H Brian Underwood, Ph.D.
I collaborate with DOI partners, USGS and academic colleagues on mission-critical problems or emerging issues. I conduct research primarily through graduate student mentoring and advising. Secondarily, I provide technical assistance to partners that often lead to interesting research questions and products.
Biography
Curriculum Vitae (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/H_Underwood)
Professional Experience
- Research Wildlife Biologist, 1990-present.
Education
- BS (1982); Wildlife Resources Management, West Virginia University, Morgantown.
- MS (1986); Wildlife Ecology, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse.
- PhD (1990); Wildlife Ecology, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse.
Current Research Emphasis
- applied population biology, ecology and demography
- natural resource conservation and management
- systems modeling and simulation
- trophic dynamics of plant-herbivore, prey-predator systems
- numerical ecology and applied statistics
Honors, Awards and Recognition
- Patuxent Scientific Achievement Award, 3/00
- Service Appreciation, Bureau of Land Management, 5/99
- Regional Director’s Award (Northeast Region) for Natural Resource Research, National Park Service, 5/98
- Merit Award for Scientific Contributions, Fire Island National Seashore, 2/98
Professional Society Affiliations
- The Wildlife Society, Northeast Section, New York Chapter
TECHNICAL TRAININGRECEIVED.
- Cooperative Agreements Training, 1991
- Population Dynamics Workshop, SREL, 1991
- The Role and Responsibilities of Those Using Animals in Research and Teaching, 1994
- The Internet as a Faculty Tool, Syracuse University, 1995
- Making a Syllabus Page for the WWW, Syracuse University, 1995
- ArcView II Short‑course, SUNY- ESF Continuing Education, 1995
- Capture and Chemical Anesthesia of Wildlife, 1996
- AAA Driver Improvement Program, 2005
- USGS Field Employee Safety Orientation, 2005
PRESENT ASSIGNMENTS.
DATES: June 2010 To: Present
Impacts of Super-Storm Sandy and Deer Browsing on the Establishment, Development and Persistence of Maritime Vegetation ─ Principal Technical Advisor and Co-PI; Funding source: National Park Service, Fire Island National Seashore.
This project seeks to understand the impact of Hurricane Sandy and deer on the establishment, development and growth of maritime vegetation. I advise two permanent staff biologists (and their technicians) and help them identify and implement research and monitoring activities to understand the implications of natural and anthropogenic disturbance to the conservation status of imperiled plant species and communities. (Percentage Time: 70, Percentage R&D: 90)
Predicting the effects of both natural and anthropogenic disturbance on the persistence of species and communities is an important thrust in conservation biology. Barrier island vegetation is well-adapted to natural disturbances that disrupt sandy substrates. Beach nourishment, artificial dune construction, sediment transport and erosion and the effects of the built environment also significantly impact natural vegetation, and much remains to be studied. Additionally, chronic herbivory that disrupts natural regeneration processes of barrier island plants and communities may make them more vulnerable to extinction. My primary research includes: (1) evaluating the effects of deer browsing on vegetation establishment, growth and development in key natural zones, (2) characterizing remaining maritime forest fragments, (3) analyzing movements of deer in and around hurricane impact zones, and (4) constructing probabilistic models that reflect key disturbance mechanisms, rates of change and past and future states.
Using Modern Statistical Approaches for Estimating Wildlife Population Abundance. ─ PI; Funding Sources: National Park Service, Fish & Wildlife Service, US Geology Survey.
This project is an ongoing effort to promulgate methods that explicitly account for missed detections in the estimation of abundance of biological populations in parks and refuges. (Percentage Time: 25, Percentage R&D: 85)
Most counts of wildlife are biased low because the probability of detection is rarely perfect. Probability of detection is affected by many factors, though vegetation obstruction caused by seasonal phenology is most important at this latitude. I have employed distance sampling since its modern inception in the early 1980s, and have been using other methods (e.g., occupancy estimation) that explicitly account for missed detections during wildlife counts. I look for opportunities to test new ideas and new applications of these methods in parks and refuges. I am currently exploring density surface modeling as an alternative to stratified, distance sampling density estimation, the use of spatially-explicit capture-recapture methods of non-invasive sampling, and quantifying the effects of visual conspicuity (a psychophysical determinant of search performance) and visual clutter on detection probability. With a former student, I am developing simplified, encounter rate models that predict abundance to within reasonable precision targets.
