Michael Casazza
Mike Casazza's research program at the Dixon Field Station focuses on the ecology of waterfowl and wetland management in the Pacific Flyway.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Mike and his team are experts in wildlife telemetry and apply cutting edge tools to answer complex ecological questions. In addition, Mike’s program also focuses on threatened and endangered species in a variety of ecosystems including primary ecological research on the endangered California Ridgway's Rail in SF Bay, the endangered San Francisco Gartersnake, the threatened Giant Gartersnake in the Central Valley of California, the California state-listed Greater Sandhill Crane, and the Greater Sage-Grouse. Mike Casazza's research has targeted studies which provide critical species information to land managers responsible for maintaining diverse and healthy wildlife populations while trying to help recover special status species. Understanding key life history traits of special status species can lead to management options promoting species recovery.
EDUCATION
- 1995 M.S. California State University, Sacramento Thesis: Habitat use and movement of Northern Pintails wintering in Suisun Marsh, CA
- 1988 B.S. Wildlife Biology, U.C. Davis
Science and Products
Moving at the speed of flight: Dabbling duck-movement rates and the relationship with electronic tracking interval
Global positioning system tracking devices can decrease Greater Sage-Grouse survival
Demographic factors affecting population growth in giant gartersnakes
Conservation reliance of a threatened snake on rice agriculture
Sitting ducklings: Timing of hatch, nest departure, and predation risk for dabbling duck broods
GPS tracking data reveals daily spatio-temporal movement patterns of waterfowl
Limited detection of antibodies to clade 2.3.4.4 A/Goose/Guangdong/1/1996 lineage highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza virus in North American waterfowl
Rising tides: Assessing habitat vulnerability for an endangered salt marsh-dependent species with sea-level rise
Effects of prescribed fire on San Francisco gartersnake survival and movement
A new approach to automated incubation recess detection using temperature loggers
Integrating growth and capture–mark–recapture models reveals size‐dependent survival in an elusive species
Findings from a preliminary investigation of the effects of aquatic habitat (water) availability on giant gartersnake (Thamnophis gigas) demography in the Sacramento Valley, California, 2014–17
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Moving at the speed of flight: Dabbling duck-movement rates and the relationship with electronic tracking interval
Context. Effective wildlife management requires information on habitat and resource needs, which can be estimated with movement information and modelling energetics. One necessary component of avian models is flight speeds at multiple temporal scales. Technology has limited the ability to accurately assess flight speeds, leading to estimates of questionable accuracy, many of which have not been upAuthorsFiona McDuie, Michael L. Casazza, David A. Keiter, Cory T. Overton, Mark P. Herzog, Cliff L. Feldheim, Joshua T. AckermanGlobal positioning system tracking devices can decrease Greater Sage-Grouse survival
Reliable demographic estimates hinge on the assumption that marking animals does not alter their behavior, reproduction, or survival. Violations can bias inference and are especially egregious for species of high conservation concern. Global positioning system (GPS) devices represent a recent technological advancement that has contributed greatly to avian ecological studies compared with traditionAuthorsJohn P. Severson, Peter S. Coates, Brian G. Prochazka, Mark A. Ricca, Michael L. Casazza, David J DelahuntyDemographic factors affecting population growth in giant gartersnakes
Demographic models provide insight into which vital rates and life stages contribute most to population growth. Integral projection models (IPMs) offer flexibility in matching model structure to a species’ demography. For many rare species, data are lacking for key vital rates, and uncertainty might dissuade researchers from attempting to build a demographic model. We present work that highlightsAuthorsJonathan P. Rose, Julia Ersan, Glenn D. Wylie, Michael L. Casazza, Brian J. HalsteadConservation reliance of a threatened snake on rice agriculture
Conservation-reliant species require perpetual management by humans to persist. But do species that persist largely in human-dominated landscapes actually require conditions maintained by humans? Because most extant populations of giant gartersnakes (Thamnophis gigas) inhabit the highly modified rice agricultural regions of the Sacramento Valley, we sought to evaluate whether giant gartersnakes arAuthorsBrian J. Halstead, Jonathan P. Rose, Gabriel Reyes, Glenn D. Wylie, Michael L. CasazzaSitting ducklings: Timing of hatch, nest departure, and predation risk for dabbling duck broods
