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Sarah B. Bassing, PhD @sbassing.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Wrapping up the summer with a bit of fieldwork. I tagged along with the Idaho wolf project to survey for wolves and then went back to South Dakota to help handle prairie dogs. It was great spending time with my students and getting away from my computer for a few days before the semester starts.

Sarah and MS student C. Dart pose on a brushy hilltop with forested mountains and wildfire smoke in the background.

Research technicians hiking through a meadow in search of wolves.

Sarah and MS student A. Hemmah taking a sunset selfie while working on a prairie dog colony.

A baited live trap sits next to an active prairie dog burrow. All prairie dogs were captured and handled following approved research protocols and scientific collection permits.

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Sarah B. Bassing, PhD @sbassing.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

I had a blast assisting my student in the field recently. She’s collecting genetic data from prairie dogs to study connectivity btwn colonies & inform PD mgnt on private lands. It was so neat spending time on these active colonies. [All capture & handling done under appropriate research permits].

Baited trap sits next to an active prairie dog burrow. Two researchers work into the background to place additional traps. Additional prairie dog burrows and clipped grass seen throughout the photo.

Researcher wearing an N95 face mask and leather work gloves holds a prairie dog

A prairie dog is held up for the camera.

A baited trap sits at the entrance of an active prairie dog burrow.

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Sarah B. Bassing, PhD @sbassing.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

Aurora borealis over Bozeman! Amazing!

Northern lights viewed through tree branches

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Sarah B. Bassing, PhD @sbassing.bsky.social · 16/08/2025

One last outing this field season with my incoming graduate student. We collected genetic samples from wolf scat and hiked through some beautiful country. Looking forward to the start of the semester and getting this project officially started!

Two people wearing backpacks stand together in a large open meadow with conifer forests and mountains in the background.

Scat from an adult wolf on the forest floor. A black lighter is next to the scat for scale.

Woman holds a broken skull from a long dead bull elk while standing in a forest.

A scat from a wolf pup sits in a matted down patch of grass in a meadow where pups have been playing. Pine trees and willow shrubs in the background.

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Sarah B. Bassing, PhD @sbassing.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

We then predicted the top den & rendezvous site RSFs across the occupied range of Mexican wolves in AZ & NM. We used K-fold cross validation to assess the predictive capacity of the models. Both were highly predictive, with denning habitat being more predictable then rendezvous site habitat.

Two maps depicting the predicted den RSF (top map) and the predicted rendezvous site RSF (bottom map) in the portions of AZ and NM currently occupied by Mexican wolves. Darker red indicated highly suitable habitat, light yellow to white indicates least suitable habitat, and gray indicates regions that were not predicted across.

Map of Arizona and New Mexico, highlighting the three Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Areas (MWEPA) recovery zones and the study area's perimeter (red dashed polygon).

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Sarah B. Bassing, PhD @sbassing.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

Using location data from >330 pup-rearing sites, we built RSFs to test hypotheses about what influences site selection. In a nutshell, features associated w/ physical protection & access to reliable H20 were most important, although the exact variables differed between site types.

Figure depicting maps of the variables included in the best supported den RSF and corresponding density plots showing the spread of each variable based on the used vs available locations included in the model. Variables include elevation, slope, distance to nearest water, terrain ruggedness, and distance to nearest road.

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Sarah B. Bassing, PhD @sbassing.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

The gray wolf research group is back in the field this summer, conducting howl surveys & collecting non-invasive genetic samples to study wolves in Idaho. I’m grateful to continue being a part of this long-term study & so excited that my first graduate student is now part of it as well.

Research team poses in a meadow of wildflowers overlooking mountains in the background

Researcher stands in the forest and howls while two other researchers sit to record data and listen for a response.

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Sarah B. Bassing, PhD @sbassing.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

Our results suggest habitat & prey influenced predator occurrence more than potential competitors & this was consistent across time scales. Presence of species across multiple trophic levels appeared to influenced mesopredator space use. Last, abundant prey likely facilitated spatial co-existence.

Coyotes pauses in tall grass to look up. Image collected for research as part of the Washington Predator-Prey Project.

A mountain lion moves into a grassy opening in the forest. Image collected for research as part of the Washington Predator-Prey Project.

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Sarah B. Bassing, PhD @sbassing.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

3. Predators were often detected sooner following the detection of another predator in areas with higher prey relative abundance (especially white-tailed deer).

4 graphs showing the mean number of hours between detections of a bobcat, coyote, mountain lion, or wolf, following the detection of another predator. The time between detections decreased as the relative abundance of white-tailed deer increased in an area.

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Sarah B. Bassing, PhD @sbassing.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

2. Mesopredators (bobcats & coyotes) were more likely to occur together over longer timescales (weeks to months). They were also more likely to be detected in areas after an apex predator (mtn lions & wolves) was recently detected.

4 graphs showing the probability of a bobcat or coyote using a site based on the level of percent forest covered or terrain ruggedness. The probabilities of use are conditional on whether the other species is present or absent.

A bobcat walks through grass. Image collected for research with the Washington Predator-Prey Project.

3 coyotes stand in a forest. 1 of the coyotes is mostly hidden behind the coyote closest to the camera. Image collected for research with the Washington Predator-Prey Project.

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Sarah B. Bassing, PhD @sbassing.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

We found a couple of cool things: 1. Habitat features influenced occupancy at the seasonal time scale and most predator occupancy was unrelated to the presence of other predators.

3 graphs showing the probabilities that black bears, bobcats, coyotes, and wolves would use a site based on the level of percent forest cover, elevation, or terrain ruggedness.

