Lorelle Berkeley
Ph.D. Candidate , University of Minnesota
Education
M.S. (thesis) Biology - University of Nebraska at Omaha, 2004
B.S. Ecology, Evolution and Behavior - University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, 1999
Research Interests
I am interested in avian ecology and management, particularly using interdisciplinary approaches (e.g., behavioral ecology and population biology) to address ecological questions that are useful to management. My undergraduate background is in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior with an emphasis in animal behavior studies (University of Minnesota, 1999). For my Masters research, I studied the influence of environmental variables on survival and movement of fledgling dickcissels (Spiza Americana; a grassland bird of conservation concern in Nebraska during the time of my study).
For my Ph.D., I am using perspectives from both population and behavioral ecology to study habitat selection. Specifically, I am studying the influence of environmental factors, female preference, and male behavior on male territory selection in ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus). My study is a smaller portion of a long-term population study of ruffed grouse that began in 2001. I added a behavioral approach to this study to begin investigating some of the underlying mechanisms of male habitat selection. I am using video cameras to monitor males at their display sites and record how many females visit them, collecting population data using auditory surveys to find territories and estimate population size, and measuring environmental variables (e.g., weather, vegetation measures) to describe the areas males are selecting. Despite the numerous studies of ruffed grouse, the range of acceptable habitats for this species is unclear. Thus, an overall goal of my study is to estimate how changes in forest composition might affect grouse populations in northern Minnesota. I began video-monitoring of grouse in 2007 and will conclude my field studies after the 2009 field season.
Publications
Berkeley L. I., J. P. McCarty, and L. L. Wolfenbarger (2007). Postfledging survival and movement in Dickcissels (Spiza americana): Implications for habitat management and conservation. Auk 124:396-409.
Berkeley L. I (2004). The postfledging ecology of Dickcissels (Spiza americana) M.S. Thesis, University of Nebraska at Omaha, 133 pp.
Berkeley L. I, J. F. Cohen, D. L. Crankshaw, F. N. Shirota, and H. T. Nagasawa (2003) Hepatoprotection by L-cysteine-glutathione mixed disulfide (CySSG), a sulfhydryl-modified prodrug of glutathione. J. Biochem. Mol. Toxicol., 17:95-97.
Crankshaw D. L, L. I. Berkeley, J. F. Cohen, F. N. Shirota, and H. T. Nagasawa (2002) Double prodrugs of L-cysteine: differential protection against acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity in mice. J. Biochem. Mol. Toxicol., 16:235-244.
Contact
Mailing Address:
University of Minnesota
Dept. of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology
200 Hodson Hall
St. Paul, MN 55108
Office Address:
University of Minnesota
Dept. of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology
174 McNeal Hall
Office Phone: 612-624-7709
E-mail:berk0035@umn.edu