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Michigan State University Department of Fisheries and Wildlife - Ph.D. Student in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology - Projected to Graduate 2027

Project Title: Gray wolf abundance in the Upper Peninsula, MI and the effect of wolves on deer usage of deer wintering complexes

I was raised in the South Carolina upstate where I spent my time hunting and fishing in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains. After sampling different majors throughout undergrad, I settled on Fisheries and Wildlife, deciding to use my passion for wildlife and the outdoors as a career. Upon graduation, I spent the next several years working with a variety of species including sea turtles, Greater sage-grouse, wolves, and mountain lions. In 2019, I began a Master's degree at the University of Idaho with a thesis focused on using trail cameras to estimate American black bear populations in different regions of the state. Discovering a passion for using trail cameras as a wildlife abundance estimation tool, I have continued using these methods during my PhD and applied trail camera data to research beyond simple abundance estimation.

Gray wolf abundance in the Upper Peninsula, MI and the effect of wolves on deer usage of deer wintering complexes

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in northern climes migrate annually to deer wintering complexes (DWC). During severe winters deer face increased predation risk from gray wolves (Canis lupus) and decreased access to forage. Wolves follow annual deer migrations, however, the timing in response to deer migration is unknown. Additionally, deer DWC use can be affected by predator presence, access to alternative food, and proximity to residential areas avoided by predators protection. I will use data obtained from 1,311 motion-triggered cameras deployed across the Upper Peninsula (UP), Michigan, USA, 2023–2025. I will compare 4 abundance estimation models to estimate UP gray wolf abundance: the Royle-Nichols model, random encounter model, space-to-event model, and time-to-event model. I will quantify the timing of wolf migration in response to winter deer migration. Finally, I will quantify factors influencing the intensity of white-tailed deer use of DWCs during winter throughout the UP.