Meet the Director
Mark Ryan
Director
School of Natural Resources
Wm. J. Rucker Professor of Wildlife Conservation
Curator's Teaching Professor
- Phone: 573-882-0314
- Fax: 573-884-2636
- E-mail: RyanMR@missouri.edu
- Address: 103 Anheuser-Busch Natural Resources Building
Education
- Ph.D., 1982, Iowa State University
Research
- Endangered species, avian ecology, conservation biology, population ecology, grassland and wetland ecosystem management.
Research Summary
- Ryan's research is focused on the population dynamics and habitat relations of non-game and endangered bird species in grassland and wetland ecosystems. Since 1983, Ryan and his students have been investigating factors limiting endangered Piping Plover populations in North America. They have developed a series of demographic simulation models predicting extinction times (Ryan et al. 1993), evaluating management efficacy (Larson et al. 2002), and identifying optimal recovery strategies for Piping Plovers (Larson et al. 2003). Their work has contributed to the purchase, by the Natural Conservancy, of a reserve protecting the largest breeding population of plovers in the United States; to establishing population recovery goals; and to the development of management strategies to enhance reproduction. They are currently testing the effects of "incidental take," as allowed under the Endangered Species Act, on viability of the Great Plains population of Piping Plovers.
- Another aspect of Ryan's program relates to conservation of grassland birds. Ryan has been investigating the federal Conservation Reserve Program to assess its value for the conservation of prairie birds (e.g., Farrand and Ryan 2005) and examining the population performance (source-sink status) of several species in CRP fields. This work is yielding information useful in federal policy decisions regarding continuing farm set-aside programs and grassland restoration efforts. His most recent work has assessed the conservation significance of agriculture field border plantings. Other recently completed studies evaluated the effect of grazing on grassland passerine reproductive success at National Wildlife Refuges in North Dakota; and (with Josh Millspaugh, associate professor, fisheries and wildlife) examined post-fledging habitat use, movements, and survival of grassland birds. We have just begun an investigation of patch burn-grazing management on grassland birds in Missouri.
- A final aspect of Ryan's program relates to application of active learning strategies to university education in wildlife conservation (e.g., Ryan and Campa 2005).
Selected Publications
- Suedkamp Wells, K. M., J. J. Millspaugh, M. R. Ryan, and M. W. Hubbard. 2007.
Effects of vegetation, biological, and temporal factors on home range size and movements of post-fledging grassland birds. Wilson Bulletin: in press. - Jones-Farrand, D. T., D. H. Johnson, L. W. Burger, and M. R. Ryan. 2006.
Grassland establishment for wildlife conservation. Pages 24-48 in J. B. Haufler, editor. Fish and Wildlife Response to Farm Bill Conservation Practices. Technical Review – 06. The Wildlife Society, Bethesda, MD. 151 pp. - Ryan, M. R., and H. Campa, III. 2005.
Teaching wildlife research and management techniques. Pages 1-23 in C. Braun, editor. Techniques for wildlife investigations and management. Sixth Edition, The Wildlife Society, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. - Suedkamp Wells, K., M. R. Ryan, H. Campa, III, and K. A. Smith. 2005.
Mentoring guidelines for wildlife professionals. Wildlife Society Bulletin 33:565-573. - Farrand, D. T., and M. R. Ryan. 2005.
Impact of the CRP on wildlife conservation in the Midwest. Pages 41-61 in J. Haufler and T. Franklin, editors. Fish and Wildlife Benefits from Farm Bill Programs: Update 2000-2005. The Wildlife Society. Washington, D.C. - Root, B. G., and M. R. Ryan. 2004.
Changes in piping plover nesting habitat availability at Great Plains alkaline wetlands, 1938-1997. Wetlands 24:766-776. - Suedkamp-Wells, K. M., B. E. Washburn, J. J. Millspaugh, M. R. Ryan, and M. A. Hubbard. 2003.
Effects of radiotransmitters on fecal glucocorticoid levels in captive dickcissels. Condor: 105:805-810. - Larson, M. A., M. R. Ryan, and R. K. Murphy. 2003.
Linking optimization and simulation to assess endangered species recovery feasibility: a Great Plains Piping Plover example. Wildlife Society Bulletin 31:1105-1116. - Ryan, M. R., R. A. Pierce, III, K. M. Suedkamp-Wells, and C. K. Kerns. 2002.
Assessing bird population responses to grazing. Pages 16-34 in W. Hohman, editor. Migratory bird responses to grazing. U.S.D.A., Natural Resources Conservation Service, Washington, D.C. 75 pp. - Larson, M. A., M. R. Ryan, and R. K. Murphy. 2002.
Effects of predator exclusion on the reproductive success and population viability of piping plovers in the Great Plains. Journal of Wildlife Management 66:361-371.
