Lisa Webb, PhD
Regional Supervisor - Southern Region - Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units
In 2024, Lisa accepted the Unit Supervisor (South) Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit position. Unit scientists and unit supervisors work with cooperators to help them identify their needs, and unit supervisors ensure that all research conducted is aligned with the USGS mission.
Originally from upstate New York, Dr. Webb was the Assistant Unit Leader of the Missouri Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and Cooperative Associate Professor in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Missouri. Prior to joining the Missouri Unit in 2011, Dr. Webb received her undergraduate degree from Washington and Lee University and graduate degrees from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale and Texas Tech University.
Previously, Lisa was the applied water bird and wetland ecologist with a research program focused on understanding the interactions among species life history strategies, spatial ecology and distributions of wetland-dependent organisms. Her research expertise includes quantifying the role of spatial habitat configuration and composition in influencing distributions, behaviors, movements and fitness of wetland-dependent taxa. Lisa is particularly interested in investigating the mechanistic relationships and spatial processes of animal distributions, with an emphasis on understanding how these relationships are altered by management practices, anthropogenic activities and land use change. Her research incorporates field and lab experiments with remote-sensing tools, simulation modeling and quantitative methods to answer novel, applied wildlife research questions from local to continental scales.
Professional Experience
Unit Supervisor (South) USGS Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, 2024-
Assistant Unit Leader, Missouri Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, 2011-2024
Education and Certifications
Ph D Texas Tech University 2006
MS Southern Illinois University - Carbondale 2002
BA Washington and Lee University 1999
Science and Products
Study attributes and summary results of fish responses to restoration extracted from systematic review of studies published between 2010 and 2020
Study attributes and summary results of fish responses to restoration extracted from systematic review of studies published between 2010 and 2020. Data were used in meta-analysis as part of the publication "Are river restoration projects designed and evaluated to effectively address current stressors to inland fish and fisheries?" by Rogosch et al. Each row is data extracted from a study with comp
Filter Total Items: 60
Evaluating effectiveness of restoration to address current stressors to riverine fish
River restoration programmes with the goal of conserving and rehabilitating inland fishes have a multi-decadal history, but evaluation and synthesis of past restoration actions have been limited by a lack of monitoring and reporting. Given that calls for both monitoring and systematic reviews of restoration have increased, we were interested in the influence that restoration has had on improving c
Authors
Jane Rogosch, Hadley I. A. Boehm, Ralph W. Tingley, Kiah D. Wright, Elisabeth B. Webb, Craig P. Paukert
Nonbreeding waterfowl behavioral response to crewed and uncrewed aerial surveys on conservation areas in Missouri
Monitoring waterfowl populations provides the basis for improving habitat quantity and quality, establishing harvest regulations, and ensuring sustainable waterfowl populations through appropriate management. Waterfowl biologists currently use a variety of population and habitat monitoring methods ranging from informal ground observations to low-level occupied aircraft surveys. Although unoccupied
Authors
Reid A. Viegut, Elisabeth B. Webb, Andrew H. Raedeke, Zhicheng Tang, Yang Zhang, Yi Shang
Detection probability and bias in machine-learning-based unoccupied aerial system non-breeding waterfowl surveys
Unoccupied aerial systems (UASs) may provide cheaper, safer, and more accurate and precise alternatives to traditional waterfowl survey techniques while also reducing disturbance to waterfowl. We evaluated availability and perception bias based on machine-learning-based non-breeding waterfowl count estimates derived from aerial imagery collected using a DJI Mavic Pro 2 on Missouri Department of Co
Authors
Reid Viegut, Elisabeth B. Webb, Andrew Raedeke, Zhicheng Tang, Yang Zhang, Zhenduo Zhai, Zhiguang Liu, Shiqi Wang, Jiuyi Zheng, Yi Shang
