B&C Fellow - Jonathan Trudeau

Michigan State University – Ph.D. Student in Fisheries and Wildlife - Projected to Graduate in 2022
Project Title: Factors Influencing the Movement and Space Use of White-Tailed Deer in Michigan and Implications for the Management of Emergent Chronic Wasting Disease

hunting, fishing, and camping with my family. During this time, I develop a love and respect for the natural world, inspiring me to pursue a career centered around wildlife and the places they call home. I earned my bachelor's degree from the University of New Hampshire where I received my first real exposure to research while conducting undergraduate research focusing on the social interactions of American black bear in northern New Hampshire. Before obtaining my master’s degree from Ball State University, I worked for the National Wildlife Refuge system conducting a wide variety of biological monitoring programs. I joined the Boone and Crockett Quantitative Wildlife Center as a doctoral student in 2017 and have dedicated most of my time to researching white-tailed deer since 2015. Though deer are constantly on my mind, I continue to find time to work with my bird dog, introduce new folks to the world of hunting, and teach my daughters how to respect and enjoy the natural world. In the future I would like to become an extension biologist at a land grant university where I conduct applied research, teach courses, and implement outreach programs to instill a passion for wildlife and research.

Factors Influencing the Movement and Space Use of White-Tailed Deer in Michigan and Implications for the Management of Emergent Chronic Wasting Disease

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a debilitating disease that has negatively affected cervid populations across the nation. In 2015, CWD was found in a suburban center of south-central Michigan. With limited resources, it is crucial for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to manage CWD in the most effective and efficient manner possible. My research examines the space-use, movement patterns, and contact rates of white-tailed deer across a developmental gradient and assesses the impacts landscape characteristics has on these behaviors. Specifically, my research seeks to answer questions about how deer behavior differs as development increases and how we can use these behaviors to better inform where, when, and how to manage for diseases such as CWD. Despite there being so much information available on white-tailed deer, there is still little known about rare movement events, such as excursion. My research seeks to identify potential drivers of these movements and determine their importance to deer ecology.