Michael Runge, Ph.D.
Michael Runge is a research ecologist at the Eastern Ecological Science Center, where he has worked since 1999.
Professional Experience
2001-present Research Ecologist at USGS Eastern Ecological Science Center (Previously Patuxent Wildlife Research Center)
2009 to 2010 visiting scientist at the University of Melbourne, School of Botany
1989 to 1994 taught math and science at St. Francis High School in Louisville, Kentucky
Education and Certifications
B.A. in biology and philosophy (1989) from the Johns Hopkins University
M.A.T. (Master of Arts in Teaching) in biology (1994) from Spalding University
Ph.D. in wildlife science (1999),with minors in biometrics and agricultural economics, from Cornell University
Honors and Awards
Regional Director’s Award for Excellence in Communication. USGS Western Region. November 2007. “In recognition of outstanding science leading to enhanced understanding of the relation bet
Unit Award for Excellence of Service. U.S. Department of Interior. November 2007. In recognition of the outstanding contributions of the International Polar Bear Science Team
Unit Award for Excellence of Service. U.S. Department of Interior. September 2007. In recognition of introducing the adaptive management initiative across the Department
Regional Director’s Conservation Award, USFWS Region 4. May 2007. For contributions to and partnership in the science and recovery efforts of the Florida manatee.
Extraordinary Contribution. Chief, National Wildlife Refuge System, USFWS. June 2003. For extraordinary contributions to Fulfilling the Promise.
Superior Service Award. United States Department of Interior. October 2005. For making your science available to natural resource managers for use in their management decisions
STAR Award - USFWS Region 5. June 2004. For outstanding contributions to improving wildlife management science on National Wildlife Refuges
STAR Award - USGS. August 2003. For supporting the USFWS in the manatee incidental take rule-making.
STAR Award - PWRC, U.S. Geological Survey. January 2002. For helping organize and present the Adaptive Management Workshop at the 2001 Wildlife Society Meeting.
STAR Award - PWRC, U.S. Geological Survey. January 2002. For helping organize and present the Adaptive Management Workshop at the 2001 Wildlife Society Meeting.
Gamma Sigma Delta. Cornell University. Election, May 1998.
Delta Epsilon Sigma. Spalding University. Election, April 1994.
Phi Beta Kappa. Johns Hopkins University. Election, March 1988.
Presidential Scholar. The White House. June 1985.
Science and Products
A decision-analytical framework for developing harvest regulations
Incorporating climate change in a harvest risk assessment for polar bears Ursus maritimus in Southern Hudson Bay
Modeling of future COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, by vaccination rates and nonpharmaceutical intervention scenarios — United States, April–September 2021
Weighing the unknowns: Value of information for biological and operational uncertainty in invasion management
Adaptive management to improve eagle conservation at terrestrial wind facilities
Optimal strategies for managing wildlife harvest under climate change
A framework for allocating conservation resources among multiple threats and actions
Risks posed by SARS‐CoV‐2 to North American bats during winter fieldwork
The virus that causes COVID‐19 likely evolved in a mammalian host, possibly Old‐World bats, before adapting to humans, raising the question of whether reverse zoonotic transmission to bats is possible. Wildlife management agencies in North America are concerned that the activities they authorize could lead to transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2 to bats from humans. A rapid risk assessment conducted in Apri
Causes of delayed outbreak responses and their impacts on epidemic spread
Reconstructing population dynamics of a threatened marine mammal using multiple data sets
Research priorities for migratory birds under climate change—A qualitative value of information assessment
Anticipating future learning affects current control decisions: A comparison between passive and active adaptive management in an epidemiological setting
Science and Products
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A decision-analytical framework for developing harvest regulations
The development of harvest regulations for fish or wildlife is a complex decision that needs to weigh multiple objectives, consider a set of alternative regulatory options, integrate scientific understanding about the population dynamics of the harvested species as well as the human response to regulations, account for uncertainty, and provide an avenue for feedback from monitoring programs. The aAuthorsMichael C. RungeIncorporating climate change in a harvest risk assessment for polar bears Ursus maritimus in Southern Hudson Bay
Arctic marine mammals are harvested by Indigenous people for subsistence and are socially and culturally important. For ice-dependent species like the polar bear Ursus maritimus, management and conservation require understanding interactions between harvest and sea-ice loss due to climate change. We developed a demographic model to evaluate harvest risk for polar bears in Southern Hudson Bay, CanaAuthorsEric V. Regehr, Markus Dyck, Samuel A. Iverson, David S. Lee, Nicholas J Lunn, Joseph M Northrup, Marie-Claude Richer, Guillaume Szor, Michael C. RungeModeling of future COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, by vaccination rates and nonpharmaceutical intervention scenarios — United States, April–September 2021
