Sierra Nevada avian diversity
In partnership with Dr. Zach Peery at UW-Madison and the U.S. Forest Service, we conduct passive acoustic surveys across the Sierra Nevada. The project encompasses over 25,000 km2 (about the size of Vermont), generates 1,000,000 hours of audio annually, and yields data on over 100 species of bird.
Yosemite toad demography
The Yosemite toad is federally endangered, but little is known about its population status. I am developing acoustic-based population surveys that can be implemented at the landscape-scale population and potentially yield abundance indices. Understanding adult (male) abundance via indices may help fill a key gap in our understanding of their populations.
Spotted Owl conservation
Spotted Owl conservation is a driving force behind much of what we do. This includes monitoring population trends and responses to habitat change and supporting an unprecedented landscape-scale removal of an invasive competitor, the Barred Owl.
Kenyan rangeland restoration
Novel conservation finance mechanisms like “green bonds” have the potential to increase the pace and scale of ecosystem restoration and biodiversity conservation, but they require rigorous outcome assessments. I am working with several community-run conservancies in Kenya and the NGO Natural State to develop scalable biodiversity assessment tools.
Wolf recolonization monitoring
As wolf populations recover in the western U.S. and elsewhere, the potential for conservation conflicts grows. We are using traditional passive acoustic surveys and real-time acoustic monitoring to study the spatiotemporal dynamics and demography of wolves, with the aim of improving the quality and efficiency of wolf management.
Connor M. Wood 