February 4, 2021
Elizabeth Flaherty to present Division of Biology Seminar
Submitted by Division of Biology
Elizabeth Flaherty, associate professor of wildlife ecology and habitat management in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources at Purdue University, will present "Using Stable Isotope Analysis to Investigate Wildlife Resource Use and Inform Management" as part of the Division of Biology Seminar Series at 3:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8, via Zoom.
Understanding resource use is critical for successful management of wildlife populations because of its influence on habitat requirements, spatial movements, interactions with other species and responses to climate change. Stable isotope analysis is a tool increasingly used in wildlife studies to investigate resource use because of its relatively low cost and easily accessible analysis tools. Unlike other measures of diet, stable isotope analysis provides estimates of the percent contribution of food items to the overall assimilated diet and depending on the tissues analyzed from the animal consumer, can evaluate diet over different time periods of the animal's life. In this seminar, Flaherty will discuss her lab's research program using stable isotope analysis to study wildlife resource use to provide management guidance and suggestions to natural resource agencies. Examples of our research will include resource use studies of diverse taxa from beetles to bears and provide recommendations and cautions for the successful use of stable isotope analysis in ecological research.
If you would like to visit with Flaherty, please contact Andrew Hope at ahope@k-state.edu.