Like most wildlife researchers, Samantha Dwinnell is an adventurer at heart. After receiving a B.S. in Biology and a B.A. in Environmental Studies from the University of Minnesota – Duluth in 2007, Sam embarked on the expected departure from the flat prairies of the Midwest to the granite slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Her broad interests in wildlife ecology and desire for exploring different systems carried her through seven years of working on a variety of wildlife research projects throughout the Intermountain West. Among her experiences, the most notable in molding her career were those affiliated with the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. She began her career with the WY Coop in 2008 as a field technician assisting with research investigating the effects of energy development on songbird communities in western Wyoming. She then segued into another position within the WY Coop where she assisted with research studying the influence of backcountry recreation on habitat selection of bighorn sheep in Grand Teton National Park. Projects like these allowed Sam to develop her research interests in applied ecology while simultaneously satiating her need for adventure.
In 2013, Sam began her thesis research with the WY Coop studying Effects of human disturbance on the nutritional ecology of mule deer. Her research focused on understanding the nutritional relationships between habitat conditions, behavior, and human disturbance. Sam completed her MS degree in Spring 2017. Currently, Sam is as a Research Scientist for the Haub School of ENR and is working on research aimed at Disentangling the effects of predation, nutrition, and habitat on survival of neonatal mule deer.
When Sam is not chasing deer down with telemetry or bugging out with Program R, you can usually find her backcountry skiing, mountain biking, or on the occasional packraft or backpack trip somewhere.
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Publications
Aikens, E. O., M. J. Kauffman, J. A. Merkle, S. P. H. Dwinnell, G. L. Fralick, and K. L. Monteith. 2017. “The greenscape shapes surfing of resource waves in a large migratory herbivore.” Ecology Letters 20: 741-750.
Dwinnell, Samantha P. H. 2017. “Risk Effects of Human Disturbance on the Foodscape for a Large Herbivore: Nutritional Relationships Among Behavior, Forage Availability, and Human Disturbance.” MS thesis, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming.
Dwinnell, S. P. H., H. Sawyer, J. E. Randall, J. L. Beck, J. S. Forbey, G. L. Fralick, and K. L. Monteith. In Review. “Where to Forage when Afraid: Does Risk-Averse Behavior Compromise Use of the Foodscape?” Ecological Applications.
Selected Presentations
Dwinnell, S. P. H., Fralick, G.L., Kaiser, R., Thonhoff, M., Randall, J., and Monteith, K. L. “The Lasting Effects of Winter: Carryover Effects of Severe Winter Condisiton in Reproduction of Mule Deer”. The Wildlife Society Wyoming Chapter Annual Meeting, Oral Presentation, Jackson, WY, December 6, 2017
Dwinnell, S. P. H., Sawyer, H., Randall, J., Beck, J. L., Fralick, G. L., and Monteith, K. L. “Risk Effects of Human Disturbance on the Winter Foodscape”. The Wildlife Society Annual National Meeting, Oral Presentation, Albuquerque, NM, September 27, 2017
Dwinnell, S.P.H., Kauffman, H. Sawyer, G.L. Fralick, and K.L. Monteith. “Risk-Effects of a Human-Altered Landscape: Nutritional Tradeoffs in Behavior of Mule Deer”. The Wildlife Society Wyoming Chapter Annual Meeting, Oral Presentation, Cody, WY, November 16, 2016
Dwinnell, S.P.H., Kauffman, H. Sawyer, G.L. Fralick, and K.L. Monteith. “Risk-Effects of a Human-Altered Landscape: Nutritional Tradeoffs in Behavior of Mule Deer”. The Wildlife Society Annual Meeting, Oral Presentation, Raleigh, NC, October 17, 2016
Dwinnell, S.P.H., “Nutritional Ecology of Wyoming Range Mule Deer: Linking the Individual to the Landscape”. Wyoming Game and Fish Department Commission Meeting, Cheyenne, WY, March 23, 2016
Dwinnell, S.P.H., “Wyoming Range Mule Deer Project: Research Update”. Annual Mule Deer Initiative Public Meetings, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Afton, Kemmerer, Jackson, and Pinedale, WY, January 7-10, 2016
Dwinnell, S.P.H., Kauffman, H. Sawyer, G.L. Fralick, and K.L. Monteith. “Nutritional Relationships Between Mule Deer Behavior And Human Disturbance”. The Wildlife Society Wyoming Chapter Annual Meeting, Oral Presentation, Lander, WY, December 3, 2015
Dwinnell, S.P.H., M.J. Kauffman, H. Sawyer, G.L. Fralick, and K.L. Monteith. “Nutritional Relationships Between Mule Deer Behavior And Human Disturbance”. The Wildlife Society Annual National Meeting, Poster Session, Pittsburgh, PA, October 27, 2014
Dwinnell, S.P.H., M.J. Kauffman, H. Sawyer, G.L. Fralick, and K.L. Monteith. “Nutritional Relationships Between Mule Deer Behavior And Human Disturbance”. The Wildlife Society Wyoming Chapter Annual Meeting, Poster Session, Sheridan, WY, August 26, 2014
Dwinnell, S.P.H. “Risk Effects of a Human Impacted Landscape: Nutritional Tradeoffs in Behavior of Mule Deer” University of Wyoming Zoology and Physiology Department Brown Bag Seminar, Laramie, WY, March 31, 2014
Dwinnell, S.P.H., K.L. Monteith, H. Sawyer, J.E. Randall, A.B. Courtemanch, G.L. Fralick, S.G. Smith, and M.J. Kauffman. “Quantifying the Effects of Indirect Habitat Loss on Behavior, Nutrition, and Fitness of Mule Deer”. The Wildlife Society Wyoming Chapter Annual Meeting, Poster Session, Rock Springs, WY, October 29, 2013.
Hall, E., S. Dwinnell, L. Work, P. Hallsten, G. Fralick, D. Brimeyer, S. Dewey, B. Hammond. “Understanding Mule Deer (Odocoilus hemionus) Movements and Responses to Roadways in Northwest Wyoming”. The Wildlife Society Wyoming Chapter Annual Meeting, Poster Session, Jackson, WY, December 9, 2011.
Scholarships & Fellowships
2014 – L. Floyd Clarke Greater Yellowstone Scholarship, Department of Zoology & Physiology, University of Wyoming
2015 – WEST Research Award for Quantitative Analysis in Wildlife Ecology