Staff Member
Austin Allison
Master's
Email: aallison@uidaho.edu
Education
- BS Colorado College 2013
Biography
I grew up in St. Louis, MO, cultivating in myself a love of animals and the outdoors at very young age. I earned a B.S. in Biology from Colorado College in 2013. After graduating, I spent a summer working for the US Forest Service in Montana. I then returned to Colorado, where I spent two years as a research technician with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, working on a project investigating plague in prairie dogs. Here at the University of Idaho I am conducting research towards the conservation of the northern Idaho ground squirrel. I spend most of my free time exploring the wilderness, cycling, and listening to music. . My research interests are not yet fully formed - there is so much interesting work to be done within the confines of ecology - but I am especially interested in anthropogenic effects on wildlife population demography, whether through ecosystem fragmentation, the introduction of invasive species, or other ecological disturbances.
| Research Publications | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| Allison, A.Z.T., A. Morris, and C.J. Conway 2023. Why hibernate? Tests of four hypotheses to explain intraspecific variation in hibernation phenology. Functional Ecology 37:1580-1593. doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.14322 | March 2023 |
| Allison, A. Z. T., and C. J. Conway. 2022. Daily foraging activity of an imperiled ground squirrel: effects of hibernation, thermal environment, body condition, and conspecific density. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 76:28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-022-03142-4 | May 2022 |
| Allison, A. Z. T., C. J. Conway, and A. R. Goldberg. 2024. Weather influences survival probability in two coexisting mammals directly and indirectly via competitive asymmetry. Ecology 104:e4229. | December 2023 |
| Allison, A. Z. T., C. J. Conway, A. Morris, A. R. Goldberg, K. N. Lohr, R. Richards, and J. A. Almack. 2024. Hit snooze: an imperiled hibernator assesses spring snow conditions to decide whether to terminate hibernation or re-enter torpor. Ecological and Evolutionary Physiology 97:53-63. doi: 10.1086/729775 | April 2024 |
| Project | Completion Date |
|---|---|
| Effectiveness of Forest Restoration Treatments on Demography of a Federally Listed Ground Squirrel | February 2025 |
| Effects of sylvatic plague on Northern Idaho Ground Squirrels | April 2019 |
| Presentations | Presentation Date |
|---|---|
| Townsend, K.C., C.J. Conway, K.T. Vierling, A. Allison, and D. Lachman. 2019. Presence of Northern Idaho Ground Squirrels (Urocitellus brunneus) influenced by other small mammal species and environmental factors. Northwest Scientific Association, Lewiston, ID. 27 Mar 2019. | March 2019 |
| Townsend, K., A. Allison, K. T. Vierling, and C. J. Conway. 2019. Northern Idaho ground squirrel (Urocitellus brunneus) presence influenced by coexisting species and environmental factors. Ecological Society of America, Louisville, KY. 15 Aug 2019. | August 2019 |
| Kirk, R.E., A.Z.T. Allison, C.J. Conway, K.T. Vierling, and A. Yen. 2021. Gaining weight to hibernate: Pre-hibernation body mass effects on survival in adult male northern Idaho ground squirrels. Ecological Society of America Annual Conference. Virtual. 4 Aug 2021. | August 2021 |
| Herrington, A., A. Allison, C. J. Conway, and K. T. Vierling. 2019. Burrowing habits of Urocitellus brunneus. Ecological Society of America, Louisville, KY. 15 Aug 2019. | August 2019 |
| Contreras, C., C.J. Conway, K. Vierling, A. Morris, A. Alison, and A. Snyder. 2022. Effects of Soil Properties on Selection of Winter Hibernacula by Northern Idaho Ground Squirrels. Annual Conference of The Wildlife Society. Spokane, WA. 9 Nov 2022. | November 2022 |
| Cano Perez, A., O. Cardenas-Ritzert, K. T. Vierling, C. J. Conway, and A. Allison. 2019. What hibernacula characteristics does the northern Idaho ground squirrel select for? Moscow Outdoor Science School, McCall, ID. 26 Jul 2019. | July 2019 |
| Campos Garcia, S., A. Allison, A. Morris, C.J. Conway, K. Vierling, and A. Yen. 2022. Does Plant Taxa Affect the Selection of Habitat by the Northern Idaho Ground Squirrel? Annual Conference of The Wildlife Society. Spokane, WA. 9 Nov 2022. | November 2022 |
| Allison, A. Z. T., and C. J. Conway. 2022. Daily foraging activity of an imperiled ground squirrel: effects of hibernation, thermal environment, body condition, and population density. Idaho Chapter of The Wildlife Society. Boise, ID. 24 Feb 2022. | February 2022 |
| Aguilar McFarlane, P.L., A.Z.T. Allison, C.J. Conway, K.T. Vierling, and A. Yen. 2021. Meadow or forest species: What do northern Idaho ground squirrels prefer? Ecological Society of America Annual Conference. Virtual. 4 Aug 2021. | August 2021 |