Wolfe Laboratory
Michigan Technological University
Books & chapters
Wolfe, J. D. 2022. Eye-ringed Flatbill (Rhynchocyclus brevirostris), in: Elusive Birds of the Tropical Understory, Editors: J. Whitelaw, J. W. Fitzpatrick, J. Brawn, and H. Pollock. Cornell University Press, NY.
This book is available through the publisher's website, as well as on Amazon.
Wolfe, J. D. 2022. Buff-throated Foliage-gleaner (Automolus ochrolaemus), in: Elusive Birds of the Tropical Understory, Editors: J. Whitelaw, J. W. Fitzpatrick, J. Brawn, and H. Pollock. Cornell University Press, NY.
This book is available through the publisher's website, as well as on Amazon.
Johnson, E. I. and J. D. Wolfe. 2017. Molt in Neotropical Birds: Life History and Aging Criteria. Studies in Avian Biology, CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group, Boca Raton, Florida.
See the book's website and a review by Peter Pyle in Journal of Field Ornithology. This book is available on Amazon.
Peer-reviewed articles
* indicates student author
Wolfe, J. D., D. A. Luther, V. Jirinec, J. Collings, E. I. Johnson, R. O. Bierregaard Jr., and P. C Stouffer. 2024. Climate change aggravates bird mortality in pristine tropical forests. 2024. Science Advances in press.
Luther, D., E. I. Johnson, J. D. Wolfe, P. C. Stouffer, J. Batchelor, C. Tarwater, 2024. Habitat use of Amazonian birds varies by age and foraging guild along a disturbance gradient. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 291: 20240866.
Carvalho, R.L., et al. Consortia: Carvalho, R.L., [...] J. D. Wolfe [...], and 504 other authors. 2024. Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research. Current Biology 33: 3495-3504.
Wolfe, J. D. 2024. Book Review: Identification Guide to North American Birds, Part I, 2nd edition, by Peter Pyle. Ornithology. ukad050, https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithology/ukad050
DeGroot, T. L. *, J. D. Wolfe, L. L. Powell, F. Esono, A. Ebana, C. Barrientos, L. Torrent, and K. E. Brzeski. 2023. Gorillas, Chimpanzees and Forest Elephants Thrive in the Rio Campo Nature Reserve. Berggorilla, 67, 2/2023.
Tsetagho, G., Bradfer-Lawrence, T., Taku, A., Abernethy, K., Abwe, E., Tsi Angwafo, F. Atuo, M. Fichtler, R. Fotso, M. H. Shirley, B. J. Morgan, M. Languy, F.a Maisels, R. Oslisly, L. Powell, T. Smith, H. A. Thomassen, M. Waltert, J. D. Wolfe and R. C. Whytock. 2023. Modeling the potential distribution of the threatened Grey-necked Picathartes Picathartes oreas across its entire range. Bird Conservation International, 33, E65. doi:10.1017/S0959270923000175
Long, L. L., F. K. Lake, J. L. Stephens, J. D. Alexander, and J. D. Wolfe. 2023. Using culturally significant birds to guide the timing of prescribed burns in the Klamath-Siskiyou bioregion. Ecosphere https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4541.
See USFS and Klamath Fall News coverage of this research
DeGroot, T. L.*, J. D. Wolfe, L. L. Powell, F. Esono, A. Ebana, C. Barrientos, L. Torrent, K. E. Brzeski. 2023. Human impacts on mammal communities in Rio Campo Nature Reserve, Equatorial Guinea. Journal of African Ecology https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.13108.
Oliveira, S. L.*, D. J. Flaspohler, and J. D. Wolfe. 2022. Winter Territoriality of the American Redstart in Oil Palm Plantations. Diversity 14, 1079. https://doi.org/10.3390/d14121079
Luther, D. A., W. J. Cooper, V. Jirinec, J. D. Wolfe, C. L. Rutt, R. O. Bierregaard Jr, T. E. Lovejoy, and P. C. Stouffer. 2022. Long-term changes in avian biomass and functional diversity within disturbed and undisturbed Amazonian rainforest. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 289(1981), p.20221123.
Tobias, J. A., C. Sheard, [...] J. D. Wolfe, [...], and 104 other authors. 2022. AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25:581-597.
Oliveira, S. L.*, D. J. Flaspohler, J. L. Knowlton, and J. D. Wolfe. 2022. Do oil palm plantations provide quality habitat for migratory birds? A case study from Mexico. Ecological Indicators 139: 108964.
Rodrigues, P., L. L. Powell, C. Rutt, K. Mokross, J. D. Wolfe, E. I. Johnson and P. C. Stouffer. 2022. Sociality and morphology differentiate niches of 13 sympatric Amazonian woodcreepers (Dendrocolaptinae). Ornithology 139, p.ukac002.
