John G. Blake, Ph.D., University of Illinois

Email: SJGBLAK@umslvma.umsl.edu

Education

• B.A. Prescott College, Prescott, Arizona. May 1974.
• M.S. University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada. May 1977.
• Ph.D. University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois. January 1983.

Selected Publications

• Hanowski, J.M., G.J. Niemi, and J.G. Blake. 1996. Response of breeding and migrating birds to extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields. Ecological Applications 6:910-919, 1996.
• Petit, D. R., J. F. Lynch, R. L. Hutto, J. B. Blake, and R. B. Waide. 1995. Habitat use and conservation in the neotropics. Pages 145-197 in T. E. Martin and D. M. Finch, eds., Ecology and management of neotropical migratory birds. Oxford University Press, NY.
• Blake, J. G., J. M. Hanowski, G. J. Niemi, and P. T. Collins. 1994. Annual variation in bird populations of mixed conifer - northern hardwoods forests. Condor 96:381-399.
• Loiselle, B. A., and J. G. Blake. 1994. Annual variation in birds and plants of a tropical second-growth woodland. Condor 96:368-380.
• Loiselle, B. A., and J. G. Blake. 1993. Spatial dynamics of understory avian frugivores and fruiting plants in lowland wet tropical forest. Vegetatio 107/108:177-189.
• Blake, J. G. and B. A. Loiselle. 1992. Habitat use by neotropical migrants at La Selva Biological Station and Braulio Carrillo National Park, Costa Rica. Pages 257-272 in J. M. Hagan, III and D. W. Johnston, eds. Ecology and Conservation of Neotropical Migrant Landbirds. Smithsonian Insitution Press, Washington, D. C.
• Blake, J. G. 1992. Temporal variation in point counts of birds in a lowland wet forest in Costa Rica. Condor 94:265-275.
• Blake, J. G. and B. A. Loiselle. 1992. Habitat use by neotropical migrants at La Selva Biological Station and Braulio Carrillo National Park, Costa Rica. Pages 257-272 in J. M. Hagan, III and D. W. Johnston, eds. Ecology and Conservation of Neotropical Migrant Landbirds. Smithsonian Insitution Press, Washington, D. C.
• Blake, J. G., and B. A. Loiselle. 1992. Fruits in the diets of neotropical migrant birds in Costa Rica. Biotropica 24:200-210.
• Loiselle, B. A., and J. G. Blake. 1992. Population variation in a tropical bird community: implications for conservation. BioScience 42:838-845.
• Blake, J. G. 1991. Nested subsets and the distribution of birds on isolated woodlots. Conservation Biology 5:58-66.

Research Interests

My research focuses on questions and issues that relate to the structure and organization of bird communities. I am particularly interested in the effects of spatial and temporal variation in resource abundance on distribution and abundance of tropical birds. A second major research interest lies in the effects of habitat alteration on associated bird populations. Forest fragmentation and the consequent impact on bird community structure continues to interest me, in both tropical and temperate habitats. Much of my tropical research has been conducted in Costa Rica; future research will emphasize Bolivia and Argentina to a greater degree.

Current Graduate Students

• Gillian Bowser (Ph.D., USA) - Genetics of prairie dog populations; use of geographic information systems to analyze movement and distribution of prairie dogs.
• Catherine Graham (Ph.D., USA) - Effects of forest fragmentation on seed dispersal by fruit-eating birds; foraging behavior of frugivores.
• Jorge Perez-Eman (Ph.D., Venezuela) - Evolution of plant- animal interactions; bird and bat communities of tropical forests.
• Mercedes Rougès (Ph.D., Argentina) - Latitudinal and altitudinal distribution patterns of birds in montane forests of northern Argentina; effects of variation in fruit abundance on diet and movement patterns of birds.
• Lorena Calvo (MS, Guatemala) - Bird communities within different systems of coffee plantations in Guatemala.