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

In April 2022, Dr. Aikens joined the South Dakota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit as the Assistant Unit Leader. Before coming to South Dakota, she received postdoctoral training at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Konstanz Germany and graduate training at the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at the University of Wyoming where she completed her PhD. Ellen is a quantitative ecologist who leads research on wildlife management issues related to animal movement, habitat change and spatial ecology. A primary goal of Ellen’s research is to produce knowledge that advances both ecological understanding and wildlife management. Her research merges animal tracking, remote sensing, and field research to gain insights into the resource and habitat requirements of wildlife. This approach helps to define critical habitat for wildlife, understand wildlife responses to environmental change, and plan large landscape conservation efforts. Ellen’s research focuses on ungulates and other highly mobile taxa. Ellen has taught courses in R for Wildlife Ecology, Data Visualization, and Spatial Ecology. She will develop graduate-level coursework at SDSU depending upon departmental needs.