Graduate Student Mentoring and Research ─ Major Advisor, Committee Member; Primary Funding Source: Department of Environmental & Forest Biology of SUNY ESF.
(Percentage Time: 5, Percentage R&D: 95)
Part of my obligation to the host academic institution is to advise and mentor young professionals. Recruiting talented and qualified graduate students allows me to meet that obligation and to explore new and emerging research topics outside of targeted DOI RFPs. I generally mentor 1-4 graduate students at a time, depending on the quality of the candidate pool, availability of space and funding. Students in my lab conduct independent research projects that are often, but not always, related to mine. I sometimes support students on DOI funded projects, but more often, my students are supported by departmental funds and small grants. I help students develop research proposals, write grants to obtain project funding, collect and analyze data, make professional presentations, write their thesis or dissertation and publish their research products.
Name and Title of Supervisor: Linda Weir, Branch Chief of Migratory Birds & Ecosystem Science, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
PREVIOUS PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS.
DATES: Autumn 1996 To: Spring 2010
Research Wildlife Biologist, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Syracuse Field Station, College of Environmental Science & Forestry, Syracuse, New York. As a Field Station scientist, I engaged in a broad spectrum of wildlife and related research, including inventory, monitoring, impact analysis, risk assessment, population ecology and management, natural resources policy and planning.
DATES: Spring 1993 To: Autumn 1996
Research Wildlife Biologist, National Biological Service (NBS), College of Environmental Science & Forestry, Syracuse, New York. I served as Leader, Cooperative Park Studies Unit, later to be transferred to the former NBS, Division of Cooperative Research.
DATES From: Spring 1990 To: Spring 1993
Regional Wildlife Biologist, National Park Service, Boston, Massachusetts. I was responsible for organizing and coordinating region-wide studies of white-tailed deer ecology and management on National Park Service units, and served as contract officer on all other wildlife-related research projects.
SIGNIFICANT RESEARCH or DEVELOPMENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
Using biophysical models to predict species responses to climate change.
- Background ─ Moose populations in the northern continental US have been steadily declining over the past 40 years. More recent declines have been documented in New England. Changing thermal regimes resulting from climate warming have been implicated in a cascade of direct and indirect impacts on moose populations. In addition to the direct effects of heat stress, increased parasitism by winter ticks (Dermacentor albipictus) and long-term shifts in northern forest composition are anticipated to impact moose numbers region-wide. In New York’s Adirondack State Park (ASP), a re-colonizing moose population has increased to about 800 individuals in 25 years. Over the same period, meteorological records indicate increases in summer and winter temperatures, lower snowfall amounts and over-winter snow pack, earlier ice-out dates and later ice-in dates on lakes, earlier leaf emergence and bloom dates of plants, and other indicators of regional climate warming. Elucidating critical linkages between changing thermal environments, habitat utilization and behavioral thermoregulation is critical for determining the effects of climate on the future distribution of moose.
- Role ─ I designed a research project to determine the effect of the thermal environment on heat balance in moose through the calculation of operative temperature. With a graduate student, we (1) modeled elevational differences in ambient temperature across the ASP during periods of heat stress for moose, (2) used hemispherical photography and micro-meteorology to estimate solar radiation reaching the forest floor, (3) modified several existing heat balance formulations for wild and domestic mammals to predict operative temperature under 3 canopy types, and (4), incorporated thermal constraints into a conventional habitat suitability model for moose.
- Results ─ Validated against a long-term dataset of moose observations, our model better classified moose into high, medium or low habitat suitability than a similar model that did not account explicitly for the thermal environment.
