EDUCATION
University of Toledo, Toledo, OH USA | 2024 | Ph.D. Biology (Ecology track)
University Fellow | Dissertation: Consequences of drought for post-fledging survival and population dynamics in desert songbirds
University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA | May 2020 | M.S. Biology (Ecology track)
Teaching & Research Assistant | Thesis: Post-fledging and migration ecology of Gray Vireos (Vireo vicinior) and using ArtScience to explore gender and identity
Ball State University, Muncie, IN, USA | December 2016 | B.F.A. Printmaking, B.S. Biology
Cum Laude, Honors College, Dean's List 6/9 semesters | Thesis: Bird-window collisions and research-based art series
Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, England | June 2013 | US-UK Fulbright Summer Institute
PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS, PREPRINTS, & BOOK CHAPTERS
Fischer, S.E., J.G. Otten, A.M. Lindsay, D.B. Miles, and H.M. Streby. Drab and distant birds are studied less than their fancy-feathered friends. bioRxiv preprint.
Fischer, S.E., J.J. Jackson, E. Hoffman, H.M. Streby, and T.L. Spanbauer. Trans-oceanic diatom dispersal potential via Nearctic-Neotropical migratory songbirds. In review.
Fischer, S.E., G.R. Kramer, M. Baumann, E. Fahy, K. Granillo, and H.M. Streby. Migration ecology and evidence for nonbreeding sexual segregation in Gray Vireos. In review.
Fischer, S.E. 2022. “MOLTING TOGETHER: Using ArtScience to Explore Gender and Otherness with Songbirds.” in: Artworks for Jellyfish and Other Others. T. Hiebert and A. Boetzkes, eds. Washington, Bothell: Noxious Sector Press. ISBN 1990766013. Book PDF / purchase a physical copy
Fischer, S.E., K. Granillo, and H.M. Streby. 2022. Post-fledging survival, movements, and habitat associations of Gray Vireos in New Mexico. Avian Conservation and Ecology 17: 13. https://doi.org/10.5751/ACE-02053-170113.
DiLiberto, J.F., M.R. Stahl, S.E. Fischer, and K. Granillo. 2022. Do attributes of Gray Vireo nest sites influence Brown-headed Cowbird brood parasitism? Western Birds 53: 43-51.
Fischer, S.E. 2020. Post-fledging and Migration Ecology of Gray Vireos (Vireo vicinior) and Using ArtScience to Explore Gender and Identity. MS Thesis, The University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA.
Fischer, S.E., and K. Islam. 2020. Identifying bird-window collisions on a university campus during spring and fall migration. Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Sciences 129: 47-55.
Stevens, H.C., and S.E. Fischer. 2018. Novel nest construction behavior in Gray Vireos. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 130: 1020-1023.
AWARDS AND GRANTS
2022 Out to Innovate — Career Development Fellowship for Trans & Intersex in STEM ($2500)
American Philosophical Society — Lewis and Clark Fund Award ($4400)
UToledo Graduate Student Association Research Award ($1900)
T&E, Inc. — Conservation Biology Research Grant ($2500)
2021 Wilson Ornithological Society – Louis Agassiz Fuertes Research Award ($2500)
American Ornithological Society – COVID-Relief Research Award ($1000)
University of Toledo Dept. of Environmental Sciences Student Research Award ($750)
College Art Association (CAA) – Conference Support Grant ($100)
2020 Environmental Graduate Students Travel Award (University of Toledo; $500)
2019 James Wozniak Memorial Scholarship (Equality Toledo; $500)
University Fellowship; fully-funded Ph.D. support
Conservation Leaders for Tomorrow Workshop Scholarship
