Jeffrey Bromaghin, Ph.D.
My research broadly encompasses the development and application of advanced models and statistical methods to improve our understanding of ecological processes that influence the behavior, reproduction, and survival of individual animals, and how individual-animal outcomes ultimately scale upward to shape the dynamics and demographics of entire populations and communities through time.
Biography
Education
Ph.D. 1991 University of Wyoming Statistics
M.S. 1988 University of Wyoming Statistics
B.S. 1985 University of Alaska Wildlife Management
Professional Experience
2009 - Present Research Statistician, U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center
2000 - 2009 Statistician, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Fisheries and Ecological Services, Alaska Region
1990 - 2000 Regional Biometrician, Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game, Commercial Fisheries Division
Professional Activities and/or Memberships
The International Biometric Society
The Wildlife Society
Ecological Society of America
Honors and/or Awards
2014 U. S. Geological Survey, Quality step increase for exceptional performance
2014 U. S. Geological Survey, STAR award for special achievement
2012 U. S. Geological Survey, STAR award for special achievement
2012 Stevan Phelps Award, American Fisheries Society (Bromaghin et al., 2011, TAFS 140:235-249)
2011 U. S. Geological Survey, STAR award for special achievement
2010 U. S. Geological Survey, STAR award for special achievement
2007 U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, STAR award for exceptional performance
2007 U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Regional Director’s award for Science Excellence
2004 U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, quality step increase for sustained exceptional performance
2001 U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, STAR award for outstanding performance
1993 Letter of commendation, Alaska Dept. Fish and Game
1992 Deming Award for distinguished graduate program. Dept. of Statistics, University of Wyoming
Science and Products
Ecosystems Analytics
Ecosystems Analytics is a group of quantitative biologists and research statisticians with a diverse range of expertise and experience (summarized below). We collaborate with internal and external partners to answer challenging ecological questions that are a high priority of the U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center, sister agencies within the Department of the Interior (DOI), and...
Polar Bear Population Dynamics
Information on the status and trends of polar bear populations are needed to inform management of polar bears under US laws and international agreements. The USGS maintains a long-term research program focused on the population dynamics of the southern Beaufort Sea polar bear population. In addition, the USGS collaborates with the US Fish and Wildlife Service in population studies in the...
Seal body condition and atmospheric circulation patterns influence polar bear body condition, recruitment, and feeding ecology in the Chukchi Sea
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are experiencing loss of sea ice habitats used to access their marine mammal prey. Simultaneously, ocean warming is changing ecosystems that support marine mammal populations. The interactive effects of sea ice and prey are not well understood yet may explain spatial‐temporal variation in the response of polar bears...
Rode, Karyn D.; Regehr, Eric V.; Bromaghin, Jeffrey F.; Wilson, Ryan R.; St. Martin, Michelle; Crawford, Justin A.; Quakenbush, Lori T.
Analyses on subpopulation abundance and annual number of maternal dens for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in the southern Beaufort Sea, Alaska
The long-term persistence of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) is threatened by sea-ice loss due to climate change, which is concurrently providing an opportunity in the Arctic for increased anthropogenic activities including natural resource extraction. Mitigating the risk of those activities, which can adversely affect the population dynamics of the...
Atwood, Todd C.; Bromaghin, Jeffrey F.; Patil, Vijay P.; Durner, George M.; Douglas, David C.; Simac, Kristin S. Drivers and consequences of apex predator diet composition in the Canadian Beaufort Sea
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) rely on annual sea ice as their primary habitat for hunting marine mammal prey. Given their long lifespan, wide geographic distribution, and position at the top of the Arctic marine food web, the diet composition of polar bears can provide insights into temporal and spatial ecosystem dynamics related to climate-...
Florko, Katie R. N.; Thiemann, Gregory W.; Bromaghin, Jeffrey F. Dietary fat concentrations influence fatty acid assimilation patterns in Atlantic pollock (Pollachius virens)
A key aspect in the use of fatty acids (FA) to estimate predator diets using Quantitative FA Signature Analysis (QFASA) is the ability to account for FA assimilation through the use of calibration coefficients (CC). Here, we tested the assumption that CC are independent of dietary fat concentrations by feeding Atlantic pollock (Pollachius virens)...
