Brett K. Sandercock

Brett and Female Prairie Chicken

Brett K. Sandercock, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Wildlife Ecology

Mailing Address: Division of Biology, 116 Ackert Hall, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, United States, 66506-4901
Office: 425 Ackert Hall, Office Phone: (785) 532-0120
Lab: 423 Ackert Hall, Lab Phone: (785) 532-5832
Fax: (785) 532-6653
E-mail: bsanderc@ksu.edu

Appointments and Education

Associate Professor of Wildlife Ecology, Kansas State University (2007 to present).
Research Program: Population ecology of shorebirds, grouse and grassland birds.
Assistant Professor, Kansas State University (2001-07).
Killam Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of British Columbia (2000).
Project title: Comparative life history strategies in Willow Ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) and White-tailed Ptarmigan (L. leucurus) in naturally fragmented alpine habitats (Advisor: K. Martin).
Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of California at Berkeley (1997-99).
Project title: Spatial and sexual variation in the demography of the Green-rumped Parrotlet (Forpus passerinus) (Advisor: S.R. Beissinger).
Doctor of Philosophy, Queen's University (transferred) and Simon Fraser University (1997).
Dissertation title: Factors affecting the breeding demography of Western (Calidris mauri) and Semipalmated Sandpipers (C. pusilla) at Nome, Alaska (Advisors: F. Cooke and D.B. Lank).
Master of Science, University of Alberta (1991).
Thesis title: Parental investment in brood defence by Willow Ptarmigan (Advisor: S.J. Hannon).
Bachelor of Science (Honours), University of British Columbia (1988).
Thesis title: Comparison of methods for estimating abundance of Red and Ground Squirrels (Advisor: C.J. Krebs).

Professional Appointments

Associate Editor, Wader Study Group Bulletin (2008 to present).
The Bulletin is published three times a year by the International Wader Study Group.
Associate Editor, Journal of Animal Ecology (2006 to present).
Journal of Animal Ecology is published bi-monthly by the British Ecological Society.
Associate Editor, The Auk (2004-07).
Auk is published quarterly by the American Ornithologists' Union.
Science Advisor, Oikonos-Ecosystem Knowledge (2005 to present).
Oikonos is dedicated to increasing ecosystem knowledge through science, art, technology, education, and applied conservation.
Elective Member, American Ornithologists' Union (2001).

Research Interests

Research Interests. My research interests are in population biology, primarily the behavioral ecology and evolutionary biology of terrestrial vertebrates. My interests in behavioral ecology have included studies of sexual selection, mating systems, and parental care in shorebirds and grouse. In evolutionary ecology, I have published on life history evolution in birds, and the demography of animals and plants. I have expertise in quantitative ecology and am interested in estimation of demographic parameters with mark-recapture methods, and modeling population dynamics with projection matrices. I have used a mixture of manipulative experiments and observational approaches as part of field studies of marked individuals in wild populations. My study species have often been selected as model study systems for organisms where management and conservation issues are relevant.
Graduate Students. Prospective students searching for a graduate program are invited to contact me at any time. To learn more about potential research projects, ten good reasons to consider Kansas State University and application procedures for graduate school, please visit Graduate Studies in Ornithology at Kansas State University.
Undergraduate Students. I am currently the Program Coordinator for a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site program, sponsored by the National Science Foundation (2003-08). The REU Site is based at Konza Prairie Biological Station in northeast Kansas and the research theme of the program is the ecology and conservation biology of the native flora and fauna. Konza Prairie is part of the network of Long-term Ecological Research (LTER) sites and has extensive infrastructure for research, including large-scale, long-term fire and grazing treatments. Since 2001, I have had 1-3 undergraduate students per year working with me on a variety of different topics. Past projects have included: growth and nest defence in Common Nighthawks, effects of cowbird removals on Dickcissel productivity, population biology of ground-nesting Mourning Doves, population dynamics of Regal Fritillaries, and effects of fire and grazing on the nest success of Upland Sandpipers. For more information and application forms, please visit the REU Site: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology of a Temperate Grassland.

Teaching

BIOL 201 Organismic Biology (5-credits, every Fall).
BIOL 543 Ornithology (3-credits, every Spring).
BIOL 823 Demographic Methods (3-credits, Fall of even years).
Tools for Demographic Analyses. This website offers Matlab macros and Excel spreadsheets that can be used to analyze projection matrices and build population models.

