Lips, K.A., Diffendorfer, J.E., Mendelson J.R., and Sears, M.W., 2008, Riding the wave: reconciling the role of disease and climate change in amphibian declines: Public Library of Science Biology, v.6, issue 3: e72. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060072.
Jay Diffendorfer
Biography
I'm an applied ecologist working at the Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center. Trained as an ecologist, I originally worked on spatial ecology and conservation biology, including a USGS-funded post doc at University of Miami modelling reptile and amphibian responses to possible restoration scenarios in the Everglades. I then worked as an assistant and full professor at San Diego State University, studying relationships between urbanization, fire, and invasive species on a native flora and fauna in southern California. This field-oriented research involved radiotelemetry, capture-recapture, and vegetation studies. I left San Diego State University and spent 4 years at the Illinois Natural History Survey where my research began to expand into disease ecology and agro-ecosystems. Since arriving at USGS in 2008, I have continued to expand my research focus and currently work on science related to the energy-environment nexus, ecosystem services, and applied ecology. For more, please refer to my ResearchGate page.
Education
University of Kansas, Ph.D., (Ecology), 1995
Ohio University, BS, (Wildlife Biology), 1989
Positions Held
2014- Research Scientist and Supervisor, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, USGS, Lakewood, Colorado
2008-2014 Research Scientist, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, USGS, Lakewood, Colorado
2004-2008 Associate Scientist, Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign, Illinois
1998-2004 Assistant/Associate Professor, San Diego State University, San Diego, California
1995-1998 Postdoctoral research with USGS, University of Miami, Miami, Florida
Science and Products
Date published: April 14, 2020
Status: Active Using Jupyter Notebooks to tell data stories and create reproducible workflows
Increasingly, USGS scientists seek to share and collaborate while working on data and code. Furthermore, these scientists often require advanced computing resources. Jupyter Notebooks are one such tool for creating these workflows. The files are interactive, code “notebooks” which allow users to combine code and text in one document, enabling scientists to share the stories held within their...
Attribution: Community for Data Integration (CDI)
Date published: December 12, 2018
Status: Active Wind Energy
The United States Wind Turbine Database (USWTDB) provides the locations of land-based and offshore wind turbines in the United States, corresponding wind project information, and turbine technical specifications. The creation of this database was jointly funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Wind Energy Technologies Office...
Contacts: Jay Diffendorfer, Christopher P Garrity
Attribution: Energy Resources Program
Date published: July 14, 2017
Status: Active Effects of Energy Development Strategies
Energy is a cornerstone issue for humanity, nations, and individuals. How we create and use energy impacts the consequences it embodies. The critical issue facing humanity involves meeting our massive and growing energy needs, without undermining human and natural capital. Facing the challenge of long-term, sustainable energy for the nation and world requires understanding the consequences of...
Contacts: Jay Diffendorfer
Date published: July 14, 2017
Status: Active Spatial Subsidies: Quantifying Linkages between Human and Natural Systems with Migratory Species
Animal migration occurs because it allows animals to exploit resources where and when they are most abundant by moving seasonally between habitats. Where humans have come to exploit, enjoy or otherwise benefit from migratory species, we too are capitalizing on the seasonal bounty of distant ecosystems. The benefits we derive from migratory species are economically and culturally important;...
Contacts: Darius Semmens, Jay Diffendorfer, Laura López-Hoffman
Attribution: Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center
Date published: September 20, 2013
Status: Active Animal Migration and Spatial Subsidies: Establishing a Framework for Conservation Markets
Migratory species may provide more ecosystem goods and services to humans in certain parts of their range than others. These areas may or may not coincide with the locations of habitat on which the species is most dependent for its continued population viability. This situation can present significant policy challenges, as locations that most support a given species may be in effect...
Attribution: John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis
Year Published: 2020
Quantifying the contribution of habitats and pathways to a spatially structured population facing environmental change
The consequences of environmental disturbance and management are difficult to quantify for spatially structured populations because changes in one location carry through to other areas as a result of species movement. We develop a metric, G, for measuring the contribution of a habitat or pathway to network-wide population growth rate in the...
Sample, Christine; Bieri, Joanna A.; Allen, Benjamin L. ; Dementieva, Yulia; Carson, Alyssa; Higgins, Connor; Piatt, Sadie; Qiu, Shirley; Stafford, Summer; Mattsson, Brady J.; Semmens, Darius J.; Diffendorfer, James E.; Thogmartin, Wayne E.
