Idaho State University doctoral candidate Ryan Long awarded American Society of Mammalogists Fellowship

Ryan A. Long, a Ph.D. candidate in the Idaho State University Department of Biological Sciences, was recently awarded the American Society of Mammalogists Fellowship at its 92^nd Annual Meeting in Reno, Nevada.

The fellowship is the highest honor the society bestows upon a graduate student. It includes a $15,000 prize and a gift of numerous scientific books and other publications.

Long's dissertation research is a comparative study of elk inhabiting a desert ecosystem at the Idaho National Laboratory in Southeast Idaho, and a mountainous environment at Starkey Experimental Forest and Range in Northeastern Oregon. He is using a bioenergetics approach to study effects of climatic variability on behavior and life-history characteristics of elk.

His Ph.D. research is supervised by ISU Department of Biological Sciences Professors R. Terry Bowyer and John G. Kie.

Long is expected to complete his dissertation next spring. He will also receive a minor in biology education. He has taught mammalogy at ISU and presented workshops on resource selection modeling for the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Long's accomplishments include nine peer-reviewed publications in the scientific literature as well as a book chapter. He also has been involved in 26 professional presentations at scientific meetings. He has received more than $200,000 in extramural support for his research. Long was also awarded the prestigious Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Fellowship from the Environmental Protection Agency, and two fellowships from the Shikar Safari Club.

Long obtained his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where he received the Joel Wiegert Award for the Outstanding Graduating Senior Man in 2004. He received his Master of Science degree from the University of Idaho, working under the supervision of Dr. Janet L. Rachlow, and was awarded the Outstanding Graduate Student in Wildlife Resources in 2007. He began his Ph.D. studies at ISU in 2008.

"Ryan Long is a truly exceptional graduate student, with an original and cutting-edge research project that should advance our knowledge of elk ecology and management," Bowyer said. "I believe this award speaks to the quality of Ryan's research and our graduate program in the ISU Department of Biological Sciences."

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