How do we conserve species and functioning ecosystems in a rapidly changing world? In the Hunter Lab, we seek to address this question by linking ecological field data to cutting-edge quantitative models with the end goal of helping conservation planners and managers make decisions about how to address urgent problems for biodiversity. Check out the research page for more information on current projects. I encourage students to:
Check out the Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit website: https://www1.usgs.gov/coopunits/unit/Virginia
Explore the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation at Virginia Tech: https://fishwild.vt.edu/
Check out the Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit website: https://www1.usgs.gov/coopunits/unit/Virginia
Explore the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation at Virginia Tech: https://fishwild.vt.edu/
Lab News:
November 2023: The lab went to The Wildlife Society (TWS) annual meeting in Louisville, Kentucky. Everyone had great presentations, and a fun time was had by all!
August 2023: Welcome new lab members Justin Beall (postdoc), Lainey Metz (PhD), and Alondra Medina (Research Assistant)!
July 2023: Congratulations to Cory Allred for successfully defending her M.S. thesis! She is off to an exciting job as a Wildlife Biologist with the Montana state agency.
August 2022: Welcome to Garrett Lawson (MS), Zoie McMillian (PhD), Bridget Re (PhD), and Dan Watson (MS)! Excited to have a growing and dynamic lab group!
April 2022: Welcome to Max Jones! Max is joining the lab as a postdoc and will be working on a couple of projects that will make use of his spatial R skills: designing gopher tortoise monitoring at translocation sites and developing multi-objective habitat management tools.
March 2022: New paper out on Henslow's Sparrows demography in powerline right-of-ways in Journal of Field Ornithology.
December 2021: New paper out on gopher tortoise reproduction responses to a warming climate in Endangered Species Research.
October 2021: Congratulations to Nicole and Abbie for defending their M.S. theses!!! They both did a great job in back-to-back defenses.
August 2021: Welcome to Cory Allred! Cory is joining the lab from Idaho and will be working on an M.S. on using remote sensing data to predict grassland bird habitat.
May 2021: New paper out gopher tortoise population response to prescribed burning in the Journal of Wildlife Management. This is part of a special section on gopher tortoise mark-recapture datasets that Elizabeth co-edited.
March 2021: The Hunter lab is moving to Virginia! Elizabeth started a new job as an Assistant Unit Leader of the USGS Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at Virginia Tech. Excited about all the possibilities in store in Virginia!
February 2021: Congratulations to Corina on successfully defending her thesis!!! We are all so proud of her. Watch Corina's thesis seminar here.
February 2021: New natural history note, led by Corina: Birds vs. Fish in the Wilson Journal of Ornithology
December 2020: Nicole is starting a new job with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, where she will be working as the state Gopher Tortoise Monitoring Coordinator!!! Congratulations to Nicole!
November 2020: Nicole, Kevin, and Elizabeth presented at the annual Gopher Tortoise Council meeting (virtually). Nicole won best presentation in the "speed talk" category!
September 2020: The whole lab (Abbie, Corina, Nicole, Kevin, and Elizabeth) presented at The Wildlife Society annual meeting (virtually!). Here's hoping we can go back to the in-person conference next year!
August 2020: Congratulations to Corina on her new job with Georgia Audubon as the Community Engagement Manager!!! We are so excited to see what Corina does in this next step in her career.
June 2020: Corina wrote an excellent piece for Audubon on dealing with race and racism in the birding community.
May 2020: Congratulations to Abbie for being awarded a Sigma Xi grant-in-aid-of-research!
January 2020: Congratulations to Abbie for being awarded an H. Branch Howe graduate research grant from the Georgia Ornithological Society!
November 2019: Kevin, Nicole, and Elizabeth presented at the Gopher Tortoise Council meeting in Gulf Shores, AL.
November 2019: Corina and Elizabeth presented posters at the Georgia Climate Conference, which was put on by the Georgia Climate Project. Savannah news story (for which Elizabeth was interviewed) about the conference here.
October 2019: Corina launched the brown-headed nuthatch project with a display at Greenfest, check out the project website!
September 2019: Kevin and Elizabeth travelled to Reno, NV for The Wildlife Society annual meeting to present work on sex determination methods (Kevin) and fire management effects on populations (Elizabeth) for gopher tortoises.
September 2019: New paper out on decision-making for translocations of Galapagos tortoises in Journal of Applied Ecology.
May 2019: Welcome to Nicole DeSha! Nicole is working on our gopher tortoise project and is starting her MS in the fall.
April 2019: Elizabeth, Corina, and Kevin were awarded a Center for Sustainability grant to study brown-headed nuthatch nesting on Georgia Southern's campus. Work will begin in the fall - undergraduate assistants needed!
January 2019: Welcome to Abbie Dwire! Abbie is working as a technician on our Henslow's Sparrow project, with plans to become an MS student in the fall.
October 2018: Elizabeth and Kevin attended the 40th annual Gopher Tortoise Council meeting at Archbold Biological Station in Florida. Elizabeth presented a poster on initial results from the 2018 gopher tortoise field season.
