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BIDDEFORD, Maine

David Rankin, M.S. (’14) publishes thesis in ‘Forest Ecology and Management’

David Rankin, M.S. (Biological Sciences, ’14), published his master’s thesis in the most recent issue of the international journal Forest Ecology and Management. Noah Perlut, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Studies, co-authored the paper.

The article, “The effects of Forest Stand Improvement Practices on occupancy and abundance of breeding songbirds,” evaluated the effectiveness of the Forest Stand Improvement initiative implemented in 2010 by the Vermont Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and Audubon Vermont. The initiative was designed to improve timber quality while increasing habitat diversity for forest breeding songbirds.

The study concluded that the initiative had a slightly positive impact on avian habitat.

Rankin was co-advised in his study by Perlut and Steven Travis, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Biology.

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