Diann Prosser, Ph.D.
Diann is a research wildlife ecologist at the Eastern Ecological Science Center located in Laurel, MD
Productivity of Species of Concern – Least Tern and Common Tern on Poplar Island Restoration Site
This project aims to understand the factors driving breeding success of multiple waterbird species, with special emphasis on Least and Common Terns (two species of concern) on Poplar Island Environmental Restoration Project.
She began working at Patuxent in 1999. Her background is in wetland ecology and ornithology and her research interests include using spatial modeling techniques to help answer questions related to wildlife and stressors such as climate change and disease.
Recently Hosted Visiting Scientists from Chinese Academy of Sciences (2012-2013)
Professional Experience
2012 - present Research Wildlife Biologist, USGS Eastern Ecological Science Center, Laurel, MD
2004 - 2012 Wildlife Biologist, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
1998 - 2004 Biological Scientist, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
1993 - 1998 Research Associate, Penn State Cooperative Wetlands Center, State College, PA
Education and Certifications
B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Science (1995) from the Pennsylvania State University
M.S. in Ecology (1998) from the Pennsylvania State University
Ph.D. (2012) from the University of Maryland’s Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences interdisciplinary ecology program
Honors and Awards
2017 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)
University of Maryland Goldhaber Travel Grant
2011 NSF SGER Grant
2007 NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes
2005 University of Maryland Nagel Travel Grant
2005 USGS, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Star Award 2000
Science and Products
Seasonal occurrence and abundance of dabbling ducks across the continental United States: Joint spatio-temporal modelling for the Genus Anas
Hurricane Sandy impacts on coastal wetland resilience
Limited detection of antibodies to clade 2.3.4.4 A/Goose/Guangdong/1/1996 lineage highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza virus in North American waterfowl
Waterfowl spring migratory behavior and avian influenza transmission risk in the changing landscape of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway
A video surveillance system to monitor breeding colonies of common terns (Sterna Hirundo)
Investigating home range, movement pattern, and habitat selection of Bar-headed Geese during breeding season at Qinghai Lake, China
Preliminary evaluation of behavioral response of nesting waterbirds to small unmanned aircraft flight
The impact of surveillance and control on highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks in poultry in Dhaka division, Bangladesh
Impacts of coastal land use and shoreline armoring on estuarine ecosystems: An introduction to a special issue
Effects of local shoreline and subestuary watershed condition on waterbird community integrity: Influences of geospatial scale and season in the Chesapeake Bay
Use of Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia) burrows as shelter by Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) chicks
Integrating animal movement with habitat suitability for estimating dynamic migratory connectivity
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Seasonal occurrence and abundance of dabbling ducks across the continental United States: Joint spatio-temporal modelling for the Genus Anas
Estimating the distribution and abundance of wildlife is an essential task in species conservation, wildlife management and habitat prioritization. Although a host of methods and tools have been proposed to accomplish this undertaking, several challenges remain in accurately forecasting occurrence and abundance for highly mobile species. Exhibiting extensive geographic ranges with seasonally varyiAuthorsJohn M. Humphreys, Jennifer L. Murrow, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Diann ProsserHurricane Sandy impacts on coastal wetland resilience
The goal of this research was to evaluate the impacts of Hurricane Sandy on surface elevation trends in estuarine marshes located across the northeast region of the United States from Virginia to Maine using data from an opportunistic (in other words, not strategic) and collaborative network (from here on, an opportunistic network) of surface elevation table-marker horizon (SET-MH) stations. FirstAuthorsDonald R. Cahoon, Jennifer H. Olker, Alice G. Yeates, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, James B. Grace, Susan C. Adamowicz, Shimon C. Anisfeld, Andrew H. Baldwin, Nels Barrett, Leah Beckett, Alice Benzecry, Linda K. Blum, David M. Burdick, William Crouch, Marci Cole Ekberg, Sarah Fernald, Kristin Wilson Grimes, Joseph Grzyb, Ellen Kracauer Hartig, Danielle A. Kreeger, Marit Larson, Scott Lerberg, James C. Lynch, Nicole Maher, Martha Maxwell-Doyle, Laura R. Mitchell, Jordan Mora, Victoria O'Neill, Angela Padeletti, Diann J. Prosser, Tracy Quirk, Kenneth B. Raposa, William G. Reay, Drexel Siok, Christopher Snow, Adam Starke, J. Court Stevenson, Lorie Staver, Vincent TurnerLimited detection of antibodies to clade 2.3.4.4 A/Goose/Guangdong/1/1996 lineage highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza virus in North American waterfowl
During 2014, highly pathogenic (HP) influenza A viruses (IAVs) of the A/Goose/Guangdong/1/1996 lineage (GsGD-HP-H5), originating from Asia, were detected in domestic poultry and wild birds in Canada and the US. These clade 2.3.4.4 GsGD-HP-H5 viruses included reassortants possessing North American lineage gene segments; were detected in wild birds in the Pacific, Central, and Mississippi flyways; aAuthorsDavid E. Stallknecht, Clara Kienzle-Dean, Nick Davis-Fields, Christopher S. Jennelle, Andrew S. Bowman, Jacqueline M. Nolting, Walter Boyce, James Crum, Jefferson Santos, Justin D. Brown, Diann Prosser, Susan E. W. De La Cruz, Joshua T. Ackerman, Michael L. Casazza, Scott Krauss, Daniel Perez, Andrew M. Ramey, Rebecca L. PoulsonWaterfowl spring migratory behavior and avian influenza transmission risk in the changing landscape of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway
