Patrick A. "Pat" Zollner

Research:

• Marten (Dispersal Simulation in Northern Wisconsin)
• SODA (Simulation of Disturbance Activity)
• Swamp Rabbit (Density Estimation from Latrines in Southern Indiana)

Courses:

• FNR 241, Ecology and Systematics of Fishes and Mammals
• FNR 370, Natural Resources Practicum
• FNR 547, Vertebrate Population Dynamics

Patrick A. “Pat” Zollner is an Assistant Professor of Quantitative Ecology in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR) at Purdue University.  Pat received his B.S. in Natural Resources from the School of Natural Resources at the University of Michigan in 1989, his M.S. in Wildlife Ecology from Mississippi State University in 1993, and his Ph.D. in Ecology from Indiana State University in 1998.  Subsequently he worked for six years as a research ecologist in the Northcentral Research Station of the US Forest Service where he was stationed in the Landscape Ecology project in Rhinelander Wisconsin.

While working for the US Forest Service Pat was a recipient of a Presidential Early Career Science award for collaborative research with the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission on the reintroduction of American marten (Martes americana) in northern Wisconsin.  His research interests focus on understanding the interactions between animal behavior (specifically movement patterns) and landscape patterns of habitat resulting from human activity (e.g., forest management or fragmentation).  Typically this work focuses on mammalian models systems although he has some experience working with birds as well.  He relies on iterative combinations of field experiments to define the rules animals use for movement and individually based spatially explicit simulation models to investigate the implications of those rules in circumstances beyond those in which data were collected and thus to motivate additional field work on critical aspects of the interactions between animals and the landscapes in which they live.  Thematically Pat’s research focuses on behavioral ecology and landscape ecology in the context of questions about the conservation of species of concern and his work has implications for both theoretical considerations (e.g. understanding animal movement rules and their implications) and also has important applied repercussions for conservation efforts.