Kerry Rabenold
Professor of Biological Sciences (conservation biology; behavioral and community ecology)
Members of the Rabenold lab have studied forest succession, plant population dynamics, avian community structure, and avian foraging ecology at the Ross Reserve. William Bromer studied the relationships between avian frugivores and native plants that invest in nutritious fruits, especially members of the dogwood genus Cornus. He found that plant investment correlates with frugivore specialization, and that a small number of frugivores provide quality dispersal to appropriate sites. Kamthorn Thirakhupt studied foraging behavior in chickadees and titmice and found that the ecological pressure to diversify individual diet in winter creates greater niche overlap between these closely related species. Peter Fauth found that the Ross Reserve harbors a rich diversity of breeding birds, including many long-distance migrants, and that wood thrush have better reproductive success in large forest patches like the Reserve than in small remnants. Most recently, Aaron Pierce found that the flowering dogwood populations studied by Bromer had dwindled by half in 20 years, and that increasing densities of sugar maple were likely the cause. Pierce also found that the overall species composition of the forest has changed dramatically since 1950, probably because of fire prevention. Honors theses done at the Reserve most recently included that of Nick Tackett, who showed that the various second-growth parts of the Reserve differ considerably in tree species composition, reflecting the array of parent trees in surrounding mature forest. These studies have helped to create long-term datasets useful to current and future researchers, especially in the case of the long-term tree census that was expanded substantially in 2009 to include most of the Reserve.
To view a video of me describing the Ross Biological Reserve click here.
Visit Kerry Rabenold's homepage for more detailed information about his research.