Research Interests
- Movement ecology of birds and mammals in the human landscape
- Estimation of wildlife abundance and occupancy for management applications
- Camera traps as a tool to answer novel and applied questions
Education
- PhD in zoology, Michigan State University
- MS in wildlife ecology, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
- BS in natural resources and wildlife ecology, Cornell University
Experience
Dr. Kolowski’s doctoral work investigated interactions between humans and large carnivores in and around the Masai Mara National Reserve in southwest Kenya, with a focus on spotted hyena spatial ecology and analysis of livestock depredation patterns. His post-doc research, which brought him to the Smithsonian, investigated the effects of oil exploration on the behavior and ecology of ocelots, primates, and other mammals in northern Peru. More recently, Dr. Kolowski has focused on addressing applied research questions in northern Virginia, with his largest project studying the movement ecology and habitat use of the declining American Kestrel.
Since late 2009, Dr. Kolowski has managed the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation’s graduate- and professional-level capacity building programs. He capitalizes on his experience in regional and international research and university teaching to ensure that these programs effectively fill critical knowledge gaps for researchers and managers working in conservation around the world. Dr. Kolowski serves on various MSc and PhD dissertation committees at Mason, where he is an affiliate faculty member.
Selected Publications
Kolowski, Joseph M., Wolfer, Caylen, McDaniels, Megan, Williams, Alan, and Harris, J. B. 2023. “High-resolution GPS Tracking of American Kestrels Reveals Breeding and Post-Breeding Ranging Behavior in Northern Virginia, USA.” Journal of Raptor Research, 57, (4) 544–562. https://doi.org/10.3356/JRR-22-106.
Gregory, Tremaine, Carrasco-Rueda, Farah, Balbuena, Diego, and Kolowski, Joseph. 2022. “Rush hour: arboreal mammal activity patterns in natural canopy bridges in the Peruvian Amazon.” Folia Primatologica, 93, (3-6) 465–477. https://doi.org/10.1163/14219980-20211209.
Koskei, Michael, Kolowski, Joseph, Wittemyer, George, Lala, Fredrick, Douglas-Hamilton, Iain, and Okita-Ouma, Benson. 2022. “The role of environmental, structural and anthropogenic variables on underpass use by African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) in the Tsavo Conservation Area.” Global Ecology and Conservation, 38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02199.
Kolowski, Joseph, Morrow, Lance, and Morrow, Jill. 2022. “Factors Associated with American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) Nest Box Occupancy and Reproductive Success in an Agricultural Landscape.” Journal of Raptor Research, 57, (2). https://doi.org/10.3356/JRR-21-64.
Kolowski, Joseph M., Oley, Josephine, and McShea, William J. 2021. “High‐density camera trap grid reveals lack of consistency in detection and capture rates across space and time.” Ecosphere, 12, (2). https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3350.
Kays, Roland, Arbogast, Brian S., Baker‐Whatton, Megan, Beirne, Chris, Boone, Hailey M., Bowler, Mark, Burneo, Santiago F., Cove, Michael V., Ding, Ping, Espinosa, Santiago, Gonçalves, André,Luis Sousa, Hansen, Christopher P., Jansen, Patrick A., Kolowski, Joseph M., Knowles, Travis W., Lima, Marcela Guimarães Moreira, Millspaugh, Joshua, McShea, William J., Pacifici, Krishna, Parsons, Arielle W., Pease, Brent S., Rovero, Francesco, Santos, Fernanda, Schuttler, Stephanie G., Sheil, Douglas et al. 2020. “An empirical evaluation of camera trap study design: how many, how long, and when?” Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 1–40. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.13370.
Malpeli, Katherine C., Kolowski, Joseph M., and Sajecki, Jaime L. 2020. “The spatial distribution of American black bear-human interactions in Virginia, USA.” Ursus, 31, (E18) 1–15. https://doi.org/10.2192/URSUS-D-19-00017.1.
Gregory, Tremaine, Carrasco-Rueda, Farah, Alonso, Alfonso, Kolowski, Joseph, and Deichmann, Jessica L. 2017. “Natural canopy bridges effectively mitigate tropical forest fragmentation for arboreal mammals.” Scientific Reports, 7, (3892). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-04112-x.
Kolowski, Joseph M. and Forrester, Tavis D. 2017. “Camera trap placement and the potential for bias due to trails and other features.” Plos One, 12, (10) 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0186679.
Courses Taught
- CONS 625/MCCS 0501: Generalized Linear and Mixed Models in Ecology and Conservation Biology
- CONS 697/MCCS 0535: Animal Space Use and Movement Analysis in R
- CONS 630/MCCS 0503: Species Monitoring and Conservation – Terrestrial Mammals
- CONS 645/MCCS 0511: Estimating Animal Abundance and Occupancy
- CONS 697/MCCS 0524: Camera Trapping Study Design and Data Analysis for Occupancy and Density Estimation
