Ivy Widick

Postdoctoral Researcher

Research Interests and Background

My interests lie at the intersection of spatial ecology and wildlife conservation, with respect to current and impending environmental change. I believe diversity in scope and perspective forms the basis of producing robust and reliable research that supports conservation amidst anthropogenic and climatic change. Thus, I am committed to maintaining an integrative outlook on management, accounting for climatic influences on wildlife populations.

I grew up in Southern Indiana and received my undergraduate education from Purdue University. There I became involved in research and developed an interest in spatial ecology by exploring the effects of predation risk on spatial patterns of deer mouse foraging activity.

I went on to study the current and future distribution of an endangered rodent, giant kangaroo rats, during my master’s program at Humboldt State University. There my love of spatial analyses strengthened, and so, after serving as a research and lab manager at Clemson University, I moved to Madison to work as a Spatial Ecologist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources where I examined the effects of habitat management activities on wildlife populations across the state.

As a member of the Zuckerberg lab, I earned my PhD studying the effects of continental-scale climate and resource variability on bird populations. As a postdoctoral researcher, I will work with a large collaborative group through the Midwest Climate Adaptation Science Center to identify past and future climate change refugia for birds in the Great Lakes region.

Contact

Email: widick@wisc.edu

Website: https://sites.google.com/view/ivywidick

Education

Ph.D. Wildlife Ecology – University of Wisconsin – 2025. Thesis: Winter Climate and Resource Variability Entrain the Dynamics of Avian Irruption and Reproductive Success

M.S. Wildlife – Humboldt State University – 2018. Thesis: Evaluating current and future range limits of an endangered, keystone rodent (Dipodomys ingens)

B.S. Wildlife – Purdue University – 2015