Kathi Irvine

Education 

PhD. Statistics. Oregon State University

MS. Statistics. Oregon State University; MS. Ecology and Environmental Sciences. University of Maine

BS. Biology. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Research Interest

I am a Research Statistician with the U.S. Geological Survey at the Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center in Bozeman, Montana. Prior to finding my home in the federal system in 2011 I was an assistant professor at Montana State University (2008-2010). I have a B.S. in Biology from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and MS in Ecology and Environmental Sciences from the University of Maine at Orono. Since receiving my PhD in Statistics from Oregon State University in 2007, I have collaborated with ecologists and biologists charged with monitoring natural resources on federal and state lands. My team provides statistical support for monitoring programs led by the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and state agencies. Our work involves development of survey design and analysis strategies for a variety of plants, animals, and other indicators. Specifically, we currently support monitoring of whitebark pine in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, selenium contamination at Benton Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, bats across North America, submerged aquatic vegetation on refuges in the Intermountain West, and upland plant communities within several national parks.

My recent and current applied statistical research involves extending statistical methods for ordinal data, applications of causal graphical models, investigating spatial sampling designs for ecological inferences, assessment tools for occupancy models, model-assisted methods for trend analyses, and investigating methodology for incorporating observer variation in plant surveys. My publications appear in ecological journals (e.g., Ecology, Ecological Applications, and Ecological Indicators) and applied statistical journals (e.g., Environmetrics, Journal of Agricultural, Biological, and Environmental Statistics, and Environmental and Ecological Statistics).  I have mentored Statistics students for writing projects and supported graduate research assistants at Montana State University (MSU). Several of my students have participated in writing peer-reviewed papers during their time at MSU. I encourage students interested in applied statistical work with ecological applications to contact me for possible graduate research assistantships, paid summer work, and other opportunities.

Related Projects:

https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org/