Zoology

My graduate students and I study wildlife ecology and management in a variety of landscapes, with a strong focus on habitat and populations. Primary field tools we use include wildlife capture, human dimensions surveys, population abundance surveys, radiotelemetry, remote cameras, and vegetation sampling. In the analytical laboratory, we work with GIS, multivariate statistics, and a variety of software programs useful for analyzing demographic and space-use data. I also frequently collaborate with behavioral ecologists, geneticists, and other wildlife ecologists who add a greater dimension to my work.

For more information on my research program, please see my lab webpage.

Recent Publications

Bloomquist, C. K., and C. K. Nielsen. In Press. Demographic characteristics of unexploited beavers in southern Illinois. Journal of Wildlife Management.

Walter, W. D., K. C. VerCauteren, H. Campa III, W. R. Clark, J. W. Fischer, S. E. Hygnstrom, N. E. Mathews, C. K. Nielsen, E. M. Schauber, T. R. VanDeelen, and S. R. Winterstein. 2009. The influence of landscape composition and connectivity on home-range size of white-tailed deer: a regional comparison. Landscape Ecology:in press (DOI 10.1007/s10980-009-9374-4).

Scharine, P. D., C. K. Nielsen, E. M. Schauber, and L. Rubert. 2009. Swamp rabbits in floodplain ecosystems: influence of landscape- and stand-level habitat on relative abundance. Wetlands 29:615-623.

Hubbard, R. D., and C. K. Nielsen. 2009. White-tailed deer does attacking humans during the fawning season: a unique human-wildlife conflict on a university campus. Human Wildlife Conflicts 3:129-135.

Bloomquist, C. K., and C. K. Nielsen. 2009. A remote videography system for monitoring beavers. Journal of Wildlife Management 73:605-608.

Crawford, J. C., Z. Liu, T. A. Nelson, C. K. Nielsen, and C. K. Bloomquist. 2009. Genetic population structure within and between beaver (Castor canadensis) populations in Illinois. Journal of Mammalogy 90:373-379.

Kjaer, L. J., E. M. Schauber, and C. K. Nielsen. 2008. Spatial and temporal analysis of contact rates in white-tailed deer. Journal of Wildlife Management 72:1819-1825.

McDonald, P. T., C. K. Nielsen, T. J. Oyana, and W. Sun. 2008. Modelling habitat overlap among sympatric mesocarnivores in southern Illinois, USA. Ecological Modelling 215:276-286.

Roy Nielsen, C. L., S. M. Wakamiya, and C. K. Nielsen. 2008. Viability and patch occupancy of the state-endangered swamp rabbit metapoplation in southwestern Indiana. Biological Conservation 141:1043-1054.

Kolowski, J. M., and C. K. Nielsen. 2008. Using Penrose distance to identify potential risk of wildlife-vehicle collisions. Biological Conservation 141:1119-1128.

Crawford, J. C., Z. Liu, T. A. Nelson, C. K. Nielsen, and C. K. Bloomquist. 2008. Microsatellite analysis of mating and kinship in beavers (Castor canadensis). Journal of Mammalogy 89:575-581.

LaRue, M. A., and C. K. Nielsen. 2008. Modelling potential dispersal corridors for cougars in midwestern North America using least-cost path methods. Ecological Modelling 212:372-381.