Layne Adams, Ph.D.
Population biology and predator/prey relationships of Alaskan large mammals.
Biography
Education
Ph.D. 1996 University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN Wildlife Conservation
M.S. 1981 Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO Wildlife Biology
B.S. 1976 Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO Wildlife Biology
Professional Experience
1993 - Present Research Wildlife Biologist USGS, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, Alaska
1985 - 1993 Regional Research Wildlife Biologist, US National Park Service, Anchorage, Alaska
1980 - 1985 Wildlife Management Biologist, Bureau of Land Management, Fairbanks, Alaska
Professional Activities and/or Memberships
IUCN Species Survival Commission, Wolf Specialist Group (2001-2013)
The Wildlife Society
Arctic Institute of North America
American Society of Mammalogists
Science and Products
Summary of wildlife-related research on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, 2002–17
We summarize recent (2002–17) publicly available information from studies within the 1002 Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as well as terrestrial and coastal ecosystems elsewhere on the Arctic Coastal Plain that are relevant to the 1002 Area. This report provides an update on earlier research summaries on caribou (Rangifer tarandus),...
Pearce, John M.; Flint, Paul L.; Atwood, Todd C.; Douglas, David C.; Adams, Layne G.; Johnson, Heather E.; Arthur, Stephen M.; Latty, Christopher J.
Advancing the match-mismatch framework for large herbivores in the Arctic: Evaluating the evidence for a trophic mismatch in caribou
Climate-induced shifts in plant phenology may adversely affect animals that cannot or do not shift the timing of their reproductive cycle. The realized effect of potential trophic “mismatches” between a consumer and its food varies with the degree to which species rely on dietary income and stored capital. Large Arctic herbivores rely heavily on...
Gustine, David D.; Barboza, Perry; Adams, Layne G.; Griffith, Brad; Cameron, Raymond D.; Whitten, Kenneth R. Summer habitat selection by Dall’s sheep in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska
Sexual segregation occurs frequently in sexually dimorphic species, and it may be influenced by differential habitat requirements between sexes or by social or evolutionary mechanisms that maintain separation of sexes regardless of habitat selection. Understanding the degree of sex-specific habitat specialization is important for management of...
Roffler, Gretchen H.; Adams, Layne G.; Hebblewhite, Mark Bacterial genomics reveal the complex epidemiology of an emerging pathogen in arctic and boreal ungulates
Northern ecosystems are currently experiencing unprecedented ecological change, largely driven by a rapidly changing climate. Pathogen range expansion, and emergence and altered patterns of infectious disease, are increasingly reported in wildlife at high latitudes. Understanding the causes and consequences of shifting pathogen diversity and host-...
Forde, Taya L.; Orsel, Karin; Zadoks, Ruth N.; Biek, Roman; Adams, Layne G.; Checkley, Sylvia L.; Davison, Tracy; De Buck, Jeroen; Dumond, Mathieu; Elkin, Brett T.; Finnegan, Laura; Macbeth, Bryan J.; Nelson, Cait; Niptanatiak, Amanda; Sather, Shane; Schwantje, Helen M.; van der Meer, Frank; Kutz, Susan J. Identification of landscape features influencing gene flow: How useful are habitat selection models?
Understanding how dispersal patterns are influenced by landscape heterogeneity is critical for modeling species connectivity. Resource selection function (RSF) models are increasingly used in landscape genetics approaches. However, because the ecological factors that drive habitat selection may be different from those influencing dispersal and...
Roffler, Gretchen H.; Schwartz, Michael K.; Pilgrim, Kristy L.; Talbot, Sandra L.; Sage, Kevin; Adams, Layne G.; Luikart, Gordon Range expansion of moose in arctic Alaska linked to warming and increased shrub habitat
Twentieth century warming has increased vegetation productivity and shrub cover across northern tundra and treeline regions, but effects on terrestrial wildlife have not been demonstrated on a comparable scale. During this period, Alaskan moose (Alces alces gigas) extended their range from the boreal forest into tundra riparian shrub habitat;...
Tape, Ken D.; Gustine, David D.; Reuss, Roger W.; Adams, Layne G.; Clark, Jason A. Estimating demographic parameters using a combination of known-fate and open N-mixture models
Accurate estimates of demographic parameters are required to infer appropriate ecological relationships and inform management actions. Known-fate data from marked individuals are commonly used to estimate survival rates, whereas N-mixture models use count data from unmarked individuals to estimate multiple demographic parameters. However, a joint...
Schmidt, Joshua H.; Johnson, Devin S.; Lindberg, Mark S.; Adams, Layne G.
Changing Arctic ecosystems: resilience of caribou to climatic shifts in the Arctic
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Changing Arctic Ecosystems (CAE) initiative strives to inform key resource management decisions for Arctic Alaska by providing scientific information and forecasts for current and future ecosystem response to a warming climate. Over the past 5 years, a focal area for the USGS CAE initiative has been the North...
Gustine, David D.; Adams, Layne G.; Whalen, Mary E.; Pearce, John M. Environmental and physiological influences to isotopic ratios of N and protein status in a montane ungulate in winter
Winter severity can influence large herbivore populations through a reduction in maternal proteins available for reproduction. Nitrogen (N) isotopes in blood fractions can be used to track the use of body proteins in northern and montane ungulates. We studied 113 adult female caribou for 13 years throughout a series of severe winters that reduced...
Gustine, David D.; Barboza, Perry S.; Adams, Layne G.; Wolf, Nathan B. Climate-driven effects of fire on winter habitat for caribou in the Alaskan-Yukon Arctic
Climatic warming has direct implications for fire-dominated disturbance patterns in northern ecosystems. A transforming wildfire regime is altering plant composition and successional patterns, thus affecting the distribution and potentially the abundance of large herbivores. Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) are an important subsistence resource for...
Gustine, David D.; Brinkman, Todd J.; Lindgren, Michael A.; Schmidt, Jennifer I.; Rupp, T. Scott; Adams, Layne G. Lack of sex-biased dispersal promotes fine-scale genetic structure in alpine ungulates
Identifying patterns of fine-scale genetic structure in natural populations can advance understanding of critical ecological processes such as dispersal and gene flow across heterogeneous landscapes. Alpine ungulates generally exhibit high levels of genetic structure due to female philopatry and patchy configuration of mountain habitats. We...
Roffler, Gretchen H.; Talbot, Sandra L.; Luikart, Gordon; Sage, George K.; Pilgrim, Kristy L.; Adams, Layne G.; Schwartz, Michael K. Range overlap and individual movements during breeding season influence genetic relationships of caribou herds in south-central Alaska
North American caribou (Rangifer tarandus) herds commonly exhibit little nuclear genetic differentiation among adjacent herds, although available evidence supports strong demographic separation, even for herds with seasonal range overlap. During 1997–2003, we studied the Mentasta and Nelchina caribou herds in south-central Alaska using...
Roffler, Gretchen H.; Adams, Layne G.; Talbot, Sandra L.; Sage, George K.; Dale, Bruce W.