Jason David Luscier, Ph.D. Candidate

Department of Biological Sciences – SCEN 632

1 University of Arkansas

Fayetteville, AR 72701-1201

Tel: (479) 575-2984  ·  e-mail: jluscie@uark.edu  ·  website: http://comp.uark.edu/~jluscie

 

EDUCATION:

 

Ph.D.  -  University of Arkansas (UofA), Fayetteville, AR.  Present.  Dissertation: Wintering habitat use and monitoring of Rusty Blackbirds (Euphagus carolinus).  Advisor: Kimberly G. Smith.

 

M.S. – University of Arkansas (UofA), Fayetteville, AR.  2004.  Thesis:  Short-term responses of grassland birds to timing of haying in Northwest Arkansas.  Advisor: William L. Thompson.

 

B.S. – Colorado State University (CSU), Fort Collins, CO.  2000.  Major: Wildlife Biology.

 

A.S. – Berkshire Community College (BCC), Pittsfield, MA.  1998.  Major: Environmental Sciences.

 

PUBLICATIONS:

 

Luscier, J.D., W.L. Thompson, J.M. Wilson, B.E. Gorham, and L.D. Dragut.  2006.  Using digital photographs and object-based image analysis to estimate percent ground cover in vegetation plots.  Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 4(8): 408-413.

 

Luscier, J.D., W.L. Thompson, J.M. Wilson, B.E. Gorham, and L.D. Dragut.  2007.  Response to Richter: “Techniques for determining percent ground cover.”  Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 5(6): 239-240.

 

Luscier, J.D., and W.L. Thompson.  2009.  Short-term responses of breeding birds of grassland and early successional habitat to timing of haying in Northwest Arkansas.  The Condor 111(3): 538-544.

 

Demarest, D., R. Greenberg, P.B. Hamel, K.A. Hobson, S. Matsuoka, J. D. Luscier, and C. Mettke- Hofmann.  In Press.  Understanding declines in Rusty Blackbirds (Euphagus carolinus): an indicator of wooded wetland health.  Studies in Avian Biology.

 

PUBLICATIONS IN REVIEW AND IN PREPARATION:

 

Krementz, D.G., and J.D. Luscier.  In Review.  Woodpecker densities in the Big Woods of Arkansas.  Forest Ecology and Management. 

 

Luscier, J.D., and K.G. Smith.  In Review.  Patterns of habitat occupancy by Rusty Blackbirds (Euphagus carolinus) wintering in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley.  The Condor.

 

Luscier, J.D., and K.G. Smith.  In Review.  Co-occurrence of Rusty Blackbirds (Euphagus carolinus) and Common Grackles (Quiscalus quiscula) in the central Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley.  Journal of Wildlife Management.

 

 

 

 

RESEARCH GRANTS:

 

US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) Quick Response Grant ($20,000): 15 Dec 2005 – 15 Dec 2006. Understanding Declines in the Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus): An Indicator of Wooded Wetland Health. Co-investigator.

 

USFWS National Wildlife Refuge Challenge Cost Share Grant ($50,000): 15 Dec 2005 – 30 Jun 2007. Population status and habitat management for the Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus). Co-investigator.

 

US Department of Defense Partners in Flight Legacy Grant ($20,000): 15 Dec 2007 – 15 Dec 2008. Assessing the value of DoD lands on the South Atlantic Coastal to an imperiled species, the Rusty Blackbird. Collaborator.

 

PRESENTATIONS (presenter in bold):

 

Luscier, J.D., and K.G. Smith.  2009.  Multi-season occupancy estimation for monitoring Rusty Blackbird populations in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley.  127th Meeting of the American Ornithologists’ Union, Philadelphia, PA, August 2009.

 

Luscier, J.D., R.E. Hines, and K.G. Smith.  2008.  Short-term responses of Rusty Blackbirds to water level changes in the White River National Wildlife Refuge, Arkansas.  126th Meeting of the American Ornithologists’ Union, Portland, OR, August 2008.

 

Krementz, D.G., and J.D. Luscier.  2008. Assessment of woodpecker densities relative to forest structure and composition.  Ivory-billed Woodpecker Researcher’s Science Symposium, Lafayette, LA, June 2008.

