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

  • Win-win scenarios in which both people and wildlife benefit from management actions is always the goal, but the assumptions that underly potential win-win scenarios must be tested before being broadly implemented. In our latest paper led by Mo Verhoeven in Ecological Solutions and Evidence, we show that, counter to prevailing management directives, applying nitrogen does not improve either earthworm abundance or influence where and when Black-tailed Godwits breed. Instead, proven measures like maintaining higher groundwater levels and managing generalist predator populations must be implemented to slow godwit population declines.
  • A great day for the lab! PhD student Jenny Linscott was awarded a SPARC Grant by the University of South Carolina for her research on Hudsonian Godwit migration through the mid-continental USA and undergraduate student Sara Padula was awarded 3rd prize in the UofSC Department of Biological Science's annual undergraduate symposium for her work on rufa Red Knot migration through South Carolina. 
  • A Smithsonian Magazine article about Hudsonian Godwits and climate change just came out today! It details our lab's research and collaboration with other shorebird researchers across the globe, including Theunis Piersma and Juan Navedo. Take a look and keep your eye out in the coming months for more on exactly how godwits navigate complex winds during their epic flights.​
senner at mailbox.sc.edu
Department of Biological Sciences
University of South Carolina​
Coker Life Sciences 406
Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.A.

Want to make a donation to graduate student research in the lab? Go here and search for "Migratory Shorebird Research Fund".