Joseph Bump

Linking species and ecosystems – I study how wildlife interactions affect ecosystem processes and biodiversity.  My research bridges the traditional gap between animal ecology research at the biology, community, and population-level and larger ecosystem science.  Combining these traditionally separated research areas simultaneously enables the fundamental study of the functional roles of species and the use of novel insights to address applied questions in wildlife ecology and conservation. 

 Fundamental questions in my research include: 1) How do predators control carrion resources and what are the cascading consequences for biodiversity and associated ecological heterogeneity? 2) Under what circumstances do mammalian herbivores create strong aquatic-terrestrial links? 3) How do ungulates influence the distribution of energy, nutrients, and contaminants? 4) How will warming winters affect large carnivore predator-prey dynamics in snowy areas? Within these fundamental research areas, I value applied components and strive to integrate both types of questions in my research. 

Major, external funding in support of these research interests has come from federal programs of the National Science Foundation, NASA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Park Service.  I have also received significant funding from competitive grants from state agencies such as Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Coastal Management Program, and the Environmental and Natural Resource Trust Fund, Minnesota.  Competitive grants from non-governmental organizations such as the National Geographic Society and the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians have also supported my research. 

Keywords

Forest wildlife ecology, conservation, and management; animal ecology and ecosystem processes; climate change and predator-prey dynamics; aquatic-terrestrial links; carcass ecology, stable isotope ecology.