James Nichols, Ph.D.
Dr. Jim Nichols conducts research on animal population dynamics and management
Recent Accomplishments
Education
- B.S. Wake Forest University, Biology, 1971
- M.S. Louisiana State University, Wildlife Management, 1973
- Ph.D. Michigan State University, Wildlife Ecology, 1976
Professional Studies/Experience
- Adaptive management and assessment of habitat changes on migratory birds
- Development of models of mallard population dynamics for adaptive harvest management
- Development of methods to estimate parameters associated with animal population dynamics
- Statistical methods for species richness estimation
- Technical Assistance -Tiger Monitoring and Population Research
- Development of methods for estimating patch occupancy and patch-dynamic parameters from detection-nondetection survey data
- Development of methods to estimate species richness and community-dynamic parameters from species list data
Mentorship/Outreach
Professional societies/affiliations/committees/editorial boardsScientific/Oral Presentations, Abstracts
Honors, awards, recognition, elected offices
- 2005 - U.S. Presidential Rank Award (Meritorious Senior Professional)
- 2004 - U.S. Geological Survey Meritorious Service Award
- 2004 - IFAS Scholar Award, University of Florida
- 1998 - Promoted to Senior Scientist, U.S. Geological Survey
- 1991 - The George W. Snedecor Award of the American Statistical Association
- 1991 - The Wildlife Society's Wildlife Publication Award for Monograph
- 1984 - Southeastern Section of the Wildlife Society, Outstanding Publication Award
Scientific/Oral Presentations, Abstracts
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 417
Confronting uncertainty: Contributions of the wildlife profession to the broader scientific community Confronting uncertainty: Contributions of the wildlife profession to the broader scientific community
Most wildlife professionals are engaged in 1 or both of 2 basic endeavors: science and management. These endeavors are a focus of many other disciplines, leading to widespread sharing of general methodologies. Wildlife professionals have appropriately borrowed and assimilated many methods developed primarily in other disciplines but have also led the development of one class of...
Authors
James Nichols
Scale‐dependent effects of isolation on seasonal patch colonisation by two Neotropical freshwater fishes Scale‐dependent effects of isolation on seasonal patch colonisation by two Neotropical freshwater fishes
The metapopulation paradigm has been central to improve the conservation and management of natural populations. However, despite the large number of studies on metapopulation dynamics, the overall support for the relationships on which the paradigm is based has not been strong. Here, we studied the occupancy dynamics of two Neotropical fishes (i.e., Pimelodella gracilis and Leporinus...
Authors
Jerry Penha, Karlo Hakamada, James Hines, James Nichols
Occupancy models for citizen-science data Occupancy models for citizen-science data
Large‐scale citizen‐science projects, such as atlases of species distribution, are an important source of data for macroecological research, for understanding the effects of climate change and other drivers on biodiversity, and for more applied conservation tasks, such as early‐warning systems for biodiversity loss.However, citizen‐science data are challenging to analyse because the...
Authors
Res Altwegg, James Nichols
Partitioning global change: Assessing the relative importance of changes in climate and land cover for changes in avian distribution Partitioning global change: Assessing the relative importance of changes in climate and land cover for changes in avian distribution
Understanding the relative impact of climate change and land cover change on changes in avian distribution has implications for the future course of avian distributions and appropriate management strategies. Due to the dynamic nature of climate change, our goal was to investigate the processes that shape species distributions, rather than the current distributional patterns. To this end...
Authors
Matthew J. Clement, James D. Nichols, Jaime Collazo, Adam Terando, James Hines, Steven Williams
Science alive and well in North American wildlife management Science alive and well in North American wildlife management
Artelle et al. (1) entitled a recent article with the provocative claim: “Hallmarks of science missing from North American wildlife management”. Although we agree with some of the concerns and recommendations of Artelle et al. (1), we believe that the article is misleading about the distinction between science and management, the role of science in wise management, and the degree to...
Authors
James Nichols, Fred Johnson, Byron Williams, G. Scott Boomer
Two-species occupancy modeling accounting for species misidentification and nondetection Two-species occupancy modeling accounting for species misidentification and nondetection
In occupancy studies, species misidentification can lead to false‐positive detections, which can cause severe estimator biases. Currently, all models that account for false‐positive errors only consider omnibus sources of false detections and are limited to single‐species occupancy.However, false detections for a given species often occur because of the misidentification with another...
