Research by grassland bird specialist Noah Perlut featured in Audubon Magazine

Research on bobolinks by Noah Perlut, Ph.D., assistant professor of the University of New England's Department of Environmental Studies, was featured in the November-December issue of the national Audubon Magazine.

Perlut, who came to UNE in fall 2009 from the University of Vermont, has been working with UVM biologist Allan Strong and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, part of the U.S.D.A., studying means to render compatible the growing of hay with the preservation of nesting opportunities for the bobolink, a cheerful little bird with a lovely song.

The goal is to develop management practices that balance the needs of the birds, which depend on agricultural lands for breeding, and the farmers, who count on those lands for their livelihood.

"This research acknowledges that humans have significant impacts on landscapes and that these impacts can negatively effect wildlife," Perlut explained.  "Our job is to find ways to balance agricultural needs and wildlife needs such that neither is significantly compromised.  This program does exactly that, successfully balances dairy farmers' economic and production needs with birds' reproductive needs."

The story highlights the application of ecological research to conservation efforts.

At UNE Perlut's research continues to explore the ecological and evolutionary impacts of habitat management on wildlife.  It focuses on how hayland and pasture management effects birds dispersal, reproduction, survival, mating systems and population structure.