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

Mott, C. L., C. K. Bloomquist, and C. K. Nielsen. 2011. Seasonal, diel, and ontogenetic patterns of within-den behavior in beavers, Castor canadensis. Mammalian Biology:in press

LaRue, M. A., and C. K. Nielsen. 2011. Modelling potential habitat for cougars in midwestern North America. Ecological Modelling 222:897-900.

Hubbard, R. D., and C. K. Nielsen. 2011. Cost-benefit analysis of managed shotgun hunts for suburban white-tailed deer. Human-Wildlife Interactions 5:in press.

Davenport, M., C. K. Nielsen, and J. Mangun. 2010. Attitudes toward mountain lion management in the Midwest: implications for a potentially recolonizing large predator. Human Dimensions of Wildlife 15(5):373-388.

Croteau, E. K., E. J. Heist, and C. K. Nielsen. 2010. Fine-scale population structure and sex-biased dispersal in bobcats (Lynx rufus) from southern Illinois. Canadian Journal of Zoology 88:536-545.

Bloomquist, C. K., and C. K. Nielsen. 2010. Demographic characteristics of unexploited beavers in southern Illinois. Journal of Wildlife Management 74:228-235.

Berkman, L. K., M. J. Saltzgiver, E. J. Heist, C. K. Nielsen, C. L. Roy, and P. D. Scharine. 2009. Hybridization and polymorphic microsatellite markers for two lagomorph species (Genus Sylvilagus): implications for conservation. Conservation Genetics Resources 1:419-424.

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. Regional assessment of landscape configuration and connectivity on home-range size of white-tailed deer. Landscape Ecology 25:1405-1420.

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.

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.