Katherine Gura is a PhD student in Dr. Anna Chalfoun’s lab researching the mechanisms underlying variation in movements and demography by irruptive, facultative-migrant species using the Great Gray Owl (Strix nebulosa) as a model system. Specifically, she will evaluate how variation in prey abundance and climatic conditions influence the seasonal movements, habitat selection, productivity, and survival of this understudied forest raptor. Prior to beginning her graduate work, Katherine conducted field research at Teton Raptor Center in Wilson, WY. She began studying Great Gray Owls in Teton County, WY in 2013, and her graduate research through the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit is a collaboration with the University of Wyoming, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, and Teton Raptor Center. Katherine’s research interests include applied avian research specifically related to movement ecology, habitat selection, and community ecology. During her free time, Katherine enjoys adventuring with her favorite field assistant, her pup Dipper.
Publications
Mattheis, S. and K. Gura. 2019. Phantom of the North: Great Gray Owls of Yellowstone and the Tetons. Helena, MT: Sweetgrass Books.
Gura, K., Bedrosian, B., Mendelsohn. 2017. Synchronous Tail Molt in Great Gray Owls (Strix nebulosa). Journal of Raptor Research 51(2): 190-192.
Selected Presentations
Gura, K., B. Bedrosian, S. Patla, A. Chalfoun. Variation in Scale-Dependent Habitat Selection by Great Gray Owls (Strix nebulosa). 2020. Presentation at the North American Ornithological Conference.
Gura, K., B. Bedrosian, S. Patla, A. Chalfoun. Great Gray Owl Habitat Selection and Home Range Characteristics during the Breeding Season. 2019. Presentations at the national Raptor Research Foundation Conference, Fort Collins, CO, and the Wyoming Wildlife Society Conference, Sheridan, WY.
Gura, K., B. Bedrosian, S. Patla, A. Chalfoun. Great Gray Owl Home Range and Habitat Selection During the Breeding Season. 2019. Poster presented at the American Ornithological Society Conference, Anchorage, Alaska.
Gura, K., B. Bedrosian, S. Patla, A. Chalfoun. Great Gray Owl breeding-season habitat selection and home range characteristics. 2018. Poster presented at the international Raptor Research
Foundation Conference, Skukuza, South Africa and at the Wyoming Wildlife Society Conference, Laramie, WY.
Gura K., C.A. Adams, A. Swan, N. Ciaravella, T. Griffith, S. Patla, S. Poole, B. Bedrosian. 2017. Accuracy of call-back surveys and automated sound recorders to determine territory occupancy rates of forest owls and efficiency of recording analysis methods. Presentation at the Raptor Research Foundation Conference, Salt Lake City, UT.and at the Wyoming Wildlife Society Conference, Jackson, WY.
Gura, K., B. Bedrosian, B. Mendelsohn, S. Patla. 2016. Nighttime Call-back Detections, Nesting Demographics, and Habitat Selection of Great Gray Owls in Western Wyoming. Presentation at the Wyoming Wildlife Society Conference, Cody, WY.
Gura, K., B. Bedrosian, B. Mendelsohn. 2015. Synchronous Tail Molt in Great Gray Owls (Strix nebulosa). Poster presented at the Raptor Research Foundation Conference, Sacramento, CA.
Scholarships & Fellowships
Biodiversity Institute Graduate Student Research Enhancement Grant, 2020
Lyman and Margie McDonald Research Award for Quantitative Analysis in Wildlife and Fisheries Ecology 2020
Meg and Bert Raynes Wildlife Fund Grant, 2018, 2019 and 2020
Teton County Conservation District Research Grant, 2020
UW-NPS Small Grant, 2019 and 2020
Wyoming Governor’s Big Game License Coalition Grant, 2020
L Floyd Clarke Fund in Zoology & Physiology, 2019
Margaret and Sam Kelly Wildlife Research Scholarship, 2018 and 2019
Boyd Evison Graduate Fellow, 2018
Arts and Science’s Dean Scholar Award, 2018
Floyd Clark Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Research Award, 2018