• Tammy Mildenstein

    Tammy Mildenstein

    Associate Professor of Biology


Academic History

  • PhD   Fish and Wildlife Biology    University of Montana, Missoula, MT       2012    
  • MS    Wildlife Biology                 University of Montana, Missoula, MT       2002
  • BS     Electrical Engineering        Iowa State University, Ames, IA             1991

Courses Taught

  • Foundations in Organismal Biology
  • Ecology
  • Ecology of Grasslands
  • Endangered Species Biology
  • Environmental Biology
  • Ecology of monarchs and milkweeds
  • Pollination ecology from plant and animal perspectives
  • Population ecology of American white pelicans
  • Wildlife and People
  • International Wildlife Conservation

Off-campus courses

  • Conservation biology of endangered Mariana fruit bats, Mariana Islands
  • Flying fox conservation biology and its stakeholders in Mauritius
  • Ecological impacts of eco-tourism in Baja Sur, Mexico
  • Flying fox population abundance surveys across Myanmar

Media Coverage

RECENT MEDIA COVERAGE (last 5 years)

INTERNATIONAL 

Mongabay 28_04_2022: Seed dispersal article

Press releases covering the Marianas Terrestrial Conservation Conference, in which I and a Cornell student each presented our most research on Mariana fruit bats.

Video for the local news from the MTCC conference (above) where participants are wearing their caps from the annual volunteer fruit bat count (a citizen science project that I run).

Philippines coverage of the 2018 Southeast Asian Regional Bat Conference, where I was a session opener and two Cornell College undergraduates presented their research projects:  Bacolod Sunstar, Negros Watchmen

Saipan Tribune, Press Release for Marianas Terrestrial Conservation Conference 

Guam Daily Post, Press Release for Marianas Terrestrial Conservation Conference

Pacific News Corporation, Fruit bat survey

Joy FM Guam Radio, Interview about fruit bat conservation needs on Guam

KUAM TV, Guam, Fruit bat survey 2014, 2015 

 

NATIONAL 

How many monarchs does a tallgrass prairie make? Academic Minute, WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Why I study Flying Foxes, Academic Minute, WAMC Northeast Public Radio   

 

SE IOWA  

Interview with The Little Village Magazine to support the Iowa City Monarch Festival, Aug. 2019

KCRG News Television Interview with Emmaline Fievet ’22, Amelia Auberry ’22 and in collaboration with Waterworks Prairie, Iowa City Office of Sustainability; July 2019

Cedar Rapids Gazette Article: To protect monarch butterflies, Cornell students collaborate on milkweed research. With Emmaline Fievet ’22 and Maddie Murphy (Xavier High School Student) in collaboration with Indian Creek Nature Center. Aug. 23, 2019

KWWL News Television Interview with Stephanie Voller ’19, Charlotte New ’20, Erin Hosto ’21, and Kate Ratliff ’21 and in collaboration with National Park Service rangers at Hoover National Monument; July 2018

University of Iowa, Non-Fiction Writing Program; August 2017Interview with Jay Drury ’19, Marin Dettweiler ’19, Jen Walter ’17

KCRG News Television Interview with Marin Dettweiler ’19, Camden Grundeman ’19, Peyton Ort ’19 and in collaboration with National Park Service rangers at Hoover National Monument; August 2017

University of Iowa, Non-Fiction Writing Program Interview with Jay Drury ’19, Marin Dettweiler ’19, Jen Walter ’17 by Virginia Marshall

Iowa City Office of Sustainability Newsletter: Overview of milkweed research and CSRI project cross-posting with Belou Quimby ’19 and Marin Dettweiler ‘19 

Daily Iowan TV, Interview with Christopher Cervantes, August 2017

Wickiup Hills Prairie Learning Center Newsletter 2015, 2016, 2017

Indian Creek Nature Center Newsletter 2015, 2016

 

Cornell College

The Cornell Report: 5 Professors You Should Know

Halloween message about fruit bats

Summer capstone research by Rebecca Ritter ’18 using molecular tools to identify endangered Burmese fruit bats

Cornell College students present monarch research at International Congress for Conservation Biology

KCRG TV9 report on summer monarch research

CSRI Monarch research 2017

 

Faculty-Student Research

Student Mentoring and Collaboration in Research (only listed are projects on which students worked exclusively for at least one month, received academic credit, and for whom I was the primary mentor) 

