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: 418
Delineating bird populations using ring recoveries Delineating bird populations using ring recoveries
We delineate bird populations using cluster analysis to group ringing sites based on pairwise comparisons of recoveries. Clustering provides a quantitative (but non-unique) grouping that can be used to examine the relationships of bird distributions at both local and regional geographic scales. Clustering is based on similarity matrices composed of pairwise comparisons of recovery...
Authors
G.W. Pendleton, J.R. Sauer
Estimating bird species richness from capture and count data Estimating bird species richness from capture and count data
We used capture-recapture methods to estimate bird species richness from mist-net and point-count data from a study area in Campeche, Mexico. We estimated species richness separately for each survey technique for two habitats, forest and pasture, in six sampling periods. We then estimated richness based on species' detections by either technique, and estimated the proportion of species...
Authors
D.K. Dawson, J.R. Sauer, P.A. Wood, M. Berlanga, M.H. Wilson, C.S. Robbins
Managing North American waterfowl in the face of uncertainty Managing North American waterfowl in the face of uncertainty
Informed management of waterfowl (or any animal population) requires management goals and objectives, the ability to implement management actions, periodic information about population and goal-related varlables, and knowledge of effects of management actions on population and goal-related variables. In North America, international treaties mandate a primary objective of protecting...
Authors
James D. Nichols, Fred A. Johnson, Byron K. Williams
Estimating annual survival and movement rates of adults within a metapopulation of roseate terns Estimating annual survival and movement rates of adults within a metapopulation of roseate terns
Several multistratum capture—recapture models were used to test various hypotheses about possible geographic and temporal variation in survival, movement, and recapture/resighting probabilities of 2399 adult Roseate Terns (Sterna dougallii) color—banded from 1988 to 1992 at the sites of the four largest breeding colonies of this species in the northeastern USA. Linear—logistic...
Authors
Jeffrey A. Spendelow, James D. Nichols, Ian C. T. Nisbet, Helen Hays, Grace Cormons, Joanna Burger, C. Safina, James E. Hines, Michael Gochfeld
Overwinter survival of neotropical migratory birds in early-successional and mature tropical forests Overwinter survival of neotropical migratory birds in early-successional and mature tropical forests
Many Neotropical migratory species inhabit both mature and earty-successional forests on their wintering grounds, yet comparisons of survival rates between habitats are lacking. Consequently, the factors affecting habitat suitability for Neotropical migrants and the potential effects of tropical deforestation on migrants are not well understood. We estimated overwinter survival and...
Authors
C.J. Conway, G.V.N. Powell, J.D. Nichols
Capture-recapture methods for bird population studies Capture-recapture methods for bird population studies
No abstract available.
Authors
J.D. Nichols
Estimating breeding proportions and testing hypotheses about costs of reproduction with capture-recapture data Estimating breeding proportions and testing hypotheses about costs of reproduction with capture-recapture data
The proportion of animals in a population that breeds is an important determinant of population growth rate. Usual estimates of this quantity from field sampling data assume that the probability of appearing in the capture or count statistic is the same for animals that do and do not breed. A similar assumption is required by most existing methods used to test ecologically interesting...
Authors
James D. Nichols, James E. Hines, Kenneth H. Pollock, Robert L. Hinz, William A. Link
Retention of web tags and plasticine-filled leg bands applied to day-old ducklings Retention of web tags and plasticine-filled leg bands applied to day-old ducklings
A new plasticine-filled leg band was developed for use in banding dayold ducklings. These bands permit inference about early survival that is not possible from banding of older young in standard operations. Two double-marking experiments with web tags and the new leg bands indicated a high retention rate for the leg bands. In contrast, several web tags were lost, permitting an analysis...
Authors
Peter Blums, Aivars Mednis, James D. Nichols
On the importance of sampling variance to investigations of temporal variation in animal population size On the importance of sampling variance to investigations of temporal variation in animal population size
Our purpose here is to emphasize the need to properly deal with sampling variance when studying population variability and to present a means of doing so. We present an estimator for temporal variance of population size for the general case in which there are both sampling variances and covariances associated with estimates of population size. We illustrate the estimation approach with a...
Authors
W.A. Link, J.D. Nichols
Sources of variation in loss rates of color bands applied to adult roseate terns (Sterna dougallii) in the western North Atlantic Sources of variation in loss rates of color bands applied to adult roseate terns (Sterna dougallii) in the western North Atlantic
A model-based analysis was done to test several hypotheses concerning the rates of loss of butt-ended color bands placed on adult Roseate Terns (Sterna dougallii) in the western North Atlantic. These birds were captured and color banded from 1987-1991 at four colony sites, and recaptured from 1989-1992 as part of a study of the population dynamics of this species. Two types of color...
Authors
J. A. Spendelow, J. Burger, I.C.T. Nisbet, J.D. Nichols, J.E. Hines, H. Hays, G.D. Cormons, M. Gochfeld
Estimating the number of animals in wildlife populations Estimating the number of animals in wildlife populations
No abstract available.
