Laura C. Gigliotti, PhD
Assistant Unit Leader - West Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Dr. Gigliotti joined the West Virginia Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit as an Assistant Unit Leader in August 2022. Prior to joining the WV Unit, Dr. Gigliotti received an MS from the Pennsylvania State University, a PhD from Clemson University, and worked as a postdoctoral researcher at U.C. Berkeley. She uses a combination of long-term datasets, targeted field studies, and spatial and demographic modelling to answer ecologically- and management-relevant questions. In particular, she conducts research related to species interactions, predator-prey ecology, wildlife responses to habitat management and anthropogenic disturbance, and linkages between habitat use and demography. She studies a variety of mammalian species both nationally and internationally, with a particular focus on carnivores and large game species. She will develop graduate-level classes at WVU based on the needs of the department.
Professional Experience
Assistant Unit Leader, West Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, 2022-
Education and Certifications
PhD, Clemson University, 2016
MS, The Pennsylvania State University, 2013
BA, Colby College, 2008
Science and Products
White-tailed deer detection rates increase when coyotes are present
Predator species can indirectly affect prey species through the cost of anti-predator behavior responses, which may involve shifts in occupancy, space use, or movement. Quantifying the various strategies implemented by prey species to avoid adverse interactions with predators can lead to a better understanding of potential population-level repercussions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to
Authors
Hannah L. Clipp, Sarah M. Pesi, Madison L. Miller, Laura C. Gigliotti, Brett P. Skelly, Christopher T. Rota
Positive but un-sustained wildlife community responses to reserve expansion and mammal reintroductions in South Africa
The creation and expansion of protected areas, coupled with wildlife reintroductions, are increasingly used as conservation measures to combat wildlife declines worldwide. Although these types of restoration efforts are expected be beneficial to wildlife populations, variable species management and interactions among species within complex food webs have the potential to lead to unintended species
Authors
Shannon K. Brewer, Lia Keener, Lourens H. Swanepoel, Craig Sholto-Douglas, Axel Hunnicutt, Gonçalo Curveira-Santos
A collaborative approach to bridging the gap between wildlife managers and researchers
Although most wildlife professionals agree that science should inform wildlife management decisions, disconnect still exists between researchers and managers. If researchers are not striving to incorporate their findings into management decisions, support for research programs by managers can wane. If managers are not using research findings to inform management decisions, those decisions may be l
Authors
Jerod Merkle, Neil J. Anderson, Danna L. Baxley, Matthew Chopp, Laura C. Gigliotti, Justin A. Gude, Tyler M. Harms, Heather E. Johnson, Evelyn H. Merrill, Michael S. Mitchell, Tony W. Mong, Jerry Nelson, Andrew S. Norton, Michael J. Sheriff, Eric Tomasik, Kelly R. VanBeek
Snowshoe hare multi-level habitat use in a fire-adapted ecosystem
Prescribed burning has the potential to improve habitat for species that depend on pyric ecosystems or other early successional vegetation types. For species that occupy diverse plant communities over the extent of their range, response to disturbances such as fire might vary based on post-disturbance vegetation dynamics among plant communities. Although responses of snowshoe hares (Lepus american
Authors
Laura C. Gigliotti, Benjamin C. Jones, Matthew J. Lovallo, Duane R. Diefenbach
Geographic variation in winter adaptations of snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus)
Understanding adaptations of nonhibernating northern endotherms to cope with extreme cold is important because climate-induced changes in winter temperatures and snow cover are predicted to impact these species the most. We compared winter pelage characteristics and heat production of snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus Erxleben, 1777) on the southern edge of their range, in Pennsylvania (USA), to a
Authors
Laura C. Gigliotti, Duane R. Diefenbach, M.J. Sheriff
Science and Products
White-tailed deer detection rates increase when coyotes are present
Predator species can indirectly affect prey species through the cost of anti-predator behavior responses, which may involve shifts in occupancy, space use, or movement. Quantifying the various strategies implemented by prey species to avoid adverse interactions with predators can lead to a better understanding of potential population-level repercussions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to
Authors
Hannah L. Clipp, Sarah M. Pesi, Madison L. Miller, Laura C. Gigliotti, Brett P. Skelly, Christopher T. Rota
Positive but un-sustained wildlife community responses to reserve expansion and mammal reintroductions in South Africa
The creation and expansion of protected areas, coupled with wildlife reintroductions, are increasingly used as conservation measures to combat wildlife declines worldwide. Although these types of restoration efforts are expected be beneficial to wildlife populations, variable species management and interactions among species within complex food webs have the potential to lead to unintended species
Authors
Shannon K. Brewer, Lia Keener, Lourens H. Swanepoel, Craig Sholto-Douglas, Axel Hunnicutt, Gonçalo Curveira-Santos
A collaborative approach to bridging the gap between wildlife managers and researchers
Although most wildlife professionals agree that science should inform wildlife management decisions, disconnect still exists between researchers and managers. If researchers are not striving to incorporate their findings into management decisions, support for research programs by managers can wane. If managers are not using research findings to inform management decisions, those decisions may be l
Authors
Jerod Merkle, Neil J. Anderson, Danna L. Baxley, Matthew Chopp, Laura C. Gigliotti, Justin A. Gude, Tyler M. Harms, Heather E. Johnson, Evelyn H. Merrill, Michael S. Mitchell, Tony W. Mong, Jerry Nelson, Andrew S. Norton, Michael J. Sheriff, Eric Tomasik, Kelly R. VanBeek
Snowshoe hare multi-level habitat use in a fire-adapted ecosystem
Prescribed burning has the potential to improve habitat for species that depend on pyric ecosystems or other early successional vegetation types. For species that occupy diverse plant communities over the extent of their range, response to disturbances such as fire might vary based on post-disturbance vegetation dynamics among plant communities. Although responses of snowshoe hares (Lepus american
Authors
Laura C. Gigliotti, Benjamin C. Jones, Matthew J. Lovallo, Duane R. Diefenbach
Geographic variation in winter adaptations of snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus)
Understanding adaptations of nonhibernating northern endotherms to cope with extreme cold is important because climate-induced changes in winter temperatures and snow cover are predicted to impact these species the most. We compared winter pelage characteristics and heat production of snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus Erxleben, 1777) on the southern edge of their range, in Pennsylvania (USA), to a
Authors
Laura C. Gigliotti, Duane R. Diefenbach, M.J. Sheriff