Kristen Ellis is a Research Ecologist with the USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center in Jamestown, North Dakota.
Dr. Ellis’ research is focused on migratory bird ecology and developing quantitative and geospatial tools for addressing conservation issues. She works on projects that seek to improve our understanding of population and habitat dynamics of migratory birds, often in response to ecosystem- or community-level changes.
Professional Experience
Research Ecologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, Jamestown, North Dakota
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, 2019
Science and Products
Balancing future renewable energy infrastructure siting and associated habitat loss for migrating whooping cranes
The expansion of human infrastructure has contributed to novel risks and disturbance regimes in most ecosystems, leading to considerable uncertainty about how species will respond to altered landscapes. A recent assessment revealed that whooping cranes (Grus americana), an endangered migratory waterbird species, avoid wind-energy infrastructure during migration. However, uncertainties regarding co
Implications of habitat-driven survival and dispersal on recruitment in a spatially structured piping plover population
Natal survival and dispersal have important consequences for populations through the movement of genes and individuals. Metapopulation theory predicts either balanced natal dispersal among regions or source–sink dynamics, which can dramatically change population structure. For species reliant on dynamic, early-successional habitats, availability and location of habitat will shift from year to year
Experimental evaluation of predator exclosures on nest, chick, and adult survival of piping plovers
Species of conservation concern often receive intensive management to improve vital rates and facilitate recovery. Piping plovers (Charadrius melodus) are federally listed in the United States and concerns over nest depredation have prompted widespread use of plover-permeable predator exclosures placed around nests (0.5–2-m radius). While effectiveness of exclosures for improving nest survival has
Dispersal distance is driven by habitat availability and reproductive success in Northern Great Plains piping plovers
BackgroundDispersal is a critical life history strategy that has important conservation implications, particularly for at-risk species with active recovery efforts and migratory species. Both natal and breeding dispersal are driven by numerous selection pressures, including conspecific competition, individual characteristics, reproductive success, and spatiotemporal variation in habitat. Most stud
Impacts of extreme environmental disturbances on piping plover survival are partially moderated by migratory connectivity
Effective conservation for listed migratory species requires an understanding of how drivers of population decline vary spatially and temporally, as well as knowledge of range-wide connectivity between breeding and nonbreeding areas. Environmental conditions distant from breeding areas can have lasting effects on the demography of migratory species, yet these consequences are often the least under
Spatial variation in population dynamics of northern Great Plains piping plovers
Metapopulation dynamics are determined not only by within-patch birth and death processes but also by between-patch movements of individuals (emigration and immigration). To conserve and manage a species that has a metapopulation structure, defined by local populations that are distributed among patches of suitable habitat, we need to understand each of these vital rates. For the federally listed
Whooping crane migration habitat selection disturbance data and maps
These data and maps were developed to support an effort to understand how whooping cranes (Grus americana) select stopover habitat in the presence of human infrastructure. Location and associated data came from whooping cranes from the Aransas-Wood Buffalo Population, 2010–2016. We marked a sample of 57 whooping cranes with leg-mounted transmitters that acquired locations via the global posi
Science and Products
- Publications
Balancing future renewable energy infrastructure siting and associated habitat loss for migrating whooping cranes
The expansion of human infrastructure has contributed to novel risks and disturbance regimes in most ecosystems, leading to considerable uncertainty about how species will respond to altered landscapes. A recent assessment revealed that whooping cranes (Grus americana), an endangered migratory waterbird species, avoid wind-energy infrastructure during migration. However, uncertainties regarding coImplications of habitat-driven survival and dispersal on recruitment in a spatially structured piping plover population
Natal survival and dispersal have important consequences for populations through the movement of genes and individuals. Metapopulation theory predicts either balanced natal dispersal among regions or source–sink dynamics, which can dramatically change population structure. For species reliant on dynamic, early-successional habitats, availability and location of habitat will shift from year to yearExperimental evaluation of predator exclosures on nest, chick, and adult survival of piping plovers
Species of conservation concern often receive intensive management to improve vital rates and facilitate recovery. Piping plovers (Charadrius melodus) are federally listed in the United States and concerns over nest depredation have prompted widespread use of plover-permeable predator exclosures placed around nests (0.5–2-m radius). While effectiveness of exclosures for improving nest survival hasDispersal distance is driven by habitat availability and reproductive success in Northern Great Plains piping plovers
BackgroundDispersal is a critical life history strategy that has important conservation implications, particularly for at-risk species with active recovery efforts and migratory species. Both natal and breeding dispersal are driven by numerous selection pressures, including conspecific competition, individual characteristics, reproductive success, and spatiotemporal variation in habitat. Most studImpacts of extreme environmental disturbances on piping plover survival are partially moderated by migratory connectivity
Effective conservation for listed migratory species requires an understanding of how drivers of population decline vary spatially and temporally, as well as knowledge of range-wide connectivity between breeding and nonbreeding areas. Environmental conditions distant from breeding areas can have lasting effects on the demography of migratory species, yet these consequences are often the least underSpatial variation in population dynamics of northern Great Plains piping plovers
Metapopulation dynamics are determined not only by within-patch birth and death processes but also by between-patch movements of individuals (emigration and immigration). To conserve and manage a species that has a metapopulation structure, defined by local populations that are distributed among patches of suitable habitat, we need to understand each of these vital rates. For the federally listed - Data
Whooping crane migration habitat selection disturbance data and maps
These data and maps were developed to support an effort to understand how whooping cranes (Grus americana) select stopover habitat in the presence of human infrastructure. Location and associated data came from whooping cranes from the Aransas-Wood Buffalo Population, 2010–2016. We marked a sample of 57 whooping cranes with leg-mounted transmitters that acquired locations via the global posi