Dr. Michel Kohl – Principle Investigator
Dr. Kohl is an Associate Professor of Wildlife Management and Wildlife Extension Specialist in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. His research broadly focuses on spatial ecology, the fitness consequences of spatial behavior, and the implications of those behaviors for the conservation and management of wildlife. For more details, his C.V. can be found here.
Michel is originally from the Ft. Peck Sioux and Assiniboine Reservation of northeastern Montana. Since leaving home, he has worked on a diverse range of species including bison, elk, wolves, cougars, sage-grouse, forest grouse, white-tailed deer, and most recently, black bears.
Fun Fact: Michel graduated with a whopping 6 kids in his high school class!
Dr. Cody Cox – Research Coordinator
Cody is the research coordinator for the Kohl Lab, where he assists on a variety of projects related to wildlife space-use and movement patterns.
Cody is originally from Atlanta, GA and graduated with a BA from Stanford University (2011), MS from Auburn university (2013), and PhD from the University of Georgia (2022), where he examined the effects of landscape structure on a suite of resident bird species in Costa Rica to inform reforestation planning.
Fun Fact: Cody was a member of the Track & Field team (hammer throw) in college.
Lab Members
Summer Fink (PhD Canidate)
Summer joined us in Fall 2021 as both a Warnell Graduate Fellow and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow to study human-wildlife interactions, coyote space use, and mesocarnivore occurrence across Atlanta, Ga. She will be using her results to create and distribute outreach materials to communities across Atlanta.
Originally from Boydton, VA, Summer graduated with her B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife Science from the University of Georgia in 2018. Prior to joining our group, she was a Lead Technician with the Urban Coyote Research Project in Chicago, Illinois. Her work in Chicago has helped lay a strong foundation for her graduate work at UGA.
Fun Fact: Her favorite field snack is a peanut butter and pickle sandwich (sweet petites ONLY).
Haley Jones (PhD Student)
Haley is an PhD student co-advised by Drs. Michel Kohl and Helen Bothwell. Her project will quantify black bear spatial distribution and abundance in and around the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in South Georgia. This project is using a mix of spatial-capture recapture models, combined with GPS-collared bears, wildlife game cameras, and hair snares over the next 4 years to develop a better understanding of this population.
Haley hails from northern California, where she graduated with a B.S. in Wildlife Management and Conservation and an M.S. in Wildlife Ecology from Cal Poly Humboldt. She studied gray fox habitat selection and habitat use at trespass cannabis grows for her thesis. Haley has worked with various species, including gray foxes, Pacific fisher, mountain lion and black bear.
Fun Fact: She finds fulfillment covered in bear scat (in the field).
Alex Coombs (Research Coord./MS Student)
Alex is the research coordinator for our South Georgia black bear project. He helps coordinate our fieldwork and crew hiring. In addition, he officially started his MS with us in Fall 2024, co-advised by Dr. Kohl and Dr. Helen Bothwell. His MS project will combine GPS data from our recent North Georgia project, and our ongoing Central and South Georgia projects to estimate spatial connectivity across the state of Georgia to help prioritize the establishment of corridors.
Originally from Racine, Wisconsin, Alex graduated with his B.S. in Wildlife Research and Management from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point. Prior to joining the lab, he worked on various carnivore species across the country including black footed ferrets, spotted skunks, fishers, and coyotes.
Fun Fact: I’m probably the only person in Georgia who gets excited when the temperature drops below freezing.
Michael Brennan (PhD Student)
Michael Joined us in Fall 2024 as a doctoral fellow to study spatial ecology and conservation of eastern diamondback rattlesnakes in coastal Georgia. He hopes to use the results to better inform management and restoration practices on protecting this imperiled predator.
Michael is from Stockbridge, GA, but grew up in an army family which had him spend several years in Germany. He received a B.S. and M.S. in Biology from Georgia Southern University where he studied mitigation and impacts of invasive Argentine black and white tegus, and land management effects on lizard populations in the Ocala National Forest. Michael was the Georgia Sea Grant state fellow and wildlife technician on Jekyll Island, working with eastern diamondbacks, before joining our lab.
Fun Fact: Michael likes to bake and learn to make as many desserts as he can
Eden Nitza (PhD Student)
Eden joined the lab in Fall 2025 as a Ph.D. student co-advised by Drs. Michel Kohl and Helen Bothwell. She is studying black bear population genomics and landscape connectivity in and around the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in South Georgia.
