James D. Murdoch

Excited to announce that Dr. Stephanie McKay and I just received a grant from the Northeastern States Research Cooperative for a project entitled: Integrating genetic and ecological data using a new circuit theory approach to measure and map wildlife connectivity across the Northeast. The project is in partnership with the USDA Forest Service Green Mountain & Finger Lakes National Forests and state fish and wildlife agencies in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

Well done to Nicole Deatherage for leading an analysis of San Joaquin kit fox occupancy patterns during an epizootic (sarcoptic mange). Results of the study were just published: Deatherage, N., B. Cypher, J. Murdoch, T. Westall, E. Kelly, and D. Germano. 2021. Urban landscape attributes affect occupancy patterns of the San Joaquin kit fox during an epizootic. Pacific Conservation Biology, https://doi.org/10.1071/PC20059.

Congratulations to Nicole Deatherage from CSU Bakersfield/ESRP for completing a study that examined factors affecting kit fox occupancy patterns during a population decline from sarcoptic mange. Results of the study were just accepted for publication: Deatherage, N., B. Cypher, J. Murdoch, T. Westall, E. Kelly, and D. Germano. In press. Urban landscape attributes affect occupancy patterns of the San Joaquin kit fox during a population decline due to sarcoptic mange. Pacific Conservation Biology.

Congratulations to Caitlin Drasher for an outstanding presentation at the Northeast Transportation and Wildlife Conference entitled: Ranking transportation structures for wildlife connectivity in Vermont. Caitlin presented on new approach to visualizing and modeling wildlife connectivity using electrical circuit analysis as part of our project with the Vermont Agency of Transportation.

Well done again to Skye Pearman-Gillman for publishing a comprehensive analysis of wildlife resistance to future land use and climate change. The paper modeled and mapped wildlife resistance (multiple species) across the New England landscape and in relation to the protected area network: Pearman-Gillman, S., M. Duveneck, J. Murdoch, and T. Donovan. 2020. Wildlife resistance and protection in a changing New England landscape. PLoS ONE 15(9): e0239525.

Congratulations to Skye Pearman-Gillman for publishing an assessment of the impacts of future landscape change on the distribution of 10 wildlife species in the New England region of the northeastern US. Here are the details: Pearman-Gillman, S., M. Duveneck, J. Murdoch, and T. Donovan. 2020. Drivers and consequences of alternative landscape futures on wildlife distributions in New England, United States. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 8:164 doi: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00164.

I am delighted to have joined the Gund Institute for Environment as a Fellow. The Gund Institute is based at the University of Vermont and brings scholars and leaders together to accelerate research, uncover solutions and tackle the world's most pressing environmental issues. I look forward to contributing to this vibrant community.

I am thrilled to announce a new project that will involve evaluating rabies vaccination strategies for wildlife in partnership with USDA APHIS Wildlife Services National Rabies Management Program, National Wildlife Research Center, and the Vermont Wildlife Services operational program. The project will help inform wildlife disease management decisions, especially along the urban-suburban interface, and is set to begin this summer.

Cody Aylward spearheaded a new analysis of marten gene flow at multiple spatial scales in the northeastern US. Delighted to announce that the paper has been published in the journal Heredity. The article made the cover of the journal! Here are details: Aylward, C., J. Murdoch, C. W. Kilpatrick. 2020. Multiscale landscape genetics of American marten at their southern range periphery. Heredity.