Brad Pickens, Research Associate

M.S. 2006, Bowling Green State University

The Consequences of a Management Strategy for the Endangered Karner Blue Butterfly

Research Associate, LSU AgCenter

I am originally from Navarre, OH, USA, and attended Ashland University (Ashland, Ohio) for my B.S. degree, majoring in Environmental Science/Biology.  I first gained experience teaching environmental/outdoor education to a variety of age groups in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, Rhode Island, and Ohio.  From there, I worked on several field research projects in Wisconsin, Virginia, Missouri, Florida, Indiana, and New York.  These projects ranged from working with grassland songbirds, ruffed grouse, wetland songbirds, raptors, shorebirds, and Karner blue butterflies.  These studies had the common goal of understanding the population dynamics of species and how species respond to management. 

I obtained my M.S. degree in Biological Sciences from Bowling Green State University in 2006. My research examined how management (e.g. prescribed burning, mowing) affected the federally endangered Karner blue butterfly, Lycaeides melissa samuelis.  In this study, I examined habitat selection, behavior, and host-plant quality of the Karner blue butterfly.  My collaborators with this research were The Nature Conservancy (OH Chapter), Toledo Zoological Gardens, and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

My research interests include understanding population dynamics of species, the impact of management on populations/individuals, and increasingly, I am interested in the distribution patterns of species.  To this end, I incorporate GIS spatial analysis, behavior observations, field surveys, and other research techniques with the goal of finding what makes high quality habitat for species.  I am particularly interested in species of concern, rare, and threatened/endangered species.  The evaluation of management schemes and land use changes are also central questions in my research.

 I am currently a Research Associate with Dr. Sammy King and am working on conservation planning for the coastal prairie region of Louisiana. Southwest Louisiana has lost over 99% of its historical coastal prairie ecosystem, including the loss of species such as whooping cranes and Attwater's prairie chickens. The Nature Conservancy has recently initiated a restoration project, which will likely restore up to 27,000 acres of prairie through federal a Farm Bill CREP program. However, rice agriculture in SW Louisiana is also critical to millions of migratory shorebirds, rails, wintering ducks, mottled ducks, and many other wetland species. Therefore, the goal of our conservation planning is to help maximize benefits to coastal prairie restoration, while mitigating negative impacts on wetland birds.

 Our first step in this research is to prioritize which areas are high quality for wetland birds and grassland birds. We will predict their current distribution using habitat suitability analysis and synthesizing scientific literature.  Secondly, we will simulate potential prairie restoration areas and determine the effects on species.

Female Karner blue butterfly on its host-plant, Lupinus perennis

King rail, Rallus elegans, habitat suitability model for SW Louisiana.