Researcher Spotlight – Alyssa Tomb

2025-26 Global Change Research Fellow

MS Student, College of Forestry, Agriculture, and Natural Resources, University of Arkansas Monticello
Advisor: Dr. Douglas Osborne

About You

What do you study?
My research analyzes the spatial and landscape characteristics surrounding habitat suitability for mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), and their use of bottomland hardwood forests in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley of Arkansas. I will also be investigating predictive habitat suitability by modeling bottomland hardwood forest restoration scenarios.

What influenced you to go into this field of study?
I attribute my interest in wildlife management to my parents. I was raised with a deep appreciation for nature, and I was encouraged to be curious about the Earth’s natural processes. I said I wanted to be a wildlife biologist when I was nine years old, when I realized that working with nature could be a career. My parents encouraged me to pursue that interest through my undergraduate degree.  I took an ornithology class, and I was inspired to look for graduate opportunities working with birds. Growing up around upland game bird hunting, migratory game birds interested me and led me to find the Osborne Lab at the University of Arkansas at Monticello.

What do you think is the most pressing issue related to global change?
I think that one of the most pressing issues related to global change is that, despite the growing number of people who recognize the need to minimize climate change and protect the environment, many people cannot financially afford to dedicate time, money, energy, or resources towards making changes for the better. 

About Your Research

What results are you finding?
Mallards’ daily movements can range from 3km to 30km throughout their wintering period. The results from my study indicate that higher proportions of bottomland hardwood forests in a 30 km range increase the suitability of a given wetland complex. Important factors for determining mallard habitat suitability also include the proximity to bottomland hardwood forests, the proximity to open water, and the patch diversity within 30 km. These results support the idea that mallards need multiple wetland types within a complex, and increasing the proportion of bottomland hardwood forests in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley would benefit mallard populations during the wintering period. 

Who will benefit from your research?
Waterfowl hunting in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley is a recreationally and economically important activity each winter. This research indicates the need for further bottomland hardwood forest restoration, which will create suitable habitats that support mallard species during the non-breeding period. Land owners and public land managers will benefit from research that supports continued bottomland hardwood forest restoration. Furthermore, by producing predictive habitat suitability models, landowners and managers will have a tool to identify areas in need of restoration in order to benefit mallards.

Bottomland hardwood forests historically dominated the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley and provided multiple climatic and ecosystem benefits. These included carbon sequestration, nutrient filtration, water storage, and habitat for a multitude of wildlife. This research will motivate further bottomland hardwood forest restoration in the region, which will help restore these ecosystem benefits to the landscape.

How would you describe your research to a 3rd grader?
I put backpack tracks on mallards and watch where they go! By watching what habitats mallards are choosing, I can identify areas where we can make the habitat for ducks better.

About Your Global Change Research Fellow Experience

How do you expect the SE CASC Global Change Research Fellows Program to impact you and your work?
The opportunity to participate in interdisciplinary research is important to me because it broadens my academic experience beyond what I am studying through my Master’s thesis. The Global Change Research Fellows Program will introduce me to researchers and their expertise, while also giving me different perspectives on important social, ecological, and economic climate research. This will impact my work by expanding on my own field of climate research and providing me with opportunities to work with like-minded researchers.

What advice would you give to a student that is interested in getting involved in your field?
Students who are interested in game bird ecology and management have a tendency to shy away from research or work outside of their field of expertise. My advice is to take any research or field experience you can get, even if it may not be in what you think you are interested in. You never know when something new may pique your interests, and you may not even realize how new research may connect to your current field. I never imagined that I would be connecting research on waterfowl to global change research, but I am very glad that I did.

What has been the most rewarding part or your favorite part of being a SE CASC Global Change Research Fellow?
I have really enjoyed the opportunity to speak to and work with students outside of my university and outside of my field of research. It is super easy to get stuck in a tiny research bubble during a graduate degree, and the Global Change Research Fellowship is allowing me to break out of that bubble. I appreciate conducting research within a working group that has very little to do with my Master’s thesis because it gives me the opportunity to see what other research is out there, while also broadening my research skillset beyond what I am doing for my thesis.

Learn more about the Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center’s Global Change Research Fellows program.