Brett R. Jesmer

• Bachelor of Science-- SUNY Environmental Science and Foresty
• PhD Student at University of Wyoming

Although decades of research have deepened our understanding of the proximate triggers and ultimate drivers of migrations for a range of taxa, how populations establish migrations remains a mystery. However, recent studies have begun to illuminate the interplay between genetically inherited and learned migrations, opening the door to the evaluation...

As human activities increasingly shape land- and seascapes, understanding human-wildlife interactions is imperative for preserving biodiversity. Habitats are impacted not only by static modifications, such as roads, buildings and other infrastructure, but also by the dynamic movement of people and their vehicles occurring over shorter time scales....

Moose (Alces alces) populations along the southern extent of their range are largely declining, and there is growing evidence that nutritional condition-which influences several vital rates-is a contributing factor. Moose body condition can presently be estimated only when there is measurable subcutaneous rump fat, which equates to animals with >6%...

Space-based tracking technology using low-cost miniature tags is now delivering data on fine-scale animal movement at near-global scale. Linked with remotely sensed environmental data, this offers a biological lens on habitat integrity and connectivity for conservation and human health; a global network of animal sentinels of environmental change.

The forage maturation hypothesis (FMH) states that energy intake for ungulates is maximised when forage biomass is at intermediate levels. Nevertheless, metabolic allometry and different digestive systems suggest that resource selection should vary across ungulate species. By combining GPS relocations with remotely sensed data on forage characteris...

Glucocorticoids (GC) and triiodothyronine (T3) are two endocrine markers commonly used to quantify resource limitation, yet the relationships between these markers and the energetic state of animals has been studied primarily in small-bodied species in captivity. Free-ranging animals, however, adjust energy intake in accordance with their energy re...

Heterogeneous landscapes and fluctuating environmental conditions can affect species dispersal, population genetics, and genetic structure, yet understanding how biotic and abiotic factors affect population dynamics in a fluctuating environment is critical for species management. We evaluated how spatio-temporal habitat connectivity influences disp...

Understanding the behavioral and physiological responses of animals to environmental stressors is vital to our comprehension of their ecology and life history. The life-history strategy of ungulates is for females to prioritize survival over reproductive effort to maximize life-long fitness (Stearns 1992, Eberhardt 2002, BÃ¥rdsen et al. 2008). Cons...

Forests in the Sierra Nevada, similar to those across the continent, have been substantially altered by logging, fire exclusion, and other human activities. Current forest management emphasizes maintenance or restoration of resiliency in the face of contemporary disturbance factors that include wildfire, climate change, continued urbanization, and...

Understanding the influence of habitat and climate on wildlife nutrition, reproduction and demography is a major goal for natural resource managers and ecologists alike. Although both top-down (i.e., predation and disease) and bottom-up (i.e. habitat and nutrition) forces impact demography, the nutritional condition of an animal is an integration o...

The golden-mantled ground squirrel (Callospermophilus lateralis) is considered an asocial species, characterized by agonistic interactions, nonsharing of territories and early dispersal. The species is poorly studied, so we used radiotelemetry to determine home range size, home range overlap and dispersal. Home ranges of 12 adult females averaged 3...