 

Luscier, J.D., L. Powell, and S. Matsuoka.  2008.  Beyond BBS and CBC: approaches to surveying and monitoring Rusty Blackbird populations.  Fourth International Partners in Flight Conference, McAllen, TX, February 2008.

 

Mettke-Hofmann, C., J.D. Luscier, G. Hofmann, P.Hamel, and R. Greenberg.  2008.  From urban roosts to bottomland hardwoods: Critical needs for wintering Rusty Blackbirds.  Fourth International Partners in Flight Conference, McAllen, TX, February 2008.

 

Luscier, J.D.  2008.  Presence/absence surveys for estimating occupancy as a system state variable for wintering Rusty Blackbirds (Euphagus carolinus).  International Rusty Blackbird Technical Group Workshop, SC, January 2008.

 

Luscier, J.D. and K.G. Smith.  2007.  Presence/absence surveys for monitoring and estimating habitat use of wintering Rusty Blackbirds (Euphagus carolinus).  Poster.  125th Stated Meeting of the American Ornithologists’ Union, Laramie, WY, August 2007. 

 

Luscier, J.D.  2007.  Habitat use of wintering Rusty Blackbirds (Euphagus carolinus).  International Rusty Blackbird Technical Group Workshop, Stoneville, MS, April 2007.

Luscier, J.D.  2007.  Presence/absence surveys for estimating occupancy as a system state variable for wintering Rusty Blackbirds (Euphagus carolinus).  International Rusty Blackbird Technical Group Workshop, Stoneville, MS, April 2007.

 

Luscier, J.D.  2007.  Presence/absence surveys for estimating population dynamics and habitat use of wintering Rusty Blackbirds (Euphagus carolinus).  Southeast Partners in Flight Annual Meeting, Memphis, TN, February 2007.

Luscier, J.D., D. Demarest, R. Greenberg, P.B. Hamel, K.A. Hobson, S. Matsuoka, and C. Mettke- Hofmann.  2006.  Understanding declines in Rusty Blackbirds (Euphagus carolinus): an indicator of wooded wetland health.  IV North American Ornithological Conference, Veracruz City, Veracruz, Mexico, October 2006.

Luscier, J.D., W.L. Thompson, J.M. Wilson, B.E. Gorham, and L.D. Dragut.  2006.  Using digital photographs and object-based image analysis to estimate percent ground cover in vegetation plots. Poster.  1st International Conference on Object-based Image Analysis, Salzburg, Austria, July 2006.

 

Luscier, J.D., W.L. Thompson, J.M. Wilson, B.E. Gorham, and L.D. Dragut.  2005.  Using digital photographs and object-based image analysis to estimate percent ground cover in vegetation plots.  123rd Stated Meeting of the American Ornithologists’ Union, Santa Barbara, CA, August 2005.

 

Luscier, J.D., and W.L. Thompson.  2004.  Short-term responses of grassland birds to timing of haying in Northwest Arkansas.  Annual Wildlife Society Conference, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, September 2004.

 

Luscier, J.D., and W.L. Thompson.  2003.  Short-term responses of grassland bird populations to haying.  Poster.  Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Kansas City, MO, December 2003.

 

Martin, D. and J. D. Luscier.  2000.  Responses of bird populations to fire in a lodgepole pine community in the Rocky Mts. of Colorado.  Western States Student Wildlife Conclave, Logan, UT, March

2000. (Best Presentation Award)

 

TEACHING EXPERIENCE:

 

Position

Courses taught

 

Instructor, UofA (June 2005 – August 2009)

 

Graduate Teaching Assistant, UofA (Jan 2005 – Present).

 

 

Plant Biology lecture and lab

 

 

Analysis of Animal Populations (graduate level), Plant Biology, Principles of Biology, Ecology, Zoology, and Evolutionary Biology

Adjunct Faculty, Massasoit Community College, Brockton, MA (Summer 2004).

 

Human Form and Function

 

 

 

 

Adjunct Faculty, BCC (August 2000 – July 2001).

 

General Ecology, Zoology, General Biology, Land Use Mapping, and Conservation of Natural Resources

 

 

Teaching Assistant, CSU (January – May 2000).

 

Ichthyology

 

 

MEETINGS ATTENDED:

 

127th Meeting of the American Ornithologists’ Union, Philadelphia, PA, August 2009.

