Brian Irwin, PhD
Assistant Unit Leader - Georgia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Research Interests
My research interests are in the areas of ecological change, fish population dynamics, and decision making linked to conservation and management of natural resources. Current projects involve using quantitative models to explore how populations respond to anthropogenic and natural influences.
Teaching Interests
My courses introduce concepts and analyses relevant to conservation decision making and sustainable use of exploited natural resources.
Professional Experience
Assistant Unit Leader, Georgia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, 2012-
Education and Certifications
Ph D Cornell University 2006
MS Auburn University 2001
BS University of Illinois 1998
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 23
Transboundary fisheries science: Meeting the challenges of inland fisheries management in the 21st century
Managing inland fisheries in the 21st century presents several obstacles, including the need to view fisheries from multiple spatial and temporal scales, which usually involves populations and resources spanning sociopolitical boundaries. Though collaboration is not new to fisheries science, inland aquatic systems have historically been managed at local scales and present different challenges than
Authors
Stephen R. Midway, Tyler Wagner, Joseph D. Zydlewski, Brian J. Irwin, Craig P. Paukert
Management strategy evaluation of pheromone-baited trapping techniques to improve management of invasive sea lamprey
We applied a management strategy evaluation (MSE) model to examine the potential cost-effectiveness of using pheromone-baited trapping along with conventional lampricide treatment to manage invasive sea lamprey. Four pheromone-baited trapping strategies were modeled: (1) stream activation wherein pheromone was applied to existing traps to achieve 10−12 mol/L in-stream concentration, (2) stream act
Authors
Heather Dawson, Michael L. Jones, Brian J. Irwin, Nicholas S. Johnson, C. Michael Wagner, Melissa Szymanski
Using GPS telemetry to determine roadways most susceptible to deer-vehicle collisions
More than 1 million wildlife-vehicle collisions occur annually in the United States. The majority of these accidents involve white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and result in >US $4.6 billion in damage and >200 human fatalities. Prior research has used collision locations to assess sitespecific as well as landscape features that contribute to risk of deer-vehicle collisions. As an alternati
Authors
David W. Kramer, Thomas J. Prebyl, James H. Stickles, David A. Osborn, Brian J. Irwin, Nathan P. Nibbelink, Robert J. Warren, Karl V. Miller
Detecting temporal change in freshwater fisheries surveys: statistical power and the important linkages between management questions and monitoring objectives
Monitoring to detect temporal trends in biological and habitat indices is a critical component of fisheries management. Thus, it is important that management objectives are linked to monitoring objectives. This linkage requires a definition of what constitutes a management-relevant “temporal trend.” It is also important to develop expectations for the amount of time required to detect a trend (i.e
Authors
Tyler Wagner, Brian J. Irwin, James R. Bence, Daniel B. Hayes
Epizootiology of cranial abscess disease in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) of Georgia, USA
Intracranial abscess disease is a cause of natural mortality for mature male white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Most cases of abscesses are associated with bacterial infection byTrueperella (Arcanobacterium) pyogenes, but a complete understanding of the epidemiology of this disease is lacking. We quantified the effects of individual characteristics, site-specific herd demographics, land c
Authors
Bradley S. Cohen, Emily H. Belser, Charlie H. Killmaster, John W. Bowers, Brian J. Irwin, Michael J. Yabsley, Karl V. Miller
A predictive model to inform adaptive management of double-crested cormorants and fisheries in Michigan
The proliferation of double-crested cormorants (DCCOs; Phalacrocorax auritus) in North America has raised concerns over their potential negative impacts on game, cultured and forage fishes, island and terrestrial resources, and other colonial water birds, leading to increased public demands to reduce their abundance. By combining fish surplus production and bird functional feeding response models,
Authors
Iyob Tsehaye, Michael L. Jones, Brian J. Irwin, David G. Fielder, James E. Breck, David R. Luukkonen
Re-examination of sea lamprey control policies for the St. Marys River: Completion of an adaptive management cycle
The St. Marys River (SMR) historically has been a major producer of sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinus) in the Laurentian Great Lakes. In the early 2000s, a decision analysis (DA) project was conducted to evaluate sea lamprey control policies for the SMR; this project suggested that an integrated policy of trapping, sterile male releases, and Bayluscide treatment was the most cost-effective policy.