Jirinec, V., R. C. Burner, R. O. Bierregaard Jr., A. Hernández-Palma, E. I. Johnson, T. E. Lovejoy, L. L. Powell, C. L. Rutt, J. D. Wolfe, P. C. Stouffer. 2021. Morphological consequences of climate change for birds in “intact” Amazonia. Science Advances https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abk1743.
See NPR, Guardian, National Geographic, NBC, Yahoo News, New Scientist, Smithsonian, Science News, and CNN coverage of this research.
Pyle, P., M. Gahbauer, E. J. Johnson, T. B. Johnson, and J. D. Wolfe. 2021. Application of a global coding system (“WRP”) to study avian demography based on molt and plumage cycles of birds. Ornithology 139:1-12.
Miller, S. J., J. Wiethase, A. Etingue, E. Franklin, M. F. Mene, J. D. Wolfe, M. K. Gonder and L. Powell. 2021. The impact of new road construction on a pristine Afrotropical mountain: A case study using avian communities on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea. Biotropica https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.13014.
Terrill, R. S., Y. Fong, J. D. Wolfe, and A. J. Zellmer. 2021. Threshold models improve estimates of molt parameters in datasets with small sample sizes. Ornithology https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithology/ukab038
Jarrett, C., T. B. Smith, R. Claire, D. Ferreira, M. Tchoumbou Malange, N. F. Elikwo, J. D. Wolfe, K. Brzeski, J. Cooper, R. Hanna, C. Masso, K. Fiaboe and L. Powell. 2021. Bird communities in African cocoa are diverse but lack specialized forest insectivores. Journal of Applied Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13864
Oliveira, S. L.*, D. J. Flaspohler, J. L. Knowlton, C. R. Webster, and J. D. Wolfe. 2021. Migratory bird community structure in oil palm (Elaies guineensis) plantations and native forest fragments in southern Mexico. Journal of Field Ornithology 92:1–17.
Stouffer, P. C., V. Jirinec*, C. L. Rutt*, R. O. Bierregaard, Jr., A. Hernández-Palma, E. I. Johnson, S. R. Midway, L. L. Powell, J. D. Wolfe, and T. E. Lovejoy. 2021. Long-term bird community change in undisturbed Amazonian rainforest: Pervasive abundance declines and a shifting baseline. Ecology Letters 24: 186–195.
See American Ornithological Society blogpost, Science Daily press release, and associated news coverage at Mongabay, Earth, Guardian, NSF, phys.org, and BBC.
Ferreira, D. F., L. Torrent, A. J. Welch, J. D. Wolfe, K. E. Brzeski, and L. L. Powell. 2020. First record of a piebald Bates’s Slit-faced Bat, Nycteris arge (Chiroptera: Nycteridae) from Equatorial Guinea, Central Africa. Journal of Bat Research & Conservation, 13:88-92.
Albert, S., J. D. Wolfe, J. Kellerman, T. Sherry, and B. Stutchbury. 2020. Habitat ecology of Nearctic–Neotropical migratory landbirds on the nonbreeding grounds. The Condor: Ornithological Advances 122:4.
Wolfe, J. D., R. S. Terrill, E. I. Johnson, L. L. Powell and T. B. Ryder. 2021. Neotropical bird molt: introduction to variation and adaptation. Ornithology. 138:1 https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithology/ukaa073
Terrill, R. S., G. F. Seeholzer, and J. D. Wolfe. 2020. Evolution of breeding plumages in birds: A multiple-step pathway for seasonal dichromatism in New World Warblers (Aves: Parulidae). Ecology and Evolution 10:9223–9239.
Figueira, L., P. Martins, C. J. Ralph, J. L. Stephens, J. D. Alexander and J. D., Wolfe. 2020. Effects of breeding and molt activity on songbird site fidelity. Auk: Ornithological Advances 137:1-15.
Luther, D. A., W. J. Cooper, J. D. Wolfe, P. C. Stouffer, R. O. Bierregaard, Jr. and T. E. Lovejoy. 2020. Tropical forest fragmentation and isolation: Is community decay a random process? Global Ecology and Conservation e01168s.
Wolfe, J. D., P. C. Stouffer, R. O. Bierregaard, Jr., D. Luther and T. E. Lovejoy. 2020. Effects of a regenerating matrix on the survival of birds in tropical forest fragments. Avian Research 11:1-9
Wolfe, J. D., and P. Elizondo. 2020. Integrating bird conservation into ecosystem service payments and carbon offsets: a case study from Costa Rica. Conservation Science and practice doi.org/10.1111/csp2.173.
