RSMP Current Staff

Director: John L. Koprowski

Dr. John Koprowski joined the project as director in 2000 and is also Professor of Wildlife and Fisheries Science at the University of Arizona where he teaches courses in General Ecology, Applications of Behavioral Ecology to Conservation Biology, and Small Mammal Conservation and Management.  His research interests are focused on the conservation and behavioral ecology of vertebrates, most recently the ecology of rare tree squirrels and an uncommon social carnivore, the coati. Since joining the Red Squirrel Monitoring Project, John has addressed the dearth of information regarding Mt. Graham red squirrel demographics and space use by instating an intensive radio telemetry component which currently employs two full time research assistants. In addition, John has brought on several graduate students - many of whom are studying Mt. Graham red squirrels and whose research has contributed a great deal to what is known about this isolated subspecies. For more information about John and his current research projects and graduate students, please visit John's personal website.

Wildlife Biologist, Senior: Vicki Greer

Vicki has been with the Red Squirrel Monitoring Project since its inception in 1989. She received a B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife Science and a B.A. in Ecology from the University of Missouri.
She supervises team biologists and technicians, oversees the population censuses of squirrels on the monitored areas, manages many long-term databases for the project, prepares reports for cooperating agencies as well as manuscripts for peer-reviewed
journals and presentations at professional conferences. Before coming to Arizona to chase squirrels professionally, she studied pileated woodpecker behavior and home ranges in Missouri, limnology in Alaska, and breeding biology of mallards in North Dakota.

Wildlife Biologist, Senior: Melissa Merrick

Melissa joined the monitoring project as a wildlife biologist in 2005. She received her Master's degree at Idaho State University with a post-baccalaureate certificate in geotechnoloiges. She is responsible for the project's spatial data sets, processing telemetry data, analyzing squirrel space use, keeping track of the telemetry research assistants, and carrying out field work on Mt. Graham. In her spare time she can be found helping with report writing and preparing manuscripts for publication and presentation at meetings. Her research interests include physiological ecology, population dynamics, and behavioral ecology. She has experience working with small mammals, birds, and beetles, and with habitat suitability, spatial statistics, and groundwater pollution modeling.

Vicki and Melissa relax in Alaska

John trapping on Mt. Graham

Past biologists Sadie Bertelsen & Beau (L), Sarah King (R), and research assistant Matt Griffiths (C)

L-R: John, and biologists Vicki, Carol Coates, and Kelly Hutton trapping in the White Mountains

Research assistant (now graduate student) Geoff Palmer doing telemetry

Past biologist Marit Alanen poses with a large russula