Clinton Moore, PhD (Former Employee)
Science and Products
Providing Science for the Conservation of Animals in the Southeastern Longleaf Pine Ecosystem
The southeastern U.S. is home to more than half of the animal and plant species that are being reviewed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to determine if they are threatened or endangered due to losses or changes in habitat. The longleaf pine ecosystem, which is native to the southeastern U.S., supports several animal species that are considered a priority to be reviewed...
Science to Support Adaptive Landscape Planning and Decision Making for Gopher Tortoise Conservation
The gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) is a familiar species across the southeastern Coastal Plain, but its population has declined significantly over the decades. One reason is that much of its primary habitat, sparse stands of mature pine, has been replaced by development or agriculture. Another is that periodic ground fires, which are important for providing needed forage for the...
American alligator demographic and harvest data from Georgetown County, South Carolina, 1979-2017
The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) is a species of ecological and economic importance in the southeastern United States. Within South Carolina, alligators are subject to private and public harvest programs, as well as nuisance removal. These management activities can have different impacts across alligator size classes that may not be apparent through widely-used...
Filter Total Items: 33
Estimating recruitment rate and population dynamics at a migratory stopover site using an integrated population model
Consideration of the full annual cycle population dynamics can provide useful insight for conservation efforts, but collecting data needed to estimate demographic parameters is often logistically difficult. For species that breed in remote areas, monitoring is often conducted during migratory stopover or at nonbreeding sites, and the recruitment rate of new breeding adults can be...
Authors
Anna Maureen Tucker, Conor P. McGowan, Bryan L. Nuse, James E. Lyons, Clinton T. Moore, David R. Smith, John A. Sweka, Kristen A. Anstead, Audrey DeRose-Wilson, Nigel A. Clark
Accounting for spatial heterogeneity in visual obstruction in line-transect distance sampling of gopher tortoises
Line-transect distance sampling (LTDS) surveys are commonly used to estimate abundance of animals or objects. In terrestrial LTDS surveys of gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) burrows, the presence of ground-level vegetation substantially decreases detection of burrows of all sizes, but no field or analytical methods exist to control for spatially heterogeneous vegetation obstruction...
Authors
Heather E. Gaya, Lora L. Smith, Clinton T. Moore
Island of misfit tortoises: Waif gopher tortoise health assessment following translocation
Translocation, the intentional movement of animals from one location to another, is a common management practice for the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus). Although the inadvertent spread of pathogens is a concern with any translocation effort, waif tortoises—individuals that have been collected illegally, injured and rehabilitated or have unknown origins—are generally excluded from...
Authors
Rebecca K. McKee, Kurt. A. Buhlmann, Clinton T. Moore, Matthew C. Allender, Nicole I. Stacy, Tracey D. Tuberville
Breeding dynamics of gopher frog metapopulations over 10 years
Populations of amphibians that breed in isolated, ephemeral wetlands may be particularly sensitive to breeding and recruitment rates, which can be influenced by dynamic and difficult-to-predict extrinsic factors. The gopher frog Rana capito is a declining species currently proposed for listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, as well as one of many pond-breeding amphibians of...
Authors
Brian A. Crawford, Anna L. Farmer, Kevin M Enge, Aubrey Heupel Greene, Lauren Diaz, John C. Maerz, Clinton T. Moore
Population viability analysis for a pond-breeding amphibian under future drought scenarios in the southeastern United States
Climate change effects are contributing to widespread declines of amphibians, and pond-breeding species may be particularly sensitive to future drought conditions that restrict wetland hydroperiods and decrease opportunities for successful breeding and recruitment. Pond-breeding amphibian populations can compensate for periodic droughts via episodic booms in recruitment, but studies...
Authors
Brian A. Crawford, John C. Maerz, Vanessa C. K. Terrell, Clinton T. Moore
Waif gopher tortoise survival and site fidelity following translocation
Gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) are among the most commonly translocated reptiles. Waif tortoises are animals frequently of unknown origin that have been displaced from the wild and often held in human possession for various reasons and durations. Although there are risks associated with any translocation, waif tortoises are generally excluded from translocation projects because...
