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David A. La Puma, Ph.D.

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Research Interests:

I am interested in the ways in which disturbance events affect successional processes, and how these processes in turn affect endangered species. Specifically, my research focuses on fire processes in the freshwater sawgrass prairies of Everglades National Park; and how these processes influence the federally endangered Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus mirabilis).
I am also interested in the use of remote sensing techniques, namely Doppler radar, to detect nocturnal bird migration. As a side project, I have started woodcreeper.com in an effort to document migration over the state of New Jersey, and provide some forecasting of local birding conditions.

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Personal Interests:

As a graduate student, I'm convinced I'm not supposed to have personal interests (or at least not to admit that I do). That said, most of my free time in spring and fall is spent bird watching (and most of summer and winter too). I enjoy photography, and have built up a significant collection of photographs including many species of birds. Some of these can be found on my personal photo page here. I also enjoy hiking, mountain biking, checking out live music, and trying to play the banjo.