Understanding the Vole Picture

About this episode

This episode discusses the ecology of the gray-tailed vole and the research journey of PhD student Austin Nash.

Many wildlife populations experience change over time. For some, this can be defined as “boom” and “bust” periods – cycles of change where population numbers rise and fall. Understanding these can be a major challenge for scientists and wildlife managers, particularly for species who have not historically been monitored. One such species, the gray-tailed vole, is being studied by PhD student Austin Nash and his collaborators here at Oregon State University. This episode reviews some of the ecology of this super cool endemic (only found in the Willamette Valley) vole, and Austin's journey to grad school.

People in this episode

Guest: Austin Nash

Topics covered

• wildlife populations
• ecology
• gray-tailed vole
• graduate school journey
• population cycles

Keywords

• wildlife
• population dynamics
• ecology
• gray-tailed vole
• Oregon State University

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Oregon State University

Books & works: Understanding the Vole Picture

Places: Willamette Valley

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