Meet the student researchers

Lindsey Broadus

I am working on a collaborative project to compare migration strategies of populations of greater white-fronted geese. This species is globally distributed, but each population faces different challenges as individuals migrate towards their breeding areas in the Arctic. For example, some populations migrate across large water bodies with few options to stop and refuel, while other populations travel completely across land and have many opportunities to restore energy reserves by foraging in agricultural areas along the way.

Using GPS and accelerometer data from individually tagged geese, we are gathering information on stopover sites used for refueling by seven different populations across the globe. We aim to gain a better understanding of how the use of stopover sites contributes to productivity on the breeding grounds across populations and identify important stopover sites that promote increased breeding success. We will also get a better understanding of the flexibility of the species as a whole when faced with differing environmental challenges.

Recently, I completed my PhD in Animal Behavior at the University of California, Davis under Dr. Maja Makagon’s supervision in collaboration with Drs. John Eadie and Tom Hahn. My dissertation investigated the long term effects of early life experiences on adult behavior and physiology in multiple duck species. Broadly, I’m interested in factors contributing to reproductive success in waterfowl, especially in populations that are considered particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

Ilsa Griebel

For my PhD research, I am working on American black ducks, an eastern North American species that is highly valued by hunters and a flagship species for Atlantic tidal marshes. Populations decreased by 50 per cent between the 1950s and 1980s, and although populations in the Atlantic Flyway have now stabilized, they have never recovered to historic levels.

I am working with federal and state collaborators in the Atlantic Flyway to deploy 500 state-of-the-art tracking devices on black ducks during winter. The devices will collect both location and acceleration data, which I will use to quantify movements and use of wetlands during the breeding season, develop detailed time activity budgets of behaviour, determine previously unknown reproductive metrics in the boreal breeding area, and quantify drivers of reproductive metrics during the breeding season and throughout the full annual cycle.

I grew up on a farm near Saskatoon. I was fascinated by nature, particularly birds, from a young age. Beside insatiable curiosity, I am driven by a desire to make a positive impact on conservation and ensure future generations can enjoy all the amazing creatures and landscapes that have filled my life.

Kelsie Huss

For my graduate research project, I’m comparing the movements, behaviour, survival and reproductive success of mid-continent mallards using four different attachment techniques (single harness, double harness, sub-dermal, and implants), relative to those from birds fitted with leg band geolocators (light sensors). I also will design simulations that allow us to understand how many tracking devices are needed and the optimal collection frequencies of GPS and behavioural data to aid future practitioners in designing research about movements and behaviour of migratory birds. This project is an international partnership with Canadian Wildlife Service, Delta Waterfowl Foundation, Ducks Unlimited Canada, and Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

I was born and raised in Ohio but spent the past four years completing my undergraduate degree at Principia College in Illinois. While there, I had the privilege of studying the foraging behavior of downy woodpeckers, bobwhite quail, and green sea turtles. Even though I’m completely new to the world of waterfowl, I’m incredibly excited to expand my knowledge on mallards and explore the multitude of variables which influence avian behaviour at individual and group levels.

Cassidy Waldrep

I’m working on a project quantifying movements, behaviour, survival, and reproductive success of eastern mallards. I recently graduated with BSc degrees in Spanish and Zoology from Miami University (Ohio) and started my MSc degree at the University of Saskatchewan this Sept, with all intentions of moving up to a PhD in two years. I’m a bird lover, dog trainer (although I only have a cat so she’s being trained), and career inspirer, with goals to encourage the next generation of woman in STEM to pursue their career goals.

In the Atlantic flyway region, there are two subpopulations of mallard ducks – the Canadian subpopulation (+ Maine) and the Northeast United States (NEUS) population, totaling 1.2 million birds. The NEUS population has decreased ~39% in the past 25 years whereas the Canadian population has increased ~29%. The declining trend is concerning to conservationists and hunters because mallards comprise ~20% of the ducks harvested in the Atlantic flyway each year.

Working alongside a team of researchers, we are deploying GPS and accelerometer tracking devices on females over a four-year period. Our goal is to use location and acceleration (behavioural) data to quantify reproductive success, behaviour, and habitat use in a full annual cycle model, to better understand differences in the subpopulations and ultimately learn why the NEUS population is at risk.