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Raptor Research Center

 Master of Science in Raptor Biology
Thesis Titles and Abstracts

David L. Anderson - Avian diversity in the Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve, Honduras: The influence of indigenous agricultural practices

Eric C. Atkinson - Winter ecology of northern shrikes (Lanius excubitor) in Idaho: Foraging, territories, and niche overlap with American kestrels (Falco sparverius)

Nyambayar Batbayar - Nesting ecology and breeding success of cinereous vultures (Aegypius monachus) in central Mongolia

Alison L. Beck-Haas - Raptor rehabilitation: banding data and Idaho manual

James Berkelman - Ecology of the Madagascar buzzard, Buteo brachypterus, in the rain forest of the Masoala Peninsula

Travis L. Booms - Gyrfalcon food habits in central west Greenland during the nestling period

Ryan S. Brady - Nest Lining Behavior, Nest Microclimate, and Nest Defense Behavior of Burrowing Owls

Michael W. Butler - Neonatal Stress and Avian Development: Effects on Growth, Immune Function, and Plumage

Jo Ellen Carter - Home range, habitat utilization, and prey delivery patterns of the Mauritius kestrel (Falco punctatus)

Christopher D. Danilson - Post-fledging ecology of great horned owls in south central Saskatchewan

Karl M, DeHart - Great Horned Owl Distribution and Habitat Use Relative to Post-Release Survival of Endangered Attwater’s Prairie Chickens

Greg S. Draheim - Breeding biology and habitat requirements of the white hawk (Leucopternis albicollis) in Guatemala

Sean P. Finn - Habitat selection of northern goshawks: an investigation at multiple spatial scales

John Foss - Occurrence and habitat associations of diurnal raptors along the Bio-Bio River, Chile

Richard P. Gerhardt - Mottled  owls (Ciccaba virgata): response to calls, breeding biology, home range, and food habits

Lauren N. Gilson - Behavioral flexibility in juvenile ospreys

Daniel Gossett - Studies of ferruginous hawk biology

Karen F. Haines - Northern goshawk breeding habitat in conifer stands with natural tree mortality in eastern Oregon

Lauri Hanauska-Brown - Evaluation of northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) productivity, nestling growth, and adult health in relation to a central Idaho habitat potential model

Brian L. Herting - Seasonal Effects of Testosterone on Aggression and Vocalizations in Western Screech-Owls

KristinWood Hasselblad - Northern Goshawk Home Ranges and Habitat Selection in South Central Idaho

Julie A. Heath - Effects of body condition on the adrenal stress response, and the role of corticosterone in American kestrel nest departure and post-fledging dispersal

Greg S. Kaltenecker - Winter ecology of bald eagles in the upper Boise River Drainage, Idaho

Ronald A. King - Post-fledging dispersal and behavioral ecology of burrowing owls in southwestern Idaho

Alan W. Leary - Home ranges, core use areas, and dietary habits of ferruginous hawks in southcentral Washington

Lynda L. Leppert - Heterophil to lymphocyte ratios and DNA sexing in fall migrating northern saw-whet owls and flammulated owls in Idaho

Edward W. Levine - Productivity of peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) in the Greater Yellowstone Area

Stephen B. Lewis - Breeding season diet of northern goshawks in southeast Alaska with a comparison of techniques used to examine raptor diet

Dawn M. McAnnis-Gerhardt - Home range, activity budgets, and habitat use of ferruginous hawks (buteo regalis) breeding in southwest Idaho

Colleen E. (Troxler) Moulton - Ecology of burrowing owls in southwestern Idaho: Association with agriculture, food habits, and territorial behavior

David Oleyar - Breeding flammulated owl response to ski area development in northern Utah

Theresa Panasci - Comparative breeding ecology and success of roadside hawks in human-modified and forest habitats of Peten, Guatemala

Margaret N. (Megan) Parker - Ecology of nesting laughing falcons and bat falcons in Tikal National Park, Guatemala: foraging and niche breadth

Dusty N. Perkins Population Genetics and Food habits of Raptors in Southern Idaho

James M. Phelps III - Factors affecting foraging and productivity of ospreys (Pandion halieatus) at Cascade Reservoir, Idaho

Aimee L. Pope - Juvenile ferruginous hawk movements and flight skill development during the post-fledging dependency period in south-central Washington

