About the Applied Population Ecology (A.P.E.) Lab

Our mission

Our expertise is in population biology, simulation modeling and statistics, and our passion is wildlife conservation. We combine our expertise and passion in creative ways. For example, we have

  • Used Bayesian statistics and simulation modeling to assess the conservation status of the bog turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii)
  • Modeled the impact of sylvatic plague on prairie dog and black-footed ferret populations.
  • Developed a new statistical approach for assessing the threatening processes underlying wildlife population declines.
  • Assessed the success of a long-term effort to reintroduce tortoises to Espanola island in Galapagos.

Who we are

The A.P.E. lab currently includes Dr. Kevin Shoemaker (Assistant Professor, NRES Department, UNR) and doctoral students Danielle Miles, Margarete Walden and Miranda Crowell. Former A.P.E. lab members include Dr. Elizabeth Hunter (former postdoc; now Assistant Professor at Georgia Southern University), and Nathan Cook (completed M.S. in 2018; now Biologist with the State of Washington).

(clockwise from top left: Nathan Cook, Miranda Crowell, Margarete Walden, Danielle Miles, Kevin Shoemaker, and Elizabeth Hunter)

Join us!

If you are interested in joining the A.P.E. lab as a graduate student, here are a few things to keep in mind:
* All graduate students must have funding, either through a teaching assistantship (TA) or an research assistantship (RA, usually through external grants). We don’t have many TAships in the NRES department, and it costs about $30k/year to support a graduate student at UNR as an RA. RAships are available periodically- contact Dr. Shoemaker if you are interested.
* In general, you must have an M.S. degree to join the lab as a PhD student.
* To be admitted to the program, you must apply! To apply you must take the general Graduate Record Exam or GRE (the “general test” is sufficient for applying to our department). Generally speaking, most students apply in the spring (Feb.-Mar.) and start in August. But there are good reasons to start in January, especially for MS students (two field seasons sandwiched between your semesters as opposed to one). * Some practical advice for graduate students!

Contact us

Please email Dr. Shoemaker if you have any questions!