MEES IN THE NEWS

march 2026 - national wildlife month

NEWS ARCHIVE

MEES RESEARCH CENTER

Global Biogeography & Molecular Ecology: from genes to ecosystems

dr. zach zbinden (UMCES)

Dr. Zach Zbinden is an assistant professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) conducting basic and applied research on the distribution and dynamics of biodiversity.  Based at the Appalachian Laboratory, Dr. Zbinden uses fieldwork, laboratory methods, and advanced analytics to address ecological questions from a "genes to ecosystems" perspective, advocating for multispecies population genomic research at broad scales. Dr. Zbinden recently joined the MEES graduate program in September 2024, advising MEES students and is set to be the co-instructor this Fall for MEES 663 - Ecological Genomics which covers key topics in ecological genomics at the individual, population, interspecific, community and ecosystem levels.  Prior to joining UMCES as a faculty member in 2024, Zbinden earned his bachelor of science in ecology and evolution from the University of Pittsburgh in 2013 before continuing to the University of Oklahoma to pursue a Master’s degree in Biology with a focus on community ecology.  As a master’s student at the University of Oklahoma, working alongside Dr. Bill Matthews, Zbinden led a state wildlife grant project assessing fish species of greatest conservation need (SGCN) across 160+ stream reaches in southeastern Oklahoma. This work revealed that headwater streams are critical for regional biodiversity—depauperate at individual sites but contributing high species turnover and drainage-level richness. Comparisons with surveys from 40 years earlier showed that spatial scale is paramount: individual sites fluctuate dramatically, while catchment-scale assemblages remain more stable through time.  After earning his Master’s degree in 2017, Zbinden further expanded this research into his doctoral dissertation at the University of Arkansas, conducted in the lab of Dr. Marlis and Michael Douglas, both professors in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Arkansas, employing a multivariate analysis of ecological and genomic data incorporating 3,000-plus individual fishes from 30-plus species across more than 50 Ozark Plateau locations.  By modeling how species' ecological and life-history traits predict population structure, Zbinden’s research aims to forecast genetic patterns for data-poor species and anticipate how fish 'countries' may shift under climate and land-use change. Since joining UMCES, Dr. Zbinden has many ongoing and future projects - a current collaboration assisting the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) with conducting a genomic survey and inventory of brook trout across Maryland. By using a technique known as two pass electrofishing, researchers gather specimens from Monroe Run to further study how certain species are better adapted to survive in warmer waters. Another primary goal of Dr. Zbinden’s work is to support conservation and management efforts, providing insights that can guide the protection of species and ecosystems. One such project focuses on applying genomics to epidemiology working with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC), the Arkansas Conservation and Molecular Ecology Lab (ACaMEL) to develop genomic-based tools for studying generational patterns of deer movement across the Arkansas landscape.  The white-tailed deer are one of North America's most recreationally valuable species and are prized for their lean and healthy meat.  However, the white deer populations are increasingly threatened by a fatal neurodegenerative disease known as chronic wasting disease (CWD), similar to “mad cow” which could potentially have cascading effects on ecosystems, economics and potentially human health. This project is aimed at containing and mitigating the effects of DWD through forecasting how it will spread by studying the most likely routes for future spread through studying  these generational patterns of deer movement. Through this and many other works, Zbinden seeks to leverage nature’s own tools to boost climate resilience without introducing artificial modifications, contributing to a nature-based approach to conservation in a warming world. For more information on Dr. Zbinden, including current and future projects, please visit the Molecular Ecology Research Group based at UMCES’ Appalachian Laboratory in Frostburg, here.

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environmental change impacts on global biogeography & ecosystem health

andrew gougherty (Ph.D. ‘19)

Andrew Gougherty (‘19, Ph.D.) is currently a research landscape ecologist at the USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station based in Delaware, Ohio.   Gougherty’s work is focused on understanding how environmental changes impact biodiversity and ecological health.  Under the advisement of Dr. Matthew Fitzpatrick, Gougherty earned his doctoral degree in MEES from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science in Fall 2019 studying how intraspecific variation—the biological variability of individuals within a species—within balsam poplar will impact how it will be affected by climate change.  Gougherty’s research aimed at developing a way to assess how intra-specific variation is related to current climates in an effort to provide insight into how the species may be affected by future climates.  Prior to joining the MEES graduate program, this Gross Ille, Michigan native earned his bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from the University of Michigan-Dearborne, with high distinction in 2007.  Following graduation, Gougherty moved to Iowa and pursued a Master’s of Science in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Iowa State University (ISU) in 2008. His thesis research, under the direction of the late Dr. Forrest W. Nutter, Jr. analyzed the temporal and spatial dynamics of Plum pox virus (PPV) following the inception of PPV eradication programs in the U.S. and Canada.  This research involved assessing the spatial and temporal progress of the virus, and determining how this was affected by host density and host spatial structure. In addition, this research entailed developing a simulation model to determine factors affecting virus detection. In recognition of this work, Gougherty received a research excellence award, awarded only to theses in the top 10% at ISU in overall quality.  After successfully completing his MS in 2011, Gougherty continued working at ISU on a project to validate a spatial model used to predict the distribution of a soybean virus and its beetle vector. 

