Paula Spaeth Anich

Professor of Natural Resources

Paula Anich headshot
Office:Center for Science and the Environment 136
Email:Send a message...
Telephone:715-682-1274

Biography

Earned and Honorary Degrees

PhD Stanford University, Palo Alto, California
BS Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island

Why Northland?

I enjoy the integration of the classroom and the natural world that makes the learning community of Northland College so unique. Small classes give me an opportunity to get to know each of my students and link my research interests with our course material. It's easy to share my passion for mammals with my students through field trips right in Northland's backyard.

Courses

I teach Mammalogy, Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, Integrated Ecosystems Management, and Field Ornithology.

Research

I study small mammals, mostly rodents, living in North America. Small mammals are an important, though often overlooked, component of our ecosystems. They influence plant diversity and provide food for carnivores and raptors. Unlike the larger, more charismatic species, their small size makes them perfect for replicated, field ecology studies spanning several generations. Another advantage to studying rodents is that there is an exceptionally good fossil record for North American rodent species. I combined Holocene and modern vole population dynamics in my dissertation and I am working on a project investigating competition between Miocene rodents in the western United States. I am also currently studying populations of Woodland Jumping Mice that inhabit northern Wisconsin's boreal forests.

Selected Publications

Anich, P. S. and E. A. Hadly. 2013. Asymmetrical competition between Microtus montanus and Microtus longicaudus in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. American Midland Naturalist 170: 274 – 286.

Menebroeker, R., P. S. Anich, D. H. Ogle, and N. M. Anich. 2016. Recent declines in Gray Jay trends on Christmas Bird Counts in northern Wisconsin. The Passenger Pigeon 17: 161–170.

Smith, F. A., J. L. Payne, M. A. Balk, S. Finnegan, N. A. Heim, M. Kowalewski, S. K. Lyons, C. R. McClain, D. W. McShea, P. M. Novack-Gottshall, P. Spaeth Anich, and S. C. Wang. 2016. Body size evolution across the Geozoic. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 44: 523 – 553.

Interests

In my free time, I'm drawn to the outdoors. I enjoy hiking, running, canoeing, and exploring Lake Superior with my family.