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Oklahoma Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit |
2024 Summary
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11 Actively funded projects
1.4 Million($) in research
15 Publications
4 Manuscripts accepted (for 2025!)
9 Manuscripts in review
36 Conference presentations
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13 Lab members
4 Graduate students finished
2 New graduate students
4 Undergraduate researchers
5 Graduate student awards
2 Undergraduate student awards
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The People
The students and collaborators that I get to work with day in an day out are the most important and most fulfilling part of my job, and the accomplishments we achieved in 2024 would not have been possible without everyone's hard work and dedication.
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Lab Changes
We welcomed Nicolle Butler (PhD student) who is leading a study invesitagating the influence of baiting on the spatial ecology of mesocarnivores and their discovery of simulated turkey nests. Nicolle recently completed her MS degree at Oklahoma State University with Dr. Chitwood on wild turkeys. We also welcomed Max Marwin (MS student) who is working with collaborators in New Mexico to understand the influence of black bear kleptoparasitism on cougar kill rates. Max completed his undergraduate degree at Cornell University. We also welcomed two new undergraduate researchers into the lab this year--Raegan Hula and Lydia Laughlin. Raegan is working closely with Max to investigate the influence of cougar kills on scavangers, whereas Lydia is working with our pronghorn team to investigate the diets of coyotes in the Oklahoma panhandle. |
Of course, Nicolle didn't waste any time jumping in to help out her lab mates! Small mammal camera traps under construction.
Max collecting samples from a cougar kill site in northern New Mexico.
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Dr. White!
Bailey was clearly ready to "peace out" of Oklahoma!
Since Bailey and Ben decided not to walk, had to still represent the lab at graduation in May!
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As is the nature of a research lab, we also had a handful of celebratory events. Matt Broadway completed his comprehensive qualifying exams and was advanced to PhD candidacy. Kara White successfully defended her PhD dissertation and graduated in May; Kara has some exciting professional news to share soon (but I will leave that to her to share). Ben Murley successfully defended his MS thesis and graduated in May. Ben was gracious enough to stick around and help us in the field during the summer, but has moved on to a PhD program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (where he will be able to get as many cheese curds as his heart desires). Bailey Kleeberg successfully defended her MS thesis in May, and has taken a position working with the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute where she is supporting a wide range of wildlife research projects! Derek Hahn successfully defended his MS thesis in August; Derek and his family have moved to Missouri.
Although students must move on, I look forward to seeing what you accomplish down the road, and to collaborating with all of you in the future! |
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Lab Alumni
The success of our lab members after they leave is just as rewarding as the success they achieve in the lab. Therefore, I wanted to share with you some notable alumni updates (moves) from 2024. Anthony Seveque moved to Europe and is now a scientist with the Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre in Germany. Sprih Harsh moved to India and is now a scientist with World Wildlife Fund. Stuart Fetherston moved to Texas and is now a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Brandon Snavely returned to Pennsylvania, where he is now the statewide black bear biologist for the Game Commission. Congratulations to all of you! |
How I imagine Brandon at work every day in PA (thought I suspect he'll have some office work to do)!
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Collaborators and Co-PIs
The accomplishments presented in this year in review are only made possible by the many collaborators, co-investigators, and funding agencies. While I do not include all of them by name in the details below, primary collaborators in 2024 included Oklahoma State University faculty (Drs. Chitwood, Fairbanks, Loss, Moeller, and O'Connell), U.S. Geological Survey scientists (Drs. Cain, Crimmins, DeGregorio, Long, and Stafford), Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute faculty (Drs. Cherry, DeYoung, Heffelfinger, and Tanner), scientists from other institutions (Drs. Adams, Bruckerhoff, Cheeseman, Duchardt, Facka, Gese, Morin, Perkins, Roemer, Waits), and partners from cooperators that funded and supported our work (e.g., Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, Dugway Proving Ground, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and Turner Institute of Ecoagriculture).
The accomplishments presented in this year in review are only made possible by the many collaborators, co-investigators, and funding agencies. While I do not include all of them by name in the details below, primary collaborators in 2024 included Oklahoma State University faculty (Drs. Chitwood, Fairbanks, Loss, Moeller, and O'Connell), U.S. Geological Survey scientists (Drs. Cain, Crimmins, DeGregorio, Long, and Stafford), Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute faculty (Drs. Cherry, DeYoung, Heffelfinger, and Tanner), scientists from other institutions (Drs. Adams, Bruckerhoff, Cheeseman, Duchardt, Facka, Gese, Morin, Perkins, Roemer, Waits), and partners from cooperators that funded and supported our work (e.g., Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, Dugway Proving Ground, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and Turner Institute of Ecoagriculture).
