Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) invasion of sagebrush habitats after a fire in northwestern Nevada, U.S.A.
Cameron L Aldridge, PhD
Dr. Cameron Aldridge is a Supervisory Research Ecologist at the Fort Collins Science Center. Dr. Aldridge's work focuses on understanding animal-habitat relationships, with an emphasis on conservation ecology and population demography, across grassland, shrubland, and alpine ecosystems.
Learn more about the Shrubland Alpine and Grassland Ecology (SAGE) Wildlife Research Group
Learn more about the Shrubland Alpine and Grassland Ecology (SAGE) Wildlife Research Group
The SAGE Wildlife Research Group consists of a large team of research scientists with an interest in conservation and management of wildlife and their ecosystems. Find all of their research projects, publications, data releases, software releases, and news on their homepage.
Highlighted Research and News
Highlighted Research and News
- Cameron Aldridge receives the Western Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies’ …
- Prioritizing Restoration of Sagebrush Ecosystems Tool (PReSET)
- Field of Sagebrush Dreams: Planting and Restoring Functional Sagebrush in Burne…
- Creating range-wide predictive maps of greater sage-grouse seasonal habitats
- Hierarchical Population Monitoring Framework for Greater Sage-Grouse
- Invasive Annual Grass (IAG) Spatial Dataset Compilation and Synthesis
Dr. Cameron Aldridge is a Supervisory Research Ecologist with the US Geological Survey, based at the Fort Collins Science Center, and Chief, Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics Research Branch. He works in collaboration with the Natural Resource Ecology Lab at Colorado State University, as an Affiliate Research Scientist at NREL and an Affiliate Professor with ESS and GDPE. His research is diverse, but he is best recognized as one of the foremost sage-grouse ecologists in the world. He has a large research program focused on understanding the conservation and management of greater and Gunnison sage-grouse and their habitats. His research team includes both undergraduate and graduate students, research associates, post-doctoral fellows, and research scientists, all of which collaborate to understand why sage-grouse populations have declined, what major factors affect resource conditions and quality for sage-grouse, what drives population dynamics. The SAGE Wildlife Research Group works closely on these issues with state and federal partners, as well as NGOs, conservation groups and industry. More broadly, research in the SAGE Wildlife Research Group involves understanding animal-habitat relationships, with an emphasis on conservation ecology and population demography, with a focus on grassland, shrubland, and alpine ecosystems. Researchers in the lab are addressing co-existence of wildlife and energy, land-use change, and the effects of drought on conserving wildlife populations, their habitats, and the ecosystems they inhabit. Species that we are currently studying include songbirds and small mammals, snakes and lizards, and grouse, such as white-tailed ptarmigan and sage-grouse. We also work with plant communities and exotic invasive plants, understanding how external drivers such as climate, grazing, and land-use changes affect plant communities. We work across spatial scales, and use statistical and empirical modeling to answer these research and conservation questions, most of which have direct applications for conservation and management of the species and their habitats.
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 70
Effects of the herbicide, Indaziflam, on invasive annual grasses
Invasive annual grasses are spreading across the sagebrush ecosystem, threatening the survival of native plant species and the wildlife habitats they support. Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, Colorado State University, University of Wyoming, the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are collaboratively investigating the factors that...
Mapping wild horse densities across broad landscapes of the Western United States
Researchers at USGS are using historical wild horse survey and monitoring records to conduct a study of horse density across sagebrush ecosystems of the western United States. Researchers will develop generalized density maps for the species that will enhance concurrent evaluations into the ecological effects of wild horse populations.
Evaluating potential vectors of annual grass invasion
Invasive annual grasses, facilitated by a range of disturbances, are invading many areas within the sagebrush biome. Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, Colorado State University, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Land Management are investigating which non-fire disturbances are most associated with the spread of invasive grasses. The findings from this study could guide...
Assessing the Proliferation, Connectivity, and Consequences of Invasive Fine Fuels on the Sagebrush Biome
Invasive annual grasses can replace native vegetation and alter fire behavior, impacting a range of habitats and species. A team of researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, Colorado State University, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are working to identify factors that influence changes in the distribution and abundance of invasive annual grasses (IAGs)...