Year Published: 2020
Learning from real-world experience to understand renewable energy impacts to wildlife
The project team sought to use real-world data to understand adverse effects to wildlife of renewable energy production that is critical to meeting California’s climate and clean energy goals. The project had three main components. First, a systematic literature review studied 20 peer-reviewed publications and 612 reports from other nonreviewed...
Conkling, Tara J; Vander Zanden, Hannah B.; Poessel, Sharon; Loss, Scott R.; Allison, Taber D; Diffendorfer, James E.; Duerr, Adam E.; Nelson, David M.; Yee, Julie L; Katzner, Todd E.
Year Published: 2020
Assessing population-level consequences of anthropogenic stressors for terrestrial wildlife
Human activity influences wildlife. However, the ecological and conservation significances of these influences are difficult to predict and depend on their population‐level consequences. This difficulty arises partly because of information gaps, and partly because the data on stressors are usually collected in a count‐based manner (e.g., number of...
Katzner, Todd E.; Braham, Melissa A.; Conkling, Tara; Diffendorfer, James E.; Duerr, Adam E.; Loss, Scott R.; Nelson, David M.; Vander Zanden, Hannah B.; Yee, Julie L.
Year Published: 2020
A continuously updated, geospatially rectified database of utility-scale wind turbines in the United States
Nearly 60,000 utility-scale wind turbines are installed in the United States as of July, 2019, representing over 97 gigawatts of electric power capacity; US wind turbine installations continue to grow at a rapid pace. Yet, until April 2018, no publicly-available, regularly updated data source existed to describe those turbines and their locations...
Rand, Joesph; Kramer, Louisa A.; Garrity, Christopher P.; Hoen, Ben; Diffendorfer, James E.; Hunt, Hannah; Spears, Michael
Year Published: 2020
Challenges for leveraging citizen science to support statistically robust monitoring programs
Large samples and long time series are often needed for effective broad-scale monitoring of status and trends in wild populations. Obtaining those sample sizes can be more feasible when volunteers contribute to the dataset, but volunteer-selected sites are not always representative of a population. Previous work to account for biased site...
Weiser, Emily L.; Diffendorfer, James E.; Lopez-Hoffman, Laura; Semmens, Darius J.; Thogmartin, Wayne E.
Year Published: 2019
Is the timing, pace and success of the monarch migration associated with sun angle?
A basic question concerning the monarch butterfly’s fall migration is which monarchs succeed in reaching overwintering sites in Mexico, which fail—and why. We document the timing and pace of the fall migration, ask whether the sun’s position in the sky is associated with the pace of the migration, and whether timing affects success in completing...
Taylor, Orley R.; Lovett, James P; Gibo, David L; Weiser, Emily L.; Thogmartin, Wayne E.; Semmens, Darius J.; Diffendorfer, James E.; Pleasants, John M.; Pecoraro, Samuel; Grundel, Ralph
Year Published: 2019
Challenges for monitoring the extent and land use/cover changes in monarch butterflies’ migratory habitat across the United States and Mexico
This paper presents a synopsis of the challenges and limitations presented by existing and emerging land use/ land cover (LULC) digital data sets when used to analyze the extent, habitat quality, and LULC changes of the monarch (Danaus plexippus) migratory habitat across the United States of America (US) and Mexico. First, the characteristics,...
Rafael Moreno-Sanchez; James Raines; Diffendorfer, James E.; Drummond, Mark A.; Jessica Manko
Year Published: 2019
Historical land use and land cover for assessing the northern Colorado Front Range urban landscape
We describe historical land-use and land-cover (LULC) maps for the northern Colorado urban Front Range. The Front Range urban landscape is diverse and interspersed with highly productive agriculture as well as natural land cover types including evergreen forest in the Rocky Mountain foothills and Great Plains grassland. To understand the dynamics...
Drummond, Mark A.; Stier, Michael P.; Diffendorfer, James E.
Year Published: 2019
Review of indicators for comparing environmental effects across energy sources
Robust, quantitative comparisons of environmental effects across energy sources can support development of energy planning strategies that meet growing demand while managing and minimizing undesirable effects on environmental resources. Multicriteria analyses of energy systems often use a suite of indicators to make such comparisons, but those...
Dorning, Monica; Diffendorfer, James E.; Scott R Loss; Bagstad, Kenneth J.
