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Anthropogenic stressors (e.g., climate change, habitat fragmentation, and pollution) are causing the first human-caused mass extinction event and widespread destruction of ecosystems across the globe. But we can reverse the damage caused by anthropogenic stressors by taking action through research and conservation management. Therefore, our research focuses on understanding the effects of anthropogenic stressors on adaptive life history and behavioral strategies on individual and population level fitness to develop conservation management strategies that mitigate the impacts of these anthropogenic stressors on endangered wildlife and habitats.
Understanding the health of bobcat populations in central Illinois
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Bobcats range throughout much of North America and their populations are rebounding across that range. However, bobcats in central Illinois are currently understudied and it's unknown if populations are rebounding in this area. Therefore, we are using the combination of camera traps and trapping to assess the health of bobcat populations in central Illinois.
Graduate students working on the project (alphabetical order): Rachael DeVries (graduate student), and Julia Johnson (graduate student). |
Collaborators:
This is a collaborative project with Dr. Elliott Zieman (Department of Biological Sciences, Eastern Illinois University).
Funding Sources:
We would like to thank the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Furbearer Fund for funding this project and EIU for their support! We would also like to thank the stewards of our field sites for allowing us to work on their properties.
This is a collaborative project with Dr. Elliott Zieman (Department of Biological Sciences, Eastern Illinois University).
Funding Sources:
We would like to thank the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Furbearer Fund for funding this project and EIU for their support! We would also like to thank the stewards of our field sites for allowing us to work on their properties.
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Effects of urbanization on mammals in central Illinois
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As urbanization spreads, animals must either adapt to their changing environment or relocate. Some species, like coyotes and raccoons, are better at modifying their behavior to a changing landscape. Others are struggling to survive as their environment rapidly changes. Therefore, it's important that we examine how our rapidly changing environment is impacting wildlife. To do this, we use the non-invasive camera traps to observe the behavioral responses of wildlife to urbanization.
Graduate and undergraduate students working on the project (alphabetical order): Nolan Burdett (graduate student), April Dossett (graduate student), Mikaila Ek (graduated Honors thesis undergraduate student), and Nia Rogers (undergraduate student) |
Funding sources:
We would like thank Eastern Illinois University for its financial support for this project.
We would like thank Eastern Illinois University for its financial support for this project.
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Restoring prairie habitat in a semi-arid grassland
Improving methods to estimate abundance of prairie dogs
Climate change and invasive species
Understanding population declines of a keystone ecosystem engineer and building management solutions for conservation
Prairie dogs are a keystone ecosystem engineer and the habitat that they create, through their herbivorous and burrowing activities, provides habitat for a number of associated species. But prairie dog populations have plummeted across the Great Plains, resulting in the listing of burrowing owls as threatened and black-footed ferrets as endangered. Therefore, our research seeks to understand the loss of prairie dogs, use translocations to rebuild prairie dog populations, and develop methods using applied ecology and conservation behavior to make translocations more effective. In addition, our research will use translocations of prairie dogs to rehabilitate desertified grassland habitat and support reintroductions of associated species.
Peer-reviewed publications (*student co-authors):
We are currently working on writing several publications in support of this research. Stay tuned!
Collaborators:
Coming soon!
Funding Sources:
Coming soon!
Prairie dogs are a keystone ecosystem engineer and the habitat that they create, through their herbivorous and burrowing activities, provides habitat for a number of associated species. But prairie dog populations have plummeted across the Great Plains, resulting in the listing of burrowing owls as threatened and black-footed ferrets as endangered. Therefore, our research seeks to understand the loss of prairie dogs, use translocations to rebuild prairie dog populations, and develop methods using applied ecology and conservation behavior to make translocations more effective. In addition, our research will use translocations of prairie dogs to rehabilitate desertified grassland habitat and support reintroductions of associated species.
Peer-reviewed publications (*student co-authors):
We are currently working on writing several publications in support of this research. Stay tuned!
- Peterson EK, Jones CD, Sandmeier FC, *Arellano Rivas AP, *Back CA, *Canney A, *Fender J, *Gomez M, *Gorski J, *Heintzelman N, *Healey K, *Kester M, *Klinger D, *Liao A, Varian-Ramos CW, Vanden Heuvel B. (2021) Drought influences biodiversity in a semi-arid shortgrass prairie in southeastern Colorado. Journal of Arid Environments, 195: 104633. [pdf]
- *Back C, *Healey K, *Staples SK, Peterson EK, Vanden Heuvel B. (2020) Natural history of plant species at the Pueblo Chemical Depot. El Rio, 1(1):43-50. [pdf]
Collaborators:
Coming soon!
