• Research Interests
• Research Projects
• CV-long form
• Courses Taught:
  • Forest Management for Wildlife (FOR 405)
  • Natural Resources Inventory (FOR 451) 
  • Tropical Wildlife Conservation (FOR 494)
  • Research Methods (FOR 500)

Dr. Clay Nielsen is Assistant Professor of Forest Wildlife in the Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory, Department of Forestry, and Center for Ecology at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC). Dr. Nielsen has been affiliated with SIUC for 15 years. He began as a graduate student in the Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory, where he received his Ph.D. in Zoology in 2001. Since then, Dr. Nielsen has served SIUC as a post-doctoral fellow, research scientist, and most recently assistant professor of forest wildlife. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in forest management for wildlife, research methods, and tropical ecology. Since Dr. Nielsen began advising graduate students in 2003, 16 graduate students have completed their degrees under his advisement. Dr. Nielsen is currently advising or co-advising 16 graduate students, and has participated on graduate committees for 30 other graduate students. Since 2003, and from grants/contracts funded until 2015, he has secured >$6.7 million in extramural funding from myriad sources to support his research program. Dr. Nielsen is active with The Wildlife Society (TWS) as the Past President of both the North Central Section and Illinois State Chapters. He is a Certified Wildlife Biologist® and the advisor of the SIUC Student Chapter of TWS and Zoology Club. Dr. Nielsen serves as the Director of Scientific Research for the non-profit Cougar Network, is a member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission Cat Specialist Group, and a Research Associate with the Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative. In addition to having published >115 scholarly works and having given >300 guest lectures and presentations at professional meetings, his research has been showcased by major media outlets such as TIME magazine, the BBC, National Geographic magazine, NPR, the History Channel, and the Discovery Channel.

• Landscape Genetics of Swamp Rabbits and Northern Bobwhite (Leah Berkman)
• Urban Deer Herbivory and Modeling (Rachael Urbanek)
• Habitat Occupancy of Sympatric Carnivores (Damon Lesmeister)
• Jaguar, Puma, and Prey Occupancy (Steven Borrego)
• Grassland Bird Response to Habitat Management (Justin Shew)
• Large-scale Modeling of Habitat Management for Northern Bobwhite (Beth Cole)
• Dispersal of White-tailed Deer (Matt Springer)
• Biodiversity Modeling in Patagonia (Ramiro Crego)
• Ecology of Sympatric Lagomorphs (Joanne Crawford)
• Recolonization of the Midwest by Large Carnivores (Julia Smith)
• Parasites in a High-density Bobcat population (Shelby Hiestand)
• Biodiversity Trends Assessment of Chicago Wilderness: Lake County, Illinois (Kevin Cassel)
• Conservation Status and Distribution of Maned Wolves in Paraguay (Nathalia Mujica)
• Wild turkey and predator response to habitat management in southern Illinois (Ryan Tebo)
• P-33 Habitat Buffers for Upland Birds in Southern Illinois: Avian Response, Nesting Success, and Predator Occupancy (Jamie Cantrell)
• Site Occupancy and Density of Wildlife at Middle Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge (Nick Wallor)
• Tiger-human Conflict in Central India
• Biodiversity Conservation in Panama

• Henaux, V., L.A. Powell, K.A. Hobson, C.K. Nielsen, and M.A. LaRue. 2011. Tracking large carnivore dispersal using isotopic clues in claws: an application to cougars across the Great Plains. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 2: in press.
• Nielsen, C. K., and W. F. Porter. 2011. Ecology and management of deer in developed landscapes: an introduction. Wildlife Society Bulletin 35(3):124-125.
• Anderson, C. W., C. K. Nielsen, D. J. Storm, and E. M. Schauber. 2011. Modeling habitat use of deer in an exurban landscape. Wildlife Society Bulletin 35(3):235-242.
• Urbanek, R. E., K. A. Allen, and C. K. Nielsen. 2011.  Urban and suburban deer management by state wildlife conservation agencies.  Wildlife Society Bulletin 35(3):310-315.
• Scharine, P. D., C. K. Nielsen, E. M. Schauber, L. Rubert, and J. A. Crawford. 2011. Occupancy, detection, and habitat associations of sympatric lagomorphs in early-successional bottomland hardwood forests. Journal of Mammalogy 92:880-890.
• LaRue, M. A., and C. K. Nielsen. 2011. Modelling potential habitat for cougars in midwestern North America. Ecological Modelling 222:897-900.
• Mott, C. L., C. K. Bloomquist, and C. K. Nielsen. 2011. Seasonal, diel, and ontogenetic patterns of within-den behavior in beavers, Castor canadensis . Mammalian Biology 75:436-444.
• Hubbard, R. D., and C. K. Nielsen. 2011 . Cost-benefit analysis of managed shotgun hunts for suburban white-tailed deer. Human-Wildlife Interactions 5:13-21.
• Davenport, M., C. K. Nielsen, and J. Mangun. 2010. Attitudes toward mountain lion management in the Midwest: implications for a potentially recolonizing large predator. Human Dimensions of Wildlife 15:373-388.
• Croteau, E. K., E. J. Heist, and C. K. Nielsen. 2010 .   Fine-scale population structure and sex-biased dispersal in bobcats ( Lynx rufus ) from southern Illinois. Canadian Journal of Zoology 88:536-545.
• Bloomquist, C. K., and C. K. Nielsen. 2010. Demographic characteristics of unexploited beavers in southern Illinois. Journal of Wildlife Management 74:228-235.

• Dr. Nielsen is heavily involved with cougar expansion in the Midwest:
  • www.cougarnet.org
• IUCN Cat Specialist Group website, where Dr. Nielsen serves as a Member:
  • http://www.catsg.org/catsgportal/20_catsg-website/home/index_en.htm
• Dr. Nielsen is a member of the Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative:
  • http://www.nrccooperative.org/
• Jaguar research in Sonora, Mexico:
  • http://www.perspect.siuc.edu/09_sp/jaguars.html
• Dr. Nielsen's Facebook page:
  • http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Clay-Nielsen-Wildlife-Research-Anthology/160350317324367
• Research in Panama on YouTube:
  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hYwMI-eDvI
  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLHoM4qk-ks
• Tiger research in India:
  • http://news.siuc.edu/news/April11/041111tjc11020.html
• Beaver videocamera research/BBC Video:
  • http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9283000/9283367.stm
• Swamp rabbits in southern Illinois:
  • http://news.siuc.edu/news/October10/102710kcj10075.html
• Grassland birds in northern Illinois:
  • http://news.siuc.edu/news/September10/092710tjc10072.htm
• Dr Nielsen in Science News regarding recent cougar confirmation in Connecticut:
  • http://www.sciencenews.org/ view/generic/id/332992/title/ A_cougar_in_Connecticut_