Spatiotemporal dynamics of duck harvest distributions in the Central and Mississippi flyways, 1960–2019
Geographical distributions of waterfowl exhibit annual variation in response to spatiotemporal variation in weather conditions, habitat availability, and other factors. Continuing changes in climate and land use could lead to persistent shifts of waterfowl distributions, potentially causing a mismatch with habitat conservation planning, wetland restoration efforts, and harvest management decisions
Authors
Bram H. F. Verheijen, Elisabeth B. Webb, Michael G. Brasher, Heath M. Hagy
An agent-based model to quantify energetics, movement and habitat selection of mid-continent mallards in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley
The dynamics of wintering waterfowl populations at the landscape scale are the result of complex interactions of environmental, behavioral and energetic drivers. Agent-based models provide a method to directly link these factors in a spatially explicit framework and allow the emergence of patterns from the aggregation of individual agent actions. We adapted the Spatially-explicit Waterbird Agent-b
Authors
Florian G. Weller, Elisabeth B. Webb, Sean Fogenburg, William S. Beatty, Dylan Kesler, Robert H. Blenk, Kevin M. Ringelman, Matt L. Miller, John M. Eadie
Wetland management practices and secretive marsh bird habitat in the Mississippi Flyway: A review
Management regimes on publicly owned freshwater wetlands in the Mississippi Flyway of North America (i.e., Flyway) have historically emphasized waterfowl, but there is limited information on how waterfowl-focused wetland management affects other wetland-dependent wildlife. Secretive marsh birds (SMBs) depend on wetlands with emergent vegetation throughout their migratory life cycle and often encou
Authors
Kristen M. Malone, Elisabeth B. Webb, Doreen C. Mengel, Laura Kearns, Ann E. McKellar, Sumner W. Matteson, Benjamin R. Williams
Policy comparison of lead hunting ammunition bans and voluntary nonlead programs for California condors
The endangered California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) is negatively affected by lead poisoning from spent lead-based hunting ammunition. Because lead poisoning is the primary mortality factor affecting condors, the California Fish and Game Commission banned lead hunting ammunition during 2008 in the southern California condor range followed by a statewide ban implemented in 2019. In contrast,
Authors
John H. Schulz, Samantha Totoni, Sonja A. Wilhelm Stanis, Christine Jie Li, Mark Morgan, Damon M. Hall, Elisabeth B. Webb, Robin M. Rotman
Environmental drivers of autumn migration departure decisions in midcontinental mallards
BackgroundThe timing of autumn migration in ducks is influenced by a range of environmental conditions that may elicit individual experiences and responses from individual birds, yet most studies have investigated relationships at the population level. We used data from individual satellite-tracked mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) to model the timing and environmental drivers of autumn migration move
Authors
Florian G. Weller, William S. Beatty, Elisabeth B. Webb, Dylan C. Kesler, David G. Krementz, Kwasi Asante, Luke W. Naylor
Secretive marsh bird habitat relationships at mid-continent spring migration stopover sites
Despite several secretive marsh bird (SMB) species being listed as critically imperiled throughout the mid-continent of North America, limited information on SMB distribution and habitat use within primary migratory corridors results in uncertainty on contributions of wetlands in mid-latitude states toward their annual cycle needs. Our objectives were to quantify temporal patterns of SMB wetland o
Authors
Elisabeth B. Webb, E.B. Hill, K.M. Malone, D. Mengel
Seed treatments containing neonicotinoids and fungicides reduce aquatic insect richness and abundance in midwestern USA–managed floodplain wetlands
Agrochemicals including neonicotinoid insecticides and fungicides are frequently applied as seed treatments on corn, soybeans, and other common row crops. Crops grown from pesticide-treated seed are often directly planted in managed floodplain wetlands and used as a soil disturbance or food resource for wildlife. We quantified invertebrate communities within mid-latitude floodplain wetlands and as
Authors
K.J. Kuechle, Elisabeth B. Webb, D. Mengel, A.R. Main
Agent-based modeling of movements and habitat selection by mid-continent mallards
