Dr. Elmer J. Finck

Professor of Biological Sciences; Chair, Department of Biological Sciences
Editor, Prairie Naturalist; Business Manager, Mammal Images Library

Education:
A.S. in Math, College of Lake County (Grayslake, llinois), 1972

B.S. in Fish & Wildlife Management, University of North Dakota, 1974

M.S. in Biology (Plant Ecology), University of North Dakota, 1979
Thesis: Effects of oxidized coal on mine spoils and the growth and chemical composition of wheatgrasses.
Advisor: Dr. Mohan K. Wali

Ph.D. in Biology (Behavioral Ecology), Kansas State University, 1983
Dissertation: Male behavior, territory quality and female choice in the dickcissel (Spiza americana).
Advisor: Dr. John L. Zimmerman

Post-doc, Konza Prairie Biological Station, 1983-1989

Advising: Mammalogy, Conservation Biology, Wildlife Biology, Ornithology

Courses Taught:
Human Biology - Syllabus
Mammalogy - Syllabus
Wildlife Management - Syllabus
Human Dimensions in Wildlife - Syllabus

Current Research:
1) effect of habitat fragmentation on grassland birds.
2) effects of burning CRP on grassland birds.
3) contact zone between Blarina hylophaga and B. brevicauda in Iowa and Missouri.
4) human dimensions of waterfowl hunters at Cheyenne Bottoms, Kansas.
5) effects of patch burning on grassland small mammals.
6) monitoring avian flu.
7) winter ecology of the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus).
8) biodiversity of small mammals and birds in mixedgrass and shortgrass prairie.
9) ecology and conservation of the eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius).
10) breeding ecology of the burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) relative to colony size and densities
      of  the black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus).
11) ecology of the black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus).
12) use of stable isotopes to assess waterfowl diet.