- Impact ─ This is the first field study to integrate modeling, geospatial analysis, hemispherical photography and micro-meteorology to explore the impacts of climate change on a large mammal like moose. It represents the first study to explicitly incorporate thermal constraints into a habitat suitability model for a large herbivore, and verified that the most thermally hostile period for moose occurs in early spring before snowmelt and not during the height of summer. This project has been recognized for its originality, complexity and excellence.
Stochastic population dynamics of unmanaged white-tailed deer populations.
- Background ─ In many parts of the eastern U.S., white-tailed deer populations have existed for decades at densities high enough to cause concern for human health and safety and ecological impacts. For white-tailed deer, the effects of density on harvest and yield have been well-studied. Much less is known about the effects of environmental stochasticity on deer population fluctuations. Embarking on deer density reduction with only an understanding of density dependent responses could quickly lead to mistakes in management and lost credibility.
- Role ─ Over a decade ago, I encouraged parks to estimate deer density and its uncertainty using the methods I refined and recommended. Using data from 16 cooperating parks, I (with a graduate student) estimated parameters of a population model from datasets varying in length from 7 - 13 years. The model integrates the effects of density dependence and environmental stochasticity on population fluctuation. We conducted Monte Carlo-style simulations to explore parameter bias owing to structural elements of the model and data quality.
- Results ─ We demonstrate that variability in population size over time is positively related to weather-induced, environmental stochasticity and that more variable populations are characterized by lower carrying capacities. Finally, we characterize thresholds of data quality (ratios of process to sampling variance) required to estimate parameters of the stochastic population model with reasonable precision.
- Impact ─ Because we show that the expression of density dependence is context specific, the use of generalized sustained yield relationships could lead to management failures, and that agency policy for deer reductions in parks and refuges should also account for environmental stochasticity.
OTHER CAREER ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
Accounting for missed detections in wildlife population abundance surveys.
- Background ─ Counts of most organisms are difficult to interpret because abundance is often confounded by differential detection. Accounting for missed detections is a major procedural improvement in abundance/occupancy estimation in recent years. While interest in the application of distance sampling is high, technical expertise is still limited in most natural resource agency settings.
- Role ─ Since the early 1990s, I have designed, planned and executed various distance sampling protocols in a variety of contexts using state-of-the-art software and creative field methods. These efforts have increased the quality and veracity of data used for the management of species’ populations. I developed a 2-3 day workshop that includes a field exercise where participants collect and analyze their own data, adapted to different species and circumstances.
- Results ─ With students and colleagues, I have successfully applied the method along straight-line transects, along curving transects by using GPS technology and planar geometry, for one-sided and two-sided transects, for statewide abundance estimation for deer, and to the understanding the long-term population dynamics of un-hunted deer populations. Since 2000, nearly 200 natural resource professional have attended my workshops.
- Impact ─ My distance sampling protocols for estimating deer density and abundance are being used in over a dozen national parks, several national wildlife refuges and state parks. In addition, a distance sampling protocol I helped to develop is being applied across the extant distribution of the endangered, Karner blue butterfly. Recently with colleagues, we deployed a point-sampling procedure using call-response surveys and distance sampling to estimate the statewide abundance of coyotes (Canis latrans) in New York. Hansen, S. J. K., J. Frair, H. B. Underwood, and J. P. Gibbs. Pairing call-response surveys and distance sampling for a mammalian carnivore. Submitted December, 2013.
Use of fertility control for managing wild herbivores.
- Background ─ Fertility control is often viewed as a non-lethal alternative to population management for wild herbivores. Indeed in some circumstances, population control has been efficacious; yet in others, control remains elusive due to logistical factors affecting vaccine delivery.
- Role ─ I explored the promises and pitfalls of fertility control on wild horses at Assateague Island National Seashore and then on white-tailed deer at Fire Island National Seashore and elsewhere. I modified harvest management theory, designed field studies and constructed simulation models to examine the efficacy of fertility control in settings where conventional means of population management are limited.