2018 New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Share with Wildlife Grant (PI Henry Streby; $23k)
The Wildlife Society - Student Travel Grant ($500)
Sevilleta LTER Graduate Summer Research Fellowship ($4,000)
New Mexico Ornithological Society Ryan Beaulieu Research Grant ($1,000)
American Ornithological Society – Student Travel Grant ($400)
2017 Sevilleta LTER Graduate Summer Research Fellowship ($4,000)
New Mexico Ornithological Society Ryan Beaulieu Research Grant ($1,000)
Joe and Carol Trimmer Award for Outstanding Honors Thesis (Ball State University; $1,000)
Outstanding Senior in Printmaking (Ball State University)
Outstanding Undergraduate in Field Sciences Award (Ball State University)
National Military Fish and Wildlife Association Scholarship ($1,000)
2016 Cum Laude (Ball State University)
Ball State University Presidential Scholarship Extension ($12,000)
Herbert and Mary Ladd Minshall Art Scholarship ($7,000)
American Ornithological Society – Student Travel Award ($200)
Minnetrista Annual Juried Art Show – Merit Award (for “Collision 9: CAWA” print)
The Wildlife Professional – photo included in issue
The Wildlife Society North Central Section – Outstanding Wildlife Undergraduate ($500)
American Ornithologists’ Union Student Membership Award
2015 Janice Lee Fenske Memorial Award in Wildlife – Finalist
Bernadette H. Perham Scholarship (Indiana Women of Achievement; $800)
Herbert and Mary Ladd Minshall Art Scholarship ($4000)
Udall Scholarship Foundation Honorable Mention (Environmental)
Gordy’s Fine Art & Framing Co. Award (for Sleeping in Detroit serigraph)
ASPiRE Undergraduate Student Grant ($300)
2014 Ball State University Honors Undergraduate Research Fellowship ($2,000)
Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship ($5,000)
Garden Club of America Summer Environmental Studies Scholarship ($2,000)
Phyllis Ann Yuhas Study Abroad Scholarship ($500)
American Society of Landscape Architects: Student Collaboration Honor Award
Newman Civic Fellow (Public Leadership)
2013 US-‐UK Fulbright Summer Institute Scholarship
2012 Ball State University Presidential Scholarship in the Arts ($48,000)
Ball State University Presidential Academic Scholarship ($48,000)
National Gold Medal, National Scholastic Art and Writing Awards Program
AP Scholar with Honor
Excellence in Fine Arts Award, duPont Manual High School
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
Janke, A., S. Fischer, C. Olfenbuttel, and A. Tri. 2021. “From Bee Eaters to Bats: Exploring the Diversity of the LGBTQ+ Experience Among Wildlife Professionals.” The Wildlife Professional. May/June 2021 Special Diversity Issue.
Fischer, S.E., K. Granillo, and H.M. Streby. 2021. Full-season productivity of Gray Vireos at Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico: 2019-2020 Final Report.
1. Fischer, S.E., K. Granillo, and H.M. Streby. 2020. Full-season productivity of Gray Vireos at Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico: 2019 Final Report.
2. Fischer, S.E., K. Granillo, and H.M. Streby. 2019. Full-season productivity of Gray Vireos at Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico: 2019 Interim Report and Preliminary Findings.
3. Fischer, S.E., K. Granillo, and H.M. Streby. 2018. Gray Vireo demography and migration on the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico: Annual Summary Report.
4. Streby, H.M., G.R. Kramer, A.L. Crary, R.K. Pagel, and S.E. Fischer. 2018. 2018 surveys of game and non-game birds at The Nature Conservancy’s Kitty Todd Preserve: Final Report.
