Noah Perlut’s research discussed in 'Burlington Free Press' article
The research of Noah Perlut, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Studies, was featured in an April 11, 2015 article in the Burlington Free Press.
The article discussed the Bobolink Project, which strives to protect the nesting grounds of bobolinks, a grassland bird, from the inevitable population destruction from farmers haying their fields. The project matches donors, willing to pay a fee, and farmers, willing to accept the fee in lieu of the profit they would make by mowing their land and selling the hay.
According to the article, Perlut’s involvement in the project dates back to his days as a post-doctoral fellow, and his work was cited as being instrumental in determining that bobolinks require 65 days after their spring migration to mate and raise their nestlings, a key factor in assessing when it is less dangerous to the bobolink population to cut fields.
The article also noted Perlut’s ongoing research, which demonstrates that unlike other songbirds, bobolinks return each year to mate in their natal field or one nearby.