We found that the absence of existing conservation measures would reduce wintering mallard population size by ~70-80%, underlining the importance of current wetland easements for waterfowl foraging. Under standard conditions, the partial active flooding of easements later in the season and the upgrading of unmanaged wetlands to managed status resulted in greatest mallard populations, indicating th
Authors
Florian G. Weller, Elisabeth B. Webb, William S. Beatty, Sean Fogenburg, Dylan Kesler, Robert H. Blenk, John M. Eadie, Kevin Ringelman, Matt L. Miller
Secretive marsh bird habitat associations in the Mississippi Flyway: A meta-analysis
Secretive marsh birds, including rails and bitterns, have experienced widespread population declines due to the loss of wetland habitat on which they depend. Because of their cryptic behavior, secretive marsh birds are challenging to study and information on their habitat requirements is limited, especially across the full annual cycle. Quantifying habitat associations throughout the annual cycle
Authors
K.M. Malone, Elisabeth B. Webb, D. Mengel, L. Kearns, S.W. Matteson, A.E. McKellar
Science and Products
Study attributes and summary results of fish responses to restoration extracted from systematic review of studies published between 2010 and 2020
Study attributes and summary results of fish responses to restoration extracted from systematic review of studies published between 2010 and 2020. Data were used in meta-analysis as part of the publication "Are river restoration projects designed and evaluated to effectively address current stressors to inland fish and fisheries?" by Rogosch et al. Each row is data extracted from a study with comp
Filter Total Items: 60
Evaluating effectiveness of restoration to address current stressors to riverine fish
River restoration programmes with the goal of conserving and rehabilitating inland fishes have a multi-decadal history, but evaluation and synthesis of past restoration actions have been limited by a lack of monitoring and reporting. Given that calls for both monitoring and systematic reviews of restoration have increased, we were interested in the influence that restoration has had on improving c
Authors
Jane Rogosch, Hadley I. A. Boehm, Ralph W. Tingley, Kiah D. Wright, Elisabeth B. Webb, Craig P. Paukert
Nonbreeding waterfowl behavioral response to crewed and uncrewed aerial surveys on conservation areas in Missouri
Monitoring waterfowl populations provides the basis for improving habitat quantity and quality, establishing harvest regulations, and ensuring sustainable waterfowl populations through appropriate management. Waterfowl biologists currently use a variety of population and habitat monitoring methods ranging from informal ground observations to low-level occupied aircraft surveys. Although unoccupied
Authors
Reid A. Viegut, Elisabeth B. Webb, Andrew H. Raedeke, Zhicheng Tang, Yang Zhang, Yi Shang
Detection probability and bias in machine-learning-based unoccupied aerial system non-breeding waterfowl surveys
Unoccupied aerial systems (UASs) may provide cheaper, safer, and more accurate and precise alternatives to traditional waterfowl survey techniques while also reducing disturbance to waterfowl. We evaluated availability and perception bias based on machine-learning-based non-breeding waterfowl count estimates derived from aerial imagery collected using a DJI Mavic Pro 2 on Missouri Department of Co
Authors
Reid Viegut, Elisabeth B. Webb, Andrew Raedeke, Zhicheng Tang, Yang Zhang, Zhenduo Zhai, Zhiguang Liu, Shiqi Wang, Jiuyi Zheng, Yi Shang
Spatiotemporal dynamics of duck harvest distributions in the Central and Mississippi flyways, 1960–2019
Geographical distributions of waterfowl exhibit annual variation in response to spatiotemporal variation in weather conditions, habitat availability, and other factors. Continuing changes in climate and land use could lead to persistent shifts of waterfowl distributions, potentially causing a mismatch with habitat conservation planning, wetland restoration efforts, and harvest management decisions
Authors
Bram H. F. Verheijen, Elisabeth B. Webb, Michael G. Brasher, Heath M. Hagy
An agent-based model to quantify energetics, movement and habitat selection of mid-continent mallards in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley
The dynamics of wintering waterfowl populations at the landscape scale are the result of complex interactions of environmental, behavioral and energetic drivers. Agent-based models provide a method to directly link these factors in a spatially explicit framework and allow the emergence of patterns from the aggregation of individual agent actions. We adapted the Spatially-explicit Waterbird Agent-b
