Chalfoun Lab

The overarching theme of our lab’s research program is understanding wildlife-habitat relationships, and particularly why animals choose the habitats that they do and the contexts under which such choices are adaptive. The impacts of superimposed human-induced habitat changes are examined within this context. Our projects span diverse taxa including birds, small mammals, the American pika, reptiles and amphibians. Focal habitat types have included grassland, riparian, coniferous forest, and alpine, with a strong focus on sagebrush steppe. Our questions are addressed with empirical, modeling and experimental approaches and students are encouraged to simultaneously advance both conceptual and applied ecological understanding.

Most graduate research projects in the lab are developed in close cooperation with the Wyoming Game & Fish Department and/or other agencies in order to address critical research needs of non-game wildlife species within the state. All graduate student projects in my lab therefore have both applied and conceptual components that are well-suited for students interested in learning to conduct rigorous scientific research that simultaneously addresses real-world wildlife conservation issues. Examples of ecological issues of focus in the lab include energy development, the mountain pine beetle epidemic, and climate variability.