Avian influenza has advanced from a regional concern to a global health issue with significant economic, trade, and public health implications. Wild birds, particularly waterfowl (Anseriformes), are known reservoirs for low-pathogenic avian influenza viruses (AIV) and recent studies have shown their potential in the spread of highly pathogenic forms of virus. East Asia remains an epicenter for theAuthorsJeffery D. Sullivan, John Y. Takekawa, Kyle A. Spragens, Scott H. Newman, Xiangming Xiao, Paul J. Leader, Bena Smith, Diann J. ProsserA video surveillance system to monitor breeding colonies of common terns (Sterna Hirundo)
Many waterbird populations have faced declines over the last century, including the common tern (Sterna hirundo), a waterbird species with a widespread breeding distribution, that has been recently listed as endangered in some habitats of its range. Waterbird monitoring programs exist to track populations through time; however, some of the more intensive approaches require entering colonies and caAuthorsJ.L. Wall, Paul Marban, D.F. Brinker, J.D. Sullivan, M. Zimnik, J.L. Murrow, P. C. McGowan, Carl R. Callahan, Diann J. ProsserInvestigating home range, movement pattern, and habitat selection of Bar-headed Geese during breeding season at Qinghai Lake, China
The Bar-headed Goose is an important species in Asia, both culturally and ecologically. While prior studies have shown Qinghai Lake supports one of the largest breeding areas for Bar-headed Geese, little is known regarding the species movement ecology during the breeding season. In this study, we examined Bar-headed Goose home range size within the breeding grounds at Qinghai Lake and documented tAuthorsRuobing Zheng, Lacy M. Smith, Diann J. Prosser, John Y. Takekawa, Scott H. Newman, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Ze Luo, Baoping YanPreliminary evaluation of behavioral response of nesting waterbirds to small unmanned aircraft flight
Small unmanned aircraft systems present an emerging technology with the potential to survey colonial waterbird populations while reducing disturbance in comparison to traditional ground counts. Recent research with these systems has been performed on some colonially nesting avian species; however, none have focused on wading bird species. During 2015–2016, this study tested the behavioral responseAuthorsKaitlyn Reintsma, Peter C. McGowan, Carl R. Callahan, Tom Collier, David Gray, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Diann J. ProsserThe impact of surveillance and control on highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks in poultry in Dhaka division, Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, the poultry industry is an economically and socially important sector, but it is persistently threatened by the effects of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza. Thus, identifying the optimal control policy in response to an emerging disease outbreak is a key challenge for policy-makers. To inform this aim, a common approach is to carry out simulation studies comparing plausible stAuthorsEdward Hill, Thomas House, Madhur S. Dhingra, Wantanee Kalpradvidh, Subhash Morzaria, Muzaffar G. Osmani, Eric Brum, Mat Yamage, Md A. Kalam, Diann J. Prosser, John Y. Takekawa, Xiangming Xiao, Marius Gilbert, Michael J. TildesleyImpacts of coastal land use and shoreline armoring on estuarine ecosystems: An introduction to a special issue
The nearshore land-water interface is an important ecological zone that faces anthropogenic pressure from development in coastal regions throughout the world. Coastal waters and estuaries like Chesapeake Bay receive and process land discharges loaded with anthropogenic nutrients and other pollutants that cause eutrophication, hypoxia, and other damage to shallow-water ecosystems. In addition, shorAuthorsDiann J. Prosser, Thomas E. Jordan, Jessica L. Nagel, Rochelle D. Seitz, Donald E. Weller, Dennis F. WhighamEffects of local shoreline and subestuary watershed condition on waterbird community integrity: Influences of geospatial scale and season in the Chesapeake Bay
In many coastal regions throughout the world, there is increasing pressure to harden shorelines to protect human infrastructures against sea level rise, storm surge, and erosion. This study examines waterbird community integrity in relation to shoreline hardening and land use characteristics at three geospatial scales: (1) the shoreline scale characterized by seven shoreline types: bulkhead, ripraAuthorsDiann J. Prosser, Jessica L. Nagel, Shay Howlin, Paul Marban, Daniel D. Day, R. Michael ErwinUse of Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia) burrows as shelter by Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) chicks
The availability of shelter to avoid predation and ameliorate physiologically stressful conditions is often important to the survival of avian hatchlings. However, as changes in habitat availability force birds to nest in nontraditional locations, young must quickly adapt to using novel sources of shelter. Two Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) colonies (one vegetated and one barren) were observed durinAuthorsPeter C. McGowan, Kaitlyn Reintsma, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Katie P. DeVoss, Jennifer L. Wall, Mia D. Zimnik, Carl R. Callahan, Bill Schultz, Diann J. ProsserIntegrating animal movement with habitat suitability for estimating dynamic migratory connectivity
ContextHigh-resolution animal movement data are becoming increasingly available, yet having a multitude of empirical trajectories alone does not allow us to easily predict animal movement. To answer ecological and evolutionary questions at a population level, quantitative estimates of a species’ potential to link patches or populations are of importance.ObjectivesWe introduce an approach that combAuthorsMariëlle L. van Toor, Bart Kranstauber, Scott H. Newman, Diann J. Prosser, John Y. Takekawa, Georgios Technitis, Robert Weibel, Martin Wikelski, Kamran Safi - Web Tools
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