My current research emphasizes natural history and environmental communication. In particular, I have investigated landscape-scale snake species-habitat relationships and the goals of informal environmental education programs in the United States and Canada. I am currently investigating patterns of bird-window collisions, trends in environmental K-12 diversity pipeline programs, and the ways that written materials are used in nature centers for environmental education.
Recent publications:
Winton, R.
S., Ocampo- Peñuela, N., and Cagle, N.
L. (submitted). Mapping bird-window collisions with iNaturalist for
targeted mitigation. Urban Ecosystems.
Hager, S.
B., Consentino, B. J. [et al.
including Cagle, N. L]. (accepted). Continent-wide analysis
of how urbanization affects bird-window collision mortality in North America. Biological Conservation.
Wittig, T.
W., Cagle, N. L., Ocampo- Peñuela,
N., Winton, R. S., Zambello, E., and Lichtneger, Z. 2017. Species traits and
local abundances affect bird-window collision frequency. Avian Conservation and Ecology 12(1): 17 Available here.
Cagle, N. L. 2017. Changes in
experiences with nature through the lives of environmentally committed
university faculty. Environmental
Education Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2017.1342116
Cagle, N. L. 2017. Science classrooms
as a gateway to comprehensive pedagogy. The
Journal of College Science Teaching. 46(3): 8-9.
Hudson, L.
N., Newbold, T., Contu, S., Purvis, A. [et
al. including Cagle, N. L.]. 2016. The database of the PREDICTS
(Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity in Changing Terrestrial Systems)
project. Ecology and Evolution. 2016:
1-44.
Cagle, N. L. 2016. “Brake for Snakes.” Voices for Biodiversity. Web 16 May
2016. Available at http://voicesforbiodiversity.org/articles/brake-for-snakes
Ocampo-Peñuela,
N., Winton, R. S., Wu, C. J., Zambello, E., Wittig, T. W., and Cagle,
N. L. 2016. Patterns of bird-window collisions inform mitigation on
a university campus. PeerJ 4:e1652 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1652
Cagle, N. L. 2015. John Madson’s Where
the Sky Began: Land of the Tallgrass Prairie. The Journal of Natural History Education and Experience 9: 13-14.
Cagle, N. L. 2013. Evaluating the
written materials and use of outside texts in nature centers for environmental
education. Applied Environmental
Education and Communication Research 12(2): 108-117
Cagle, N. L. 2012. Naturalists as Environmental Leaders:
Bringing Natural History from the Past and into the Future pp. 83-94 in
Gallagher, D. (ed.) Environmental
Leadership: A Reference Manual. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Doctoral Research
Dissertation Title: A multi-scale investigation of snake species-habitat relationships and snake conservation in Illinois.
Research Summary: Snake populations are declining, but the cause of this decline is largely unexplored. The unique biology of snakes, however, may make them acutely vulnerable to habitat fragmentation and degradation. The North American Prairie provides a unique setting for studies of the multiscale snake species-habitat relationships. The snakes of northern Illinois are little studied, and the unremitting expansion of the Chicago metro area, paired with continued agricultural land use, makes this region particularly suited for this study.
Over the past several years (2003 to 2008) I addressed two primary research questions:
1. How are variations in snake composition and abundances related to habitat at each of three scales (microhabitat, landscape, and regional)?
2. By what criteria can the conservation status of snake species be evaluated?
To answer Question 1, I first explored snake species-microhabitat relationships, accounting for but not directly considering landscape and regional context. Next, I examined snake species-habitat relationships at the landscape scale. Then the three scales (microhabitat, landscape, and regional) were explicitly considered together, allowing for detailed analysis of how the interactions among scales drive snake composition and abundance. To answer the second question, I developed a ten-part risk ranking system that incorporated natural and life history features to quantify the vulnerability of Illinois 38 snake species to population declines and extinction.
Dissertation Committee:
Norm Christensen (co-advisor)
John Terborgh (co-advisor)
Dean Urban
Jennifer Swenson
Additional Research Experience:
Forest Succession: Identified and measured trees in the Piedmont of North Carolina. Sampled using historic data from the Duke Forest. Compared contemporary and historic data using GIS. 2004-2005
Piedmont Soils: Developed a litter bag decomposition experiment. Constructed and installed soil gas wells and lysimeters. Operated mass spectrophotometer and microbalance. 2003
Lichen Project: Motivated and coordinated an investigation of the effects of pollution on lichen morphology in northern Indiana. Collected lichen samples, created lichen microslides, operated spectrophotometer and digital microscope camera 2001-2002
Piedmont Soils: Developed a litter bag decomposition experiment. Constructed and installed soil gas wells and lysimeters. Operated mass spectrophotometer and microbalance. 2003
Lichen Project: Motivated and coordinated an investigation of the effects of pollution on lichen morphology in northern Indiana. Collected lichen samples, created lichen microslides, operated spectrophotometer and digital microscope camera 2001-2002
Tropical Herpetology: Independently researched tree frog pigmentation in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Assisted in boa constrictor tracking study recorded by National Geographic (two Reptile Wild episodes). Provided Spanish/English translation. 2001
Caddisflies and Water Quality: Collected and biometrically evaluated macroinvertebrates. Instigated, funded, and published water chemistry research. 1999-2001