Funding Sources:
Coming soon!
Understanding wildlife-vehicle collisions along a major interstate
Colorado is home to several migratory large mammal species and southern Colorado, in particular, is an important migration corridor for several large mammal species. But some of the highest rates of wildlife vehicle collisions occur along Interstate 25 because it acts as a barrier for wildlife movement. Therefore, our research seeks to better understand wildlife-vehicle collisions in southern Colorado and it will provide the Colorado Department of Transportation with recommendations of the best places to install infrastructure to mitigate the loss of wildlife.
Peer-Reviewed Publications (**graduate student co-authors, *undergraduate student co-authors, §corresponding author/principal investigator):
Technical Reports (**graduate student co-authors, *undergraduate student co-authors, §corresponding author/principal investigator):
Graduate students, undergraduate students, and wildlife technicians that contributed significantly to the project (alphabetical order): Adam Liao, Melissa Loftin, Maxwell Martell, and Timber McGuin.
Collaborators:
Gabriel Cosyleon MS (Colorado Department of Transportation), MD Islam PhD (Colorado State University Pueblo), Sean Jackson (Clarkson University), and Tom A. Langen PhD (Clarkson University)
Funding Sources:
We would like to thank the Colorado Department of Transportation, particularly the Region 2 Office, Gabe Cosyleon, and Summer Slama, for the opportunity to collaborate and be funded for this project!
Peer-Reviewed Publications (**graduate student co-authors, *undergraduate student co-authors, §corresponding author/principal investigator):
- **Loftin M, **Liao A, *McGuin T, *Martell M, Slama S, Cosyleon G, §Peterson EK (in prep) Behavioral responses of large mammals to a major interstate in southern Colorado.
- **Liao A, **Jackson S, Langen T, Cosyleon G, §Peterson EK (in prep) Biotic factors, not abiotic factors, mitigate wildlife-vehicle collisions in southern Colorado across a major interstate.
Technical Reports (**graduate student co-authors, *undergraduate student co-authors, §corresponding author/principal investigator):
- §Peterson EK, **Loftin M, **Liao A, *McGuin T, *Martell M (2024) Raton Pass Wildlife Study Summary Report, December 2024. Technical Report to Colorado Department of Transportation.
- §Peterson EK, **Loftin M, **Liao A, *McGuin T, *Martell M (2024) Raton Pass Wildlife Study Summary Report, July 2024. Technical Report to Colorado Department of Transportation.
- **Loftin M, **Liao A, *McGuin T, *Martell M, §Peterson EK (2024) Raton Pass Wildlife Study Progress Report, May 2024. Technical Report to Colorado Department of Transportation.
- **Liao A, **Loftin M, *McGuin T, *Martell M, §Peterson EK (2023) Raton Pass Wildlife Study Progress Report, December 2023. Technical Report to Colorado Department of Transportation.
- **Liao A, *Martell M, *McGuin T, **Loftin M, §Peterson EK (2023) Raton Pass Wildlife Study Progress Report, June 2023. Technical Report to Colorado Department of Transportation.
- **Liao A, *Martell M, §Peterson EK (2023) Raton Pass Wildlife Study Progress Report, January 2023. Technical Report to Colorado Department of Transportation.
Graduate students, undergraduate students, and wildlife technicians that contributed significantly to the project (alphabetical order): Adam Liao, Melissa Loftin, Maxwell Martell, and Timber McGuin.
Collaborators:
Gabriel Cosyleon MS (Colorado Department of Transportation), MD Islam PhD (Colorado State University Pueblo), Sean Jackson (Clarkson University), and Tom A. Langen PhD (Clarkson University)
Funding Sources:
We would like to thank the Colorado Department of Transportation, particularly the Region 2 Office, Gabe Cosyleon, and Summer Slama, for the opportunity to collaborate and be funded for this project!
Understanding the impacts of heavy metals on behavioral and reproductive strategies
Pollution is a more elusive, less understood threat to biodiversity and species conservation worldwide (Peterson et al. 2017, Curr. Zool. 63). Pb pollution is ubiquitous in the environment and is responsible for population declines of several species. But we know very little about the implications of Pb exposure on reproductive and behavioral strategies that are directly and indirectly linked to fitness in wild populations, because these research questions are challenging to study in wildlife. Therefore, our research combines the use of laboratory model systems with field experiments to understand the impacts of developmental Pb exposure on adaptive reproductive and behavioral strategies important for fitness.
