Ralph Grundel, PhD
My research focuses on reducing extinction risk in animals and restoration of landscapes.
I lead a team that focuses on improving the scientific basis for conservation of pollinators and savanna landscapes, improving landscape connectivity, reducing extinction risk for threatened and endangered species, and documenting the effects of climate change on species and landscapes, especially in the Great Lakes region and in support of national parks. I work out of the USGS Great Lakes Science Center’s Lake Michigan Ecological Research Station within Indiana Dunes National Park.
Professional Experience
2019- present Chief, Restoration and Conservation Sciences Branch, USGS Great Lakes Science Center.
1993- present Research Animal Ecologist, U.S. Geological Survey (Including National Biological Survey).
1992-93 Research Animal Ecologist, National Park Service.
Education and Certifications
Postdoctoral, 1992 Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley
Ph.D. 1984, Zoology, University of Texas at Austin
B.A. 1976, Biology, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut
Abstracts and Presentations
Grundel, R., and Hess, A.N., 2022, Conservation Lessons from Studies of the Endangered Karner Blue Butterfly: Oral Presentation, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Pollinator Community of Practice Webinar Series, November 15, 2022.
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Groundlayer vegetation gradients across oak woodland canopy gaps
Assessment of bird populations in a high quality savanna/woodland: a banding approach
Nectar plant selection by the Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis) at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
Mountain chickadee (Poecile gambeli)
Movement patterns and population characteristics of the Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis) at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
Habitat use by the endangered Karner blue butterfly in oak woodlands: The influence of canopy cover
The effect of canopy cover and seasonal change on host plant quality for the endangered Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis)
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
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Filter Total Items: 43Groundlayer vegetation gradients across oak woodland canopy gaps
Frequency of groundlayer plants was measured across oak woodland canopy gaps at three sites in northwest Indiana to examine how vegetation varied with gap size, direction along the gap edge, and microhabitat. Microhabitats were defined as under the canopy adjacent to the gap, along the gap edge, and within the gap. Gap-sites consisted of gaps plus adjacent tree canopy. Gaps were classified as smalAuthorsN.B. Pavlovic, R. Grundel, W. SluisAssessment of bird populations in a high quality savanna/woodland: a banding approach
Between 1999 and 2004, Save the Dunes Conservation Fund's Miller Woods Bird Banding Program monitored migrating and breeding bird populations within a high quality black oak, dry-mesic sand savanna/woodland with ridge and swale topography. The objectives of this program were to collect consistent and reliable demographic and abundance data on the bird populations, to investigate long-term populatiAuthorsSandra L. Wilmore, Gary A. Glowacki, Ralph GrundelNectar plant selection by the Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis) at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
The Karner blue butterfly, Lycaeides melissa samuelis, is an endangered species residing in savanna and barrens habitats in the Midwest and Northeast United States. To improve our understanding of nectar plant selection patterns by the Karner blue, we examined nectar plant choices made by 146 butterflies. Within observation areas of 2-m radius butterflies usually chose the nectar species with theAuthorsRalph Grundel, Noel B. Pavlovic, Christina L. SulzmanMountain chickadee (Poecile gambeli)
The Mountain Chickadee (Poecile gambeli), a small, cavity-nesting songbird, is one of the most common birds of montane and coniferous forest from southern Arizona and Baja California north to British Columbia and the Yukon territory. This publication describes the life history of the Mountain Chickadee.AuthorsD. Archibald McCallum, Ralph Grundel, Donald L. DahlstenMovement patterns and population characteristics of the Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis) at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
We conducted a three-year mark-release-recapture study of the endangered Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis Nabokov) at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore to describe the butterfly's movement patterns and to assess seasonal changes in the Karner blue's population structure. Estimated mean Karner blue adult life span was less than 3.5 days. Populations exhibited protandry and about a 2AuthorsRandy L. Knutson, John R. Kwilosz, Ralph GrundelHabitat use by the endangered Karner blue butterfly in oak woodlands: The influence of canopy cover
The Karner blue butterfly Lycaeides melissa samuelis is an endangered species residing in the Great Lakes and northeastern regions of the United States. Increased canopy cover is a major factor implicated in the decline of the Karner blue at many locales. Therefore, we examined how the butterfly's behavior varied with canopy cover. Adult males at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore used habitat underAuthorsRalph Grundel, Noel B. Pavlovic, Christina L. SulzmanThe effect of canopy cover and seasonal change on host plant quality for the endangered Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis)
Larvae of the Karner blue butterfly, Lycaeides melissa samuelis, feed solely on wild lupine, Lupinus perennis, from the emergence to summer senescence of the plant. Wild lupine is most abundant in open areas but Karner blue females oviposit more frequently on lupines growing in moderate shade. Can differences in lupine quality between open and shaded areas help explain this disparity in resourcAuthorsRalph Grundel, Noel B. Pavlovic, Christina L. SulzmanNon-USGS Publications**
Pavlovic, N.B., Grundel, R., 2009. Reintroduction of wild lupine (Lupinus perennis L.) depends on variation in canopy, vegetation, and litter cover. Restoration Ecology 17, 807-817.Grundel, R. 1992. How the mountain chickadee procures more food in less time for its nestlings. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 31:291-300.Grundel, R., and H. Rubin. 1992. Adaptation and selection as factors in the spontaneous transformation of NIH-3T3 cells. Carcinogenesis 13:1873-1877.Grundel, R., and D. L. Dahlsten. 1991. The feeding ecology of mountain chickadees (Parus gambeli): patterns of arthropod prey delivery to nestling birds. Canadian Journal of Zoology 69:1793-1804.Grundel, R. 1990. The role of dietary diversity, prey capture sequence and individuality in prey selection by parent mountain chickadees (Parus gambeli). Journal of Animal Ecology 59:959-976.Grundel, R., and H. Rubin. 1988. Maintenance of multiplication rate stability by cell populations in the face of heterogeneity among individual cells. Journal of Cell Science 91:571-576.Grundel, R. 1987. Determinants of nestling feeding rates and parental investment in the mountain chickadee. Condor 89:319-328.Lynch, G. R., S. E. White, R. Grundel, and M. S. Berger. 1978. Effects of photoperiod, melatonin administration and thyroid block on spontaneous daily torpor and temperature regulation in the white-footed mouse,Peromyscus leucopus. Journal of Comparative Physiology B: Biochemical, Systemic, and Environmental Physiology 125:157-163.Grundel, R., and H. Rubin. 1991. The effect of interclonal heterogeneity on the progressive, confluence-mediated acquisition of the focus forming phenotype in NIH 3T3 populations. Cancer Research 51:1003-1013.Grundel, R., and H. Rubin. 1992. Correspondence re: R. Grundel and H. Rubin, Effect of interclonal heterogeneity on the progressive, confluence-mediated acquisition of the focus-forming phenotype in NIH-3T3 populations. Cancer Research 52:1047-1050.**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
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