Applied Wildlife Ecology & Spatial Movement Lab

Introducing the WildAg Podcast! WildAg is part of @NR_University and serves as a connection point for conservation professionals and landowners who want to integrate conservation with agriculture. Episodes are now live! Listen here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wil…

Buffer areas like this one offer more than just wildlife habitat. They are also incredibly important for keeping water clean and helping reduce damage from extreme weather events. The buffer area shown, along with other conservation practices on the same farm, helped save this…

I had the opportunity to speak at the Nebraska Career Ed Conf yesterday on a big question: “How do we feed and fuel a growing world while sustaining the land that makes it possible?” Follow our @AWESMLab—we are helping to make conservation real on working lands.

What does your local deer herd really look like? Don’t guess—survey it. Trail cameras aren’t just for cool photos—they’re a powerful tool for gathering real data about your local deer herd. Running a preseason camera survey in early to mid-August helps landowners and managers:…

Brood-Rearing Habitat: It’s Not Just What—It’s Where Photo is AI generated @UNLSNR @UNL_IANR @AWESMLab @NWTF_official @UNL_CASNR @UNLresearch

Brood-rearing cover = bare ground + mixed forbs + grasses It’s all about structure—not just plant species. Want a simple test? Take a toy truck (about the size of a several day-old poult) and try pushing it through the vegetation. If it’s hard to move, it’s hard for poults to…

Meet Carlie, Nebraska's Wild Turkey Program Manager, and learn more about our research on wild turkeys throughout western Nebraska: nwtf.org/content-hub/me…

A new paper recently published by Drs. Andrew Little (@awesmlabdoc) and Grace Schuster, along with their co-authors, used a case example to identify opportunities to strategically target human-wildlife conflict information to the public through web resources. Specifically, the…

New WildAg episode! Joining us this month on the podcast are Gabriella Scolio and Jacob Penner from @nature_org to talk about carbon markets and what it means for farmers in the Midwest. We learn about what a carbon credit is, why companies are interested in carbon credits and…

Wild turkeys typically select nest sites with dense cover to increase visual obstruction and hide their nests from potential predators. But this hen chose a unique spot at one of our field sites: an inset in the side of a hill with a slope greater than 45 degrees!

Talk about extreme nesting: this turkey picked a spot with a 15-ft cliff on one side! While turkeys usually choose nests with lots of visual cover to hide from predators, this hen opted for a dramatic slope!

What are carbon credits? And what exactly is the carbon market? Why should you - as a farmer, conservation professional, outdoors lover, or consumer - care about carbon? On our next episode of WildAg, we chat with Gabriella Scolio and Jacob Penner from @nature_org to talk about…

Once poults get 2-3 weeks old and roost at night above ground, survival increases! If a hen is killed while brooding, >80% of time it’s while roosting. And bigger poults have a more diverse diet and can exploit more complex habitats ⁦@wildturkeylab⁩ ⁦@NWTF_official⁩

Huge congratulations to Grace Schuster who successfully defended her PhD dissertation today!! Grace's work provided critical new information on the possible benefits and effects on avian populations from the implementation of switchgrass as a new crop in Nebraska. She also dove…

*AI-generated image* What is spatial scale, and why does it matter for wildlife? In working ag landscapes, high-quality habitat is often limited and spread out, making it harder for wildlife to find food and cover throughout the entire year. Even small actions, like adding a…

**New Research Paper Alert** What do pheasants tell us about the land? We’re using satellite data to better understand how wildlife and ag can thrive together—because healthy land supports us all. ✅ First article from our pheasant project—more to come!

We had a great time at yesterday's field day, "Farming with Prairie Strips." From seeing various Conservation Reserve Programs in practice on-farm to talks on economics, planning, and landowner testimonials, we covered a lot! Thanks to organizing and attending partners at…

Join resource professionals for a discussion of prairie strips and their benefits, including a look into the practicality and economics of the practice, along with producer testimonials and a review of program options to assist you. This event is free to the public! Learn more…