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Melanie Davis, PhD

Assistant Unit Leader - Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units

I am currently the project coordinator Assistant Unit Leader for the Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit in Corvallis, Oregon. My most recent work examines the role of estuarine habitat diversity in supporting juvenile salmon during their out-migration.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

  • Restoration Ecology
  • Community Ecology
  • Invertebrates
  • Salmon
  • Wildlife Ecology

Professional Experience

  • Assistant Unit Leader, Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, 2020-

Education and Certifications

  • Ph.D. University of Washington, 2019

  • M.S. Colorado State University, Ecology, 2012

  • B.S. Miami University of Ohio, Zoology, Chemistry, 2009

Science and Products

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Person walking through tall grasses in marsh landscape, carrying field equipment of their shoulder

Assessing the Benefits and Vulnerability of Current and Future Potential Ecosystem Services of the Nisqually River Delta and other Puget Sound Estuaries

The Nisqually River Delta represents the largest wetland restoration in the Pacific Northwest. The restoration resulted in a 50% increase in potential salt marsh habitat. The Delta supports threatened salmon fisheries, large populations of migratory birds, and provides unique opportunities for recreation. The Delta also provides multiple ecosystem services, which are the benefits that wildlife or
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Climate Adaptation Science Centers
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Assessing the Benefits and Vulnerability of Current and Future Potential Ecosystem Services of the Nisqually River Delta and other Puget Sound Estuaries

The Nisqually River Delta represents the largest wetland restoration in the Pacific Northwest. The restoration resulted in a 50% increase in potential salt marsh habitat. The Delta supports threatened salmon fisheries, large populations of migratory birds, and provides unique opportunities for recreation. The Delta also provides multiple ecosystem services, which are the benefits that wildlife or
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Projected future habitat, elevation change, and carbon accumulation of coastal wetlands in the Nisqually River Delta, Washington

This dataset consists of raster geotiff outputs from modeling habitat change, marsh vertical accretion, and carbon accumulation in the Nisqually River Delta, Washington, USA. These rasters represent projections of future habitat type, change in surface elevation above Mean Sea Level, and total sediment carbon accumulation since 2011 in coastal wetland habitats. Projections were generated in 20-yea
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Western Geographic Science Center

Tidal marsh biomass field plot and remote sensing datasets for six regions in the conterminous United States (ver. 2.0, June 2020)

Remote sensing based maps of tidal marshes, both of their extents and carbon stocks, have the potential to play a key role in conducting greenhouse gas inventories and implementing climate mitigation policies. Our objective was to generate a single remote sensing model of tidal marsh aboveground biomass and carbon that represents nationally diverse tidal marshes within the conterminous United Stat
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Western Geographic Science Center
Filter Total Items: 13

Selenium hazards in the Salton Sea environment—Summary of current knowledge to inform future wetland management

Quaternary marine and continental shales in the western United States are sources of selenium that can be loaded into the aquatic environment through mining, agricultural, and energy production processes. The mobilization of selenium from shales through agricultural irrigation has been recognized since the 1930s; however, discovery of deformities in birds and other wildlife using agricultural habi
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Michael R. Rosen, Susan E.W. De La Cruz, Krishangi D. Groover, Isa Woo, Sarah A. Roberts, Melanie J. Davis, Cristiana Y. Antonino
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), California Water Science Center

Can coastal habitats rise to the challenge? Resilience of estuarine habitats, carbon accumulation, and economic value to sea-level rise in a Puget Sound estuary

Sea-level rise (SLR) and obstructions to sediment delivery pose challenges to the persistence of estuarine habitats and the ecosystem services they provide. Restoration actions and sediment management strategies may help mitigate such challenges by encouraging the vertical accretion of sediment in and horizontal migration of tidal forests and marshes. We used a process-based soil accretion model (
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Monica Mei Jeen Moritsch, Kristin B. Byrd, Melanie J. Davis, Anthony J. Good, Judith Z. Drexler, James T. Morris, Isa Woo, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Eric E. Grossman, Glynnis Nakai, Katrina L. Poppe, John M. Rybczyk
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Science and Decisions Center, California Water Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Western Geographic Science Center

