Chris Elphick

Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut
75 N. Eagleville Road, U-43, Storrs, CT 06269-3043
Email: chris.elphick @ uconn.edu

Depending on my mood, I consider myself a conservation biologist, an applied ecologist, and an ornithologist, with research interests that span behavioral, population, community and landscape ecology. Most of my research has focused on aquatic species that occur in wetland or agricultural habitats, but I’ve also worked in tropical forest, the boreal zone, and the open ocean. Despite this breadth (or, if you like, lack of focus) the overriding goal that unites much of my work is understanding how best ecologists can guide management decisions so as to reconcile the conservation of biological diversity with other human activities.

My current research involves studies of breeding birds in salt marshes (mostly saltmarsh and seaside sparrows, but also other species), studies of birds in agricultural settings (mostly waterbirds in rice, but also other taxa in other crops), and studies of waterbirds of conservation interest. Current projects include work on birds in Connecticut, California, Hawaii, and (via graduate student collaborations) southern Chile.

For more information, check out the links on the sidebar. (Note that, just like everyone else, we're still working on this site ... slowly ... so some links may not go anywhere yet.)

Click on these links to jump straight to my publications or to read the latest information for prospective graduate students.

Directions to my office can be found here.