5. Fischer, S.E., K. Granillo, and H.M. Streby. 2017. Gray Vireo demography and migration on the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico: Annual Summary Report and Preliminary Findings.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
upcoming Molt | River House Arts (Contemporary Arts Toledo), Toledo, OH
2018 Pretty Queer | River House Arts (Contemporary Arts Toledo), Toledo, OH
Printer Jam III | The Muncie Makes Laboratory, Muncie, IN
2017 Beef Baby Beef Baby Beef Baby | The Muncie Makes Laboratory, Muncie, IN
Curio Cabinet | Indianapolis Art Center, Indianapolis, IN
Printer Jam III | 1111 Wheeling Ave, Muncie, IN
Ball State Annual Student Art Show | Ball State Atrium Gallery, Muncie, IN
Student and Mentor | Portland Art Center, Portland, IN
Intersections | University of Tennessee Downtown Gallery, Knoxville, TN
40 Years of Student Prints | Ball State Atrium Gallery, Muncie, IN
2016 Collisions BFA Thesis Exhibition | Ball State University Atrium Gallery, Muncie, IN
Open Space: Art About the Land | Minnetrista, Muncie, IN
Monkey Thunder VI | Gordy’s Fine Art and Framing Co., Muncie, IN
Printmaking in Kentucky | Kaviar Forge & Gallery, Louisville, KY
Printer Jam II | Village Green Records, Muncie, IN
Printer Jam II | Wayne St., Muncie, IN
Ball State Annual Student Art Show | Ball State Atrium Gallery, Muncie, IN
Minnetrista Annual Juried Show | Minnetrista, Muncie, IN
2015 duPont Manual HS Alumni Show | Norma E. Brown Gallery, Louisville, KY
“Collisions” Print Series 1-‐6 | Glass intaglio | Ball State Residence Halls Permanent Collection
Ball State Annual Student Art Show | Ball State Atrium Gallery, Muncie, IN
reSENSITIZE | Ball State University Atrium Gallery, Muncie, IN January 2015
2014 aeiou | Janney Ave., Muncie, IN
Passenger Pigeons | Minnetrista, Muncie, IN
Sleeping in Detroit | Ball State L.A. Pittenger Student Center, Muncie, IN Permanent Collection
The Grid | The Cup, Muncie, IN
The Art of Injustice | The Cup, Muncie, IN
Muncie Arts Walk | The Rose Court, Muncie, IN
2013 Fulbright Summer Institute Exhibition | Nottingham Trent University, England
Foundations Show | Ball State University Atrium Gallery, Muncie, IN
2012 Impressions | The Cup, Muncie, IN
The World Is Ending | The Cup, Muncie, IN
Scholastic Art Awards Exhibition | Parsons the New School for Design, New York City, NY
Scholastics Art Awards Exhibition | Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, Louisville, KY
Treasures | Norma E. Brown Gallery, Louisville, KY
Fresh Prints | Kate Torp Gallery, Louisville, KY
Circadian Rhythm | Norma E. Brown Gallery, Louisville, KY
TEACHING AND MENTORING EXPERIENCE
NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Mentor | Sevilleta LTER | 2017-2022
LGBTQIA+ SUCCEED Professional Mentor | Office of Multicultural Student Success, U. Toledo | 2018-present
Teaching Assistant | Biodesign Challenge, U. Toledo | 2018
| Down to Earth: Environmental Science, U. Toledo | 2017-2018
| Environmental Solutions Laboratory, U. Toledo | 2019
| General Ecology Lab, U. Toledo | 2023
Co-Mentor, National Science Foundation REU Program, Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge | 2017-2020
SELECTED BIOLOGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS
2017 Cerulean Warbler geolocator attachment | Condor: Ornithological Applications 119: 849.
Southern Flying Squirrel | Southern Bat Diversity Network conference logo
2016 Golden-winged Warbler | Studies in Avian Biology (CRC Press) cover | ISBN 9781482240689
Golden-winged Warbler | National Military Fish and Wildlife Association conference
Northern Long-eared Bat | National Military Fish and Wildlife Association conference
Habitat paintings | Red-tail Land Conservancy promotional materials
2015 Sandhill Crane | National Military Fish and Wildlife Association conference logo
PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATIONS
Oral: S.E. Fischer*, J. Otten, A.M. Lindsay, D.B. Miles, and H.M. Streby. 2023. Ornithological wallflowers? Drab, distant, and dinky birds are studied less than their fancy-feathered friends. The Wildlife Society (TWS) Annual Meeting, Louisville, KY.
Oral: S.E. Fischer*, K. Glanville, K. Granillo, and H.M. Streby. 2022. Thirst trap: Experimental evidence for drought-related fledgling mortality as a demographic bottleneck driving desert songbird declines. Wilson Ornithological Society (WOS) Annual Meeting, Santa Fe, NM.
