CJ Campbell

I am a conservation ecologist focused on how animal movement connects and responds to a changing world. My research focuses on developing analytical tools to tackle pressing conservation challenges.

Aeroecology and Migration

Flying animal migration is a behavioral phenomenon that shapes the structure and function of ecosystems worldwide. My research centers on the study and conservation of animal migration and aerial habitats.

Repowering

Transitioning to renewable energy generation is essential to limit the worst effects of global climate change. I am interested in studying the effects of this transition on wildlife and developing methods and models to best predict and minimize risks to wildlife and habitats.

Macroecology

Macroecology is the study of ecological patterns at broad spatial scales. I am interested in synthesizing ecological processes that play out at the scale of the individual and population to examine patterns at broad spatial, temporal, and taxonomic scales.

Bat Ecology and Conservation

Bats are among the most diverse and least-studied groups of mammals. Despite a near worldwide distribution, we know shockingly little about their ecology and evolution. My work deepens our understanding of bat ecology and can inform conservation by integrating data resources, from historical records to novel community science observations.

Methodological Approaches

I leverage a broad suite of methodological approaches to tackle pressing conservation challenges, with a particular focus on developing the methods needed to conduct research in under-studied systems and taxa where creative approaches are needed.

Spatial modeling

Understanding how organisms interact with, and are limited by, their environment is a central question of ecology.

Biodiversity Informatics

The availability of biodiversity data is increasing exponentially. I research its generation and develop methods to apply it rigorously.

Endogenous markers

Analyzing endogenous markers can help scale studies of animal movement from the individual to that of the population.

Software development

I am passionate about developing open-source software to promote accessible and reproducible science.

Publications

Preprints

Campbell, CJ; Nelson, DM; Nagel, J; Clerc, J; Weller, TJ; Weiringa, JG; Fraser, E; Longstaffe, FJ; Hale, AM; Lout, M; Pruitt, L; Guralnick, R; Vander Zanden, HB. Unusual migratory strategy a key factor driving interactions at wind energy facilities in at-risk bats. BioRXiv.

Vinod Anand, A; Campbell, CJ; Loiselle, B; Guralnick, R. Precipitation tolerance determines elevational migration strategies of resident birds of the Western Ghats of India. BioRXiv.

Peer-reviewed


17. Rubin, J; Campbell, CJ; Carvalho, APS; St Laurent, RA; Crespo, GI; Pierson, TL; Guralnick, RP; Kawahara, AY. Macroevolutionary constraint and selection on anti-bat moth tails. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. In press.

16. Campbell, CJ; Gardner, JH; Rushing, CS; Norvell, R; Farr, CM; Savides, K. Quantifying rosy-finch migration with stable hydrogen isotope feather markers highlights the need for inter-state collaboration to reach conservation goals. 2025. Avian Conservation and Ecology. 20(1):6.

15. Belitz, M; Campbell, CJ; Drum, RM; Leuenberger, W; Morelli, TL; Nail, J; Shirey, V; Warner, S; Thogmartin, W; Zipkin, EF. A case for community assemblage-level conservation to address the biodiversity crisis. Nature Reviews Biodiversity. 2025. 1, 134–143.

14. Carpenter, B* & Campbell, CJ*; Fanning, A; McBride, M. Extensive migratory mixing of wintering Wilson’s snipe (Gallinago delicata) highlights the need for international coordination for monitoring and management. Ornithological Applications. duae064.

13. Campbell, CJ; Cheng, T; Akre, K; Adams, A; Solick, D; Bennett, A; Newman, C; Frick, W. Maximizing benefits to bat populations through management of power line corridors. Ecological Solutions and Evidence. 5 (4), e12392.

12. Adams, AM Trujillo, LA; Campbell, CJ; Akre, KL; Arroyo-Cabrales, J; Burns, L; Coleman, JTH; Morris, K M; Ortega, J; Reichard , JD; Reichert, B; Segers, JL; Whitby, MD; Frick, WF. The State of the Bats in North America. The Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 2024, 1–14.

