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Jacoby Carter, Ph.D.

Jacoby Carter is Scientist Emeritus at the USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center. 

EDUCATION

Ph.D., Wildlife Management, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 1996
Dissertation: MOAB: A Generalizable Artificial Intelligence Model for Simulating Duck Nest Depredation in the Northern Prairie Region of North Dakota

M.S., Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, 1992
Thesis: A Comparison of the Distribution of Plant Species in Flathead Lake and Swan Lake Montana and its Implications for Kerr Dam Management Practices

B.S., Zoology and Botany, University of Washington, 1982

RESEARCH

Upon completion of graduate school, Jacoby Carter worked at the USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center (formerly National Wetlands Research Center) in Lafayette, Louisiana. Most of his research has focused on popluation dynamic modeling, studying invasive species and estuarine submerged aquatic vegetation. Carter's international work has included research in Mexico on land use change, in Vietnam on fire behavior models, and in Madagascar on environmental risk/benefit analysis. His current research emphases are modeling population dynamics, spatial distributions of plants and animals, movement models, and invasive species research. Species Carter currently works with are Green Treefrogs (Hyla cinerea), Nutria (Myocastor coypus), and Island Applesnails (Pomacea insularum). In addition, Carter is doing work on fire behavior models for Tea Tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) forest in Vietnam and have done a variety of vegetative surveys and monitoring.  

His personal research has focused on the following areas: developing improved telemetry equipment and techniques, documenting nutria natural history in non-marsh systems, modeling nutria population dynamics, dispersal and their impact on marsh systems.  

Island applesnail research team leader. Four co-PIs involved in spatial modeling, toxicology testing, bibliographic research, and testing biocontrol potential of native species.  

Green treefrog research: Carter is a co-PI for an NSF funded Undergraduate Biology/Mathematics Project.  Research for the project includes long term monitoring (5 years to date) of green treefrog population in an urban area. He developed and supervises this research.  

Ecologist- Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Technical Working Group- Freshwater/Brackish SAV sampling in response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.  Co-author of Freshwater/Brackish SAV sampling plan.  Federal team leader for sampling.