News release from IPFW:
IPFW Professor Receives $294,000 Snake Research Grant
(May 20, 2016) — Bruce Kingsbury, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, professor of biology, and director of the Environmental Resources Center at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW), received a $294,242 grant from the United States Department of Defense.
The grant project, “Improving Translocation Techniques for Wildlife on DoD Installations,” is part of a larger effort between Kingsbury and collaborators exploring the response of snakes, turtles, and lizards to translocation, which is the purposeful moving of wildlife to new habitats.
The projects involve developing new techniques that allow the safe removal and relocation of reptiles and other animals, while ensuring that they will both survive and contribute to the viability of the population in their new home. The project is particularly important for animals that are threatened and endangered, such as the Eastern Massasauga, a small Midwestern rattlesnake, one of the study species.
“I am very excited about the opportunities provided by this funding,” said Kingsbury. “Most of the support will go towards graduate and undergraduate student salaries, as well as supplies and travel. The grant also involves collaboration with former graduate student Brett DeGregorio, and that is very satisfying for me.”
Because of Kingsbury’s expertise on a variety of animals and habitats, he founded the Environmental Resources Center (ERC) to provide a more direct connection between scientific research and capabilities at IPFW and the community at large.
The ERC is engaged in ecological research of a variety of animals, plants, and habitats, including conservation approaches to benefit local wildlife while improving the area landscape. Recent ERC research projects have studied frogs at Eagle Marsh Nature Preserve and fire and invasive plant management with the Little River Wetlands Project.
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