Scott Stoleson
Title: Research Wildlife Biologist
Unit: Sustaining Forests in a Changing Environment
Address: Northern Research Station
PO Box 267
Irvine, PA 16329
Phone: 814-563-1040
E-mail: Contact Scott Stoleson
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Education
- Yale University, Ph.D. Wildlife Ecology, 1996.
- Dartmouth College, A.B. Biological Sciences, 1979
Civic & Professional Affiliations
- American Ornithologists' Union
- Association of Field Ornithologists
- Cooper Ornithological Society
- Ecological Society of America
- Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology
- Roger Tory Peterson Institute
- The Wildlife Society
- Wilson Ornithological Society
Current Research
My research examines the impacts of forest management practices on the distribution, abundance, and demography of vertebrate populations, and quantification of the habitat requirements of wildlife communities and species of special concern on the Allegheny Plateau.
- Assessment of the impact of timber management on the abundance and demography of cerulean warblers
- Understanding the frequency and costs/benefits of use of clearcuts by forest interior birds in the post-fledging period
- Assessment of impacts of an herbicide tank mix on avian, mammal, and herp. Communities in Allegheny hardwood forests.
Why is This Important
Managers of public lands are mandated to manage for multiple objectives, including maintaining biodiversity. Populations of many forest birds have declined in recent decades, raising concerns about their viability in working forest landscapes. Scientifically sound information on the habitat requirements of these species and how they respond to management practices is essential for managers to maintain these species effectively.
Future Research
- Develop silvicultural guidelines for maintaining or enhancing habitat quality for cerulean warblers and other forest bird species of high conservation concern.
- Develop a wildlife community component to the SILVAH decision support system to predict responses of suites of vertebrate species to silvicultural treatments and to better integrate wildlife habitat as a management goal.
- Because not all species are of equal conservation concern, standard metrics such as species counts and diversity indices provide only a partial picture of the impacts of management on natural communities. With partners at the U.S. Aviary, I will develop and implement a conservation value metric as a tool to evaluate the contribution of communities based on existing conservation priority, such as the Partners in Flight prioritization scores or heritage rankings
- Develop a regional assessment of the relative impacts of timber management on vertebrate populations as a function of forest fragmentation and other landscape-level attributes, using a large-scale fragmentation gradient.
Featured Publications
- Trager, Matthew D.; Ristau, Todd E.; Stoleson, Scott H.; Davidson, Robert L.; Acciavatti, Robert E. 2013. Carabid beetle responses to herbicide application, shelterwood seed cut and insect defoliator outbreaks. Forest Ecology and Management. 289: 269-288.
- Tomosy, Monica; Stoleson, Scott H.; King, David I. 2011. A century of avian research on USFS Experimental Forests and Ranges: Introduction to the special section on long-term avian research on Experimental Forests and Ranges. Forest Ecology and Management. 262: 1-2.
- Stoleson, Scott H.; King, David I.; Tomosy, Monica. 2011. Avian research on Experimental Forests and Ranges: Emergent themes, opportunities, and challenges. Forest Ecology and Management. 262: 49-52.
- Nuttle, Tim; Yerger, Ellen H.; Stoleson, Scott H.; Ristau, Todd E. 2011. Legacy of top-down herbivore pressure ricochets back up multiple trophic levels in forest canopies over 30 years. Ecosphere. 2(1): Article 4.
- Stoleson, Scott H.; Ristau, Todd E.; deCalesta, David S.; Horsley, Stephen B. 2011. Ten-year response of a forest bird community to an operational herbicide-shelterwood treatment in Allegheny hardwoods. Forest Ecology and Management. 262: 1205-1214.
Additional
Online Publications
- Ristau, Todd E.; Stoleson, Scott H.; Horsley, Stephen B.; deCalesta, David S. 2011. Ten-year response of the herbaceous layer to an operational herbicide-shelterwood treatment in a northern hardwood forest. Forest Ecology and Management. 262: 970-979.
- Stoleson, Scott H. 2010. Alder flycatcher. In: Steele, Michael A.; Brittingham, Margaret C.; Maret, Timothy J.; Merritt, Joseph F., eds. Terrestrial vertebrates of Pennsylvania: A complete guide to species of conservation concern. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press: 280-283.
- Dey, Daniel C.; Royo, Alejandro A.; Brose, Patrick H.; Hutchinson, Todd F.; Spetich, Martin A.; Stoleson, Scott H. 2010. An ecologically based approach to oak silviculture: a synthesis of 50 years of oak ecosystem research in North America. Revista Columbia Forestal. 13(2): 201-222.
- Stoleson, Scott H.; Larkin, Jeffery. L. 2010. Breeding birds of Pennsylvania: forest communities. In: Majumdar, S.K.; Master, T.L; Brittingham, M.C.; Ross, R.M.; Mulvihill, R.S.; Huffman, J.E., eds. Avian Ecology and Conservation: A Pennsylvania Focus with National Implications. The Pennsylvania Academy of Science, Easton, PA: 14-27.
- Stoleson, Scott H.; Sechler, Frederick C. 2010. Cerulean warbler. In: Steele, Michael A.; Brittingham, Margaret C.; Maret, Timothy J.; Merritt, Joseph F., eds. Terrestrial vertebrates of Pennsylvania: A complete guide to species of conservation concern. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press: 153-156.
- Brose, Patrick H.; Gottschalk, Kurt W.; Horsley, Stephen B.; Knopp, Peter D.; Kochenderfer, James N.; McGuinness, Barbara J.; Miller, Gary W.; Ristau, Todd E.; Stoleson, Scott H.; Stout, Susan L. 2008. Prescribing regeneration treatments for mixed-oak forests in the Mid-Atlantic region. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-33. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 100 p.
- Stoleson, Scott H. 2004. Cerulean Warbler Habitat Use in an Oak-Northern Hardwoods Transition Zone: Implications for Management. In: Yaussy, Daniel A.; Hix, David M.; Long, Robert P.; Goebel, P. Charles, eds. Proceedings, 14th Central Hardwood Forest Conference; 2004 March 16-19; Wooster, OH. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-316. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station: 535
- Stoleson, Scott H.; Kirschbaum, Kari Jensen; Fran, Jack; Atwood, Chad J. 2004. From the field: integrating GPS, GIS, and avian call-response surveys using Pocket PCs. Wildlife Society Bulletin 2004. 32(4): 1309-1312.
Last Modified:
02/15/2012