Illustration by Elizabeth "Lizzy" Lang, Graduate Research Assistant, Iowa State University.
Anna Tucker, PhD
Assistant Unit Leader - Iowa Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Dr. Tucker joined the Iowa Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit as Assistant Unit Leader in 2021. Prior to joining the Iowa Unit, Dr. Tucker received a M.S. degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, a Ph.D. from Auburn University, and was a postdoctoral researcher at the USGS Eastern Ecological Research Center (formerly Patuxent Wildlife Research Center). Her research themes include wildlife population ecology and demographics, population viability analysis, and wildlife-habitat associations, with an emphasis on the use of quantitative methods and hierarchical modeling to analyze demographic data. Most of her research has focused on migratory shorebirds, songbirds, and waterfowl, but she has also worked with other species of conservation concern including pollinators and herptofauna. Her work also involves using structured decision making to assist state and federal managers with decision making in the face of uncertainty. Dr. Tucker teaches a graduate-level class on Decision-support Modeling and has led workshops on Bayesian population analysis methods.
Professional Experience
Assistant Unit Leader, Iowa Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, 2021-
Science and Products
Optimal strategies for managing wildlife harvest under climate change
Decision context as an essential component of population viability analysis
Red Knot Migration and Population Ecology
Informing Management of Waterfowl Harvest in a Changing Climate
Illustration by Elizabeth "Lizzy" Lang, Graduate Research Assistant, Iowa State University.
Lizzy Lang, graduate research assistant, Iowa State University, leads research on Blanding’s Turtle. Lizzy’s project helps decision-makers in Iowa and Illinois to make informed decisions about the endangered Blanding’s turtle.
Lizzy Lang, graduate research assistant, Iowa State University, leads research on Blanding’s Turtle. Lizzy’s project helps decision-makers in Iowa and Illinois to make informed decisions about the endangered Blanding’s turtle.
Optimal harvest of a theoretical population under system change
Integrated population model for red knot in Delaware Bay
Optimal horseshoe crab harvest policies via approximate dynamic programming
Science and Products
- Publications
Optimal strategies for managing wildlife harvest under climate change
Wildlife populations are experiencing shifting dynamics due to climate and landscape change. Management policies that fail to account for non‐stationary dynamics may fail to achieve management objectives. We establish a framework for understanding optimal strategies for managing a theoretical harvested population under non‐stationarity. Building from harvest theory, we develop scenarios representiAuthorsAnna Maureen Tucker, Michael C. RungeDecision context as an essential component of population viability analysis
Population viability analysis (PVA) is a widely used tool that applies demographic data in simulation frameworks to assess extinction risk for species or populations. It is used in diverse conservation applications, including evaluating management effectiveness, relative risk of threats, and potential changes to protective status (Beissinger & McCullough, 2002), and can be a critical tool for makiAuthorsAbigail Jean Lawson, Brian Folt, Anna Maureen Tucker, Francesca T. Erickson, Conor P. McGowan - Science
Red Knot Migration and Population Ecology
Eastern Ecological Science Center biologists are studying migration and population ecology of the rufa red knot, a bird species that is dependent on horseshoe crab eggs to complete its trans-hemispheric migration. The birds' spring migration is timed with spawning of horseshoe crabs because the eggs are the perfect food for a migrating red knot.Informing Management of Waterfowl Harvest in a Changing Climate
The ability to effectively manage wildlife in North America is founded in an understanding of how human actions and the environment influence wildlife populations. Current management practices are informed by population monitoring data from the past to determine key ecological relationships and make predictions about future population status. In most cases, including the regulation of waterfowl hu - Multimedia
Lizzy's Northern Bobwhite
Illustration by Elizabeth "Lizzy" Lang, Graduate Research Assistant, Iowa State University.
Illustration by Elizabeth "Lizzy" Lang, Graduate Research Assistant, Iowa State University.
Lizzy's Blanding's TurtleLizzy Lang, graduate research assistant, Iowa State University, leads research on Blanding’s Turtle. Lizzy’s project helps decision-makers in Iowa and Illinois to make informed decisions about the endangered Blanding’s turtle.
Lizzy Lang, graduate research assistant, Iowa State University, leads research on Blanding’s Turtle. Lizzy’s project helps decision-makers in Iowa and Illinois to make informed decisions about the endangered Blanding’s turtle.
- Software
Optimal harvest of a theoretical population under system change
This code solves optimal harvest policies under different scenarios of system change, represented as changes in demographic parameters over time. This document contains code to solve policies using backwards iteration stochastic dynamic programming, project populations forward to simulate the policies, and generate figures.Integrated population model for red knot in Delaware Bay
This is code for an integrated population model developed to understand the effect of horseshoe crab abundance on population demographics of red knot, an Arctic-breeding shorebird. This model was developed as part of the revision to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Adaptive Resource Management Plan for horseshoe crabs.Optimal horseshoe crab harvest policies via approximate dynamic programming
Approximate Dynamic Programming relies on forward simulation of the system, so two population projection models are used, one for crabs and one for red knots. The two models are linked: HSC abundance is a predictor variable in the REKN model. Other useful outputs are produced as well, such as predictions of future harvest.