Jeff Hoover

I received my B.S. in Wildlife Management from the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point. I received my M.S. from the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) where I studied the effects of forest fragmentation on the nesting success of forest birds – specifically Wood Thrush and Ovenbirds. I received my PhD under the direction of Scott Robinson at the University of Illinois where I studied factors affecting lifetime reproductive success in Prothonotary Warblers. I currently hold the position of Avian Ecologist at the Illinois Natural History Survey which is housed within the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois.

I have been studying the ecology, behavior and conservation of birds for three decades, focusing primarily on bird communities in upland and bottomland forests. I conduct a blend of basic and applied research, and emphasize studying the response of bird communities to restoration/conservation/management efforts, and collecting field data that can be used to direct conservation plans and measure the success of conservation actions. Some specific areas of interest include brood parasite/host interactions, natal dispersal, and decision rules associated with breeding dispersal in adult birds, and more recently the effects of forest management on the abundance of breeding songbirds and on wild turkey habitat use and nesting success.