Dr. Julie Yee is a Research Statistician with the Western Ecological Research Center (WERC).
Since 1997, she has used statistics and biometry for WERC to quantitatively analyze and interpret a variety of aspects of wildlife and plant population dynamics, such as recruitment, growth, survival, and wildlife movement. Her research has been applied to study the effects of renewable energy, contaminants, fire, and other influences on wildlife populations and ecosystems. She is currently a PI at the Santa Cruz field station where she supervises continued work on sea otter and nearshore research.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Frequentist and Bayesian statistical analysis
- Survival analysis
- Population dynamics
- Mark-recapture
- State-space modeling
- Integrated population modeling
- High performance computing
EDUCATION
- Ph.D., 1997, Statistics with Emphasis in Biostatistics, University of California, Davis.
- Dissertation Title: Asymptotic Approximations to Bayesian Posterior Distributions in Survival Problems with Incomplete Data
- M.S., 1993, Statistics, University of California, Davis
- B.S., 1991, Mathematics, California Institute of Technology
Science and Products
Population Biology and Behavior of Sea Otters
WERC's sea otter researchers are developing and utilizing a variety of methodological and analytical tools to understand the causes of biological and ecological trends in sea otter populations, and to predict the ecological consequences of management practices on these populations and their ecosystems.
California Sea Otter Surveys and Research
WERC collaborates with other research scientists to conduct annual population surveys of the southern sea otter -- a federally listed threatened species. In coordination with the California Department of Fish and Game and other institutions, ongoing surveys and research continues to inform the southern sea otter recovery plan for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and contributes to our...
Pacific Nearshore Project
Sea otters are crucial indicators of the health of our nearshore waters and coastal resources, from kelp forests to fisheries. What clues does the sea otter's decline hold for our knowledge of ecosystem and global change? WERC's sea otter team and U.S. and Canadian researchers have teamed together to investigate. Relevance to USGS Missions: This research project has direct relevance for the...
California Sea Otter Stranding Network
The California Sea Otter Stranding Network is part of the USGS effort to monitor southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) and provide data to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. WERC's sea otter team works with multiple institutions and partners to report, recover, and examine stranded sea otters. In addition, instructions on how to report a stranded sea otter are included in this webpage.
Santa Cruz Field Station
Scientists at the Santa Cruz Field Station study sea otters and seabirds in their environment. The USGS Western Ecological Research Center has two research missions based in the Santa Cruz region:
Science and Products
- Science
Population Biology and Behavior of Sea Otters
WERC's sea otter researchers are developing and utilizing a variety of methodological and analytical tools to understand the causes of biological and ecological trends in sea otter populations, and to predict the ecological consequences of management practices on these populations and their ecosystems.California Sea Otter Surveys and Research
WERC collaborates with other research scientists to conduct annual population surveys of the southern sea otter -- a federally listed threatened species. In coordination with the California Department of Fish and Game and other institutions, ongoing surveys and research continues to inform the southern sea otter recovery plan for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and contributes to our...Pacific Nearshore Project
Sea otters are crucial indicators of the health of our nearshore waters and coastal resources, from kelp forests to fisheries. What clues does the sea otter's decline hold for our knowledge of ecosystem and global change? WERC's sea otter team and U.S. and Canadian researchers have teamed together to investigate. Relevance to USGS Missions: This research project has direct relevance for the...California Sea Otter Stranding Network
The California Sea Otter Stranding Network is part of the USGS effort to monitor southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) and provide data to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. WERC's sea otter team works with multiple institutions and partners to report, recover, and examine stranded sea otters. In addition, instructions on how to report a stranded sea otter are included in this webpage.Santa Cruz Field Station
Scientists at the Santa Cruz Field Station study sea otters and seabirds in their environment. The USGS Western Ecological Research Center has two research missions based in the Santa Cruz region: - Data
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