Dr. Chris Butler joined the TAMU Biology Department in 2022 as an Instructional Associate Professor and the EEB program Fall 2023. His current research is twofold: (1) exploring the ecology, conservation, and management of secretive marsh birds; and (2) modeling the effects of climate change on the distribution, phenology, and survivorship of a variety of different organisms. His secretive marsh bird research focuses primarily on the federally threatened Eastern Black Rail and the rare Yellow Rail exploring how grazing, prescribed burns, and other management techniques may help maintain or create suitable habitat for these species. His climate change modeling research has been conducted on a variety of vertebrates (e.g., migratory birds, alligator gar), plants (e.g., palms and cacti), parasites (e.g., Angiostrongylus), and others to explore how climate change may affect survivorship, phenology, and distribution of these organisms.