Cassandra Nuñez
I am interested in both basic and applied questions regarding the behavior and physiology of species. It is my sincere hope that my research can help conservationists and managers be more effective stewards, ensuring the health and well-being of the species under their charge. Most of my research involves feral horses, but I am eager to develop projects investigating other species for which management may be necessary to control populations.
Sidney Brenkus
Because Bighorn Sheep Respiratory Disease (BHSRD) leads to reduced lamb recruitment, decreased population growth and stability, and even local extinctions of bighorn sheep populations across North America, monitoring this disease is essential to wildlife conservation and management. However, traditional surveillance through captures and blood/tissue collection is logistically and economically challenging, hampering our ability to detect BHSRD incidence and spread. Sidney's work aims to circumvent some of these challenges by developing a surveillance program that uses behavioral sampling and data collection by volunteers to predict infection in bighorn herds.
