- Biogeography
- Landscape ecology
- Restoring habitat and landscape functionality in human-affected environments
I’m interested in the functional connectivity of landscapes. More specifically, I'm looking into the movement of animals in heterogeneous environments and the types of habitat
contexts that provide the most functional connectivity for various types of
movement behavior. Investigating behavioral responses to different landscape components and configurations and then determining what implications they may have for (meta)population dynamics is a major part of my interests. Identifying these responses at various spatial scales and exploring matrix permeability in the broad context of landscape ecology is a basis for my current research thoughts. Ultimately, my goal is to aid in the restoration of various types of movement processes in functionally disconnected
landscapes.
I hope to conduct some tracking of amphibian movements – either juvenile dispersal events or seasonal migrations to and from breeding sites. This would be investigated in the face of different types, and scales, of habitat heterogeneity in order to determine how the animals respond to such landscape characteristics and how to provide the most functional connectivity for a particular movement behavior. |
Mike, a native of Buffalo, NY, graduated from the University at Buffalo in May 2008 with a B.S. in Environmental Studies and a minor in Geography. His major was part of the Interdisciplinary Degree Program at UB and allowed him concentrations in both environmental policy and resources. In August 2008, Mike joined the inaugural class of Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) fellows in the Ecosystem Restoration through Interdisciplinary Exchange (ERIE) program at UB. As a member of the Department of Geography, Mike's research interests include biogeography, landscape ecology, and restoring habitat and landscape functionality in human-affected environments.
A long-term goal of his is to be an instrumental part of a comprehensive restoration or conservation plan. Mike has also been an active member of the UB Men's Club Soccer team and enjoys camping, hiking, and experiencing new places. |
Presentations
Habberfield, M. (2013, March). Using translocations to identify the spatial scale at which vernal pool amphibians select habitat patches. Poster presented at the 8th Annual Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) Mid-Atlantic Chapter Conference, College Park, Maryland.
Blersch, D.M., Blersch, S.S., Habberfield, M., Hannes, I., Malzone, J., & Whiteway, S. (2012, June). The disconnect between ecosystem services concept and ecosystem function in stream restoration: where do we go from here? Paper presented at the 12th Annual American Ecological Engineering Society Meeting, Syracuse, New York.
Habberfield, M.W. 2010. Investigating the influence of pool and landscape features on the spatial patterns of amphibian breeding in a vernal pool complex in central New York. Finger Lakes Region Research Conference, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY. 4 December 2010.
Habberfield, M.W. and C.P.S. Larsen. 2010. The Influence of Landscape and Species Characteristics on the Efficacy of Conservation Corridors: Results from a Meta-analysis and the Importance of Relative Scale. Middle States Division of the Association of American Geographers Annual Conference, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, NY. 22 Oct 2010.
Habberfield, M.W. and C.P.S. Larsen. 2010. Do Species’ Body Mass and Home Range
Size Determine the Functional Connectivity of Corridors? Results from a
Meta-analysis of Tracking Studies. International Congress for Conservation
Biology, Society for Conservation Biology, Edmonton, Alberta. 4 July 2010.
Blersch, S. and M.W. Habberfield. 2009. Comparison of rapid assessment techniques
for signatures of dynamic equilibrium in a disturbed stream. American Geophysical
Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA. 18 December 2009.
Grants Awarded
2011. Investigating the influence of pool and landscape features on the spatial patterns of amphibian breeding in a vernal pool complex in central New York. Mark Diamond Research Fund, Graduate Student Association, SUNY at Buffalo. Amount: $1994.33 |
