Spencer C. Schubert, PhD
Research Page
Ongoing Projects
Tropical Forest Restoration Ecology & Global Tree Planting Efforts
For my current postdoctoral role at UCSC with Dr. Karen Holl, I am investigating the regeneration dynamics of long-term restoration experiments in Costa Rica to understand the limitations on colonization and establishment of rare and dispersal-limited trees. Additionally, we are working with a team of undergraduate students to evaluate the practices and standards of the NGOs leading global tree-planting initiatives.
Social Networks of Cooperatively Breeding Acorn Woodpeckers
I spent several months in 2022 working as a postdoc at Hastings Natural History Reservation, Carmel Valley CA. We are continuing to work on several questions related to the dispersal and short-term movements of woodpeckers using a automated radio telemetry system from an array of base station receivers to understand the movement patterns of individual woodpeckers within and between territories and how these relate to their social roles within their family group structure
Seed Dispersal and Frugivory
As one of the central investigations of my recent PhD work, I explored the phenology of tropical forests in the Dominican Republic and how the changing landscape of fruit availability influences the resource-switching behavior of frugivorous birds. We, furthermore, collaborated with local land owners and watershed conservancy, Plan Yaque, to investigate forest restoration techniques that attract birds and increase natural seed dispersal, such as the addition of perches and broadcasting bird calls.