Jim is a Research Ecologist at the Eastern Ecological Science Center at the Patuxent Research Refuge in Laurel, MD.
Jim joined USGS as a Research Ecologist at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in 2016. Prior to joining USGS, he was a Wildlife Biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Division of Migratory Bird Management, also located at the Patuxent Research Refuge, from 2006–2016. He received a BS from University of Vermont and MS from Clemson University, both in Wildlife Biology, and a Ph.D. from Virginia Tech in Biology. His research interests include ecology and conservation of migratory birds and applications of decision analysis for natural resource management.
Science and Products
Population Ecology of Red Knots (C. c. roselaari) in the Pacific-Americas Flyway
The Red Knot (Calidris canutus roselaari) is long-distance migrant in the Pacific-Americas Flyway. The subspecies relies on a small number of stopover sites between Mexico and Alaska during migration. Extreme site fidelity and small population size make it vulnerable to environmental impacts and the effects of climate change.
Red Knot Migration and Population Ecology
Eastern Ecological Science Center biologists are studying migration and population ecology of the rufa red knot, a bird species that is dependent on horseshoe crab eggs to complete its trans-hemispheric migration. The birds' spring migration is timed with spawning of horseshoe crabs because the eggs are the perfect food for a migrating red knot.
Use of Structured Decision Making to Optimize Salt Marsh Management Decisions at Northeastern National Wildlife Refuges
US Fish and Wildlife Service completed a regional assessment of salt marsh integrity (SMI) on 15 National Wildlife Refuges/Refuge Complexes in the northeastern US. Developed within a structured decision making (SDM) framework, the SMI assessment provides essential baseline data on salt marsh condition relative to regional management objectives. These data now provide the basis for applying the SDM...
Adaptive Management of Black Rails
The Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis) is the most secretive of the secretive marsh birds and few aspects of its life history and ecology are well understood. The Eastern Black Rail subspecies (L. j. jamaicensis) is listed as endangered in five states along the Atlantic Coast and has been proposed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act and is under review for federal listing. Historical...
Informing Management of Waterfowl Harvest in a Changing Climate
The ability to effectively manage wildlife in North America is founded in an understanding of how human actions and the environment influence wildlife populations. Current management practices are informed by population monitoring data from the past to determine key ecological relationships and make predictions about future population status. In most cases, including the regulation of waterfowl hu
Marine Bird Populations and the Gulf of Mexico Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (GoMMAPPS)
The Challenge: The Gulf of Mexico has critically important breeding, staging, and wintering habitats for North America’s migratory birds. Unfortunately, limited information is available to quantitatively characterize species composition, distribution, and abundance of birds Gulf-wide, particularly for seabirds. The number of platforms and cumulative level of oil and gas activity in the northern...
Structured Decision Making
The biggest natural resource management challenges include competing views of the value and uses of those resources in society. Patuxent scientists develop methods to manage resources given those competing views under a “structured decision making” (SDM) framework. Our scientists both practice and train others in key SDM skills, such as model development and monitoring design.
Decision-Support for Migratory Bird Management in the Face of Uncertainty
Migratory birds are responding to changes in climate in complex and sometimes unpredictable ways. The timing of breeding and migration typically coincide with the periods of peak food availability; however, these peaks are shifting as temperatures and precipitation patterns change, resulting in a mismatch in the timing of key events. The degree to which this mismatch is impacting migratory birds v
Structured Decision Making: Methods, Applications, and Capacity-Building
The Challenge: The field of decision analysis is a rich and mature discipline that provides robust methods for helping decision makers understand the nature of their decisions, involve stakeholders and scientists in appropriate steps of the process, and develop transparent records for the public. The use of these structured approaches is emerging in natural resource management, and there is strong...
Science and Products
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Population Ecology of Red Knots (C. c. roselaari) in the Pacific-Americas Flyway
The Red Knot (Calidris canutus roselaari) is long-distance migrant in the Pacific-Americas Flyway. The subspecies relies on a small number of stopover sites between Mexico and Alaska during migration. Extreme site fidelity and small population size make it vulnerable to environmental impacts and the effects of climate change.Red Knot Migration and Population Ecology
Eastern Ecological Science Center biologists are studying migration and population ecology of the rufa red knot, a bird species that is dependent on horseshoe crab eggs to complete its trans-hemispheric migration. The birds' spring migration is timed with spawning of horseshoe crabs because the eggs are the perfect food for a migrating red knot.Use of Structured Decision Making to Optimize Salt Marsh Management Decisions at Northeastern National Wildlife Refuges
US Fish and Wildlife Service completed a regional assessment of salt marsh integrity (SMI) on 15 National Wildlife Refuges/Refuge Complexes in the northeastern US. Developed within a structured decision making (SDM) framework, the SMI assessment provides essential baseline data on salt marsh condition relative to regional management objectives. These data now provide the basis for applying the SDM...Adaptive Management of Black Rails
The Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis) is the most secretive of the secretive marsh birds and few aspects of its life history and ecology are well understood. The Eastern Black Rail subspecies (L. j. jamaicensis) is listed as endangered in five states along the Atlantic Coast and has been proposed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act and is under review for federal listing. Historical...Informing Management of Waterfowl Harvest in a Changing Climate
The ability to effectively manage wildlife in North America is founded in an understanding of how human actions and the environment influence wildlife populations. Current management practices are informed by population monitoring data from the past to determine key ecological relationships and make predictions about future population status. In most cases, including the regulation of waterfowl huMarine Bird Populations and the Gulf of Mexico Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (GoMMAPPS)
The Challenge: The Gulf of Mexico has critically important breeding, staging, and wintering habitats for North America’s migratory birds. Unfortunately, limited information is available to quantitatively characterize species composition, distribution, and abundance of birds Gulf-wide, particularly for seabirds. The number of platforms and cumulative level of oil and gas activity in the northern...Structured Decision Making
The biggest natural resource management challenges include competing views of the value and uses of those resources in society. Patuxent scientists develop methods to manage resources given those competing views under a “structured decision making” (SDM) framework. Our scientists both practice and train others in key SDM skills, such as model development and monitoring design.Decision-Support for Migratory Bird Management in the Face of Uncertainty
Migratory birds are responding to changes in climate in complex and sometimes unpredictable ways. The timing of breeding and migration typically coincide with the periods of peak food availability; however, these peaks are shifting as temperatures and precipitation patterns change, resulting in a mismatch in the timing of key events. The degree to which this mismatch is impacting migratory birds vStructured Decision Making: Methods, Applications, and Capacity-Building
The Challenge: The field of decision analysis is a rich and mature discipline that provides robust methods for helping decision makers understand the nature of their decisions, involve stakeholders and scientists in appropriate steps of the process, and develop transparent records for the public. The use of these structured approaches is emerging in natural resource management, and there is strong... - Data
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