Authors
Florian G. Weller, Elisabeth B. Webb, Sean Fogenburg, William S. Beatty, Dylan Kesler, Robert H. Blenk, Kevin M. Ringelman, Matt L. Miller, John M. Eadie
Wetland management practices and secretive marsh bird habitat in the Mississippi Flyway: A review
Management regimes on publicly owned freshwater wetlands in the Mississippi Flyway of North America (i.e., Flyway) have historically emphasized waterfowl, but there is limited information on how waterfowl-focused wetland management affects other wetland-dependent wildlife. Secretive marsh birds (SMBs) depend on wetlands with emergent vegetation throughout their migratory life cycle and often encou
Authors
Kristen M. Malone, Elisabeth B. Webb, Doreen C. Mengel, Laura Kearns, Ann E. McKellar, Sumner W. Matteson, Benjamin R. Williams
Policy comparison of lead hunting ammunition bans and voluntary nonlead programs for California condors
The endangered California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) is negatively affected by lead poisoning from spent lead-based hunting ammunition. Because lead poisoning is the primary mortality factor affecting condors, the California Fish and Game Commission banned lead hunting ammunition during 2008 in the southern California condor range followed by a statewide ban implemented in 2019. In contrast,
Authors
John H. Schulz, Samantha Totoni, Sonja A. Wilhelm Stanis, Christine Jie Li, Mark Morgan, Damon M. Hall, Elisabeth B. Webb, Robin M. Rotman
Environmental drivers of autumn migration departure decisions in midcontinental mallards
BackgroundThe timing of autumn migration in ducks is influenced by a range of environmental conditions that may elicit individual experiences and responses from individual birds, yet most studies have investigated relationships at the population level. We used data from individual satellite-tracked mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) to model the timing and environmental drivers of autumn migration move
Authors
Florian G. Weller, William S. Beatty, Elisabeth B. Webb, Dylan C. Kesler, David G. Krementz, Kwasi Asante, Luke W. Naylor
Secretive marsh bird habitat relationships at mid-continent spring migration stopover sites
Despite several secretive marsh bird (SMB) species being listed as critically imperiled throughout the mid-continent of North America, limited information on SMB distribution and habitat use within primary migratory corridors results in uncertainty on contributions of wetlands in mid-latitude states toward their annual cycle needs. Our objectives were to quantify temporal patterns of SMB wetland o
Authors
Elisabeth B. Webb, E.B. Hill, K.M. Malone, D. Mengel
Seed treatments containing neonicotinoids and fungicides reduce aquatic insect richness and abundance in midwestern USA–managed floodplain wetlands
Agrochemicals including neonicotinoid insecticides and fungicides are frequently applied as seed treatments on corn, soybeans, and other common row crops. Crops grown from pesticide-treated seed are often directly planted in managed floodplain wetlands and used as a soil disturbance or food resource for wildlife. We quantified invertebrate communities within mid-latitude floodplain wetlands and as
Authors
K.J. Kuechle, Elisabeth B. Webb, D. Mengel, A.R. Main
Agent-based modeling of movements and habitat selection by mid-continent mallards
We found that the absence of existing conservation measures would reduce wintering mallard population size by ~70-80%, underlining the importance of current wetland easements for waterfowl foraging. Under standard conditions, the partial active flooding of easements later in the season and the upgrading of unmanaged wetlands to managed status resulted in greatest mallard populations, indicating th
Authors
Florian G. Weller, Elisabeth B. Webb, William S. Beatty, Sean Fogenburg, Dylan Kesler, Robert H. Blenk, John M. Eadie, Kevin Ringelman, Matt L. Miller
Secretive marsh bird habitat associations in the Mississippi Flyway: A meta-analysis
Secretive marsh birds, including rails and bitterns, have experienced widespread population declines due to the loss of wetland habitat on which they depend. Because of their cryptic behavior, secretive marsh birds are challenging to study and information on their habitat requirements is limited, especially across the full annual cycle. Quantifying habitat associations throughout the annual cycle
Authors
K.M. Malone, Elisabeth B. Webb, D. Mengel, L. Kearns, S.W. Matteson, A.E. McKellar