Research in the Lab

My research is relatively broad and covers an array of habitats, organisms, spatial and temporal scales, and environmental stressors. Some of the questions I typically examine are how and why numbers (populations or communities) change across a landscape, habitat selection (at multiple spatial scales), population monitoring, effectiveness of habitat restoration, and the general theme of conservation biology.

I am new to UTB and have a couple of projects under way. The first is examining the population status of the Gulf Coast Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys compactus) on South Padre Island.

The second is examining habitat use during the non-breeding season of the endangered piping plover on and around the Laguna Madre in Mexico.

Third, we are examining the waterbird community in resacas (oxbow lakes) in the LRGV. These are numerous resacas throughout the valley and they are widely utilized by a variety of species and may represent an important habitat for waterbirds throughout the year.

I also have several collaborations concurrently underway including two projects with Dr. Carl Johansson. The first is with our Brazillian colleague Dr. Nelson da Silva examining population dynamics of Hyacinth Macaws in the cerrado region of Brazil. Second, Dr. Johansson has recently entered the strange and fascinating world of tardigrades. I am assisting him with documenting the diversity, distribution, and abundance of these microscopic critters in both temperate and tropical regions.

Future Research

There are numerous opportunities in the Texas-Mexico border region, in terms of species and habitats (both terrestrial and aquatic). Some of the potential projects include conducting research at Rancho del Cielo, our research station in the cloud forests of state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. The diversity of habitats surrounding the research station is impressive (8 distinct ecosystems). I am also interested in a variety of taxa (e.g. currently looking at all vertebrate groups) in a variety of habitats. If you are interested in joining the Linder Lab, please feel free to contact me.

Previous Research

Some of my previous research has examined how birds respond to establishing field borders in an agricultural landscape in the Mississippi Delta; the influence of climate variability on prey abundance and its subsequent impact on the reproductive success of some warblers varies in the southern Appalachian mountains; the influence of landscape composition on the avian community structure in the S Apps; reproductive ecology of Acadian Flycatchers in a managed hardwood forest; the influence of Green-tree Reservoir (GTR) management on the foraging ecology of Acadian Flycatchers; the influence of GTR management on the avian community structure; the macroecology of North American landbirds.

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Links to Selected Research Articles

Interaction Between Climate Variability, Prey Abundance and Parental Care

Stodola, K.W., E.T. Linder, D.A. Buehler, K.E. Franzreb, D.H. Kim and R.J. Cooper. In Press. Relative influence of male and female care in determining nestling mass in a migratory songbird. Journal of Avian Biology.

Stodola, K.W., D.A. Buehler, D.H. Kim, K.E. Franzreb and E.T. Linder. In Press. Biotic and abiotic factors governing nestling period length in the Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapillus). Auk. (PDF)

Stodola, E.T. Linder, D.A. Buehler, K.E. Franzreb and R.J. Cooper.  2009.  Parental care in the multi-brooded black-throated warbler. Condor 111:1-6. (PDF)

Communities in Managed Landscapes

Conover, R.C., L.W. Burger and E.T. Linder.  2009. Breeding bird response to field border presence and width. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 121:548-555. (PDF)

Conover, R.C., L.W. Burger and E.T. Linder. 2007. Winter bird response to field border establishment and width. Journal of Wildlife Management 71:1917-1923. (PDF)

Avian Management

Buehler, D.A., E.T. Linder, K.E. Franzreb, N.A. Klaus, R. Dettmers, and J.G. Bartlett.  2005. Integrating Bird-Habitat Modeling into National Forest Planning for Bird Conservation in the Southern Appalachians. Pgs 1173-1176 In Bird Conservation Implementation and Integration in the Americas.(PDF)

Linder, E.T. and D.A. Buehler. 2005. Analysis of US Forest Service R8 Bird Point Count Monitoring Database- Implications for Designing and Implementing Avian Monitoring. Pgs 950-955 In Bird Conservation Implementation and Integration in the Americas. (PDF)

Tropical Biology

da Silva, Jr. N.J., H.L.R. Silva, M.T.U. Rodrgues, N.C. do Valle, M.C. Costa, S.P. de Castro, E.T. Linder, C. Johansson, and J.W. Sites Jr.  2005.  A fauna de vertebrados do vale do alto Rio Tocantins em áreas de usinas hidrelétricas. Estudos 13:57-101. (PDF)

Johansson, C.A, E.T. Linder, C.M. White and J.C.L. Fleury. 1999.  Nesting observation of the Yellow-headed Caracara in the cerrado region of Brazil.  Ornitologia Neotropical 10:211-216. (PDF)

Macroecology

Husak, M.S. and E.T. Linder. 2004.  Geographic locale and relative dominance patterns among North American passerine communities. Ecography 27:668-676. (PDF)

Linder, E.T., M.-A. Villard, B.A. Maurer, and E.V. Schmidt.  2000.  Geographic range structure of North American landbirds: variation with breeding habitat, trophic level, and migratory status. Ecography 23:678-686. (PDF)

Maurer, B.A., E.T. Linder, and D. Gammon. 2001.  A geographic perspective on the biotic homogenization process: implications from the macroecology of North American birds. Pgs. 157-178 in Biotic Homogenization: the loss of diversity through invasion and extinction. J.L. Lockwood and M.L. McKinney (eds). (PDF)