Oral: H.M. Streby, Fischer, S.E., G.R. Kramer, E. Berz, P. Ruhl, D. Aborn, and R. Huffines. 2022. Are opposing population trends between sympatrically breeding wood-warblers associated with migratory connectivity? Wilson Ornithological Society (WOS) Annual Meeting, Santa Fe, NM.
Poster: S.E. Fischer*, C. Olfenbuttel, T. Booms, K. O’Donnell, A. Janke, A. Tri, L. Hillard, A. Harrington, C. Freymiller, and C. Crow. 2022. LGBTQIA+ wildlifers “Out in the Field”. University of Toledo College of Natural Sciences & Mathematics 1st Inaugural Diversity in STEM Day. Toledo, OH.
Oral: S.E. Fischer*, G.R. Kramer, E. Berz, P. Ruhl, D. Aborn, R. Huffines, and H.M. Streby. 2021. Louisiana Waterthrush and Worm-eating Warblers with opposing breeding population trends are spatially segregated during the non-breeding season. The Wildlife Society (TWS) Annual Meeting, virtual/online.
Oral: S.E. Fischer*. 2021. Molting together: Using artscience to explore gender and otherness with songbirds. Session: “Artworks of the Future / Artworks for Jellyfish.” Session organizer: T. Hiebert; participants: A. Boetzkes, S.E. Fischer*, and R. Nakajima. College Art Association, virtual/online.
† Oral: S.E. Fischer*. 2020. Queering wildlife fieldwork: a transgender wildlifer’s perspective. Invited talk and panelist for “Much More Than a First Aid Kit: Keeping Everyone Safe in the Field” symposium. Symposium organizer: K. Granillo; Women of Wildlife. The Wildlife Society (TWS) Annual Meeting, Virtual/online. † Online presentation due to COVID-19
† Oral: S.E. Fischer*, K. Granillo, and H.M. Streby. 2020. Post-fledging survival, habitat associations, and movements of Gray Vireos in New Mexico. The Wildlife Society (TWS) Annual Meeting, Virtual/online. † Online presentation due to COVID-19
Oral: S.E. Fischer*, M. Baumann, E. Fahy, G.R. Kramer, K. Granillo, and H.M. Streby. 2019. Tracking Gray Vireo migration using light-level geolocators. The Wildlife Society (TWS) and American Fisheries Society (AFS) Joint Annual Meeting, Reno, NV.
Oral: S.E. Fischer*, K. Granillo, and H.M. Streby. 2019. Severe drought negatively impacts juvenile survival, but not nest survival, in an arid land songbird. Ecological Society of America (ESA), Louisville, KY.
Poster: S.M. Bauernfeind*, D.L. Wiley, L.N. Barrow, J.L. Williamson, S.E. Fischer, H.M. Streby, and C.C. Witt. 2019. Haemosporidians in vireos: insights on coevolution from a comparison of elevational-replacement species. American Ornithological Society, Anchorage, AK.
Oral. S.E. Fischer*, K. Granillo, and H.M. Streby. 2018. Tracking under-studied songbirds in the desert: the post-fledging period of Gray Vireos at Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, NM. (The Wildlife Society national conference, Cleveland, OH)
Oral. S.E. Fischer*, K. Granillo, and H.M. Streby. 2018. Inter-annual variability in the post-fledging period of Gray Vireos in New Mexico. (Western Field Ornithologists' meeting, Ventura, CA)
Oral: S.E. Fischer*, K. Granillo, and H.M. Streby. 2018. Beyond the nest: the post-fledging period in Gray Vireos. (56th New Mexico Ornithological Society Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM)
Poster: S.E. Fischer*, K. Granillo, H.C. Stevens, C.E. Nemes, and H.M. Streby. 2018. Tracking desert songbirds: the post-fledging period in Gray Vireos (Vireo vicinior). (78th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference in Milwaukee, WI)
Oral: S.E. Fischer* and K. Islam. 2017. Bird-window collisions: a comparison of migration phenology and collision rates on a university campus in Indiana. (77th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference in Lincoln, NE)
Poster: S.E. Fischer* and K. Islam. 2016. Comparing migration phenology using bird-window collision rates on a university campus in Indiana. (North American Ornithological Conference [NAOC] in Washington, D.C.)
