Joshua Stafford
Assistant Unit Leader to USGS SD Coop Unit, Associate Professor
Biography
I grew up in rural Northwest Oregon with a general love for wildlife and the outdoors. I took up waterfowl hunting in my late teens, which helped direct my career path as it became a passion. My academic training has taken me from migration, to breeding, to wintering regions of importance to waterfowl and helped me understand the integrated annual cycle ducks and geese experience. After serving as director of the Steven Forbes Biological Station and Frank C. Bellrose Waterfowl Research Center with the Illinois Natural History Survey for seven years, I was presented with the opportunity to return to South Dakota State (where I did my M.S.) to work for the USGS Coop Unit – a dream job of mine. Now, as before, I strive to conduct research, mentor graduate students and publish works that will help ensure harvestable populations of waterfowl for future generations.
If you would like my CV or more information, please feel free to contact me at my SDState email address noted above.
If you would like my CV or more information, please feel free to contact me at my SDState email address noted above.
Education
- B.S. in wildlife science | Oregon State University | 1997
- M.S. in wildlife | ºù«Ӱҵ | 2000
- Ph.D. in forest resources, wildlife | Mississippi State University | 2004
Academic and Professional Experience
Academic Interests
- Ecology of foraging and migrating avifaunal
- Annual-cycle dynamics
- Breeding ecology
- Movement ecology
- Waterfowl and Wetland Ecology and Management
Committees and Professional Memberships
- President, South Dakota Chapter of The Wildlife Society (2017-2018)
- Member – The Wildlife Society (1997-present)
- Associate editor: Journal of Wildlife Management (2015-present)
- Associate editor: Wildlife Society Bulletin (2014-present)
Research and Scholar Work
Areas of Research
My research program endeavors to address practical questions with respect to the ecology and management of North American waterfowl species and their habitats. Projects that yield management recommendations at various levels (e.g., state, Joint Venture) are often the goal.