Charlotte R. Rains - Niche overlap, and nearest-neighbor distances of northern saw-whet owls (aegolius acadicus) and western screech-owls (otus kennicottii) in southwestern Idaho

Heather M. Rogers - Modulation of the adrenocortical stress response in North American accipters during fall migration and the effect of flight strategies and energy expenditure

Nichole A. Taylor - Burrowing Owl Offspring Sex Ratios: Long-term Trends and a Test of  the Trivers and Willard Hypothesis

Gonzalo Sanchez - The ecology of wintering gyrfalcons (Falco rusticolus) in central South Dakota

John E. Shook - Breeding biology, nesting habitat, dietary analysis and breeding behaviors of northern hawk owls (Surnia ulula) in interior Alaska

Adam D. Smith - Exploring Raptor Migration using Stable isotope Analysis: The Northern Godhawk in Western North America

Brian W. Smith - Nest-site selection, ectoparasites, and mitigation techniques: Studies of burrowing owls and artificial burrow systems in southwestern Idaho

Jennifer M. Smith - A computer-assisted system of toe-scale pattern analysis for identification of peregrine falcons

Robin Spahr - Factors affecting the distribution of bald eagles and effects of human activity on bald eagles wintering along the Boise River 

Airica M. Staley - Noninvasive fecal steroid measures for assessing gonadal and adrenal function in the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) and peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus)

Jason Sutter - Breeding ecology of the crane hawk in Tikal National Park, Peten, Guatemala

Theodor Swem - Aspects of the breeding biology of rough-legged hawks along the Colville River, Alaska

Nicole A. Taylor: Burrowing Owl Offspring Sex Ratios: Long-term Trends and a Test of  the Trivers and Willard Hypothesis

Elizabeth A Telford - Peregrine falcons in the northeastern United States: sonagraphic analysis of the defense call, population turnover, and dispersal

Russell Thorstrom - Breeding ecology of two species of forest-falcons (Micrastur) in northeastern Guatemala

Bradley B. Tripp - Respiratory gas concentrations and thermal gradients in nestboxes occupied by American kestrels (Falco sparverius)

Helen Ulmschneider - Post-nesting ecology of the long-eared owl (Asio otus) in southwestern Idaho

Hernán Vargas - Food habits, breeding biology, and status of the gray-backed hawk (Leucopternis occidentalis) in western Ecuador

Peter Whitlock - Spatial visual acuity in American kestrels: the influences of bird-stimulus distance and stimulus rotation

Buddy A. Whitman - The Effects of Neonatal Handling on Adrenocortical Responsiveness, Morphological Development, and Corticosterone Binding Globulin in American Kestrels(Falcosparverius) and European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)

Kathryn D. (Kate) Whitmore - Developing hand-rearing techniques for the conservation of altricial passerines

Catherine Wightman - Patterns associated with habitat selection by peregrine falcons in central west Greenland

Christopher P. Woods - The loggerhead shrike in southwest Idaho

James B. Younk - Breeding ecology of the northern goshawk in relation to surface gold mining in naturally fragmented aspen forests of northern Nevada

Graduate students are encouraged to present their findings at meetings and to publish their research in scientific journals. For a  list of BSU Dept. of Biology graduate theses and some student  publications and presentations, click here.

Student Employment

Booms, Travis (2002, MS Raptor Biology)  After earning an MS in Raptor Biology, Travis worked for the National Science Foundation on the Greenland Ice Cap and as a biologist at the US Fish and Wildlife Service Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge.  Currently, he is in a PhD. program at the University of Alaska, studying gyrfalcon ecology.

Examples of other graduates' employment include:

Batbayer, Nyamba (2004, MS Raptor Biology), Director, Wildlife Science and Conservation Center, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Butler, Mike (2006, MS Raptor Biology), Currently in a doctoral program in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University.

Hanauska-Brown, Lauri (2000, MS Raptor Biology), Wildlife Biologist, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Upper Snake Region, Idaho Falls, ID.

Lewis, Stephen (2001, Raptor Biology), Wildlife Biologist, Alaska Department of Game and Fish, Juneau, AK.

Whitman, Buddy (2006, Raptor Biology), Currently in a doctoral program in the Department of Biology at the University of North Carolina.

Wightman, Catherine (2001, MS Raptor Biology), Biologist, Research Branch, Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix, AZ.

Questions and comments regarding the Raptor Research Center: mark_fuller@usgs.gov
Questions and comments regarding this website: kbledsoe@boisestate.edu