Mesopredators play important ecological roles in most systems. This group of wildlife is often well-adapted to human development and their densities can vary according to the human-subsidized resources with trickle down effects on other animals.
Brett A. DeGregorio, PhD
Unit Leader - Michigan Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
My students and I study the movement ecology, habitat use, distribution, and behavioral responses to anthropogenic disturbance, community ecology, predator prey ecology of reptiles, birds, and mammals. Many of my current projects utilize wildlife game cameras to monitor community level changes and behavioral responses to human activity or development. My work is adaptable and flexible as my research program is tailored to work closely with the needs of our state cooperators, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. My students and I endeavor to study wildlife issues all over the state of Arkansas. I teach several courses at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville including Wildlife Management and Conservation in Arkansas and Conservation Biology.
Professional Experience
Unit Leader, Michigan Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, 2023-
Unit Leader, Arkansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, 2019-2023
Department of Defense
Education and Certifications
PhD, Natural Resources at University of Illinois, 2014
M.S., Biology at Purdue at Fort Wayne, 2008
B.S., University of Massachusetts in Amherst, 2004
Science and Products
Spatial covariance tracks grassland bird community occupancy in fragmented grasslands
Grasslands are an imperiled ecosystem, and grassland bird abundance is declining across North America. One of the strongest drivers for these declines is woody plant encroachment of grasslands. In the Great Plains and Sagebrush biomes of North America, spatial covariance—a remote sensing metric for tracking boundaries between vegetation types—is emerging as a new method to identify and...
Current geographic distribution of nine-banded armadillos in the United States
These data are associated with occurrences of nine-banded armadillos across the United States. There are associated biological and environmental variables associated with some of the occurrence data. These were used for a species distribution model.
Horizon Scan for Vertebrates in Trade
This is a dataset summarizing filtering criteria and rapid risk assessments for ~25,000 species undertaken during a data-driven horizon scan of imported fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. The files represented in this dataset are the following: 1) 'species_filtering_metadata_table.xlsx' is the tabular summary of all intake list species names and the reason for inclusion...
Bobcat Meets Trail Cam
Mesopredators play important ecological roles in most systems. This group of wildlife is often well-adapted to human development and their densities can vary according to the human-subsidized resources with trickle down effects on other animals.
Filter Total Items: 24
Vertebrates in trade that pose high invasion risk to the United States
The United States imports thousands of live vertebrate species annually as part of legal trade. Escapes and releases from captivity are major pathways of invasion, however, the risk posed by the thousands of imported vertebrate species has not been systematically assessed. We conducted a horizon scan that used a data-driven climate match to filter a list of nearly 15,000 taxa drawn from...
Authors
Wesley Daniel, Helen Sofaer, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Richard A. Erickson, Brett Alexander DeGregorio, Peder Scott Engelstad, Jonathan A. Freedman, Susan Canavan, Emily M. Dean, Michael J Adams, Charmayne L. Anderson, Mindy Barnett, Marybeth K. Brey, Kyle J. Brumm, Matthew S. Bunting, Emily Caffrey, Laura Cardador, Jacoby Carter, Phillip Cassey, Duane Chapman, Natalie M. Claunch, Timothy D. Counihan, Kristin P. Davis, Anant Deshwal, Andrew K. Douglas, Corey Garland Dunn, Chase A. Ehlo, Katie Everett, Jason M. Gleditsch, Andrew Grosse, Zoey Hendrickson, Steven C. Hess, Jeffrey E. Hill, Nick D. Holmes, Ana V. Longo, Julie L. Lockwood, Doran M. Mason, Ashley McDonald, Matthew Neilson, Kristen M. Reaver, Robert Reed, Caleb Powell Roberts, Jane Rogosch, Christina Romagosa, James C. Russell, Annie Simpson, Scott A. Smith, Jinelle Sperry, Quenton M. Tuckett, Kurt VerCauteren, Hardin Waddle, Christian Wanamaker, John D. Willson, Arden Williams, Deah Lieurance
Climate, food and humans predict communities of mammals in the United States
AimThe assembly of species into communities and ecoregions is the result of interacting factors that affect plant and animal distribution and abundance at biogeographic scales. Here, we empirically derive ecoregions for mammals to test whether human disturbance has become more important than climate and habitat resources in structuring communities.LocationConterminous United States.Time...