A climate-mediated shift in the estuarine habitat mosaic limits prey availability and reduces nursery quality for juvenile salmon

The estuarine habitat mosaic supports the reproduction, growth, and survival of resident and migratory fish species by providing a diverse portfolio of unique habitats with varying physical and biological features. Global climate change is expected to result in increasing temperatures, rising sea levels, and changes in riverine hydrology, which will have profound effects on the extent and composit
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Melanie J. Davis, Isa Woo, Christopher S. Ellings, Sayre Hodgson, David Beauchamp, Glynnis Nakai, Susan E. W. De La Cruz
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Cooperative Research Units, Species Management Research Program, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Western Fisheries Research Center

Variable prey consumption leads to distinct regional differences in Chinook salmon growth during the early marine critical period

Growth during the early marine critical period is positively associated with survival and recruitment for Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp., so it is important to understand how certain foraging strategies may bolster growth in estuarine and marine environments. To elucidate how spatiotemporal and demographic differences in diet contribute to growth rate variability, we analyzed stomach contents in
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Melanie J Davis, Joshua W. Chamberlin, Jennifer R. Gardner, Kristin A. Connelly, Madilyn M. Gamble, Brian R. Beckman, David Beauchamp
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Western Fisheries Research Center

Carbon sources in the sediments of a restoring vs. historically unaltered salt marsh

Salt marshes provide the important ecosystem service of carbon storage in their sediments; however, little is known about the sources of such carbon and whether they differ between historically unaltered and restoring systems. In this study, stable isotope analysis was used to quantify carbon sources in a restoring, sparsely vegetated marsh (Restoring) and an adjacent, historically unaltered marsh
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Judith Z. Drexler, Melanie J. Davis, Isa Woo, Susan E.W. De La Cruz
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Water Resources Mission Area, California Water Science Center

Development and implementation of an empirical habitat change model and decision support tool for estuarine ecosystems

Widespread land use change in coastal ecosystems has led to a decline in the amount of habitat available for fish and wildlife, lower production of ecosystem goods and services, and loss of recreational and aesthetic value. This has prompted global efforts to restore the natural hydrologic regimes of developed shorelines, especially resource-rich estuaries, but the resilience of these restored eco
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Melanie J. Davis, Isa Woo, Susan E. W. De La Cruz
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

A mosaic of estuarine habitat types with prey resources from multiple environmental strata supports a diversified foraging portfolio for juvenile Chinook salmon

Estuaries provide vital nursery habitat for threatened Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) by promoting an ecological portfolio effect, whereby multiple habitat types and environmental strata maximize foraging opportunities for out-migrating salmon by varying the abundance and composition of prey through space and time. To study this portfolio effect, we evaluated the foraging capacity of fi
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Isa Woo, Melanie J. Davis, Christopher S. Ellings, Sayre Hodgson, John Y. Takekawa, Glynnis Nakai, Susan E. W. De La Cruz
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Freshwater tidal forests and estuarine wetlands may confer early life growth advantages for delta-reared Chinook Salmon

Large river deltas are complex ecosystems that are believed to play a pivotal role in promoting the early marine growth and survival of threatened Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha. We used a fish bioenergetics model to assess the functional role of multiple delta habitats across a gradient of salinities and vegetation types, where consumption and growth rate potential (GRP) were considered
Authors
Melanie J. Davis, Isa Woo, Christopher S. Ellings, Sayre Hodgson, David A. Beauchamp, Glynnis Nakai, Susan E. W. De La Cruz
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Western Fisheries Research Center

Changes in aquatic prey resources in response to estuary restoration in Willapa Bay, southwestern Washington

Executive SummaryThe ongoing restoration of more than 200 hectares of estuarine habitat at Willapa National Wildlife Refuge, southwestern Washington, is expected to benefit a variety of species, including salmonids that use estuarine and tidal marshes as rearing and feeding areas as well as migratory waterbirds. During March–June 2014 and 2015, U.S. Geological Survey Western Ecological Research Ce
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Isa Woo, Melanie J. Davis, Susan E. W. De La Cruz
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Integrated diet analyses reveal contrasting trophic niches for wild and hatchery juvenile Chinook Salmon in a large river delta

