Jason Keagy

Jason Keagy is the Assistant Research Professor of Wildlife Behavioral Ecology in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management. As a behavioral ecologist and applied evolutionary biologist, he studies animal cognition and flexibility in behavior and physiology to solve conservation and wildlife management problems. His research spans levels of organization from molecules to species, and he utilizes a number of cutting-edge techniques from diverse fields including genomics, behavior, evolution, ecology, and computer science.

Animals are increasingly exposed to novel anthropogenic stressors such as noise, heat, and artificial light at night. How do animals respond to these stressors? What determines winners and losers after environmental change? Are there behavioral adaptations such as cognition or particular personality traits such as boldness that are especially effective at increasing success? How can we leverage the answers to these questions to effectively manage fish and wildlife?

Jason and his team have been addressing these questions using wild birds (bluebirds and tree swallows) and lab fish (guppies) as models. They are particularly interested in animal response to multiple stressors. How can we know in a practical way whether a population is just surviving or actually thriving in the face of environmental stressors? How can we rapidly assess effectiveness of environmental interventions? How can we make informed decisions about who to move when doing assisted migration?

These questions and more can be answered by leveraging an emerging field Jason has been championing called landscape transcriptomics. He and his team have been using landscape transcriptomics to understand brook trout response to thermal stress, the effects of riparian buffers in mediating various stressors on brown trout, and the action of PFAS on fish physiology. They are also working to develop biomarkers of stressors to be assessed non-lethally in fish.