Authors
Roland Kays, Matthew H. Snider, George Hess, Michael V. Cove, Alex Jensen, Hila Shamon, William J. McShea, Brigit Rooney, Maximilian L. Allen, Charles E. Pekins, Christopher C. Wilmers, Mary E. Pendergast, Austin M. Green, Justin Suraci, Matthew S. Leslie, Sophie Nasrallah, Dan Farkas, Mark Jordan, Melissa Grigione, Michael LaScaleia, Miranda L. Davis, Chris Hansen, Josh Millspaugh, Jesse S. Lewis, Michael Havrda, Robert Long, Kathryn R. Remine, Kodi J. Jaspers, Diana J. R. Lafferty, Tru Hubbard, Colin E. Studds, Erika L. Barthelmess, Katherine Andy, Andrea Romero, Brian J. O'Neill, Melissa T.R. Hawkins, Jason V. Lombardi, Maksim Sergeyev, M. Caitlin Fisher-Reid, Michael S. Rentz, Christopher Nagy, Jon D Davenport, Christine C. Rega-Brodsky, Cara L. Appel, Damon B. Lesmeister, Sean T. Giery, Christopher A. Whittier, Jesse M. Alston, Chris Sutherland, Christopher Rota, Thomas Murphy, Thomas E. Lee, Alessio Mortelliti, Dylan L. Bergman, Justin A. Compton, Brian D. Gerber, Jess Burr, Kylie Rezendes, Brett Alexander DeGregorio, Nathaniel H. Wehr, John F. Benson, M. Teague O'Mara, David S. Jachowski, Morgan Gray, Dean E. Beyer, Jerrold L. Belant, Robert V. Horan, Robert Charles Lonsinger, Kellie M. Kuhn, Steven C. M. Hasstedt, Marketa Zimova, Sophie M. Moore, Daniel J. Herrera, Sarah Fritts, Andrew J. Edelman, Elizabeth A. Flaherty, Tyler R. Petroelje, Sean A. Neiswenter, Derek R. Risch, Fabiola Iannarilli, Marius van der Merwe, Sean P. Maher, Zach J. Farris, Stephen L. Webb, David S. Mason, Marcus A. Lashley, Andrew M. Wilson, John P. Vanek, Samuel R. Wehr, L. Mike Conner, James C. Beasley, Helen L. Bontrager, Carolina Baruzzi, Susan N. Ellis-Felege, Mike D. Proctor, Jan Schipper, Katherine C.B. Weiss, Andrea K. Darracq, Evan G. Barr, Peter D. Alexander, Çağan H. Şekercioğlu, Daniel A. Bogan, Christopher M. Schalk, Jean E. Fantle-Lepczyk, Christopher A. Lepczyk, Scott LaPoint, Laura S. Whipple, Helen Ivy Rowe, Kayleigh Mullen, Tori Bird, Adam Zorn, LaRoy Brandt, Richard G. Lathrop, Craig McCain, Anthony P. Crupi, James Clark, Arielle Parsons
Does daily activity overlap of seven mesocarnivores vary based on human development?
Many species of wildlife alter their daily activity patterns in response to co-occurring species as well as the surrounding environment. Often smaller or subordinate species alter their activity patterns to avoid being active at the same time as larger, dominant species to avoid agonistic interactions. Human development can complicate interspecies interactions, as not all wildlife...
Authors
Leah McTigue, Ellery V. Lassiter, Mike Shaw, Emily Johansson, Ken Wilson, Brett Alexander DeGregorio
Mesocarnivores in residential yards: Influence of yard features on the occupancy, relative abundance, and overlap of coyotes, grey fox, and red fox
ContextAs conversion of natural areas to human development continues, there is a lack of information about how developed areas can sustainably support wildlife. While large predators are often extirpated from areas of human development, some medium-bodied mammalian predators (hereafter, mesocarnivores) have adapted to co-exist in human-dominated areas.AimsHow human-dominated areas such...
Authors
Emily P. Johansson, Brett Alexander DeGregorio
Effects of landcover on mesocarnivore density and detection rate along an urban to rural gradient
Human development has major implications for wildlife populations. Urban-exploiter species can benefit from human subsidized resources, whereas urban-avoider species can vanish from wildlife communities in highly developed areas. Therefore, understanding how the density of different species varies in response to landcover changes associated with human development can provide important...
Authors
Leah McTigue, Brett Alexander DeGregorio
Influences of landscape composition on hunter-harvested mallard body mass and condition in eastern Arkansas
Waterfowl with more body mass and a greater body condition during the non-breeding season are thought to be more likely to survive and have increased productivity during the following breeding season. Body mass and body condition in waterfowl should reflect the resources available to them locally. We analyzed the relationship of landscape composition on mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) body...