Budge, Suzanne M.; Townsend, Katherine; Lall, Santosh P; Bromaghin, Jeffrey F. Energy-rich mesopelagic fishes revealed as a critical prey resource for a deep-diving predator using quantitative fatty acid signature analysis
Understanding the diet of deep-diving predators can provide essential insight to the trophic structure of the mesopelagic ecosystem. Comprehensive population-level diet estimates are exceptionally difficult to obtain for elusive marine predators due to the logistical challenges involved in observing their feeding behavior and collecting samples...
Goetsch, Chandra; Conners, Melinda G.; Budge, Suzanne M.; Mitani, Yoko; Walker, William A; Bromaghin, Jeffrey F.; Simmons, Samantha E.; Reichmuth, Colleen; Costa, Daniel P. QFASAR: Quantitative fatty acid signature analysis with R
Knowledge of predator diets provides essential insights into their ecology, yet diet estimation is challenging and remains an active area of research.Quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA) is a popular method of estimating diet composition that continues to be investigated and extended. However, software to implement QFASA has only...
Bromaghin, Jeffrey F. Simultaneous estimation of diet composition and calibration coefficients with fatty acid signature data
Knowledge of animal diets provides essential insights into their life history and ecology, although diet estimation is challenging and remains an active area of research. Quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA) has become a popular method of estimating diet composition, especially for marine species. A primary assumption of QFASA is...
Bromaghin, Jeffrey F.; Budge, Suzanne M.; Thiemann, Gregory W.; Rode, Karyn D. Detect and exploit hidden structure in fatty acid signature data
Estimates of predator diet composition are essential to our understanding of their ecology. Although several methods of estimating diet are practiced, methods based on biomarkers have become increasingly common. Quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA) is a popular method that continues to be refined and extended. Quantitative fatty acid...
Bromaghin, Jeffrey F.; Budge, Suzanne M.; Thiemann, Gregory W. Habitat degradation affects the summer activity of polar bears
Understanding behavioral responses of species to environmental change is critical to forecasting population-level effects. Although climate change is significantly impacting species’ distributions, few studies have examined associated changes in behavior. Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) subpopulations have varied in their near-term responses to sea...
Ware, Jasmine V.; Rode, Karyn D.; Bromaghin, Jeffrey F.; Douglas, David C.; Wilson, Ryan R.; Regehr, Eric V.; Amstrup, Steven C.; Durner, George M.; Pagano, Anthony M.; Olson, Jay; Robbins, Charles T.; Jansen, Heiko T Fatty acid signature data of potential yellow-billed loon prey in the Arctic coastal plain of Alaska, 2009-2011
This dataset contains fatty acid data expressed as mass percent of total fatty acids for several species potentially preyed upon by yellow-billed loons. These data were utilized in a quantitative fatty acid signature analysis to estimate the diet of yellow-billed loons nesting on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska (Haynes et al. 2015).
Haynes, T B; Schmutz, Joel A.; Bromaghin, Jeffrey; Iverson, S.J.; Padula, V. M.; Rosenberger, Amanda E. Forecasting the relative influence of environmental and anthropogenic stressors on polar bears
Effective conservation planning requires understanding and ranking threats to wildlife populations. We developed a Bayesian network model to evaluate the relative influence of environmental and anthropogenic stressors, and their mitigation, on the persistence of polar bears (Ursus maritimus). Overall sea ice conditions, affected by rising global...
Atwood, Todd C.; Marcot, Bruce G.; Douglas, David C.; Amstrup, Steven C.; Rode, Karyn D.; Durner, George M.; Bromaghin, Jeffrey F. Should fatty acid signature proportions sum to 1 for diet estimation?
Knowledge of predator diets, including how diets might change through time or differ among predators, provides essential insights into their ecology. Diet estimation therefore remains an active area of research within quantitative ecology. Quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA) is an increasingly common method of diet estimation. QFASA...
Bromaghin, Jeffrey F.; Budge, Suzanne M.; Thiemann, Gregory W.
Model selection in Cormack-Jolly-Seber mark-recapture investigations
Cormack-Jolly-Seber (CJS) mark-recapture models are widely utilized in ecology, providing estimates of vital rates and abundance that are difficult to obtain using other means.
QFASA robustness to assumption violations
Quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA; Iverson et al. 2004) has become a common method of estimating diet composition, especially for marine mammals, but the performance of the method has received limited investigation.
Quantitative Fatty Acid Signature Analysis in R (qfasar)
Quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA) is a method of diet estimation introduced over a decade ago (Iverson et al. 2004).