2025 Year in Review
2025 Summary
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8 Actively funded projects
1.4 Million($) in research
2 New project awards (2026 starts!)
13 Publications
12 Manuscripts in review
29 Conference presentations
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6 Graduate student lab members
2 Undergraduate researcher lab members
1 Graduate student finished
1 New graduate student
3 Graduate student awards
1 PI award
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The Challenge
It would be an understatement to say that 2025 was a difficult year. We endured a tremendous amount of uncertainty, the longest government shutdown in history, disruptions to travel, and funding challenges. Despite these hurdles, we worked together to achieve many successes and make lasting impacts through our science.
The People
I am fortunate to work alongside dedicated partners, colleagues, collaborators, and students. Working with these committed professionals is the most fulfilling part of my job. Our lab successes and accomplishments in 2025 would not have been possible without everyone's hard work and dedication (Thank you!).
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Lab Changes
We welcomed Julia Runkle (MS student; NMSU) who is investigating how fencing influences pronghorn movement, habitat use, and access to dynamic high-quality forage associated with monsoons in the Chihuahuan Desert of southern New Mexico. Julia completed her Bachelor degree at Bryn Mawr College (PA) in 2021 and then spent several years gaining field experience working on wildlife ecology projects across the country. Julia is based at New Mexico State University and is co-advised with Dr. James Cain III. |
Julia handling a gray fox during a previous position.
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As is the nature of a research lab, we also had a handful of celebratory events and departures. Danni Brosend successfully defended her MS thesis and graduated in December. Danni has graciously agreed to stick around and help us in the field during the spring, and will transition into the PhD program in fall 2026! Raegan Hula graduated with her BS in Biology in December and is now a full time keeper working with carnivores at the Oklahoma City Zoo! Emily Burkholder successfully completed her PhD proposal defense.
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Danni defended her work on detection for mesocarnivores and the spatial ecology of plains spotted skunks!
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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 (and moves) from 2024. Kara White moved to Mississippi and is now a Research Biologist with the USDA. Bailey Kleeberg moved to Pennsylvania and is now a Wildlife Biologist with the Pennsylvania Game Commission (we will miss you at deer capture this year!).
Congratulations to both of you!
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 (and moves) from 2024. Kara White moved to Mississippi and is now a Research Biologist with the USDA. Bailey Kleeberg moved to Pennsylvania and is now a Wildlife Biologist with the Pennsylvania Game Commission (we will miss you at deer capture this year!).
Congratulations to both of you!
Kara showing off her great buy at the ASM auction at Purdue (2025)!
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Bailey assisting with Oklahoma mule deer captures in 2025.
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Collaborators and Co-PIs
Our accomplishments this year 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 2025 included Oklahoma State University faculty (Drs. Chitwood, Fairbanks, Loss, Moeller, O'Connell, and Gilbert), 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, Cheeseman, Duchardt, Morin, Piaggio, Sévêque, Stacy and Waits), and partners from cooperators that funded and supported our work (e.g., Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and Turner Institute of Ecoagriculture).
Our accomplishments this year 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 2025 included Oklahoma State University faculty (Drs. Chitwood, Fairbanks, Loss, Moeller, O'Connell, and Gilbert), 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, Cheeseman, Duchardt, Morin, Piaggio, Sévêque, Stacy and Waits), and partners from cooperators that funded and supported our work (e.g., Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and Turner Institute of Ecoagriculture).
The Science!
Projects Completed in 2025
We wrapped up 4 projects in 2025!
We wrapped up 4 projects in 2025!
Effects of Wild Pigs on Armadillo Space Use--Our research shows the complex relationship between invasive wild pigs and native nine-banded armadillos. Using camera-trap data, we discovered that wild pigs do not affect where armadillos occur, but they do influence site-use intensity by armadillos. These patterns suggest a more nuanced interaction than previously thought. We also found armadillos were strictly nocturnal, whereas wild pigs were most active at dawn and dusk. This important work provides a closer look at the subtle ways an invasive species can impact a native species that is expanding its range. This project was a collaboration with graduate students in my occupancy modeling course and was made possible by data contributed by Dr. Chitwood.
