Dr. Franny Buderman

Assistant Prof. of Quantitative Wildlife Ecology, Department of Ecosystem Science & Management, Pennsylvania State University

Franny is a quantitative ecologist interested in the development and application of novel statistical methods for understanding ecological systems. She primarily focus on understanding wildlife demography, space-use, movement, and their interactions across ecological scales. Her research spans numerous taxa and management applications.

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fbuderman[at]psu.edu

Katie Gundermann

PhD Student – Wildlife & Fisheries Science, Department of Ecosystem Science & Management, Pennsylvania State University

Katie graduated from the University of Delaware in 2017 with a B.Sc. in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation and from the Pennsylvania State University with an M.Sc. in Wildlife and Fisheries Science in 2022. Her M.Sc. focused on detecting behavioral changes due to reproductive status and hunting pressure in ungulates. Katie was the first graduate from the Buderman lab and will be staying on for a Ph.D. For her Ph.D. research, Katie will be developing methods to detect changes in low-density and elusive species of highest conservation concern in Pennsylvania. This work will focus on marsh birds, bats, and barn owls.

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Morgan Stum

MS Student – Wildlife & Fisheries Science, Department of Ecosystem Science & Management, Pennsylvania State University

Co-advised by Dr. Tyler Wagner

Morgan graduated from Frostburg State University in 2020 with a B.Sc. in Wildlife and Fisheries. After graduating, she served as an AmeriCorps member with the Trout Unlimited Western Maryland Initiative, where she worked on a variety of Brook Trout habitat restoration and monitoring projects. Morgan is  interested in fish community ecology and is excited to gain more experience in quantitative analysis. Her research project will assess changes in fish community composition, occupancy and abundance throughout The National Parks Eastern Rivers and Mountains Network.

Karen Beatty

MS Student – Ecology, Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology & Department of Ecosystem Science & Management, Pennsylvania State University

Karen graduated from Michigan State University in 2013 with a B.Sc. in Zoology. Her undergraduate research utilized molecular ecology techniques to support population studies. She has worked professionally as an environmental consultant for private industry and a field technician for universities, federal agencies, and non-profits, primarily conducting protected species policy implementation and mammalian and avian species surveys. She is broadly interested in habitat connectivity, movement, and landscape ecology. Her research project will evaluate how Canada geese respond to hunting pressure.

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karenbrzezi[at]gmail.com

Veronica Winter

PhD Student – Ecology, Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology & Department of Ecosystem Science & Management, Pennsylvania State University

Co-advised by Dr. Duane Diefenbach

Veronica graduated with her B.A. in Environmental Studies from SUNY Purchase in 2020 and her M.Sc. from Utah State University in 2022. Her M.Sc. focused on developing a transferable framework to assess how individual movement decisions translate into large scale habitat selection. She is interested in how individual behavior influences population-level demography through movement and space-use. For her Ph.D., she is working with the Pennsylvania Game Commission on a large-scale study of wild turkeys. Her goal is to understand factors contributing to turkey population dynamics, evaluate the effect of different hunting regulations on demography, and develop a decision model that will be used to determine optimal harvest regulations. Veronica also designed the QWEL logo.

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Kyle Smelter

MS Student – Wildlife & Fisheries Science, Department of Ecosystem Science & Management, Pennsylvania State University

Kyle graduated from the University of Maine with a B.Sc. in Wildlife Ecology with a concentration in forest ecology and a minor in Zoology. For his M.Sc. he will be working with the Pennsylvania Game Commission studying fine-scale habitat selection of wild turkeys in Pennsylvania. He will also be taking a comprehensive approach to understanding factors that drive turkey nest success in the state. His professional interests include quantitative ecology, movement ecology, and wildlife population dynamics.

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