Authors
Michael L. Jones, Travis O. Brenden, Brian J. Irwin
Evaluation of a regional monitoring program's statistical power to detect temporal trends in forest health indicators
Forests are socioeconomically and ecologically important ecosystems that are exposed to a variety of natural and anthropogenic stressors. As such, monitoring forest condition and detecting temporal changes therein remain critical to sound public and private forestland management. The National Parks Service’s Vital Signs monitoring program collects information on many forest health indicators, incl
Authors
Stephanie J. Perles, Tyler Wagner, Brian J. Irwin, Douglas R. Manning, Kristina K. Callahan, Matthew R. Marshall
Impact of increasing market access on a tropical small-scale fishery
Small-scale fisheries have historically been marginalized in management and policy investments, and they often remain under-reported in national economic and fisheries statistics. Even so, small-scale fisheries are not entirely buffered from the impacts of globalization, such as the introduction and expansion of markets. This study measures the long-term impact of market-access on a coastal fisher
Authors
Kara Stevens, Brian J. Irwin, Daniel Kramer, Gerald Urquhart
Consideration of reference points for the management of renewable resources under an adaptive management paradigm
The success of natural resource management depends on monitoring, assessment and enforcement. In support of these efforts, reference points (RPs) are often viewed as critical values of management-relevant indicators. This paper considers RPs from the standpoint of objective-driven decision making in dynamic resource systems, guided by principles of structured decision making (SDM) and adaptive res
Authors
Brian J. Irwin, Michael J. Conroy
Estimating spatial and temporal components of variation in count data using negative binomial mixed models
Partitioning total variability into its component temporal and spatial sources is a powerful way to better understand time series and elucidate trends. The data available for such analyses of fish and other populations are usually nonnegative integer counts of the number of organisms, often dominated by many low values with few observations of relatively high abundance. These characteristics are n
Authors
Brian J. Irwin, Tyler Wagner, James R. Bence, Megan V. Kepler, Weihai Liu, Daniel B. Hayes
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 23
Transboundary fisheries science: Meeting the challenges of inland fisheries management in the 21st century
Managing inland fisheries in the 21st century presents several obstacles, including the need to view fisheries from multiple spatial and temporal scales, which usually involves populations and resources spanning sociopolitical boundaries. Though collaboration is not new to fisheries science, inland aquatic systems have historically been managed at local scales and present different challenges than
Authors
Stephen R. Midway, Tyler Wagner, Joseph D. Zydlewski, Brian J. Irwin, Craig P. Paukert
Management strategy evaluation of pheromone-baited trapping techniques to improve management of invasive sea lamprey
We applied a management strategy evaluation (MSE) model to examine the potential cost-effectiveness of using pheromone-baited trapping along with conventional lampricide treatment to manage invasive sea lamprey. Four pheromone-baited trapping strategies were modeled: (1) stream activation wherein pheromone was applied to existing traps to achieve 10−12 mol/L in-stream concentration, (2) stream act
Authors
Heather Dawson, Michael L. Jones, Brian J. Irwin, Nicholas S. Johnson, C. Michael Wagner, Melissa Szymanski
Using GPS telemetry to determine roadways most susceptible to deer-vehicle collisions
More than 1 million wildlife-vehicle collisions occur annually in the United States. The majority of these accidents involve white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and result in >US $4.6 billion in damage and >200 human fatalities. Prior research has used collision locations to assess sitespecific as well as landscape features that contribute to risk of deer-vehicle collisions. As an alternati
Authors
David W. Kramer, Thomas J. Prebyl, James H. Stickles, David A. Osborn, Brian J. Irwin, Nathan P. Nibbelink, Robert J. Warren, Karl V. Miller
Detecting temporal change in freshwater fisheries surveys: statistical power and the important linkages between management questions and monitoring objectives
