The unofficial Wildlife Habitat and Human Interactions Lab (AKA Iglay Lab) at Mississippi State University
A fallen loblolly pine tree being further decomposed by prescribed fire.
Winged sumac and loblolly pine in the fall at the Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge
The unofficial Wildlife Habitat and Human Interactions Lab (AKA Iglay Lab) at Mississippi State University
sUAS Wildlife Monitoring
Monitoring wildlife on airports provides valuable information for aircraft-wildlife strike mitigation but poses several challenges including human bias, cumbersome survey areas, and costs. Using small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) to survey or monitor wildlife could address some of these challenges, as they allow users to easily and safely access and cover expansive areas. Our project attempts to identify and develop best practices for monitoring wildlife on airports from data collection through image processing.​
Objectives:
(1) Developing selection criteria and rankings for sUAS platforms and sensors;
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(2) Conducting experiments to assess sUAS and sensors capacity for monitoring birds and mammals relative to detection bias, flight parameters, and environmental conditions;
(3) Developing approaches for accurate assessments of wildlife hazards on airports;
(4) Calibrating UAS and sensor parameters to standardize image collection across land covers;
(5) Assisting with the implementation of a sUAS image repository for focal species hazardous to aircraft; and,
(6) Assisting with development of image analysis tools such as deep neural networks for automatic animal recognition and abundance estimation.
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Direct Team Members: Dr. Kristine Evans & Dr. Sathish Samiappan (co-PIs)
Dr. Jared Elmore, Dr. Landon Jones, Dr. Santhana Krishnan (Postdocs)
Other Team Members Support by Internal Funds:
Emma Schultz (Ph.D. Student)
Damion Dehart (web developer)
Erin Macke & Cerise Mensah (Undergraduate Researchers)
Non-MSU Project Collaborators:
Dr. Bradley F. Blackwell & Dr. Morgan B. Drabik-Hamshare (Pfeiffer; USDA WS NWRC), Dr. Wesley Major (Federal Aviation Administration
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Project supporters: USDA WS National Wildlife Research Center, Federal Aviation Administration
Marsh Bird Monitoring
The Gulf of Mexico accounts for nearly two thirds of tidal marshes in the continental U.S. and was impacted by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. However, the magnitude of the oil spill's impact on tidal marsh birds is relatively unknown due to a lack of baseline population estimates. Therefore, a coastwide, coordinated bird monitoring effort was implemented in Mississippi.
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Objectives:
(1) Determine the appropriate number of tidal marsh bird sampling points required to generate robust and precise species-specific breeding population estimates;
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(2) Determine species-specific breeding and winter tidal marsh bird population estimates;
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(3) Determine species-specific breeding tidal marsh bird demographic parameter estimates;
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(4) Generate species-specific breeding tidal marsh bird population objectives for Mississippi;
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(5) Determine three different but related bird response metrics for breeding and winter bird populations: (a) species-specific tidal marsh bird population estimates, (b) marsh bird community integrity (BCI) index, and (c) tidal marsh obligate bird density estimates for paired marsh restoration and reference sites;
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(6) Determine species-specific breeding tidal marsh bird demographic parameter estimates at paired restoration and reference sites across coastal Mississippi; and,
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(7) Determine relationships between bird population estimates and
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Team members: Dr. Kristine Evans & Dr. Mark Woodrey (co-PIs)
Dr. Carlos Ramirez Reyes (Postdoc)
Rachel Anderson (M.S. Student)
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Project supporters: Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Noxubee Wild Pigs
The project focuses on movements, ecological impacts, and population estimation of wild pigs (Sus scrofa) on the Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge in east-central Mississippi.
Objectives:
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(1) Investigate movements of female wild pigs (i.e., a proxy for sounders) at multiple scales (i.e., home range, step, and location-specific behavior) using GPS collars, accelerometers, and magnetometers;
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(2) Identify optimal non-grain attractants for wild pigs;
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(3) Estimate wild pig abundance using non-invasive hair snares and capture-recapture modeling;
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(4) Use rooting and wallowing locations in species distribution modeling to identify and evaluate a field-testable subsampling approach (i.e., rapid assessment tool); and,
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(5) Assist with long-term monitoring of ecological impacts of wild pigs to biotic (e.g., native plant communities, invasive species release) and abiotic (e.g., soils, hydrology) ecosystem components.
