
Chad Seewagen, Ph.D.
Reserach Scientist- Adjunct
Department of Natural Resources & the Environment
University of Connecticut
1376 Storrs Rd. Unit 4087
Phone: 203-546-7789
Education
2010 Ph.D. | University of Western Ontario; Biology |
2006 M.A. | Columbia University; Conservation Biology |
2002 B.S. | University of Massachusetts-Amherst; Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation |
Experience
2016 - Present | Executive Director, Great Hollow Nature Preserve & Ecological Research Center |
2011 - 2016 | Senior Wildlife Biologist and Technical Director, AKRF INC. Environmental, Engineering & Planning Consultants |
2002 - 2011 | Research Scientist and Intern Program Coordinator, Bronx Zoo Department of Ornithology, Wildlife Conservation Society |
Research Interests
- Physiological ecology of bird migration
- Stopover biology of migratory songbirds
- Responses of migratory songbirds to land use change
- Impacts of mercury pollution on birds
- Effects on non-native invasive plants on wildlife diversity and habitat quality
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed
- Clark, R. and C.L. Seewagen. 2019. Invasive Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii) is associated with simplified branch-dwelling and leaf-litter arthropod communities in a New York forest. Environmental Entomology 48:1071-1078.
- Gerson, A.R., D.A. Cristol, and C.L. Seewagen. 2019. Environmentally relevant methylmercury exposure reduces the metabolic scope of a model songbird. Environmental Pollution 246:790-796.
- Seewagen, C.L., Y. Ma, Y.E. Morbey, and C.G. Guglielmo. 2019. Stopover departure behavior and flight orientation of spring-migrant yellow-rumped warblers (Setophaga coronata) experimentally exposed to methylmercury. Journal of Ornithology. DOI:10.1007/s10336-019-01641-2.
- Seewagen, C.L. 2018. The threat of global mercury pollution to bird migration: potential mechanisms and current evidence. Ecotoxicology. DOI:10.1007/s10646-018-1971-z.
- Seewagen, C.L. and M. Newhouse. 2018. Mass changes and energetic condition of grassland and shrubland songbirds during autumn stopovers at a reclaimed landfill in the New Jersey Meadowlands. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 130:377-384.
- Seewagen, C.L., D.A. Cristol, and A.R. Gerson. 2017. Mobilization of mercury from lean tissues during simulated migratory fasting in a model songbird. Scientific Reports 6:25762.
- Seewagen, C.L., M.J. Glennon, and S.B. Smith. 2015. Does exurban housing development impact the physiological condition of forest-breeding songbirds? A case study in the largest protected area in the contiguous United States. Physiological & Biochemical Zoology 88:416-424.
- Gillet, A.M. and C.L. Seewagen. 2014. Mercury accumulation in a wetland songbird, Agelaius phoeniceus, in the New York metropolitan area and its effect on nestling growth rate. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 186:4029-4036.
- Seewagen, C.L., C.G. Guglielmo, and Y.E. Morbey. 2013. Stopover refueling rate underlies protandry and seasonal variation in migration timing of songbirds. Behavioral Ecology 24:634-642.
- Seewagen, C.L. 2013. Blood mercury levels and the stopover refueling performance of a long-distance migratory songbird. Canadian Journal of Zoology 91:41-45.
- Seewagen, C.L., E.J. Slayton, C.D. Sheppard, and C.G. Guglielmo. 2011. Plasma metabolites and mass changes of migratory landbirds indicate adequate stopover refueling in a heavily urbanized landscape. Condor 113:284-297.
- Seewagen, C.L. and C.G. Guglielmo. 2011. Quantitative magnetic resonance analysis and a morphometric predictive model reveal lean body mass changes in migrating Nearctic- Neotropical passerines. Journal of Comparative Physiology B 181:413-421.
- Seewagen, C.L., E.J. Slayton, and C.G. Guglielmo. 2010. Passerine migrant stopover duration and spatial behaviour at an urban stopover site. Acta Oecologica 36:484-492.
- Seewagen, C.L. 2010. Threats of environmental mercury to birds: knowledge gaps and priorities for future research. Bird Conservation International 20:112-123.
- Seewagen, C.L. and E.J. Slayton. 2008. Mass changes of migratory landbirds during stopovers in a New York City park. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 120:296-303.
- Seewagen, C.L. 2008. An evaluation of condition indices and predictive models for non- invasive estimates of lipid mass of migrating common yellowthroats, ovenbirds, and Swainson’s thrushes. Journal of Field Ornithology 79:80-86.