11. Wieringa, JM; Nagel, J; Campbell, CJ; Nelson, DM; Carstens BC; Gibbs, HL. 2024. Geographic sources of bats killed at wind-energy facilities in the eastern United States. PeerJ 12, e16796.

10. Campbell, CJ; Barve, V; Belitz, M; Doby, J R; White, E; Seltzer, C; Di Cecco, G; Hurlbert, AH; Guralnick, R. 2023. Identifying the Identifiers: How iNaturalist facilitates collaborative, research-relevant data generation and why it matters for biodiversity science. BioScience. 2023.

9. McCleery, R; Guralnick, R; Beatty, M; Belitz, M; Campbell, CJ; Idec, J; Jones, M; Kang, Y; Potash, A; and Fletcher, RJ. 2023. Uniting Experiments and Big Data to advance ecology and conservation. Trends in Ecology & Evolution.

8. Wieringa, JG; Nagel, J; Campbell, CJ; Nelson, DM; Carstens, BC; Gibbs, HL. 2023. Combining stable isotopes, trace elements, and distribution models to assess the geographic origins of migratory bats. Ecosphere 14(6), e4588.

7. Smith, LM; Gore, JA; Doonan, TJ; Campbell, CJ. 2022. Tricolored bats at a southern range edge exhibit partial migration northward in autumn. Movement Ecology 10(1), 1-13.

6. Campbell, CJ; Nelson, DM; Gates, JE; Gibbs, HL; Stevenson, ER; Johnson, B; Nagel, J; Trott, R; Wieringa, JG; Vander Zanden, HB. 2022. White-nose syndrome pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans detected on migratory bats during summer and autumn, including hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus). Journal of Wildlife Diseases.

5. Campbell, CJ; Fitzpatrick, MC; Vander Zanden, H; Nelson, DM. 2020. Advancing interpretation of stable isotope assignment maps: comparing and summarizing origins of known-provenance migratory bats. Animal Migration.

4. Katzner, TE; Nelson, DM; Diffendorfer, JE; Duerr, AE; Campbell, CJ; Leslie, D; Vander Zanden, HB; Yee, JL; Sur, M; Huso, MMP; Braham, MA; Morrison, ML; Loss, SR; Poessel, SA; Conkling, TJ; Miller, TA. 2019. Wind energy: An ecological challenge. Science 366(6470):1206–1207.

3. Nelson, DM; Nagel, J; Trott, R; Campbell, CJ; Pruitt, L; Good, RE; Iskali, G; Gugger, PF. 2018. Carcass age and searcher identity affect morphological assessment of sex of bats. The Journal of Wildlife Management 82(8), 1582-1587.

2. Campbell, CJ; Nelson, DM; Ogawa, NO; Chikaraishi, Y; Ohkouchi, N. 2017. Trophic position and dietary breadth of bats revealed by nitrogen isotopic composition of amino acids. Scientific Reports 7:15932.

1. Roman, J; Altman, I; Dunphy-Daly, M; Campbell, C; Jasny, M; Read, A. 2013. The Marine Mammal Protection Act at 40: Status, recovery, and future of U.S. marine mammals. The Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1286:29-49.

Background


 I am a quantitative ecologist at Bat Conservation International. I have also led the bat bioacoustics and bioinformatics efforts for XPrize Rainforest finalist team Limelight Rainforest.
I completed by PhD at the University of Florida in the Animal Migration and Ecology Lab working with Hannah Vander Zanden in the Department of Biology. I was a University of Florida Biodiversity Institute Fellow and was also supported by a UF Graduate School Fellowship.
My master's research was conducted at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Appalachian Laboratory with Dave Nelson and Frostburg State University. In 2016 I was a National Science Foundation East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute (NSF EAPSI) Research Fellow / Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Summer Research Fellow.
I attended the University of Vermont, gaining my B.S. with honors and working with Joe Roman at the Gund Institute for the Environment. I conducted fieldwork for a semester in Namibia while studying abroad with Round River Conservation Studies. Between my B.S. and my M.S., I worked as an ecological field technician on projects in Chiapas, MEX; Puerto Viejo, CRI; and Arkansas and New York, USA.

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