John Wendt
Degree Held:
B.S. in Rangeland Ecology, concentration in Restoration Ecology, minor in Conservation Biology, magna cum laude,Colorado State University, 2016
Degree Sought:
Ph.D. in Ecology and Earth Sciences
Advisor:
Title of Research Project:
Reconstructing large herbivore community dynamics and environmental interactions in Late Quaternary North America
Project Summary:
I am interested in exploring how disturbance from herbivory and fire influence long-term ecosystem dynamics. My current research focuses on the development of biogeochemical tools to reconstruct population dynamics of herbivores from lake sediment cores.
Email Address:
Website:
Grants:
- Graduate School Professional Advancement Grant, 2020
- Graduate Research Innovation (GRIN) award, Joint Fire Science Program, 2019, $24,000
- Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Grant, American Museum of Natural History, 2019
Honors & Awards:
- Graduate School PhD Enhancement Award, 2021-2022
- Jim Edie Geography Scholarship, 2019
- Honorable Mention, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program, 2019
- Member, Phi Kappa Phi, Inducted 2019
- D.R. and Virginia D. Pulliam Scholarship, 2016
- Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, 2015
- Office of International Programs Undergraduate Education Abroad Scholarship, 2015
- Foundation for Global Scholars Colorado Universities Scholarship, 2015
- SIT Affiliate Scholarship, 2015
- William (Mike) Fenner `54 Scholarship, 2014
- Great Lakes National Scholarship, 2013-2015
- College Access Challenge Grant Scholarship, 2013
- Colonel Marvin & Joye Parker Scholarship, 2013
- Warner College of Natural Resources General Scholarship, 2013
- NSF REU Grant Supplement, 2012
- University Honors Program Scholarship, 2011-2015
- CFA Leadership Scholarship, 2011
- Warner College of Natural Resources Dean’s Honor Roll, 2011-2016
Publications:
Schiller, C. M., Alt, M., Nanavati, W. P., Wendt, J.A.F. In press. Getting information from the past: paleoecological studies of terrestrial ecosystems (Chapter 22). Key Methods in Geography (eds. N. Clifford, M. Cope, T. Gillespie, S. French). Sage Publishing.
Wendt, J.A.F., McWethy, D.B., Widga, C., Shuman, B.N. 2022. Large-scale climatic drivers of bison distribution and abundance in North America since the Last Glacial Maximum. Quaternary Science Reviews. 284.
Epstein, K., Wood, D.J.A., Roemer, K., Currey, B., Duff, H., Gay, J.D., Goemann, H., Loewen, S, Milligan, M.C., Wendt, J.A.F., Brookshire, E.N.J, McNew, L., McWethy, D.B., Maxwell, B.D., Stoy, P.C., Haggerty, J. 2021. Towards an urgent yet deliberate conservation strategy: sustaining social-ecological systems in rangelands of the Northern Great Plains, Montana. Ecology and Society.
Wendt, J.A.F., Paschke, M.W. 2018. Temporal variability of soil seed banks in lodgepole pine forests. Journal of Undergraduate Research.
Wendt, J. 2015. The restoration process: lessons from a community-based conservation initiative in Tunkhel, Mongolia. Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. Paper 2085.
Presentations:
Wendt, J.A.F., McWethy, D.B., Widga, C., Shuman, B. 2022. Bison Distribution and Abundance Responses to Climate Change in Late Quaternary North America. 15th Biennial Scientific Conference on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. May 18, 2022. Bozeman, MT. Oral presentation.
Wendt, J.A.F., McWethy, D.B., Widga, C., Shuman, B. 2022. Bison Biogeography in Late Quaternary North America: Abundance, Distribution, and Climate. Montana State University Earth Sciences Student Colloquium. April 14, 2022. Bozeman, MT. Poster presentation.
Wendt, J.A.F. 2021. Reconstructing past herbivore distribution, abundance, and community composition. Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics Seminar. November 18, 2021. Venice, Italy. Oral presentation.
Wendt, J.A.F. 2021. Bison responses to Late Quaternary Climate Change in North America. Crossing the Paleontological-Ecological Gap Conference. September 8, 2021. Oral presentation.
Wendt, J.A.F. 2021. Responses of North American Bison to Late Quaternary climate change. Montana State University Earth Sciences Student Colloquium. April 23, 2021. Oral presentation.
Wendt, J.A.F. 2020. The long view: Paleo-perspectives on rangeland disturbance in the Northern Great Plains. Society for Range Management Annual Meeting. February 17, 2020. Denver, CO. Oral presentation.
Wendt, J.A.F., Epstein, K. 2019. Rangeland transitions in the American West: Key feedbacks and knowledge gaps in a Montana case study. Annual Matador Ranch Science Symposium. June 12, 2019. Zortman, MT. Oral presentation.
Grasslands Graduate Group. 2019. Rangelands in transition: Key feedbacks & knowledge gaps in a Central Montana case study. Montana Institute on Ecosystems Rough Cut Seminar Series. April 17, 2019. Bozeman, MT. Oral presentation.
McWethy, D., Alt, M., Wendt, J., Kichas, N., Billman, P. 2019. Earth, wind, and fire: Ecosystem response to disturbance, climate variability, and human impacts. Montana Institute on Ecosystems Rough Cut Seminar Series. February 20, 2019. Bozeman, MT. Oral presentation.
Wendt, J.A.F., Paschke, M.W. 2017. Temporal variability of soil seed banks in lodgepole pine forests. HAR-CeRSER 2017 Conference. March 7-9, 2017. Fort Collins, CO. Poster presentation.
Wendt, J. 2016. The restoration process: lessons from a community-based conservation initiative in Tunkhel, Mongolia. Front Range Student Ecology Symposium. February 23-24, 2016. Fort Collins, CO. Poster presentation.
