Research Interests of Prof. John B. Dunning

Dunning, John B. "Barny"
	Current Research Interests
	Response of bird populations to large-scale changes in habitat distribution
Dr. Dunning's research interests focus on the response of birds and other organisms to changes in the habitats they occupy. In recent years this focus has concentrated on habitat changes that occur over large spatial scales. Virtually all organisms inhabit habitat patches that are part of a complex mosaic of patches (i.e. "landscapes") across which organisms move, disperse, and settle. It has recently been recognized in ecology that landscapes are dynamic, with suitable habitat for any particular organism changing in time and space. Determining how organisms respond to such changes is one of the foundations of the interdisciplinary field of landscape ecology. Understanding how organisms respond to landscape change is particularly important in the agricultural landscapes common to Indiana and the Midwest. In these landscapes natural habitats have been highly fragmented. Native forests, prairies and wetlands support native wildlife species that have been declining in response to overall habitat loss, and the additional negative effects associated with landscape change such as fragmentation. Since diverse native faunas are highly valued by the people of Indiana, research on maintaining such diversity in the face of landscape change is an important priority. Dr. Dunning has used the concepts of landscape ecology to determine how organisms (mostly birds) respond to changing landscapes in forest lands devoted to timber management in the southeastern United States. He is currently applying this approach to the agriculture-dominated landscapes in the Midwest (see related item on Restoration Ecology). Relevant publications: Dunning, J.B., and B.D. Watts. 1990. Regional differences in habitat occupancy by Bachman's Sparrows. Auk 107:463-472. Pulliam, H.R., J.B. Dunning, and J. Liu. 1992. Population dynamics in complex landscapes: a case study. Ecological Applications 2:165-177. Dunning, J.B., B.J. Danielson, & H.R. Pulliam. 1992. Ecological processes that affect populations in complex landscapes. Oikos 65:169-175. Freemark, K.E., J.B. Dunning, S. Hejl and J. Probst. 1995. A landscape ecology perspective for research, conservation, and management. Pp. 381-427, in: Martin, T.E. and D.M. Finch. Ecology and management of neotropical migratory birds: a synthesis and review of critical issues. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Dunning, J.B., D.J. Stewart, B.J. Danielson, B.R. Noon, T.L. Root, R.H. Lamberson, and E.E. Stevens. 1995. Spatially explicit population models: current forms and future uses. Ecological Applications 5:3-11. Liu, J., J.B. Dunning,and H.R. Pulliam. 1995. Potential effects of a forest management plan on Bachman's Sparrows (Aimophila aestivalis): linking a spatially explicit model with GIS. Conservation Biology 9:62-75. Dunning, J.B., R. Borgella, K. Clements, and G.K. Meffe. 1995. Patch isolation, corridor effects, and colonization by a resident sparrow in a managed pine woodland. Conservation Biology:542-550. Pulliam, H.R., J. Liu, J.B. Dunning, D.J. Stewart, and T.D. Bishop. 1995. Modeling animal populations in changing landscapes. Ibis 137:S120-S126. Zhang, P., G. Shao, G. Zhao, D. C. Le Master, G. R. Parker, J. B. Dunning, and Q. Li. 2000. China's forest policy for the 21st century. Science 288:2135-2136. Dunning, J.B., and J. C. Kilgo (editors). 2000. Avian research at the Savannah River Site: A model for integrating basic research and long-term management. Studies in Avian Biology, number 21. Dunning, J. B., B. J. Danielson, B. D. Watts, J. Liu, and D. G. Krementz. 2000. Studying wildlife at local and landscape scales: Bachman's Sparrows at the Savannah River Site. In: Dunning, J.B., and J.C. Kilgo (eds.). Avian research at the Savannah River Site: A model for integrating basic research and long-term management. Studies in Avian Biology 21:75-80. Conservation Biology Dr. Dunning is interested in promoting public policy and personal lifestyles that help to maintain the maximum levels of our existing biological diversity that can be protected. In that regard, he conducts his research with a goal of establishing scientifically valid ways of managing public and private lands that protect biodiversity at the species, genetic and ecosystem levels. Dr. Dunning also teach graduate and undergraduate courses in conservation biology, and has published on the importance of educating the public on conservation issues and practices, and on teaching bioethics as part of a conservation class. His freshman Introduction to Environmental Conservation course is taken by up to 430 students per year, and he hopes that many eyes are opened to a more ecological attitude through this course. Dr. Dunning is a member of the Society for Conservation Biology, which publishes the journal Conservation Biology, the leading journal in its field. He has served on its editorial board since 1999. He also serves on the Conservation Committee for the American Ornithologists' Union. Dr. Dunning has contributed to a pair of white papers (publications which establish the societies' positions on current issues) on population viability analysis for the Society for Conservation Biology, and on computer modeling in ornithology for the American Ornithologists' Union. Relevant publications: Koford, R.R., J.B. Dunning, C.A. Ribic, and D. Finch. 