David King

PhD., University of Massachusetts Amherst

I study wildlife ecology and conservation, particularly in relation to habitat management. Neotropical migrant birds are my specialty; however I also work with other taxa. I have studied the effect of silviculture and roads on the abundance and fitness of mature forest birds, however more recently I have focused on scrub-shrub birds. This work includes studies on the use of silviculture, rights-of-way maintenance, and wildlife openings for the creation and maintenance of habitat for scrub-shrub birds, as well as the effects of fire and fuels reduction in pitch pine-scrub oak forests. Most studies include measurements of fitness in addition to abundance, such as nesting success, fecundity, body condition, and adult and fledgling survival. I have also worked on the ecology of Neotropical migrants during the post-fledging period, using both standardized mist-netting and radio-telemetry. I have worked extensively in the tropics on wintering Neotropical migrants in Mexico and Central America