As a conservation biologist, ornithologist, and life-long birder, my interests in avian ecology are broad. Having an insatiable curiosity in birds, I find myself involved in several initiatives and projects that bleed across personal and professional goals.
Avian Molt in the Life Cycle
All birds molt at least once a year (or at least once a cycle, which in some cases may be longer or shorter than a calendar year), and with the realization that molt is presumably an optimized response to natural and sexual selection processes, understanding similarities and differences among the 11,000 species of birds is an exciting academic challenge. From thamnophilids to towhees, and goldfinches to galbulids, I seek to understand the process of molt and to use it for aging birds. |
Marshbirds and a Disappearing Coast
Marshbirds may be one of the most threatened group of birds in Louisiana because of the rapid loss of coastal wetlands to erosion, saltwater intrusion, sea level rise, and the disconnection of the Mississippi River from its delta. I am interested in how marshbirds are affected by coastal land loss, their response to restoration and river diversions, and their response to prescribed fire management. Louisiana supports large and regionally critical populations of King Rail, Clapper Rail, Yellow Rail, Least Bittern, a Gulf Coast endemic Marsh Wren (marianae), Seaside Sparrow, and Nelson's Sparrow. I am involved in several monitoring initiatives, including assessing densities in diversion-affected and unaffected wetlands in southeastern Louisiana, tagging Yellow Rails during fall migration in rice fields, and assessing the status of Black Rails across coastal Louisiana. |
Amazonian Bird Community Response to Forest Fragmentation
For my dissertation, I conducted research on Amazonian birds near Manaus, Brazil, evaluating the effects of forest fragmentation on avian demographic structuring and host-ectoparasite dynamics. Having developed an understanding the terra firme bird community through spot-mapping and bird banding, and species' sensitivities to forest loss and fragmentation, I continue to work with graduate students in Dr. Phil Stouffer's lab (LSU) to help guide ongoing research. The Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragmentation Project, located about 80 km north Manaus at -2 degrees latitude, has played a leading role in understanding Neotropical ecosystem responses to fragmentation and second growth regeneration since 1979, including having of the largest long-term tropical banding databases and one of the few fragmentation research sites established through an experimental design, including pre- and post-isolation monitoring. |
Louisiana Bird Observatory
The Louisiana Bird Observatory (LABO) is a program of the Baton Rouge Audubon Society, and was started by Jared Wolfe as a bird banding project to monitor bird communities at the 101-acre Bluebonnet Swamp in urban Baton Rouge. With a lot of help and support, we have grown the project into a network of bird banding and monitoring stations across south Louisiana, adding Palmetto Island State Park, Woodlands Conservancy, and Sam Houston Jones State Park. The program is largely volunteer-operated, and benefits from collaborations with Dr. Scott Duke-Sylvester's lab at ULL studying avian malaria and bird demography, Dr. Crystal Johnson's lab at LSU studying anti-microbial resistant bacteria contamination and transmission, and Dr. Kristin Brzeski at Princeton studying epigenetic responses to urbanization. LABO helped spearhead the Prothonotary Warbler Working Group collaboration, and continues to play an important role in nest box monitoring. LABO is open to community involvement, and focuses on training the next generation of conservationists and researchers. |
All photos copyright Erik I. Johnson