Authors
R.K. McKee, K.A. Buhlmann, Clinton T. Moore, J. Hepinstall-Cymerman, T.D. Tuberville
Comparing husbandry techniques for optimal head-starting of the Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii)
Mojave Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) populations continue to decline throughout their range. Head-starting—the captive rearing of offspring to a size where they are presumably more likely to survive post-release—is being explored as a potential recovery tool. Previous Desert Tortoise head-starting programs have reared neonates exclusively outdoors. Here, we explore using a...
Authors
P. A. McGovern, K. A. Buhlmann, B. D. Todd, Clinton T. Moore, J. M. Peaden, J. Hepinstall-Cymerman, J. A. Daly, T. D. Tuberville
The effect of size on postrelease survival of head-started Mojave desert tortoises
Captive-rearing conservation programs focus primarily on maximizing postrelease survival. Survival increases with size in a variety of taxa, often leading to the use of enhanced size as a means to minimize postrelease losses. Head-starting is a specific captive-rearing approach used to accelerate growth in captivity prior to release in the wild. We explored the effect of size at release...
Authors
P. A. McGovern, K. A. Buhlmann, B. D. Todd, Clinton T. Moore, J. M. Peaden, J. Heppenstall-Cymerman, J. A. Daly, T. D. Tuberville
Expert-informed habitat suitability analysis for at-risk species assessment and conservation planning
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is responsible for reviewing the biological status of hundreds of species to determine federal status designations under the Endangered Species Act. The longleaf pine Pinus palustris ecological system supports many priority at-risk species designated for review, including five species of herpetofauna: gopher tortoise Gopherus polyphemus...
Authors
Brian A. Crawford, John C. Maerz, Clinton T. Moore
An adaptive approach to vegetation management in native prairies of the northern Great Plains
No abstract available.
Authors
Clinton T. Moore, Jill J. Gannon, Terry L. Shaffer, Cami Dixon
Estimating population persistence for at-risk species using citizen science data
Population persistence probability is valuable for characterizing risk to species and informing listing and conservation decisions but is challenging to estimate through traditional methods for rare, data-limited species. Modeling approaches have used citizen science data to mitigate data limitations of focal species and better estimate parameters such as occupancy and detection, but...
Authors
B.A. Crawford, M. Olds, J.C. Maerz, Clinton T. Moore
Nonlinear patterns in mercury bioaccumulation in American alligators are a function of predicted age
Mercury is a widespread, naturally occurring contaminant that biomagnifies in wetlands due to the methylation of this element by sulfate-reducing bacteria. Species that feed at the top trophic level within wetlands are predicted to have higher mercury loads compared to species feeding at lower trophic levels and are therefore often used for mercury biomonitoring. However, mechanisms for...
Authors
A.J. Lawson, Clinton T. Moore, T.R. Rainwater, F.M. Nilsen, P.M. Wilkinson, R.H. Lowers, L.J. Jr Guillett, Katherine W. McFadden, Patrick G.R. Jodice
American alligator growth simulation and integrated population model
The software consists of three scripts to be run in the R statistical program: 1) Alligator growth simulation; 2) alligator integrated population model file; and 3) data visualization script. Script #1 produces growth transition probabilities that are used in script #2. The second script uses the outputs from #1 as well as other data files to run an integrated population model. The last...
Optimal horseshoe crab harvest policies via approximate dynamic programming
Approximate Dynamic Programming relies on forward simulation of the system, so two population projection models are used, one for crabs and one for red knots. The two models are linked: HSC abundance is a predictor variable in the REKN model. Other useful outputs are produced as well, such as predictions of future harvest.
Vegetation_LTDS
Line-transect distance sampling (LTDS) surveys are commonly used to estimate abundance of animals or objects. In terrestrial LTDS surveys of gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) burrows, the presence of ground-level vegetation significantly decreases detection of burrows of all sizes, but no field or analytical methods exist to control for spatially heterogeneous vegetation obstruction...