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Sarah B. Bassing, PhD @sbassing.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

We used 750 #cameratraps and multi-species occupancy models to first model co-occupancy at a 2.5 month time scale (July - mid Sept). Then we looked at co-detection on a 1 week time scale. Last, we looked at wait times between detections of different predators at the hourly to days time scale.

A mountain lion walking through a forest. Image collected as part of research with the Washington Predator-Prey Project.

A large black bear walking past a tree in the forest. Image collected for research with the Washington Predator-Prey Project.

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Sarah B. Bassing, PhD @sbassing.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

First day as an Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Ecology at Montana State University. This still doesn’t feel real but I’m excited to be here!

Name plate with room number “305A Sarah Bassing, PhD” on office door.

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Sarah B. Bassing, PhD @sbassing.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

Anybody know of any current or recent Long-billed Curlew studies? I spotted this banded and transmittered curlew at Drake’s Beach in Point Reyes National Seashore, CA yesterday and am curious about it. 🧪🌎

Long-legged shorebird with a long decurved bill walks across the sand near the waterline. The antenna of a transmitter is visible, extending above its wings. Gulls and other shorebirds stand nearby.

A long-legged shorebird with a long decurved bill walks across the sand near the waterline at a beach. The antenna of a transmitter is visible, extending above its wings.

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Sarah B. Bassing, PhD @sbassing.bsky.social · 30/10/2024

This work was part of the WAPredatorPreyProject. Huge thank you to my coauthors L. Satterfield, T. Ganz, M. DeVivo, B. Kertson, T. Roussin, A. Wirsing, & B. Gardner, and to the many wonderful project collaborators and field techs who helped bring this study together. DM me if you want a copy!

GPS-collared walks through an open area in the forest

GPS-collared cougar walks through a burned forest

GPS-collared white-tailed deer stand in the snow

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Sarah B. Bassing, PhD @sbassing.bsky.social · 30/10/2024

Although we don’t know what behaviors these changes in movement correlate to w/o auxiliary data, our study shows that predators & prey adjust their movements in response to habitats associated with one another, which may ultimately influence encounter & predation rates.

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Sarah B. Bassing, PhD @sbassing.bsky.social · 30/10/2024

Both predators and prey also adjusted their movements based on different landscape features, such as snow and roads. Most notably, ungulates consistently slowed down and moved more randomly in more rugged terrain (TRI), likely because it is more difficult to move through.

Graphs showing effect of terrain ruggedness on the probability deer, elk, cougars, or wolves would be in the faster movement state.

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Sarah B. Bassing, PhD @sbassing.bsky.social · 30/10/2024

And wolves & cougars tended to adjust their movement behaviors based on the type of prey they were most likely to encounter (i.e., in habitats selected by a particular prey species) instead of based on their own style of hunting.

Graphs showing the probability a cougar or wolf was in the faster movement state differed depending on whether the area was selected for by different prey species.

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Sarah B. Bassing, PhD @sbassing.bsky.social · 30/10/2024

Instead, deer & elk generally slowed down & moved more randomly in response to areas selected by large predators, regardless of the predator hunting mode, possibly to assess the level of immediate risk (e.g., increasing vigilance in areas associated w/ long-term risk).

Graph showing a decreasing probability a deer or elk was in the faster movement state in areas selected by cougars and wolves.

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Sarah B. Bassing, PhD @sbassing.bsky.social · 30/10/2024

We found that a broad temporal scales (4-hr GPS fix interval) movement behaviors did change as predators & prey encountered habitats selected by their prey & predators, respectively, but that these changes weren’t clearly related to hunting strategy (stalking vs coursing).

GPS-collared mule deer walks through snow at night

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Sarah B. Bassing, PhD @sbassing.bsky.social · 30/10/2024

We expected predators would adjust movements based on their own hunting strategies (e.g., stalking predator would slow down & move more randomly in areas associated with prey) and prey would adjust movements to counter a predator’s hunting strategy & movement behaviors.

GPS-collared elk stands on an overgrown road

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Sarah B. Bassing, PhD @sbassing.bsky.social · 30/03/2024

Had a ton of fun at the 2024 joint Idaho TWS - Washington TWS - NW PARC conference. Lots of great talks and cool research. Great to have a little University of Washington representation at the meeting too! @trganz.bsky.social

Three women smile together at a conference while standing on a very ugly carpet

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Sarah B. Bassing, PhD @sbassing.bsky.social · 18/12/2023

Ermahgerd! I saw a river otter while riding my bike to work this morning and I watched a great-horned owl eye a group of mallards Saturday evening. All along one little stretch of creek near my house!

Otter walks along far bank of a creek. Base of a large willow tree with many branches grows just upslope of the otter and the branches of another large willow are visible in the foreground of the photo.

Owl perched on tree branch over looking pond lit by sunset. Ducks grouped together in the water below the owl. Many tree branches and trunks obscure view.

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Sarah B. Bassing, PhD @sbassing.bsky.social · 13/10/2023

I gave a guest lecture about competitive interactions yesterday and had way too much fun coming up for these cheesy Twilight-themed examples of exploitation vs interference competition. Not sure if the students found it as funny as I did but I enjoyed myself. #Ecology #WildifeScience #TeamJacob

PowerPoint slide describing exploitation competition with a promo picture from the Twilight movie series of Edward, Jacob, and Bella looking moody and airbrushed. Edward and Jacob compete for Bella’s heart. Edward uses up so much of Bella’s love that there’s not enough for Jacob.

PowerPoint slide describing interference competition with a screenshot from one of the Twilight movies of Edward and Jacob snarling and posturing at each other, about to fight over Bella. Edward and Jacob fight to keep each other away from Bella, interfering with each other’s attempt to gain Bella’s love.

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