- Results ─ I constructed the first stochastic model of wild horse population dynamics with a fertility control option. I developed additional probabilistic models for deer at Fire Island National Seashore and Morristown National Historical Park. From a study designed with colleagues in a suburban setting, I used regional matrix population models to define specific criteria for which fertility control could be contemplated, and the role of dispersal in determining success or failure in adjacent areas with different population targets.
- Impact ─ Though the application of fertility control to wild populations of remains quite limited, my research contributions are among the first to detail the conditions under which it could succeed as a population management tool.
SCIENTIFIC LEADERSHIP.
My primary leadership role as a scientist has been in helping resource managers understand the ecological implications of overabundant herbivore populations in parks and refuges. I assist them in estimating deer abundance, in characterizing impacts to important natural and cultural resources, understanding the scope of issues caused by deer overabundance, and casting the problems in a scientific framework and lead to resolution. Early in my career, I convened The Science of Overabundance (TSO) symposium with colleagues at the Smithsonian Institute’s Center for Conservation Research to review the state of the science regarding deer overabundance on public lands. An edited volume comprised of select papers from the symposium was a significant contribution to our understanding at the time. Published by the Smithsonian Institution Press, the book received national attention and was reviewed favorably by several prestigious journals. TSO was nominated for the Wildlife Society’s 1998 Wildlife Publication Award, and helped managers frame overabundance in ecological terms. The TSOand subsequent research products have invited much dialog about mammal management on public trust lands, and influenced several revisions of natural resource management policies of state and federal agencies. Since then, I continue to explore aspects of overabundance and details of the irruption process, which takes longer to complete than a career in the sciences. I have served on 2 BRD RGE panels and 1 GD RGE panel.
Science and Products
Conservation of Rare Vegetation Communities of the Atlantic Coastal Barrier Islands
The Challenge: A synthesis of the role of disturbance, in all of its manifestations, on the establishment and development of the American Holly forest is required to guide future conservation measures. Because many forest fragments have already endured >30 years of chronic deer herbivory, a legitimate question of how much more impact by deer can be tolerated and still conserve the essential...
Post-Hurricane Sandy Vegetation Recovery in the Presence of a Hyper-abundant Deer Population
The Challenge: The primary dune along barrier island beaches protects leeward vegetation from tidal fluctuation, salt spray and storm surge. However, storm surges like those experienced during Hurricane Sandy can obliterate the primary dune, transporting sand inland and burying existing vegetation. The dune rebuilds naturally as recovering vegetation traps wind-blown and waterborne sand. ...
Estimation of Density and Abundance of Biological Populations on National Parks and Wildlife Refuges Through Distance Sampling
The Challenge: Assessing the status and trends of populations of biological organisms is an important management goal and a recurrent theme in USGS research. Often, the most basic question of “how many are there?” remains elusive, thus making management decisions more difficult. This study continues a long-term commitment of technical support for the use of distance sampling for wildlife...
Modeling the effects of land cover and use on landscape capability for urban ungulate populations: Chapter 11
Expanding ungulate populations are causing concerns for wildlife professionals and residents in many urban areas worldwide. Nowhere is the phenomenon more apparent than in the eastern US, where urban white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations are increasing. Most habitat suitability models for deer have been developed in rural areas...
Francis, Robert A.; Millington, James D. A.; Chadwick, Michael A.; Underwood, Harold; Kilheffer, Chellby R. Pairing call-response surveys and distance sampling for a mammalian carnivore
Density estimates accounting for differential animal detectability are difficult to acquire for wide-ranging and elusive species such as mammalian carnivores. Pairing distance sampling with call-response surveys may provide an efficient means of tracking changes in populations of coyotes (Canis latrans), a species of particular interest in the...