Long, L., and J. D. Wolfe. 2019. A Review the Science Directly Related to the Effects of Barred Owls (Strix varia) on Spotted Owls (Strix occidentalis). Journal of Wildlife Management 83:1281-1296.
Wolfe, J. D., J. D. Alexander, J. L. Stephens, and C. J. Ralph. 2019. A novel approach to understanding bird communities using informed diversity estimates at local and regional scales in northern California and southern Oregon. Ecology and Evolution 9:4431–4442.
Rutt, C., S. Midway, V. Jirinec, J. D. Wolfe, and P. C. Stouffer. 2018. Examining the microclimate hypothesis in Amazonian birds: Indirect tests of the ‘visual constraints’ mechanism. Oikos 128:798-810.
Ralph, C. J., and J. D. Wolfe. 2018. Factors affecting the distribution and abundance
of autumn vagrant warblers in northwestern California and southern Oregon. PeerJ. 6: e5881
Wolfe, J. D., C. J. Ralph, and A. K. Wiegardt*. 2017. Bottom-up processes influence the demography and life-cycle phenology of Hawaiian bird communities. Ecology 98:2885-2899.
See USFS press release, Hawaii Tribune Herald news article, Wildlife Society news article.
Wiegardt, K. A.*, J. D. Wolfe, C. J. Ralph, J. L. Stephens and J. D. Alexander. 2017. Elevational movements of songbirds after the breeding season. Journal of Ecology and Evolution 7:7750-7764.
West, C., J. D. Wolfe, A. K. Wiegardt* and T. Williams-Claussen. 2017. Feasibility of California Condor recovery in northern California: assessing spatial and temporal patterns of contaminants using Surrogate species. Condor 119: 720-731.
See Eureka Times Standard news article, American Ornithological Society press release.
Cooper, J., O. Johnson, T. Davis, R. Terrill, K. Brzeski., J. D. Wolfe, A. Etingüe* and L. Powell. 2017. Notes on the distribution of the avifauna of Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea, with one new country record. Malimbus 39:1-15.
Wiegardt, K. A.*, D. C. Barton and J. D. Wolfe. 2017. Upslope molt migration of the Wilson’s Warbler in the Klamath-Siskiyou Bioregion. Journal of Ornithology 88:47-52.
Brzeski, K., J. D. Wolfe., J. Cooper and L. Powell. 2016. Camera sighting of Congo Clawless otter in the midst of rapid development on mainland Equatorial Guinea. IUCN Otter Specialist Group Bulletin 33:96-101.
Tempel, D., J. Keane, R. J. Gutiérrez, J. D. Wolfe, et al. 2016. Meta-analysis of California Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) territory occupancy in the Sierra Nevada: habitat associations and their implications for forest management. Condor 118:747-765.
Cooper, J. C., L. L. Powell and J. D. Wolfe. 2016. Notes on the status and distribution of the avifauna of Equatorial Guinea, including five new country records. African Bird Club Bulletin 23:152-163.
Powell, L. L., J. D. Wolfe, E. I. Johnson and P. C. Stouffer. 2016. Forest recovery in post-pasture Amazonia: Testing a conceptual model of space use by insectivorous understory birds. Biological Conservation 94: 22-30.
Wolfe, J. D. et al. 2015. Island vs. countryside biogeography: an examination of how Amazonian birds respond to forest clearing and fragmentation. Ecosphere 6.12: 1-14.
Powell, L. L., G. Z. Zurita, J. D. Wolfe, E. I. Johnson and P. C. Stouffer. 2015. Changes in habitat use at rainforest edges through succession: A case study of understory birds in the Brazilian Amazon. Biotropica 47:723-732.
Wolfe, J. D. and E. I. Johnson. 2015. Geolocator reveals migratory and winter movements of a Prothonotary Warbler. Journal of Field Ornithology 86:238–243.
See Nat’l Audubon press release, accompanying Audubon Magazine article, USDA Forest Service press release, Wildlife Professional article, Mongabay article.
Powell, L. P., J. D. Wolfe, E. I. Johnson, J. E. Hines, J. D. Nichols and P. C. Stouffer. 2015. Heterogeneous movement of insectivorous Amazonian birds through primary and secondary forest: A case study using multistate models with radiotelemetry data. Biological Conservation 188:100-108.
Wolfe, J. D., C. J. Ralph and P Elizondo. 2015. Demographic response of a tropical bird to the El Niño Southern Oscillation in mature and young forest in Costa Rica. Oecologia 78:715-721. Selected cover article
See USDA Forest Service press release, Klamath Bird Observatory Blogpost and Press Release.