Current Graduate Students

Ashley E. Casey (MSc Student*). Molecular ecology of the Upland Sandpiper. Upland Sandpipers are a poorly known species of grassland shorebird. In this study, Ashley is screening alternative primers based on the CHD-Z/W genes for sexing sandpipers and is developing microsatellite markers to investigate genetic parentage of offspring in this possibly socially monogamous shorebird.
Andrew J. Gregory (PhD Student*). Effects of wind power development on the population genetics of the Greater Prairie-chicken. Prairie-chickens are known to be susceptible to inbreeding depression because reductions in genetic diversity led to lower egg viability in isolated populations in Illinois. In this study, Andy is studying the population genetics of prairie-chickens at three sites in the Flint Hills of eastern Kansas where development of wind farms is planned. His study will provide baseline data on genetic structure of prairie-chicken populations in the Flint Hills, and will provide insights into the potential impacts of wind power development.
Lance B. McNew (PhD Student*). Effects of wind power development on the population demography of the Greater Prairie-chicken. Prairie grouse are thought to be a sensitive species because they have large home ranges and require native grassland habitats. In this study, Lance is studying the demography of prairie-chickens at three sites in the Flint Hills of eastern Kansas where development of wind farms is planned. The study design is based on a before/after/control/impact design with unmanipulated reference sites and impact sites with wind turbines.

* Graduate students coadvised with Dr. Samantha M. Wisely.

Previous Lab Members

Khara M. Strum (MSc, 2008). Ecotoxicology of migratory shorebirds in the Western Hemisphere. M.Sc. thesis, Kansas State University, 90 pages.
Khara is completing revisions on her thesis and is headed to Wyoming to work on Mountain Plovers for Summer 2008.
Robb S.A. Kaler (MSc, 2007). Demography, habitat use and movements of a recently reintroduced island population of Evermann's Rock Ptarmigan. M.Sc. thesis, Kansas State University, 77 pages.
Robb is a free-lance wildlife researcher, working with Burrowing Owls in California in Spring 2008 and working on seabirds in the Near Islands of the Aleutian Archipelago in Summer 2008.
Jacqueline K. Nooker (PhD, 2007). Factors affecting the demography of a lek-mating bird: the Greater Prairie-chicken. Ph.D. dissertation, Kansas State University, 108 pages.
Jackie is an Instructor in the Department of Biology at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa for Spring 2008. She will be starting an Instructor position at the Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minnesota in Fall 2008.
Tracey N. Johnson (MSc, 2006). Ecological restoration of tallgrass prairie: grazing management benefits plant and bird communities in upland and riparian habitats. M.Sc. thesis, Kansas State University, 94 pages.
Tracey is a Ph.D. Student working with Patricia Kennedy in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Oregon State University.
Karl L. Kosciuch (PhD, 2006). Host-parasite interactions on an experimental landscape. Ph.D. dissertation, Kansas State University, 106 pages.
Karl is an Associate Wildlife Biologist with Tetra Tech, a consulting firm that provides technical services in the areas of resource management and infrastructure.
Timothy H. Parker (Postdoc, 2006). Population and behavioral ecology of forest and shrub-nesting birds.
Tim is a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington.
Tony W. Mong (MSc, 2005). Using radio telemetry to determine resource selection and home range size of the Upland Sandpiper on an experimental landscape. M.Sc. thesis, Kansas State University, 77 pages.
Tony is a Research Coordinator with the University of Missouri at Columbia.

