Kansas State University

  1. K-State home
  2. »KSCFWRU
  3. »News
  4. »News Archives

Kansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit

News Archives

May 2020


January 2020


December 2019

 

November 2019
  • Dr. David Haukos, Dr. Bram Verheijen, and graduate students Jackie Gehrt, Carly Aulicky, Liam Berigan, Elisabeth Teige, and Nick Parker attended the 33rd Meeting of the Prairie Grouse Technical Council in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Six presentations were made.


September 2019

  • Dr. David Haukos, Dr. Dan Sullins, and Dr. Bram Verheijen, along with ten graduate students and one undergraduate, attended The Wildlife Society's 2019 Conference in Reno, Nevada which was jointly held with the American Fisheries Society for the first time.


July 2019


November 2018


October 2018


August 2018


March 2018

  • Sean Hitchman passed his defense.


December 2017


November 2017

  • Kelsey McCullough attended the International Fire Ecology and Management Congress in Orlando, Florida The following presentation was made: McCullough, K.E, D. A. Haukos, G. Albanese, and A. Ricketts. 2017. Re-thinking Regal Fritillary Conservation and Management: The Impact of Disturbance Regime and Habitat Characteristics on an Imperiled Grassland Butterfly. 7th International Fire Ecology and Management Congress, Orlando, FL.


October 2017

  • At the "Graduate Students on Parade Forum" held by the Division of Biology, Kansas State University, the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Section recognized Liam Berigan for Best Slides and Carly Aulicky for Best Presentation Style.


September 2017

  • Ryland Taylor presented her Master's Thesis defense. The title of her thesis was, "Using Geomorphology and Animal 'Personality' to Understand 'Scape-Scale Predator Distributions."

  • David Haukos, Dan Sullins, Jonathan Lautenbach, Bram Verheijen, Adela Annis, Alix Godar, Chris Gulick and Caroline Skidmore attended The Wildlife Society's 24th Annual Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Nine presentations were made:
    • Godar, A.J., A. C., Annis, D. A. Haukos and J. Prendergast. 2017. Ring-Necked Pheasant Use of Spring Cover Crops in Western Kansas. The Wildlife Society 24th Annual Conference, Albuquerque, NM.
    • Greene, D. U., B. A. Grisham, S. R. Fritts, C. W. Boal, D. A. Haukos, R. D. Cox and W. R. Heck. 2017. Lesser Prairie-Chicken Brood Ecology in Response to Land Management in the Sand Shinnery Oak Prairie. The Wildlife Society 24th Annual Conference, Albuquerque, NM.
    • Gulick, C. K., J. D. Lautenbach and D. A. Haukos. 2017. Space Use by Cattle, and Its Cascading Effects on Lesser Prairie-Chicken Habitat Selection. The Wildlife Society 24th Annual Conference, Albuquerque, NM.
    • Haukos, D.A., W. C. Conway, D. Hett, and B. J. Weihs. 2017. Ecological State Change of Saline Lakes on the Southern High Plains. The Wildlife Society 24th Annual Conference, Albuquerque, NM.
    • Lautenbach, J. D., D. A. Haukos and B. A. Grisham. 2017. Lesser Prairie-Chicken Habitat Selection during Extreme Temperature Events. The Wildlife Society 24th Annual Conference, Albuquerque, NM.
    • Ross., B. E., D. A. Haukos and P. Walther. 2017. Quantifying Changes and Drivers of Mottled Duck Density in Texas. The Wildlife Society 24th Annual Conference, Albuquerque, NM.
    • Skidmore, C. 2017. The Ecology of the Monarch Butterfly Relative to Density, Host Plant Occurrence and Habitat Use in the Flint Hills. The Wildlife Society 24th Annual Conference, Albuquerque, NM.
    • Sullins, D. S., J. M. Lautenbach and D. A. Haukos. 2017. Tradeoffs of Nest and Brood Habitat Availability for Lesser Prairie-Chickens. The Wildlife Society 24th Annual Conference, Albuquerque, NM.


August 2017

  • Bram Verheijen joined the Kansas Coop Unit as a Post-Doctoral Researcher under the direction of David Haukos. Chris Gulick, Liam Berigan and Carly Aulicky joined the Kansas Coop Unit as graduate students under the direction of David Haukos.

  • Martha Mather attended the American Fisheries Society Annual Conference in Tampa, Florida. The following presentations were made:
    • Martha E. Mather, Kansas State University, Joseph Smith, University of Washington, Kayla Gerber, KY Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources and Ryland Taylor, Kansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. 2017. Resmo: Patterns of Residence and Movement Across Sites Can Provide Novel Insights into Field Distribution of Mobile Consumers in Pelagic Ecosystems. Paper presented for Symposium: Pelagic Fish Seascapes: Integration of New Technology and Modeling. American Fisheries Society Annual Conference in Tampa, FL.
    • Martha Mather, Kansas State University and Richard Lehrter, Kansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. 2017. Fish Biodiversity As an Interdisciplinary Link to Achieve Sustainability. (POSTER). American Fisheries Society Annual Conference in Tampa, FL.


