Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program:
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Matt hails from the desert southwest where completed a BSc and MSc in wildlife ecology from the University of Arizona. His previous research examined factors that influence the demographic attributes and behavior of predatory birds inhabiting heavily urbanized environments. He is broadly interested in scientific research that strives to forge a connection between responses of wildlife to environmental change and the mechanisms that drive ecological patterns at local and landscape scales. He is most interested in addressing conservation challenges that advance understanding of how fluctuations in habitat availability relate to the distribution and population dynamics of wildlife. For his doctoral research, he will investigate the winter ecology of the Rocky Mountain Population of Greater Sandhill Cranes in the Middle Rio Grande Valley and assess how future landscape level changes may impact the population.