Veteran Scientist Spotlight: Jonathan J. Rossell
Jay in the field with a Blue Jay!
Throughout our work with veterans, Soldiers2Scientists has had the exciting opportunity to meet and work with many of them who are interested in science. One of our amazing contacts is Jonathan J. Rossell (Jay).
Jay is a US military veteran who is currently researching avian communities in West Virginia. His goal has been to monitor avian communities through species point count surveys and deployment of autonomous recording units (ARUs). This research is conducted through the lab of Dr. Christopher Lituma at West Virginia University, and focuses on monitoring State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) recognized species for the state of West Virginia, and their responses to “shifting mosaic” conditions created by harvest management on large private lands in Central and Southern West Virginia. Dr. Lituma’s research interests focus on grassland and early-successional bird population ecology, landscape conservation ecology, and how conservation practices affect bird populations. He is also interested in understanding how continued human population expansion and the wildland-urban interface will affect the significance of private lands in avian conservation, as well as the full life-cycle conservation and understating avian population dynamics during migration and on wintering grounds. Throughout the course of his research a special emphasis has been given to Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera), Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea), and Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustellina).
Undergraduate Studies with the Rota Quantitative Ecology Lab, West Virginia University
Urban Bird Demography Project
Study: Acoustic Research with the Northern Cardinal:
As part of his undergraduate studies, Jay worked with Dr. Christopher T. Rota and the Rota Quantitative Ecology Lab. Their Urban Bird Demography Project seeks to understand how urbanization and climate influence survival of avian species. It focused on understanding effects of human impact through urbanization and human development. Urbanization is the transformation of uninhabited areas into densely inhabited cities. This transformation occurs in gradients ranging from highly developed cities, to moderately developed suburban areas, to low density rural areas. This process of human development is causing increases in low frequency anthropogenic noise, light pollution, habitat fragmentation, increased food resources, introduced predators, and local changes in climate. These environmental changes are affecting many wildlife populations. Jay worked with the lab of Dr. Christopher Lituma at West Virginia University to monitor avian communities in the state to better understand the effects of urbanization.
A table of findings organized by Jonathan J. Rossell, Christopher Rota, and Noah C. Byrne for West Virginia University
Summer Bat Mist Netting Field Work with Pittsburgh Wildlife & Environmental, Inc. (May 15, 2023-August 15, 2023)
In the Summer of 2024, Jay worked with Pittsburgh Wildlife & Environmental, Inc., a company focused on aiding pre-construction Endangered Species Act compliance with state and federal agencies. His joined a team of experts who were conducting surveys on local endangered bat populations. As a seasonal technician, Jay joined forces with US Fish & Wildlife Service approved Indiana bat surveyer’s who led teams of technicians. Here is a brief description of the process Jay and his fellow technicians followed during the survey.
At the start of surveying, once the mist-net poles were constructed and it was dark enough for bats to begin flying, technicians attached mist-nets to the poles and opened the nets. Technicians checked each net every ten minutes and removed any captured bats from the nets. When bats were removed from the nets, technicians placed the bats in bags and brought them to their team lead. The captured bats were then weighed, had their forearms measured, aged and sexed, and identified to species. Once the captured bats were processed, they were released by the technician and the technician resumed checking the nets every ten minutes. This process was repeated until five full hours of mist-net surveying was complete. At the end of the survey period, the technicians disassembled the attached mist-nets and carried them out of the survey location. After a survey location had been used for three successful nights, the mist-net poles were deconstructed and hiked out, a process known as tearing down. Any gear which was used during the mist-net surveys was then decontaminated each night by technicians using boiling water and left out to dry in the sun. Once all survey gear became dry, it was put away so it could be used during the next mist-net survey. The entire survey process described above was repeated seven days a week for the whole summer survey period.
Jay’s experience working with bats led him to join an event at New River Gorge National Park and Preserve where park scientists were conducting their own Emergent Bat Surveys in the Summer of 2024. S2S helped officials at New River Gorge promote the project by creating fliers and marketing materials, and this was one of the first projects where Jay and S2S crossed paths. These surveys are actually going on this summer as well, so check out the flier below if you are in the area or visiting New River Gorge Park and Preserve!
If you are in the area, these evening Emergent Bat Surveys are a great way to learn more about the habits of bats while getting a much closer look at them!
Volunteer Work with Powdermill Avian Research Center (PARC) - Spring and Summer 2024
Jay also had the opportunity to volunteer with the Powdermill Avian Research Center (PARC). The bird banding program at PARC records the age, sex, wing length, fat deposits, and body mass of captured species, as well as studying molt in birds. The data gathered proved useful in many areas of avian research, including migration, behavioral research, and longevity, as well as differences between sexes and age groups, life cycles, weight and plumage changes, population monitoring, habitat use, disease, and ecotoxicology (the harmful effects of chemical compounds on avian species). Bird banding also helped Jay and PARC to better understand how to conserve the land and environments in which these migrating species live and breed.
S2S Executive Director Michael Cohn is also an avid birder, and he has been able to share his educational experiences bird banding with the master banders of the Southshore Audubon Society in Long Island as well as his experience joining the National Park Service citizen science team at Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio under the leadership of Mariamar Guttierrez Ramirez. S2S’s work with American Kestrel habitat construction at Manassas Battlefield Park and the Shenandoah Raptor Study area may provide additional opportunities to work with Jay in 2025. This mutual love for avian communities brought Jay and Mike together, and we are currently collaborating on a number of projects through the National Science Foundation and National Parks.
Jay with a Cardinal!
Jay’s efforts to make an impact in avian research are substantial, and S2S believes his work should be celebrated! As both a veteran and a scientist, his experience provides further evidence of a meaningful bridge between the expertise of service men and women and potential career paths in the scientific community.
Our goal is to highlight veterans involved in conservation whenever we find them! Stay tuned for more exciting news about Jonathan, his work, and other veterans who are making a major impact in studying and protecting the flora and fauna in the United States of America.
