Emma Fehlker Campbell

RESEARCH

I am broadly interested in how anthropogenic changes impact the long-term survival of sensitive species and communities. Combining field-based ecological techniques with molecular methods can answer these questions in ways that neither field can do alone. The recent range expansion of barred owls to western North America provides a unique opportunity to understand the ecological impacts of an avian apex predator. It is well documented that Barred Owls can negatively impact Spotted Owls, but as a generalist predator, barred owls have the potential to negatively impact western forest communities as a whole. For my master’s project, I am using genetic methods to investigate how barred owl diet changes across the invasion pathway. I will be using metabarcoding on intestinal samples from barred owls removed across western North America to characterize how diet composition changes over time since invasion.

EDUCATION

B.S. Wildlife and Conservation Biology | Murray State University, 2022