I received my B. S. in Wildlife Fisheries Science from The Pennsylvania State University in 2001.  Since 1999, I have worked for various organizations across the United States on a diverse array of wildlife research projects with fish, birds, mammals and plants.  I have been working as the research coordinator for Dr. Dale Gawlik’s lab at Florida Atlantic University since March 2004.  I collaborate with research staff and students to collect and manage data on wading birds, fish and aquatic invertebrates and the hydrologic and habitat structure characteristics influencing their populations. My main focus is the Aquatic Seasonal Fauna Concentration Project which is a long term study under the Monitoring and Assessment Plan for the Everglades restoration.  In this project, we attempt to discern the relationship among hydrology, prey concentrations and wading bird nesting by assessing prey concentrations throughout the Everglades landscape during the dry season and comparing prey concentrations between used and random sites.  For my thesis research, I am developing a model of fish concentrations throughout the Everglades using existing prey concentration data and harmonic analyses of hydrology data obtained from the Everglades Depth Estimation Network (EDEN).

PhD Student: Garth Herring

My academic background began over 10 years ago when I completed a diploma in Fisheries and Wildlife management from Sir Sanford Fleming College (Ontario, Canada). I then worked for six years conducting waterfowl research as a research technician across Canada and the United States for various state, federal and private conservation agencies. In 1997, I returned to school to obtain my Bachelors of Science at the University of Lethbridge (Alberta, Canada). I then started my Masters of Fisheries and Wildlife Science at North Carolina State University (Raleigh, North Carolina) in 2000. My Masters research focused on examining the quality of winter habitat for waterfowl in east-central Florida, in particular investigating movements and home range use, period specific survival, and foraging behavior and subsequent nutrient reserve dynamics of Lesser Scaup. Throughout this time my focus has always been to better my understanding of the ecological systems that I have had the opportunity to work in, while striving to increase the understanding of how humans have impacted these systems, and how we might mitigate these changes. Most recently I began working on a PhD. in Biological Sciences at Florida Atlantic University, where my research focuses on how prey availability influences the physiological condition of wading birds and how their condition affects reproductive performance. Ultimately, this information can be used to influence restoration targets and management decisions.

Avian Ecology

I received my B.S. in Zoology at Michigan State University in 2003, concentrating in Animal Behavior and Neurobiology. After dabbling in the neurology of rats, I moved to Naples, FL to work for the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.  There, I had many opportunities to be involved in research relating to Everglades restoration. This experience was followed by a behavioral ecology study of piscivorous birds on the Columbia River in Washington.  After extended travel in South America, I settled back in Florida working in Key Largo with the endangered Key Largo Woodrat. 

My background is mostly in behavioral ecology and conservation. I am interested in the ecology of fragile ecosystems and the human responsibility to make educated decisions on how to manage those ecosystems under increasing threats.  I began working on my MS at Florida Atlantic University in 2005.

My thesis research examines habitat selection at two spatial scales of two wading birds species (Great Egret and White Ibises) that that are representative of different foraging strategies (searchers versus exploiters), and that have dissimilar population trends. Identifying the key habitat characteristics of high-quality patches for species with contrasting foraging strategies will provide a range of habitat conditions that can be used to guide Everglades restoration targets.  By identifying and mapping distributions of preferred environmental resources, we can predict how hydrological management will impact wading bird foraging habitat.

I graduated from Grinnell College in Iowa with a B.A. in Economics. Until last year, I spent most of my working life in finance and insurance. I worked in various capacities in the Accounts Payable Department at the world headquarters of Office Depot, Inc. here in Florida. I also endured a difficult six-year career in insurance, advancing finally to the position of Manager within the Claims Department of a Florida workers' compensation insurer. It was during my time in workers' compensation that I realized I was in the wrong field. After some self-evaluation, I determined that based on my interests I was most suited to a career in the biological sciences. I left my job and returned to school at FAU in the 2004-05 school year. I have now been admitted as a graduate student and will begin my M.S. in Biological Sciences program in fall 2005. I have recently worked on a study of the two crayfish species found in the Everglades, Procambarus alleni and P. fallax . This involved identifying samples by species and gender, and examining differences in spatial distribution, relative abundance, and habitat. I am currently working with Dr. Gawlik and others to develop a Landscape Suitability Index (LSI) for wood storks and white ibis in southwestern Florida. My thesis research will follow from this LSI project.

I received my B.S. from the Department of Biology at the University of Oregon in 1997. My undergraduate thesis compared the diversity of lady beetles ( Coccinellidae ) among native and non-native trees on the university campus. My first job out of college was with the National Audubon Society at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. There I was bitten by the “birding bug,” and since then, pursued a career in avian ecology. After several field experiences around the country, I attended Texas A&M University where I examined the response of wintering grassland birds to fire and grazing in Texas Coastal Prairies. I received my Masters from the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences in 2003. Currently, I am developing my dissertation proposal on wading birds in Lake Okeechobee.

I graduated in 2005 from Willamette University in Salem , Oregon with a BA in Biology. As an undergrad and in the year following graduation, I worked on a variety of field projects around the country. I worked mostly with seabirds and shorebirds along both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, focusing on foraging and reproductive success. I began working at FAU in the spring of 2006 as a technician for the fauna concentration project, and will be starting my MS in Biological Sciences in the fall of 2006. My research focuses on the factors affecting wading bird prey availability and foraging success. I will be conducting an experimental study controlling water depth, fish density, and vegetation density as part of the Loxahatchee Impoundment Landscape Assessment (LILA) project.

Being the son of a high school Biology teacher I have always been interested in natural things.  Having lived in Central, Southwest and Southeast Florida I feel a deep connection with the region and its fragile ecosystems.  I received a Bachelor’s degree from Florida Gulf Coast University in 2003.  My undergraduate research focused on stand densities preferred by the Melaleuca Snout Weevil (Oxyops vitiosa), a controlling agent on the invasive Melaleuca Tree (Melaleuca quinquenervia).  After graduation I volunteered with photographer Clyde Butcher assisting him with his Labor Day swamp walks.  I later traveled to Pennsylvania to learn how to mist net and band passerines.  In 2006, I interned with the Avian Ecology Lab at Archbold Biological Station in Lake Placid, Florida.  My main responsibilities were to collect data for an ongoing (1969-present) demographic study of the cooperatively breeding Florida Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens).  My independent research examined differences in the reproductive investment of scrub-jays that occupied different quality habitats.  Shortly after my internship, I joined the Gawlik lab working on wading bird habitat selection and reproductive physiology projects.  Currently for my thesis work, I am examining factors that influence avian community composition of Stormwater Treatment Areas in the Northern Everglades.

Upon graduation from State University of New York at Buffalo , I received a B.S. in Environmental Studies. Shortly thereafter, I attended Buffalo State College and completed a second B.S. in Biology. As the Assistant Animal Programs Manager at the Palm Beach Zoo in West Palm Beach , I specialize in the management of our animal diet and nutrition program. I also assist in the development of the Palm Beach Zoo's in-situ and ex-situ animal conservation involvement. Since January of 2005, I have been on track at FAU in effort to obtain a M.S. in Biology. My interest in predator - prey relationships is the inspiration for my thesis research with ibis. My predation ecology research will focus on whether captive Scarlet ibis exhibit prey selectivity when given a choice between crayfish and fish. I will consider possible correlations between prey selectivity and simulated Everglade's wet season and dry season conditions. I will also investigate a possible correlation between prey selectivity and caloric content of these two prey types.