Daniel Manier is an ecologist at the Fort Collins Science Center. Daniel has been involved in multiple USGS Sage-grouse and sagebrush habitat-related efforts, including the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Intitative and Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative.
I am most curious about the patterns and dynamics we observe across a landscape, be it a square meter or 15 million acres. In 2008, I was recruited to join a team of researchers working on the sagebrush ecosystem - as a contractor to USGS. I started working with a team of USGS, Colorado State University and University of Wyoming Scientists on conservation concerns related to Greater Sage-grouse and sagebrush habitat conditions from local scales up to the entire landscape. As part of the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative I led the long-term monitoring tool development task, led vegetation sampling for multiple field projects, developed spatial models, worked with local partners and the Science Advisory Committee. I also worked with the Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative as part of the Science Team for many years. Additional work at USGS has included restoration monitoring and site evaluation (Ouray NWR), post-fire restoration effectiveness (Wyoming), developing natural resources data to inform transportation planning (with Federal Land Highways).
Research Interests and Expertise
- Plant community and ecosystem ecology: range, shrub and forest systems; sagebrush ecosystem
- Plant-Animal Interactions: habitat condition and dynamics, herbivory
- Disturbance ecology: fire, drought, land-use Landscape Ecology - species distribution modeling, patterns and dynamics in abiotic drivers, habitat patterns and dynamics, GIS, spatial statistics
- Monitoring: spatial-temporal monitoring and sampling design; replicated methods; protocols and documentation
Education and Certifications
PhD 2000, Forest Ecology, Warner College of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
B.A. 1991, Philosophy and Religion, Colgate University, Hamilton, New York
Science and Products
Annotated Bibliography of Scientific Research on Greater Sage-Grouse
The greater sage-grouse has been a focus of scientific investigation and management action for the past two decades. The sheer number of scientific publications can be a challenge for managers tasked with evaluating and determining the need for potential updates to existing planning documents.
Understanding Local Resistance and Resilience to Future Habitat Change in the Sagebrush Ecosystem
The sagebrush ecosystem is home to diverse wildlife, including big-game and Greater sage-grouse. Historic and contemporary land-uses, large wildfires, exotic plant invasion, and woodland expansion all represent threats to this multiple-use landscape. Efforts of federal and state agencies and private landowners across the landscape are focused on restoration and maintenance of conditions that suppo
Soil-Climate Modeling To Improve Understanding of Pattern and Processes in Sagebrush Ecosystems: A Spatially Explicit Soil Classification
Resistance and resilience concepts provide an important framework for sagebrush habitat management. Existing spatial products have been developed using NRCS soil data; models using new data and methods can improve these products.
Species Distribution Modeling
A requirement for managing a species, be it a common native species, a species of conservation concern, or an invasive species, is having some information on its distribution and potential drivers of distribution. Branch scientists have been tackling the question of where these types of species are and where they might be in the future.
Energy Development and Changing Land Uses
Applied research and integrated regional assessments emphasize spatially explicit analyses of ecosystem components affected by energy development and land-use change in the western United States. Topics include sagebrush-steppe ecology; sagebrush habitat assessments; the effets of human activities (including energy development, transportation, and recreation) on habitats and wildlife behavior...
Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative: Inventory and Long-Term Monitoring
The Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) addresses effects of land-use and climate changes on Southwest Wyoming’s natural resources. In partnership with twelve Federal, State, and local natural resource agencies, and non-governmental organizations– FORT and ten other USGS centers are conducting dozens of integrated science projects to assess the status of Southwest Wyoming’s natural...
Landscape and Habitat Assessment
A central focus of this program is to conduct multi-scale assessments in order to develop related geospatial decision-support tools and methods. The program includes synthesizing broad-scale datasets and developing innovative approaches to assess the vulnerability and resilience of wildlife habitats and ecosystems, relative to land management decisions and ecosystem stressors on Department of the...
The Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI)
The Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) addresses effects of land-use and climate changes on Southwest Wyoming’s natural resources. In partnership with twelve Federal, State, and local natural resource agencies, and non-governmental organizations– FORT and ten other USGS centers are conducting dozens of integrated science projects to assess the status of Southwest Wyoming’s natural...
Science and Products
- Science
Annotated Bibliography of Scientific Research on Greater Sage-Grouse
The greater sage-grouse has been a focus of scientific investigation and management action for the past two decades. The sheer number of scientific publications can be a challenge for managers tasked with evaluating and determining the need for potential updates to existing planning documents.Understanding Local Resistance and Resilience to Future Habitat Change in the Sagebrush Ecosystem
The sagebrush ecosystem is home to diverse wildlife, including big-game and Greater sage-grouse. Historic and contemporary land-uses, large wildfires, exotic plant invasion, and woodland expansion all represent threats to this multiple-use landscape. Efforts of federal and state agencies and private landowners across the landscape are focused on restoration and maintenance of conditions that suppoSoil-Climate Modeling To Improve Understanding of Pattern and Processes in Sagebrush Ecosystems: A Spatially Explicit Soil Classification
Resistance and resilience concepts provide an important framework for sagebrush habitat management. Existing spatial products have been developed using NRCS soil data; models using new data and methods can improve these products.Species Distribution Modeling
A requirement for managing a species, be it a common native species, a species of conservation concern, or an invasive species, is having some information on its distribution and potential drivers of distribution. Branch scientists have been tackling the question of where these types of species are and where they might be in the future.Energy Development and Changing Land Uses
Applied research and integrated regional assessments emphasize spatially explicit analyses of ecosystem components affected by energy development and land-use change in the western United States. Topics include sagebrush-steppe ecology; sagebrush habitat assessments; the effets of human activities (including energy development, transportation, and recreation) on habitats and wildlife behavior...Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative: Inventory and Long-Term Monitoring
The Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) addresses effects of land-use and climate changes on Southwest Wyoming’s natural resources. In partnership with twelve Federal, State, and local natural resource agencies, and non-governmental organizations– FORT and ten other USGS centers are conducting dozens of integrated science projects to assess the status of Southwest Wyoming’s natural...Landscape and Habitat Assessment
A central focus of this program is to conduct multi-scale assessments in order to develop related geospatial decision-support tools and methods. The program includes synthesizing broad-scale datasets and developing innovative approaches to assess the vulnerability and resilience of wildlife habitats and ecosystems, relative to land management decisions and ecosystem stressors on Department of the...The Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI)
The Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) addresses effects of land-use and climate changes on Southwest Wyoming’s natural resources. In partnership with twelve Federal, State, and local natural resource agencies, and non-governmental organizations– FORT and ten other USGS centers are conducting dozens of integrated science projects to assess the status of Southwest Wyoming’s natural... - Data
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