The Science!
Projects Completed in 2024
We wrapped up 3 funded projects in 2024.
Feral swine space use--Our research revealed that while adult feral swine space use was not restricted in the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge, adults with piglets restricted their space use to areas with lower slopes and fewer roads. These results provided insights into habitat quality and can be used to inform future control actions for feral swine in the refuge.
We wrapped up 3 funded projects in 2024.
Feral swine space use--Our research revealed that while adult feral swine space use was not restricted in the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge, adults with piglets restricted their space use to areas with lower slopes and fewer roads. These results provided insights into habitat quality and can be used to inform future control actions for feral swine in the refuge.
Black bear space use and genetics--We produced the first estimate of black bear population size in the Oklahoma Panhandle, identified features associated with black bear space use (e.g., course wood debris), and confirmed that black bears in the Oklahoma Panhandle were an extension of a larger population distributed across northern New Mexico and southern Colorado.
Plains spotted skunk ecology--We developed predictive models for spotted skunk habitat in South Dakota, revealing ~31,300 sq. km of suitable conditions. We also investigated fine-scale resource selection patterns and the influence of interspecific interactions on plains spotted skunk space use patterns. Our results are informing conservation of plains spotted skunks in South Dakota and more broadly.
Kleeberg BA, RC Lonsinger. WS Fairbanks. 2024. White-backed hog-nosed skunk (Conepatus leuconotus) occurrence in the panhandle of Oklahoma. Southwestern Naturalist 69(1): 1-5 | Link.
White KM, AE Cheesman, JD Stafford, RC Lonsinger. 2024. Pasture and diurnal temperature are key predictors of regional plains spotted skunk distribution. Journal of Mammalogy 105(6): 1278-1288 | Link.
White KM, AE Cheeseman, JD Stafford, RC Lonsinger. 2025. Fine-scale farming features drive resource selection of a small carnivore of conservation concern. Canadian Journal of Zoology 103: 1-12 | Link. (Editor's Choice Award).
Projects ongoing or started in 2024
We continued progress on 7 funded projects in 2024. Because these projects are ongoing, I've only briefly mentioned them, but stay tuned for more complete results!
These include projects on the ecology and conservation of carnivores:
We continued progress on 7 funded projects in 2024. Because these projects are ongoing, I've only briefly mentioned them, but stay tuned for more complete results!
These include projects on the ecology and conservation of carnivores:
Two projects on big game ecology:
Two projects on nongame species monitoring and ecology:
Torolski HM, JM Long, RC Lonsinger, LA Bruckerhoff. 2024. Updated distribution for two freshwater mussel species of conservation concern. Southeastern Naturalist 23(3): N44-N49 | Link.
Torolski HM, JM Long, RC Lonsinger, LA Bruckerhoff. 2025. New distributional record of the federally threatened Rabbitsfoot mussel (Theliderma cylindrica) in Oklahoma. Southeastern Naturalist 24(1): N1-N8 | Link.
And finally, one project that started, but for which data collection has not yet begun on the effects of supplemental feeding on mammalian nest predators...stay tuned!
Products from previously ended projects
We continued to share the results from previous projects.
We continued to share the results from previous projects.
Matt Turnley led a publication on parturition timing in ungulates.
Turnley MT, TA Hughes, RT Larson, KR Hersey, MS Broadway, MC Chitwood, WS Fairbanks, RC Lonsinger, BR McMillan. 2024. A fine-scale examination of parturition timing in temperate ungulates. Ecology and Evolution 14(7):e11703 | Link.
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Sprih Harsh led efforts on multiple publications from her dissertation research on pheasants. One came out in 2024 and several others are in the works!
Harsh S, RC Lonsinger, HR Kauth, AJ Gregory. 2024. Seasonal resource selection of a grassland bird in a dynamic landscape: importance of a hetergeneous landscape. Ecosphere 15(12): e70108 | Link.
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Stuart Fetherston led efforts to publish his MS research on bobcats, which SD Game, Fish, and Parks has already incorporated into their bobcat management plan!