Authors
Thierry Chambert, Evan Campbell Grant, David Miller, James Nichols, Kevin Mulder, Adrianne Brand
Occupancy in community-level studies Occupancy in community-level studies
Another type of multi-species studies, are those focused on community-level metrics such as species richness. In this chapter we detail how some of the single-species occupancy models described in earlier chapters have been applied, or extended, for use in such studies, while accounting for imperfect detection. We highlight how Bayesian methods using MCMC are particularly useful in such...
Authors
Darryl MacKenzie, James Nichols, Andy Royle, Kenneth Pollock, Larissa Bailey, James Hines
Strengthening links between waterfowl research and management Strengthening links between waterfowl research and management
Waterfowl monitoring, research, regulation, and adaptive planning are leading the way in supporting science-informed wildlife management. However, increasing societal demands on natural resources have created a greater need for adaptable and successful linkages between waterfowl science and management. We presented a special session at the 2016 North American Duck Symposium, Annapolis...
Authors
Anthony Roberts, John Eadie, David Howerter, Fred Johnson, James Nichols, Michael Runge, Mark Vrtiska, Byron K. Williams
Are ranger patrols effective in reducing poaching-related threats within protected areas? Are ranger patrols effective in reducing poaching-related threats within protected areas?
Poaching is one of the greatest threats to wildlife conservation world-wide. However, the spatial and temporal patterns of poaching activities within protected areas, and the effectiveness of ranger patrols and ranger posts in mitigating these threats, are relatively unknown.We used 10 years (2006–2015) of ranger-based monitoring data and dynamic multi-season occupancy models to quantify...
Authors
Jennnifer Moore, Felix Mulindahabi, Michel Masozera, James Nichols, James Hines, Ezechiel Turikunkiko, Madan Oli
Field practices: Assessing tiger population dynamics using photographic captures Field practices: Assessing tiger population dynamics using photographic captures
From these histories, capture frequency statistics and estimates of capture probabilities can be derived.
Authors
K. Karanth, James D. Nichols, Abishek Harihar, Dale Miquelle, N. Kumar, Robert Dorazio
Concepts: Integrating population survey data from different spatial scales, sampling methods, and species Concepts: Integrating population survey data from different spatial scales, sampling methods, and species
Conservationists and managers are continually under pressure from the public, the media, and political policy makers to provide “tiger numbers,” not just for protected reserves, but also for large spatial scales, including landscapes, regions, states, nations, and even globally. Estimating the abundance of tigers within relatively small areas (e.g., protected reserves) is becoming...
Authors
Robert Dorazio, Mohan Delampady, Soumen Dey, Arjun Gopalaswamy
Concepts: Assessing tiger population dynamics using capture–recapture sampling Concepts: Assessing tiger population dynamics using capture–recapture sampling
Capture-recapture can be viewed as an animal survey method in which the count statistic is the total number of animals caught, and the associated detection probability is the probability of capture.
Authors
J. Andrew Royle, Arjun Gopalaswamy, Robert Dorazio, James D. Nichols, Devcharan Jathanna, Ravishankar Parameshwaran
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 417
Confronting uncertainty: Contributions of the wildlife profession to the broader scientific community Confronting uncertainty: Contributions of the wildlife profession to the broader scientific community
Most wildlife professionals are engaged in 1 or both of 2 basic endeavors: science and management. These endeavors are a focus of many other disciplines, leading to widespread sharing of general methodologies. Wildlife professionals have appropriately borrowed and assimilated many methods developed primarily in other disciplines but have also led the development of one class of...
Authors
James Nichols
Scale‐dependent effects of isolation on seasonal patch colonisation by two Neotropical freshwater fishes Scale‐dependent effects of isolation on seasonal patch colonisation by two Neotropical freshwater fishes
The metapopulation paradigm has been central to improve the conservation and management of natural populations. However, despite the large number of studies on metapopulation dynamics, the overall support for the relationships on which the paradigm is based has not been strong. Here, we studied the occupancy dynamics of two Neotropical fishes (i.e., Pimelodella gracilis and Leporinus...
Authors
Jerry Penha, Karlo Hakamada, James Hines, James Nichols
Occupancy models for citizen-science data Occupancy models for citizen-science data
Large‐scale citizen‐science projects, such as atlases of species distribution, are an important source of data for macroecological research, for understanding the effects of climate change and other drivers on biodiversity, and for more applied conservation tasks, such as early‐warning systems for biodiversity loss.However, citizen‐science data are challenging to analyse because the...
