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 draft decision framework for the National Park Service Interior Region 5 bison stewardship strategy
Concurrent assessment of epidemiological and operational uncertainties for optimal outbreak control: Ebola as a case study
Context matters: Using reinforcement learning to develop human-readable, state-dependent outbreak response policies
Pathways to strategic communication for biodiversity conservation: Response to “Hearing ourselves (and acting in consequence): A commentary on Bekessy et al. from a bird-handling environmental education perspective”
Using the value of information to improve conservation decision making
A vision for documenting and sharing knowledge in conservation
Allowable take of black vultures in the eastern United States
Navigating the field of decision analysis
Population dynamics of reintroduced Whooping Cranes
Endangered species recovery: A resource allocation problem
Real-time decision-making during emergency disease outbreaks
Implicit decision framing as an unrecognized source of confusion in endangered species classification
Science and Products
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A draft decision framework for the National Park Service Interior Region 5 bison stewardship strategy
The Department of the Interior Bison Conservation Initiative calls for its bureaus to plan and implement collaborative American bison conservation and to ensure involvement by tribal, state, and local governments and the public in that conservation. Four independently managed and geographically separated National Park Service (NPS) units in Interior Region 5 (IR5) preserve bison and other componenAuthorsAmy Symstad, Brian W. Miller, Tanya M Shenk, Nicole D Athearn, Michael C. RungeConcurrent assessment of epidemiological and operational uncertainties for optimal outbreak control: Ebola as a case study
Determining how to best manage an epidemiological outbreak may be hindered by both epidemiological uncertainty (i.e. about epidemiological processes) and operational uncertainty (i.e. about the effectiveness of candidate interventions). These two uncertainties are rarely addressed concurrently in epidemic studies, impeding decision-making. We present an approach to simultaneously address both souAuthorsShou-Li Li, Matthew J. Ferrari, Ottar N. Bjørnstad, Michael C. Runge, Christopher J Fonnesbeck, Michael J. Tildesley, David Pannell, Katriona SheaContext matters: Using reinforcement learning to develop human-readable, state-dependent outbreak response policies
The number of all possible epidemics of a given infectious disease that could occur on a given landscape is large for systems of real-world complexity. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that the control actions that are optimal, on average, over all possible epidemics are also best for each possible epidemic. Reinforcement learning (RL) has been used to develop machine-readable context-dependentAuthorsWilliam J. M. Probert, Sandya Lakkur, Christopher J Fonnesbeck, Katriona Shea, Michael C. Runge, Michael J. Tildesley, Matthew J. FerrariPathways to strategic communication for biodiversity conservation: Response to “Hearing ourselves (and acting in consequence): A commentary on Bekessy et al. from a bird-handling environmental education perspective”
Central to discussions about the merits of ecosystem services as a communication strategy is the degree to which it represents a strategic and effective approach to advance biodiversity conservation. There is increasing recognition that many conservation communication efforts can be more strategic (e.g. Kusmanoff et al. 2016).AuthorsAlex Kusmanoff, Michael C. Runge, David A. Keith, Brendan A. Wintle, Sarah A. BekessyUsing the value of information to improve conservation decision making
Conservation decisions are challenging, not only because they often involve difficult conflicts among outcomes that people value, but because our understanding of the natural world and our effects on it is fraught with uncertainty. Value of Information (VoI) methods provide an approach for understanding and managing uncertainty from the standpoint of the decision maker. These methods are commonlyAuthorsFriederike C. Bolam, Matthew J. Grainger, Kerrie L. Mengerson, Gavin B. Stewart, William J. Sutherland, Michael C. Runge, Philip J. K. McGowanA vision for documenting and sharing knowledge in conservation
