Josh T Ackerman
Dr. Ackerman is a Principal Investigator with USGS and an Associate in the Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology at the University of California-Davis.
His research expertise is in wildlife ecology and ecotoxicology, and his research program focuses on bird ecology, wetland management and restoration, contaminant bioaccumulation in fish and wildlife, and effects of contaminants on animal health and populations.
Education
- Ph.D. 2002, Ecology, University of California-Davis
- B.S. 1997 (Magna Cum Laude), Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California-Davis
Professional Experience
- Research Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Dixon Field Station, California (2006-present)
- Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, San Francisco Bay Estuary Field Station, Vallejo, California (2004-2006)
- Post-doctoral Researcher, John Muir Institute of the Environment, University of California-Davis (2003-2004)
- Post-doctoral Researcher, Dept. of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California-Davis (2002-2003)
- Teaching Assistant, Ecology and Management of Waterfowl and Game Birds (Spring 2002) and Field Methods in Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology (Summer 2001), Dept. of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California-Davis
- Waterfowl Researcher (1999-2000), Crew Leader (Spring 1998, 1999, 2000), and Technician (Spring 1997), California Waterfowl Association, Sacramento, California
- Doctoral Research, Dept. of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California-Davis (1997-2002)
- Biological Technician (Summer 1995) and Biological Aid (Summer 1994), U.S. Forest Service, Tahoe National Forest, Nevada City, California
Selected Publications
2020 Ackerman, JT, MP Herzog, DC Evers, DA Cristol, KP Kenow, GH Heinz, RA Lavoie, RL Brasso, ML Mallory, JF Provencher, BM Braune, A Matz, JA Schmutz, CA Eagles-Smith, LJ Savoy, MW Meyer, and CA Hartman. Synthesis of maternal transfer of mercury in birds: implications for altered toxicity risk. Environmental Science and Technology 54:2878-2891.
2016 Ackerman, JT, CA Eagles-Smith, MP Herzog, CA Hartman, SH Peterson, DC Evers, AK Jackson, JE Elliott, SS Vander Pol, and CE Bryan. Avian mercury exposure and toxicological risk across western North America: a synthesis. Science of the Total Environment 568:749-769.
2014 Ackerman, JT, MP Herzog, GS Yarris, ML Casazza, E Burns, and JM Eadie. Chapter 5: Waterfowl ecology and management in Suisun Marsh: Ecological History and Possible Futures. University of California Press: Berkeley, California.
Science and Products
Wetland management strategy to reduce mercury export in water and bioaccumulation in fish
San Francisco Bay triennial bird egg monitoring program for contaminants, California—2018
Feather mercury concentrations in North American raptors sampled at migration monitoring stations
Sitting ducklings: Timing of hatch, nest departure, and predation risk for dabbling duck broods
Mercury concentrations vary within and among individual bird feathers: A critical evaluation and guidelines for feather use in mercury monitoring programs
Mercury exposure and altered parental nesting behavior in a wild songbird
GPS tracking data reveals daily spatio-temporal movement patterns of waterfowl
Mercury contamination in resident and migrant songbirds and potential effects on body condition
Limited detection of antibodies to clade 2.3.4.4 A/Goose/Guangdong/1/1996 lineage highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza virus in North American waterfowl
California gull (Larus californicus) space use and timing of movements in relation to landfills and breeding colonies
California mallards: a review
California Gull population growth and ecological impacts in the San Francisco Bay estuary, 1980–2016
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Wetland management strategy to reduce mercury export in water and bioaccumulation in fish
Wetland environments provide numerous ecosystem services but also facilitate methylmercury (MeHg) production and bioaccumulation. We developed a wetland‐management technique to reduce MeHg concentrations in wetland fish and water. We physically modified seasonal wetlands by constructing open‐ and deep‐water treatment cells at the downstream end of seasonal wetlands to promote naturally occurring MAuthorsJoshua T. Ackerman, Jacob Fleck, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Mark P. Herzog, Harry L. McQuillenSan Francisco Bay triennial bird egg monitoring program for contaminants, California—2018
The Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay (RMP), administered by the San Francisco Estuary Institute, is a large-scale effort to monitor contaminant trends in water, sediment, fish, and birds throughout San Francisco Bay (San Francisco Estuary Institute, 2016). As part of the RMP and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) long-term Wildlife Contaminants Program, the USGS saAuthorsJoshua T. Ackerman, C. Alex Hartman, Mark P. Herzog, Matthew ToneyFeather mercury concentrations in North American raptors sampled at migration monitoring stations
We assessed total mercury (THg) concentrations in breast feathers of diurnal North American raptors collected at migration monitoring stations. For 9 species in the Pacific Flyway, we found species and age influenced feather THg concentrations whereas sex did not. Feather THg concentrations µg/g dry weight (dw) averaged (least-squared mean±standard error) higher for raptors that generally consumeAuthorsRyan Baurbour, Breanna L. Martinico, Joshua T. Ackerman, Mark P. Herzog, Angus C. Hull, Allen M. Fish, Joshua M. HullSitting ducklings: Timing of hatch, nest departure, and predation risk for dabbling duck broods
