Jennifer Woolf, PhD Student
Wildlife Biology

Connectivity and Conservation of the Black-backed Woodpecker

Jennifer Woolf is pursuing a Ph.D. in Wildlife Biology at The University of Montana. She is conducting this research as part of her dissertation. She received a M.S. degree in Wildlife Biology from the University of Montana in 2003 and a B.S. in Wildlife Science from Oregon State University in 1997. Jennifer has extensive experience examining wildlife-habitat relationships in western North America. Her own research has focused on a diversity of avian species, including seabirds, raptors, woodpeckers and passerines. Jennifer became interested in the complex issues of fire management, as it relates to wildlife, during her M.S. research. This research examined the effects of thinning and prescribed burning on birds and small mammals. While conducting this project, she found that Black-backed woodpeckers,species thought to be limited to large, high-severity fires, were nesting and foraging in low-severity fire sites. Interactions with biologists led to her decision to address questions about population structure and dispersal because these would be of utmost importance in determining what scale to monitor and how to manage these birds.