Geoffrey D. Miller, PhD

Geoffrey D. Miller, PhD

Wildlife ecologist specializing in animal movement and species interactions between carnivores across spatial scales.

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portfolio

publications

Paper Title Number 4

Published in GitHub Journal of Bugs, 2024

This paper is about fixing template issue #693.

Recommended citation: Your Name, You. (2024). "Paper Title Number 3." GitHub Journal of Bugs. 1(3).
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talks

Artificial light at night alters feeding behavior of a diurnal caterpillar via effects on host-plant quality

Published:

We investigated potential indirect effects of artificial light at night on diurnal herbivorous insects via effects on host-plant quality. In a series of experiments, we tested the hypothesis that ALAN-induced changes in the growth, nutritional quality or defenses of common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) would affect the host-plant preferences, feeding frequency, and performance of a diurnal caterpillar, the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus). We also tested whether ALAN has direct effects on the feeding frequency or performance of this diurnal herbivore. There was no evidence that ALAN affected the growth, nutritional quality or defensive capabilities of common milkweed, nor were there indirect effects of ALAN on caterpillar preference or performance via effects of ALAN on common milkweed. However, monarch caterpillars directly exposed to ALAN exhibited 58% higher feeding frequency at night and showed a marginally significant 10% increase in pupal mass.

A (prairie) wolf at the door: What are the consequences for South American canids if coyotes shoot the Darién Gap?

Published:

The coyote (Canis latrans) has greatly expanded its range in the past century, with expansion southward taking the species to the southern border of Panama and the doorstep of South America. The Darién Gap is a relatively intact swath of rainforest between coyotes and the South American continent. If coyotes disperse through the Darién Gap, they could have diverse effects on South American ecosystems, particularly on the endemic canid assemblage. Given the high levels of intraguild aggression among canid species, the establishment of a novel, relatively large, and more social canid species in South America could have marked effects on endemic canids. Utilizing coyote occurrence data from the GBIF database, we use a MaxEnt niche modeling approach with climatic and forest cover predictors to model the potential overlap of coyotes with native species based on published range extents of those species. We then incorporate forest-cover change to predict the effects of deforestation on habitat suitability for coyotes.

teaching

Teaching experience 1

Undergraduate course, University 1, Department, 2014

This is a description of a teaching experience. You can use markdown like any other post.

Teaching experience 2

Workshop, University 1, Department, 2015

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