"Most of the Western Hemisphere's charismatic large mammals no longer exist. As a result, without knowing it, Americans live in a land of ghosts" - Paul S. Martin
"A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise." - Aldo Leopold
Rob Lonsinger
I am currently working on my PhD at the University of Idaho (Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources). As a member of the Laboratory for Ecological, Evolutionary, and Conservation Genetics, I am advised by Dr. Lisette Waits. My dissertation research focuses on employing noninvasive genetic sampling techniques to assess the demographic parameters of kit fox and coyote populations in western Utah. Furthermore, I am evaluating population genetic structure and the influence that anthropogenic landscape alterations have on the spatial dynamics and connectivity of these populations. My professional interests include landscape genetics, spatial ecology, the effect of anthropogenic landscape alteration on populations, urban ecology, predator-prey dynamics, and statistics.
In early January, I kicked off my first full field
season of data collection for my PhD research. Greeted by deep snow and a
blanketing inversion, the beginning of the season was dreary and slow going. Some
days were particularly cold and harsh, but after nearly a month, the inversion
lifted and the scenery revealed itself. Data collection continued through the
cold, blistering wind. Fecal DNA samples were collected from all carnivore
scats collected and are now being analyzed for species and individual
identification at the Laboratory for Ecological, Evolutionary, and Conservation
Genetics.