Year Published: 2019
Quantifying source and sink habitats and pathways in spatially structured populations: A generalized modelling approach
The ability to classify habitats and movement pathways as sources or sinks is an important part of the decision making process for the conservation of spatially structured populations. Diverse approaches have been used to quantify the importance of habitats and pathways in a spatial network, however these approaches have been limited by a lack of...
Diffendorfer, James E.; Sample, Christine; Beiri, Joanna A; Allen, Benjamin L. ; Dementieva, Yulia; Carson, Alyssa; Higgins, Connar; Piatt, Sadie; Qiu, Shirley; Stafford, Summer; Mattsson, Brady J.; Semmens, Darius J.; Thogmartin, Wayne E.
Year Published: 2019
Impacts to wildlife of wind energy siting and operation in the United States
Electricity from wind energy is a major contributor to the strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel use and thus reduce the negative impacts of climate change. Wind energy, like all power sources, can have adverse impacts on wildlife. After nearly 25 years of focused research, these impacts are much better understood, although...
Taber Allison; Diffendorfer, James E.; Erin Baerwald; Julie Beston; David Drake; Amanda Hale; Cris Hein; Huso, Manuela M.; Scott Loss; Lovich, Jeffrey E.; Dale Strickland; Kate Williams; Virginia Winder
Year Published: 2019
Willingness to pay for conservation of transborder migratory species: A case study of the Mexican free-tailed bat in the United States and Mexico
We estimated U.S. and Mexican citizens’ willingness to pay (WTP) for protecting habitat for a transborder migratory species, the Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis mexicana), using the contingent valuation method. Few contingent valuation surveys have evaluated whether households in one country would pay to protect habitat in another...
Haefele, Michelle; Loomis, John B.; Merideth, Robert W.; Lien, Aaron M.; Semmens, Darius J.; Dubovsky, Jim; Wiederholt, Ruscena; Thogmartin, Wayne E.; Huang, Ta-Ken; McCracken, Gary; Lopez-Hoffman, Laura; Medellin, Rodrigo; Diffendorfer, James E.Pre-USGS Publications
Sears, M.W., Diffendorfer, J.E., Lips, K.A., and Mendelson, J.R., 2008, Amphibian declines and issues of inference: response to Parmesan and Singer. Public Library of Science Biology.
Kelly, A.C., Mateus-Pinilla, N.E., Diffendorfer, J.E., Jewell, E., Ruiz, M.O., Killefer, J., Shelton, P., Beissel, T., and Novakofski, J., 2008, Prion sequence polymorphisms and chronic wasting disease resistance in Illinois white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus): Prion, v. 2, p. 1-9.
Diffendorfer, J.E., Fleming, G.M., Duggan, J.M., Chapman, R.E., Rahn, M.E., Mitrovitch, M.J., and Fisher, R.N., 2007, Developing terrestrial, multi-taxon indices of biological integrity: An example from coastal sage scrub: Biological Conservation, v. 140, p. 130-141.
Effects of fire severity and distance from unburned edge on mammalian community post-fire recovery
Diffendorfer, J.E., Spencer, W.S., Tremor, S., and Beyers, J., 2007, Effects of fire severity and distance from unburned edge on mammalian community post-fire recovery: Final Report for project 04-2-1-94 to the Joint Fire Sciences Program: 37 p.
Annual federal aid performance report, wildlife and chronic wasting disease surveillance
Mateus-Pinilla, N.E., Novakofski, J.E., Kelly, A., Diffendorfer, J.E., Pinkerton, M., Whittington, J.K., and Ruiz, M., 2007, W-146-R-02 Annual federal aid performance report, wildlife and chronic wasting disease surveillance: Illinois Department of Natural Resources, 19p.
W-146-R-01 Annual Federal Aid Performance Report, wildlife and chronic wasting disease surveillance
Mateus-Pinilla, N.E., Novakofski, J.E., Kelly, A., Diffendorfer, J.E., Pinkerton, M., Whittington, J.K., and Ruiz, M., 2006, W-146-R-01 Annual Federal Aid Performance Report, wildlife and chronic wasting disease surveillance: Illinois Department of Natural Resources, 34p.
Genetic relatedness and gene flow of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the chronic wasting disease prevalent region of Illinois
Mateus-Pinilla, N.E., Novakofski, J.E., Diffendorfer, J.E., Killefer, J., 2006, Genetic relatedness and gene flow of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the chronic wasting disease prevalent region of Illinois: Illinois Department of Natural Resources and International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (IAFWA).