Publications

Casey, A.E., K. Jones, B.K. Sandercock, and S.M. Wisely. 2008. Heteroduplex molecules cause sexing errors in a standard molecular protocol for avian sexing. Molecular Ecology Resources, in press.
Dalgleish, H.J., D.C. Hartnett, B.K. Sandercock, and A.R. Kula. 2008. Responses of two bunchgrasses to nitrogen addition in tallgrass prairie: the role of bud bank demography. American Journal of Botany, in press.
Kosciuch, K.L., J.W. Rivers, and B.K. Sandercock. 2008. Stable isotopes identify the natal origins of a generalist brood parasite. Journal of Avian Biology, in press.
Kosciuch, K.L., and B.K. Sandercock. 2008. Cowbird removals unexpectedly increase productivity of a brood parasite and their songbird host. Ecological Applications 18:537-548.
Nooker, J.K., and B.K. Sandercock. 2008. Phenotypic correlates and survival consequences of male mating success in lek-mating Greater Prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus cupido). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, in press.
Sandercock, B.K., A.E. Casey, D.E. Green, H.S. Ip, and K.A. Converse. 2008. Reovirus associated with mortality of an Upland Sandpiper. Wader Study Group Bulletin 115:60-61.
Sandercock, B.K., E.L. Hewett, and K.L. Kosciuch. 2008. Effects of experimental cowbird removals on brood parasitism and nest predation of a grassland songbird. Auk, in press.
Sandercock, B.K., W.E. Jensen, C.K. Williams, and R.D. Applegate. 2008. Demographic sensitivity of population change in the Northern Bobwhite: a life-stage simulation analysis. Journal of Wildlife Management 72:970-982.
Strum, K.M., M. Alfaro, B. Haase, M.J. Hooper, K.A. Johnson, R.B. Lanctot, A.J. Lesterhuis, L. López, A.C. Matz, C. Morales, B. Paulson, B.K. Sandercock, J. Torres-Dowdall, and M.E. Zaccagnini. 2008. Plasma cholinesterases for monitoring pesticide exposure in Nearctic-Neotropical migratory shorebirds. Ornithología Neotropical 19 (Suppl.):641-651.
Hagen, C.A., J.C. Pitman, B.K. Sandercock, R.J. Robel, and R.D. Applegate. 2007. Age-specific survival and probable causes of mortality in female Lesser Prairie-chickens. Journal of Wildlife Management 71:518-525.
Mong, T.W., and B.K. Sandercock. 2007. Optimizing radio retention and minimizing radio impacts in a field study of Upland Sandpipers. Journal of Wildlife Management 71:971-980.
Reed, A.W., G.A. Kaufman, and B.K. Sandercock. 2007. Demographic response of a grassland rodent to environmental variability. Journal of Mammalogy 88:982-988.
Hagen, C.A., B.K. Sandercock, J.C. Pitman, R.J. Robel, and R.D. Applegate. 2006. Radiotelemetry survival estimates of Lesser Prairie-chickens: are there transmitter biases? Wildlife Society Bulletin 34:1064-1069.
Kosciuch, K.L., T.H. Parker, and B.K. Sandercock. 2006. Nest desertion by a cowbird host: an anti-parasite behavior or a response to egg loss? Behavioral Ecology 17:917-924.
Parker, T.H., C.D. Becker, B.K. Sandercock, and A.E. Agreda. 2006. Apparent survival estimates for five species of tropical birds in an endangered forest habitat in western Ecuador. Biotropica 38: 764-769.
Sandercock, B.K. 2006. Estimation of demographic parameters from live encounter data: a summary review. Journal of Wildlife Management 70:1504-1520.
Sandercock, B.K. 2006. Review of: Amstrup, S.C., McDonald, T.L. and Manly, B.F.J. 2005. Handbook of capture-recapture analysis, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. Biometrics 62: 1276-1277 (book review).
Wilgers, D.J., E.A. Horne, B.K. Sandercock, and A.W. Volkmann. 2006. Effects of rangeland management on community dynamics of the herpetofauna of the tallgrass prairie. Herpetologica 62:378-388.
Hagen, C.A. J.C. Pitman, B.K. Sandercock, R.J. Robel, and R.D. Applegate. 2005. Age-specific variation in apparent survival rates of male Lesser Prairie-chickens. Condor 107: 78-86.
Johnson, T.N., and B.K. Sandercock. 2005. Winter grazing increases native prairie grasses in fescue-dominated pastures (Kansas). Ecological Restoration 23: 115-116.
Sandercock, B.K., K. Martin, and S.J. Hannon. 2005a. Demographic consequences of age-structure in extreme environments: population models for arctic and alpine ptarmigan. Oecologia 146: 13-24.
Sandercock, B.K., K. Martin, and S.J. Hannon. 2005b. Life history strategies in extreme environments: comparative demography of arctic and alpine ptarmigan. Ecology 86: 2176-2186.
Sandercock, B.K., T. Székely, and A. Kosztolányi. 2005. The effects of age and sex on the apparent survival of Kentish Plovers breeding in southern Turkey. Condor 107: 582-595.