My dissertation research focused on the consequences of developmental Pb exposure on reproductive strategies, using Drosophila melanogaster as a model system. We found that they readily accumulated Pb throughout their lifespan and levels of accumulation increased with dose (Peterson et al. 2017, Chemosphere, 181). We found that genetic variation played a role in Pb susceptibility, in terms of accumulation (Peterson et al. 2017, Chemosphere, 181) and reproductive traits (Peterson et al. 2019, Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol., 103). Given the importance of assortative mating in sexual selection (Yukilevich and Peterson 2019, Evolution, 73), I found that assortative mating in females reared in Pb-treated medium was mediated by females, was context-specific, and due to developmental exposure (Peterson et al. 2017, Curr. Zool., 63). The results from this work demonstrate the importance of understanding the impact of Pb exposure on reproductive strategies and determining whether wild populations are experiencing similar effects.
To understand how wild populations may be impacted by Pb exposure, we took samples from soil plants, arthropods, and birds at a Superfund Site in southern Colorado. We found that Pb levels were the highest at the Slag pile at the Superfund site, and that all taxa accumulated Pb, even at sublethal levels which can still have toxic effects (Peterson et al., 2023, Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol., 112). We are currently reviewing our results for other heavy metals at the site and plan to publish additional manuscripts in the future.
Peer-reviewed Publications (*undergraduate student co-authors, §corresponding author):
Collaborators:
David Buchwalter PhD (North Carolina State University), Pauline Carrico PhD (SUNY-Albany), James Carsella PhD (Colorado State University Pueblo), Moussa Diawara PhD(Colorado State University Pueblo), Kurt Hollocher PhD (Union College), Joanne Kehlbeck PhD (Union College), Jacob Kerby PhD (University of South Dakota), Kelly LaRue Brackett PhD (Princeton University), Matthew LeFauve PhD (George Washington University), Bernard Possidente PhD (Skidmore College), Bruce Schulte PhD (Western Kentucky University), John Swaddle PhD (College of William & Mary), Claire W. Varian-Ramos PhD (Colorado State University Pueblo), and Roman Yukilevich PhD (Union College)
PhD and Postdoctoral Research Advisors:
Much of this work was a part of my PhD work, at the University at Albany-State University of New York, and postdoctoral work, at Union College.
PhD Advisors: Drs. Bernard Possidente (Skidmore College) and Gregory Lnenicka (University at Albany-State University of New York)
Postdoctoral Advisor: Roman Yukilevich (Union College)
Funding Sources:
My dissertation research focused on the consequences of developmental Pb exposure on reproductive strategies, using Drosophila melanogaster as a model system. We found that they readily accumulated Pb throughout their lifespan and levels of accumulation increased with dose (Peterson et al. 2017, Chemosphere, 181). We found that genetic variation played a role in Pb susceptibility, in terms of accumulation (Peterson et al. 2017, Chemosphere, 181) and reproductive traits (Peterson et al. 2019, Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol., 103). Given the importance of assortative mating in sexual selection (Yukilevich and Peterson 2019, Evolution, 73), I found that assortative mating in females reared in Pb-treated medium was mediated by females, was context-specific, and due to developmental exposure (Peterson et al. 2017, Curr. Zool., 63). The results from this work demonstrate the importance of understanding the impact of Pb exposure on reproductive strategies and determining whether wild populations are experiencing similar effects.
To understand how wild populations may be impacted by Pb exposure, we took samples from soil plants, arthropods, and birds at a Superfund Site in southern Colorado. We found that Pb levels were the highest at the Slag pile at the Superfund site, and that all taxa accumulated Pb, even at sublethal levels which can still have toxic effects (Peterson et al., 2023, Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol., 112). We are currently reviewing our results for other heavy metals at the site and plan to publish additional manuscripts in the future.