Mokross, K. Ryder, T. B., Côrtes, M. C., Wolfe, J. D. and P. C. Stouffer. 2014. Decay of interspecific avian flock networks along a disturbance gradient in Amazonia. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 281:20132599.
Wolfe, J. D. and P. C. Stouffer. 2014. Variation in tropical bird survival across longitude and guilds: a case study from the Amazon. Oikos 123:964-967.
Wolfe, J. D. and E. I. Johnson. 2014. Searching for consensus in molt terminology 11 years Howell et al.’s “first basic problem.” Auk 131:371-377
Johnson, E. I. and J. D. Wolfe. 2014. Thamnophilidae (antbird) molt strategies in a central Amazonian rainforest. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 126:451-462.
Diniz, F. C., J. D. Wolfe, M. Anciães and P. C. Stouffer. 2014. New record of Connecticut Warbler (Oporornis agilis) in Central Amazonian Brazil. Cotinga 36:127-128.
Wolfe, J. D., Johnson M.D. and C.J. Ralph. 2014. Do birds select habitat or food resources? Nearctic-Neotropic Migrants in Northeastern Costa Rica. PLOS ONE 9: e86221.
Wolfe, J. D., Johnson M.D. and C.J. Ralph. 2013. Higher mass increases annual survival of wintering Prothonotary Warblers (Protonotaria citrea) in Northeastern Costa Rica. Condor 115:163-167.
Wolfe, J. D. et al. 2013. Annual survival of birds captured in a habitat island bordered by the urban matrix of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Southeastern Naturalist 12: 492-499.
Johnson, E. I., D. Mooney and J. D. Wolfe. 2013. An eccentric preformative molt in Eastern Towhees. North American Bird Bander 38:25-27.
Wolfe, J. D. et al. 2012. Brown Thrasher (toxostoma rufum) with bill deformity captured at Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Journal of Louisiana Ornithology 9:27-29
Johnson, E. I., J. D. Wolfe, and J. E. Hartgerink. 2012. Barred Owl consumes Sharp-Shinned hawk. Journal of Louisiana Ornithology 9:88: 21.
Wolfe, J. D. and P. Pyle. 2012. Progress in our understanding of molt patterns in Central American and Caribbean Landbirds. Ornitologia Neotropical 23:169-176.
Wolfe, J. D., Ryder, T. B., Pyle, P. and E. I. Johnson. 2012. Using molt and plumage cycles to age tropical birds: updates and recent advances. Ornitologia Neotropical 23:153-158.
Wolfe, J. D. and P. Pyle. 2011. First evidence for eccentric prealternate molt in the Indigo Bunting (passerina cyanea): possible implications for adaptive molt strategies. Western Birds 42:33-37
Johnson, E. I., J. D. Wolfe, T. B. Ryder and P. Pyle. 2011. Modifications to a molt-based ageing system proposed by Wolfe et al. (2010). 2011. Journal of Field Ornithology. 82:422–424.
Rowe, L. M. and J. D. Wolfe. 2010. Using alulas and the carpal covert to assess age in some formative and first alternative plumaged western passerines. North American Bird Bander 35:1-5.
Wolfe, J. D., Ryder, T. B. and P. Pyle. 2010. Using molt cycles to categorize the age of tropical birds: an integrative new system. Journal of Field Ornithology. 81:186–194.
See awarded best student paper from Association of Field Ornithologists.
Wolfe, J. D. 2010. Diet of some spring migrant landbirds on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. Journal of Caribbean Ornithology. 23:130-133.
Wolfe, J. D. and C.J. Ralph. 2009. Correlations between the El Niño southern oscillation and Nearctic-neotropical migrant condition in Central America. Auk. 126:809−814.
Ryder, T. B. and J. D. Wolfe. 2009. The current state of knowledge on molt and plumage sequences in selected tropical families: a review. Ornithologia Neotropical. 20: 1–18.
Wolfe, J. D., P. Pyle and C.J. Ralph. 2009. Breeding seasons, molt patterns, and age and sex criteria for selected Northeastern Costa Rican resident landbirds. Wilson Journal of Ornithology. 121:556–567.
Wolfe, J. D., Chandler, R. B. and D. I. King. 2009. Molt patterns, age and sex criteria for selected highland Costa Rican landbirds. Ornitologia Neotropical. 22:32-35
Elizondo, P., C. J. Ralph, J. D. Wolfe, y A.O. Ramírez. 2009. Está la proporción de sexos de una población relacionada con el decrecimiento de la capturabilidad? Mesoamericana 13: 101.
Wolfe, J. D. and C. J. Ralph. 2008. Catorce años de anillamiento de aves en Costa Rica: una visión general del Proyecto Integral de Monitoreo de Aves de Tortuguero. Mesoamericana 12:171.