Fetherston SC, LB Perkins, CP Lehman, JR Adams, LP Waits, RC Lonsinger. 2024. Genetic analysis of harvest samples reveals population structure in a highly mobile generalist carnivore. Ecology and Evolution 14(5):e11411 | Link.
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Anthonly Seveque led two publications on close-kin mark-recapture from his post-doctoral research, one of which was published in 2024 and the other has been accepted!
Sévêque A, RC Lonsinger, LP Waits, KE Brzeski, LM Komoroske, C Ott-Conn, SL Mayhew, CD Norton, TR Petroelje, JD Swenson, DJ Morin. 2024. Sources of bias in applying close-kin mark–recapture to terrestrial game species with different life history. Ecology 105(3):e4244 | Link.
Sévêque A, RC Lonsinger, LP Waits, DJ Morin. 2025. Spatial close-kin mark-recapture models applied to terrestrial species with continuous natal dispersal. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 16(4): 733-743 | Link.
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Rob Lonsinger co-authored two book chapters with colleagues.
Lonsinger RC, GW Roemer. 2024. Ringtail (Bassariscus astutus). Pages 895-916 in J-LE Cartron and JK Frey, editors. The Wild Carnivores of New Mexico. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
Gese EM, PA Terletzky, HS Cooley, FF Knowlton, RC Lonsinger. 2024. Survey and monitoring methods for furbearers. Pages 15.1-15.44 in TL Hiller, RD Applegate, RD Bluett, SN Frey, EM Gese, JF Organ, editors. Wild Furbearer Management and Conservation in North America (2nd Edition). Wildlife Ecology Institute, Helena, MT | Link.
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Rob Lonsinger and Marlin Dart led efforts to publish work investigating the efficacy of machine learning for image classification.
Lonsinger RC, MM Dart, RT Larsen, RN Knight. 2024. Efficacy of machine learning image classification for automated occupancy-based monitoring. Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation 10(1):56-71 | Link.
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Rob Lonsinger contributed to continental and global collaborations investigating mammal communities and their responses to human activity, leading to reserch and data publications.
Shamon H, [...], RC Lonsinger, et al. 2024. Snapshot USA 2021: a third coordinated national camera trap survey of the United States. Ecology 105(6):e4318 | Link.
Rooney, B, [...], RC Lonsinger, et al. 2025. Snapshot 2019–2023: the first five years of data from a coordinated camera trap survey of the United States. Global Ecology and Biogeography 34(1): e13941 | Link.
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Kays R, [...], RC Lonsinger et al. 2024. Climate, food, and humans predict communities of mammals in the United States. Diversity and Distributions 30(9):e13900 | Link.
Burton AC, C Beirne, K Gaynor, C Sun, A Granados, […], RC Lonsinger, et al. 2024. Mammal response to global changes in human activity vary by trophic group and landscape. Nature Ecology and Evolution 8:924-935 | Link.
Rob Lonsinger contributed to fisheries research led by Jim Long and Wyatt Wolfenkoehler exploring the utility of down-scan sonar for monitoring paddlefish.
Long JM, P Joyce, LA Bruckerhoff, RC Lonsinger, W Wolfenkoehler. 2024. Using down-scan capabilities from recreational grade side-scan sonar systems to estimate Paddlefish abundance and evaluate depth of use in a reservior. Fisheries Research 269(January 2024):106872 | Link.
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Rob Lonsinger FINALLY published data he collected nearly 20 years ago on prairie dog monitoring methods!
Facka AN, RC Lonsinger, GW Roemer. 2024. Abundance estimates of Gunnison's prairie dogs compared to number of active burrows. Wildlife Society Bulletin 48(1):e1513 | Link.
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Out and About
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Emily Burkholder attended the Oklahoma Fur Bearers Alliance spring auction to interact with trappers, solicit gray fox samples, and get the word out about our ongoing research!
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Morgan Buie and Lauren Sellers shared their work at undergradaute symposia at Oklahoma State University.
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Many of us attended professional conferences to share the work we've been doing with our colleagues around the country...
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and to reconnect with colleagues and collaborators to discuss the next big thing!
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Cheers to 2024!
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We are grateful to Oklahoma State University and the Ferguson College of Agriculture for facilitating and supporting the research we've accomplished towards our mission.
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