Research Summary
Jackson Hole, Wyoming — A great collection of North American wildlife awaits you in a high valley bordered by majestic mountain ranges. Bison, wolves, and bears live here, along with an array of forest songbirds, waterfowls, raptors, and trumpeter swans. Sadly, studies have shown that the number of both resident and migratory songbirds has been declining for the past 30 years. To learn more about why the chickadees, sapsuckers, grosbeaks, thrushes, warblers, woodpeckers, and vireos are disappearing, Embere Hall and Dale Gentry are mist-netting, colorbanding, and counting songbirds in several locations throughout Grand Teton National Park and Bridger-Teton National Forest, both parts of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. With your help, they hope to better estimate songbird populations, understand how both migratory and resident songbirds use various habitats, and figure out what’s causing the population declines.
Meet the Scientists
Embere Hall
Teton Science Schools
Embere Hall is the Research Director at the Conservation Research Center of Teton Science Schools in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. She has an M.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Iowa State University and specializes in avian research and the effects of land management on ecosystem function. Her past research includes monitoring projects on quail, pronghorn antelope, grassland songbirds, amphibians and snakes. Her current work examines the complex ways in which natural systems are influenced by human development. She focuses on applied research and encourages incorporation of her research into the community planning process
Dr. Dale Gentry
Teton Science Schools
Dr. Gentry is a Professor of Ecology and Natural History for the graduate program at Teton Science Schools. He has been involved with field research since 1995, on projects ranging from stream habitat quality to pika behavior, and he also supervises research projects for the residential education programs on the Kelly Campus. Dr. Gentry earned his M.S. degree studying cup-nesting songbirds and his Ph.D. studying the dynamics of cavity-using birds in South Dakota's Black Hills. His professional interests include integrating research and education, fire ecology, and the influence of urbanization on wildlife communities.