Broadway MS, HM Todaro, MM Koeck, CN Dotterweich, SA Cain, L Buehler, MC Chitwood, RC Lonsinger. 2025. Interspecific effects of invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa) on native nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus). Journal of Mammalogy 106(4): 976-988 | Link.
Apex Predator Influence on Armadillo Occupancy--Mesopredator suppression has implications for community structure, but mesopredators with physical defenses may not avoid apex predators. We evaluated if nine-banded armadillos (a species with physical defenses) was influenced by coyotes (a dominant predator). After accounting for environmental factors associated with space use of each species, our results indicated that armadillo occurrence was not influenced by coyotes, but site-use intensity was suppressed by the presence of coyotes. This project was a collaboration with partners from the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge and two lab alumni!
Lonsinger RC, BP Murley, DT McDonald, CE Fallon, KM White. 2025. Habitat and predator influences on the spatial ecology of nine-banded armadillos. Diversity 17(4): 290 | Link.
Mesocarnivore Detection and Plains Spotted Skunk Ecology--Plains spotted skunks have experienced range-wide declines, but challenges in reliably monitoring the species has limited our understanding of population dynamics. We established a novel sampling design that incorporated a multi-scale, conditional-replicate approach with a leave-one-out lure design. We used this design to assess patterns of detection and lure preference for seven mesocarnivores, and then extended our design over multiple years to evaluate occupancy dynamics for plains spotted skunks. For plains spotted skunk, sardines were preferred over alternative lures, initial occupancy was associated with concealment and percent forest, and local extinction rates exceeded colonization rates. Still, we found evidence that the plains spotted skunk population was stable from 2023–2025.
Brosend DN, AK Moeller, RC Lonsinger. 2025. Experimental lure design reveals the best attractants for increasing detection of multiple mesocarnivores. Wildlife Biology 2025: e01579 | Link.
Brosend DN. 2025. Investigating factors that influence detection of mesocarnivores and drivers of plains spotted skunk dynamic occupancy in southeastern Oklahoma. M.S. Thesis, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK.
Quantifying Freshwater Mussel Communities--We compared the efficacy of dead shell, snorkeling (qualitative), and quadrat (quantitative) surveys for assessing freshwater mussel richness and abundance in two rivers in Oklahoma. Quadrat sampling was used to estimate mussel density and species richness among different mesohabitats, and to assess factors influencing mussel detection and occupancy. Detection of mussels was associated with mean flow (m/s), whereas occupancy was associated with substrates (gravel and cobble).
Torolski HM, JM Long, RC Lonsinger, LA Bruckerhoff. 2025. New distributional record of the federally threatened Rabbitsfoot (Theliderma cylindrica) mussel in Oklahoma. Southeastern Naturalist 24(1): N1-N8 | Link.
Torolski HM. 2025. Quantifying freshwater mussel composition and abundance in two prairie rivers. M.S. Thesis, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK.
Projects ongoing in 2025
We continued progress on 6 funded projects in 2025, including projects on ecology of carnivores, ungulates, and nightjars. Because these projects are ongoing, I've only briefly mentioned them, but stay tuned for more complete results!
We continued progress on 6 funded projects in 2025, including projects on ecology of carnivores, ungulates, and nightjars. Because these projects are ongoing, I've only briefly mentioned them, but stay tuned for more complete results!
Prairie gray fox distribution, dynamics, and genetics--We are in the third year of a 4-year poject to assess the status of the prairie gray fox population in Oklahoma (e.g., spatial distribution and range boundary, population trend, genetic diversity, and effective population size) and identify factors influencing the population (e.g., habitat associations and interspecific interactions). This project will provide data critical to informing management and the (ongoing) federal species status review. Stay tuned for updates!
(PhD Student: Emily Burkholder)
(PhD Student: Emily Burkholder)
Mammalian nest predator response to supplemental feeding and nest discovery--We are in the second year of a 4-year project to understand how applying bait commonly used for game species (i.e., corn) influences the distribution and relative abundance of mammalian nest predators, and to experimentally evaluate factors associated with predator discovery of artificial nests. Stay tuned for updates!
