John Sauer, Ph.D.
John Sauer is a Wildlife Biologist at the Eastern Ecological Science Center in Laurel, MD.
He has also worked as a Statistician with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and as a Lecturer at the University of Kansas. John is an Elective Fellow of the American Ornithological Society and serves on the Board of Editors of Ecology, Ecological Monographs, and Avian Conservation and Ecology. John has been awarded the AOS Ralph W. Schreiber Conservation Award (2018) and a United States Department of Interior Distinguished Service Award (2018).
John participates in a wide variety of research projects united by the general themes of population ecology, survey design and analysis, geographic and temporal analysis of population change, analysis of count data, geographical ecology, and summary and display of large-scale surveys. Current projects include:
Analysis of population change from count data-John has participated in a series of research projects associated with analysis of population change from count data. Along with a variety of collaborators, he develops methods for analysis of counts in which counts are modeled hierarchically, as over-dispersed Poisson random variables, allowing for adjustment of both factors that influence visibility of animals and factors that actually influence population sizes. These methods are presently being implemented for the North American Breeding Bird Survey, the Christmas Bird Count, breeding waterfowl surveys in the Northeastern United States and Canada, and the Woodcock Singing-ground Survey. The methods are also used for spatial modeling and landscape level analyses, addressing questions relevant to conservation and ecology. He conducts yearly analyses of all North American Breeding Bird Survey data, and consults with researchers and managers who use the database.
Development of internet-based procedures for summary and analysis of survey data-In collaboration with other Patuxent staff, John has developed a series of web sites that allow users access to information from the North American Breeding Bird Survey and other datasets. Survey data can be accessed at several geographic scales, from individual sample units to continental summaries. A recent innovation is development of a map-based application that integrates BBS and displays BBS results at multiple geographic scale, similar to USGS mapping products associated with water resources. Custom analyses of population change can be conducted for regions, species, and time periods specified by users. Website address: http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov
Evaluating the Design of the Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey-The Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey (WBPHS) is a primary source of waterfowl population status and trend information for management of ducks in North America. John, along with colleagues in the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, are reviewing the current distributions of priority waterfowl species relative to the scope of the WBPHS, suggestin
Science and Products
Sea ducks in the Atlantic Flyway: population status and a review of special hunting seasons
Roadside versus remote: Is the habitat sampled by the Breeding Bird Survey in Maryland representative of statewide conditions?
The northeastern states' waterfowl breeding population survey
Evaluation of terrestrial and streamside salamander monitoring techniques at Shenandoah National Park
A double-observer approach for estimating detection probability and abundance from point counts
DC birdscape: a program for monitoring neotropical migrant birds in Washington, DC
Combining information from monitoring programs: Complications associated with indices and geographic scale
Landscape associations of frog and toad species in Iowa and Wisconsin, U.S.A
The 1995-1999 Summary of the North American Breeding Bird Survey
Temporal and geographic patterns in population trends of brown-headed cowbirds
COMDYN: Software to study the dynamics of animal communities using a capture-recapture approach
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Sea ducks in the Atlantic Flyway: population status and a review of special hunting seasons
No abstract available.AuthorsDavid F. Caithamer, M. Otto, P.I. Padding, J.R. Sauer, G.H. HaasRoadside versus remote: Is the habitat sampled by the Breeding Bird Survey in Maryland representative of statewide conditions?
