Fragmentation Ecology Lab
The Fragmentation Ecology Laboratory, under the direction of Dr. Rob Swihart, provides resources for the investigation of landscape fragmentation on wildlife. Currently, the lab is utilized by one Research Technician, two Doctoral students and as many as 8-10 undergraduate assistants. Ongoing projects include the testing of theoretical metapopulation models using Red flour beetles, investigation of occurrence and abundance of acorn weevils in fragmented forest landscapes and effects of landscape pattern on animal-mediated acorn dispersal and seedling recruitment.
Lab equipment includes several environmental chambers/incubators, a drying oven and a fume hood. 
Telemetry equipment includes 6 Communications Specialist 1000 Radio Telemetry Receivers (148-178 MHz), 2 Wildlife Materials TRX-2000S receivers (150-151 MHz), 1 Biomark handheld PIT tag reader and 1 truck-mounted telemetry system with a 5 element yagi and repeater compass. We're also in the process of building 3 trailer-mounted automated telemetry receiving towers, which can be deployed to any landscape to provide continuous, 24 hour monitoring of 100+ radio tagged animals at a temporal resolution of less than 1 minute.
The lab is located in Room 119 of the Forestry Building on the West Lafayette campus.
Research Projects
- Animal-mediated acorn dispersal and seedling recruitment
- Occurrence and abundance of acorn weevils in fragmented landscapes
- Testing metapopulation theory with flour beetles in micro-landscapes
Lab Manager
Bryan D. Price
Research Technician
Department of Forestry and Natural Resources
Purdue University
195 Marsteller St., Room 120-B
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2033
Telephone: 765-496-2845
Email: bdprice@purdue.edu