1994. Glossary for avian conservation biology. Wilson Bulletin 106:121-137. Dunning, J.B. 1994. Tropical mass extinctions and the scientific method. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 75:44-45. Roberts, S.D., J.B. Dunning, and B.K. Miller. 1995. Management of biological diversity. In the Central Hardwood Region. Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service Publication FNR-147. Dunning, J.B. 1997. The missing awareness, part II: surveys of student ecological knowledge in the Midwest. Conservation Biology 11:6-10. [Published in Conservation Education column.] Dunning, J.B. 1999. The need for producing ecologically literate college students. Conservation Biology 13:1239-1240. Dunning, J.B. 2000. They shoot bison, don't they? Discussing ethics in conservation courses. The NACTA Journal (March issue) pages 40-45. Reed, J.M., L.S. Mills, P. Miller, K.S. McKelvey, E.S. Menges, R. Frye, J.B. Dunning, S. Beissinger, and M.-C. Anstett. 2001. Use and emerging issues in population viability analysis. Conservation Biology, in press. Beissinger, S.R., J.R. Walters, D.G. Catanzaro, K.G. Smith, J.B. Dunning, S.M. Haig, B.R. Noon, and B.M. Stith. 2001. The use of models in avian conservation. Current Ornithology, in press. Avian Ecology and Natural History Dr. Dunning became interested in birds while doing a Boy Scout merit badge when he was 14 years old. He has been birding across the United States and in Sweden, Mexico, New Zealand, and Australia. He is interested in a wide variety of ecological subjects regarding birds, and has published mainly in the area of avian community and population ecology. See the list of references below for an illustration of the kinds of topics that strike his ornithological interests. Currently, Dr. Dunning has focused his general interest in birds in two outlets. He has published 4 species accounts in the Birds of North America series. This is a monograph series that publishes separate accounts on the species of birds found on the continent, summarizing their ecology, natural history, and conservation. Authors of individual accounts are generally recognized as among the leading experts on that species. The second outlet consists of technical editing and writing for a new handbook to the ecology of North American birds. This handbook will be published in 2001 as a companion volume to the recently published Sibley Guide to North American Birds. The handbook summarizes taxonomy, feeding ecology, breeding biology, and conservation status of each family of birds found in North America. Dr. Dunning wrote the family accounts for the New World Sparrows, Olive Warbler, and Bananaquit, and co-authored the accounts for Parrots and New World Warblers. He also edited the introductory chapters and all remaining accounts. In many of his research projects, Dr. Dunning has used banded populations of birds. This interest in banding has resulted in papers on . During banding operations, Barny routinely weighs the birds he captures, and this translated into an interest in avian body masses, which are the single most useful measure of a bird's size. He has compiled published and unpublished data on body masses into a monograph for North American birds, and a CRC Handbook on Avian Body Masses. These two publications are among his most cited papers. Relevant publications: Dunning, J.B. & J.H. Brown. 1982. Summer rainfall and winter sparrow densities: a test of the food limitation hypothesis. Auk 99:123-129. Dunning, J.B. 1984. Body weights of 686 species of North American birds. Western Bird Banding Association, Monograph #1. 38 pages. Bowers, R.K. & J.B. Dunning. 1984. Nest parasitism by cowbirds on Buff-breasted Flycatchers, with comments on nest site selection. Wilson Bulletin 96:720-721. Dunning, J.B. 1986. Shrub-steppe birds revisited: implications for community theory. American Naturalist 128:82-98. Pulliam, H.R. & J.B. Dunning. 1987. The influence of food supply on the local density and diversity of sparrows. Ecology 68:1009-1014. Bowers, R.K. & J.B. Dunning. 1987. Nutting's Flycatcher (Myiarchus nuttingi) from Arizona. American Birds 41:5-10. Mills, G.S., J.B. Dunning, & J.M. Bates. 1989. Effects of urbanization on breeding bird community structure in southwestern desert habitats. Condor 91:416-428. Dunning, J.B. & R.K. Bowers. 