Charles Nilon

Professor, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri

Ph.D. (1986) SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry

Area of Interest

My research considers the impacts of urbanization on wildlife habitats and communities. My students and I focus on the ecology of nearby nature - the areas within one mile of where people live and work.  Included in this research are projects ranging in location and degree of development from forest patches in Baltimore to back yards in Columbia, MO, and brownfield areas in inner city St. Louis. Because urban areas are homes for people as well as wildlife, my research also considers the role of nature as part of an individual's day-to-day environment.

I am a co-investigator on the Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES). The project in Baltimore and a similar one in Phoenix are the first two urban ecosystems included in the National Science Foundation's Long Term Ecological Research program.  Dr. Paige Warren (University of Massachusetts-Amherst) and I are collaborators on a bird monitoring project that is part of the BES project.

Drs. Myla Aronson, Madhu Katti, Paige Warren and I are leaders of a working group at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NEAS), Comparative Ecology of Cities: What Makes an Urban Biota "Urban"?. In 2011 this working group will consider how comparative studies of cities can be used to understand patterns in urban flora and fauna.

In 2006 Dr. Candace Galen and I received an  Undergraduate Mentoring in Environmental Biology award from the National Science Foundation.  This award provides excellent opportunities for students of color at MU who are interested in research in environmental biology.

I am an affiliate of Urban Nature an urban ecology research project at Salford University in Manchester, England.

My CV

Current Graduate Students and Their Research

Michael Burfield (M.S.) – Management recommendations for George Washington Carver National Monument

Lianne Hibbert (Ph.D.) – Conservation outreach programs in the Caribbean

Jonathan Hogg (M.S.) - Ecology of urban office parks

Matt McCloud (Ph.D.) -  Muskrat management in an urban wetland

Former Graduate Students and Their Jobs

I've had the opportunity to work with 14 students who have completed M.S. or Ph.D. degrees.  They all have jobs that are related to their interest in urban wildlife ecology and conservation .

Teaching

NATR 1060 Ecology and Conservation of Living Resources  (fall semester each year)

FW 2400  Human Dimensions of Fish and Wildlife Conservation (fall semester odd years)

NATR 1070 Ecology and Renewable Resource Management  (winter semester each year)

FW 4200 / 7200 Urban Wildlife Management  (winter semester each year)

More Information on Urban Wildlife and Urban Ecology

Ecological Society of America’s Urban Ecosystem Ecology Section

The Wildlife Society’s Urban Wildlife Working Group

USDA Forest Service Northern Forest Research Station Natural Environments for Urban Populations (Evanston, IL)

USDA Forest Service Northern Forest Research Station Urban Forest Effects on Environmental Quality (Syracuse, NY and Baltimore, MD)

USDA Forest Service Southern Center for Wildland-Urban Interface Research and Information (Gainesville, FL)

Contact Me At:

Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences
302 Anheuser-Busch Natural Resources Building
University of Missouri-Columbia
Columbia, MO 65211-7240
Phone: (573) 882-3738 
Fax: [573] 884-5070
nilonc@missouri.edu