PH.D. Student Profile: Daniel J. Hocking

Daniel J. Hocking
Ph.D. Student, NRESS Ph.D. Program
Department of Natural Resources and the Environment
dhocking@unh.edu
221 Nesmith Hall

Research Topic: The role of amphibians in food webs and ecosystems

Advisor: Dr. Kim Babbitt

Description of Research

 

My broad research interests are in the ecology and conservation of amphibians and reptiles.  My current research focus is on the role of terrestrial, woodland salamanders in ecosystem functions.  Terrestrial salamanders of the genus Plethodon can be incredibly abundant in forest ecosystems.  In many eastern US forests they are the most abundant vertebrate and can makeup twice the biomass of all the breeding forest birds.  As abundant predators of forest floor invertebrates salamanders have the potential to affect ecosystem processes through alteration of the detrital food web and through direct nutrient cycling.  I am specifically testing how the removal of salamanders from forest plots affects nitrogen mineralization rates, leaf litter decomposition rates, and oak seedling growth and survival.  Additionally, I am examining how salamanders affect other top detrial predators including spiders, centipedes, and carabid beetles.  These intraguild predators are likely competing for resources and their roles in the food web and ecosystem may be altered in the absence of salamanders.

Previous Awards and Activities

College of Life Sciences & Agriculture Summer Fellowship. UNH. 2008. $5,000
Summer TA Fellowship. University of New Hampshire. 2008. $3,000
Natural Resources Travel Funds. University of New Hampshire. 2008. $475
TWA Scholarship. University of Missouri, 2006. $7,000
Biology Graduate Student Association Travel Funds. University of Missouri 2005. $260
Life Science Fellowship. University of Missouri. 2004-2007
NCAA Cross Country Academic All-American. 2003
America East Conference Scholar Athlete of the Year. 2002, 2003
Meritorious Achievement Award for Undergraduate Research. American Society of Limnology and Oceanography’s annual Aquatic Sciences Meeting 2003
Zocchi Scholarship.  UNH Chemical Engineering Department
Woodward Scholarship.  UNH Chemical Engineering Department
Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry Scholarship.  UNH Chemical Engineering Department

Selected Presentations and Publications

Hocking, D.J. and R. D. Semlitsch. 2007. Effects of timber harvest on breeding site selection by gray treefrogs (Hyla versicolor). Biological Conservation 138: 506-513.

Hocking, D. J., T. A. G. Rittenhouse, B. B. Rothermel, J. R. Johnson, C. A. Conner, E. B. Harper, and R. D. Semlitsch. 2008. Breeding and recruitment phenology of amphibians in Missouri oak-hickory forests. American Midland Naturalist 160: 41-60.

Semlitsch, R. D., C. A. Conner, D. J. Hocking, T. A. G. Rittenhouse, and E. B. Harper. 2008. Effects of timber harvesting on pond-breeding amphibian persistence: testing the evacuation hypothesis. Ecological Applications 18(2): 283-289

In Press
Hocking, D. J. and R. D. Semlitsch. Effects of clearcut logging on gray treefrog (Hyla versicolor) tadpole performance. Journal of Herpetology.

 

Related Links

www.hockingphotography.smugmug.com

Education

Ph.D., Natural Resources and Environmental Science, U. of New Hampshire, Durham. Dissertation Topic: The role of amphibians in ecosystems. September 2007 - Present
Advisor:  Dr. Kimberly Babbitt

M.A., Biological Sciences, U. of Missouri, Columbia, MO. May 2007
Thesis:  Gray treefrog breeding site selection and offspring performance in response to forest management.
Advisor:  Dr. Raymond Semlitsch

B.S., Environmental Conservation, U. of New Hampshire, Durham.  May 2003
Minor: Chemical Engineering
Magna Cum Laude