This interest in further exploring the confluence of disturbance and landscape ecology led Gougherty to move to Maryland to pursue a MEES doctoral degree at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) in 2014.  Under the advisement of Dr. Matthew Fitzpatrick, Gougherty’s doctoral research used balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera), a fast growing deciduous tree native to northern North America, as a case study to explore ways of including genetic information in spatial and timing models predicting future shifts in tree ranges (geographic distribution) and timing of seasonal events, respectively.  This is important because as climate change continues, the balsam poplar’s population (along with other forest tree populations) can often become locally adapted to their specific local climates over time – so what works for the species as a whole may not apply to every local group. Gougherty’s research found that including genetics helps paint a more detailed and realistic picture of how tree populations – not just the species-  might respond to climate change.  Gougherty’s research developed a new method to estimate how much different populations will be exposed to unsuitable future climates.   Gougherty research interests lie in understanding the factors that affect species distributions, from plant parasites to plant populations to community assemblages. Particularly how spatial tools, such as GIS, ecological niche modeling, and spatial statistics can be used to predict distributions and model how these distributions will change when undergoing biotic or abiotic disturbances.  Gougherty is interested in the role climate change will play in affecting the distribution of plant populations. Gougherty hopes this type of research can provide important insights into how biodiversity will change with time and can have broad implications for habitat management.  Gougherty’s academic and scholastic achievements extend to being awarded for nearly every year he was in the program:  UMCES Presidential Fellow (2014-16), Ecological Society of America-Mid-Atlantic Graduate student presentation award (2016), the prestigious Jacob K. Goldhaber Travel Award (2016), the Graduate School Dean’s Fellowship (2017), and the Debbie-Morrin Nordlund Memorial Award (2018).  Upon completing his PhD,  Gougherty completed postdoctoral fellowships at the University of British Columbia, and Purdue University and is currently a research landscape ecologist at the USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station based in Delaware, Ohio. For more information on Andrew Gougherty, please click here.

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MEES RESEARCH CENTER

wildlife ecology & managements: modeling bird migration patterns

nicole ibrahim (‘2o, ECOL SYS)

Nicole Ibrahim (‘22, Ph.D.) is a fourth year MEES doctoral student at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) based at the Appalachian Laboratory in Frostburg. Under the advisement of Dr David Nelson, Ibrahim’s dissertation research focuses on the study of bird migration patterns, using stable hydrogen isotopes in keratin tissues (feathers),  which reflect the isotopic composition of the food and water consumed during molt, spanning western North America (trumpeter swans) and Central Asia (songbird and raptor species). The East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF) is a major migration route spanning 41 countries from the Arctic/Alaska to Australia, supporting 50 million migratory birds, including many threatened shorebirds, landbirds, and waterbirds.  Ibrahim’s research aims at exploring wildlife management and community conservation tools in order to predict the origin of these birds without the need for GPS sensor technology, generating useful data for conservation efforts.  Prior to joining the MEES graduate program, this Kyiv, Ukrainian born Brooklyn, New York hometown native had always held an interest in animals and wildlife ecology spurring her to volunteer at the local zoo and animal shelters, and participating in a sea turtle conservation program in Costa Rica.  Ibrahim notes her interest in birds emerged during the pandemic, when fieldwork opportunities were limited and through ornithology courses along with birding with friends, ended up shaping her professional career path.  These experiences drew her to a career in veterinary medicine, first applying to and enrolling in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) in 2017 as an animal science major.  However, after working as a veterinary assistant, Ibrahim realized an intense shift in interest from working with domesticated animals to ecosystem conservation and switched her major to the wildlife and ecology program at UW-Madison the following year in 2018.   While at UW-Madison, Ibrahim worked as a field assistant, with the support of Dr. Timothy Van Deelen doing vegetation sampling using a transect sampling method for the Wisconsin Elk Project.  Ibrahim spent one month in a remote field camp in northern Wisconsin collecting plant species diversity data, canopy cover, among other types of data from various terrestrial habitats. Ibrahim also became a McNair Scholar, which provided the tools to pursue a collaborative project studying patterns of mammal occurrence in Borneo relative to human settlements and land-use. This study leveraged long-term camera trap data collected in collaboration with the local community and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.  Following graduation with her bachelors in wildlife ecology in 2021, Ibrahim joined the doctoral MEES graduate program at UMCES in Fall 2022, studying bird migration patterns.  In fall 2023, Ibrahim had the opportunity to combine her native Russian language skills and passion for international conservation by attending a raptor conference in Almaty visiting the Shakpak Ornithological Station in Kazakhstan.  Ibrahim applied for and received the prestigious Boren Fellowship, named after a former U.S. senator from Oklahoma, which focuses on building “a broader and more qualified pool of U.S. citizens with foreign language and international skills.”; committed to providing students opportunities for overseas study and to public service”(link). Boren awardees receive funding to study the languages most critical to the nation’s security in the regions with the agreement to seek and secure national security employment in the U.S. federal workforce for at least one year.   For her doctoral dissertation research, Ibrahim worked for six months abroad at Shakpak during the fall migration season, collaborating with local scientists and field assistants banding birds, taking morphological measurements and collecting over 10,000 feather samples for isotope analysis.  Through coordination with both Kazakh and American institutions, Ibrahim is preparing lab work to analyze the feather samples, looking forward to gaining insight into bird migration in Central Asia.  Ibrahim hopes to contribute research on migration routes and continue to build strong professional relationships with the teams in Kazakhstan with a possible return to Shakpak in the future. The Institute of Zoology in Kazakhstan featured Ibrahim’s research along with an interview covering the various aspects of the day to day projects, experiments and collaborations with the research staff here. Ibrahim aims to graduate with her MEES doctoral degree next year (2027) and desires to secure work in the federal government to fulfill requirements of the Boren fellowship.  According to her own profile, Ibrahim enjoys watching k-dramas, reading YA novels, true crime podcasts, and fostering cats.  For more info on Nicole Ibrahim, please click here.

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