Amy Yackel Adams, Ph.D.
Amy Yackel Adams is a Research Ecologist at the Fort Collins Science Center.
Biography
Amy began working for the USGS while obtaining her master and doctorate degrees in ecology starting in 1997. She is a research ecologist and principal investigator for the Invasive Reptile Program, and studies population biology with a focus on applied research of invasive organisms (snakes, lizards, small mammals). Yackel Adams’ recent research has focused on detectability of Brown Treesnakes, quantifying the impact of Brown Treesnakes on lizard populations, enhancing rapid response detection of invasive species, modeling rapid response search duration, and population estimation of small mammals in the Pacific.
Education
- PhD, Ecology, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, 2005
- MS, Ecology, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, 1999
- BS, Resource Conservation, Forestry, University of Montana, 1986
Science and Products
Experimental landscape reduction of wild rodents increases movements in the invasive brown treesnake (Boiga irregularis)
Experimental studies evaluating the effects of food availability on the movement of free-ranging animals generally involve food supplementation rather than suppression. Both approaches can yield similar insights, but we were interested in the potential for using food suppression for the management and control of invasive predators, in particular,...
Christy, Michelle; Savidge, Julie A.; Yackel Adams, Amy A.; Gragg, James E.; Rodda, Gordon H.Salvator merianae (Argentine Tegu). Attempted Predation.
No abstract available.
Hanslowe, Emma; Calafiore, Charles V.; Sykes, Kathryn N.; Van Ee, Noah; Falk, Bryan; Yackel, Amy; Reed, RobertVulnerability of shortgrass prairie bird assemblages to climate change
The habitats and resources needed to support grassland birds endemic to North American prairie ecosystems are seriously threatened by impending climate change. To assess the vulnerability of grassland birds to climate change, we consider various components of vulnerability, including sensitivity, exposure, and adaptive capacity (Glick et al. 2011...
Knuffman, Lekha; Skagen, Susan K.; Dreitz, Victoria; Conrey, Reesa Y.; Yackel, Amy; Panjabi, Arvind O.Extremes of heat, drought and precipitation depress reproductive performance in shortgrass prairie passerines
Climate change elevates conservation concerns worldwide because it is likely to exacerbate many identified threats to animal populations. In recent decades, grassland birds have declined faster than other North American bird species, a loss thought to be due to habitat loss and fragmentation and changing agricultural practices. Climate change...
Conrey, Reesa Y.; Skagen, Susan K.; Yackel, Amy; Panjabi, Arvind O.Phrynosoma hernandesi (Greater Short-Horned Lizard). Commensalism
Commensalism is a relationship between two organisms whereby one benefits without negatively affecting the other. Like other horned lizards, Phyrnosoma hernandesi feeds primarily on ants, but will take other insects (Powell and Russell 1983. Can. J. Zool. 62:428–440). Here we describe apparent com-mensalism between P. hernandesi and Lark Buntings...
Yackel, Amy; Adams, Rod D.; Skagen, Susan K.; Martin, Daniel J.Heterodon nasicus (plains hog-nosed snake) diet
No abstract available.
Yackel Adams, Amy A.; Martin, Daniel J.; Adams, Rod D.Detection rates of geckos in visual surveys: Turning confounding variables into useful knowledge
Transect surveys without some means of estimating detection probabilities generate population size indices prone to bias because survey conditions differ in time and space. Knowing what causes such bias can help guide the collection of relevant survey covariates, correct the survey data, anticipate situations where bias might be unacceptably large...
Lardner, Bjorn; Rodda, Gordon H.; Yackel Adams, Amy A.; Savidge, Julie A.; Reed, Robert N.Stability of detectability over 17 years at a single site and other lizard detection comparisons from Guam
To obtain quantitative information about population dynamics from counts of animals, the per capita detectabilities of each species must remain constant over the course of monitoring. We characterized lizard detection constancy for four species over 17 yr from a single site in northern Guam, a relatively benign situation because detection was...
Rodda, Gordon H.; Dean-Bradley, Kathryn; Campbell, Earl W.; Fritts, Thomas H.; Lardner, Bjorn; Yackel Adams, Amy A.; Reed, Robert N.Brumation of introduced Black and White Tegus, Tupinambis merianae (Squamata: Teiidae), in southern Florida
An established population of Tupinambis merianae (Black and White Tegu) in southeastern Florida threatens the Everglades ecosystem. Understanding the behavioral ecology of Black and White Tegus could aid in management and control plans. Black and White Tegus are seasonally active and brumate during the winter in their native range, but brumation...
McEachern, Michelle; Yackel Adams, Amy A.; Klug, Page E.; Fitzgerald, Lee A.; Reed, Robert N.General herpetological collecting is size-based for five Pacific lizards
Accurate estimation of a species’ size distribution is a key component of characterizing its ecology, evolution, physiology, and demography. We compared the body size distributions of five Pacific lizards (Carlia ailanpalai, Emoia caeruleocauda, Gehyra mutilata, Hemidactylus frenatus, and Lepidodactylus lugubris) from general herpetological...
Rodda, Gordon H.; Yackel Adams, Amy A.; Campbell, Earl W.; Fritts, Thomas H.The influence of disturbed habitat on the spatial ecology of Argentine black and white tegu (Tupinambis merianae), a recent invader in the Everglades ecosystem (Florida, USA)
The threat of invasive species is often intensified in disturbed habitat. To optimize control programs, it is necessary to understand how degraded habitat influences the behavior of invasive species. We conducted a radio telemetry study to characterize movement and habitat use of introduced male Argentine black and white tegus (Tupinambis merianae...
Klug, Page E.; Reed, Robert N.; Mazzotti, Frank J.; McEachern, Michelle A.; Vinci, Joy J.; Craven, Katelin K.; Yackel Adams, Amy A.Selective predation by feral cats on a native skink on Guam
Two species of skinks (Fig. 1) occur in a 5-ha plot on Guam where we have been conducting intensive research on Brown Treesnake (Boiga irregularis) population biology for nearly a decade (Rodda et al. 2007). The Pacific Blue-tailed Skink (Emoia caeruleocauda [de Vis 1892]) is native to Guam, whereas the Curious Skink (Carlia ailanpalai Zug 2004)...
Lardner, Björn; Reed, Robert N.; Adams, Amy A. Yackel; Mazurek, M.J.; Hinkle, Thomas J.; Levasseur, Patricia M.; Palmer, Meredith S.; Savidge, Julie A.