Oral: S.E. Fischer*, H.C. Stevens*, and K. Granillo. 2016. Gray Vireo (Vireo vicinior) nesting success and territory characteristics in Los Pinos Mountains. (2016 Sevilleta Research Symposium in La Joya, NM)
Poster: S.E. Fischer* and K. Islam. 2016. Bird-window collisions on a university campus: comparison of migration phenology and collision rates. (2016 Ball State Student Symposium in Muncie, IN)
Oral: S.E. Fischer* and K. Islam. 2016. Bird-window collisions on a university campus in Indiana: comparing collision rates and migration phenology. (131st Annual Indiana Academy of Science Meeting in Indianapolis, IN)
Poster: S.E. Fischer* and K. Islam. 2016. Bird-window collisions on a university campus: comparison of migration phenology and collision rates (76th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference in Grand Rapids, MI)
Poster: S. E. Fischer* and K. Islam. 2015. Bird-window collisions on the Ball State University campus. (2015 Ball State Student Symposium, Muncie, IN)
OTHER PRESENTATIONS AND DEMONSTRATIONS
Oral/Demonstration: S.E. Fischer* and A. Lindsay*. 2019. “Birds Do More than Poop: Migration, Bird Babies, and Life in the Desert”. Invited talk and bird banding demonstration, Stranahan Elementary School, 100 4th graders, Toledo, OH.
Oral: S.E. Fischer, C.E. Nemes*, and H.M. Streby. 2017. “Biscuits and GRVI”. (Klamath Bird Observatory Annual Meeting, OR)
Workshop/Visiting Artist: S.E. Fischer*. 2016. “Drawing Birds with High School Students”. (Presentation about bird-window collisions and led a drawing workshop with bird specimens for students at Muncie Central High School in Muncie, IN)
Demonstration: S.E. Fischer* and S.J. Johnson*. 2016. “Glass Intaglio with Sarojini Johnson and Sarah Fischer”. (Co-led a glass intaglio printmaking demo at MAPC 2016 in front of 50+ printmakers, Louisville, KY)
Demonstration: S.E. Fischer*. 2016. “Glass Intaglio at Grand Valley State University”. (Led a printmaking demo workshop as a visiting artist for advanced printmaking students, Grand Rapids, MI).
Oral: S. E. Fischer*. 2015. “Bird-window collisions on the Ball State University campus”. (Invited talk to the animal behavior class at Ball State University, Muncie, IN)
SCIENCE COMMUNICATION AND OTHER MEDIA
Episode 4, New Suns, Midwest Futures Podcast | 2021 | <https://podbay.fm/p/new-suns-midwest-futures>
Interviewed and featured in Episode 4 of a podcast series “centering Midwestern artists (born or relocated) working loosely around themes of place, identity, and social justice.” Charli Brissey + Marsae Mitchell, hosts.
“Glistening Glass Sculptures in the Desert Explore Bird Molt and Gender Transition.” | 2020| National Audubon Society Magazine. Written by Helen Santoro. <https://www.audubon.org/news/glistening-glass-sculptures-desert-explore-bird-molt-and-gender-transition>
“Gathering Data on Young Vireos.” | 2020| Project Highlight, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.
<https://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/gathering-data-on-young-vireos/>
“Collisions.” | 2018 | SciArt Initiative Magazine, Vol. 34. https://www.sciartmagazine.com/december2018contents.html
“Senior Makes Sense, Art Out of Bird-Window Crashes.” | 2016 | Ball State Magazine. Written by Anna Beyer. <https://magazine.bsu.edu/2016/07/07/birds-crash-windows-study/>