Rivers, J.W., and B.K. Sandercock. 2004. Predation by Gray Catbird on Brown Thrasher eggs. Southwestern Naturalist 49: 101-103.
Blomqvist, D., M. Andersson, C. Küpper, I.C. Cuthill, J. Kis, R.B. Lanctot, B.K. Sandercock, T. Székely, J. Wallander, and B. Kempenaers. 2003. Evolutionary biology: Why do birds engage in extra-pair copulation? Nature 422: 833-834 (rebuttal).
Sandercock, B.K. 2003. Estimation of survival rates for wader populations: a review of mark-recapture methods. Wader Study Group Bulletin 100: 163-174.
Blomqvist, D., M. Andersson, C. Küpper, I.C. Cuthill, J. Kis, R.B. Lanctot, B.K. Sandercock, T. Székely, J. Wallander, and B. Kempenaers. 2002. Genetic similarity between mates and extra-pair parentage in three species of shorebirds. Nature 419: 613-615. Popular articles based on this publication.
Blomqvist, D., B. Kempenaers, R.B. Lanctot, and B.K. Sandercock. 2002. Genetic parentage and mate guarding in the arctic-breeding Western Sandpiper. Auk 119: 228-233.
Sandercock, B.K., and S.R. Beissinger. 2002. Estimating rates of population change for a neotropical parrot with ratio, mark-recapture and matrix methods. Journal of Applied Statistics 29: 589-607.
Sandercock, B.K., and A. Jaramillo. 2002. Annual survival rates of wintering sparrows: assessing demographic consequences of migration. Auk 119: 149-165.
Sandercock, B.K. 2001. What is the relative importance of sexual selection and ecological processes in the evolution of sexual size dimorphism in monogamous shorebirds? Wader Study Group Bulletin. 96: 64-70.
Sandercock, B.K. 2001-02. Review of: Johnsgard, P.A. 2001. Prairie birds: fragile splendor in the Great Plains, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. Wild Earth 3&4: 102-103 (book review).
Shefferson, R.P., B.K. Sandercock, J. Proper, and S.R. Beissinger. 2001. Estimating dormancy and survival of a rare herbaceous perennial using mark-recapture models. Ecology 82: 145-156.
Lanctot, R.B., B.K. Sandercock, and B. Kempenaers. 2000. The effects of mate and site fidelity on the courtship behaviour of Western Sandpipers. Waterbirds 23: 155-164.
Sandercock, B.K., S.R. Beissinger, S.H. Stoleson, R.R. Melland, and C.R. Hughes. 2000. Survival rates of a neotropical parrot: implications for latitudinal comparisons of avian demography. Ecology 81: 1351-1370.
Sandercock, B.K., D.B. Lank, R.B. Lanctot, B. Kempenaers, and F. Cooke. 2000. Ecological correlates of mate fidelity in two arctic-breeding sandpipers. Canadian Journal of Zoology 78: 1948-1958.
Sandercock, B.K., D.B. Lank, and F. Cooke. 1999. Seasonal declines in the fecundity of two arctic-breeding sandpipers: different tactics in two species with an invariant clutch size. Journal of Avian Biology 30: 460-468.
Sandercock, B.K. 1998a. Assortative mating and sexual size dimorphism in Western and Semipalmated Sandpipers. Auk 115: 786-791.
Sandercock, B.K. 1998b. Chronology of nesting events in Western and Semipalmated Sandpipers near the Arctic Circle. Journal of Field Ornithology 69: 235-243.
Lanctot, R.B., B.K. Sandercock, and B. Kempenaers. 1997. Breeding displays in an arctic wader: who does them and how display intensity relates to mate acquisition and nesting success. Advances in Ethology 32: 212 (abstract).
Sandercock, B.K. 1997a. Incubation capacity and clutch size determination in two calidrine sandpipers: a test of the four-egg threshold. Oecologia 110: 50-59.
Sandercock, B.K. 1997b. The breeding biology of Red-necked Phalaropes Phalaropus lobatus at Nome, Alaska. Wader Study Group Bulletin 83: 50-54.
Sandercock, B.K., and C.L. Gratto-Trevor. 1997. Local survival in Semipalmated Sandpipers Calidris pusilla breeding at La Perouse Bay, Canada. Ibis 139: 305-312.
Warnock, N., G.W. Page, and B.K. Sandercock. 1997. Local survival of Dunlin (Calidris alpina) wintering in California. Condor 99: 906-915.
Butler, R.W., F.S. Delgado, H. de la Cueva, V. Pulido, and B.K. Sandercock. 1996. Migration routes of the Western Sandpiper. Wilson Bulletin 108: 662-672.
Sandercock, B.K. 1996. Removal of eggshells at hatch by Western and Semipalmated Sandpipers. Condor 98: 431-433.
Sandercock, B.K. 1994. The effect of manipulated brood size on parental defence in a precocial bird, the Willow Ptarmigan. Journal of Avian Biology 25: 281-286.
Sandercock, B.K., and H.C. Pedersen. 1994. The effect of renesting ability and nesting attempt on egg size variation in Willow Ptarmigan. Canadian Journal of Zoology 72: 2252-2255.
Sandercock, B.K. 1993. Free-living Willow Ptarmigan are determinate egg-layers. Condor 95: 554-558.