Wildlife ecology

Conservation of Native Fauna and Sustained Development of Natural Resources

Growing concerns over maintaining animal and plant biodiversity have led to significant changes in forest management policies in recent years. As alternative management techniques are applied to forested landscapes, land managers need to assess their effects on wildlife. I study animal habitat relationships in forest range ecosystems. Most of my work is directed towards examining wildlife community responses to natural and human-caused disturbances. The information gained can be used by resource managers to make more informed decisions regarding wildlife and wildlife management.

I am interested in the effects of habitat change on wildlife and in methods of inventory, monitoring, and conserving biotic diversity. Specifically, I'm working with students to investigate the impacts of wildfire on animal communities, the function of hardwood species in conifer-dominated landscapes as habitat, the response of small mammal communities to restoration treatments in ponderosa pine, and structure and function of riparian areas as critical habitat for animals.

Education

B.S., University of Kentucky, Lexington, 1979
M.S., University of Kentucky, Lexington, 1989
Ph.D., Oregon State University, Corvallis, 1996

Contact Information

Fall 2008 Courses

Past Courses Taught

Selected Publications 

Lynn, J. C., C. L. Chambers, and S. S. Rosenstock. Use of wildlife water developments by birds in southwest Arizona during migration. (In review, Wildlife Society Bulletin)

Miller, A. M., and C. L. Chambers. Birds of harvested and unharvested pine-oak forests, Chihuahua, Mexico (In review, The Southwestern Naturalist) Tuttle, S. R., C. L. Chambers, and T. C. Theimer. Effects of modified livestock water troughs on bat use in northern Arizona (In review, Wildlife Society Bulletin)

Mast, J. N. and C. L. Chambers. Form, Process, and Function: Coalescing Landscape Ecology and GIScience Approaches to Examine Snag Dynamics and Bird Use of Burned Versus Unburned Landscapes in Arizona (In review, Annals of the Association of American Geographers)

Hedwall, S. J., C. L.Chambers, S. S. Rosenstock, and R. L. Mathiasen. Red squirrel use of dwarf mistletoe-induced witches’ brooms in Douglas-fir Journal of Wildlife Management (In Press)

Garnett, G. N., C. L. Chambers and R. L. Mathiasen. Use of witches’ brooms by Abert squirrels in ponderosa pine forests. Wildlife Society Bulletin. (In Press)

Chambers, C. L. and J. N. Mast. Ponderosa pine snag dynamics and cavity excavation following wildfire in northern Arizona. Forest Ecology and Management (In Press)

Gatto, A. E., T. G. Grubb, and C. L. Chambers. Red-tailed hawk dietary overlap with northern goshawks on the Kaibab Plateau, Arizona. Journal of Raptor Research (In Press)

Garnett, G. N., R. L. Mathiasen, and C. L. Chambers. 2004. A comparison of wildlife use in broomed and unbroomed ponderosa pine trees in northern Arizona. Western Journal of Applied Forestry 19:42-46.

Bernardos, D. A., C. L. Chambers, and M. J. Rabe. 2004. Selection of Gambel oak roosts by southwestern myotis in ponderosa pine-dominated forests, northern Arizona. Journal of Wildlife Management 68:595-601.

Chambers, C. L., V. Alm, M. S. Siders, and M. J. Rabe. 2002. Use of artificial roosts by forest-dwelling bats in northern Arizona. Wildlife Society Bulletin 30:1085-1091.

Chambers, C.L., W.C. McComb, J.C. Tappeiner, II, L.D. Kellogg, R.L. Johnson, G. Spycher. 1999. CFIRP: What we learned the first 10 years. The Forestry Chronicle 75:431-434.

Lehmkuhl, J.F., S.D. West, C.L. Chambers, W.C. McComb, D.A. Manuwal, K.B. Aubry, J.L. Erickson, R.A. Gitzen, and M. Leu. 1999. An experiment for assessing vertebrate response to varying levels and patterns of green-tree retention. Northwest Science 73:45-63.

Cazares, E., D.L. Luoma, M.P. Amaranthus, C.L. Chambers, and J. Lehmkuhl. 1999. Interaction of fungal sporocarp production with small mammal abundance and diet in Douglas-fir stands of the southern Cascade Mountains. Northwest Science 73:64-76.

Chambers, C.L., W.C. McComb, and J.C. Tappeiner, II. 1999. Breeding bird responses to three silvicultural treatments in the Oregon Coast Range. Ecological Applications 9:171-185.

Cole, E.C., W.C. McComb, M. Newton, J.P. Leeming, and C.L. Chambers. 1998. Response of small mammals to clearcutting, burning, and glyphosate application in the Oregon Coast Range. Journal of Wildlife Management 62:1207-1216.

Chambers, C.L. and W.C. McComb. 1997. Effects of silvicultural treatments on wintering bird communities in the Oregon Coast Range. Northwest Science 71:298-304.

Chambers, C.L., T. Carrigan, T. Sabin, J. Tappeiner, and W.C. McComb. 1997. Use of artificially created Douglas-fir snags by cavity-nesting birds. Western Journal of Applied Forestry 12:93-97.

Boyle, J.R., J.E. Warila, R.L. Beschta, M. Reiter, C.L. Chambers, W.P. Gibson, S.V. Gregory, J. Grizzel, J.C. Hagar, J.L. Li, W.C. McComb, T. W. Parzybok, and G. Taylor. 1997. Cumulative effects of forestry practices: an example framework for evaluation from Oregon, U.S.A. Biomass and Bioenergy 13:223-245.

Cole, E.C., W.C. McComb, M. Newton, C.L. Chambers, and J.P. Leeming. 1997. Response of amphibians to clearcutting, burning, and glyphosate application in the Oregon Coast Range. Journal of Wildlife Management 61:656-664.

McComb, W. C., C. L. Chambers, and M. Newton. 1993. Small mammal and amphibian communities and habitat associations in red alder stands, Central Oregon Coast Range. Northwest Science 67:181 188.

Last Updated ( Thursday, 04 October 2007 )