TJ Zenzal is a Research Ecologist at the USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center.
My research interests include the movement and behavioral ecology of wildlife, particularly birds, with an emphasis on conservation. My research integrates traditional field methods (e.g., bird banding, surveys) with technological advancements (e.g., radio telemetry, weather surveillance radar, isotopes, RFID) to better understand the ecology of avian species as they face severe weather events, habitat/land use change, climate change, and the migratory journey. My dissertation work focused on the stopover ecology of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird in coastal Alabama. My post-doctoral work focused on 1) the integration of weather surveillance radar and traditional field methods to determine how landbirds use stopover habitat as well as react to hurricanes along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast during migration, and 2) the use of wetland habitat created via drainage water management by shorebirds in the mid-West.
Education
Ph.D., Biological Sciences, University of Southern Mississippi
B.S., Environmental Science, University of Scranton
Background
2019-Present: Research Ecologist, US Geological Survey, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center (formerly National Wetland Research Center), Lafayette, LA, USA
2017-2019: Research Scientist, School of Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA
2017: Postdoctoral Research Associate in Avian Ecology, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
2016: Visiting Scholar, Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
2016-2017: Postdoctoral Research Associate in Radar Ornithology, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA
2009-2016: Ph.D. Biological Sciences; NSF GK-12 Teaching Fellow/Graduate Teaching Assistant/Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA
2008-2009: Various avian field technician positions
2005-2008: B.S. Environmental Science, University of Scranton, Scranton, PA, USA
Science and Products
Use of Portable Radar to Monitor Flying Animals in the Offshore Environment
Non-breeding Habitat Use of Flooded Agricultural Fields by Shorebirds within the Mississippi Delta
Monitoring Impacts of U.S.-Mexico Border Barrier and Lighting on Migratory Birds
Seasonal Surveys of Shorebird and Coastal Waterbird Utilization of Dredged Material Islands in the Baptiste Collette Bayou, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) New Orleans District, Louisiana
Understanding Avian Habitat Availability and Use After Barrier Island Restoration in Coastal Louisiana
A Multiscale Approach to Understanding Migratory Landbird Habitat Use of Functional Stopover Habitat Types and Management Efforts
Adapting to Climate Change: Trends and Severe Storm Responses by Migratory Landbirds and Their Habitats
Adapting to Climate Change: Trends and Severe Storm Responses by Migratory Landbirds and Their Habitats
Monitoring Effects of Barrier Island Restoration on Piping Plovers in Louisiana
Science and Products
- Science
Use of Portable Radar to Monitor Flying Animals in the Offshore Environment
USGS will deploy a small, portable radar aboard a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel to measure the abundance, geographic distribution, and flight altitude of birds migrating across the continental shelf of the northern Gulf.Non-breeding Habitat Use of Flooded Agricultural Fields by Shorebirds within the Mississippi Delta
Researchers are capturing and banding birds within flooded agricultural sites to understand habitat use of these artificial wetland habitats.Monitoring Impacts of U.S.-Mexico Border Barrier and Lighting on Migratory Birds
Researchers will use a multi-scale approach to determine how barrier construction and lighting may impact migratory birds in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.Seasonal Surveys of Shorebird and Coastal Waterbird Utilization of Dredged Material Islands in the Baptiste Collette Bayou, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) New Orleans District, Louisiana
To assess use of dredge material areas, avian ecologists from USGS WARC are conducting bird surveys across the annual life cycle.Understanding Avian Habitat Availability and Use After Barrier Island Restoration in Coastal Louisiana
Using ecological and geographical data, WARC researchers and their partners are analyzing avian and benthic sampling on Whiskey Island and Caminda Headland to compare pre- and post-restoration aspects of habitat occupancy, habitat availability, habitat use, and kernal density estimation.A Multiscale Approach to Understanding Migratory Landbird Habitat Use of Functional Stopover Habitat Types and Management Efforts
USGS scientists are using a spatially-explicit Bayesian network model to predict the difference between energetic value and energetic demand for stopover habitats for migrating landbirds.Adapting to Climate Change: Trends and Severe Storm Responses by Migratory Landbirds and Their Habitats
USGS scientists will be analyzing weather surveillance radar observations of birds departing stopover habitats to measure responses to climate change.Adapting to Climate Change: Trends and Severe Storm Responses by Migratory Landbirds and Their Habitats
Over two-thirds of all landbirds (i.e. birds that spend the majority of their lives in terrestrial environments) in North America migrate long-distances to areas in Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean islands. Habitats within Texas and Louisiana support high numbers of birds when they interrupt their migratory journeys through the Gulf of Mexico region to “stopover” for resting and...Monitoring Effects of Barrier Island Restoration on Piping Plovers in Louisiana
The federally threatened piping plover relies on sand-beach habitat year-round for nesting, foraging, and roosting, habitat that is particularly vulnerable to loss and degradation from coastal development, recreation activities, erosion, and sea-level rise. - Data
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