Science and Products
Providing Science for the Conservation of Animals in the Southeastern Longleaf Pine Ecosystem
The southeastern U.S. is home to more than half of the animal and plant species that are being reviewed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to determine if they are threatened or endangered due to losses or changes in habitat. The longleaf pine ecosystem, which is native to the southeastern U.S., supports several animal species that are considered a priority to be reviewed...
Science to Support Adaptive Landscape Planning and Decision Making for Gopher Tortoise Conservation
The gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) is a familiar species across the southeastern Coastal Plain, but its population has declined significantly over the decades. One reason is that much of its primary habitat, sparse stands of mature pine, has been replaced by development or agriculture. Another is that periodic ground fires, which are important for providing needed forage for the...
American alligator demographic and harvest data from Georgetown County, South Carolina, 1979-2017
The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) is a species of ecological and economic importance in the southeastern United States. Within South Carolina, alligators are subject to private and public harvest programs, as well as nuisance removal. These management activities can have different impacts across alligator size classes that may not be apparent through widely-used...
Filter Total Items: 33
Estimating recruitment rate and population dynamics at a migratory stopover site using an integrated population model
Consideration of the full annual cycle population dynamics can provide useful insight for conservation efforts, but collecting data needed to estimate demographic parameters is often logistically difficult. For species that breed in remote areas, monitoring is often conducted during migratory stopover or at nonbreeding sites, and the recruitment rate of new breeding adults can be...
Authors
Anna Maureen Tucker, Conor P. McGowan, Bryan L. Nuse, James E. Lyons, Clinton T. Moore, David R. Smith, John A. Sweka, Kristen A. Anstead, Audrey DeRose-Wilson, Nigel A. Clark
Accounting for spatial heterogeneity in visual obstruction in line-transect distance sampling of gopher tortoises
Line-transect distance sampling (LTDS) surveys are commonly used to estimate abundance of animals or objects. In terrestrial LTDS surveys of gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) burrows, the presence of ground-level vegetation substantially decreases detection of burrows of all sizes, but no field or analytical methods exist to control for spatially heterogeneous vegetation obstruction...
Authors
Heather E. Gaya, Lora L. Smith, Clinton T. Moore
Island of misfit tortoises: Waif gopher tortoise health assessment following translocation
Translocation, the intentional movement of animals from one location to another, is a common management practice for the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus). Although the inadvertent spread of pathogens is a concern with any translocation effort, waif tortoises—individuals that have been collected illegally, injured and rehabilitated or have unknown origins—are generally excluded from...
Authors
Rebecca K. McKee, Kurt. A. Buhlmann, Clinton T. Moore, Matthew C. Allender, Nicole I. Stacy, Tracey D. Tuberville
Breeding dynamics of gopher frog metapopulations over 10 years
Populations of amphibians that breed in isolated, ephemeral wetlands may be particularly sensitive to breeding and recruitment rates, which can be influenced by dynamic and difficult-to-predict extrinsic factors. The gopher frog Rana capito is a declining species currently proposed for listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, as well as one of many pond-breeding amphibians of...
Authors
Brian A. Crawford, Anna L. Farmer, Kevin M Enge, Aubrey Heupel Greene, Lauren Diaz, John C. Maerz, Clinton T. Moore
Population viability analysis for a pond-breeding amphibian under future drought scenarios in the southeastern United States
Climate change effects are contributing to widespread declines of amphibians, and pond-breeding species may be particularly sensitive to future drought conditions that restrict wetland hydroperiods and decrease opportunities for successful breeding and recruitment. Pond-breeding amphibian populations can compensate for periodic droughts via episodic booms in recruitment, but studies...
Authors
Brian A. Crawford, John C. Maerz, Vanessa C. K. Terrell, Clinton T. Moore
Waif gopher tortoise survival and site fidelity following translocation
Gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) are among the most commonly translocated reptiles. Waif tortoises are animals frequently of unknown origin that have been displaced from the wild and often held in human possession for various reasons and durations. Although there are risks associated with any translocation, waif tortoises are generally excluded from translocation projects because...
