Darius Semmens
Darius Semmens is a Research Physical Scientist with the Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center
His current research interests include the development of new methods and tools for the assessment and valuation of ecosystem goods and services - the specific benefits that we derive from nature. More specifically, his work involves developing methods and tools that can account for the spatial and temporal dynamics of service production and incorporate that and other information into more rigorous analyses of the tradeoffs associated with landscape management. Darius' current work includes cultural ecosystem services modeling with the Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES) tool, quantifying ecosystem service flows from migratory species to inform cross-jurisdictional management and conservation, and multi-resource analysis for energy and minerals.
Professional Experience
2008: Research Physical Scientist with the USGS
2004-2007: Postdoctoral fellow with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development
Education and Certifications
2004: University of Arizona: Ph.D. in Watershed Management (minor in Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis)
1998: Northern Arizona University: M.S. in Geology (emphasis in Geomorphology)
1995: University of Minnesota: B.S. in Geology
Science and Products
Quantifying ecosystem service flows at multiple scales across the range of a long-distance migratory species
A guide to calculating habitat-quality metrics to inform conservation of highly mobile species
Recreation economics to inform migratory species conservation: Case study of the northern pintail
Quantitative tools for implementing the new definition of significant portion of the range in the U.S. Endangered Species Act
Ecosystem services from transborder migratory species: Implications for conservation governance
Monarch butterfly population decline in North America: identifying the threatening processes
Analyzing land-use change scenarios for trade-offs among culturalecosystem services in the Southern Rocky Mountains
Integrating spatially explicit representations of landscape perceptions into land change research
Restoring monarch butterfly habitat in the Midwestern US: 'All hands on deck'
Oil and gas development influences big-game hunting in Wyoming
Density estimates of monarch butterflies overwintering in central Mexico
Operationalizing the telecoupling framework for migratory species using the spatial subsidies approach to examine ecosystem services provided by Mexican free-tailed bats
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
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Filter Total Items: 74
Quantifying ecosystem service flows at multiple scales across the range of a long-distance migratory species
Migratory species provide ecosystem goods and services throughout their annual cycles, often over long distances. Designing effective conservation solutions for migratory species requires knowledge of both species ecology and the socioeconomic context of their migrations. We present a framework built around the concept that migratory species act as carriers, delivering benefit flows to people throAuthorsDarius J. Semmens, James E. Diffendorfer, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Ruscena Wiederholt, Karen Oberhauser, Leslie Ries, Brice X. Semmens, Joshua Goldstein, John B. Loomis, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Brady J. Mattsson, Laura Lopez-HoffmanA guide to calculating habitat-quality metrics to inform conservation of highly mobile species
Many metrics exist for quantifying the relative value of habitats and pathways used by highly mobile species. Properly selecting and applying such metrics requires substantial background in mathematics and understanding the relevant management arena. To address this multidimensional challenge, we demonstrate and compare three measurements of habitat quality: graph-, occupancy-, and demographic-basAuthorsJoanna A. Bieri, Christine Sample, Wayne E. Thogmartin, James E. Diffendorfer, Julia E. Earl, Richard A. Erickson, Paula Federico, D. T. Tyler Flockhart, Sam Nicol, Darius J. Semmens, T. Skraber, Ruscena Wiederholt, Brady J. MattssonRecreation economics to inform migratory species conservation: Case study of the northern pintail