Modeling chronic wasting disease prevalence through time to investigate mechanisms of spread in deer and elk in Wyoming
Diseases are challenging to manage in wild ungulate populations, particularly when there are many ways the disease can spread. Wildlife management agencies often need to take action to control disease spread, but it is unclear which actions are most effective in constraining disease because the importance of different spread mechanisms is not fully understood. This project will aid state wildlife...
Greater Sage-Grouse Population Monitoring Framework: Cheat Sheet
The Greater Sage-grouse Population Monitoring Framework fills a prominent information gap to help inform current assessments of sage-grouse population trends at nested spatial and temporal scales. It is centered on four objectives: (1) create a standardized database of lek counts; (2) develop spatial population structures by clustering leks; (3) estimate spatial trends at different temporal...
Greater Sage-Grouse Population Monitoring Framework: Targeted Annual Warning System Information Sheet
The Greater Sage-grouse Population Monitoring Framework fills a prominent information gap to aid current assessments of sage-grouse population trends across spatial and temporal scales. It centers on four objectives: 1) create a standardized database of lek counts; 2) cluster leks to develop spatial population structures; 3) estimate spatial trends across temporal extents; and 4) develop a system...
Greater Sage-Grouse Population Monitoring Framework: Frequently Asked Questions
The Greater Sage-grouse Population Monitoring Framework fills a prominent information gap to aid current assessments of sage-grouse population trends across spatial and temporal scales. It centers on four objectives: 1) create a standardized database of lek counts; 2) cluster leks to develop spatial population structures; 3) estimate spatial trends across temporal extents; and 4) develop a system...
Greater Sage-Grouse Population Monitoring Framework: Glossary of Terms
The Greater Sage-grouse Population Monitoring Framework fills a prominent information gap to aid current assessments of sage-grouse population trends across spatial and temporal scales. It centers on four objectives: 1) create a standardized database of lek counts; 2) cluster leks to develop spatial population structures; 3) estimate spatial trends across temporal extents; and 4) develop a system...
Greater Sage-Grouse Population Monitoring Framework Data Inputs Information Sheet
To support management decisions, western state wildlife agencies identified the need for a range-wide database that tracks annual counts of greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse) at leks (breeding sites), recorded since the early 1950s. Researchers at Colorado State University (CSU) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) worked with state wildlife agencies to 1) construct this...
Greater Sage-Grouse Population Monitoring Framework
Greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus) are at the center of state and national land use policies largely because of their unique life-history traits as an ecological indicator for health of sagebrush ecosystems. Researchers within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Colorado State University (CSU) worked with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and state wildlife agencies to develop a...
Greater Sage-Grouse Population Monitoring Framework: Trends Analysis Information Sheet
Land and wildlife managers require accurate estimates of sensitive species’ trends to help guide conservation decisions that maintain biodiversity and promote healthy ecosystems. Accurately assessing greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse) population trends can be difficult because (1) missing lek counts or incomplete repeat counts, (2) variation in counts of sage-grouse from...
Cheatgrass invasion of sagebrush habitats after a fire in northwestern Nevada, U.S.A
Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) invasion of sagebrush habitats after a fire in northwestern Nevada, U.S.A.
A white-tailed ptarmigan on Mt. Evans, Colorado
A white-tailed ptarmigan on Mt. Evans, a fourteener in Northern Colorado.
A white-tailed ptarmigan on Mt. Evans, a fourteener in Northern Colorado.
A white-tailed ptarmigan on Mt. Evans, Colorado
A white-tailed ptarmigan sits on the side of Mt. Evans in northern Colorado.
A white-tailed ptarmigan sits on the side of Mt. Evans in northern Colorado.
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 70
Effects of the herbicide, Indaziflam, on invasive annual grasses
Invasive annual grasses are spreading across the sagebrush ecosystem, threatening the survival of native plant species and the wildlife habitats they support. Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, Colorado State University, University of Wyoming, the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are collaboratively investigating the factors that...
Mapping wild horse densities across broad landscapes of the Western United States
Researchers at USGS are using historical wild horse survey and monitoring records to conduct a study of horse density across sagebrush ecosystems of the western United States. Researchers will develop generalized density maps for the species that will enhance concurrent evaluations into the ecological effects of wild horse populations.