Monitoring to detect temporal trends in biological and habitat indices is a critical component of fisheries management. Thus, it is important that management objectives are linked to monitoring objectives. This linkage requires a definition of what constitutes a management-relevant “temporal trend.” It is also important to develop expectations for the amount of time required to detect a trend (i.e
Authors
Tyler Wagner, Brian J. Irwin, James R. Bence, Daniel B. Hayes
Epizootiology of cranial abscess disease in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) of Georgia, USA
Intracranial abscess disease is a cause of natural mortality for mature male white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Most cases of abscesses are associated with bacterial infection byTrueperella (Arcanobacterium) pyogenes, but a complete understanding of the epidemiology of this disease is lacking. We quantified the effects of individual characteristics, site-specific herd demographics, land c
Authors
Bradley S. Cohen, Emily H. Belser, Charlie H. Killmaster, John W. Bowers, Brian J. Irwin, Michael J. Yabsley, Karl V. Miller
A predictive model to inform adaptive management of double-crested cormorants and fisheries in Michigan
The proliferation of double-crested cormorants (DCCOs; Phalacrocorax auritus) in North America has raised concerns over their potential negative impacts on game, cultured and forage fishes, island and terrestrial resources, and other colonial water birds, leading to increased public demands to reduce their abundance. By combining fish surplus production and bird functional feeding response models,
Authors
Iyob Tsehaye, Michael L. Jones, Brian J. Irwin, David G. Fielder, James E. Breck, David R. Luukkonen
Re-examination of sea lamprey control policies for the St. Marys River: Completion of an adaptive management cycle
The St. Marys River (SMR) historically has been a major producer of sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinus) in the Laurentian Great Lakes. In the early 2000s, a decision analysis (DA) project was conducted to evaluate sea lamprey control policies for the SMR; this project suggested that an integrated policy of trapping, sterile male releases, and Bayluscide treatment was the most cost-effective policy.
Authors
Michael L. Jones, Travis O. Brenden, Brian J. Irwin
Evaluation of a regional monitoring program's statistical power to detect temporal trends in forest health indicators
Forests are socioeconomically and ecologically important ecosystems that are exposed to a variety of natural and anthropogenic stressors. As such, monitoring forest condition and detecting temporal changes therein remain critical to sound public and private forestland management. The National Parks Service’s Vital Signs monitoring program collects information on many forest health indicators, incl
Authors
Stephanie J. Perles, Tyler Wagner, Brian J. Irwin, Douglas R. Manning, Kristina K. Callahan, Matthew R. Marshall
Impact of increasing market access on a tropical small-scale fishery
Small-scale fisheries have historically been marginalized in management and policy investments, and they often remain under-reported in national economic and fisheries statistics. Even so, small-scale fisheries are not entirely buffered from the impacts of globalization, such as the introduction and expansion of markets. This study measures the long-term impact of market-access on a coastal fisher
Authors
Kara Stevens, Brian J. Irwin, Daniel Kramer, Gerald Urquhart
Consideration of reference points for the management of renewable resources under an adaptive management paradigm
The success of natural resource management depends on monitoring, assessment and enforcement. In support of these efforts, reference points (RPs) are often viewed as critical values of management-relevant indicators. This paper considers RPs from the standpoint of objective-driven decision making in dynamic resource systems, guided by principles of structured decision making (SDM) and adaptive res
Authors
Brian J. Irwin, Michael J. Conroy
Estimating spatial and temporal components of variation in count data using negative binomial mixed models
Partitioning total variability into its component temporal and spatial sources is a powerful way to better understand time series and elucidate trends. The data available for such analyses of fish and other populations are usually nonnegative integer counts of the number of organisms, often dominated by many low values with few observations of relatively high abundance. These characteristics are n
Authors
Brian J. Irwin, Tyler Wagner, James R. Bence, Megan V. Kepler, Weihai Liu, Daniel B. Hayes