RESEARCH
I am interested in how shifting habitat factors influence species dispersal, migration, colonization and extirpation, particularly with regards to managing and conserving threatened species. My masters research will focus on conducting an occupancy analysis on an isolated population of spotted owl’s in the San Bernardino mountains. Previous researchers have conducted occupancy analyses using data from a short period of intensive monitoring, while I aim to use all the historic monitoring data to more adequately assess site occupancy and reproduction in the San Bernardino Mountains. Additionally, I aim to use GPS data from other projects in the Peery lab to evaluate the owl’s selection or avoidance of areas with drought related tree mortality in the southern Sierras.
EDUCATION
M.Sc. Forest and Wildlife Ecology | University of Wisconsin – Madison, 2022
B.S. Ecology and Biodiversity | University of Denver, 2015
McGinn*, K., M.Z. Peery, C. Zulla*, W.M. Berigan*, Z.A. Wilkinson*, J.M. Barry*, J.J. Keane, and B. Zuckerberg (2023a). A climate-vulnerable species uses cooler forest microclimates during heat waves. Biological Conservation, 283. doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2023.110132
McGinn*, K., B. Zuckerberg, J.N. Pauli, C. Zulla*, W.M. Berigan*, Z.A. Wilkinson*, J.M. Barry*, J.J. Keane, R.J. Gutiérrez*, and M.Z. Peery (2023c). Older forests function as energetic and demographic refugia for a climate sensitive species. Oecologia, 202, 831-844. doi.org/10.1007/s00442-023-05442-6
Wilkinson*, Z.A., H.A. Kramer*, G.M. Jones*, C.J. Zulla*, K. McGinn*, J.M. Barry*, S.C. Sawyer, R. Tanner, R.J. Gutiérrez*, J.J. Keane, and M.Z. Peery (2023). Tall, heterogeneous forests improve prey capture, delivery to nestlings, and reproductive success for Spotted Owls in southern California. Ornithological Applications 125(1). doi.org/10.1093/ornithapp/duac048
Wilkinson*, Z.A., H.A. Kramer*, G.M. Jones*, C. Zulla*, K. McGinn*, J.M. Barry*, S.C. Sawyer, R. Tanner, R.J. Gutierrez*, J.J. Keane, and M.Z Peery (2022). Tall, heterogenous forests improve prey capture, delivery to nestlings, and reproductive success for Spotted Owls in southern California. Ornithological Applications, doi.org/10.1093/ornithapp/duac048