Texas Tech University
Department of Range, Wildlife, and Fisheries Management
My name is John Brunjes and I recently compleded my Doctorate of Wildlife Science in the Department of Range, Wildlife and Fisheries Management at Texas Tech University. My major professors were Dr. Mark Wallace and Dr Warren Ballard. I am currently looking at Rio Grande turkey hatchling sex-ratios by DNA analysis of egg shell membranes.
My dissertation research was on the Rio Grande subspecies of the Wild Turkey. I created a population model for the turkeys and look at landscape scale habitat selection. I will link the population model to the landscape data to provide better information on how landscape features affect population performance. This project is one of the largest scale studies ever undertaken on Rio Grande Wild Turkeys. Eight other graduate students here at Texas Tech University will also be working on this project. They will be looking at many aspects of the natural history and ecology of Rio Grande Wild Turkeys. Information on each student can be found on the Rio Grande Turkey Home Page.
I grew up in coastal North Carolina and went to the
University of North Carolina at Wilmington for my undergraduate
degree where I
received
a
B.S. in Biological Sciences. While at UNCW, I worked for Dr. James Parnell
for 4 summers. I was involved in state wide censuses of colonial
waterbirds and I worked on several research projects
involving colonial waterbirds. I looked at food habits and nesting ecology
of Brown Pelicans in the Cape Fear River and on a small island in Core Sound,
North Carolina. I also worked with Forester's Terns studying the effects
of Rice Rat predation on nests. After graduating, I attended the University of Georgia for my masters
degree. I worked with Drs. Brian Chapman and Donald White. I studied the effects of prescribed burning on songbird communities in
mature pine habitats. I returned to North Carolina after receiving
my M.S. in
wildlife ecology and management. While in North Carolina I worked for the National
Audubon Society's Coastal Island Sanctuary System and then for CZR
Incorporated, a
biological consulting firm.
Turkey poults with implanted transmitters