  • Jeried Calaor*.  2015 – 2019 Gut retention times and seed germination enhancement of fig seeds ingested by fruit bats.2,5 (MS expected December 20, 2019)In collaboration with the University of Guam and the Guam Cushing Zoo 
  • Kate Ratliff. 2019. Time budget analysis of endangered bamboo lemurs.1,3,4,5In collaboration with Kianjavato Ahmanson Field Station and Henry Doorly Omaha Zoo.
  • Mari Dettweiler*. 2016 – 2019 Net effects of mid-summer prairie mowing on monarch butterfly recruitment.1,2,3In collaboration with Natural Resource Conservation Service and Iowa City Waterworks Prairie Preserve. 
  • Jessica Matthews and Jennifer Walter*. 2017 – 2019. What type of symbiotic relationship do monarch caterpillars have with milkweeds: Effects of monarch caterpillar herbivory on milkweed fitness.2In collaboration with Natural Resource Conservation Service and Herbert Hoover National Monument. 
  • Sarah Palmer. 2018 - 2019. Modeling Old World fruit bat seed dispersal distances: fruit selection and gut retention times in fruit bats of the Mariana Islands and Mauritius.1,2,5In collaboration with Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Division of Fish and Wildlife and Mauritius National Parks and Conservation Service. 
  • Camden Grundeman*. 2019. Comparison of monitoring methods and techniques for an off-shore shark community in South Africa.1,2,5In collaboration with African Campus International. 
  • Talitha McGuire*. 2019. Bushbuck density and pollinator community within Gullele Botannical Gardens, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.1,2,5In collaboration with Gullele Botannical Gardens. 
  • Belou Quimby*. 2019. Nutritional analysis of Mariana fruit bat diet: agricultural versus native fruits.1,2,5In collaboration with Cindy Strong in Cornell Chemistry Department, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Division of Fish and Wildlife and Mauritius National Parks and Conservation Service. 
  • Caitlin Turberville*. 2019. Role of language choice in fruit bat management and conservation messages in the multi-lingual community of Mauritius.1,5In collaboration with Devan Baty in Cornell College French Department and the Global Connections Program. 
  • Stephanie Voller*. 2018-2019. Monarch butterfly micro-habitat selection for egg laying on milkweeds.1,2,3In collaboration with Natural Resource Conservation Service and Herbert Hoover National Monument. 
  • Emelie Ahrendsen. 2018. Biodiversity conservation monitoring in Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica.1,2,4,5In collaboration with Tortuguero National Park and Global Vision International. 
  • Gabe Bizovi. 2018. Can early ingestion holes be an indicator of monarch egg hatching success to support measurement of stage 1 mortality?1,2In collaboration with Natural Resource Conservation Service, Iowa City Waterworks Prairie Preserve, and Herbert Hoover National Monument. 
  • David Castro. 2018. Species identification of Burmese flying foxes using non-invasive molecular techniques.1,2,5In collaboration with Craig Tepper in Cornell College Biology Department, Mandalay University, University of Myeik, and Southeast Asian Bat Conservation Research Unit. 
  • Erin Hosto, Charlotte New, Kate Ratliff, and Stephanie Voller*. 2018. Prairie size and milkweed density impacts on monarch butterfly production.1,2,3In collaboration with Cornell Summer Research Institute, Indian Creek Nature Center, Iowa City Office of Sustainability, US Natural Resource Conservation Service and Herbert Hoover National Monument. 
  • Christine Ely Nuevo*. 2008 – 2018. CE did her senior thesis with me as a biology student at the University of the Philippines, Los Baños. Since then, Ms. Nuevo worked with me on the Southeast Asia Bat Conservation Unit’s Flying Fox Steering Committee and on her master’s degree.In collaboration with Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Thailand. 
  • Sarah Palmer. 2018. Pacuare beach turtle nesting protection project in Tibas, Costa Rica.4,5In collaboration with Latin American Sea Turtle Association (LAST), Costa Rica. 
  • Belou Quimby*. 2018. Modeling Old World fruit bat seed dispersal distances: fruit selection in fruit bats of the Mariana Islands and Mauritius.1,2,5In collaboration with Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Division of Fish and Wildlife and Mauritius National Parks and Conservation Service. 
  • Marcelo Tanon*. 2018. Caterpillar frass size as an indicator of past caterpillar presence and age.2In collaboration with Natural Resource Conservation Service, Iowa City Waterworks Prairie Preserve, and Herbert Hoover National Monument. 
  • Robin Bulger*. 2017. Habitat and distribution of Gould’s Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo Mexicana, in protected areas of New Mexico.1,2In collaboration with New Mexico Department of Fish and Game. 
