Achievements

Destiny Saucedo, Cameron Piper, Deirdre Replinger, Sierra Olsen, Patience Brennan, Joseph Meihak, Daniel Meng, and Sam Strich, Dee Naranjo, BreeLynn Butler, Emma Leininger, Alex Lewis

Wildlife

Undergraduate and graduate students in the Department of Wildlife at Cal Poly Humboldt were recognized at two recent professional conferences for their academic achievements. 

The following students earned recognition and award money for "Best posters":

1st:  Destiny Saucedo, graduate student; Cameron Piper, graduate student

2nd: Deirdre Replinger, graduate student

3rd:  Sierra Olsen, undergraduate student

The Conclave Team won first place in the Quiz Bowl competition. The team included students Patience Brennan, Joseph Meihak, Daniel Meng, and Sam Strich, with Dee Naranjo as an alternate, and supporting crew BreeLynn Butler and Emma Leininger. Graduate student Alex Lewis also supported the team.

Rick Golightly

Wildlife

Dr. Rick Golightly received grant funding to support years 31 to 35 of a long-term project aimed at restoring and monitoring vulnerable seabird populations along the central California coast. Human use and disturbance at coastal areas where seabirds establish nests and raise their young has prompted a need for nest and human activity monitoring, which this work will address. Findings will inform programs that can minimize or eliminate disturbance, and ultimately conserve seabirds and their nesting colonies. 

Daniel Barton

Wildlife

Dan Barton (Faculty, Wildlife) chaired the scientific program of an international joint conference between the Pacific Seabird Group and the Waterbird Society, held in San José, Costa Rica, in early January 2025. The bilingual meeting featured over 300 scientific presentations on seabird and waterbird biology and conservation by authors from over 40 countries.

Barbara Clucas

Wildlife

Dr. Barbara Clucas received Bureau of Land Management funding to support collaborative research with Texas A&M that will investigate common raven presence in Gunnison sage grouse (GUSG) habitat in Colorado. The GUSG is listed as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act, and this project seeks to understand what habitat features influence ravens, which are potential GUSG nest predators. Results of this study will inform more efficient and effective management of GUSG and their predators. 

Project collaborators include Israel Parker of Texas A&M and Aaron Facka of Wildlands Network and Cal Poly Humboldt Wildlife graduate student Leah Roll.

Rebeca Becdach, Ho Yi Wan, Micaela Szykman Gunther, Katherine Larson, Kellie Crouch, Elizabeth Meisman, Anna Goldman

Wildlife

Current NR-Wildlife graduate student Rebeca Becdach led a collaborative effort to publish an exciting article on equity in publishing in the high-impact Journal of Wildlife Management. The article is entitled "A celebration and reflection on the equity trend between women and men in wildlife publishing". Coauthors include several Cal Poly Humboldt Wildlife faculty members, staff, and students including Ho Yi Wan (mentor and graduate committee chair), Micaela Szykman Gunther (faculty), Katherine Larson (graduate student), Kellie Crouch (undergraduate student), Elizabeth Meisman (graduate student), Anna Goldman (staff), and several collaborators from other institutions. 

Evelyn Lichwa, Micaela Szykman Gunther, Ho Yi Wan

Wildlife

Former NR-Wildlife graduate student Evelyn Lichwa had her thesis research published in the high-impact Journal of Mammalogy. The article is entitled "Ecological and social drivers of Mexican Wolf home range size across spatiotemporal scales". Coauthors include Cal Poly Humboldt Wildlife faculty members Micaela Szykman Gunther (mentor and graduate committee chair) and Ho Yi Wan (committee member), as well as collaborators from the Mexican Wolf Conservation and Management Program in New Mexico. 

Holly Gamblin, Micaela Szykman Gunther

Wildlife

Former NR-Wildlife graduate student Holly Gamblin had her thesis research published in the journal Northwest Science. The article is entitled "Habitat Use and Distribution of a Recently Discovered Population of Humboldt Martens". Advisor Micaela Szykman Gunther is a coauthor. 

Daniel Barton

Wildlife

Dan Barton (Associate Professor and Department Chair, Wildlife) was elected chair of the Pacific Seabird Group, a role in which he will serve for the next three years. Pacific Seabird Group is a society of professional seabird researchers and managers that was formed in 1972 out of a need for increased communication among academic and government seabird researchers, and currently has over 500 members from around the world. The society also publishes the journal Pacific Seabirds.

Frank Fogarty

Wildlife

Dr. Frank Fogarty received funding to study how retained patches of trees in timber harvests effect bird communities in managed forests of the Pacific Northwest. Regulations in Oregon and Washington prescribe a minimum number of standing trees that must be retained by timber harvest operations, in part to enhance the biodiversity value of harvested lands. Dr. Fogarty will work with a graduate student to experimentally compare a variety of spatial retention arrangements, with the goal of demonstrating which retention strategies maximize avian diversity post-harvest. Funding comes from the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement.

Micaela Szykman Gunther

Wildlife

Dr. Micaela Szykman Gunther received funding from CalTrans to assess the efficacy and statewide applicability of an electronic elk detection system along a section of Highway 101. The system is designed to detect elk and activate warning signs to increase driver awareness when elk may be on or near the highway. Dr. Szykman Gunther will work with both students and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, who will collar target elk, to monitor elk movement and survival. If successful, this system would increase elk movement between fragmented habitats, increase habitat permeability and survivorship, and decrease risks to passing motorists.