Rahn, M.E., Doremus, H., and Diffendorfer, J.E., 2006, Species coverage in multispecies habitat conservation plans: Where's the science? BioScience, v. 56, p. 613-619.
Mendelson, J.R., Lips, K.R., Gagliardo, R.W., Rabb, G. B., Collins, J.P., Diffendorfer, J.E., Daszak, P., D Ibáñez, R., Zippel, K.C., Lawson, D.P., Wright, K.M., Stuart, S.N., Gascon, C., da Silva, H.R., Burrowes, P.A., Joglar, R.L., La Marca, E., Lötters, S., du Preez, L.H., Weldon, C., Hyatt, A., Rodriguez-Mahecha, J.V., Hunt, S., Robertson, H. Lock, B., Raxworthy, C.J., Frost, D.R., Lacy, R.C., Alford, R.A., Campbell, J.A., Parra-Olea, G. Bolaños, F, Domingo, J.J.C., Halliday, T., Murphy, J.B., Wake, M.H., Coloma, L.A., Kuzmin, S.L., Price, M.S., Howell, K.M., Lau, M., Pethiyagoda, R., Boone, M., Lannoo, M. J., Blaustein, A. R., Dobson, A., Griffiths, R.A., Wake, D.B., Brodie Jr E.D., 2006, Confronting amphibian declines and extinctions: Science, v. 313, 48 p.
Mendelson, J.R., Lips, K.R., Diffendorfer, J.E., Gagliardo, R.W., Rabb, G.B., Collins, J.P., , Daszak, P., Ibáñez, R., Zippel, K.C., Stuart, S.N., Gascon, C., da Silva, Burrowes, P.A., Lacy, R.C., Bolaños, F, Coloma, L.A., Wright, K.M., Wake, D. B. 2006. Response to: Pounds et al.: responding to amphibian loss: Science, v. 314, p. 1541-1542.
Diffendorfer, J.E., Rochester, C., Fisher, R.N., and Brown, T.K., 2005, Movement and space use by coastal rosy boas (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) in Coastal Southern California: Journal of Herpetology, v. 39, p. 24-36.
Morris, D.W., Diffendorfer, J.E., and Lundberg, P., 2004, Dispersal among habitats varying in fitness: reciprocating migration through ideal habitat selection: Oikos, v. 107, p. 559-575.
Morris D.W., and Diffendorfer, J.E., 2004, Reciprocating dispersal by habitat-selecting white-footed mice: Oikos v. 107, p. 549-558.
Diffendorfer, J.E., and Doherty P.F., 2004, Lifting Cassandra's curse: Conservation Biology v. 18, p. 600.
Diffendorfer, J.E., Fleming G.M., Duggan, J., Chapman R., Hogan, D., 2004, Final report for creating and index of biological integrity for coastal sage scrub: A tool for habitat quality assessment and monitoring: Prepared for California Department of Fish and Game. 248 p.
Effects of tree island size and water on the population dynamics of small mammals in the Everglades
Gaines, M.S., Sasso, C.R., Diffendorfer, J.E., and Beck, H., 2003, Effects of tree island size and water on the population dynamics of small mammals in the Everglades: in van der Valk, A., and Sklar, F., ed., Tree Islands of the Everglades: Kluwer Academic.
Betzler, J., Diffendorfer, J.E., Fleury, S., Hawke, M., Klein, M., Morrison, S., Nichols, G., Oberbauer, T., Rochester, C., Webb, M., and Williams, K., 2003, A summary of affected flora and fauna in the San Diego County fires of 2003: Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Program Reports, 36 p. + Appendices.
Monitoring the Stephen’s kangaroo rat: An analysis of monitoring methods and recommendations for future monitoring
Diffendorfer, J.E. and Deutschman D.D., 2003, Monitoring the Stephen’s kangaroo rat: An analysis of monitoring methods and recommendations for future monitoring. Prepared for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 51 p.
Diffendorfer, J.E. Chapman, R.E., Duggan, J.M., Fleming G.M., Mitrovitch M., Rahn M.E., and Rosario, R. del., 2002, Coastal Sage Scrub response to disturbance: A literature review and annotated bibliography. Prepared for the California Department of Fish and Game, 87 p.
Diffendorfer, J.E. and Rosario, R. del., 2002, Assessing habitat quality and disturbance in Coastal Sage Scrub using an index of biological integrity: Prepared for California Department of Fish and Game, 29 p.