Peer-reviewed Publications (*undergraduate student co-authors, §corresponding author):
- §Peterson EK, Carsella J, Varian-Ramos CW, *Schiffer SK, *Staples SK, Diawara M. (2024) Effects of lead (Pb) from smelter operations in an urban terrestrial food chain at a Colorado Superfund site. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. 112. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-023-03846-x [pdf]
- §Peterson EK, *Stark A, Hollocher KT, Varian-Ramos CW, Possidente B. (2020) Exposure to lead (Pb2+) eliminates avoidance of Pb-treated oviposition substrates in a dose-dependent manner in female vinegar flies. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 104(5):588-594. [pdf]
- §Peterson EK, Possidente B, *Stark A, Hollocher KT, Carrico P. (2019) Intraspecific genetic variation in reproductive strategies in susceptibility to developmental lead (Pb2+) exposure in a model system, Drosophila melanogaster. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 103(2): 233-239. [pdf]
- §Peterson EK, *Long HE. (2019) Experimental protocol for using Drosophila as an invertebrate model system for toxicity testing in the laboratory. Journal of Visualized Experiments, 137: e57450. [pdf]
- §Yukilevich R, Peterson EK. (2019) The evolution of male and female mating preferences in Drosophila speciation. Evolution, 73(9): 1759-1773. [pdf]
- §Peterson EK, Wilson DT, Possidente B, Possidente D, McDaniel P, Morley E, Possidente D, Hollocher KT, Ruden DM, Hirsch HVB (2017) Accumulation, elimination, sequestration, and genetic variation of lead (Pb2+) loads within and between generations in a model system, Drosophila melanogaster. Chemosphere, 181: 368-375. [pdf]
- §Peterson EK, Yukilevich R, Kehlbeck J, LaRue KM, *Ferraiolo K, Hollocher K, Hirsch HVB, Possidente B. (2017) Asymmetrical positive assortative mating induced by developmental lead (Pb2+) exposure in a model system, Drosophila melanogaster. Current Zoology, 63(2): 195-203. [pdf]
- §Peterson EK, Buchwalter DB, Kerby JL, Lefauve MK, Varian-Ramos CW, Swaddle JP. (2017) Integrative behavioral eco-toxicology (IBET): Bringing together fields to establish new insight to behavioral ecology, toxicology, and conservation. Current Zoology, 63(2): 185-194. [pdf]
- §Peterson EK, Schulte BA. (2016) Impacts of anthropogenic pollutants on beavers and otters with implications for ecosystem ramifications. Journal of Contemporary Water Research & Education, 157:33-45. [pdf]
Collaborators:
David Buchwalter PhD (North Carolina State University), Pauline Carrico PhD (SUNY-Albany), James Carsella PhD (Colorado State University Pueblo), Moussa Diawara PhD(Colorado State University Pueblo), Kurt Hollocher PhD (Union College), Joanne Kehlbeck PhD (Union College), Jacob Kerby PhD (University of South Dakota), Kelly LaRue Brackett PhD (Princeton University), Matthew LeFauve PhD (George Washington University), Bernard Possidente PhD (Skidmore College), Bruce Schulte PhD (Western Kentucky University), John Swaddle PhD (College of William & Mary), Claire W. Varian-Ramos PhD (Colorado State University Pueblo), and Roman Yukilevich PhD (Union College)
PhD and Postdoctoral Research Advisors:
Much of this work was a part of my PhD work, at the University at Albany-State University of New York, and postdoctoral work, at Union College.
PhD Advisors: Drs. Bernard Possidente (Skidmore College) and Gregory Lnenicka (University at Albany-State University of New York)
Postdoctoral Advisor: Roman Yukilevich (Union College)
Funding Sources:
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Conservation Behavior Research
Peer-reviewed publications:
- Peterson EK, M. Elsbeth McPhee, Rachel Y Chock, Bruce A Schulte, Julie K Young. (2025) Leveraging animal behavior can improve translocation success in the face of anthropogenic stressors. Animal Behaviour. 229: 123320. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123320 [pdf}
- Chock RY, Clucas B, Peterson EK, Blackwell BF, Blumstein DT, Church K, Fernandez-Juricic E, Francescoli G, Greggor A, Kemp P, Pinho G, Sanzenbacher P, Schulte BA, Toni P. (2021) Potential impacts of solar power facilities on wildlife from an animal behavior perspective. Conservation Science and Practice Journal, e319. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.319. [pdf]
Discipline-Based Education Research
Book Chapters:
Peer-reviewed Publications:
- Seymour B, Peterson EK, Chock RY. (2021) Conservation behavior: The effects of light pollution on insects. Exploring Animal Behavior in Laboratory and Field. Eds. Zimbler-DeLorenzo H, Margulis SW, 2nd edition, Elsevier Academic Press, San Diego CA. [pdf]
Peer-reviewed Publications:
- Bickford N, Peterson EK, Jensen PA, Thomas DA. (2020) Undergraduates who are merely interested in research are better students than their peers. Education Sciences, 10(6): 150. [pdf]
- Peterson EK, Carrico P. (2015) Laboratory exercise in behavioral genetics using team-based learning. Journal of College Biology Teaching, 41(2): 33-40. [pdf]