Authors
R.A. Lancia, J.D. Nichols, K. H. Pollock
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 418
Delineating bird populations using ring recoveries Delineating bird populations using ring recoveries
We delineate bird populations using cluster analysis to group ringing sites based on pairwise comparisons of recoveries. Clustering provides a quantitative (but non-unique) grouping that can be used to examine the relationships of bird distributions at both local and regional geographic scales. Clustering is based on similarity matrices composed of pairwise comparisons of recovery...
Authors
G.W. Pendleton, J.R. Sauer
Estimating bird species richness from capture and count data Estimating bird species richness from capture and count data
We used capture-recapture methods to estimate bird species richness from mist-net and point-count data from a study area in Campeche, Mexico. We estimated species richness separately for each survey technique for two habitats, forest and pasture, in six sampling periods. We then estimated richness based on species' detections by either technique, and estimated the proportion of species...
Authors
D.K. Dawson, J.R. Sauer, P.A. Wood, M. Berlanga, M.H. Wilson, C.S. Robbins
Managing North American waterfowl in the face of uncertainty Managing North American waterfowl in the face of uncertainty
Informed management of waterfowl (or any animal population) requires management goals and objectives, the ability to implement management actions, periodic information about population and goal-related varlables, and knowledge of effects of management actions on population and goal-related variables. In North America, international treaties mandate a primary objective of protecting...
Authors
James D. Nichols, Fred A. Johnson, Byron K. Williams
Estimating annual survival and movement rates of adults within a metapopulation of roseate terns Estimating annual survival and movement rates of adults within a metapopulation of roseate terns
Several multistratum capture—recapture models were used to test various hypotheses about possible geographic and temporal variation in survival, movement, and recapture/resighting probabilities of 2399 adult Roseate Terns (Sterna dougallii) color—banded from 1988 to 1992 at the sites of the four largest breeding colonies of this species in the northeastern USA. Linear—logistic...
Authors
Jeffrey A. Spendelow, James D. Nichols, Ian C. T. Nisbet, Helen Hays, Grace Cormons, Joanna Burger, C. Safina, James E. Hines, Michael Gochfeld
Overwinter survival of neotropical migratory birds in early-successional and mature tropical forests Overwinter survival of neotropical migratory birds in early-successional and mature tropical forests
Many Neotropical migratory species inhabit both mature and earty-successional forests on their wintering grounds, yet comparisons of survival rates between habitats are lacking. Consequently, the factors affecting habitat suitability for Neotropical migrants and the potential effects of tropical deforestation on migrants are not well understood. We estimated overwinter survival and...
Authors
C.J. Conway, G.V.N. Powell, J.D. Nichols
Capture-recapture methods for bird population studies Capture-recapture methods for bird population studies
No abstract available.
Authors
J.D. Nichols
Estimating breeding proportions and testing hypotheses about costs of reproduction with capture-recapture data Estimating breeding proportions and testing hypotheses about costs of reproduction with capture-recapture data
The proportion of animals in a population that breeds is an important determinant of population growth rate. Usual estimates of this quantity from field sampling data assume that the probability of appearing in the capture or count statistic is the same for animals that do and do not breed. A similar assumption is required by most existing methods used to test ecologically interesting...
Authors
James D. Nichols, James E. Hines, Kenneth H. Pollock, Robert L. Hinz, William A. Link
Retention of web tags and plasticine-filled leg bands applied to day-old ducklings Retention of web tags and plasticine-filled leg bands applied to day-old ducklings
A new plasticine-filled leg band was developed for use in banding dayold ducklings. These bands permit inference about early survival that is not possible from banding of older young in standard operations. Two double-marking experiments with web tags and the new leg bands indicated a high retention rate for the leg bands. In contrast, several web tags were lost, permitting an analysis...
Authors
Peter Blums, Aivars Mednis, James D. Nichols
On the importance of sampling variance to investigations of temporal variation in animal population size On the importance of sampling variance to investigations of temporal variation in animal population size
Our purpose here is to emphasize the need to properly deal with sampling variance when studying population variability and to present a means of doing so. We present an estimator for temporal variance of population size for the general case in which there are both sampling variances and covariances associated with estimates of population size. We illustrate the estimation approach with a...
Authors
W.A. Link, J.D. Nichols
Sources of variation in loss rates of color bands applied to adult roseate terns (Sterna dougallii) in the western North Atlantic Sources of variation in loss rates of color bands applied to adult roseate terns (Sterna dougallii) in the western North Atlantic
A model-based analysis was done to test several hypotheses concerning the rates of loss of butt-ended color bands placed on adult Roseate Terns (Sterna dougallii) in the western North Atlantic. These birds were captured and color banded from 1987-1991 at four colony sites, and recaptured from 1989-1992 as part of a study of the population dynamics of this species. Two types of color...
Authors
J. A. Spendelow, J. Burger, I.C.T. Nisbet, J.D. Nichols, J.E. Hines, H. Hays, G.D. Cormons, M. Gochfeld
Estimating the number of animals in wildlife populations Estimating the number of animals in wildlife populations
No abstract available.
Authors
R.A. Lancia, J.D. Nichols, K. H. Pollock