What is already known about this topic?Increases in COVID-19 cases in March and early April occurred despite a large-scale vaccination program. Increases coincided with the spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants and relaxation of nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs).What is added by this report?Data from six models indicate that with high vaccination coverage and moderate NPI adherence, hospitalizationsAuthorsRebecca K. Borchering, Cecile Viboud, Emily Howerton, Claire P. Smith, Shaun Truelove, Michael C. Runge, Nicholas G. Reich, Lucie Contamin, John Levander, Jessica Salerno, Wilbert van Panhuis, Matt Kinsey, Kate Tallaksen, R. Freddy Obrecht, Laura Asher, Cash Costello, Michael Kelbaugh, Shelby Wilson, Lauren Shin, Molly Gallagher, Luke Mullany, Kaitlin Rainwater-Lovett, Joseph Lemaitre, Juan Dent, Kyra Grantz, Joshua Kaminsky, Stephen Lauer, Elizabeth Lee, Hannah Meredith, Javier Perez-Saez, Lindsay T. Keegan, Dean Karlen, Matteo Chinazzi, Jessica Davis, Kunpeng Mu, Xinyue Xiong, Ana Pastore y Piontti, Alessandro Vespignani, Ajitesh Srivastava, Przemyslaw Porebski, Srinivasan Venkatramanan, Aniruddha Adiga, Bryan Lewis, Brian Klahn, Joseph Outten, James Schlitt, Patrick Corbett, Pyrros A. Telionis, Lijing Wang, Akhil S. Peddireddy, Benjamin Hurt, Jiangzhuo Chen, Anil Vullikanti, Madhav Marathe, Jessica Healy, Rachel B. Slayton, Matthew Biggerstaff, Michael A Johansson, Katriona Shea, Justin LesslerWeighing the unknowns: Value of information for biological and operational uncertainty in invasion management
The management of biological invasions is a worldwide conservation priority. Unfortunately, decision-making on optimal invasion management can be impeded by lack of information about the biological processes that determine invader success (i.e. biological uncertainty) or by uncertainty about the effectiveness of candidate interventions (i.e. operational uncertainty). Concurrent assessment of bothAuthorsShou-Li Li, Joseph Keller, Michael C. Runge, Katriona SheaAdaptive management to improve eagle conservation at terrestrial wind facilities
The development and installation of renewable energy comes with environmental cost, including the death of wildlife. These costs occur locally, and seem small compared to the global loss of biodiversity. However, failure to acknowledge uncertainties around these costs affects local conservation, and may lead to the loss of populations or species. Working with these uncertainties can result in adapAuthorsLeslie New, Juniper L Simonis, Mark C Otto, Emily R. Bjerre, Michael C. Runge, Brian A. MillsapOptimal strategies for managing wildlife harvest under climate change
Wildlife populations are experiencing shifting dynamics due to climate and landscape change. Management policies that fail to account for non‐stationary dynamics may fail to achieve management objectives. We establish a framework for understanding optimal strategies for managing a theoretical harvested population under non‐stationarity. Building from harvest theory, we develop scenarios representiAuthorsAnna Maureen Tucker, Michael C. RungeA framework for allocating conservation resources among multiple threats and actions
Land managers decide how to allocate resources among multiple threats that can be addressed through multiple possible actions. Additionally, these actions vary in feasibility, effectiveness, and cost. We sought to provide a way to optimize resource allocation to address multiple threats when multiple management options are available, including mutually exclusive options. Formulating the decision aAuthorsJoslin L. Moore, Abbey E Camaclang, Alana L. Moore, Cindy E Hauser, Michael C. Runge, Victor Picheny, Libby RumpffRisks posed by SARS‐CoV‐2 to North American bats during winter fieldwork
The virus that causes COVID‐19 likely evolved in a mammalian host, possibly Old‐World bats, before adapting to humans, raising the question of whether reverse zoonotic transmission to bats is possible. Wildlife management agencies in North America are concerned that the activities they authorize could lead to transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2 to bats from humans. A rapid risk assessment conducted in Apri
AuthorsJonathan D Cook, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Jeremy T. H. Coleman, Jonathan M. Sleeman, Michael C. RungeCauses of delayed outbreak responses and their impacts on epidemic spread
Livestock diseases have devastating consequences economically, socially and politically across the globe. In certain systems, pathogens remain viable after host death, which enables residual transmissions from infected carcasses. Rapid culling and carcass disposal are well-established strategies for stamping out an outbreak and limiting its impact; however, wait-times for these procedures, i.e. reAuthorsY Tao, William J. M. Probert, Katriona Shea, Michael C. Runge, Kevin D. Lafferty, Michael J. Tildesley, Matthew J. FerrariReconstructing population dynamics of a threatened marine mammal using multiple data sets
Models of marine mammal population dynamics have been used extensively to predict abundance. A less common application of these models is to reconstruct historical population dynamics, filling in gaps in observation data by integrating information from multiple sources. We developed an integrated population model for the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) to reconstruct its populatioAuthorsJ. Hostetler, Julien Martin, M. Kosempa, H. Edwards, K. Rood, S. Barton, Michael C. RungeResearch priorities for migratory birds under climate change—A qualitative value of information assessment
The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey National Climate Adaptation Science Center is to provide actionable, management-relevant research on climate change effects on ecosystems and wildlife to U.S. Department of the Interior bureaus. Providing this kind of useful scientific information requires understanding how natural-resource managers make decisions and identifying research priorities that sAuthorsMadeleine A. Rubenstein, Clark S. Rushing, James E. Lyons, Michael C. RungeAnticipating future learning affects current control decisions: A comparison between passive and active adaptive management in an epidemiological setting
Infectious disease epidemics present a difficult task for policymakers, requiring the implementation of control strategies under significant time constraints and uncertainty. Mathematical models can be used to predict the outcome of control interventions, providing useful information to policymakers in the event of such an epidemic. However, these models suffer in the early stages of an outbreak fAuthorsBenjamin D Atkins, Chris P. Jewell, Michael C. Runge, Matthew J. Ferrari, Katriona Shea, William J. M. Probert, Michael J. Tildesley - Web Tools
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