Ferrum, VA, October 3, 2025 — Dr. Todd Fredericksen, associate professor of forestry and wildlife at Ferrum College, has co-edited “Wildlife Ecology and Conservation in Forest Habitat,” a 2025 special issue of the journal “Forests.” The issue also contains an article co-written by Fredericksen and his former student Wylie Martin ‘24.
Forests is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal on forestry and forest ecology published monthly online by MDPI. The co-editor of this issue is Alexey Andreychev, head of the Department of General Biology and Ecology at the National Research Mordovian State University, in Saransk, Russia.
The co-editors’ Preface to the collection of articles in this issue explains that it “presents research findings on the impact of various factors on living organisms in forest ecosystems, from butterflies to wild boars, and the ecosystem services provided by forests as nature-based solutions in natural contexts…. The impact of environmental change…is also explored. Various wildlife monitoring methods for effective study and management in forest ecosystems are discussed.”
“Monitoring Wildlife Using Camera Traps: Effect of Bait Type in Pine Plantations and Natural Hardwood Stands” is an article in this issue written by Fredericksen and Martin. It discusses Martin’s project of setting camera traps across from cages baited with either sardines or suet in forests on the Ferrum College campus, during the fall and spring seasons for two years.
The study found that the forest type and bait preference differed by season among the species of vertebrate wildlife in natural hardwood forests with mixed pine species compared to pine plantations. The relative abundance of natural foods and the need for winter thermal cover are considered as possible reasons for the capture success in this project.
Fredericksen credits Martin with creating the project and doing most of the work, along with another student whom Martin mentored. Fredericksen helped write the article while Martin was working at Philpott Lake with the Army Corps of Engineers. Martin presented the results of this study at a meeting of the Virginia Natural History Society and also inspired a companion study at Patrick and Henry Community College, mentoring two students there.
The collaborative project will be published by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources in a forthcoming issue of the magazine “Virginia Wildlife” focusing on “Wildlife on Campus.” Fredericksen and Jason Worley ’02, a biology professor at Union Commonwealth College who formerly taught at Patrick and Henry Community College, presented the camera trapping study on two college campuses at a Ferrum College science seminar on September 5.
Fredericksen teaches courses in environmental science and biology at Ferrum College. His research focuses on the effects of forest management on biodiversity, natural history, the conservation of wildlife species in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and tropical and temperate forest ecology. He is the editor of Banisteria, the journal of the Virginia Natural History Society; editor-in-chief of the journal Trees, Forests and People; and an editor for Forest Ecology and Management.
“At Ferrum College, faculty scholarship and student engagement go hand in hand,” said President Mirta Martin. “Dr. Fredericksen’s leadership in co-editing this international journal issue, alongside the publication of research he co-authored with alumnus Wylie Martin, reflects the caliber of academic inquiry taking place on our campus and demonstrates the confidence, skill, and perseverance our graduates carry into their professions. Their work not only advances understanding in wildlife ecology and conservation, but also underscores the importance of collaboration between faculty and students in addressing complex environmental challenges.”
Click here for the open-access special issue of “Forests.”
About the photograph: Dr. Todd Fredericksen with a class of master naturalists in the woods