For ground‐nesting waterfowl, the timing of egg hatch and duckling departure from the nest may be influenced by the risk of predation at the nest and en route to wetlands and constrained by the time required for ducklings to imprint on the hen and be physically able to leave the nest. We determined the timing of hatch, nest departure, and predation on dabbling duck broods using small video camerasAuthorsSarah H. Peterson, Joshua T. Ackerman, Mark P. Herzog, Christopher Hartman, Rebecca Croston, Cliff L. Feldheim, Michael L. CasazzaGPS tracking data reveals daily spatio-temporal movement patterns of waterfowl
BackgroundSpatio-temporal patterns of movement can characterize relationships between organisms and their surroundings, and address gaps in our understanding of species ecology, activity budgets, bioenergetics, and habitat resource management. Highly mobile waterfowl, which can exploit resources over large spatial extents, are excellent models to understand relationships between movements and resoAuthorsFiona McDuie, Michael L. Casazza, Cory T. Overton, Mark P. Herzog, C. Alex Hartman, Sarah H. Peterson, Cliff L. Feldheim, Joshua T. AckermanLimited detection of antibodies to clade 2.3.4.4 A/Goose/Guangdong/1/1996 lineage highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza virus in North American waterfowl
During 2014, highly pathogenic (HP) influenza A viruses (IAVs) of the A/Goose/Guangdong/1/1996 lineage (GsGD-HP-H5), originating from Asia, were detected in domestic poultry and wild birds in Canada and the US. These clade 2.3.4.4 GsGD-HP-H5 viruses included reassortants possessing North American lineage gene segments; were detected in wild birds in the Pacific, Central, and Mississippi flyways; aAuthorsDavid E. Stallknecht, Clara Kienzle-Dean, Nick Davis-Fields, Christopher S. Jennelle, Andrew S. Bowman, Jacqueline M. Nolting, Walter Boyce, James Crum, Jefferson Santos, Justin D. Brown, Diann Prosser, Susan E. W. De La Cruz, Joshua T. Ackerman, Michael L. Casazza, Scott Krauss, Daniel Perez, Andrew M. Ramey, Rebecca L. PoulsonRising tides: Assessing habitat vulnerability for an endangered salt marsh-dependent species with sea-level rise
Salt marsh-dependent species are vulnerable to impacts of sea-level rise (SLR). Site-specific differences in ecogeomorphic processes result in different SLR vulnerabilities. SLR impacts to Ridgway’s rail (Rallus obsoletus) of Southern California (SC) and San Francisco Bay (SF), U.S.A. could foreshadow SLR effects on other coastal endemic species. Salt marsh vulnerabilities to SLR were forecasted aAuthorsJordan A. Rosencranz, Karen M. Thorne, Kevin J. Buffington, Cory T. Overton, John Takekawa, Michael L. Casazza, Jennifer McBroom, Julian K. Wood, Nadav Nur, Richard L. Zembal, Glen M. MacDonald, Richard F. AmbroseEffects of prescribed fire on San Francisco gartersnake survival and movement
The application of fire is prescribed for management of habitats for many plant and animal communities, but its effects on herpetofauna are diverse and remain poorly understood. To date no studies have examined the effects of prescribed fire on endangered San Francisco gartersnake (Thamnophis sirtalis tetrataenia) populations, despite a call for prescribed fire in the recovery plan for the speciesAuthorsBrian J. Halstead, Michelle E. Thompson, Melissa Amarello, Jeffrey J. Smith, Glenn D. Wylie, Eric J. Routman, Michael L. CasazzaA new approach to automated incubation recess detection using temperature loggers
Nest attendance during incubation is an important facet of avian nesting behavior, and understanding the number, timing, and duration of incubation recesses can improve our understanding of the factors determining avian reproductive success. Temperature loggers are a low-cost, noninvasive method for studying nest attendance, but processing and interpreting the data present logistical challenges foAuthorsRebecca Croston, C. Alex Hartman, Mark P. Herzog, Michael L. Casazza, Joshua T. AckermanIntegrating growth and capture–mark–recapture models reveals size‐dependent survival in an elusive species
Survival is a key vital rate for projecting the viability of wild populations. Estimating survival is difficult for many rare or elusive species because recapture rates of marked individuals are low, and the ultimate fate of individuals is unknown. Low recapture rates for many species have made it difficult to accurately estimate survival, and to evaluate the importance of individual and environmeAuthorsJonathan P. Rose, Glenn D. Wylie, Michael L. Casazza, Brian J. HalsteadFindings from a preliminary investigation of the effects of aquatic habitat (water) availability on giant gartersnake (Thamnophis gigas) demography in the Sacramento Valley, California, 2014–17
The giant gartersnake (Thamnophis gigas) is a semi-aquatic species of snake precinctive to the Central Valley of California. Because the Central Valley has experienced a substantial loss of wetland habitat, giant gartersnake populations are largely found in aquatic habitats associated with rice agriculture. In dry years, less water may be available for rice agriculture, resulting in less aquatic hAuthorsJonathan P. Rose, Julia S. M. Ersan, Gabriel A. Reyes, K. Benjamin Gustafson, Alexandria M. Fulton, Kristen J. Fouts, Raymund F. Wack, Glenn D. Wylie, Michael L. Casazza, Brian J. Halstead - Web Tools
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