Jacob L. Wessels

Title: PhD Student
Email: jlw1637@msstate.edu

I am a PhD student co-advised by Dr. Ray Iglay and Dr. Mel Boudreau. I came to MSU in Fall 2023 to study movements and ecology of Least Terns and Black Skimmers along the Mississippi coast, in collaboration with Audubon Delta. I am from Knoxville, Tennessee, where I got my start in ecology and ornithology as an undergraduate student in Biological Sciences (Honors Ecology and Evolutionary Biology concentration/ Wildlife and Fisheries Science minor) at the University of Tennessee. I later completed a Master of Science in Biology at Arkansas State University.

I have worked on a variety of ecological field research projects, often studying songbird species of conservation concern like Cerulean Warblers, Golden-winged Warblers, and Loggerhead Shrikes. I have also contributed to studies of Northern Bobwhites and secretive marsh birds, as well as other taxa like reptiles, amphibians, and plants. My research interests include species-habitat relationships, population ecology, and spatial aspects of ecology like movements and space use, migration, distributions, and landscape ecology. I am also interested in conducting research that is relevant to conservation efforts. I hope to pursue a career related to avian ecology research and/or bird conservation. In my free time, I enjoy birding and nature study, photography, the outdoors, books, music, coffee, etc.

Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jacob-Wessels-2

Personal Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-l-wessels/