C. Ray Chandler
Professor | Georgia Southern University
Statesboro, GA, UNITED STATES
C. Ray Chandler is an expert in the ecology of coastal plains
Biography
Research in my lab focuses on the ecology, behavior, and conservation of birds and other terrestrial vertebrates. Major themes in my projects and those of my students include the effects of forest management on habitat selection (e.g., use of managed pine savannas by grassland birds, impacts of selective logging on bottomland bird communities), morphological and behavioral strategies associated with migration (e.g., evolution of wing shape in migrant birds, stopover ecology of migrants), impacts of hormones on behavior (e.g., effects of testosterone on alternative reproductive strategies in male birds), and conservation of rare species (e.g., management of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers).
Areas of Expertise (3)
Biology
Ecology of the Coastal Plain
Birds
Education (2)
Bowling Green State University: Ph.D.
Old Dominion University: M.S.
Links (1)
Media Appearances (1)
Georgia Southern biology professor and student conducting research to prevent bird deaths on campus
The George-Anne
Professor Ray Chandler and graduate student Antarius Mclain's research estimates that at least 700 to 800 birds are killed on campus every year by flying into windows on campus...
Articles (1)
Red Junglefowl Introductions in the Southeastern United States: History and Research Legacy
Southeastern NaturalistCondon, Tomas, I. Lehr Brisbin, and C. Ray Chandler
2019 As part of the US government's Foreign Game Investigation Program (FGIP), there was an extensive and sustained effort in the 1960s to introduce Gallus gallus (Red Junglefowl) in the southeastern United States. We review the history of this effort with the objective of showing how well-documented introductions such as those carried out by FGIP can shed light on current research questions. The stock for the junglefowl introductions was captured in northern India under the direction of Gardiner Bump in areas thought to be free of hybridization with domestic Gallus gallus domesticus (Chicken). A total of 117 wild-caught birds was shipped to the United States as breeding stock, and over a 10-year period nearly 10,000 Red Junglefowl were introduced into at least 52 sites in 8 states. Despite this massive effort, no wild populations of Red Junglefowl have persisted in the Southeast. However, descendants of the FGIP junglefowl still exist in captivity. Careful breeding of birds from the original FGIP has resulted in a captive population of 100–200 Red Junglefowl distributed among several aviculturists in the Southeast and thought to be derived from populations that predate introgression with domestic Chickens. Because of their well-documented origins, these descendants of FGIP junglefowl are probably the genetically purest captive population of this species, and they have a tremendous research legacy for the conservation of Red Junglefowl and study of the genetic changes associated with domestication.
