James Forester

Associate Professor, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology

201E Green Hall

jdforest@umn.edu

+1 612 626 6721

Forester Lab Website

Education

Ph.D. University of Wisconsin-Madison

Areas of Interest

Animal movement ecology, quantitative landscape ecology

Teaching

FW 3108: Field Methods in Research and Conservation of Vertebrate Populations
FW 5603W: Habitats and Regulation of Wildlife

Research

The overall goal of my research is to develop an understanding of the spatio-temporal processes that affect the distribution and abundance of organisms. I am interested in how animals alter their habitat selection and movement paths in response to heterogeneity in resources and risk. My research covers a range of spatial and temporal scales but is focused primarily on how large, mammalian herbivores respond to changing landscapes.

Select Publications

White, L., J. D. Forester, and M. E. Craft. 2015. Using contact networks to explore mechanisms of parasite transmission in wildlife. Biological Reviews, in press.
Muthukrishnan, R., N. M. West, A. S. Davis, N. R. Jordan, and J. D. Forester. 2015. Evaluating the role of landscape in the spread of invasive species: The case of the biomass crop Miscanthus x giganteus. Ecological Modelling 317:6–15.
St-Louis, V., J. D. Forester, D. Pelletier, M. Bélisle, A. Desrochers, B. Rayfield, M. A. Wulder, and J. A. Cardille. 2014. Circuit theory emphasizes the importance of edge-crossing decisions in dispersal-scale movements of a forest passerine. Landscape ecology 29:831–841.
Forester, J. D. 2011. Dispersal from the frying pan to the fire. Animal Conservation 14(3):225-226.
Smouse, P.E., S. Focardi, P. R. Moorcroft, J.G. Kie, J. D. Forester, and J. M. Morales. 2010. Stochastic modelling of animal movement. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 365: 2201-2211.
Forester, J. D., H. K. Im, and P. J. Rathouz. 2009. Accounting for animal movement in estimation of Resource Selection Functions: Sampling and data analysis. Ecology 90(12): 3554–3565.
Wootton, J. T., C. A. Pfister, and J. D. Forester. 2008. Dynamical patterns and ecological impacts of changing ocean pH in a high-resolution multi-year dataset. PNAS 105(48):18848-18853.
Forester, J. D., D. P. Anderson, and M. G. Turner. 2008. Landscape and local factors affecting northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis) recruitment in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Wisconsin (USA). American Midland Naturalist 160:438-453.
Forester, J. D., A. R. Ives, M. G. Turner, D. P. Anderson, D. Fortin, H. L. Beyer, D. W. Smith, and M. S. Boyce. 2007. Using state-space models to link patterns of elk (Cervus elaphus) movement to landscape characteristics in Yellowstone National Park. Ecological Monographs, 77(2): 285-299.
Forester, J. D., D. P. Anderson, and M. G. Turner. 2007. Do high-density patches of coarse wood and regenerating saplings create browsing refugia for aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) in Yellowstone National Park (USA)? Forest Ecology And Management 253:211–219.