May 2017

  • Joyce Brite received the Administrative Excellence Award from The Wildlife Management Institute.

  • Daniel S. Sullins presented his Ph.D. Doctoral defense. The title of his dissertation was, "Regional variation in demography, distribution, foraging, and strategic conservation of lesser prairie-chickens in Kansas and Colorado."


April 2017

  • Daniel S. Sullins received the Robert J. Robel Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Research in Wildlife Biology and Ecology, Division of Biology, KSU.


March 2017

  • Jonathan Lautenbach presented his Master's Thesis defense. The title of his thesis was, "Lesser Prairie-Chicken Habitat Selection: the Role of Fire, Microclimate, and Vegetation."


February 2017

  • David Haukos, Jonathan Lautenbach, Dan Sullins, Alixandra Godar, Adela Annis, Caroline Skidmore, Willow Malone, Sarah Ogden and Chelsea Sink attended the Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference in Lincoln, Nebraska. The following presentations were made:
    • Annis, A. C. and J. J. Fontaine. 2017. Factors Influencing Ring-Necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) Nest Survival in Southwest Nebraska. Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Lincoln, NE.
    • Godar, A. J., C. P. Griffin, B. A. Grisham, D. A. Haukos, S. R. Fritts, B. E. Ross, C. W. Boal, C. A. Hagen, M. A. Patten and J. C. Pitman. 2017. Combining Weather Data and Climate Projections: A Case Study with Lesser Prairie-Chickens. Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Lincoln, NE.
    • Haukos, D. A. and G. Albanese. 2017. Use of Network Analysis to Prioritize Conservation of Playa Wetlands Based on Landscape Connectivity. Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Lincoln, NE.
    • Lautenbach, J. D., D. A. Haukos, and B. A. Grisham. 2017. Fried Chicken: Identifying Areas of Thermal Refugia for Lesser Prairie-Chickens in a Changing Climate. Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Lincoln, NE.
    • Malone, W., and D. A. Haukos. 2017. How Playa Wetlands Influence Landscape Biodiversity: Small Depressions with Big Benefits. Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Lincoln, NE.
    • Ogden, S. B., D. A. Haukos, K. C. Olson, J. Alexander and J. Lemmon. 2017. Grassland Bird Response to Season of Burn and Grazing Intensity. Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Lincoln, NE.
    • Sink, C., and D. A. Haukos. 2017. Influence of Raptor Abundance on Female Lesser Prairie-Chicken Habitat Selection. Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Lincoln, NE.
    • Skidmore, C., and D. A. Haukos. 2017. The Ecology of the Monarch Butterfly Relative to Density, Host Plant Occurrence and Habitat Use in the Flint Hills. Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Lincoln, NE.
    • Sullins, D. S., J. Kraft, D. A. Haukos, and B. K. Sandercock. 2017. Selection and Demographic Consequences for Conservation Reserve Program Grasslands for Lesser Prairie Chickens. Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Lincoln, NE.


January 2017

  • David Haukos, Dan Sullins, Alixandra Godar, Adela Annis, Caroline Skidmore, Chelsea Sink and Richard Lehrter attended the Kansas Natural Resources Conference in Wichita, Kansas. The following presentations were made:
    • Sullins, D. S., D. A. Haukos, J. Kraft, J.D. Lautenbach, J. M. Lautenbach, R. T. Plumb, S.R. Robinson, B. Ross, and B.K. Sandercock. 2017. Strategic Regional Conservation for Lesser Prairie-Chickens among Landscapes of Varying Anthropogenic Influence. Kansas Natural Resources Conference, Wichita, KS.
    • Sink, C., and D. A. Haukos. 2017. Influence of Raptor Abundance on Female Lesser Prairie-Chicken Habitat Selection. Kansas Natural Resources Conference, Wichita, KS.
    • Earl, A., R. M. Mapes, and M.E. Mather. 2017. It's A Fish Eat Fish World - Or Is It? Kansas Natural Resources Conference, Wichita, KS. (Poster).
    • Lehrter, R., and M.E. Mather. 2017. Geographic Region, Land use, Flow, and Discontinuities Influence Fish Biodiversity across Regions in a Great Plains Watershed. Kansas Natural Resources Conference, Wichita, KS. (Poster).
    • Annis, A. C., A. Godar, D. A. Haukos, and J. Prendergast. 2017. Kansas Ring-Necked Pheasant Habitat Use and Survival in Summer Cover Crops. Kansas Natural Resources Conference, Wichita, KS. (Poster).
    • Jonathan Lautenbach and Joseph Lautenbach attended the Society for Range Management Meeting in St. George, Utah. The following presentations were made:
    • Lautenbach, Jonathan. 2017. Quantifying Landscape and Vegetative Characteristics of Lesser Prairie-Chicken Habitat during Extreme Temperature Events. Society for Range Management Meeting in St. George, UT.
    • Lautenbach, Joseph. 2017. Lesser Prairie-Chicken Avoidance of Trees in a Grassland Landscape. Society for Range Management Meeting in St. George, UT.
    • Caroline Skidmore won the Robel Scholarship given by the Kansas Chapter of The Wildlife Society.


