Brian Folt is a quantitative ecologist who uses field research, modeling skills, and structured decision making to understand the population ecology and management of wild animals.
At the Fort Collins Science Center, Brian is working with the Wild Horse and Burro Research Team to build population modeling tools to support management decisions for wild horses, largely in collaboration with the Bureau of Land Management. He also is interested in using population viability analyses to inform Species Status Assessments and listing decisions for imperiled species, such as the Gopher Tortoise and Eastern Indigo Snake.
Science and Products
Interdrainage morphological and genetic differentiation in the Escambia Map Turtle, Graptemys ernsti
Graptemys ernsti, the Escambia Map Turtle, inhabits the Escambia/Conecuh River, the adjacent Yellow River, and the Pea River further to the east, all of which have been distinct drainage systems since the Pleistocene. We used continuous and meristic morphological and genetic data to compare populations of G. ernsti and found evidence of differences among the three drainages. Frequency of occurrenc
Hybridization of two megacephalic map turtles (testudines: emydidae: Graptemys) in the Choctawhatchee River drainage of Alabama and Florida
Map turtles of the genus Graptemys are highly aquatic and rarely undergo terrestrial movements, and limited dispersal among drainages has been hypothesized to drive drainage-specific endemism and high species richness of this group in the southeastern United States. Until recently, two members of the megacephalic “pulchra clade,” Graptemys barbouri andGraptemys ernsti, were presumed to be allopatr
PopEquus: A Predictive Modeling Tool to Support Management Decisions for Free-roaming Horse Populations, Version 1.0.1
PopEquus is a website application that can be used to understand trade-offs and inform decisions in free-roaming horse (Equus caballus) population management. The application (https://rconnect.usgs.gov/popequus/) contains a predictive population modeling tool that can be used to simulate how different management actions drive changes in horse population size, while measuring management costs and o
Multi-objective Modeling as a Decision-support Tool for Feral Horse Management
Decisions related to controversial problems in natural resource management receive the greatest support when they account for multiple objectives of stakeholders in a structured and transparent fashion. In the United States, management of feral horses (Equus caballus) is a controversial multi-objective problem because disparate stakeholder groups have varying objectives and opinions about how to m
Science and Products
- Publications
Interdrainage morphological and genetic differentiation in the Escambia Map Turtle, Graptemys ernsti
Graptemys ernsti, the Escambia Map Turtle, inhabits the Escambia/Conecuh River, the adjacent Yellow River, and the Pea River further to the east, all of which have been distinct drainage systems since the Pleistocene. We used continuous and meristic morphological and genetic data to compare populations of G. ernsti and found evidence of differences among the three drainages. Frequency of occurrencHybridization of two megacephalic map turtles (testudines: emydidae: Graptemys) in the Choctawhatchee River drainage of Alabama and Florida
Map turtles of the genus Graptemys are highly aquatic and rarely undergo terrestrial movements, and limited dispersal among drainages has been hypothesized to drive drainage-specific endemism and high species richness of this group in the southeastern United States. Until recently, two members of the megacephalic “pulchra clade,” Graptemys barbouri andGraptemys ernsti, were presumed to be allopatr - Software
PopEquus: A Predictive Modeling Tool to Support Management Decisions for Free-roaming Horse Populations, Version 1.0.1
PopEquus is a website application that can be used to understand trade-offs and inform decisions in free-roaming horse (Equus caballus) population management. The application (https://rconnect.usgs.gov/popequus/) contains a predictive population modeling tool that can be used to simulate how different management actions drive changes in horse population size, while measuring management costs and oMulti-objective Modeling as a Decision-support Tool for Feral Horse Management
Decisions related to controversial problems in natural resource management receive the greatest support when they account for multiple objectives of stakeholders in a structured and transparent fashion. In the United States, management of feral horses (Equus caballus) is a controversial multi-objective problem because disparate stakeholder groups have varying objectives and opinions about how to m - News