Research Interests and Present Research

My interests are the population and ecosystem ecology of human-modified and urban landscapes, the interface between the native species and the anthropogenic environs, and biodiversity and sustainability in human-controlled landscapes. My main themes are interactions between humans and native species in urban areas, ecosystem processes and function in urban ecosystems, and ecosystem services of urban green space. I am also interested in spatial ecology of animals, especially in human dominated landscapes, and in the effects of human impacts of various habitat elements on longer-term evolutionary processes of native species.

At the present, I am working on a number of projects:

Native Rodents in Highway Clover-Leaf Intersections

Major highways often cut through and disrupt natural areas. Conversely, the areas enclosed within the “clover leaf” loops of the on and off ramps from the major interstate highways in the urban area of Chicago, have often undergone little disturbance from the time the highways were built in the 1950’s, compared to much of the surrounding urban areas. The condition of the vegetation within the “loops” is fairly visible, and often monitored or managed, but little or nothing is known regarding the fate of the animals living there. In a study I am conducting in collaboration with Dr. Emily Minor of UIC, studying the fauna of these areas, we have discovered that the grassy areas of many of these loops have breeding populations of meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus), a native species of rodents which formerly inhabited much of the original grasslands of this area. This is very interesting from many ecological perspectives: urban landscape use by native fauna, metapopulation dynamics, and persistence of native species in areas strongly modified by human activity. We hope to study these aspects and more in the coming years.

Habitat Use by Snow Leopards Uncia uncia in the Nepal

I have an ongoing collaboration with Dr. Ale on a study of habitat selection by snow leopards (Uncia uncia) from a recently reestablished population in Nepal (Wolf and Ale 2009). We are also looking at habitat selection and human-snow leopard conflict in Nepal and possibilities of establishing movement corridors through inhabited areas in Nepal. .

Chicago Rivers – Coupling Ecosystem Function and Services in an Urban Greenway

A, project, still in its preliminary stages, focuses on the relationship between environmental policy, ecosystem function, and ecosystem services of urban green space. I hope to establish the relationships between ecosystem function (i.e., nutrient cycling and energy flows) of different regions of the Chicago and Des Plaines rivers and the ecosystem services (e.g., increased water and air quality, recreational use) supplied by these regions. At each location, we will collect data that will provide an indication of ecosystem function of the river, the riparian zone, and the adjacent area (biodiversity, food web complexity, etc.). We will also collect data regarding the ecosystem services provided by each segment of the river and the adjacent region, focusing for the most part on water quality, air quality, recreational use, and aesthetics.

Climate Related Changes in Morphology of Rodents

A research project in collaboration with Dr. Jorge Salazar of Texas Tech University, and Mr. Michael Friggens of the University of New Mexico. This is a study of spatially and temporally based morphological variation of heteromyid and murid rodents (Oral presentation at the 88^th meeting of the ESA, Wolf et al. 2009, MS in prep.)

http://www.ukans.edu/~mammals/perog-flavesc.html

Other Projects

I also have a few projects that are not directly related to Ecology of numan dominated landscapes, but focus on spatial ecology and eco-morphology:

Spatial Patterns of Habitat Use by kit foxes Vulpes macrotis.

I am also working at the present on a number of research projects in collaboration with Dr. Gary Roemer of New Mexico State University, at White Sands National Monument, NM. These projects cover different aspects of space use by kit foxes (Vulpes macrotis) living on the Gypsum Dunes of the Monument. The first is a study focusing on habitat use preferences. The second project focuses on the differences in the local community structure between areas dominated by coyotes and areas where kit foxes are more common. Data from our preliminary study indicates that there is a spatial separation between areas where kit foxes and coyote are active. While the difference in habitat use is dependent of vegetation cover, different prey base may, in turn affect this very same cover. Thus, the vegetation, the prey, and the predators likely form an interactive network, with the predators determining the prey structure, the prey determine the vegetation structure, which, in turn, may determine the dominant predator.

The Behavioral and Ecological Correlates of the dorsal color pattern of Colubrid Snakes

http://www.snakes.co.il/israsnake/dugvani11.jpg

I am presently working in collaboration with Ligia Frizzata of the U. of Sydney on a follow up to an earlier paper (Wolf and Werner 1994). This is a more detailed multi-species level analysis of the ecological correlates of the dorsal coloration patterns of Colubrid snakes. We plan to use up to date phylogenies and utilize methodology for general and reliable results.