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
Terrestrial Mammal Ecology Research
Understanding the population dynamics, predator/prey relationships and habitat ecology of terrestrial mammals, such as caribou and muskoxen, is critical for the management of these species and their habitats in Alaska.
Novel insights into serodiagnosis and epidemiology of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, a newly recognized pathogen in muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus)
Muskoxen are a key species of Arctic ecosystems and are important for food security and socio-economic well-being of many Indigenous communities in the Arctic and Subarctic. Between 2009 and 2014, the bacterium Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae was isolated for the first time in this species in association with multiple mortality events in Canada and...
Mavrot, F.; Orsel, K.; Hutchins, W.; Adams, Layne G.; Beckmen, K.; Blake, J.; Checkley, S.; Davison, T.; Di Francesco, J.; Elkin, B.; Leclerc, L.; Schneider, A.; Tomaselli, M.; Kutz, S. Caribou use of habitat near energy development in Arctic Alaska
Increasing demands for energy have generated interest in expanding oil and gas production on the North Slope of Alaska, raising questions about the resilience of barren-ground caribou populations to new development. Although the amount of habitat lost directly to energy development in the Arctic will likely be relatively small, there are...
Johnson, Heather E.; Golden, Trevor; Adams, Layne G.; Gustine, David; Lenart, Elizabeth A. Evaluation of maternal penning to improve calf survival in the Chisana Caribou Herd
Predation is a major limiting factor for most small sedentary caribou (Rangifer tarandus) populations, particularly those that are threatened or endangered across the southern extent of the species’ range. Thus, reducing predation impacts is often a management goal for improving the status of small caribou populations, and lethal predator removal...
Adams, Layne G.; Farnell, Richard G.; Oakley, Michelle P.; Jung, Thomas; Larocque, Lorne; Lortie, Grant; McLelland, Jamie; Reid, Mason; Roffler, Gretchen H.; Russell, Don Survey of Arctic Alaskan wildlife for influenza A antibodies: Limited evidence for exposure of mammals
Influenza A viruses (IAVs) are maintained in wild waterbirds and have the potential to infect a broad range of species, including wild mammals. The Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska supports a diverse suite of species, including waterfowl that are common hosts of IAVs. Mammals co-occur with geese and other migratory waterbirds during the summer...
Van Hemert, Caroline R.; Spivey, Timothy J.; Uher-Koch, Brian D.; Atwood, Todd C.; Sinnett, David R.; Meixell, Brandt W.; Hupp, Jerry W.; Jiang, Kaijun; Adams, Layne G.; Gustine, David D.; Ramey, Andrew M.; Wan, Xiu-Feng
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, George K.; 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.
The Other 364 Days of the Year: The Real Lives of Wild Reindeer
Caribou, North America’s wild reindeer, have lives apart from their famous role on Christmas Eve. To learn more about how these Arctic antler-bearers spend the other 364 days of the year, we talked to USGS caribou expert Dr. Layne Adams, who has studied these animals for more than 35 years.
Caribou Appear to Keep up with Warming Arctic
Despite recent changes to the growing season for plants in the Arctic, Alaska, caribou appear to have remained in sync with these changes over the last 30 years.