As editors, we mark the launch of Conservation Science and Practice, a journal of the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB), with the following remarks framing the purpose and aspirations of the journal. Our aim is to share scholarship on and experiences of the practice of conservation. We define conservation practice as the application of conservation principles or theory across conservation issAuthorsMark W. Schwartz, Dyhia Belhabib, Duan Biggs, Carly N. Cook, James Fitzsimmons, Anthony J. Giordano, Louise Glew, Sara Gottlieb, Gustavo Kattan, Andrew T. Knight, Carolyn J. Lundquist, Antony J. Lynam, Yuta J. Masuda, Tuyeni H. Mwampamba, Ana Nuno, Andrew J. Plumptre, Justina C. Ray, Sheila M. Reddy, Michael C. RungeAllowable take of black vultures in the eastern United States
Black vultures (Coragyps atratus) have been increasing in density and expanding their range in the eastern United States since at least the 1960s. In many areas, their densities have increased to the level where they are causing damage to property and livestock and the number of requests for allowable take permits has increased throughout these areas. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (UAuthorsGuthrie S. Zimmerman, Brian A. Millsap, Michael L. Avery, John R. Sauer, Michael C. Runge, Kenneth D. RichkusNavigating the field of decision analysis
Managers, policy makers, and decision makers with responsibility for environmental decisions have an extraordinarily difficult job. The systems they manage are complex (coupled human-natural systems), with many dimensions and complicated dynamics. Our knowledge of how those systems respond to management actions is often limited, so many of the decisions have to be made in the face of uncertainty.AuthorsMichael C. Runge, Eve McDonald-MaddenPopulation dynamics of reintroduced Whooping Cranes
Because of the small size and restricted range of the Aransas-Wood Buffalo Population, reintroduction is a prominent element of the recovery effort to ensure persistence of Whooping Cranes (Grus americana). A fundamental objective of all Whooping Crane reintroduction efforts is the establishment of a self-sustaining population. Therefore, success of reintroduction efforts will ultimately be determAuthorsSarah J. Converse, Sabrina Servanty, Clinton T. Moore, Michael C. RungeEndangered species recovery: A resource allocation problem
Many nations have laws to identify and protect imperiled species and their ecosystems. In the United States, actions taken under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) have prevented many extinctions, but few listed species have recovered to the point where they can have the ESA protections removed (1, 2). One reason for this [among many (3)] is a shortfall in funding, raising a conundrum for agencies rAuthorsLeah R. Gerber, Michael C. Runge, Richard F. Maloney, Gwenllian D. Iacona, C. Ashton Drew, Stephanie Avery-Gomm, James Brazill-Boast, Deborah T. Crouse, Rebecca S. Epanchin-Niell, Sarah B. Hall, Lynn A. Maguire, Tim Male, Don Morgan, Jeff Newman, Hugh P. Possingham, Libby Rumpff, Katherine C. B. Weiss, Robyn S. Wilson, Marilet A. ZablanReal-time decision-making during emergency disease outbreaks
In the event of a new infectious disease outbreak, mathematical and simulation models are commonly used to inform policy by evaluating which control strategies will minimize the impact of the epidemic. In the early stages of such outbreaks, substantial parameter uncertainty may limit the ability of models to provide accurate predictions, and policymakers do not have the luxury of waiting for dataAuthorsWilliam J. M. Probert, Chris P. Jewell, Marleen Werkman, Christopher.J. Fonnesbeck, Yoshitaka Goto, Michael C. Runge, Satoshi Sekiguchi, Katriona Shea, Matt J. Keeling, Matthew J. Ferrari, Michael J. TildesleyImplicit decision framing as an unrecognized source of confusion in endangered species classification
Legal classification of species requires scientific and values‐based components, and how those components interact depends on how people frame the decision. Is classification a negotiation of trade‐offs, a decision on how to allocate conservation efforts, or simply a comparison of the biological status of a species to a legal standard? The answers to problem‐framing questions such as these influenAuthorsJonathan Cummings, Sarah J. Converse, David R. Smith, Steve Morey, Michael C. Runge - Web Tools
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