Allan O'Connell, Jr., Ph.D.
Allan O'Connell currently directs the quantitative modeling, monitoring, and endangered species branch at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center and works on endangered species conservation, predator-prey interactions, and the development and use of estimation techniques to assess biodiversity and changes in the vital rates of wildlife populations.
Biography
Allan O'Connell currently directs the quantitative modeling, monitoring, and endangered species programs of the U.S. Geological Survey's Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (PWRC) in Laurel, MD, the world-renowned ecological research center known for it's work on ecotoxicology, endangered species conservation, and population ecology. He is originally from New York City where he grew up in the shadows of the American Museum of Natural History (his father worked his entire career in the Ornithology Department). He has 30+ years of experience with the U.S. Department of Interior as a field biologist, natural resource and science program manager, research scientist, and most recently as a supervisory fish and wildlife administrator. He has held a variety of positions during this time including research scientist and research manager (USGS Patuxent), acting chief of the National Bird Banding Laboratory (USGS, Patuxent), first director of the National Park Service's (NPS) Cooperative Research Unit at the Univeristy of Maine's flagship campus in Orono (NPS and USGS), division chief for natural resource management and science at Acadia National Park (ME) and Fire Island National Seashore (NY). He has also worked as a biologist for the NPS at Gateway National Recreation Area (NY) and Fire Island, and began his career with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service as a plant quarantine inspector at Kennedy Airport. He holds a B.S. in Biology (Wagner College, NY), M.S. in Zoology (New York University) and a Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology (University of Massachusetts). He has over 60 technical publications and is the principal co-editor (and co-author of several chapters) of the book published (2011) by Springer Verlag - Camera Traps in Animal Ecology: Methods and Analyses, a treatise on the use and application of camera trapping, the technique that is revolutionizing how wildlife populations are being sampled around the world. His most recent work involves endangered species: use of camera trap data to develop population density estimates for the Florida panther, assessing the effects of predation on the highly endangered Lower Keys Marsh Rabbit and Key Largo woodrat and the effects of predator removal (raccoons) on the viability of beach-nesting birds and sea turtles along the Outer Banks. Additional work focuses on the potential impacts of offshore energy development on wildlife. He has directed the development of the Atlantic seabird compendium, an historical, digital clearing house for compiling scientific survey that documents the occurrence of seabirds on the continental shelf between Maine and Florida, developed guidelines for statistical-based sampling of marine bird populations, and developed distribution models of seabird species to assess the impacts of proposed offshore wind energy facilities.
Education
1990-1995 University of Maine, Orono;
post-doctoral coursework: 18 credit hours: 12 - wildlife ecology, conservation biology, 6 - biometrics/statistics
1989 University of Massachusetts, Amherst; PhD, Wildlife Biology;
Dissertation: Population dynamics, habitat relationships, physiological parameters, Lyme disease, and management of a barrier island white-tailed deer population;
Advisor: Dr. Mark Sayre (deceased)
1980 New York University, NY, NY;
MS, Biology (concentration: Zoology), language competency: French;
Thesis: The relationships of mammals to the major vegetation communities in Gateway National Recreation Area, NY & NJ;
Advisor: Dr. Edwin Karp
1976 Wagner College, Staten Island, NY;
BS, Biology
Current Graduate Faculty appointments: Towson University (Department of Biological Sciences), University of Rhode Island (Department of Natural Resources Science), Univiersity of Delaware, Dept. of Wildlife and Entomology.
Recent graduate student committees and postdocs: Caitlin Graff (M.S. Towson University), Beth Gardner (Postdoctoral Fellow, USGS Patuxent), Arielle Waldstein (M.S. NC State), Matthew Krachey (Postdoctoral Fellow, NC State), Elise Zipkin (Postdoctoral Fellow, USGS Patuxent) ), Jessica Stocking (NC State), Nicholas Flanders (NC State).
Current Projects:
- Modeling of seabird distribution in the northwest Atlantic in anticipation of wind energy development; development of Atlantic seabird compendium
- Raccoon ecology and effects of predation on endangered species on the Outer Banks
- Use of structured decision-making for predator management and endangered species conservation
- Analysis of camera trap survey data and design of long-term monitoring program for the Florida Panther in southwest Florida
- Modeling of marsh bird distributions along the Atlantic coast in relation to sea level rise
- Assessing effects of predation on the endangered Lower Keys Marsh Rabbit and Key Largo Woodrat in the Florida Keys
Science and Products
Mammals
Our science portfolio includes the study and management of mammal populations, which can require the use of methods and analysis that incorporate the difficulty in detecting them – picture how hard it is to count and identify bats at dusk or estimate the number of mountain lions in an area.
Assessing Endangered Marsh Rabbit and Woodrat Habitat use and Predator Population Dynamics
Feral and free-ranging domestic cats (Felis catus) have strong negative effects on wildlife, particularly in island ecosystems such as the Florida Keys. We deployed camera traps to study free-ranging cats in National Wildlife Refuges and state parks on Big Pine Key and Key Largo and used spatial models to estimate cat population dynamics and stable isotope analyses to examine cat diets. Top...
Co‐occurrence dynamics of endangered Lower Keys marsh rabbits and free‐ranging domestic cats: Prey responses to an exotic predator removal program
The Lower Keys marsh rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris hefneri) is one of many endangered endemic species of the Florida Keys. The main threats are habitat loss and fragmentation from sea‐level rise, development, and habitat succession. Exotic predators such as free‐ranging domestic cats (Felis catus) pose an additional threat to these endangered small...
