Current Graduate Students
Ph.D. Students
John "Boomer" Malanchuk
bmalanchuk@ksu.edu
Project: Assessment of Resident Canada Goose Management in Kansas
Advisor: Dr. David Haukos
Expected Completion: 2020
Degree Seeking: Ph.D.
Education: B.S., Rhodes College, Tennessee; M.S., University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point
Research Interests: Waterfowl ecology, wildlife management, wildlife conservation, wetland and habitat conservation, human dimension of wildlife
Boomer graduated from Rhodes College in 2014 with a B.S. in Environmental Science. His master’s project focused on cavity-nesting waterfowl nest-site selection and use in the Northeastern U.S. His current project is conducting the research for the re-write of the Kansas Canada Goose Management Plan including Canada goose abundance, survival, and effectiveness of management actions. Boomer supports R3 hunter recruitment programs and hunter-conservationist approaches to wildlife management. Boomer is a Wildlife Society certified Associate Wildlife Biologist.
Talesha Karish
taleshakarish@gmail.com
Project: Survival Rates, Habitat Selection, and Movement of Sympatric Mule Deer and White-tailed Deer in Kansas
Advisor: Dr. David Haukos
Expected Completion: 2021
Degree Seeking: Ph.D.
Education:
Research Interests:
M.S. Students
Maureen Kinlan
kinlan@k-state.edu
Project: Survival Rates, Habitat Selection, and Movement of Sympatric Mule Deer and White-tailed Deer in Kansas
Advisor: Dr. David Haukos
Expected Completion: 2020
Degree Seeking: M.S.
Education: B.S., King's College, Pennsylvania
Research Interests: large carnivore conservation, large mammal management and conservation, predator-prey dynamics, human dimensions of wildlife, wildlife policy
Originally from Hanover, PA, Maureen studied Environmental Science and concentrated her undergraduate degree in Wildlife at King's College. She is now currently studying survival rates, habitat selection, and movement of sympatric Mule Deer and White-tailed Deer in Kansas; particularly regarding whether adult males shift their movements in response to hunting pressure. Her interests include the human dimensions of wildlife; specifically human and wildlife conflict resolution research, predator-prey dynamics, wildlife policy, and large mammal conservation and management.
Jackie Gehrt
gehrt@ksu.edu
Project: Response of Greater Prairie-Chickens to Natural and Anthropogenic Disturbances on Fort Riley
Advisor: Dr. David Haukos
Expected Completion: 2021
Degree Seeking: M.S.
Education: B.S., Kansas State University
Research Interests: Urban ecology, movement/spatial ecology, wildlife policy
Jackie is passionate about bird conservation, specifically how increasing urbanization impacts their movements, habitat selection, and general life history strategies. With her project, she wants to focus on how military activity and its impacts, both direct and indirect, affect the behavior of Greater Prairie-Chickens. Eventually Jackie would like to work in an urban setting, researching and educating people on how to develop in a more wildlife-friendly way.
Elisabeth Teige
teigeel@k-state.edu
Project: Lesser Prairie-Chicken Translocation to the Sand Sagebrush Ecoregion
Advisor: Dr. David Haukos
Expected Completion: 2021
Degree Seeking: M.S.
Education: B.A., Minnesota State University Moorhead
Research Interests: Population dynamics, population and habitat conservation, predator-prey interactions, human dimensions of wildlife
Originally from Poplar, WI, Elisabeth studied Biology with an Emphasis in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology with a certificate in Geographic Information Systems for her undergraduate degree at Minnesota State University Moorhead. She is currently studying survival rates, habitat selection, and movement of translocated Lesser-Prairie Chickens in the Sand-sagebrush Prairie Ecoregion. She is interested in comparing native birds' movements to translocated individuals' movements. Her interests include population dynamics and habitat conservation.
Nick Parker
njparker14@ksu.edu
Project: Lesser Prairie-Chicken and Grassland Response to Intensive Wildfire in Kansas
Advisor: Dr. Dan Sullins
Expected Completion: 2021
Degree Seeking: M.S.
Education: B.A., University of California, Berkeley
Megan Vhay
mvhay@ksu.edu
Project: Reconstruction of landscape composition and vegetation characteristics in the Sand Sagebrush Prairie Ecoregion
Advisor: Dr. David Haukos
Expected Completion: 2022
Degree Seeking: M.S.
Education: B.S., University of Maine Orono
Megan grew up in Maine and Massachusetts, and studied Wildlife Ecology at the University of Maine in Orono. She will be studying landscape changes in the sand sagebrush prairie ecoregion as they relate to Lesser Prairie-Chicken historic and current populations. She is interested in how changing habitat quality, as well as influence of CRP, has influenced the birds’ presence in this part of their range.