The North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) has received criticism that the bird habitat sampled along the 24.5 mile long roadside transects may not be proportional to regional totals. If true, trends in bird populations recorded by the BBS may not be sensitive predictors of regional or continental change in songbird abundance. To test whether the approximately 60 BBS routes in Maryland represAuthorsD.D. Boone, J.R. Sauer, I. ThomasThe northeastern states' waterfowl breeding population survey
Efforts to tailor waterfowl hunting regulations to conditions in the Atlantic Flyway have been hampered by lack of information on local breeding populations. The Atlantic Flyway Council's technical section voted at its 1987 winter meeting (Atlantic Flyway Council Technical Section, Toronto, Canada) to establish a regional waterfowl breeding survey. Consequently, an annual survey was started in 1AuthorsH.W. Heusmann, J.R. SauerEvaluation of terrestrial and streamside salamander monitoring techniques at Shenandoah National Park
In response to concerns about amphibian declines, a study evaluating and validating amphibian monitoring techniques was initiated in Shenandoah and Big Bend National Parks in the spring of 1998. We evaluate precision, bias, and efficiency of several sampling methods for terrestrial and streamside salamanders in Shenandoah National Park and assess salamander abundance in relation to environmental vAuthorsR.E. Jung, Sam Droege, J.R. Sauer, R.B. LandyA double-observer approach for estimating detection probability and abundance from point counts
Although point counts are frequently used in ornithological studies, basic assumptions about detection probabilities often are untested. We apply a double-observer approach developed to estimate detection probabilities for aerial surveys (Cook and Jacobson 1979) to avian point counts. At each point count, a designated 'primary' observer indicates to another ('secondary') observer all birds detecAuthorsJ. D. Nichols, J. E. Hines, J.R. Sauer, F.W. Fallon, J.E. Fallon, P.J. HeglundDC birdscape: a program for monitoring neotropical migrant birds in Washington, DC
Urban and suburban habitats often contain a variety of Neotropical migratory birds, but are poorly sampled by programs such as the North American Breeding Bird Survey. DC Birdscape was developed to inventory and monitor birds in Washington, D.C. Birds were surveyed using a systematic sample of point counts during 1993-1995. Results indicate that species richness of Neotropical migratory birds vAuthorsJ.R. Sauer, J. Hadidian, C. Swarth, Sam Droege, P. Handly, G. Diddan, J. HuffCombining information from monitoring programs: Complications associated with indices and geographic scale
To adequately monitor Neotropical migratory birds, information must be collected to assess population change at local, regional, and continent-wide scales. I suggest that large-scale survey results (such as those derived from the North American Breeding Bird Survey) should not be used to predict population attributes on parks, refuges, and other protected areas. These areas are often managed, andAuthorsJ.R. SauerLandscape associations of frog and toad species in Iowa and Wisconsin, U.S.A
Landscape habitat associations of frogs and toads in Iowa and Wisconsin were tested to determine whether they support or refute previous general habitat classifications. We examined which Midwestern species shared similar habitats to see if these associations were consistent across large geographic areas (states). Rana sylvatica (wood frog), Hyla versicolor (eastern gray treefrog), Pseudacris crAuthorsM. G. Knutson, J.R. Sauer, D.A. Olsen, M.J. Mossman, L.M. Hemesath, M.J. LannooThe 1995-1999 Summary of the North American Breeding Bird Survey
Data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey were used to estimate continental and regional changes in bird populations for the 5-yr period 1995-1999 and the 2-yr period 1998-1999. These short-term changes were placed in the context of population trends estimated over the 1966-1999 interval. During 1995-1999, 44% of all species exhibited positive trends over the entire survey area, while 44AuthorsK.L. Pardieck, J.R. SauerTemporal and geographic patterns in population trends of brown-headed cowbirds
The temporal and geographic patterns in the population trends of Brown-headed Cowbirds are summarized from the North American Breeding Bird Survey. During 1966-1992, the survey-wide population declined significantly, a result of declining populations in the Eastern BBS Region, southern Great Plains, and the Pacific coast states. Increasing populations were most evident in the northern Great PlainAuthorsB.G. Peterjohn, J.R. Sauer, S. SchwarzCOMDYN: Software to study the dynamics of animal communities using a capture-recapture approach
COMDYN is a set of programs developed for estimation of parameters associated with community dynamics using count data from two locations or time periods. It is Internet-based, allowing remote users either to input their own data, or to use data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey for analysis. COMDYN allows probability of detection to vary among species and among locations and time perAuthorsJ. E. Hines, T. Boulinier, J. D. Nichols, J.R. Sauer, K. H. Pollock - Web Tools