Quantification of the economic value provided by migratory species can aid in targeting management efforts and funding to locations yielding the greatest benefits to society and species conservation. Here we illustrate a key step in this process by estimating hunting and birding values of the northern pintail (Anas acuta) within primary breeding and wintering habitats used during the species’ annuAuthorsBrady J. Mattsson, James A. Dubovsky, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Joshua H. Goldstein, John B. Loomis, James E. Diffendorfer, Darius J. Semmens, Ruscena Wiederholt, Laura Lopez-HoffmanQuantitative tools for implementing the new definition of significant portion of the range in the U.S. Endangered Species Act
In 2014, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service announced a new policy interpretation for the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). According to the act, a species must be listed as threatened or endangered if it is determined to be threatened or endangered in a significant portion of its range (SPR). The 2014 policy seeks to provide consistency by establishing thatAuthorsJulia E. Earl, Samuel Nicol, Ruscena Wiederholt, Jay E. Diffendorfer, Darius J. Semmens, D. T. Tyler Flockhart, Brady Mattsson, Gary McCracken, D. Ryan Norris, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Laura Lopez-HoffmanEcosystem services from transborder migratory species: Implications for conservation governance
This article discusses the conservation challenges of volant migratory transborder species and conservation governance primarily in North America. Many migratory species provide ecosystem service benefits to society. For example, insectivorous bats prey on crop pests and reduce the need for pesticides; birds and insects pollinate food plants; and birds afford recreational opportunities to huntersAuthorsLaura Lopez-Hoffman, Charles C. Chester, Darius J. Semmens, Wayne E. Thogmartin, M. Sofia Rodriguez-McGoffin, Robert W. Merideth, Jay E. DiffendorferMonarch butterfly population decline in North America: identifying the threatening processes
The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) population in North America has sharply declined over the last two decades. Despite rising concern over the monarch butterfly's status, no comprehensive study of the factors driving this decline has been conducted. Using partial least-squares regressions and time-series analysis, we investigated climatic and habitat-related factors influencing monarch populAuthorsWayne E. Thogmartin, Ruscena Wiederholt, Karen Oberhauser, Ryan G. Drum, Jay E. Diffendorfer, Sonia Altizer, Orley R. Taylor, John M. Pleasants, Darius J. Semmens, Brice X. Semmens, Richard A. Erickson, Kaitlin Libby, Laura Lopez-HoffmanAnalyzing land-use change scenarios for trade-offs among culturalecosystem services in the Southern Rocky Mountains
Significant increases in outdoor recreation participants are projected over the next 50 years for national forests across the United States, with even larger increases possible for forests located in the Southern Rocky Mountains. Forest managers will be challenged to balance increasing demand for outdoor recreation with other ecosystem services. Future management needs could be better anticipatedAuthorsBenson C. Sherrouse, Darius J. Semmens, Zachary H. Ancona, Nicole M. BrunnerIntegrating spatially explicit representations of landscape perceptions into land change research
Purpose of ReviewHuman perceptions of the landscape can influence land-use and land-management decisions. Recognizing the diversity of landscape perceptions across space and time is essential to understanding land change processes and emergent landscape patterns. We summarize the role of landscape perceptions in the land change process, demonstrate advances in quantifying and mapping landscape perAuthorsMonica Dorning, Derek B. Van Berkel, Darius J. SemmensRestoring monarch butterfly habitat in the Midwestern US: 'All hands on deck'
The eastern migratory population of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus plexippus) has declined by >80% within the last two decades. One possible cause of this decline is the loss of ≥1.3 billion stems of milkweed (Asclepias spp.), which monarchs require for reproduction. In an effort to restore monarchs to a population goal established by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and adopted by Mexico,AuthorsWayne E. Thogmartin, Laura Lopez-Hoffman, Jason J. Rohweder, James E. Diffendorfer, Ryan G. Drum, Darius J. Semmens, Scott Black, Iris Caldwell, Donita Cotter, Pauline Drobney, Laura L. Jackson, Michael Gale, Doug Helmers, Steven B. Hilburger, Elizabeth Howard, Karen S. Oberhauser, John M. Pleasants, Brice X. Semmens, Orley R. Taylor, Patrick Ward, Jake F. Weltzin, Ruscena WiederholtOil and gas development influences big-game hunting in Wyoming