August 2018: Welcome to Corina Newsome! Corina is a new MS student in the lab and will be studying seaside sparrow conservation.
July 2018: Elizabeth went to the North American Congress for Conservation Biology in Toronto. She presented modeling work on a decision tool for restoring tortoises on Floreana Island, Galapagos.
November 2023: The lab went to The Wildlife Society (TWS) annual meeting in Louisville, Kentucky. Everyone had great presentations, and a fun time was had by all!
August 2023: Welcome new lab members Justin Beall (postdoc), Lainey Metz (PhD), and Alondra Medina (Research Assistant)!
July 2023: Congratulations to Cory Allred for successfully defending her M.S. thesis! She is off to an exciting job as a Wildlife Biologist with the Montana state agency.
August 2022: Welcome to Garrett Lawson (MS), Zoie McMillian (PhD), Bridget Re (PhD), and Dan Watson (MS)! Excited to have a growing and dynamic lab group!
April 2022: Welcome to Max Jones! Max is joining the lab as a postdoc and will be working on a couple of projects that will make use of his spatial R skills: designing gopher tortoise monitoring at translocation sites and developing multi-objective habitat management tools.
March 2022: New paper out on Henslow's Sparrows demography in powerline right-of-ways in Journal of Field Ornithology.
December 2021: New paper out on gopher tortoise reproduction responses to a warming climate in Endangered Species Research.
October 2021: Congratulations to Nicole and Abbie for defending their M.S. theses!!! They both did a great job in back-to-back defenses.
August 2021: Welcome to Cory Allred! Cory is joining the lab from Idaho and will be working on an M.S. on using remote sensing data to predict grassland bird habitat.
May 2021: New paper out gopher tortoise population response to prescribed burning in the Journal of Wildlife Management. This is part of a special section on gopher tortoise mark-recapture datasets that Elizabeth co-edited.
March 2021: The Hunter lab is moving to Virginia! Elizabeth started a new job as an Assistant Unit Leader of the USGS Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at Virginia Tech. Excited about all the possibilities in store in Virginia!
February 2021: Congratulations to Corina on successfully defending her thesis!!! We are all so proud of her. Watch Corina's thesis seminar here.
February 2021: New natural history note, led by Corina: Birds vs. Fish in the Wilson Journal of Ornithology
December 2020: Nicole is starting a new job with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, where she will be working as the state Gopher Tortoise Monitoring Coordinator!!! Congratulations to Nicole!
November 2020: Nicole, Kevin, and Elizabeth presented at the annual Gopher Tortoise Council meeting (virtually). Nicole won best presentation in the "speed talk" category!
September 2020: The whole lab (Abbie, Corina, Nicole, Kevin, and Elizabeth) presented at The Wildlife Society annual meeting (virtually!). Here's hoping we can go back to the in-person conference next year!
August 2020: Congratulations to Corina on her new job with Georgia Audubon as the Community Engagement Manager!!! We are so excited to see what Corina does in this next step in her career.
June 2020: Corina wrote an excellent piece for Audubon on dealing with race and racism in the birding community.
May 2020: Congratulations to Abbie for being awarded a Sigma Xi grant-in-aid-of-research!
January 2020: Congratulations to Abbie for being awarded an H. Branch Howe graduate research grant from the Georgia Ornithological Society!
November 2019: Kevin, Nicole, and Elizabeth presented at the Gopher Tortoise Council meeting in Gulf Shores, AL.
November 2019: Corina and Elizabeth presented posters at the Georgia Climate Conference, which was put on by the Georgia Climate Project. Savannah news story (for which Elizabeth was interviewed) about the conference here.
October 2019: Corina launched the brown-headed nuthatch project with a display at Greenfest, check out the project website!
September 2019: Kevin and Elizabeth travelled to Reno, NV for The Wildlife Society annual meeting to present work on sex determination methods (Kevin) and fire management effects on populations (Elizabeth) for gopher tortoises.
September 2019: New paper out on decision-making for translocations of Galapagos tortoises in Journal of Applied Ecology.
May 2019: Welcome to Nicole DeSha! Nicole is working on our gopher tortoise project and is starting her MS in the fall.
April 2019: Elizabeth, Corina, and Kevin were awarded a Center for Sustainability grant to study brown-headed nuthatch nesting on Georgia Southern's campus. Work will begin in the fall - undergraduate assistants needed!
January 2019: Welcome to Abbie Dwire! Abbie is working as a technician on our Henslow's Sparrow project, with plans to become an MS student in the fall.
October 2018: Elizabeth and Kevin attended the 40th annual Gopher Tortoise Council meeting at Archbold Biological Station in Florida. Elizabeth presented a poster on initial results from the 2018 gopher tortoise field season.
August 2018: Welcome to Corina Newsome! Corina is a new MS student in the lab and will be studying seaside sparrow conservation.
July 2018: Elizabeth went to the North American Congress for Conservation Biology in Toronto. She presented modeling work on a decision tool for restoring tortoises on Floreana Island, Galapagos.
(Photos on this website by Elizabeth Hunter, Kevin Loope, Francisco Laso, and Todd Schneider.)