University of Kansas Field Station

Habitat associations and ecological niche modeling in eastern forest species

Date October 2011 - present
Contact William H. Busby
Funding
Kansas Dept. of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism
Location Eastern Kansas

Summary

This research investigates the habitat needs of state-threatened animals associated with eastern deciduous forest. As remaining forests continue to be lost to urbanization and agriculture, the identification of remaining habitat has become increasingly important. This project will employ three approaches: field studies to identify remaining populations and habitat parameters of two species (smooth earth snake and redbelly snake), development of a GIS-based map of original forest cover from 1850s Public Lands Surveys, and conducting ecological niche modeling to predict areas of occurrence for four species (smooth earth snake, redbelly snake, broadhead skink and spring peeper).

Staff

William H. Busby

Stephen Egbert

A. Townsend Peterson

George Pisani