For ground‐nesting waterfowl, the timing of egg hatch and duckling departure from the nest may be influenced by the risk of predation at the nest and en route to wetlands and constrained by the time required for ducklings to imprint on the hen and be physically able to leave the nest. We determined the timing of hatch, nest departure, and predation on dabbling duck broods using small video camerasAuthorsSarah H. Peterson, Joshua T. Ackerman, Mark P. Herzog, Christopher Hartman, Rebecca Croston, Cliff L. Feldheim, Michael L. CasazzaMercury concentrations vary within and among individual bird feathers: A critical evaluation and guidelines for feather use in mercury monitoring programs
Feathers are widely used to represent mercury contamination in birds. Yet, few recommendations exist that provide guidance for using bird feathers in mercury monitoring programs. We conducted a literature review and 5 experiments to show that mercury concentrations vary substantially within (vane >100% higher than calamus) and among (>1000%) individual feathers from the same bird. We developed a rAuthorsSarah H. Peterson, Joshua T. Ackerman, Matthew Toney, Mark P. HerzogMercury exposure and altered parental nesting behavior in a wild songbird
Methylmercury is a neurotoxin and endocrine disruptor and may impair avian reproduction directly through embryotoxicity or by altering parental care behaviors. We studied mercury exposure and incubation behavior of free-living tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) nesting in artificial nest boxes. Using small temperature dataloggers, we measured incubation constancy (the proportion of each day the fAuthorsC. Alex Hartman, Joshua T. Ackerman, Mark P. HerzogGPS tracking data reveals daily spatio-temporal movement patterns of waterfowl
BackgroundSpatio-temporal patterns of movement can characterize relationships between organisms and their surroundings, and address gaps in our understanding of species ecology, activity budgets, bioenergetics, and habitat resource management. Highly mobile waterfowl, which can exploit resources over large spatial extents, are excellent models to understand relationships between movements and resoAuthorsFiona McDuie, Michael L. Casazza, Cory T. Overton, Mark P. Herzog, C. Alex Hartman, Sarah H. Peterson, Cliff L. Feldheim, Joshua T. AckermanMercury contamination in resident and migrant songbirds and potential effects on body condition
Methlymercury is a significant risk to environmental health globally. We examined the ecological drivers of methylmercury bioaccumulation in songbirds and its effect on body condition while experimentally removing the potentially confounding and predominant effects of site and habitat. We measured blood and feather mercury concentrations and body condition in nearly 1200 individuals representing rAuthorsJoshua T. Ackerman, C. Alex Hartman, Mark P. HerzogLimited detection of antibodies to clade 2.3.4.4 A/Goose/Guangdong/1/1996 lineage highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza virus in North American waterfowl
During 2014, highly pathogenic (HP) influenza A viruses (IAVs) of the A/Goose/Guangdong/1/1996 lineage (GsGD-HP-H5), originating from Asia, were detected in domestic poultry and wild birds in Canada and the US. These clade 2.3.4.4 GsGD-HP-H5 viruses included reassortants possessing North American lineage gene segments; were detected in wild birds in the Pacific, Central, and Mississippi flyways; aAuthorsDavid E. Stallknecht, Clara Kienzle-Dean, Nick Davis-Fields, Christopher S. Jennelle, Andrew S. Bowman, Jacqueline M. Nolting, Walter Boyce, James Crum, Jefferson Santos, Justin D. Brown, Diann Prosser, Susan E. W. De La Cruz, Joshua T. Ackerman, Michael L. Casazza, Scott Krauss, Daniel Perez, Andrew M. Ramey, Rebecca L. PoulsonCalifornia gull (Larus californicus) space use and timing of movements in relation to landfills and breeding colonies
Expanding gull (Laridae) populations throughout the world have been attributed to the availability of anthropogenic food subsidies. The influence of landfills on California Gull (Larus californicus) space use and the timing of their movements was evaluated in San Francisco Bay, California, USA. Using radio telemetry, 108 California Gulls were tracked, > 7,000 locations were recorded, and > 1 milliAuthorsJosh T. Ackerman, Sarah H. Peterson, Danika C Tsao, John Y. TakekawaCalifornia mallards: a review
Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) are the most abundant breeding waterfowl species in California and are important to waterfowl hunters in the state. California is unique among major North American wintering waterfowl areas, in that most mallards harvested in California are also produced in California, meaning that California must provide both high quality wintering and breeding habitats for mallard pAuthorsCliff L. Feldheim, Joshua T. Ackerman, Shaun L. Oldenburger, John M. Eadie, Joseph P. Fleskes, Gregory S. YarrisCalifornia Gull population growth and ecological impacts in the San Francisco Bay estuary, 1980–2016
The breeding population of California Gulls (Larus californicus) in the San Francisco Bay estuary increased from 24 individuals in 1980 to a peak of over 53,000 in 2014, then declined to 38,040 in 2016. The expansion of the breeding population may be related to the availability of suitable nesting sites in close proximity to anthropogenic food subsidies at landfills. Telemetry data indicate that CAuthorsCatherine E. Burns, Joshua T. Ackerman, Natalie B. Washburn, Jill Bluso-Demers, Caitlin Robinson-Nilsen, Cheryl Strong - Web Tools
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