(PhD Student: Nicolle Butler)
(PhD Student: Nicolle Butler)
Cougar predation and bear kleptoparasitism--We are in the final year of a project investigating the spatial ecology of cougars and how black bear kleptoparasitism rates influence cougar kill rates, cougar prey selection, and coyote access to scavenging opportunities at cougar kills. Stay tuned for updates!
(MS Student: Max Marwin; BS Student: Raegan Hula)
(MS Student: Max Marwin; BS Student: Raegan Hula)
Movement and demography of pronghorn--We completed field data collection in 2025 and are in the final year of a large collaborative project to assess population demography, vital raets, nutritional ecology, and spatial ecology of a declining pronghorn population in western Oklahoma. Stay tuned for updates!
(PhD Students: Marlin Dart [TAMUK] and Matt Turnley; MS Students: Derek Hahn [2024] and Celine Rickels [TAMUK]; BS Students: Lauren Sellers)
(PhD Students: Marlin Dart [TAMUK] and Matt Turnley; MS Students: Derek Hahn [2024] and Celine Rickels [TAMUK]; BS Students: Lauren Sellers)
Turnley MT, WS Fairbanks, RC Lonsinger, MJ Cherry, MM Dart, RW DeYoung, DP Hahn, LJ Heffelfinger, CMJ Rickels, EP Tanner, HG Wang, MC Chitwood. 2025. Harmless tags or hazardous ads? Investigating the potential for ear tags to increase predation on neonatal ungulates. Canadian Journal of Zoology 103: 1-8 | Link.
Dart MM, MT Turnley, CMJ Rickels, EP Tanner, MC Chitwood, RW DeYoung, WS Fairbanks, DP Hahn, LJ Heffelfinger, RC Lonsinger, HG Wang, MJ Cherry. 2025. Predator-induced injury of a neonate pronghorn cues abandonment of current reproductive investment. Ecology 106(5): e70111 | Link.
Hahn DP, RC Lonsinger, MC Chitwood, AK Moeller, MT Turnley, MM Dart, LJ Heffelfinger, EP Tanner, MJ Cherry, HG Wang, WS Fairbanks. In Review. Biological and environmental drivers of early life fawn survival in a declining pronghorn population. Wildlife Biology.
Mule deer population assessment--We have completed 2 of 3 years of data collection for a project assessing mule deer populations at the eastern extent of their range in Oklahoma. This project is assessing mule deer population demography, vital rates, movement ecology, and resource selection, among other population parameters. Stay tuned for updates!
(PhD Students: Molly Koeck and Calvin Ellis [TAMUK])
(PhD Students: Molly Koeck and Calvin Ellis [TAMUK])
Spatial ecology of nightjars--We are wrapping up a project to understand factors influencing the detection and occurrence of Whip-poor-wills and Chuck-will's-widows in Oklahoma, and to assess patterns of co-occurrence between these species. Stay tuned for updates!
(PhD Candidate: Matt Broadway)
(PhD Candidate: Matt Broadway)
Broadway MS, RC Lonsinger, T O'Connell, SR Loss. In Review. Species interactions affect detection but not landscape-level habitat associations of imperiled aerial insectivores. Ecosphere.
Projects started in 2025
We launched 2 new projects in 2025. Because these projects are early in their progress, I've only briefly mentioned them, but stay tuned for more results!
We launched 2 new projects in 2025. Because these projects are early in their progress, I've only briefly mentioned them, but stay tuned for more results!
Pronghorn movement and nutritional costs of movement barriers in a dynamic landscape--During fall 2025, we launched a new study that will us GPS-collar data from >100 adult female pronghorn to investigate how fencing influences movement, habitat use, and access to dynamic availability of high-quality forage in southern New Mexico’s Chihuahuan Desert.
(MS Student: Julia Runkle)
(MS Student: Julia Runkle)
Urbanization mediates effects of free-ranging cats on wildlife--We lanched a project to begin collecting wildlife data within Stillwater as part of the Urban Wildlife Information Network (UWIN), and leverage broad-scale UWIN data to quantify the effects of free-ranging cats on wildlife activity, occupancy, and diversity, and assess how those effects are mediated by urbanization.
(MS Student: Kit Gurin)
(MS Student: Kit Gurin)
Products from previously ended projects and other side hustles!