December 2016

  • Sarah Ogden presented her Master's Thesis defense. The title of her thesis was, "Grassland bird and butterfly response to sericea lespedeza control using fire and grazing."


November 2016

  • Four students presented their Master's Thesis defense.
    • John Kraft presented his Master's Thesis, "Vegetation Characteristics and Lesser Prairie Chicken Responses to Land Cover Types and Grazing Management in Western Kansas."
    • Willow Malone presented her Master's Thesis, "Biodiversity in Playa Wetlands in Relation to Watershed Disturbance."
    • Robert Mapes presented his Master's Thesis, "Young of year largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) relative abundance and diet: role of habitat type, spatial context, and size."
    • Kelsey McCullough presented her Master's Thesis, "A multi-scale examination of the distribution and habitat use patterns of the regal fritillary."


October 2016

  • David Haukos, John Kraft, Jonathan Lautenbach, Willow Malone, Kelsey McCullough, Sarah Ogden, Caroline Skidmore and Dan Sullins attended The Wildlife Society's 23rd Annual Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina.

  • Dr. Haukos was recognized by The Wildlife Society (TWS) as the recipient of the TWS Fellows Award. He also was the recipient of the award for Wildlife Publication - Paper: "Factors affecting female space use in ten populations of prairie chickens.

  • The following papers were presented at The Wildlife Conference:
    • Sullins, D. S., D. A. Haukos. 2016. Lesser Prairie-Chicken Foraging in Native and CRP Grasslands of Kansas and Colorado. The Wildlife Society 23rd Annual Conference, Raleigh, NC.
    • McCullough, K. E., G. Albanese, and D. A. Haukos. 2016. Re-Thinking Regal Fritillary Conservation and Management: Habitat Characteristics and the Impact of Disturbance Regime on an Imperiled Grassland Butterfly. The Wildlife Society 23rd Annual Conference, Raleigh, NC.
    • Skidmore, C., K.E. McCullough, G. Albanese, and D. A. Haukos. 2016. A Distribution Modeling Approach to Monarch Butterfly Density, Host Plant Occurrence and Preferred Habitat in the Flint Hills. The Wildlife Society 23rd Annual Conference, Raleigh, NC.
    • Lautenbach, J., D. A. Haukos, and C. Hagen. 2016. Satisfying the Quilt Work of Habitat Needs of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken: The Role of Patch-Burn Grazing. The Wildlife Society 23rd Annual Conference, Raleigh, NC.
    • Kraft, J. D., D. A. Haukos, C. Hagen and J. Pitman. 2016. Are Larger Pastures and Sparser Herds the Way to Manage Grassland Birds? A Case-Study of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken. The Wildlife Society 23rd Annual Conference, Raleigh, NC.
    • Ogden, S. B., D. A. Haukos, K.C. Olson and J. Alexander. 2016. Birds, Butterflies and Burning: Wildlife Response to Summer Fire Used for Invasive Plant Control in Tall-Grass Prairie. The Wildlife Society 23rd Annual Conference, Raleigh, NC.

  • Ryland Taylor received Best Science Content Award at the Graduate Students on Parade Forum, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Section, Division of Biology, Kansas State University.


September 2016

  • Jonathan Lautenbach and Sarah Ogden attended the Kansas Ornithological Society Meeting in Garden City, KS.


August 2016

  • The Annual Coordinating Committee Meeting for the Kansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit was held at the KSU Alumni Center in Manhattan, KS. The 25th anniversary of the Kansas Coop Unit was celebrated at this meeting.

  • Adela Annis and Alix Godar joined the Kansas Coop Unit as graduate students under the direction of Dr. David Haukos.

  • Dan Sullins, Samantha Robinson and Beth Ross attended the North American Ornithological Conference in Washington, DC. Beth Ross was symposium organizer and co-moderator of the "Empowering population-level inference through study of avian life histories with integrated populations models" sessions. The following presentations were made:
    • Sullins, D.S. 2016. Identifying foods of a declining prairie grouse using DNA metabarcoding. North American Ornithological Conference, Washington, DC.
    • Robinson, S. 2016. Come rain or no water, I will survive: nonbreeding lesser prairie-chicken survival and space use. North American Ornithological Conference, Washington, DC.
    • Ross, B. 2016. Combining multiple data sources to determine drought and land-use impacts on Lesser Prairie-chickens. North American Ornithological Conference, Washington, DC.
    • Martha Mather, Robert Mapes, Sean Hitchman and Ryland Taylor attended the 146th Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society in Kansas City, Missouri. The following presentations were made:
    • Mapes, R. M., and M. E. Mather. 2016. Location, location, location: Incorporating spatial context into fisheries research. 146th Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society, Kansas City, MO.