Eden grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana and received her B.S. in Biology from Emory University in 2020. After graduating, she worked as a seasonal wildlife technician for two years before starting her M.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Resources at West Virginia University. She graduated in August of 2024 with her thesis titled “Diet and Population Genomics of River Otters (Lontra canadensis) in West Virginia, USA”. Before starting her Ph.D., she spent a year doing wildlife research in Alaska.
Fun fact: She has lived in 4 countries- the USA, Botswana, Bhutan, and Tanzania
Reese Brown (Undergrad)
Reese has been working in the Kohl lab since Fall of 2023. She is the lead technician for our Athens Urban Wildlife Project and will be analyzing that data for her senior thesis in 2026. She currently oversees all the fieldwork and data management for the Athens project, and will soon be adding ARU data to our study thanks to a recent grant she received!
Reese is originally from Fayetteville, GA and will graduate with a BSFR in wildlife sciences in spring 2026.
Fun fact: She used to play hockey for 7 years.
Past Undergraduate Students
Past Graduate Students
Kate McKay (B.S. 2025)
Thesis Title: Comparing Tracking Technologies on Eastern
Diamondback Rattlesnakes. After undergrad, Tara has been travelling the western U.S. working on a number of different wildlife projects.
Dana Wells (B.S. 2025)
Thesis Title: Assessment of Eastern diamondback rattlesnake prey richness and diversity across habitat types prior to habitat restoration on Jekyll Island, Georgia. After undergrad, Tara has been travelling the country working on a number of different wildlife projects.
Ryan Rimple (M.S. 2024)
Thesis Title: Evaluating the repatriation of long-term captive and confiscated Eastern box turtles: movement, reproduction, and vertical transmission of ranavirus. Ryan recently started a PhD at New Mexico State University on Gila Trout genetics.
Jennifer Brown (M.S. 2024)
Thesis Title: Evaluating the effects of climate and land use on black vulture (Coragyps atratus) range expansion and human-vulture conflict. Jen is sticking around Athens as a she starts a PhD at UGA studying songbirds in the southern Appalachians.
Tara Janosik (B.S. 2024)
Thesis Title: Assessment of Eastern diamondback rattlesnake prey richness and diversity across habitat types prior to habitat restoration on Jekyll Island, Georgia. After undergrad, Tara has been travelling the country working on a number of different wildlife projects.
Carson Daniel (MNR 2023)
Research Project: Evaluating coyote behavior and diet using video camera collars. Jen has been working as a Extension Associate in the Kohl Lab, but will soon be taking a position as an Ecologist with Georgia DOT.
Daniel Derose-Broeckert (B.S. 2023)
Thesis Title: Evaluating urban wildlife removals and conflict calls in metro-Atlanta: Do Nuisance Wildlife Control Operator efforts equal less humanwildlife conflicts? Daniel is currently working on his M.S. on deer at UGA in 2024.
Cat Carter (M.S. 2023)
Thesis Title: Impacts of harvest on black bear (Ursus americanaus) behavior and survival in North Georgia. Cat is now the Grasslands Outreach Coordinator for Tennessee Quail Forever.
Mack Schilling (B.S. 2023)
Thesis Title: Assessment of wildlife diversity in response to urbanization in Athens, Georgia. After completing his undergrad, Mack has moved to California with her new husband and has now started her M.S. in Environmental Hydrology at Cal State LA.
Collin Richter (M.S. 2022)
Thesis Title: Multi-year space use and survival of head-started Mojave desert tortoises and factors influencing risk of predation by subsidized predators. Collin has moved to Michigan with his new wife and began his PhD in 2023!
Lavendar Harris (B.S. 2022)
Thesis Title: Assessment of wildlife response to urbanization in Athens Georgia. Lavendar is currently a MS student at the University of Maryland working on urban wildlife.
Ben Carr (B.S. 2021)
Thesis Title: Wildlife Behavioral Response to a Global Pandemic. Ben is working on his MS at the University of Georgia studying the Central Georgia Black Bear population under under Dr. Mike Chamberlain.
Calvin Ellis (B.S. 2020)
Thesis Title: Evaluating Elk (Cervus canadensis) Sightability in Eastern Kentucky. After completing his undergrad, Calvin quickly returned to school to pursue his M.S., and now his PhD under the guidance of Drs. Mike Cherry and Levi Heffelfingerat Texas A&M – Kingsville
Kohl Wildlife Lab 