Evaluating potential vectors of annual grass invasion
Invasive annual grasses, facilitated by a range of disturbances, are invading many areas within the sagebrush biome. Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, Colorado State University, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Land Management are investigating which non-fire disturbances are most associated with the spread of invasive grasses. The findings from this study could guide...
Assessing the Proliferation, Connectivity, and Consequences of Invasive Fine Fuels on the Sagebrush Biome
Invasive annual grasses can replace native vegetation and alter fire behavior, impacting a range of habitats and species. A team of researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, Colorado State University, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are working to identify factors that influence changes in the distribution and abundance of invasive annual grasses (IAGs)...
Modeling chronic wasting disease prevalence through time to investigate mechanisms of spread in deer and elk in Wyoming
Diseases are challenging to manage in wild ungulate populations, particularly when there are many ways the disease can spread. Wildlife management agencies often need to take action to control disease spread, but it is unclear which actions are most effective in constraining disease because the importance of different spread mechanisms is not fully understood. This project will aid state wildlife...
Greater Sage-Grouse Population Monitoring Framework: Cheat Sheet
The Greater Sage-grouse Population Monitoring Framework fills a prominent information gap to help inform current assessments of sage-grouse population trends at nested spatial and temporal scales. It is centered on four objectives: (1) create a standardized database of lek counts; (2) develop spatial population structures by clustering leks; (3) estimate spatial trends at different temporal...
Greater Sage-Grouse Population Monitoring Framework: Targeted Annual Warning System Information Sheet
The Greater Sage-grouse Population Monitoring Framework fills a prominent information gap to aid current assessments of sage-grouse population trends across spatial and temporal scales. It centers on four objectives: 1) create a standardized database of lek counts; 2) cluster leks to develop spatial population structures; 3) estimate spatial trends across temporal extents; and 4) develop a system...
Greater Sage-Grouse Population Monitoring Framework: Frequently Asked Questions
The Greater Sage-grouse Population Monitoring Framework fills a prominent information gap to aid current assessments of sage-grouse population trends across spatial and temporal scales. It centers on four objectives: 1) create a standardized database of lek counts; 2) cluster leks to develop spatial population structures; 3) estimate spatial trends across temporal extents; and 4) develop a system...
Greater Sage-Grouse Population Monitoring Framework: Glossary of Terms
The Greater Sage-grouse Population Monitoring Framework fills a prominent information gap to aid current assessments of sage-grouse population trends across spatial and temporal scales. It centers on four objectives: 1) create a standardized database of lek counts; 2) cluster leks to develop spatial population structures; 3) estimate spatial trends across temporal extents; and 4) develop a system...
Greater Sage-Grouse Population Monitoring Framework Data Inputs Information Sheet
To support management decisions, western state wildlife agencies identified the need for a range-wide database that tracks annual counts of greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse) at leks (breeding sites), recorded since the early 1950s. Researchers at Colorado State University (CSU) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) worked with state wildlife agencies to 1) construct this...
Greater Sage-Grouse Population Monitoring Framework
Greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus) are at the center of state and national land use policies largely because of their unique life-history traits as an ecological indicator for health of sagebrush ecosystems. Researchers within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Colorado State University (CSU) worked with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and state wildlife agencies to develop a...
Greater Sage-Grouse Population Monitoring Framework: Trends Analysis Information Sheet
Land and wildlife managers require accurate estimates of sensitive species’ trends to help guide conservation decisions that maintain biodiversity and promote healthy ecosystems. Accurately assessing greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse) population trends can be difficult because (1) missing lek counts or incomplete repeat counts, (2) variation in counts of sage-grouse from...
Cheatgrass invasion of sagebrush habitats after a fire in northwestern Nevada, U.S.A
Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) invasion of sagebrush habitats after a fire in northwestern Nevada, U.S.A.
Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) invasion of sagebrush habitats after a fire in northwestern Nevada, U.S.A.
A white-tailed ptarmigan on Mt. Evans, Colorado
A white-tailed ptarmigan on Mt. Evans, a fourteener in Northern Colorado.
A white-tailed ptarmigan on Mt. Evans, a fourteener in Northern Colorado.
A white-tailed ptarmigan on Mt. Evans, Colorado
A white-tailed ptarmigan sits on the side of Mt. Evans in northern Colorado.
A white-tailed ptarmigan sits on the side of Mt. Evans in northern Colorado.