The Frair Lab
  • The Frair Lab
  • Research
  • People
  • Courses
  • Student opportunities
  • Partners
  • Publications

Current research 

Picture

Moose

Having recolonized the Adirondack Park in recent decades, moose now face a warming climate that threatens their continued persistence along their southern range margin.  Our team is assessing the current status of the Adirondack moose population, tracking population trend, and identifying factors limiting population growth.

Collaborators:  Krysten Schuler and Angela Fuller (Cornell University), Jeremy Hurst, Jim Stickles and Sharon Tabor (NYS-DEC),  Heidi Kretzer (Wildlife Conservation Society)
Learn more
Picture

Forest cats

As forest cover is lost, typically so are large forest-dependent mammals. Loss of top predators can trigger a cascade of changes at lower trophic levels, diminishing the ecological integrity of forest systems.  Our team is assessing the degree to which puma and other wild cats use the last remnants of Atlantic Forest in Sao Paolo state, Brazil, so as to better understand trophic dynamics in ever-diminishing tropical forests. 

Collaborators:  Ronaldo Morato (ICM-Bio)
​
Photo credit:  Allison Devlin
Picture

River otter

River otter are elusive, slippery, and impossible to tell apart -- so getting a handle on their population status can be tricky.  Our team is modeling otter habitat, conducting winter track surveys, and deploying field cameras to provide the first comprehensive assessment of otter populations statewide, providing key data for a developing otter management plan.  

Collaborators:  NYS-DEC furbearer management team
​

Photo credit:  Elaina Burns
Picture

Amur leopard

The Amur leopard numbered as few as 40 individuals in the wild in recent history.  Our team is investigating the forces limiting Amur leopard today, from poaching to competition with Amur tiger, in the Land of the Leopard National Park in Primorsky Krai, Russia to help ensure the persistence of this majestic predator.  

Collaborators:  Dale Miquelle (Wildlife Conservation Society) and Mark Hebblewhite (University of Montana

​Photo credit:  Bob Nixon
Picture

Lions

Lion Guardians stand on the front lines of lion conservation in Kenya and Tanzania. Part of a larger, long-term study in Tanzania, our team is studying the behavioral ecology of the lions the Gaurdians interact with to help increase the efficiency and sustainability of their efforts as well as the applicability of their approach in other regions.

Visit lionguardians.org to learn about the Lion Guardians program.  

Collaborators:  David Macdonald and Andrew Loveridge (Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, University of Oxford), Luke Hunter (Panthera)

Photo credit:  Ewaso lions (ewasolions.org)​​
Picture

Bats

Although diminuitive in size, bats are highly mobile, spreading a devastating fungus that causes white-nose syndrome far and wide.  In core disease-affected areas (northeastern US) and at the leading edge of disease spread (Great Lakes Region), our team is seeking insights to help forest managers mitigate population declines and help bats recover as the disease progresses cross the country.

Collaborators:  Deahn Donner, Paula Marquardt, and Dan Lindner (US Forest Service, Northern Research Station), Leah Berkman (Missouri Department of Conservation)

​Photo credit:  Michael Fishman
Picture

White-tailed deer and forest regeneration

Heavy browsing pressure can diminish the integrity of northeastern forests, reducing habitat quality for a range of other species.  Our team is studying where strategic changes in silvicutural treatments and deer management are likely to improve forest conditions across NY State, with a goal of enabling managers to strike a better balance between healthy deer populations and healthy forests.

Collaborators:  Martin Dovciak (SUNY ESF), Mark Lesser (SUNY Plattsburgh), Paul Curtis, Kristi Sullivan and Peter Smallidge (Cornell University Cooperative Extension), Jeremy Hurst (NY-DEC)

Past projects

Visit the publications page to see published products from our completed research projects.  For work not yet in publication form, graduate theses. progress reports and other relevant links are provided below.
Picture

Protected Areas and Biodiversity Conservation

Despite billions of dollars being invested in the global network of protected areas as a primary vehicle for biodiversity conservation, the value of protected areas in stemming local species losses or facilitating species range shifts over time is little known.  Our team investigated the effect of protected areas on local colonization and extinction rates for 97 avian species across 20 years of climate and land use change across New York and Pennsylvania.
peach_dissertation.pdf
File Size: 7394 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Picture

Chacoan Peccary

Chacoan peccary are endemic to the 
Dry Chaco ecoregion, where they are endangered by habitat loss (deforestation) and overharvest.  Our team investigated these threats to Chacoan peccary persistence, as well as assessed the status of their populations, in and around the Defensores Del Chaco National Park, Paraguay. See the results of this study in the M.S. thesis below.

Photo credit:  Silvia Saldivar Bellassai
ssb_thesis_2014.pdf
File Size: 2455 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Picture

Coyotes

Coyotes colonized NY State in the 1920s and today are the largest and most widespread canine predator around, potentially exerting a large influence on competitor and prey populations.  Our team has been investigating coyote foraging ecology, in particular coyote predation on deer and dietary overlap with native mesocarnivores.  

Photo credit:  Scott Smith
Chee Peng's thesis investigated the role of coyotes in structuring mesopredator communities in human-dominated landscapes on Fort Drum, NY, using camera traps and GPS-collar data.
sh_thesis_2013.pdf
File Size: 2670 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Sara Hansen's thesis provided an estimate of the number of coyotes in NY State derived from vocalization surveys linked with distance sampling and sound-spread modeling.
cb_thesis_2009.pdf
File Size: 1401 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Christina Boser's thesis documented coyote diets and movement patterns in the Agricultural-forest matrix of central NY State.
sw_thesis_2012.pdf
File Size: 1073 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Scott Warsen's thesis documented the historical trend in coyote diets in the Adirondack Park and provided a comparison of dietary overlap with all other carnivores in the region.
coyote_progress_report_2014.pdf
File Size: 1175 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

This report provides a comprehensive, cross-study comparison of coyote ecology in NY
Watch "Top Dog" by Jacqueline Frair, 2017 Dale Travis Lecture Series at ESF

Picture
Photo credit:  Allison Devlin

Jaguar

Persistence of top predators, like the jaguar in Central and South America, is increasingly threatened by expanding human populations and changes in land use.  To help guide conservation efforts, our team has been studying the spatial and population ecology of jaguar across a gradient of protected areas to cattle ranches in the Brazilian Pantanal and across multiple use landscapes spanning Central America.

Collaborators:  Howard Quigley, Allison Devlin, Ana-Patricia Calderon, and Lisanne Petracca (Panthera)
final_thesis_apcq.pdf
File Size: 1753 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Ana Patricia's thesis focused on assessing effectiveness of putative corridors for jaguar in Guatemala.
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • The Frair Lab
  • Research
  • People
  • Courses
  • Student opportunities
  • Partners
  • Publications