Authors
R.K. McKee, K.A. Buhlmann, Clinton T. Moore, J. Hepinstall-Cymerman, T.D. Tuberville
Comparing husbandry techniques for optimal head-starting of the Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii)
Mojave Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) populations continue to decline throughout their range. Head-starting—the captive rearing of offspring to a size where they are presumably more likely to survive post-release—is being explored as a potential recovery tool. Previous Desert Tortoise head-starting programs have reared neonates exclusively outdoors. Here, we explore using a...
Authors
P. A. McGovern, K. A. Buhlmann, B. D. Todd, Clinton T. Moore, J. M. Peaden, J. Hepinstall-Cymerman, J. A. Daly, T. D. Tuberville
The effect of size on postrelease survival of head-started Mojave desert tortoises
Captive-rearing conservation programs focus primarily on maximizing postrelease survival. Survival increases with size in a variety of taxa, often leading to the use of enhanced size as a means to minimize postrelease losses. Head-starting is a specific captive-rearing approach used to accelerate growth in captivity prior to release in the wild. We explored the effect of size at release...
Authors
P. A. McGovern, K. A. Buhlmann, B. D. Todd, Clinton T. Moore, J. M. Peaden, J. Heppenstall-Cymerman, J. A. Daly, T. D. Tuberville
Expert-informed habitat suitability analysis for at-risk species assessment and conservation planning
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is responsible for reviewing the biological status of hundreds of species to determine federal status designations under the Endangered Species Act. The longleaf pine Pinus palustris ecological system supports many priority at-risk species designated for review, including five species of herpetofauna: gopher tortoise Gopherus polyphemus...
Authors
Brian A. Crawford, John C. Maerz, Clinton T. Moore
An adaptive approach to vegetation management in native prairies of the northern Great Plains
No abstract available.
Authors
Clinton T. Moore, Jill J. Gannon, Terry L. Shaffer, Cami Dixon
Estimating population persistence for at-risk species using citizen science data
Population persistence probability is valuable for characterizing risk to species and informing listing and conservation decisions but is challenging to estimate through traditional methods for rare, data-limited species. Modeling approaches have used citizen science data to mitigate data limitations of focal species and better estimate parameters such as occupancy and detection, but...
Authors
B.A. Crawford, M. Olds, J.C. Maerz, Clinton T. Moore
Nonlinear patterns in mercury bioaccumulation in American alligators are a function of predicted age
Mercury is a widespread, naturally occurring contaminant that biomagnifies in wetlands due to the methylation of this element by sulfate-reducing bacteria. Species that feed at the top trophic level within wetlands are predicted to have higher mercury loads compared to species feeding at lower trophic levels and are therefore often used for mercury biomonitoring. However, mechanisms for...
Authors
A.J. Lawson, Clinton T. Moore, T.R. Rainwater, F.M. Nilsen, P.M. Wilkinson, R.H. Lowers, L.J. Jr Guillett, Katherine W. McFadden, Patrick G.R. Jodice
American alligator growth simulation and integrated population model
The software consists of three scripts to be run in the R statistical program: 1) Alligator growth simulation; 2) alligator integrated population model file; and 3) data visualization script. Script #1 produces growth transition probabilities that are used in script #2. The second script uses the outputs from #1 as well as other data files to run an integrated population model. The last...
Optimal horseshoe crab harvest policies via approximate dynamic programming
Approximate Dynamic Programming relies on forward simulation of the system, so two population projection models are used, one for crabs and one for red knots. The two models are linked: HSC abundance is a predictor variable in the REKN model. Other useful outputs are produced as well, such as predictions of future harvest.
Vegetation_LTDS
Line-transect distance sampling (LTDS) surveys are commonly used to estimate abundance of animals or objects. In terrestrial LTDS surveys of gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) burrows, the presence of ground-level vegetation significantly decreases detection of burrows of all sizes, but no field or analytical methods exist to control for spatially heterogeneous vegetation obstruction...