126th Meeting of the American Ornithologists’ Union, Portland, OR, August 2008.

Ivory-billed Woodpecker Researcher’s Science Symposium, Lafayette, LA, June 2008.

4th International Partners in Flight Conference, McAllen, TX, February 2008.

125th State Meeting of the American Ornithologists’ Union, Laramie, WY, August 2007.

International Rusty Blackbird Technical Group Workshop, Stoneville, MS, April 2007.

Southeast Partners in Flight Annual Meeting, Memphis, TN, February 2007.

IV North American Ornithological Conference, Veracruz City, Veracruz, Mexico, October 2006.

123rd Stated Meeting of the American Ornithologists’ Union, Santa Barbara, CA, August 2005.

Annual Wildlife Society Conference, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, September 2004.

34th Midwestern Fish and Wildlife Conference, Kansas City, MO, December 2003.

120th Stated Meeting of the American Ornithologists’ Union, New Orleans, LA, September 2002.

Western States Student Wildlife Conclave, Logan, UT, March 2000. (Awarded Best Student Paper)

Annual Wildlife Society Conference, Austin, TX, September 1999.

Western States Student Wildlife Conclave, Moscow, ID, March 1999.

 

AWARDS AND HONORS:

 

Professor Delbert Swartz Endowed Graduate Fellowship – UofA, outstanding graduate student in biological sciences, May 2007 and October 2009.

Scott D. Schull Award – UofA, outstanding graduate student in wildlife, May 2003.

Boone and Crocket Award – CSU, outstanding honors senior wildlife biology major, May 2000.

David R. Anderson Award – CSU, outstanding contribution to The Wildlife Society, November 1999.

 

SOCIETIES:

 

American Ornithologists’ Union (Publications Committee member, August 2005 - present)

Arkansas Audubon Society (Vice President, April 2007 – present)

Association of Field Ornithologists

Cooper Ornithological Society

Ecological Society of America

Sigma Xi

The Wildlife Society

Wilson Ornithological Society

 

RELATED EXPERIENCE:

 

Organization for Tropical Studies – Specialty Course: Ecology and Conservation of Neotropical Birds, May 2009.

Active member (charter member; steering committee) of the International Rusty Blackbird Technical Working Group, February 2005 – present.

Student Reviewer for the Auk (reviewed 4 ms thus far), September 2006 - present.

Reviewer for Environmental Management (reviewed 2 ms thus far), January 2007 – present.

Reviewer for Journal of Field Ornithology (reviewed 1 ms thus far), November 2008 – present.

Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology – Ivory-billed Woodpecker Search Team, Eastern AR, spring 2006.

Organization for Tropical Studies – OTS-1-04: Tropical Biology: An Ecological Approach, Costa Rica, Winter 2004.

Massachusetts Audubon Society – Naturalist on the Trail, Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, Lenox, MA, September - November 2000.

Town of Orleans, MA, Department of Parks & Beaches – Shorebird Monitor, Orleans, MA, May - September 2000.

City of Fort Collins, CO, Department of Natural Resources – Black-tailed Prairie Dog relocation and plague monitoring, Fort Collins, CO, October 1998 – August 1999.

 

MEDIA AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH:

 

Public Presentation: Research and Conservation of the Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus): Efforts of the International Rusty Blackbird Technical Group.  Audubon Society of Central Arkansas, Little Rock, AR, July 2009

Public Presentation: Improving future monitoring programs for Rusty Blackbirds (Euphagus carolinus).  Arkansas Audubon Society Spring Meeting, Fayetteville, AR, April 2007.

Public Presentation: Understanding Declines in Rusty Blackbirds.  Arkansas Audubon Society Spring Meeting, Lake Village, AR, May 2006.

News Interview:  The Search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Channel 40/29, Fayetteville, AR, aired 1 December 2005.

Public Presentation: Birds of Costa Rica.  Brookstone Assisted Living Center, Fayetteville, AR, August 2005.

Public Presentation: Grassland Birds of Northwest Arkansas.  Brookstone Assisted Living Center, Fayetteville, AR, August 2003.

News Article:  Wildlife at Wedington forest should benefit from new-hire and more management, officials say.  Northwest Arkansas Times, Fayetteville, AR, 19 January 2003.