B.S., 1980, Biology, The Pennsylvania State University
M.S., 1982, Forest Biology (Wildlife Management), State University of New York-College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-CESF)
Ph.D., 1989, Forest Biology (Ecology), SUNY-CESF, Syracuse, NY
The Ecological Society of America, American Society of Mammalogists, Society for Conservation Biology, The Wildlife Society, Natural Areas Association.
Professor Mathews’ professional interests lie in several major areas: community-based conservation, endangered species management, ungulate ecology, assessments of biodiversity, and ecosystem management. Her current graduate students are conducting research in the areas outlined below.
Professor Mathews teaches Ecosystem Management and Conservation Planning for Endangered Species on Private Lands. She has also taught various other seminars, including: Games Scientists Play: For Graduate Students, Understanding the Endangered Species Act, Positioning for Jobs and Graduate School: For Undergraduates. During 2004, Professor Mathews co-taught a seminar on community-based conservation. She has a strong belief that “Problem Based Learning” is one of the most effective means of teaching. Her courses are thus focused on small group learning opportunities, problem solving, role playing, critical analysis, and discussion.
Dr. Mathews’ teaching and mentoring help prepare students to work in interdisciplinary teams during their careers. By addressing the integration of ecological, social, economic and political factors into resource management, she supports students in the development of both their academic skills and professional skills to succeed in this endeavor. Understanding different perspectives is one of the key skills necessary for effective environmental problem solving in local, regional, national or international arenas.
Students are always welcome to work with Dr. Mathews on the development of their resumes, curricula vitas, and graduate school applications.
1) Role of deer behavior in spreading chronic wasting disease: An assessment of the critical role that deer may play in the spread of chronic wasting disease through their behavior was initiated in September 2002. This project seeks to determine the movement behavior of white-tailed deer in south central Wisconsin. Dispersal, migration and site fidelity will influence the rate at which CWD propagates across the landscape. These behaviors will also be influenced by patterns of land ownership, forest fragmentation, deer density and harvest intensity.
2) Sterilization of female white-tailed deer as a means of population control in an urban environments: Overabundance of white-tailed deer plagues urban wildlife managers and citizens alike. While removal of deer by sharp shooting remains the most efficient means of controlling deer in an urban environment, lethal culling is becoming a less a palatable option to residents. Non-lethal means of controlling deer populations using contraception, trap and transfer, have rarely led to long-term success in reducing populations. This project was undertaken to test the efficacy of surgical sterilization of female white-tailed deer as a means of controlling reproduction and population growth in Highland Park IL.
3) Influence of cattle grazing on abundance and productivity of neotropical migrant songbirds: Over the past 11 years, Professor Mathews has investigated the impact of cattle grazing on songbird communities in northeastern New Mexico. With her former students, Christopher Goguen and David Curson, she has found an intriguing paradigm of interactions among brown-headed cowbirds, cattle and neotropical migrants. Nest parasitism rates decline with distance from grazing while ovulation rates of cowbirds vary, depending on the distance of their commute to their breeding grounds. This long term project seeks to document patterns of bird distribution, nest success and diversity on and near the NRA Whittington Center, near Raton, New Mexico.
4) Interactions between brown-headed cowbirds and American bison: Brown-headed cowbirds have recently undergone significant range expansion across the continent, particularly in the western U.S. where cowbirds often associate with domesticated ungulates such as cattle. Though the cowbird-ungulate association is a well-known phenomenon, the exact reasons for it and the benefits it confers to cowbirds are not clear. It is believed that cowbirds co-evolved with American bison on the Great Plains, to which they were confined until humans introduced similar large, grazing animals (i.e., cattle) to other parts of North America. Thus, the bison herd at Vermejo Park Ranch in northeastern New Mexico provides a unique opportunity to study the cowbird-ungulate association in its ancestral form. We predict that ungulates enhance cowbird feeding opportunities either indirectly by providing protection from predation, or directly by attracting insects or stirring them up from the ground. This year’s research marks the start of our endeavor to clarify the reasons for the cowbird-bison association; the 2003 field season focused on cowbird foraging ecology in a bison-dominated landscape.
5) Landscape patterns of population expansion in Kirtland’s warblers: Actively managing forests typically create heterogeneous landscapes. The influence of the resulting spatial configuration on species population size, structure, and movement is not well understood and generally lacking. Over the last decade, the endangered Kirtland's warbler population in northern Lower Michigan has experienced rapid growth in response to increasing suitable habitat. Several wildfires and an aggressive habitat management program by public agencies have almost doubled young jack pine stands preferred by the warbler. This represents an opportunity to study the influence landscape change and spatial patterning is having on an avian population's distribution, growth, and regulation across an entire landscape.
6) Winter ecology of bald eagles and influence on ecotourism in Sauk Prairie, Wisconsin
7) Community based conservation of Stony Lake, Michigan, watershed: My project includes designing a lake monitoring program for Stony Lake, Michigan, based primarily on the guidelines set by the Cooperative Lake Monitoring Program (CLMP) and the Michigan Lakes and Streams Association. Currently, we are applying to participate in the CLMP. Additionally, I have begun development of Arc GIS maps of monitoring and watershed activities surrounding the lake and a web page to accompany a community education campaign. Within the next six months training sessions on how to gather lake data will begin for the property owners. By the summer of 2004, monitoring should be in full swing with GIS and additional educational educational material available to the community through the internet.