Connor Wood

Expertise

Bioacoustics • Conservation • Landscape Ecology • Community Ecology

My research group combines bioacoustics and quantitative ecology with a focus on biodiversity conservation in a rapidly changing world. 

Applied ecological research about rare or endangered species is our core strength. Current focal species include birds (Spotted Owl, Pinyon Jay, Bicknell’s Thrush, and others), amphibians (Yosemite toad), and mammals (gray wolf, coyotes, and some primates). Research efforts span the life cycle of detector development, survey design, simulation-based power analyses, disturbance ecology, natural history, and more.

Combining passive acoustic monitoring with cutting edge machine learning tools, most notably BirdNET, allows us to develop ecosystem-scale biodiversity datasets in a uniquely systematic manner. Our flagship project spans California’s Sierra Nevada, with >1,600 recording units deployed annually across 25,000km². I began developing this program in 2016 to support Spotted Owl conservation, but it now provides systematic monitoring data on nearly 100 bird species. We are also part of a Yang Center initiative to develop a similarly ecosystem-scale biodiversity monitoring program for the Brazilian Pantanal. Close collaborations with the people stewarding these ecosystem facilitates the translation of unprecedented biodiversity data into holistic conservation planning. 

Finally, collaborations are an integral part of our work. Often this takes the form of providing bioacoustic and population modeling expertise to support on-the-ground conservation, and these projects typically center on endangered species conservation (e.g., IUCN Red Listed birds and amphibians in Central America, South America, South Africa, and Australia). 

Education

Ph.D., University of Wisconsin
M.Sc., University of Maine
B.A., Middlebury College

Selected Publications

1. Winiarski, J, SA Whitmore, CM Wood, J Eisman, E Netoskie, M Beiber, HA Kramer, K Kelly, K McGinn, C Thompson, SC Sawyer, S Kahl, H Klinck, MZ Peery. 2026. Passive acoustic monitoring provides insights into occupancy dynamics and the effects of environmental disturbances for an at-risk species. Ecological Applications 36(1) e70177.
2. Brunk, KB, HA Kramer, S Kahl, MZ Peery, and CM Wood. 2025. Assessing spatial variability and efficacy of surrogate species at an ecosystem scale. Conservation Biology 39(5): e7058.
3. Wood, CM, S Kahl, P Chaon, MZ Peery, and H Klinck. 2021. Survey coverage, recording duration, and species composition affect observed species richness in passive acoustic surveys. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 12:885-896.
4. Wood, CM, VD Popescu, H Klinck, JJ Keane, RJ Gutiérrez, SC Sawyer, and MZ Peery. 2019. Detecting small changes in populations at landscape scales: A bioacoustic site-occupancy framework. Ecological Indicators 98: 492-507.