Hatchery programs have been used as a conservation tool to bolster declining populations of Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha along much of the North American Pacific coast. In many watersheds, hatchery stocks are released concurrently with the wild population, thus raising the potential for density‐dependent effects. Competition for prey resources during the critical period for early marine
Authors
Melanie J. Davis, Isa Woo, Christopher S. Ellings, Sayre Hodgson, David A. Beauchamp, Glynnis Nakai, Susan E.W. De La Cruz
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Gauging resource exploitation by juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in restoring estuarine habitat

In the context of delta restoration and its impact on salmonid rearing, success is best evaluated based on whether out-migrating juvenile salmon can access and benefit from suitable estuarine habitat. Here, we integrated 3 years of post-restoration monitoring data including habitat availability, invertebrate prey biomass, and juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) physiological conditi
Authors
Melanie J. Davis, Christopher S. Ellings, Isa Woo, Sayre Hodgson, Kimberly A. Larsen, Glynnis Nakai
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Western Fisheries Research Center

Enhanced invertebrate prey production following estuarine restoration supports foraging for multiple species of juvenile salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp.)

Estuaries provide crucial foraging resources and nursery habitat for threatened populations of anadromous salmon. As such, there has been a global undertaking to restore habitat and tidal processes in modified estuaries. The foraging capacity of these ecosystems to support various species of out-migrating juvenile salmon can be quantified by monitoring benthic, terrestrial, and pelagic invertebrat
Authors
Isa Woo, Melanie J. Davis, Christopher S. Ellings, Glynnis Nakai, John Y. Takekawa, Susan E. W. De La Cruz
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Non-USGS Publications**

Anderson, CM et al. 2019. How commercial fishing effort is managed. Fish and Fisheries 20:268-285. https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12339
Riginos, C, M Graham, MJ Davis, A Johnson, A May, K Ryer, and L Hall. 2018. Wildlife Warning Reflectors and White Canvas Reduce Deer-Vehicle Collisions and Risky Road-Crossing Behavior. The Wildlife Society Bulletin 42:119-130. https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.862
Riginos, C, MW Graham, MJ Davis, C Smith, and A Johnson. 2015. Effects of wildlife warning reflectors ("deer delineators") on wildlife-vehicle collisions in central Wyoming. Technical Publication FHWA-WY-15/03F. Wyoming Department of Transportation, Wyoming, USA. https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/29527
Davis, MJ, S Thokala, X Xing, NT Hobbs, MW Miller, R Han, and S Mishra. 2013. Testing the functionality and contact error of a GPS-based wildlife tracking network. The Wildlife Society Bulletin 37: 855-861. https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.303
Davis, MJ, J Purrenhage, and MD Boone. 2012. Elucidating predator-prey interactions using aquatic microcosms: complex effects of a crayfish predator, vegetation, and atrazine on tadpole survival and behavior. Journal of Herpetology 46:527-534. https://doi.org/10.1670/10-185
Davis, MJ, S Thokala, X Xing, NT Hobbs, D Walsh, R Han, and S Mishra. 2012. Developing a data transfer model for WildSense: a wildlife tracking network. The Wildlife Society Bulletin 36:820-827. https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.188
Davis, MJ, PN Kleinhenz, and MD Boone. 2011. Juvenile green frog (Rana clamitans) predatory ability not affected by exposure to carbaryl at different times during larval development. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 30:1618-1620. https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.539

**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.

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Wildlife Mortality from Wind Turbines Scales with Energy Production

Older wind facilities are being “repowered,” which involves replacing smaller, closely spaced turbines with larger ones, more widely spaced.

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Bright tufted puffin birds nesting on rocks on the Oregon Coast.
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Adult tufted puffin feeds baby puffin
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Happy seals swim at the Oregon Coast
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Tufted puffin birds roost on the rocks along the Oregon Coast.
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Colorful tufted puffin bird flying over the Oregon Coast
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