Publications

We assessed whether the mass of Adélie penguin Pygoscelis adeliae fledglings at 3 colonies of markedly disparate size on Ross Island, Ross Sea, correlated with their eventual return as subadults. We compared our results with those from Anvers Island, Bellingshausen Sea. Colony sizes at Ross Island have been increasing, contrary to decreasing size at Anvers Island. At Ross Island, during...

Accurate population estimates and assessments of trajectory are an essential part of harvest management for game species and conservation action plans for protected species. Long-term monitoring can lead to ecological understanding by identifying biotic and abiotic drivers of population dynamics. Spotlight surveys are a widely used method to monitor abundance and size-class structure of

Pollinator conservation efforts and growing interest in wild bee pollination have increased markedly in the last decade, making it increasingly important to have clear and practical estimates of the value of pollinators to agriculture. We used agricultural statistics, socio-economic producer surveys, and agronomic field research data to estimate traditional pollination value metrics and...

A history of overexploitation and industrialization of riverine habitats has impacted the Shortnose Sturgeon Acipenser brevirostrum, leading this species to become one of the earliest listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The present understanding of Shortnose Sturgeon spatial ecology is based on observations from a limited number of Atlantic coastal rivers. To better understand...

Introduced pathogens can affect fish populations, and three main factors affect disease occurrence: the environment, host, and pathogen. Manipulating at least one of these factors is necessary for controlling disease. Myxobolus cerebralis, the parasite responsible for salmonid whirling disease, became established in Colorado during the 1990s and caused significant declines in wild...

Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis Engelm.) has recently experienced high mortality due to multiple stressors, and future population viability may rely on natural regeneration. We assessed whitebark pine seedling densities throughout the US Rocky Mountains and identified stand, site, and climatic variables related to seedling presence based on data from 1,217 USDA Forest Service Forest...

Trap and haul programs are used to conserve fish populations by circumventing high mortality locations or events, and enhancing population abundance by reintroducing fish to historical habitats and mitigating for fish passage limitations. Spring run Chinook Salmon are transported in trucks upstream of barrier dams in Willamette River Tributaries as part of fish conservation efforts. Fish

Effective conservation of endangered North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) requires information about their spatio-temporal distribution. Understanding temporal distribution is particularly important, because a portion of the population migrates between high latitude summer feeding grounds off the northeastern U.S. and Canadian Maritimes coasts and lower latitude calving and...

In forested landscapes, creation of habitat for early-successional shrubland birds is controversial because of perceived conflicts with the conservation of mature-forest birds. Nonetheless, many mature-forest birds, especially fledglings, readily use early-successional stands during the post-breeding period. This suggests that for mature-forest birds, creating habitat for early...

The ratio of juvenile to adult birds in mist-net samples is used to monitor avian productivity, but whether it is a “true” estimate of per capita productivity or an index proportional to productivity depends on whether capture probability is not age-dependent (true estimate) or age difference in capture probability is consistent among years (index). Better understanding of the processes...

Expanding populations of North American midcontinent lesser snow geese (Anser caerulescens caerulescens) have potential to alter ecosystems throughout the Arctic and subarctic where they breed. Efforts to understand origins of harvested lesser snow geese to better inform management decisions have traditionally required mark-recapture approaches, while aerial photographic surveys have...

In their recently published report, State of the Mountain Lion: A Call to End Trophy Hunting of America’s Lion, the Humane Society of the United States suggested that mountain lion (Puma concolor) hunting should be abolished in the United States. The report claims this recommendation is based on scientific arguments that demonstrate the overharvest of mountain lions throughout much of...