Authors
John T. Veon, David G. Krementz, Luke W. Naylor, Brett Alexander DeGregorio
The effects of landscape and yard features on mammal diversity in residential yards within Northwest Arkansas, USA
The human footprint is rapidly expanding, and wildlife habitat is continuously being converted to human residential properties. Surviving wildlife that reside in developing areas are displaced to nearby undeveloped areas. However, some animals can co-exist with humans and acquire the necessary resources (food, water, shelter) within the human environment. This ability to coexist may be...
Authors
Emily P. Johansson, Brett Alexander DeGregorio
Influence of human development and predators on patterns of Virginia opossum occupancy, abundance, and activity
As human development continues to expand, wildlife must relocate or adapt to survive. Many mammalian mesopredators, such as the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), have adapted to living alongside human development. Furthermore, top-down predation pressure may be altered in nuanced ways within the human environment. Species such as opossums may be shielded from predation by human...
Authors
John T. Veon, Ellery V. Lassiter, Emily Johansson, Michael Shaw, Leah McTigue, A. Massey, Rylee Gibson, Brett Alexander DeGregorio
Occupancy and activity patterns of nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) in a suburban environment
The geographic range of the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) has rapidly been expanding within the United States for the last 150 years. One of the factors contributing to this astounding range expansion is the species’ ability to survive in and colonize human-dominated areas. Despite the fact that armadillos live alongside humans in numerous towns and cities across the...
Authors
Brett Alexander DeGregorio, Matthew R. McElroy, Emily P. Johansson
Occupancy and activity patterns of nine-banded Armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) in a suburban environment
The geographic range of the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) has rapidly been expanding within the United States for the last 150 years. One of the factors contributing to this astounding range expansion is the species’ ability to survive in and colonize human-dominated areas. Despite the fact that armadillos live alongside humans in numerous towns and cities across the...
Authors
Brett Alexander DeGregorio, Matthew R. McElroy, Emily P. Johansson
Effects of landscape cover and yard features on feral and free-roaming cat (Felis catus) distribution, abundance and activity patterns in a suburban area
Feral and free-roaming domestic cats (Felis catus) are invasive predators throughout the world. In some areas, cats occur in higher densities than native mammalian predators and can have severe effects upon prey populations. We set 48 wildlife game cameras in residential yards in Arkansas, USA, to evaluate which landscape and yard features influenced cat abundance occurring in yards. In...
Authors
Emily Johansson, Brett Alexander DeGregorio
Movement ecology of adult and juvenile spotted turtles (Clemmys guttata) in a seasonally dynamic environment
ContextUnderstanding the temporal and spatial scales at which wildlife move is vital for conservation and management. This is especially important for semi-aquatic species that make frequent inter-wetland movements to fulfil life-history requirements.AimsWe aimed to investigate the drivers of movement and space-use of the imperilled spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata), a seasonal wetland...
Authors
Ellery Lassiter, Jinelle Sperry, Brett Alexander DeGregorio
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
Spatial covariance tracks grassland bird community occupancy in fragmented grasslands
Grasslands are an imperiled ecosystem, and grassland bird abundance is declining across North America. One of the strongest drivers for these declines is woody plant encroachment of grasslands. In the Great Plains and Sagebrush biomes of North America, spatial covariance—a remote sensing metric for tracking boundaries between vegetation types—is emerging as a new method to identify and...
Current geographic distribution of nine-banded armadillos in the United States
These data are associated with occurrences of nine-banded armadillos across the United States. There are associated biological and environmental variables associated with some of the occurrence data. These were used for a species distribution model.
Horizon Scan for Vertebrates in Trade
This is a dataset summarizing filtering criteria and rapid risk assessments for ~25,000 species undertaken during a data-driven horizon scan of imported fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. The files represented in this dataset are the following: 1) 'species_filtering_metadata_table.xlsx' is the tabular summary of all intake list species names and the reason for inclusion...
Bobcat Meets Trail Cam
Mesopredators play important ecological roles in most systems. This group of wildlife is often well-adapted to human development and their densities can vary according to the human-subsidized resources with trickle down effects on other animals.
Mesopredators play important ecological roles in most systems. This group of wildlife is often well-adapted to human development and their densities can vary according to the human-subsidized resources with trickle down effects on other animals.
Filter Total Items: 24
Vertebrates in trade that pose high invasion risk to the United States
The United States imports thousands of live vertebrate species annually as part of legal trade. Escapes and releases from captivity are major pathways of invasion, however, the risk posed by the thousands of imported vertebrate species has not been systematically assessed. We conducted a horizon scan that used a data-driven climate match to filter a list of nearly 15,000 taxa drawn from...
