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Karen Thorne, Ph.D.

Dr. Karen Thorne is a Research Ecologist with the USGS Western Ecological Research Center,

Her research focus is in climate change impacts to ecosystems. In particular, her work has included assessing sea-level rise and storms impacts to nearshore ecosystems, wetland ecology and wildlife. She received her Ph.D. and MS from the University of California, Davis.

Dr. Thorne's interests lie in conservation issues surrounding climate-related research that assess changes to ecosystems and wildlife.  Her current focus is assessing how sea-level rise and storms impact salt marsh ecosystems and local wildlife populations. In particular, Dr. Thorne is interested in how wildlife respond to high water events and how this relates to predation and breeding success.  Her research is based on field data collection methods that can be developed into climate change impact models using ArcGIS and other remote sensing tools.  
 
RESEARCH INTERESTS

  • Global Change Biology
  • Coastal Ecosystems
  • Wetland Ecology
  • Threatened & Endangered Species
  • Wildlife Biology
  • Landscape Ecology
  • Ecological Response Modeling
  • Storm Monitoring
  • Sea-level Rise Planning & Decision Support

Professional Experience

  • Biologist, USGS, Western Ecological Research Center, San Francisco Bay Estuary Field Station, 2005 to present

  • Research Associate, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Fairbanks, AK, 2002 to 2005

Education and Certifications

  • PhD, Geography, Global Change, University of California, Davis, 2012

  • MSc, Geography, Environmental Studies, University of California, Davis, 2008

  • BS, Wildlife, Fish, & Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis 2000

Affiliations and Memberships*

  • California Landscape Conservation Cooperative Science Team

Science and Products

*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