoration to promote New England cottontail populations without encouraging eastern cottontails. Year-round for three solid years, Amanda and her field crew have worked from morning to well after dark capturing and
Unexpected companion: a strangely tame ruffed grouse follows Amanda around her field site one day. radio-collaring rabbits, tracking them to learn about their daytime and evening habitat use and their survival rates, and measuring vegetation to characterize the habitat. In order to estimate the number of ticks in the rabbits' environment, Samantha drags a white cloth through a kilometer or more of tangled vegetation several days per week. These parasites are a potential health concern for the rabbits.
When not she is not hauling sledfuls of heavy traps up a mountainside in snowshoes or pushing through miles of thorns and poison ivy to check traps or track rabbits, Amanda takes time during the field season to write manuscripts and grants, and to conduct outreach with local conservation and landowner groups. She works hard to try and promote sound management for New England cottontails and other young forest wildlife, and the state wildlife agency often looks to her for advice when planning restoration projects.
When not she is not hauling sledfuls of heavy traps up a mountainside in snowshoes or pushing through miles of thorns and poison ivy to check traps or track rabbits, Amanda takes time during the field season to write manuscripts and grants, and to conduct outreach with local conservation and landowner groups. She works hard to try and promote sound management for New England cottontails and other young forest wildlife, and the state wildlife agency often looks to her for advice when planning restoration projects.
 This very healthy-looking female New England cottontail is ready for release, after Amanda and her team collect a tissue sample for a genetic study. |  Samantha watches in surprise as a just-released eastern cottontail attempts to fly away. |
Adam with his poster on factors affecting site use by American black ducks and mallards in the Finger Lakes of New York in winter. Adam and Justin study the potential effects of mallards on winter and spring habitat use and behavior of American black ducks. Justin uses satellite tracking to compare migration timing of the two species. Their results will help waterfowl managers develop strategies to benefit the black duck in a landscape now dominated by mallards. August 16 to 20: NAOC in Washington, DC
In Mid-August much of the Cohen Lab attended The North American Ornithology Conference, where over 2,000 scientists from across the continent convene once every 4 years to present their work on all aspects of bird biology and conservation. I had the pleasure of accompanying seven of my students, my post-doc Abby, and my collaborator Dr. Michael Schummer with whom I co-advise two students. M.S. students Justin Droke and Adam Bleau presented posters on winter and migration interactions between mallards, which are not native to the northeastern US, and American black ducks, a species that has seen a steep population decrease in the last half-century.
In Mid-August much of the Cohen Lab attended The North American Ornithology Conference, where over 2,000 scientists from across the continent convene once every 4 years to present their work on all aspects of bird biology and conservation. I had the pleasure of accompanying seven of my students, my post-doc Abby, and my collaborator Dr. Michael Schummer with whom I co-advise two students. M.S. students Justin Droke and Adam Bleau presented posters on winter and migration interactions between mallards, which are not native to the northeastern US, and American black ducks, a species that has seen a steep population decrease in the last half-century.
Alison talks about the unexpected behavioral flexibility in nest site choice by saltmarsh sparrows she found in data collected across the species' range by a multi-University, multi-agency consortium. Fresh out of their field seasons, Michelle Stantial presented a poster on her work on fox distributions in piping plover habitat, and Alison Kocek gave a talk on behavioral plasticity in choice of nesting vegetation by critically declining sparrows in the salt marshes of New York City. Master's student Melissa Althouse gave a talk on buffer distances to prevent human disturbance to endangered roseate terns at Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Melissa spent two summers following these birds throughout Cape Cod National Seashore to obtain information on the reaction of tern flocks to recreational activity. Her first paper was
The Cohen lab and collaborator at NAOC. Back row from left: Justin Droke, Adam Bleau, Dr. Michael Schummer, Dr. Cohen, Melissa Althouse, Michelle Peach. Front row from left: Michelle Stantial, Alison Kocek, Abby Darrah accepted by the journal Waterbirds this summer. Post-doc Abby Darrah spoke on her quantitative modeling efforts to evaluate the costs and benefits of nest exclosures for piping plovers. Ph.D. student Michelle Peach studies how protected lands and climate affect changes in the distribution of birds at the landscape scale over long time periods. Her NAOC presentation on occupancy modeling using Breeding Bird Atlas data earned her a prestigious Cooper Ornithological Society Best Student Paper Award!
Alison begins her Master's capstone seminar. September 28: Alison defends!
As the summer winds down, the members of the Cohen lab do not let up. September saw the impressive performance of Alison Kocek in defending her Master’s thesis on factors affecting presence and nesting success of saltmarsh sparrows and seaside sparrows in the highly urbanized and fragmented salt marshes of New York City. Alison became a Ph.D. student after working for two years on
As the summer winds down, the members of the Cohen lab do not let up. September saw the impressive performance of Alison Kocek in defending her Master’s thesis on factors affecting presence and nesting success of saltmarsh sparrows and seaside sparrows in the highly urbanized and fragmented salt marshes of New York City. Alison became a Ph.D. student after working for two years on
Seaside sparrows (above) and saltmarsh sparrows (below) rely 100% on salt marshes. Seaside sparrows nest in the lower elevation part of the marsh but high in the marsh grass. Saltmarsh sparrows nest at higher elevation parts of the marsh, but lower to the ground. They are therefore vulnerable to losing their nests during the highest tides of the month. Sea level rise is expected to increase the rates of nest flooding, threatening the continued existence of the species. her Master’s, on the promise that she would complete her M.S. program along the way. She has spent five years traveling among remnant salt marshes in Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, and Naussau County. From dawn until mid-afternoon, she and her field assistants criss-cross the eroding terrain of the marshes, searching for tiny nests hidden within the marsh grass, conducting banding operations to study survival and reproductive success, and measuring habitat characteristics. Saltmarsh sparrows face a dire threat in the form of habitat loss, as many salt marshes have been destroyed or degraded by human activity over the last century and what remains is flooded more and more each year due to sea level rise, causing frequent nest mortality. Alison’s thesis looked at the effects of vegetation, disturbance, and prey abundance on presence and nest success of the two sparrow species, in order to provide guidance for habitat restoration. With her Master's behind her, she is now diving fully into her Ph.D. dissertation work on phenotypic plasticity and factors affecting nesting density. Congratulations, Alison!
Epilogue: Looking Forward
In my years as an assistant professor, my good fortune in the people who came to work with me never appeared to end. They are indomitable field biologists, avid conservationists, prolific writers, and globe-traveling ambassadors for their projects, their lab, and their school. They have supported each other and me in ways I hope I have repaid. So thanks to all of you, and I look forward to what the next six years will bring!
In my years as an assistant professor, my good fortune in the people who came to work with me never appeared to end. They are indomitable field biologists, avid conservationists, prolific writers, and globe-traveling ambassadors for their projects, their lab, and their school. They have supported each other and me in ways I hope I have repaid. So thanks to all of you, and I look forward to what the next six years will bring!
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