Our research uses movement ecology as a framework to understand how individuals and populations respond to changes in their environment in order to project how future change may alter a population’s dynamics and evolutionary trajectory. ​
Our Philosophy
​The natural world knows no political boundaries. That means that we are all stakeholders in the conservation of our biodiversity and our lab welcomes the involvement of anyone and everyone, no matter where they come from or how they identify themselves. We are also working to overcome our own biases, as well as those that have long prevailed in the scientific and conservation communities, by learning from and engaging with the communities whose lives intersect with the species we study.

Breaking News

  • Undergraduate researchers Sara Padula and Maggie Pelton--along with mentors Jenny Linscott and Julian Garcia-Walther, as well as team members from South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and Kiawah and Seabrook islands--found that Kiawah and Seabrook islands off the coast of South Carolina host more than 40% of the global population of rufa Red Knots. They also found that many of the knots stopping over on the islands subsequently fly nonstop to the Canadian Arctic. Combined, their results demonstrate the Kiawah and Seabrook are critical sites for knots during northward migration. You can read more here in their article in Wader Study.
  • Check out the new video from the folks at MinuteEarth! The video is the culmination of our collaboration with the students from Tebughna School in Tyonek, Alaska near our long-term Hudsonian Godwit field site in Beluga. We've been working with the students for the past few years to explore bird migration and climate change, and how they are experiencing those two phenomena in their lives in Tyonek. We have covered a lot of ground with the students and so do the videos--we hope that you learn as much from them as we did from making them!​
nsenner at umass.edu
Department of Environmental Conservation
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Holdsworth Hall 219
Amherst, Massachusetts, U.S.A.