  • Mari Dettweiler*, Camden Grundeman*, and Peyton Ort. 2017. Effects of tallgrass prairie management strategies on monarch recruitment in seven Iowa prairies.1,3In collaboration with Cornell Summer Research Institute, Indian Creek Nature Center,  Iowa City Office of Sustainability, US Natural Resource Conservation Service and Herbert Hoover National Monument. Jay Drury. 2017-2018. UV visual cues for oviposition location selection of monarch butterflies on milkweeds.1,2 
  • Rebecca Ritter*. 2017-2018. Species identification of Burmese flying foxes using non-invasive molecular techniques.1,2,5In collaboration with Craig Tepper in Cornell College Biology Department, Mandalay University, University of Myeik, and Southeast Asian Bat Conservation Research Unit. 
  • Tegan Shelton* and Lauren Adams. 2017. When are zoos vital to conservation? A coloring book for education and outreach about Sihek, the Guam kingfisher.In collaboration with the Guam Zoo and Mount Vernon Public Elementary Schools. 
  • John Tesensky*. 2017. Benthic macroinvertebrate species composition as an indicator of water quality in Iowa streams near and far from agricultural run-off.1,2In collaboration with Iowa Department of Natural Resources. 
  • David DeMoss, Aidan Litt, Anya Nguyen, and Isabella Blackburn. 2016. Are fish safe in the Great Lakes? The effects of acetamidophenol on betta fish biology.1 
  • Mari Dettweiler*, Belou Quimby*, Camden Grundeman*, and Baley Good*. 2016. Density of milkweeds in Iowa tallgrass prairies and relationship with monarch caterpillar population size.1,3In collaboration with Natural Resource Conservation Service and Herbert Hoover National Monument. 
  • Belou Quimby*, Mari Dettweiler*, Julia Eastham*, and Camden Grundeman*. 2016. Effects of projected temperature increases on freshwater ecology: how water temperature impacts aggressiveness in Betta splendens.1 
  • Rebecca Ritter* and Baley Good*. 2016. Differential composition of native fruits in Burmese fruit bat colonies near and far from native forest.1,5In collaboration with Mandalay University, University of Myeik, and Southeast Asian Bat Conservation Research Unit. 
  • Halee Schaumburg* and Ashley Davis. 2016. Analysis of the relationship between Burmese fruit bat population size and native forest habitat at five colonies across Myanmar.1,5In collaboration with Mandalay University, University of Myeik, and Southeast Asian Bat Conservation Research Unit. 
  • Alex Young*. 2016. An analysis of population monitoring methods: Creating a Standardized Counting Method for Burmese Fruit Bats.1,2,5In collaboration with Mandalay University, University of Myeik, and Southeast Asian Bat Conservation Research Unit. 
  • Elizabeth Anderson* and Jennifer Davis*. 2015. Stage-specific survival of monarch caterpillars in Iowa tallgrass prairies.1,3In collaboration with Cornell Summer Research Institute, Indian Creek Nature Center and Iowa City Office of Sustainability. 
  • Maria Goodfellow*. 2015. Native butterfly richness across Iowa tallgrass prairies: effects of size, age, and management of prairie areas.1,2 
  • Caitlin Huff*. 2015. Quantitative impacts of visitor presence on the behavior of Humboldt penguins (Speniscus humboldti) at the Portland Zoo, Portland, OR. 1,2In collaboration with Portland Zoo.                                   
  • Kelsey King*. 2015. Risk assessment of Old World fruit bats for the IUCN Red List 2016 mammal revision.In collaboration with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
  • Jakub Pyrzynski*. 2015. Lab methods for measuring cardenolide levels in milkweeds.1Interdisciplinary study with Cornell College Chemistry Department. 
  • Elijah Schumacher*. 2015. A viable model for international conservation volunteering: Case study of the Azafady NGO in Madagascar. 1,2,4,5In collaboration with Azafady, Madagascar. 
  • Alicia Wilson*. 2015. Use of chlorophyll as an indicator of cardenolide levels in milkweeds.2Interdisciplinary study with Cornell College Chemistry Department. 
  • Anisha Pockerel*. 2013 – 2015. Undergraduate student. Pokharel, Nepal. Anisha read an article I wrote and became interested in conducting her senior research project on fruit bats in Nepal. I helped her develop a study design and write proposals for funding for her research2. 
  • Krizler Tanalgo*. 2012 – 2016. Undergraduate student, Central Mindanao Univeristy, Philippines. Senior research thesis research on fruit bats of central Mindanao, and internship working with me on the revision of the IUCN Old World Fruit Bat Conservation Action Plan.2                                                                                                                                                  

 

*Student who is currently in a related job position or academic program (applies only to graduates)

Student Symposium Presenters1

Senior Honors/Capstone Projects2

Cornell Summer Research Institute3

Cornell Fellows Program4

Off-campus/International Research5