An analysis of monitoring data in light of small mammal, plant, and bird responses to disturbance in CSS and the development of an Index of Biological Integrity
Diffendorfer, J.E., Chapman, R.E., Duggan, J.M., Fleming, G.M., 2002, An analysis of monitoring data in light of small mammal, plant, and bird responses to disturbance in CSS and the development of an Index of Biological Integrity: Prepared for the California Department of Fish and Game, 33 p.
Diffendorfer, J.E., and Slade, N.S., 2002, Long-distance movements in Cotton Rats (Sigmodon hispidus) and Prairie Voles (Microtus ochrogaster) in Northeastern Kansas: American Midland Naturalist, v. 148, p. 309-319.
Diffendorfer, J.E., Richards, P.M., Dalrymple, G.H., and DeAngelis, D.L., 2001, Applying linear programming to estimate fluxes in ecosystems or food webs: an example from the herpetological assemblages of freshwater Everglades: Ecological Modeling, v. 144, p. 99-120.
Independent science advisors review: Coachella Valley multiple species habitat conservation plan/natural communities conservation plan (MSHCP/NCCP)
Noss R., Allen E., Ballmer, G., Diffendorfer, J.E., Soulé M., Tracy R., and Webb R., 2001, Independent science advisors review: Coachella Valley multiple species habitat conservation plan/natural communities conservation plan (MSHCP/NCCP): Prepared for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Game, 53 p.
Rochester, C.J., Diffendorfer, J.E., and Fisher, R.N., 2001, Natural history of the Rosy Boa (Charina trivirgata): Prepared for U.S. Geological Survey-Species at Risk Technical Report. 71p.
Schweiger, E.W., Diffendorfer, J.E., Holt, R.D., Pierotti, R., and Gaines, M.S., 2000, The interaction of habitat fragmentation plant, and small mammal succession in an old field: Ecological Monographs, v. 70, p. 383-400.
Patterns and impacts of movements at different scales on small mammals
Diffendorfer, J.E., Gaines, M.S., and Holt, R.D., 1999, Patterns and impacts of movements at different scales on small mammals: in Barrett, G.W., and Peles, J., eds., The landscape ecology of small mammals: New York, Springer-Verlag, p. 63-88.
The relative importance of small-scale and landscape-level heterogeneity in structuring small mammal distribution
Schweiger, E.W., Diffendorfer, J.E., Pierotti, R., and Holt, R.D., 1999, The relative importance of small-scale and landscape-level heterogeneity in structuring small mammal distribution: in Barrett, G.W., and Peles, J.D., ed., landscape ecology of small mammals: Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., p. 175-207.
Diffendorfer, J.E., 1998, Testing models of source-sink dynamics and balanced dispersal: Oikos, v. 81, p. 417-433.
Gaines, M.S., Diffendorfer, J.E., and Lind, L., 1998, The effects of high water on small mammal populations inhabiting hammock islands in Everglades National Park: in Ecological assessment of the 1994-1995 high water conditions in the southern Everglades, National Park Service.
Bassett, A., DeAngelis, D.L., and Diffendorfer, J.E., 1997, The effect of functional response on stability of a grazer population on a landscape: Ecological Modelling, v. 101, p. 153-162.
Gaines, M.S., Diffendorfer, J.E., Tamarin, R.H., and Whittam, T.S., 1997, The effects of habitat fragmentation on the genetic structure of small mammal populations: Journal of Heredity, v. 88, p. 294-304.
Small mammal community patterns in old fields; distinguishing site-specific from regional processes
Diffendorfer, J.E., Holt, R.D., Slade, N.A., and Gaines, M.S., 1996, Small mammal community patterns in old fields; distinguishing site-specific from regional processes: in Cody, M.L., and Smallwood, J.A., eds., Long-term studies of vertebrate communities: San Diego, CA, Academic Press.
Diffendorfer, J.E., Gaines, M.S. and Holt, R.D., 1995, Habitat fragmentation and the movements of three small mammals (Sigmodon hispidus, Microtus ochrogaster, and Peromyscus maniculatus): Ecology, v. 76, p. 837-839.
Population dynamics of small mammals in fragmented and continuous old-field habitat
Diffendorfer, J.E., Slade, N.A., Gaines, M.S., and Holt, R.D., 1995, Population dynamics of small mammals in fragmented and continuous old-field habitat: in Lidicker, W.Z., ed., Landscape approaches in mammalian ecology and conservation: Minneapolis, USA, University of Minnesota Press, p. 175-199.