Development from extracting oil and gas resources can have unintended effects on multiple ecosystem functions, with cascading effects on wildlife, ecosystem services, and local economies. Big-game hunting opportunities may be closely related to these effects, but empirical analyses of impacts of energy development on hunting are limited. We examined the influence of oil and gas development densityAuthorsMonica Dorning, Steven L. Garman, James E. Diffendorfer, Darius J. Semmens, Todd Hawbaker, Kenneth J. BagstadDensity estimates of monarch butterflies overwintering in central Mexico
Given the rapid population decline and recent petition for listing of the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus L.) under the Endangered Species Act, an accurate estimate of the Eastern, migratory population size is needed. Because of difficulty in counting individual monarchs, the number of hectares occupied by monarchs in the overwintering area is commonly used as a proxy for population size, whicAuthorsWayne E. Thogmartin, James E. Diffendorfer, Laura Lopez-Hoffman, Karen Oberhauser, John M. Pleasants, Brice X. Semmens, Darius J. Semmens, Orley R. Taylor, Ruscena WiederholtOperationalizing the telecoupling framework for migratory species using the spatial subsidies approach to examine ecosystem services provided by Mexican free-tailed bats
Drivers of environmental change in one location can have profound effects on ecosystem services and human well-being in distant locations, often across international borders. The telecoupling provides a conceptual framework for describing these interactions—for example, locations can be defined as sending areas (sources of flows of ecosystem services, energy, or information) or receiving areas (reAuthorsLaura Lopez Hoffman, James E. Diffendorfer, Ruscena Widerholt, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Gary McCraken, Rodrigo Medellin, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Amy Russell, Darius J. SemmensNon-USGS Publications**
Liu, Y., Mahmoud, M., Hartmann, H., Stewart, S., Wagener, T., Semmens, D., Stewart, R., Gupta, H., Dominguez, D., Hulse, D., Letcher, R., Rashleigh, B., Smith, C., Street, R., Ticehurst, J., Twery, M., van Delden, H., Waldick, R., White, D., and Winter, L., 2008, Formal scenario development for environmental impact assessment studies, in Jakeman, A., A. Voinov, A. E. Rizzoli, and S. Chen, (Eds.) Environmental Modelling, Software and Decision Support, 3. IDEA Book Series, Elsevier, 338 pp.Kepner, W.G., Hernandez, M., Semmens, D.J., and Goodrich D.C.,2008, The Use of Scenario Analysis to Assess Future Landscape Change on Watershed Condition in the Pacific Northwest (USA), in Use of Landscape Sciences for Environmental Security: NATO Security through Science Series, Springer Publishers, The Netherlands. ISBN 978-1-4020-6588-0, pp. 237-261.Kepner, W.G., Semmens, D.J., Hernandez, M., and Goodrich, D.C., 2008, Evaluating Hydrological Response to Forecasted Land-use Change, Chapter 15 in Special Issue of Association of American Geographers. North American Land Cover Summit. Washington, DC. pp. 275-292. ISBN 978-0-89291-271-1.Semmens, D.J., Goodrich, D.C., Unkrich, C.L., Smith, R.E., Woolhiser, D.A., and Miller, S.N., 2008, KINEROS2 and the AGWA modeling framework, in Wheater, H., Sorooshian, S., and Sharma, K.D., eds., Hydrological Modelling In Arid and Semi-Arid Areas: Cambridge University Press, New York, 206pp.Miller, S.N., Semmens, D.J., Goodrich, D.C., Hernandez, M., Miller, R.C., Kepner, W.G., and Guertin, D.P., 2007, The Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment tool: Environmental Modeling and Software, v. 22, n. 3, p. 365-377.Nikolova, M., S. Nedkov, D. Semmens, and S. Iankov, 2007, Environmental quality and landscape-risk assessment in the Yantra River Basin, in W. Kepner, W., Müller, F., Petrosillio, I., Jones, B., Krauze, K., Victorov, S., and Zurlini, G., (eds.), Use of Landscape Sciences for the Assessment of Environmental Security: NATO Security Through Science Series, Springer Publications, p. 202-217.Kepner, W.G., Semmens, D.J., Basset, S.D., Mouat, D.A., Goodrich, D.C., 2004, Scenario analysis for the San Pedro River, analyzing hydrological consequences for a future environment: Environmental Modeling and Assessment, v. 94, p. 115-127.**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.