Zoology

My group seeks to understand linkages between mobile top predators (birds) and aquatic food webs. We use simulation models to link field and laboratory studies of the foraging energetics of birds with the quality and dispersion of prey, and to predict prey availability as a function of food web interactions.
For more information on my research program, please see my lab webpage.

Selected Publications

Richman, S. E., and J. R. Lovvorn. 2011. Effects of air and water temperatures on resting metabolism of auklets and other diving birds.Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 84:316-332.

Anderson, E. M., and J. R. Lovvorn. 2011. Contrasts in energy status and foraging strategies of White-winged Scoters (Melanitta fusca) and Surf Scoters (M. perspicillata). Auk 128:248-257.

Lovvorn, J. R. 2010. Modeling profitability for the smallest marine endotherms: auklets foraging within pelagic prey patches.Aquatic Biology 8:203-219.

Lovvorn, J. R., J. J. Wilson, D. McKay, J. K. Bump, L. W. Cooper, and J. M. Grebmeier. 2010. Walruses attack Spectacled Eiders wintering in pack ice of the Bering Sea. Arctic 63:53-56.

Lovvorn, J. R., J. M. Grebmeier, L. W. Cooper, J. K. Bump, and S. E. Richman. 2009. Modeling marine protected areas for threatened eiders in a climatically changing Bering Sea. Ecological Applications19:1596-1613

Richman, S. E., and J. R. Lovvorn. 2009. Predator size, prey size, and threshold food densities of diving ducks: does a common prey base support fewer larger animals? Journal of Animal Ecology 78:1033-1042.

Anderson, E. M., J. R. Lovvorn, D. Esler, and W. S. Boyd. 2009. Using predator distributions and diet biomarkers to define marine protected areas: sea ducks and herring spawn. Marine Ecology Progress Series 386:287-302.

Corcoran, R. M., J. R. Lovvorn, and P. J.Heglund. 2009. Long-term change in limnology and invertebrate communities in Alaskan boreal wetlands. Hydrobiologia 620:77-89.

Anderson, E. M., J. R. Lovvorn, and M. T. Wilson. 2008. Reevaluating marine diets of Surf and White-winged Scoters: interspecific differences and the importance of soft-bodied prey. Condor 110:285-295.

Anderson, E. M., and J. R. Lovvorn. 2008. Gray whales may increase feeding opportunities for avian benthivores. Marine Ecology Progress Series 360:291-296.

Richman, S. E., and J. R. Lovvorn. 2008. Costs of diving by wing and foot propulsion in a sea duck, the White-winged Scoter. Journal of Comparative Physiology B 178:321-332.

Doak, D. F., J. E. Estes, B. S. Halpern, U. Jacob, D. R. Londberg, J. R. Lovvorn, D. H. Monson, M. T. Tinker, T. M. Williams, J. T. Wooton, I. Carroll, M. Emmerson, F. Micheli, and M. Novak. 2008. Understanding and predicting ecological dynamics: are major surprises inevitable? Ecology 89:952-961.

Lovvorn, J. R. 2007. Thermal substitution and aerobic efficiency: measuring and predicting effects of heat balance on endotherm diving energetics. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B 362:2079-2093.

Corcoran, R. M., J. R. Lovvorn, M. R. Bertram, and M. T. Vivion. 2007. Lesser Scaup nest success and duckling survival on the Yukon Flats, Alaska. Journal of Wildlife Management71:127-134.