Current Students
Jason Heinen, Houston, TX
Jason’s Master’s research focuses on the breeding biology of ground nesting warblers in Oklahoma Cross Timbers oak patches.
Adrian Monroe, Williamsburg, VA
Adrian joined the lab in August 2008 to work toward a Master’s degree. He has begun research at The Nature Conservancy’s Tallgrass Prairie Preserve to examine the role that grassland heterogeneity plays in providing habitat for wintering grassland birds, especially Smith’s Longspur.
Undergraduates and Other Folks Active in the Lab
Marla Steele, Tulsa, OK. Marla is a current OSU undergrad conducting independent research on timing of migration for hawks at select monitoring stations in Japan.
Mai Onoue, Fukuoka, Japan. Mai is a current OSU undergrad who worked as a Wentz Research Scholar to study the spatial distribution and habitat use of wintering House Sparrows on the OSU campus.
Cassondra Walker, Stillwater, OK. Cassondra began working as an ace field assistant for us while an undergraduate student. She is currently working on an independent research project to examine changes in wintering populations of birds in response to land cover change using Christmas Bird Count data.
James Davies, Edmond, OK. James is in medical schooll now, but as an OSU undergrad, he worked on an Honor’s Thesis project that involved mapping out territories of Northern Mockingbirds on the OSU campus.
Will Jessie, Bixby, OK. Will is a current OSU grad student in the Department of Zoology. While an undergrad at OSU, he worked in the Lab as both a field technician and provided valuable service in helping maintain bird banding records.
Former Students
Paul van Els, The Netherlands
Paul was a student of Rod Will’s who worked with us on an avian component to his larger thesis on the ecological effects of redcedar invasion in cross timbers forest. During the winter of 2007-2008, Paul mist-netted songbirds at multiple locations west of Stillwater to collect information on body condition for an assessment of the relative habitat quality of cedar-invaded and cedar-free stands. Paul successfully defended in thesis in July 2009, and has returned home to The Netherlands for a bit before beginning PhD research in 2010.
Andy George, Plano, TX
For his Master’s Degree, Andy studied the influence of exotic Old World Bluestems on native grassland bird communities in western Oklahoma. Andy defended his thesis during the summer of 2009, and is now working on a PhD at the University of Missouri.
Vince Cavalieri, Iron Mountain, MI
In November 2008, Vince’s successfully defended his Master’s thesis on the influence of local vs. regional land cover on the distribution of forest birds, and a population estimate for the Cerulean Warbler in Oklahoma. He is currently working as a part-time Instructor in the Ornithology laboratory at Oklahoma State University, as well as doing some contract work for the Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.
Cosmas Lungu, Kitwe, Zambia
Dr. Lungu successfully defended his dissertation in Environmental Science in March 2007. He returned to his native Zambia during the summer of 2007 where he resumed his faculty position at Copperbelt University in Kitwe.
Martin Piorkowski, Mifflinburg, PA
Marty graduated in May 2006 with a Master’s Degree in Zoology. He is currently a research associate at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology where he serves as field coordinator for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker search team and conducts research on Golden-winged Warblers.
Scott McConnell, Philadelphia, PA
Scott graduated in May 2006 with a Master’s Degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Ecology. He is currently employed as a biologist with Western EcoSystems Technology, Inc. in Laramie, Wyoming.
Director
Tim O’Connell, Utica, NY
I grew up in beautiful central New York State, and earned my undergrad degree (B.S. in Natural Resources) from Cornell. From there, I headed south to Williamsburg, VA, and earned a Master’s degree in Biology from William and Mary. I stayed in Virginia for a few more years, working for the state in the Department of Conservation. From there, I headed to Pennsylvania and started working toward a Ph.D. in Ecology at Penn State. After obtaining my degree at Penn State, I stuck around for a few more years as a Research Associate with the Penn State Cooperative Wetlands Center and part-time Instructor in the School of Forest Resources.
In 2003, I took a position as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Zoology at OSU. In 2006, I joined colleagues from Zoology and the departments of Forestry and Plant and Soil Sciences to form the new Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management (NREM). In 2009, I was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in NREM.
I’ve been interested in wildlife (especially birds) for as long as I can remember. If there is one pervasive theme to my research, teaching, and personal life, it probably lies in my desire to share my enthusiasm for nature with others, and the hope that new-found empathy will spur greater awareness of, and dedication to, wildlife conservation.
Mentors:
From left, Ruth Beck (master’s advisor at William and Mary), me, Rob Brooks (PhD advisor at Penn State), and Milo Richmond (hired me for my first field job at Cornell) at the 2000 meeting of The Waterbird Society, Plymouth, MA.
The original “Team Timmy’s Titmouse Tabulators:”
