Summer on the Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch of the National Audubon Society is a special time. Monsoon storms born in the Huachuca Mountains break the heat and inspire a collective sigh of relief across the Sonoita Plain. Birds and other wildlife respond almost immediately with an almost unbelievable boom of productivity, and researchers excitedly embark on the season’s fieldwork.
Are you curious about what those researchers are studying? Join us on September 11, 18, and 25 from noon to 1 p.m. (Mountain Standard Time) for this year’s round of Appleton-Whittell Research Fellow Webinars! Each year, we award three early career scientists with free Research Ranch lodging and financial assistance to support their studies, and in return they help us further Frank and Ariel Appleton’s founding mission for the property – to leave it better than we found it.
Read on to learn more about each Research Fellow and their work and sign up for each presentation today!
- September 11, 2026: noon – 1 p.m.
Alexia Markoutsis: Flame to Sprout: Understanding fire and Emory Oak dynamics in Madrean oak woodlands
The Emory oak (Qucerus emoryi) is a dominant, culturally important, and ecologically keystone tree of Madrean oak woodlands across Mexico and the southwestern United States. Through a century of land management changes, overgrazing, and fire suppression, Emory oaks South of the Huachuca Mountains, the Sky Island dominating the horizon to the southeast of the Research Ranch, have experienced immense change. During this presentation, Alexia will explore her efforts studying prescribed burns to understand how management history, fire, and a fungal pathogen interact to affect the health of this emblematic tree.
About the speaker: Alexia is a master’s student in Northern Arizona University’s Lab of Conservation Ecology. Having visited the Research Ranch many times through her research and that of her fellow students, Alexia has developed a deep appreciation for our work of protecting habitat for birds and other wildlife, and she intends for her research to contribute to our mission and the broader ecology of southeastern Arizona.
- September 18, 2026: noon – 1 p.m.
Max Roberts: The Biology and Conservation of the Chiricahua Leopard Frog in the Madrean Sky Islands of Southeast Arizona
Facing threats including habitat loss, invasive species, and disease, Chiricahua Leopard Frogs (Lithobates chiricahuensis) were listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act in 2002. While these frogs have experienced population declines throughout their range, collaborative conservation efforts have helped the species recover in several areas. During this webinar, Max will discuss the biology of Chiricahua Leopard Frogs, dive into ongoing conservation to conserve the species, and his own work gathering the information needed to advance its recovery in southeast Arizona.
About the Speaker: Max is a first-year Ph.D. student working with the University of Arizona Frog Project out of the School of Natural Resources and the Environment. Enthusiastic about ecological restoration and contributing to the recovery of imperiled species, Max is hopeful that his work will inform Chiricahua Leopard Frog conservation efforts across southeastern Arizona.
- September 25, 2026; noon – 1 p.m.
Cameron Tescher: Grassland Birds and Mesquite Encroachment: Literature Review and Avian Response to Mesquite Removal in the Santa Rita Experimental Range
Grassland birds are the fastest declining bird guild in North America, and one driver of these losses is the encroachment of trees and shrubs into formerly grass dominated habitats. During this presentation, Cameron will explore what is known about the effects of woody species removal efforts and what he’s learned from his own efforts conducting breeding and wintering bird surveys before and after mesquite (Neltuma spp.) removal on the University of Arizona’s Santa Rita Experimental Range, a university-run biological field station just twenty miles northwest of the Research Ranch.
About the speaker: Cameron is a master’s student from the University of Arizona. He is as passionate about birds as he is about making birding and biology accessible, inclusive, and welcoming spaces. As part of his work, he is working with the Sonoran Joint Venture, Arizona Game and Fish Department, and Tucson Bird Alliance to recruit and train field technicians to help him with his surveys.
