About Us

Shelby says she has always felt a strong affinity for nature and culture. Traveling the “wild” world has given her countless moments of delight and wonder, and she feels similarly inspired when others share their experience of the world around them. But it wasn’t until Shelby completed her BS in Environmental Science that she realized humans are inextricably linked to the natural world. Now, as she completes her master’s with Borderlands Research Institute, she hopes to bridge that gap for others through sound science and effective communication.

Several mountain ranges within the Chihuahuan Desert receive more precipitation and experience cooler temperatures than the surrounding lowland desert. This “sky island” effect allows for more diverse ecosystems within the mountain range, including canyon watersheds and pine forests, which support high-elevation bird species uncommon to the area. Due to the rugged and remote nature of the Chihuahuan Desert mountains, the distribution and occurrence of highelevation species is poorly understood, especially for nocturnal birds. Shelby aims to evaluate the occurrence of nocturnal bird species in the Davis Mountains, particularly flammulated (Psiloscops flammeolus), northern saw-whet (Aegolius acadicus), and Mexican spotted (Strix occidentalis lucida) owls. Autonomous recording units (ARUs) will be used to monitor owl calls during breeding season and then analyzed using a machine learning software known as BirdNET. These owl call data will be used to determine peak call times across the season, isolate sex-specific calls, and further hone ARU placement for future studies based on frequency of owl calls and species/habitat associations.