Banding a yellow-bellied sapsucker at Smitty Creek

Research Interests Jorie Favreau, PhD

Paul Smith's student bands a black and white warbler

Monitoring Birds in the Adirondacks

    I started an avian monitoring program (mist-netting) in 2007 with the goals of 1) establishing a long-term northern Adirondack data set, 2) contributing to the All Taxa Biological Inventory in the Adirondacks, 3)  establishing base line data for Smitty Creek Watershed, a watershed adopted by Paul Smith's College, 4) Contributing to the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) program, and 5) providing Paul Smith's students with field experience.

Animal Movement

Releasing a radio collared snowshoe hare

        My research (and my interests) are not confined to any particular mammal or bird, but extend across many taxonomic groups.  I am a behavioral ecologist who is intrigued by

foraging behavior and how animals move in their home ranges.  For my PhD dissertation, I simulated different resource distributions and abundances (in the program Matlab) and animal movement on these virtual landscapes.  My model showed that number of moves and move lengths may depend on resource distribution, patch density, and patch richness.  I tested my model's predictions with field data on black bears (Ursus americanus) and kinkajous (Potos flavus).  I also simulated various foraging rules and cognitive states. 

    In 2008, I began a new phase in my movement research, radio-tracking snowshoe hares in the Adirondacks. I also hope to find students to help radio-track red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus).

Conservation Law Enforcement

Attending the North American Wildlife Enforcement Officers Association (http://naweoa.org) annual meeting.

I've become increasingly interested in the human dimensions in wildlife management. Conservation Law Enforcement Officers fill a valuable role in protecting and managing wildlife by changing people's behavior. I am particularly interested in the skills and knowledge needed by conservation officers, how educational institutions train officers, and the impact of officers on people's behavior.

All Taxa Biological Inventory (ATBI) in the Adirondacks

    I will be contributing to the Adirondack All Taxa Biological Inventory.

Surrogate Species

George Hess and I collaborated on the issue of surrogate species. 

• Favreau, J.M., C.A. Drew, G.R. Hess, K.A. Eschelbach, F.H. Koch, and M.J. Rubino. 2006.  Recommendations for assessing the effectiveness of surrogate species.  Biodiversity and Conservation 15:3949-3969.
• Hess, G.R., F.H. Koch, M.J. Rubino, K.A. Eschelbach, C.A. Drew, and J.M. Favreau. 2006.  Comparing potential effectiveness of conservation planning approaches in central North Carolina, USA.  Biological Conservation 128(3): 358-368.

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