We continued to publish the results from previous projects.
We continued to publish the results from previous projects.
Kara White led efforts on multiple publications from her dissertation research on the spatial ecology of plains spotted skunks!
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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) |
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White KM, AE Cheesman, JD Stafford, RC Lonsinger. 2025. Control of a dominant predator influences the occurrence of a mesocarnivore of conservation concern. Wildlife Research 52(11): WR2511 | Link.
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Sprih Harsh continued to produce publications from her dissertation research on pheasants!
Harsh S, RC Lonsinger, HR Kauth, AJ Gregory. 2025. Weather, habitat area, connectivity, and number of patches influence breeding ecology of ring-necked pheasants. Journal of Wildlife Management 89(4): e70003 | Link.
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Bailey Kleeberg led efforts to publish her MS research on black bear space use and population genetics in the panhandle of Oklahoma!
Kleeberg BA, RC Lonsinger, JR Adams, LP Waits, WS Fairbanks 2025. Landscape associations and population genetics of a generalist carnivore at their range limit. PLoS One 20(12): e0334492 | Link.
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Anthony Seveque continued to lead publications on high-impact work on close-kin mark-recapture from his post-doctoral research, one of which was published in 2025 and another that is in review!
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 contributed to avian research led by Holly Todaro exploring the factors associated with occurrence and trends in loggerhead shrikes.
Todaro HM, SR Loss, RC Lonsinger, CJ Duchardt. 2025. Factors influencing spatial and temporal patterns of Lanius ludovicianus (Loggerhead Shrike) occupancy at a grassland-sagebrush ecotone. Ornithological Applications 2025: duaf055 | Link.
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Rob Lonsinger continued to contribute to continental-scale Snapshot USA collaborations leading to another data publication.
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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The Awards!
Danni Brosend received two awards this year! She received the Vandiver L. Childs Memorial Scholarship from the Oklahoma State University Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management. She also received a Student Travel Award from the American Society of Mammalogists. Congratulations, Danni!
Kara White's article on fine-scale selection patterns of plains spotted skunks was selected to receive the Editor's Choice Award from the Canadian Journal of Zoology. Congratulations, Kara!
Rob Lonsinger was honored to be awarded the TWS Fellows Award "for distinguished and exceptional service to the wildlife profession and The Wildlife Society."
Kara White's article on fine-scale selection patterns of plains spotted skunks was selected to receive the Editor's Choice Award from the Canadian Journal of Zoology. Congratulations, Kara!
Rob Lonsinger was honored to be awarded the TWS Fellows Award "for distinguished and exceptional service to the wildlife profession and The Wildlife Society."
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Out and About
Max Marwin and I joined a large scale collaboration with colleagues from North Carolina State University investigating the influence of old growth forests on mammal densities. This gave us a much needed excuse to escape to New Mexico and set up a site in the spring.
We were grateful for the help and company when we retrieved data in late summer! (Thanks Kara, Jayci, and Danni!).
We were grateful for the help and company when we retrieved data in late summer! (Thanks Kara, Jayci, and Danni!).
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Danni Brosend and Max Marwin shared their work at the annual meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists (at Purdue University).
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Many of us attended professional conferences to share the work we've been doing with our colleagues and to reconnect with colleagues and collaborators to discuss the next big thing!
(I did not do a very good job of taking pictures this year...sorry!)
Coming up with big ideas? Well maybe Mike was. I was trying to figure out why he ordered his eggs scrambled and pleading my case for over medium.
(Photo by Roland Kays)
In Remembrance
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We remember the courage, spirit, and ingenuity of Dr. Matthew Turnley. Matt was a key part of our pronghorn project team. Despite battling cancer through most of his PhD program, Matt never waivered in his effort, productivity, or fortitude. Matt was always quick witted with a zinger to make you smile. Matt lost his battle with cancer in March.
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Matt Turnley with Colter Chitwood during a pronghorn fawn capture.
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"What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others" -Thucydides
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Rob unexpectedly lost his best friend, Matsi, in October. Matsi was a name borrowed from Native Americans and meant "sweet and brave"; she was certainly both and will be missed.
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"To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die" -Campbell
Cheers to 2025!
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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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