Michel Kohl – PI
Dr. Kohl is an Assistant 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!
Current Students
Jennifer Brown (MS Student)
Jen joined us in Fall 2021 to study spatial and temporal changes in resource selection and spatial occupancy of black vultures. She will also be evaluating the effects of USDA Wildlife Services actions on vulture-livestock depredation.
Originally from Coventry, RI, Jen graduated with her B.S. in wildlife science from SUNY-ESF in 2021. Since graduation she has worked on mapping suitable habitat for ruffed grouse in New York State with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation.
Fun Fact: One of Jennifer’s favorite pastimes is stargazing!
Cat Carter (MS Student)
Cat joined our group in Fall 2020 to study the impacts of a new dog hunt on black bear movement, home range, and demography in the North Georgia mountains. Deploying GPS collars and both hunting dogs and bears, this is the first study of its kind in the southeastern United States.
Originally from Thompson’s Station, TN, Cat graduated with her B.S. in Wildlife Management from the University of Tennessee in 2019. Since that time she had been working with the Georgia Division of Wildlife Resources as a black bear technician helping get her MS project up off the ground.
Fun Fact:
Summer Fink (PhD Student)
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).
Ryan Rimple (MS Student)
Ryan is an MS student co-advised by Dr. Michel Kohl and Dr. Tracey Tuberville (SREL). His project investigates the best management practices for translocating eastern box turtles. This includes comparing soft and hard release method. In addition, he is evaluating comparative reproductive ecology between resident and translocated box turtles and vertical transmission of Ranavirus between mother and offspring.
He is from the Pocono mountains in Pennsylvania, graduated from Juniata College in 2021 with a B.S. in Wildlife Conservation. As an undergraduate, he researched spotted turtle overwintering and worked two summers for USFWS where he assisted in bog turtle monitoring and wood turtle headstarting projects.
Fun Fact: Ryan has a live planted community aquarium, and some of his fish are named after members of his advisory committee! (Michel is a loach)
Daniel Derose-Broeckert (Senior UG)
Daniel joined the Kohl lab in the Fall of 2021 to work on his undergraduate thesis that focuses on nuisance wildlife removals within Atlanta, GA, by gathering data from commercial nuisance wildlife trappers, as well as the Georgia DNR’s Urban Wildlife Unit. This data will be used as part of our larger study evaluating human-wildlife interactions across Atlanta, GA.
Originally from Senoia, GA, Daniel graduated cum laude with an A.S. from Gordon State College in 2021, and has been pursuing a B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife Management at Warnell and volunteering with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, banding geese and doves, trapping invasive feral hogs and doing habitat work on various Wildlife Management Areas. Daniel plans to pursue a M.S. degree in the future and is very passionate about conservation within the Southeastern United States.
Fun Fact: Daniel spent nine months above the Arctic Circle in Norway while serving in the Marine Corps.
Carson Daniel (MNR Student)
Carson joined the Kohl Lab in summer 2022 as part of an urban wildlife internship but is now working on her master’s project with us. Her project is focused on evaluating urban coyote behavior and their diel activity in Atlanta, Georgia using camera collars. This information will be used to determine the true potential of domestic animal depredation by coyotes in an urban setting and will be used to educate the public on how to safely interact with them.
Originally from Covington, Georgia, Carson graduated with a B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife Science from the University of Georgia in 2022. She decided to continue her education at UGA with a Master’s in Natural Resources.
Fun fact: Carson has a four pets: two dogs and two snakes!
Past Undergraduate Students
Past Graduate Students
Lavendar Harris (B.S. 2022)
Thesis Title: Assessment of wildlife response to urbanization in Athens Georgia. Lavendar began a 1-year full-time internship with Georgia DNR working under the state turkey and furbearer coordinator.
Ben Carr (B.S. 2021)
Thesis Title: Wildlife Behavioral Response to a Global Pandemic. Ben is currently taking some time off from school, working as the North Georgia Black Bear Intern with Georgia DNR.
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.. For his thesis, he will be studying mule deer ecology at Texas A&M – Kingsville under the guidance of Drs. Mike Cherry and Levi Heffelfinger.
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 is planning to start a PhD shortly!.
Kohl Wildlife Lab 