1990. Lethal temperatures in Ash-throated Flycatcher nests located in metal fence poles. Journal of Field Ornithology 61:98-103. Mills, G.S., J.B. Dunning, & J.M. Bates. 1991. The relationship between breeding bird density and vegetation volume. Wilson Bulletin 103:468-479. Dunning, J.B. 1992. Handbook of avian body weights. CRC Press, Orlando, Florida. 370 pages. Dunning, J.B. 1993. Bachman's Sparrow (Aimophila aestivalis). In: A. Poole, P. Stettenheim, and F. Gill (editors). The Birds of North America, No. 38. Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; and Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists' Union. Bowers, R.K., and J.B. Dunning. 1994. Buff-breasted Flycatcher (Empidonax fulvifrons). In: Poole A. and F. Gill (eds). The Birds of North America, No. 125. Bowers, R.K., and J.B. Dunning. 1997. Buff-collared Nightjar (Caprimulgus ridgwayi). In: A. Poole, P. Stettenheim, and F. Gill (editors). The Birds of North America, No. 267. Dunning, J.B., R.K. Bowers, S. Suter, C.E. Bock. Cassin's Sparrow (Aimophila cassinii)*. 1999. In: A. Poole and F. Gill (editors). The Birds of North America, No. 471. Dunning, J.B., and T.M. Braile. 1999. First state record of Black-headed Grosbeak. Indiana Audubon Quarterly 77:146-149. Dunning, J. B., B. J. Danielson, B. D. Watts, J. Liu, and D. G. Krementz. 2000. Studying wildlife at local and landscape scales: Bachman's Sparrows at the Savannah River Site. In: Dunning, J.B., and J.C. Kilgo. Integration of land management and long-term avian research: experiences from the Savannah River Site, South Carolina. Studies in Avian Biology 21:75-80. Dunning, J.B. 2001. The sparrows, family Emberizidae. The Handbook to Ecology and Conservation of North American Birds, Chanticleer Press, NY, in press. Dunning, J.B. 2001. Olive Warbler, family Peucedramidae. The Handbook to Ecology and Conservation of North American Birds, Chanticleer Press, NY, in press. Dunning, J.B. 2001. Bananaquit, family Coerebidae. The Handbook to Ecology and Conservation of North American Birds, Chanticleer Press, NY, in press. Restoration Ecology For many reasons, many landowners and conservation groups are emphasizing the restoration of ecological systems as a conservation priority. We are increasingly aware that preservation of existing, high-quality remnants of natural habitats is not the only way to protect biodiversity. Restoration of habitats provides additional places for support wildlife, can create buffer habitats around existing natural areas, and otherwise increase the effectiveness of ecological systems in preserving diversity and supporting a healthy environment. However, it is also true that restoration is very poorly understood. We know how to dig a farm pond to support fish, but we do not have a good idea of how to restore a fully functioning marsh. We can seed prairie plants into a newly restored grassland, but we do not have accepted standards for assessing the success of such a restoration. Thus, restoration ecology is a fruitful area for additional research to better define the goals and successes of individual projects. Restorations also provide a way of testing concepts of landscape ecology. Creation of habitat patches where none existed before changes the distribution of habitat across regional landscapes. We can monitor the response of various wildlife species to see how they respond to such landscape change. Does the placement of a wetland restoration project relative to existing wetlands or other habitats affect the kinds of organisms that colonize the restored wetland? Answering questions such as this both increases our knowledge of landscape influences and potentially improves our ability to conduct future successful restoration projects. My research projects in restoration ecology focus on grassland and wetland restoration. My students and I have conducted studies on response of waterfowl and shorebirds to restored marshes and temporarily flooded agricultural fields, the breeding success of grassland birds in restored prairies, and the response of small mammals to restoration of fire in oak savannas. The Nature Conservancy is initiating a large-scale (7200 ac) restoration of prairie and wetlands in NW Indiana. I am initiating replicated studies of the restoration process at this site in cooperation with other researchers across Indiana. Relevant publications: Dunning, J.B., B.J. Danielson, & H.R. Pulliam. 1992. Ecological processes that affect populations in complex landscapes. Oikos 65:169-175. Dunning, J.B., and T. M. Braile. 1998. Checklist of the birds of Benton County, Indiana. Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service Pub. FNR-165. Mast, J.K., and J.B. Dunning. Migratory shorebird and duck use of temporarily flooded agricultural fields. Submitted to Wilson Bulletin. Braile, T. M., and J. B. Dunning. Migratory shorebird use of a newly restored wetland. Submitted to Restoration Ecology.
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