The spatial ecology of small mammals in old fields: a study of movement, demography and community structure in a fragmented landscape
Diffendorfer, J.E., 1995, The spatial ecology of small mammals in old fields: a study of movement, demography and community structure in a fragmented landscape: University of Kansas, Ph.D. dissertation, 202 p.
The effects of habitat fragmentation on populations of three species of small mammals in Eastern Kansas
Gaines, M.S., Diffendorfer, J.E., Foster, J., Wray, F.P., and Holt, R.D., 1994, The effects of habitat fragmentation on populations of three species of small mammals in Eastern Kansas: Polish Ecological Studies, v. 20, p. 163-175.
Perspectives from an experimental study of habitat fragmentation in an agroecosystem
Holt, R.D., Debinski, D.M., Diffendorfer, J.E., Gaines, M.S., and Martinko, E.A., 1994, Perspectives from an experimental study of habitat fragmentation in an agroecosystem: in Glen, D.M., Greaves, M.P., and Anderson, H.M., eds., Ecology and Integrated Farming Systems: New York, Wiley and Sons.
Physiological plasticity of electromorphs of blood proteins in free-ranging Microtus ochrogaster: a second look
Gaines, M.S., and Diffendorfer, J.E., 1992. Physiological plasticity of electromorphs of blood proteins in free-ranging Microtus ochrogaster: a second look: Ecology, v. 73, p. 1915-1917.
Population processes and biological diversity
Gaines, M.S., Foster, J., Diffendorfer, J.E., Sera, W.E., Holt, R.D., and Robinson, G.R., 1992, Population processes and biological diversity: Transactions of the North American Wildlife and Natural Resource Conference, v. 57, p. 252-262.
The effects of habitat fragmentation on small mammal populations
Gaines, M.S., Robinson, G.R., Diffendorfer, J.E., Holt, R.D., and Johnson, M.L., 1992, The effects of habitat fragmentation on small mammal populations: in McCullough, D.R., and Barret, R.H., eds., Wildlife 2001: Populations: London, Elsevier Applied Science, p. 875-885.
Kelly, A., Mateus-Pinilla, N.E., Beissel, T., Diffendorfer, J.E., Killefer, J., Novakofski, J., Shelton, P., 2007, Development of a panel of microsatellite markers for the assessment of genetic structure in white-tailed deer in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin: Journal of neuropathology and experimental neurology, 66:433.
Schweiger, E.W., Diffendorfer, J.E., Pierotti, R., Holt, R.D., 1999, The relative importance of small-scale and level heterogeneity in structuring small mammal distribution, in Barrett, G.W., and Peles, J.D., ed., Landscape ecology of small mammals: Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., 175-207.
Date published: March 13, 2020
Learning From Real-World Experience to Understand Renewable Energy Impacts to Wildlife
A comprehensive analysis of how renewable energy facilities affect wildlife could inform efforts to predict and reduce these impacts. A team of researchers was asked to gain a better understanding of the actual environmental impacts of renewable energy generation on sensitive species and habitats in California.
Date published: March 6, 2020
Demographic Consequences of Human Stressors on Wildlife Populations
Predicting the ecological and conservation significances of human influences on wildlife populations is difficult. However, methodological developments can help make the transition from count-based field data on individuals to rate-based demographic estimates.
Attribution: Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
Date published: January 17, 2020
Examination of Surveys to Measure Renewable Energy Effects on Birds and Bats
Although renewable energy facilities are often required to complete wildlife surveys before and after constructing facilities, there is a lack of published studies that have closely examined the types of surveys and whether they are comparable within and across facilities.
Date published: April 19, 2018
U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Department of Energy Release Online Public Dataset and Viewer of U.S. Wind Turbine Locations and Characteristics
Today, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in partnership with DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the American Wind Energy Association, released the United States Wind Turbine Database (USWTDB) and the USWTDB Viewer to access this new public dataset.
Date published: May 14, 2015
Preliminary Wind Energy Impacts Assessment Methodology Released
USGS has released a preliminary methodology to assess the population level impacts of onshore wind energy development on birds and bats. This wind energy impacts assessment methodology is the first of its kind, evaluating national to regional scale impacts of those bats and birds that breed in and migrate through the United States.
Attribution: Energy and Minerals, Energy Resources Program