The USGS Alaska Science Center Ecosystems Analytics program is a group of quantitative biologists and research statisticians who provide analytical support to USGS scientists to answer challenging ecological topics and management questions for USGS partners.
Rebecca Taylor, Ph.D.
As a Principle Investigator and Research Statistician, I create science to support critical management decisions for hard to study species in a changing environment.
Such situations produce data that tend to be sparse, biased and/or imprecise, and have large knowledge gaps. Thus, I specialize in modifying state-of-the-art analytical and computational approaches for complex problems and intractable data, as well as creating new statistical theory and techniques when existing methods are inadequate. I routinely use Bayesian and frequentist paradigms.
Species Studied
My career-long species affiliations have varied across the plant and animal kingdoms, but my USGS research centers on marine mammals. I maintain a strong, decade-long collaboration with walrus researchers at USGS, USFWS and ADFG, and I have recently expanded my work to include collaborative sea otter and polar bear research.
Three-year goals
My highest priority goals include five different projects to estimate Pacific walrus abundance (while also refining estimates of their demographic rates and population trend). The Department of Interior needs population size and status information to manage this trust species which is an important resource for native subsistence hunters, is protected and managed under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and was an endangered species candidate until the 2017 decision not to list—a decision which is being litigated by the Center for Biological Diversity. I also have ongoing demographic work using age-at-death distributions to estimate vital rates, in addition to mechanistic modeling for other species of concern.
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. 2009 Montana State University-Bozeman, MT Fish and Wildlife Biology
M.S. 2008 Montana State University-Bozeman, MT Statistics
M.S. 2001 Montana State University-Bozeman, MT Land Resources and Environmental Sciences
B.S. 1991 University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI Natural Science with majors in Wildlife Ecology and Zoology
Science and Products
Walrus Research
Ecosystems Analytics
Walrus Haulout and In-water Activity Levels Relative to Vessel Interactions in the Chukchi Sea, 2012-2015
Walrus used and available resource units for northeast Chukchi Sea, 2008-2012
Walrus Haulout and In-water Activity Levels Relative to Sea Ice Availability in the Chukchi Sea: 2008-2014
The USGS Alaska Science Center Ecosystems Analytics program is a group of quantitative biologists and research statisticians who provide analytical support to USGS scientists to answer challenging ecological topics and management questions for USGS partners.
Sea ice in the Chukchi Sea in 2013.
Sea ice in the Chukchi Sea in 2013.
Walrus reflections in the water. Taken from a USGS research cruise in the Chukchi Sea,
Walrus reflections in the water. Taken from a USGS research cruise in the Chukchi Sea,
Pacific walrus resting on ice in the Chukchi Sea, Alaska. This field work was part a satellite tagging expedition in the northwest Chukchi Sea to understand movement patterns, foraging behaviors of walruses and important summering habitats.
Pacific walrus resting on ice in the Chukchi Sea, Alaska. This field work was part a satellite tagging expedition in the northwest Chukchi Sea to understand movement patterns, foraging behaviors of walruses and important summering habitats.
Assessing the sustainability of Pacific walrus harvest in a changing environment
Assessing the population consequences of disturbance and climate change for the Pacific walrus
Assessing the sustainability of Pacific walrus harvest in a changing environment
Exploring effects of vessels on walrus behaviors using telemetry, automatic identification system data and matching
Estimating reproductive and juvenile survival rates when offspring ages are uncertain: A novel multievent mark-resight model with beluga whale case study
Brown bear–sea otter interactions along the Katmai coast: Terrestrial and nearshore communities linked by predation
Barrier islands influence the assimilation of terrestrial energy in nearshore fishes
Estimating Pacific walrus abundance and survival with multievent mark-recapture models
Arctic marine ecosystems are undergoing rapid physical and biological change associated with climate warming and loss of sea ice. Sea ice loss will impact many species through altered spatial and temporal availability of resources. In the Bering and Chukchi Seas, the Pacific walrus Odobenus rosmarus divergens is one species that could be impacted by rapid environmental change, and thus, population
Regional walrus abundance estimate in the United States Chukchi Sea in autumn
Abundance and distribution of sea otters (Enhydra lutris) in the southcentral Alaska stock, 2014, 2017, and 2019
Design considerations for estimating survival rates with standing age structures
Demography of the Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) in a changing Arctic
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
Walrus Research
Ecosystems Analytics
Walrus Haulout and In-water Activity Levels Relative to Vessel Interactions in the Chukchi Sea, 2012-2015
Walrus used and available resource units for northeast Chukchi Sea, 2008-2012
Walrus Haulout and In-water Activity Levels Relative to Sea Ice Availability in the Chukchi Sea: 2008-2014
The USGS Alaska Science Center Ecosystems Analytics program is a group of quantitative biologists and research statisticians who provide analytical support to USGS scientists to answer challenging ecological topics and management questions for USGS partners.
The USGS Alaska Science Center Ecosystems Analytics program is a group of quantitative biologists and research statisticians who provide analytical support to USGS scientists to answer challenging ecological topics and management questions for USGS partners.
Sea ice in the Chukchi Sea in 2013.
Sea ice in the Chukchi Sea in 2013.
Walrus reflections in the water. Taken from a USGS research cruise in the Chukchi Sea,
Walrus reflections in the water. Taken from a USGS research cruise in the Chukchi Sea,
Pacific walrus resting on ice in the Chukchi Sea, Alaska. This field work was part a satellite tagging expedition in the northwest Chukchi Sea to understand movement patterns, foraging behaviors of walruses and important summering habitats.
Pacific walrus resting on ice in the Chukchi Sea, Alaska. This field work was part a satellite tagging expedition in the northwest Chukchi Sea to understand movement patterns, foraging behaviors of walruses and important summering habitats.
Assessing the sustainability of Pacific walrus harvest in a changing environment
Assessing the population consequences of disturbance and climate change for the Pacific walrus
Assessing the sustainability of Pacific walrus harvest in a changing environment
Exploring effects of vessels on walrus behaviors using telemetry, automatic identification system data and matching
Estimating reproductive and juvenile survival rates when offspring ages are uncertain: A novel multievent mark-resight model with beluga whale case study
Brown bear–sea otter interactions along the Katmai coast: Terrestrial and nearshore communities linked by predation
Barrier islands influence the assimilation of terrestrial energy in nearshore fishes
Estimating Pacific walrus abundance and survival with multievent mark-recapture models
Arctic marine ecosystems are undergoing rapid physical and biological change associated with climate warming and loss of sea ice. Sea ice loss will impact many species through altered spatial and temporal availability of resources. In the Bering and Chukchi Seas, the Pacific walrus Odobenus rosmarus divergens is one species that could be impacted by rapid environmental change, and thus, population
Regional walrus abundance estimate in the United States Chukchi Sea in autumn
Abundance and distribution of sea otters (Enhydra lutris) in the southcentral Alaska stock, 2014, 2017, and 2019
Design considerations for estimating survival rates with standing age structures
Demography of the Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) in a changing Arctic
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.