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Team member: Tyler Evans (Ph.D. Student)
Project support: internal funding - Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Experiment Stations, College of Forest Resources Forest Wildlife and Research Center
White-tailed Deer Exclusion
Deer are selective foragers with observed impacts on plant communities with foraging choices often decreasing palatable species and possibly releasing less desirable species. Nine pairs of exclosure and control plots were established among three Wildlife Management Areas (3 paired plots per area) across Mississippi. In 2000 and again in 2005, vegetation data on species composition and vegetation structure were collected on these plots. A third summer of sampling occurred during 2021.
Objectives:
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​(1) Determine changes in vegetation composition and structure between controls and exclosures among 0, 5, and ~20 years of exclusion.
(2) Investigate the effect, if any, deer are having on their nutritional carrying capacity among the same time intervals.
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Team member: Gabrielle Ripa (M.S. Student)
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Project support: internal funding – College of Forest Resources Forest Wildlife and Research Center
Military Strike Risk
Military and civil aircraft as susceptible to strikes with birds. Due to the limited resources availability and complexity of managing multiple species simultaneously, airport management activities are prioritized towards individuals and species most likely to a.) be involved in a strike event or b.) cause severe harm if struck. Therefore, a species-specific predictive model of bird strike risk with military aircraft would be useful to managers for prioritizing management activities to minimize bird strikes.
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Objectives:
(1) Obtain and evaluate applicable strike and flight frequency data from cooperating military databases;
(2) Determine mathematical relationships between species strike hazard and strike frequency to develop a species-specific strike risk metric; and,
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(3) Validate a strike risk model with independent strike-related data.
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Team members: Amanda Bowe (Research Associate)
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Project support: USDA WS Airport Wildlife Hazards Program
Other Current Projects
Davis, J. B., and R.B. Iglay. 2021. Restoring and creating migratory bird habitat in the MS Delta and LMRV. Project support: Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality
Evans, K.O., R.B. Iglay, S.A. Rush, and M. D. McConnell. 2021. Contributions of private managed forest landscapes to plant, pollinator, and bird diversity. Project support: National Council for Air and Stream Improvement, Inc. and Weyerhaeuser Company
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Iglay, R.B., M. McConnell, and A. Himes. 2021. Mid-rotation forest management in the absence of commercial timber harvest: implications for wildlife and economics. Project support: Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks
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Renninger, H., C. Siegert, A. Himes, Q. Ma, R.B. Iglay, T. Rials, N. Labbé, J. Adams, and C. Gantz. 2020. PoSIES: Populus in the Southeast for Integrated Ecosystem Services. Project support: Department of Energy
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Samiappan, S., and R.B. Iglay. 2021. Using multiple object tracking (MOT) to identify escape reactions of two gull species from sUAS videos. Project support: U.S.D.A. Wildlife Services National Wildlife Research Center.
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Strickland, B. K., M. S. Boudreau, G. M. Street, and R.B. Iglay. Submitted. NRCS Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program. U.S.D.A. Project support: Natural Resources Conservation Service Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program
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Woodrey, M.S., and R.B. Iglay. 2021. Response of winter grassland bird species of greatest conservation need to pine savanna restoration. Project support: Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, U.S. Fish and Wildlife State Wildlife Grants
Recent Past Projects
Iglay, R.B. 2018. Alternative land cover for military airfields. Project support: U.S.D.A. A.P.H.I.S. Wildlife Services National Wildlife Research Center
Iglay, R.B., and A. J. Kouba. 2019. Survival, recruitment and movements of Missouri black bears. Project support: Missouri Department of Conservation
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Iglay, R.B., and J. L. Belant. 2017. Improving safety and economics using switchgrass on military airfields. Project support: U.S.D.A. A.P.H.I.S. Wildlife Services National Wildlife Research Center.