Joe is a Research Wildlife Biologist with the Ecosystem Analytics team at the Alaska Science Center. His research focuses on developing and applying statistical methods to better understand the ecology and inform management of wildlife.
My research generally involves developing and applying Bayesian hierarchical models and other quantitative methods to better understand the ecology and inform management of wildlife, in close collaboration with other Department of Interior agencies and state and local partners. This includes spatiotemporal models of population growth and spread, movement models, resource and habitat selection models.
Professional Experience
2022 - present Research Wildlife Biologist, USGS, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, Alaska
2020 - 2022 Statistician, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Marine Mammals Management,
Anchorage, Alaska2020 - 2020 Post doctoral researcher, University of Nevada Reno, Nevada
2020 - 2020 Post doctoral researcher, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Alaska
2015 - 2019 Graduate research and teaching assistant, University of Alaska Fairbanks,
Alaska2013 - 2016 Fish and Wildlife Technician, Alaska Department of Fish and Game,
Alaska
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. 2020 Biological Sciences (Wildlife Biology & Conservation),
University of Alaska FairbanksM.S. 2019 Statistics University of Alaska Fairbanks
B.A. 2015 Biology Colorado College
Affiliations and Memberships*
The Wildlife Society
The International Biometric Society
Raptor Research Foundation
American Statistical Association
Honors and Awards
2021 Two STAR Awards (Special Thanks for Achieving Results), US Fish and Wildlife Service
Calvin J Lensink Fellowship, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Nancy Klamm Award, Wilson Ornithological Society
Bergrstrom Memorial Research Award, Association of Field Ornithologists
Richard and Reba Beidleman Award, Colorado College
James Wilkes Memorial Biology Award, Colorado College
Science and Products
Ecosystems Analytics
Informing management of recovering predators and their prey with ecological diffusion models
A hierarchical modelling framework for estimating individual- and population-level reproductive success from movement data
Northern Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) population abundance and distribution across the southeast Alaska stock, summer 2022
Diffusion modeling reveals effects of multiple release sites and human activity on a recolonizing apex predator
Reproductive Success from Movement Data
Science and Products
- Science
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 various... - Multimedia
- Publications
Informing management of recovering predators and their prey with ecological diffusion models
The reintroduction and recovery of predators can be ecologically beneficial as well as socially and economically controversial. However, the growth and expansion of predator populations, and thus their ecological, social, and economic impacts, are not static but rather they vary in space and time. We propose a spatiotemporal statistical modeling framework based on ecological diffusion to better inAuthorsJoseph Michael Eisaguirre, Perry J. Williams, Xinyi Lu, Michelle L. Kissling, Paul A Schutte, Benjamin P Weitzman, William S. Beatty, George G. Esslinger, Jamie N. Womble, Mevin B. HootenA hierarchical modelling framework for estimating individual- and population-level reproductive success from movement data
Rapidly advancing animal telemetry technologies paired with new statistical models can provide insight into the behaviour of otherwise unobservable free-living animals. Changes in behaviour apparent from pairing telemetry with statistical models often occur as animals undertake key life-history activities, such as reproduction. For many species that are secretive or occupy remote areas, these lifeAuthorsJoseph Michael Eisaguirre, Perry J. Williams, Julia C. Brockman, Stephen B. Lewis, Christopher P. Barger, Greg A. Breed, Travis L. BoomsNorthern Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) population abundance and distribution across the southeast Alaska stock, summer 2022
In the summer of 2022, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and partners successfully completed the first single-year, aerial photo survey of sea otters across the entire Southeast stock of northern sea otters. This document presents the latest findings from the 2022 Southeast Alaska Sea Otter Survey, providing up-to-date information regarding occupancy, abundance and carrying capacity. We collected tAuthorsPaul Schuette, Joseph Michael Eisaguirre, Benjamin P Weitzman, Collin Power, Evan Wetherington, Jenipher Cate, Jamie N. Womble, Linnea Pearson, Daniel Melody, Chelsea Merriman, Kat Hanks, George G. EsslingerDiffusion modeling reveals effects of multiple release sites and human activity on a recolonizing apex predator
BackgroundReintroducing predators is a promising conservation tool to help remedy human-caused ecosystem changes. However, the growth and spread of a reintroduced population is a spatiotemporal process that is driven by a suite of factors, such as habitat change, human activity, and prey availability. Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) are apex predators of nearshore marine ecosystems that had declined nAuthorsJoseph M. Eisaguirre, Perry J. Willliams, Xinyi Lu, Michelle L. Kissling, William S. Beatty, George G. Esslinger, Jamie N. Womble, Mevin Hooten - Software
Reproductive Success from Movement Data
This software release includes code to conduct analyses presented in the manuscript titled: A hierarchical modeling framework for estimating individual- and population-level reproductive success from movement data
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government