Olivia was raised in San Antonio, Texas but spent a lot of time camping and hiking in the Trans-Pecos. Her love for the outdoors and conservation led her to pursue a degree in Natural Resources Management from Texas Tech University. While at Texas Tech, she was actively involved in the student chapter of The Wildlife Society where she was able to volunteer on many research projects including studies on mule deer, lesser prairie chickens, coyotes, nilgai, raptors, and passerines. The summer between her junior and senior year,
Olivia was a technician for a graduate student studying raptors in the Trans-Pecos. This led her to gain a deeper appreciation for research and desert ecosystems. Olivia feels fortunate to work for Borderlands Research Institute to pursue her master’s degree.

Desert bighorn (Ovis canadensis), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and exotic aoudad (Ammotragus lervia) inhabit the mountainous regions of the Trans-Pecos, Texas. Biologists and landowners are concerned about potential resource competition in co-occupied landscapes because of morphological and taxonomic similarities between these species. The first chapter of this project investigates the dietary composition of these co-existing ungulates to address concerns of dietary overlap and potential for resource competition. Fecal samples aid in the identification of vegetation consumed by ungulates by observing plant structures within the feces. Sampling will take place monthly over 12 months, with five fecal samples collected per species each month and microhistological procedures will be performed. The second chapter of this project will investigate if these similar ungulates partition specific resources through time. Utilizing collar data, I will inspect cycles in resource use of each species through time, including water sources, vegetation resources, and escape cover through autocorrelation. I am studying these cycles through time to determine changes in resource importance and how temporal partitioning of resources changes throughout the year. Information gained by this study will aid the management of ungulates by clarifying the nature and impacts of interactions between aoudad, mule deer, and desert bighorn.