{"id":7,"date":"2015-12-10T14:40:14","date_gmt":"2015-12-10T14:40:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/epps\/?page_id=7"},"modified":"2026-02-16T22:14:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T22:14:16","slug":"lab-members","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/epps\/people\/lab-members\/","title":{"rendered":"Past Lab Members"},"content":{"rendered":"

Graduate Students<\/span>:<\/p>\n

Jessica Castillo<\/strong>,<\/a> Ph.D., 2015
Dissertation title: “Population genetics of American pika (Ochotona princeps<\/em>): investigating gene flow and genetic diversity across multiple, complex landscapes.”<\/a><\/p>\n

Tyler Creech<\/strong>, Ph.D.,\u00a0 2016
Dissertation title: “Landscape-level approaches to desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni<\/em>) conservation in a changing environment.”<\/a><\/p>\n

Rachel Crowhurst<\/strong>, M.S., 2012 (currently genetics lab manager)
Thesis title: “Landscape features affecting genetic diversity and structure in East African ungulate species.”<\/a><\/p>\n

Daniella Dekelaita<\/strong><\/a>, Ph.D., 2020
Dissertation title: “Assessing apparent effects on survival and movement of desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni<\/em>) following a pneumonia outbreak.”\u00a0 <\/a><\/p>\n

Mark Linnell<\/strong>, M.S., 2014
Thesis title: “Short-tailed weasel space use in managed forests of western Oregon.”<\/a><\/p>\n

Katie Moriarty<\/strong><\/a>, Ph.D., 2014
Dissertation title: “Habitat use and movement behavior of Pacific marten (Martes caurina<\/em>) in response to forest management practices in Lassen National Forest, California.”<\/a><\/p>\n

Sara Murray<\/strong>, M.S., 2025
Thesis title: “Counting sheep: comparing camera-based mark-resight to fecal DNA mark-recapture for estimating desert bighorn sheep abundance.”<\/p>\n

Jennifer Nelson<\/a>, <\/strong>M.S., 2020
<\/strong>Thesis title: “Using spatial capture-recapture to estimate density of Roosevelt elk in western Oregon.”<\/a>
Public presentation: J Nelson final defense<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Brandon Nickerson<\/strong>, M.S., 2014
Thesis title: “Effects of genetic drift, natural selection, and population connectivity on adaptive-linked genetic diversity of desert bighorn sheep.”<\/a><\/p>\n

Robert Spaan<\/strong><\/a>, M.S., 2015; Ph.D., 2022
M.S. Thesis title: “Dispersal behavior in African buffalo (Syncerus caffer<\/em>): trade-offs between nutritional resources and disease exposure.”<\/a><\/p>\n

Dissertation title: “Characterizing the spread and consequences of Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae<\/em> on bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis<\/em>) in the Northern Basin and Range ecosystem.”<\/a><\/p>\n

Matt Weldy<\/strong>, M.S., 2018, Faculty Research Assistant 2018-2019
Thesis title: “Spatiotemporal associations of abundance and vital rates of co-occurring small mammals in a late successional forest.”<\/a><\/p>\n


Post-Doctoral Scholars<\/span>:<\/p>\n

Christina Aiello, <\/strong>Ph.D.<\/p>\n

Michael Buchalski<\/strong>, Ph.D.<\/a><\/p>\n

Donelle Schwalm<\/strong>, Ph.D.<\/p>\n

Research Associates<\/span>:<\/p>\n

Claire Couch, Ph.D.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Faculty Research Assistant<\/span>s<\/span>:<\/p>\n

Paige (Minton-Edison) Blount<\/strong><\/p>\n

Anne (Johnston) Davis<\/strong>, M.S.<\/p>\n

Undergraduate Research Assistants<\/span>:<\/p>\n

Antonio Cordero<\/strong>, B.S.<\/p>\n

Juliana Masseloux<\/strong>, B.S., 2016
Thesis title: “Using detection\/non-detection surveys to model land-use by East African carnivores and make suggestions for maximizing detection on range-wide rapid surveys.”<\/p>\n

Abigail Sage<\/strong>, B.S., 2014
Thesis title: “Estimating density of a black bear population in Northeastern Oregon using dogs and genetic mark-recapture techniques.”<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Graduate Students: Jessica Castillo, Ph.D., 2015Dissertation title: “Population genetics of American pika (Ochotona princeps): investigating gene flow and genetic diversity across multiple, complex landscapes.” Tyler Creech, Ph.D.,\u00a0 2016Dissertation title: “Landscape-level approaches to desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) conservation in a changing environment.” Rachel Crowhurst, M.S., 2012 (currently genetics lab manager)Thesis title: “Landscape features affecting… Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3122,"featured_media":0,"parent":831,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/epps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/epps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/epps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/epps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3122"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/epps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/epps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1035,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/epps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7\/revisions\/1035"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/epps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/epps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}