The WHAPA Lab: Home to Quite Possibly the most Famous Graduate Students in the World

(Certainly the Most Beloved)


Current Students

Christine Proctor

co-advised with Dr Mike Vaughan and Dr Dean Stauffer

Red Wolf Movement and Habitat Use in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge

Anne Hilbourn


Cheetahs, corn chips, cheeze doodles, and frogs. Because we love frogs

Erin Poor

jointly with the GeoSpatial Programme

Sumatran Tigers, their kittens, and warm bowls of milk. No, that's not a typo

Bernardo Mesa


Bears. Fluffy Bears. Soft, cuddly, cute-as-buttons Bears. And hugs

Ben Augustine


Math. Data. Formulas. Models. Gigantic, World-Conquering Brains

Chris Rowe


Pumas. Bars. Umbrellas. Stand back

Robert Alonso

Coyotes, Bobcats, Bears, and a crate of ACME® TNT

David McNitt


Bobcats and Deers: The Perfect Appalachian Dinner Guests

Completed Students

Chris Satter, 2016

Co-Advised with Dr Michael Cherry

Pigs, Piggies, Piglets.

Pork, Pork Pie, Pork Pie Hats.

Bacon.

Lindsey Rich, 2016


Botswana, leopards, dry air, and some dust, if you can believe that one

Dana Morin, 2015


Spatial Ecology and Demography of Eastern Coyotes in Western Virginia

Asia Murphy, 2015


Madagascar, fosa, tins of tuna, and damp sleeping bags

Zack Farris, 2014


Impacts of Fragmentation on the Malagasy Carnivore Community

Kanchan Thapa, 2014


Tiger Conservation in the Terai Arc Landscape, Nepal

Mamadou Daha Kane, 2014


Senegal, kittens, trees, and swimming pools.

David Montague, 2014


Diet and Feeding Ecology of the Coyote in Western Virginia

Bernardo Mesa, 2014


Assessment of Anthropogenic Impacts Trough Non-Invasive Glucocorticoid Measurements on Belizean Jaguar (Panthera onca goldmani) Populations

Claudia Wultsch, 2013


Non-Invasive tracking of jaguars (Panthera onca) and co-occurring feline species in Belize by genotyping feces and remote camera trapping

Sunarto, 2011

co-advised with Dr Mike Vaughan

Ecology of Tigers and Their Prey in Riau, Sumatra

Mike St Germain, 2012


Bat Habitat Ecology Using Remote Acoustical Detectors at the Army National Guard Manoeuvre Training Center--Fort Pickett, Blackstone, Virginia

Catherine Tredick, 2011

co-advised with Dr Mike Vaughan

Ecology of black bears in Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona: Managing bear-human conflict in a changing environment

Greg Batts, 2008


An assessment of Quality Deer Management on a Private Hunt Club in the Virginia Piedmont

Miranda Davis, 2009


Co-Varying Predator Densities and Mesopredator Release of the Ocelot across Five Study Sites in Belize

Jeff Kaminski (1971--2004), 2006


Disturbance Effects on Small Mammal Communities in a Managed Appalachian Forest

Adam Dillon, 2005


Ocelot Density and Home Range in Belize, Central America: Camera-Trapping and Radio Telemetry

Peter Laver, 2005


Cheetah of the Serengeti Plains: A Home Range Analysis

Kate Wright Kelly, 2005

co-advised with Dr Carola Haas

Model Validation and Improvement using New Data on Habitat Characteristics Important to Forest Salamanders, and Short-Term Effects of Forestry Practices on Salamander Movement and Population Estimates

Chris Satter, 2016


Cats. Kitties. Kittens. Mittens. He's Our Kind of Guy

In the Process of Floating Around Somewhere

Dr. Marcella Kelly is a Professor in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation (FWC) in the College of Natural Resources and Environment (CNRE) at Virginia Tech. Her research focuses on estimating demographic parameters for difficult-to-track large, forest-dwelling carnivores in order to promote biodiversity conservation. Dr. Kelly uses remotely-triggered cameras and non-invasive genetic sampling over large landscapes to determine population size or density, population trends over time, survival rates, sex ratios, and genetic population structure and connectivity. She also used GPS collaring, critter-cam collaring, and captive animal holding to study space use, resource selection, foraging ecology, and behavior. Her research has resulted in over 100 peer-reviewed scientific papers on population densities and trends for numerous large- and medium-sized tropical cats, space use and demography of coyotes, bobcats, and bears, and feeding ecology of numerous carnivore species. Dr. Kelly is also a member of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group responsible for reviewing the threatened and endangered status of multiple felid species.

Christian Thomaz Osorio Popiolek

No Idea at Present!

Robert Nipko

Unicorns & Rainbows. For a fact.

Darby McPhail

Determining the frequency of Puma-Jaguar fistfights, and the resulting impact on Felid dental health

Vance Nepumoceno

Slow-cooked brisket. Home Fries. Cold Brew. Sweet!

Njambi Phillys Gichuru

Ethiopian terrestrial mammals, where they go, and what they do. Plus, when they do it

Brogan Holcombe

Black Bears. Where they go. What they eat when they get there. How they spend their leisure time