Authors
Res Altwegg, James Nichols
Partitioning global change: Assessing the relative importance of changes in climate and land cover for changes in avian distribution Partitioning global change: Assessing the relative importance of changes in climate and land cover for changes in avian distribution
Understanding the relative impact of climate change and land cover change on changes in avian distribution has implications for the future course of avian distributions and appropriate management strategies. Due to the dynamic nature of climate change, our goal was to investigate the processes that shape species distributions, rather than the current distributional patterns. To this end...
Authors
Matthew J. Clement, James D. Nichols, Jaime Collazo, Adam Terando, James Hines, Steven Williams
Science alive and well in North American wildlife management Science alive and well in North American wildlife management
Artelle et al. (1) entitled a recent article with the provocative claim: “Hallmarks of science missing from North American wildlife management”. Although we agree with some of the concerns and recommendations of Artelle et al. (1), we believe that the article is misleading about the distinction between science and management, the role of science in wise management, and the degree to...
Authors
James Nichols, Fred Johnson, Byron Williams, G. Scott Boomer
Two-species occupancy modeling accounting for species misidentification and nondetection Two-species occupancy modeling accounting for species misidentification and nondetection
In occupancy studies, species misidentification can lead to false‐positive detections, which can cause severe estimator biases. Currently, all models that account for false‐positive errors only consider omnibus sources of false detections and are limited to single‐species occupancy.However, false detections for a given species often occur because of the misidentification with another...
Authors
Thierry Chambert, Evan Campbell Grant, David Miller, James Nichols, Kevin Mulder, Adrianne Brand
Occupancy in community-level studies Occupancy in community-level studies
Another type of multi-species studies, are those focused on community-level metrics such as species richness. In this chapter we detail how some of the single-species occupancy models described in earlier chapters have been applied, or extended, for use in such studies, while accounting for imperfect detection. We highlight how Bayesian methods using MCMC are particularly useful in such...
Authors
Darryl MacKenzie, James Nichols, Andy Royle, Kenneth Pollock, Larissa Bailey, James Hines
Strengthening links between waterfowl research and management Strengthening links between waterfowl research and management
Waterfowl monitoring, research, regulation, and adaptive planning are leading the way in supporting science-informed wildlife management. However, increasing societal demands on natural resources have created a greater need for adaptable and successful linkages between waterfowl science and management. We presented a special session at the 2016 North American Duck Symposium, Annapolis...
Authors
Anthony Roberts, John Eadie, David Howerter, Fred Johnson, James Nichols, Michael Runge, Mark Vrtiska, Byron K. Williams
Are ranger patrols effective in reducing poaching-related threats within protected areas? Are ranger patrols effective in reducing poaching-related threats within protected areas?
Poaching is one of the greatest threats to wildlife conservation world-wide. However, the spatial and temporal patterns of poaching activities within protected areas, and the effectiveness of ranger patrols and ranger posts in mitigating these threats, are relatively unknown.We used 10 years (2006–2015) of ranger-based monitoring data and dynamic multi-season occupancy models to quantify...
Authors
Jennnifer Moore, Felix Mulindahabi, Michel Masozera, James Nichols, James Hines, Ezechiel Turikunkiko, Madan Oli
Field practices: Assessing tiger population dynamics using photographic captures Field practices: Assessing tiger population dynamics using photographic captures
From these histories, capture frequency statistics and estimates of capture probabilities can be derived.
Authors
K. Karanth, James D. Nichols, Abishek Harihar, Dale Miquelle, N. Kumar, Robert Dorazio
Concepts: Integrating population survey data from different spatial scales, sampling methods, and species Concepts: Integrating population survey data from different spatial scales, sampling methods, and species
Conservationists and managers are continually under pressure from the public, the media, and political policy makers to provide “tiger numbers,” not just for protected reserves, but also for large spatial scales, including landscapes, regions, states, nations, and even globally. Estimating the abundance of tigers within relatively small areas (e.g., protected reserves) is becoming...
Authors
Robert Dorazio, Mohan Delampady, Soumen Dey, Arjun Gopalaswamy
Concepts: Assessing tiger population dynamics using capture–recapture sampling Concepts: Assessing tiger population dynamics using capture–recapture sampling
Capture-recapture can be viewed as an animal survey method in which the count statistic is the total number of animals caught, and the associated detection probability is the probability of capture.
Authors
J. Andrew Royle, Arjun Gopalaswamy, Robert Dorazio, James D. Nichols, Devcharan Jathanna, Ravishankar Parameshwaran