Authors
Wesley Daniel, Helen Sofaer, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Richard A. Erickson, Brett Alexander DeGregorio, Peder Scott Engelstad, Jonathan A. Freedman, Susan Canavan, Emily M. Dean, Michael J Adams, Charmayne L. Anderson, Mindy Barnett, Marybeth K. Brey, Kyle J. Brumm, Matthew S. Bunting, Emily Caffrey, Laura Cardador, Jacoby Carter, Phillip Cassey, Duane Chapman, Natalie M. Claunch, Timothy D. Counihan, Kristin P. Davis, Anant Deshwal, Andrew K. Douglas, Corey Garland Dunn, Chase A. Ehlo, Katie Everett, Jason M. Gleditsch, Andrew Grosse, Zoey Hendrickson, Steven C. Hess, Jeffrey E. Hill, Nick D. Holmes, Ana V. Longo, Julie L. Lockwood, Doran M. Mason, Ashley McDonald, Matthew Neilson, Kristen M. Reaver, Robert Reed, Caleb Powell Roberts, Jane Rogosch, Christina Romagosa, James C. Russell, Annie Simpson, Scott A. Smith, Jinelle Sperry, Quenton M. Tuckett, Kurt VerCauteren, Hardin Waddle, Christian Wanamaker, John D. Willson, Arden Williams, Deah Lieurance
Climate, food and humans predict communities of mammals in the United States
AimThe assembly of species into communities and ecoregions is the result of interacting factors that affect plant and animal distribution and abundance at biogeographic scales. Here, we empirically derive ecoregions for mammals to test whether human disturbance has become more important than climate and habitat resources in structuring communities.LocationConterminous United States.Time...
Authors
Roland Kays, Matthew H. Snider, George Hess, Michael V. Cove, Alex Jensen, Hila Shamon, William J. McShea, Brigit Rooney, Maximilian L. Allen, Charles E. Pekins, Christopher C. Wilmers, Mary E. Pendergast, Austin M. Green, Justin Suraci, Matthew S. Leslie, Sophie Nasrallah, Dan Farkas, Mark Jordan, Melissa Grigione, Michael LaScaleia, Miranda L. Davis, Chris Hansen, Josh Millspaugh, Jesse S. Lewis, Michael Havrda, Robert Long, Kathryn R. Remine, Kodi J. Jaspers, Diana J. R. Lafferty, Tru Hubbard, Colin E. Studds, Erika L. Barthelmess, Katherine Andy, Andrea Romero, Brian J. O'Neill, Melissa T.R. Hawkins, Jason V. Lombardi, Maksim Sergeyev, M. Caitlin Fisher-Reid, Michael S. Rentz, Christopher Nagy, Jon D Davenport, Christine C. Rega-Brodsky, Cara L. Appel, Damon B. Lesmeister, Sean T. Giery, Christopher A. Whittier, Jesse M. Alston, Chris Sutherland, Christopher Rota, Thomas Murphy, Thomas E. Lee, Alessio Mortelliti, Dylan L. Bergman, Justin A. Compton, Brian D. Gerber, Jess Burr, Kylie Rezendes, Brett Alexander DeGregorio, Nathaniel H. Wehr, John F. Benson, M. Teague O'Mara, David S. Jachowski, Morgan Gray, Dean E. Beyer, Jerrold L. Belant, Robert V. Horan, Robert Charles Lonsinger, Kellie M. Kuhn, Steven C. M. Hasstedt, Marketa Zimova, Sophie M. Moore, Daniel J. Herrera, Sarah Fritts, Andrew J. Edelman, Elizabeth A. Flaherty, Tyler R. Petroelje, Sean A. Neiswenter, Derek R. Risch, Fabiola Iannarilli, Marius van der Merwe, Sean P. Maher, Zach J. Farris, Stephen L. Webb, David S. Mason, Marcus A. Lashley, Andrew M. Wilson, John P. Vanek, Samuel R. Wehr, L. Mike Conner, James C. Beasley, Helen L. Bontrager, Carolina Baruzzi, Susan N. Ellis-Felege, Mike D. Proctor, Jan Schipper, Katherine C.B. Weiss, Andrea K. Darracq, Evan G. Barr, Peter D. Alexander, Çağan H. Şekercioğlu, Daniel A. Bogan, Christopher M. Schalk, Jean E. Fantle-Lepczyk, Christopher A. Lepczyk, Scott LaPoint, Laura S. Whipple, Helen Ivy Rowe, Kayleigh Mullen, Tori Bird, Adam Zorn, LaRoy Brandt, Richard G. Lathrop, Craig McCain, Anthony P. Crupi, James Clark, Arielle Parsons
Does daily activity overlap of seven mesocarnivores vary based on human development?
