Isabelle Burky (MSc)
Isabelle grew up in Montana and Wyoming and has a BA in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology and Management from the University of Wyoming. Her MSC research focuses on bison movement in the Book Cliffs and Henry Mountains of Utah. She will be investigating how drought severity and water distribution influence bison space use, movement behavior, and reproductive success, while simultaneously examining how hunting pressure affects these patterns. Previously, Isabelle worked as a research technician in the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit where she helped study the influence of extended drought on aquatic communities that occupy high alpine lakes. She also helped analyze camera trap photos of ungulates in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem to help understand why a large diversity of movement strategies exist among sympatric ungulates. In her free time Isabelle enjoys bird hunting, big game hunting, and fly fishing.
Tayler LaSharr (PI) Tayler is an ecologist whose interest in the natural world is largely driven by her desire to understand mechanisms of animal behavior, decision making, and resource allocation. Much of Tayler’s work has been focused on how winter influences population dynamics of a long-lived animal—mule deer. Through intensive field efforts, she’s spent a good portion of her career following the same individuals through time, studying them as they grow up, make decisions, and learn to navigate a world that is often changing rapidly around them. Her interest in ecology is closely tied to her interest in collaboration and producing science with others. By working with a team of people with multiple and diverse perspectives and ideas, we can move science forward and allow for more nuanced decision making in the management and conservation of wild animals. When not thinking about science, Tayler likely is outside taking pictures of animals, drawing with pencils, or hanging out with her dogs, Ovis and Gus.
LaSharr Lab 