BRENDA C. McCOMB is Professor in the Department of Natural Resources Conservation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Dr. McComb's research efforts focus on quantifying the effects of land management practices on the abundance and distribution of vertebrates as a result of habitat change. Land management activities including forest management and development have local effects and can have cumulative impacts on habitat availability for terrestrial vertebrates. Considering the potential impacts on biodiversity prior to taking a management action can help to minimize adverse effects of management and identify key areas for habitat restoration. She has research projects in the biodiversity of young forests, the response of vertebrates to silvicultural practices, and wildlife habitats in riparian zones, among many others.

Dr. McComb was a professor in the Oregon State University Department of Forest Science from 1987 to 1996, and at the University of Kentucky from 1979 to 1987. She has B.S. and M.S. degrees in Natural Resources Conservation and Wildlife Management from the University of Connecticut and a Doctorate in Forestry with a Zoology Minor from Louisiana State University. She was a member of the Interagency Post-Presidential Conference Team in Portland, Oregon, has been a reviewer of riparian rules for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, was a member of the Integrated Science Advisory Team for the Coquille Tribe in Oregon, and has consulted on the Northern Spotted Owl, land management in Alaska, and on Federal-private land exchanges in Oregon. She has authored over 85 professional articles, books and chapters, and has international experience in Australia, Thailand, and Latin America.

Current Projects

• Examination of potential policy impacts on forest wildlife resources, Oregon Coast Range
• Associations of terrestrial vertebrate abundance with levels of coarse woody debris
• Association of landscape pattern with forest floor vertebrate diversity in managed forests
• Distance-Education for Natural Resources Students to Improve Private Forest Land Management. USDA Higher Education Challenge Grant. 2002-2004

Selected Recent Publications

McComb, W. C., M. McGrath, T. A. Spies, and D. Vesely. 2002. Models for mapping potential habitat at landscape scales: an example using northern spotted owls. Forest Science 48(2): 203-216.

Vesely, D. and W. C. McComb. 2002. Terrestrial salamander abundance and amphibian species richness in headwater riparian buffer strips, Oregon Coast Range. Forest Science 48(2): 291-298.

Martin, K. J., and W. C. McComb. 2002. Small mammal habitat associations at patch and landscape scales in Oregon. Forest Science 48(2): 255-266.

Bettinger, P., K. Boston, J. Sessions, and W. C. McComb. 2001. Integrating wildlife species habitat goals and
quantitative land management planning processes. Chapter 23 in D. H. Johnson and T. A. O’Neill, managing editors.Wildlife Habitat Relationships in Oregon and Washington. OSU Press, Corvallis. 768pp.

McComb, W. C. 2001. Management of within-stand features in forested habitats. Chapter 4 in D. H. Johnson and T. A.O’Neill, managing editors. Wildlife Habitat Relationships in Oregon and Washington. OSU Press, Corvallis. 768pp.

Butts, S. R. and W. C. McComb. 2000. Associations of forest-floor vertebrates with coarse woody debris in managed forests of western Oregon. J. Wildl. Manage. 64: 95-104.

Chambers, C. L., W. C. McComb, and J. C. Tappeiner. 1999. Breeding bird responses to 3 silvicultural treatments in the Oregon Coast Range. Ecol. Appl. 9(1):171-185.

McComb, W. C. 1999. Forest Fragmentation: Wildlife and management implications – synthesis of the conference.

Chapter 17 in J. P. Rochelle, L. A.Lehman, and J. Wisniewski, editors. Forest fragmentation: Wildlife and Management Implications. Brill Press, Netherlands.

McGarigal, K. and W. C. McComb. 1999. Forest fragmentation and breeding bird communities in the Oregon Coast Range. Chapter 13 in J. P. Rochelle, L. A. Lehman, and J. Wisniewski, editors. Forest fragmentation: Wildlife and Management Implications. Brill Press, Netherlands.

McComb, W. C., and D. Lindenmayer. 1999. Dying, Dead, and Down Trees, Chapter 10, in Hunter, M. L., Jr., Maintaining Biodiversity in Forest Ecosystems. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England. 695 pp.

Cole, E.C., W.C. McComb, M. Newton, J.P. Leeming, and C.L. Chambers. 1998. Response of small mammals to clearcutting, burning, and glyphosate application in the Oregon Coast Range. J. Wildl. Manage. 62: 1207-1216.

Gerson, E., R. Kelsey, W. C. McComb, and D. Ross. 1998. Palatability of Coloradia pandora (Lepidoptera:Saturniidae) eggs to a rodent predator: Contributions of physical and chemical characteristics. Environmental Entomology 27(3): 709-716.

Ormsbee, P. C., and W. C. McComb. 1998. Selection of day roosts by female long-legged myotis. J. Wildl. Manage.62(2): 596-603.

Leopold, D. J., W. C. McComb, and R. N. Muller. 1998. Trees of the Central Hardwood Forests of North America: An Identification and Cultivation Guide. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon. 469pp.

Chambers, C.L., T. Carrigan, T. Sabin, J. Tappeiner, and W.C. McComb. 1997. Use of artificially created Douglas-firsnags by cavity-nesting birds. West. J. Appl. For. 12(3):93-97.

Cole, E.C., W.C. McComb, M. Newton, C.L. Chambers, and J.P. Leeming. 1997. Response of amphibians to clearcutting, burning, and glyphosate application in the Oregon Coast Range. J. Wildl. Manage. 61:656-664.

Flather, C. H., K. R. Wilson, D. J. Dean, and W. C. McComb. 1997. Mapping diversity to identify gaps in conservation networks: of indicators and uncertainty in geographic-based analyses. Ecological Applications 7:531-542.