Many species of wildlife alter their daily activity patterns in response to co-occurring species as well as the surrounding environment. Often smaller or subordinate species alter their activity patterns to avoid being active at the same time as larger, dominant species to avoid agonistic interactions. Human development can complicate interspecies interactions, as not all wildlife...
Authors
Leah McTigue, Ellery V. Lassiter, Mike Shaw, Emily Johansson, Ken Wilson, Brett Alexander DeGregorio
Mesocarnivores in residential yards: Influence of yard features on the occupancy, relative abundance, and overlap of coyotes, grey fox, and red fox
ContextAs conversion of natural areas to human development continues, there is a lack of information about how developed areas can sustainably support wildlife. While large predators are often extirpated from areas of human development, some medium-bodied mammalian predators (hereafter, mesocarnivores) have adapted to co-exist in human-dominated areas.AimsHow human-dominated areas such...
Authors
Emily P. Johansson, Brett Alexander DeGregorio
Effects of landcover on mesocarnivore density and detection rate along an urban to rural gradient
Human development has major implications for wildlife populations. Urban-exploiter species can benefit from human subsidized resources, whereas urban-avoider species can vanish from wildlife communities in highly developed areas. Therefore, understanding how the density of different species varies in response to landcover changes associated with human development can provide important...
Authors
Leah McTigue, Brett Alexander DeGregorio
Influences of landscape composition on hunter-harvested mallard body mass and condition in eastern Arkansas
Waterfowl with more body mass and a greater body condition during the non-breeding season are thought to be more likely to survive and have increased productivity during the following breeding season. Body mass and body condition in waterfowl should reflect the resources available to them locally. We analyzed the relationship of landscape composition on mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) body...
Authors
John T. Veon, David G. Krementz, Luke W. Naylor, Brett Alexander DeGregorio
The effects of landscape and yard features on mammal diversity in residential yards within Northwest Arkansas, USA
The human footprint is rapidly expanding, and wildlife habitat is continuously being converted to human residential properties. Surviving wildlife that reside in developing areas are displaced to nearby undeveloped areas. However, some animals can co-exist with humans and acquire the necessary resources (food, water, shelter) within the human environment. This ability to coexist may be...
Authors
Emily P. Johansson, Brett Alexander DeGregorio
Influence of human development and predators on patterns of Virginia opossum occupancy, abundance, and activity
As human development continues to expand, wildlife must relocate or adapt to survive. Many mammalian mesopredators, such as the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), have adapted to living alongside human development. Furthermore, top-down predation pressure may be altered in nuanced ways within the human environment. Species such as opossums may be shielded from predation by human...
Authors
John T. Veon, Ellery V. Lassiter, Emily Johansson, Michael Shaw, Leah McTigue, A. Massey, Rylee Gibson, Brett Alexander DeGregorio
Occupancy and activity patterns of nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) in a suburban environment
The geographic range of the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) has rapidly been expanding within the United States for the last 150 years. One of the factors contributing to this astounding range expansion is the species’ ability to survive in and colonize human-dominated areas. Despite the fact that armadillos live alongside humans in numerous towns and cities across the...
Authors
Brett Alexander DeGregorio, Matthew R. McElroy, Emily P. Johansson
Occupancy and activity patterns of nine-banded Armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) in a suburban environment
The geographic range of the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) has rapidly been expanding within the United States for the last 150 years. One of the factors contributing to this astounding range expansion is the species’ ability to survive in and colonize human-dominated areas. Despite the fact that armadillos live alongside humans in numerous towns and cities across the...
Authors
Brett Alexander DeGregorio, Matthew R. McElroy, Emily P. Johansson
Effects of landscape cover and yard features on feral and free-roaming cat (Felis catus) distribution, abundance and activity patterns in a suburban area
Feral and free-roaming domestic cats (Felis catus) are invasive predators throughout the world. In some areas, cats occur in higher densities than native mammalian predators and can have severe effects upon prey populations. We set 48 wildlife game cameras in residential yards in Arkansas, USA, to evaluate which landscape and yard features influenced cat abundance occurring in yards. In...
Authors
Emily Johansson, Brett Alexander DeGregorio
Movement ecology of adult and juvenile spotted turtles (Clemmys guttata) in a seasonally dynamic environment
ContextUnderstanding the temporal and spatial scales at which wildlife move is vital for conservation and management. This is especially important for semi-aquatic species that make frequent inter-wetland movements to fulfil life-history requirements.AimsWe aimed to investigate the drivers of movement and space-use of the imperilled spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata), a seasonal wetland...
Authors
Ellery Lassiter, Jinelle Sperry, Brett Alexander DeGregorio
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.