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David R Edmunds, Ph.D.

Dave Edmunds is an ecologist at the Fort Collins Science Center, whose research focuses on greater sage-grouse population dynamics in Wyoming and across the western United States. 

Dave Edmunds has been an Ecologist in the Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics Research Branch at the Fort Collins Science Center since August 2020. Prior to coming to the US Geological Survey (USGS), Dave was a Research Scientist in the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory (NREL) at Colorado State University (CSU) while working in cooperation with the USGS in Dr. Cameron Aldridge’s lab (2014-2020). Dave maintains his connection with CSU as an Affiliate Research Scientist in NREL.

His career began at Virginia Tech, where he earned a B.S. in Wildlife Sciences in 2002. After graduation, he moved to Wyoming where he worked as a field technician for two years assisting on research projects that focused on black and grizzly bears, mountain lions, Greater sage-grouse, and white-tailed deer. Dave obtained his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Wyoming in the Department of Veterinary Sciences in 2008 and 2013, respectively. Both degrees were under the guidance of Dr. Todd Cornish and focused on the ecology and epidemiology of chronic wasting disease in a high prevalence white-tailed deer population in southeast Wyoming.

His research interests include population dynamics, population viability analyses, wildlife disease ecology, and movement ecology. His current research is varied, but his main focus is on Greater sage-grouse population dynamics in Wyoming and across the western United States.

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A wild horse herd running in the snow.

America's Wild Horses and Burros—Research to Support Management

The wild horses that roam the west are feral descendents of domestic animals that either escaped from or were intentionally released by early European explorers and later settlers. As a result of both origin and contemporary management, the Spanish or Iberian influence remains strong in some wild horse populations (e.g., the Kiger, Pryor Mountain, and Sulfur Mountain herds). In other populations...
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Fort Collins Science Center
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America's Wild Horses and Burros—Research to Support Management

The wild horses that roam the west are feral descendents of domestic animals that either escaped from or were intentionally released by early European explorers and later settlers. As a result of both origin and contemporary management, the Spanish or Iberian influence remains strong in some wild horse populations (e.g., the Kiger, Pryor Mountain, and Sulfur Mountain herds). In other populations...
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Spatial layers generated by the Prioritizing Restoration of Sagebrush Ecosystems Tool (PReSET) applied in Southern Wyoming

All data layers included in this data release were created using the Prioritizing Restoration of Sagebrush Ecosystems Tool (PReSET) tool, which relies on spatial inputs on species distributions and likelihood of restoration success to select parcels for sagebrush restoration. The PReSET is a workflow that relies on the prioritizr package in program R to identify parcels for effective and meaningfu
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Fort Collins Science Center

Hierarchically nested and biologically relevant monitoring frameworks for Greater Sage-grouse, 2019, Nevada and Wyoming, Interim

We developed a hierarchical clustering approach that identifies biologically relevant landscape units that can 1) be used as a long-term population monitoring framework, 2) be repeated across the Greater sage-grouse range, 3) be used to track the outcomes of local and regional populations by comparing population changes across scales, and 4) be used to inform where to best spatially target studies
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Fort Collins Science Center

Endemic chronic wasting disease causes mule deer population decline in Wyoming

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal transmissible spongiform encephalopathy affecting white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni), and moose (Alces alces shirasi) in North America. In southeastern Wyoming average annual CWD prevalence in mule deer exceeds 20% and appears to contribute to regional population declines.
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Ecosystems, Cooperative Research Units, National Wildlife Health Center

Chronic wasting disease drives population decline of white-tailed deer

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an invariably fatal transmissible spongiform encephalopathy of white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose. Despite a 100% fatality rate, areas of high prevalence, and increasingly expanding geographic endemic areas, little is known about the population-level effects of CWD in deer. To investigate these effects, we tested the null hypothesis that high prevalence C
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Cooperative Research Units

Designing multi-scale hierarchical monitoring frameworks for wildlife to support management: A sage-grouse case study

Population monitoring is integral to the conservation and management of wildlife; yet, analyses of population demographic data rarely consider processes occurring across spatial scales, potentially limiting the effectiveness of adaptive management. Therefore, we developed a method to identify hierarchical levels of organization (i.e., populations) to define multiple spatial scales, specifically in
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Ecosystems, Fort Collins Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Erratum - Greater sage-grouse population trends across Wyoming.

