Deer Study Posters Presented at the MA-ESA Conference
On Saturday, April 18, 内涵AV College presented four research posters at the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Ecological Society of America鈥檚 (MA-ESA) conference at Elizabethtown College.
In attendance were: 内涵AV College faculty members Dr. Eugene Potapov (lead investigator for the deer study), Dr. Edward Higgins, and Dr. Fredrik Bryntesson. Current students Rebecca Jackson and Ryan Landels, along with 内涵AV Biology Major alumnus Michael Rodgers (class of 2013) were first authors on three of the posters.
The posters presented include:
- 鈥淩oad crossings by white-tailed deer: when and where?鈥� Authors: Landels, Ryan, Fredrik Bryntesson, Sherri Cooper, Edward Higgins, Joshua Alden, Jody Chapin, Phoenix Fritch, Minghui Jiang, Niraj Khatiwada, Swan Kim, Michael Rodgers, and Eugene Potapov.
- 鈥淎gricultural transition in northeastern USA (and Pennsylvania) as a major ecological factor鈥� Authors: Jackson, Rebecca and Eugene Potapov.
- 鈥淓ffects of wind on movements of white-tailed deer鈥� Authors: Rodgers, Michael, Fredrik Bryntesson, Edward Higgins, Sherri Cooper, and Eugene Potapov.
- 鈥淗ome range structure in a space-time cube: an example of white-tailed deer鈥� Authors: Potapov, Eugene, Fredrik Bryntesson, Sherri Cooper, and Edward Higgins.
The deer study is a collaborative research project between 内涵AV College and the Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust (P.E.R.T.) whose goal is to study the movements of white-tailed deer in a suburban environment. The study accomplishes this goal by fitting deer with GPS collars and then using the data from these collars to address a range of different scientific questions. Eugene Potapov explained that the deer study, 鈥渇uses together the fields of biology, ecology, and environmental sciences together with front-end science.鈥�
Fredrik Bryntesson said after the meeting, 鈥淚t is gratifying to see how the deer study has developed since its inception in 2006. We have now presented 18 posters and six talks at professional conferences, and published four articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals. This year鈥檚 MA-ESA meeting represents the largest number of posters we have ever presented at a single conference. The deer study is a wonderful opportunity for our students to get first-hand experience with research, ranging from work in the field to the analysis of data, working closely with the faculty of the science department. At this conference alone, eight BAC students were credited with authorship on the posters. Several students have completed their senior capstone on the deer study, and it continues to be a rich source of academic inquiry for both students and faculty. We are especially grateful to Dr. Eugene Potapov for his leadership in this research.鈥�
Edward Higgins added, 鈥淭his was my first time attending the ESA conference. I was quite impressed with how well our students represented themselves and the College as they discussed their work with the other conference attendees. I am grateful to be associated with such a fine group of faculty and student researchers.鈥