Hansen, Sara J. K.; Frair, Jacqueline L.; Underwood, Harold B.; Gibbs, James P. Fine scale habitat use by age-1 stocked muskellunge and wild northern pike in an upper St. Lawrence River bay
Radio telemetry of stocked muskellunge (n = 6) and wild northern pike (n = 6) was used to track late summer and fall movements from a common release point in a known shared nursery bay to test the hypothesis that age-1 northern pike and stocked muskellunge segregate and have different habitat affinities. Water depth,...
Farrell, John M.; Kapuscinski, Kevin L.; Underwood, Harold Comparing protein and energy status of winter-fed white-tailed deer
Although nutritional status in response to controlled feeding trials has been extensively studied in captive white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), there remains a considerable gap in understanding the influence of variable supplemental feeding protocols on free-ranging deer. Consequently, across the northern portion of the white-tailed deer...
Page, B.D.; Underwood, H.B. Effects of forest structure and composition on food availability for Varecia variegata at Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar
We present a summary of a long-term field study that examined the effects of forest disturbance on the availability of palatable fruit and its utilization by V. variegata. Forest structure and tree species composition were measured in three adjacent study areas, with different histories of disturbance, in Ranomafana National Park (RNP),...
Balko, E.A.; Underwood, H.B. White-tailed deer ecology and management on Fire Island
Deer populations have grown dramatically on Fire Island National Seashore (FIlS) since 1983. Trend data reveal a dichotomy in deer dynamics. In the eastern half of the island, deer density appears to have stabilized between 25-35 deer/km2. In the western half of the island, deer densities are 3-4 times as high in residential communities....
Underwood, H.B. Movement behavior, dispersal, and the potential for localized management of deer in a suburban environment
We examined the potential for localized management of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to be successful by measuring movements, testing site fidelity, and modeling the effects of dispersal. Fifty-nine females were radiomarked and tracked during 1997 through 2000 in Irondequoit, New York, USA, a suburb of Rochester. We constructed home...
Porter, W.F.; Underwood, H.B.; Woodard, J.L. Woodland type and spatial distribution of nymphal Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae)
Spatial distribution patterns of black-legged ticks, Ixodes scapularis, in deciduous and coniferous woodlands were studied by sampling ticks in different woodland types and at sites from which deer had been excluded and by quantifying movement patterns of tick host animals (mammals and birds) at the Lighthouse Tract, Fire Island, NY, from 1994 to...
Ginsberg, Howard S.; Zhioua, Elyes; Mitra, Shaibal; Fischer, Jason L.; Buckley, P.A.; Verret, Frank; Underwood, H. Brian; Buckley, Francine G. Windows of opportunity: white-tailed deer and the dynamics of northern hardwood forests of the northeastern US
Herbivory, lighting regimes, and site conditions are among the most important determinants of forest regeneration success, but these are affected by a host of other factors such as weather, predation, human exploitation, pathogens, wind and fire. We draw together > 50 years of research on the Huntington Wildlife Forest in the central...
Sage, R.W.; Porter, W.F.; Underwood, H.B. Field testing of immunocontraception on white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) on Fire Island National Seashore, New York, USA
Application of contraception for the control of suburban populations of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) has been much debated, but few data are available on field applications and even fewer on population effects. Between 1993 and 1997, 74-164 individually known female deer living on Fire Island, New York, USA, were treated remotely...
Kirkpatrick, J.F.; Lasley, B.L.; Allen, W.R.; Doberska, C.; Naugle, R.E.; Rutberg, A.T.; Underwood, H.B.; Turner, J.W.; Liu, I.K. Contraception & deer: the Irondequoit Report
Porter, W.F.; Underwood, H.B. Evaluating immunocontraception for managing suburban white-tailed deer in Irondequoit, New York
Immunocontraception is frequently proposed as an alternative to lethal removal of females for deer management. However, little information is available for evaluating the potential of applying immunocontraceptives to free-ranging populations. Our objectives were to estimate effort required to apply porcine zona pellucida (PZP) to individual deer...
Rudolph, B.A.; Porter, W.F.; Underwood, H.B.