Cove, Michael V.; Gardner, Beth; Simons, Theodore R.; O'Connell, Allan F. Free-ranging domestic cats (Felis catus) on public lands: estimating density, activity, and diet in the Florida Keys
Feral and free-ranging domestic cats (Felis catus) can have strong negative effects on small mammals and birds, particularly in island ecosystems. We deployed camera traps to study free-ranging cats in national wildlife refuges and state parks on Big Pine Key and Key Largo in the Florida Keys, USA, and used spatial capture–recapture models to...
Cove, Michael V.; Gardner, Beth; Simons, Theodore R.; Kays, Roland; O'Connell, Allan F. Camera traps reveal an apparent mutualism between a common mesocarnivore and an endangered ungulate
Camera traps are commonly used to study mammal ecology and they occasionally capture previously undocumented species interactions. The key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium) is an endangered endemic subspecies of the Florida Keys, where it exists with few predators. We obtained a camera trap sequence of 80 photos in which a key deer interacted...
Cove, Michael V.; Maurer, Andrew S.; O'Connell, Allan F. Managing native predators: Evidence from a partial removal of raccoons (Procyon lotor) on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, USA
Raccoons (Procyon lotor) are important predators of ground-nesting species in coastal systems. They have been identified as a primary cause of nest failure for the American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) throughout its range. Concerns over the long-term effects of raccoon predation and increased nest success following a hurricane inspired a...
Stocking, Jessica J.; Simons, Theodore R.; Parsons, Arielle W.; O'Connell, Allan F. Evaluating nest supplementation as a recovery strategy for the endangered rodents of the Florida Keys
The Key Largo woodrat (Neotoma floridana smalli) and Key Largo cotton mouse (Peromyscus gossypinus allapaticola) are federally endangered subspecies endemic to the tropical hardwood hammocks of Key Largo, Florida. Woodrats are considered generalists in habitat and diet, yet a steady decline in natural stick nests and capture rates over the past...
Cove, Michael V.; Simons, Theodore R.; Gardner, Beth; Maurer, Andrew S.; O'Connell, Allan F. Obituary: Graham W. Smith (1950-2015)
O'Connell, Allan F. A hidden view of wildlife conservation: How camera traps aid science, research and management
Florida panthers are among the world’s most endangered — and elusive — animals. For approximately four decades, scientists have been researching this small population of panthers that inhabit the dense forests and swamps of south Florida. Because of their wide habitat range along with an absence of clear visual features, these...
O'Connell, Allan F. Camera traps and mark-resight models: The value of ancillary data for evaluating assumptions
Unbiased estimators of abundance and density are fundamental to the study of animal ecology and critical for making sound management decisions. Capture–recapture models are generally considered the most robust approach for estimating these parameters but rely on a number of assumptions that are often violated but rarely validated. Mark-resight...
Parsons, Arielle W.; Simons, Theodore R.; Pollock, Kenneth H.; Stoskopf, Michael K.; Stocking, Jessica J.; O'Connell, Allan F. Key seabird areas in southern New England identified using a community occupancy model
Seabirds are of conservation concern, and as new potential risks to seabirds are arising, the need to provide unbiased estimates of species’ distributions is growing. We applied community occupancy models to detection/non-detection data collected from repeated aerial strip-transect surveys conducted in 2 large study plots off southern New...
O'Connell, Allan F.; Flanders, Nicholas P.; Gardner, Beth; Winiarski, Kristopher J.; Paton, Peter W. C.; Allison, Taber Statistical guidelines for assessing marine avian hotspots and coldspots: A case study on wind energy development in the U.S. Atlantic Ocean
Estimating patterns of habitat use is challenging for marine avian species because seabirds tend to aggregate in large groups and it can be difficult to locate both individuals and groups in vast marine environments. We developed an approach to estimate the statistical power of discrete survey events to identify species-specific hotspots and...
Zipkin, Elise F.; Kinlan, Brian P.; Sussman, Allison; Rypkema, Diana; Wimer, Mark; O'Connell, Allan F. Fitting statistical distributions to sea duck count data: implications for survey design and abundance estimation
Determining appropriate statistical distributions for modeling animal count data is important for accurate estimation of abundance, distribution, and trends. In the case of sea ducks along the U.S. Atlantic coast, managers want to estimate local and regional abundance to detect and track population declines, to define areas of high and low use,...
Zipkin, Elise F.; Leirness, Jeffery B.; Kinlan, Brian P.; O'Connell, Allan F.; Silverman, Emily D. A spatial mark–resight model augmented with telemetry data
Abundance and population density are fundamental pieces of information for population ecology and species conservation, but they are difficult to estimate for rare and elusive species. Mark-resight models are popular for estimating population abundance because they are less invasive and expensive than traditional mark-recapture. However, density...
Sollmann, Rachel; Gardner, Beth; Parsons, Arielle W.; Stocking, Jessica J.; McClintock, Brett T.; Simons, Theodore R.; Pollock, Kenneth H.; O’Connell, Allan F.
Significant Milestone in Whooping Crane Recovery
This week marks a significant milestone in the conservation and recovery of the endangered whooping crane. On March 11 and 13, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Patuxent Wildlife Research Center transferred its last two cranes of the approximately 75 that were in its flock to other institutions, closing out more than 50 years of the center’s whooping crane research and captive breeding success.