RESEARCH
As an avian behavioral ecologist, I study how social behavior and group dynamics shape reproductive success in cooperatively breeding birds. My research bridges behavioral ecology and conservation, focusing on how birds interact, adapt, and thrive within complex ecosystems. You can find a list of my publications on my Google Scholar profile, and below I highlight a few of the specific research topics I’m excited about lately.
Breeding Ecology Under Environmental Change
Cooperatively breeding birds—species where family members and even unrelated individuals help raise young—reveal how teamwork in nature shapes survival and reproduction.
I study how environmental change and social structure influence reproductive success, focusing on the red-cockaded woodpecker to understand how social behavior and shifting conditions affect conservation outcomes.
Publications on my findings are coming soon. In the meantime, feel free to view my dissertation defense
(October 2025, fast-forward to around 36:11) read my final ETD or view a list of research media publications summarizing my work in the meantime.
Peer-reviewed Publications
MANUSCRIPTS IN PREPARATION, IN REVIEW, or IN REVISION:
- Pharr, L.D. (Editor). 2026. Inclusive Nature: Science, Equity, and the Outdoors. In Prep, Johns Hopkins University Press.
- Burgess, M.L.; Pharr, L.D.; Stukes, K.A. Addressing Social Field Safety as a Proponent of the Natural Sciences Workplace. In Review, BioScience.
PUBLISHED:
- Lerose, C. S., Peterson, M. N., Larson, L. R., Casola, W., Pharr, L. D., Price, C. S., … & Barber, A. (2026). Assessing public attitudes towards sharks using the Implicit Association Test. Marine Policy, 188, 107076.
- Pharr, L. D., Moorman, C. E., Hostetter, N. J., Sorenson, C. E., Walters, J. R., & Cooper, C. B. (2026). Increasing density from population recovery does not explain elevated partial brood loss in a threatened cooperative breeder. Ornithological Applications, duag013.
- Pharr, L. D., & Lanham, J. D. (2023). The Hopeful “Black Birder”: Living Vicariously through Birds. The Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, 104(2), e02055.
- Pharr, L. D., Cooper, C. B., Evans, B., Moorman, C. E., Voss, M. A., Vukomanovic, J., & Marra, P. P. (2023). Using citizen science data to investigate annual survival rates of resident birds in relation to noise and light pollution. Urban Ecosystems, 26(6), 1629-1637.
- Beall, J. M., Pharr, L. D., von Furstenberg, R., Barber, A., Casola, W. R., Vaughn, A., … & Larson, L. R. (2023). The influence of YouTube videos on human tolerance of sharks. Animal Conservation, 26(2), 154-164.
Select awards and achievements
• The Longleaf Alliance‘s Regional Longleaf Award – Emerging Leader 2024
• North Carolina State University‘s Equity in Women Award 2024
• North Carolina Wildlife Federation’s Governor’s Conservation Achievement Award 2023
• Science Communicators of North Carolina (SCONC) Journalism Division Award 2022
• Wingate University‘s Undergraduate Research Award in Pure and Applied Sciences 2019