No abstract available.
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Ecosystems, Fort Collins Science Center

Greater sage-grouse population trends across Wyoming

The scale at which analyses are performed can have an effect on model results and often one scale does not accurately describe the ecological phenomena of interest (e.g., population trends) for wide-ranging species: yet, most ecological studies are performed at a single, arbitrary scale. To best determine local and regional trends for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in Wyoming, USA
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Ecosystems, Fort Collins Science Center

Effects of lek count protocols on greater sage-grouse population trend estimates

Annual counts of males displaying at lek sites are an important tool for monitoring greater sage-grouse populations (Centrocercus urophasianus), but seasonal and diurnal variation in lek attendance may increase variance and bias of trend analyses. Recommendations for protocols to reduce observation error have called for restricting lek counts to within 30 minutes of sunrise, but this may limit the
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Ecosystems, Sage-grouse & Sagebrush Ecosystem, Fort Collins Science Center

Prioritizing landscapes for grassland bird conservation with hierarchical community models

ContextGiven widespread population declines of birds breeding in North American grasslands, management that sustains wildlife while supporting rancher livelihoods is needed. However, management effects vary across landscapes, and identifying areas with the greatest potential bird response to conservation is a pressing research need.ObjectivesWe developed a hierarchical modeling approach to study g
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Ecosystems, Fort Collins Science Center

Range-wide greater sage-grouse hierarchical monitoring framework—Implications for defining population boundaries, trend estimation, and a targeted annual warning system

Incorporating spatial and temporal scales into greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) population monitoring strategies is challenging and rarely implemented. Sage-grouse populations experience fluctuations in abundance that lead to temporal oscillations, making trend estimation difficult. Accounting for stochasticity is critical to reliably estimate population trends and investigate varia
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Ecosystems, Fort Collins Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Synthesizing and analyzing long-term monitoring data: A greater sage-grouse case study

Long-term monitoring of natural resources is imperative for increasing the understanding of ecosystem processes, services, and how to manage those ecosystems to maintain or improve function. Challenges with using these data may occur because methods of monitoring changed over time, multiple organizations collect and manage data differently, and monetary resources fluctuate, affecting many aspects
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Ecosystems, Fort Collins Science Center

U.S. Geological Survey science for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative—2018 annual report

The Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) was established in 2007 as a collaborative interagency partnership to develop and implement science-based conservation actions. During the past 11 years, partners from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), State and Federal land management agencies, universities, and the public have collaborated to implement a long-term (more than 10 years) science-bas
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Ecosystems, Water Resources, Core Research Center, Earth Resources Observation and Science Center, Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center , Fort Collins Science Center, Nebraska Water Science Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Core Research Center

Prioritizing restoration areas to conserve multiple sagebrush-associated wildlife species

Strategic restoration of altered habitat is one method for addressing worldwide biodiversity declines. Within the sagebrush steppe of western North America, habitat degradation has been linked to declines in many species, making restoration a priority for managers; however, limited funding, spatiotemporal variation in restoration success, and the need to manage for diverse wildlife species make de
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Ecosystems, Fort Collins Science Center

grsg_lekdb: Compiling and standardizing greater sage-grouse lek databases

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) are landscape-scale sagebrush obligate species and an important gamebird and iconic species of the western United States. They occupy the sagebrush biome in western North America, extending east of the Sierra Nevada/Cascade Mountain ranges to the western regions of the Great Plains of the United States. Sage-grouse are one of the most closely monitor
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Fort Collins Science Center

popcluster: Developing Hierarchical Population Monitoring Frameworks for mobile species with high site fidelity

The software "popcluster" constructs hierarchically nested groupings of similar habitats associated with field surveys while considering biological structure/connectedness (movements between habitats). This approach can support mobile species with high site fidelity where monitoring during surveys occurs on birthing grounds, breeding grounds, or stopovers/seasonal habitat for migratory species. Ea
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Fort Collins Science Center
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Fort Collins Science Center Scientists Share Expertise at Society for Range Management Meeting

Scientists from the US Geological Survey Fort Collins Science Center will be presenting on topics ranging from sage-grouse to invasive plant species...

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