Mitchell J Eaton, Ph.D.
Mitchell Eaton is a Research Ecologist with the U.S. Department of Interior’s Southeast Climate Science Center and an adjunct faculty member in Applied Ecology at NC State University. His research focuses on wildlife ecology & management, emphasizing quantitative modeling to understand resource dynamics and use of decision-theoretic methods to guide management decisions under uncertainty.
Biography
Mitch earned a M.S. in Conservation Biology at the University of Minnesota (2002; use of harvest data to assess sustainability of tropical vertebrates) and his Ph.D in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology from the University of Colorado (2009; population demographics, genetics and harvest management of African crocodiles). An interest in how policy makers actually use science to make decisions led him to a postdoc at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (USGS), where he worked with some of the top researchers in the field of decision theory to develop and apply quantitative decision-analytic tools for addressing resource management issues in the U.S. and globally. Mitch currently integrates his background and interests in population ecology with decision science to help managers and decision makers frame management problems, formulate approaches to predict outcomes and evaluate trade-offs, test hypotheses and improve decision making via adaptive management, and optimally allocate resources under uncertainty. Mitch is interested in bridging the science-management gap by working with decision makers early in their formulation of management issues and considering how science can most effectively support decision-making. He also has an ongoing interest in tropical ecology, crocodilian conservation and wildlife harvest dynamics.
Current Projects:
- Climate Change Adaptation for Coastal National Wildlife Refuges
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Conservation and management of the New England cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis): designing a monitoring program and occupancy models to test hypotheses of habitat and competition on patch occupancy and dynamics
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Development of an adaptive management plan to restore the Herring River estuary, Cape Cod
Select Publications:
Eaton, MJ, S Yurek, Z Haider, J Martin, FA Johnson, BJ Udell, H Charkhgard, and C Kwon. 2019. Spatial conservation planning under uncertainty: adapting to climate change risks using modern portfolio theory. Ecological Applications 00(00):e01962.
Shea, CP, MJ Eaton , DI MacKenzie (2019) Implementation of an occupancy-based monitoring protocol for a widespread and cryptic species, the New England cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis). Wildlife Research 46, 222-235.
Xiao, X, E Seekamp, M Post van der Burg, MJ Eaton, S Fatorić, A McCreary. 2019. Optimizing historic preservation under climate change: Decision support for cultural resource adaptation planning in national parks.
Land Use Policy. 83: 379-389
Eaton, MJ, AK Fuller, FA Johnson, RC Stedman, M Hare. 2016. Application of Decision Science to Resilience Management in Jamaica Bay. In W Solecki, E Sanderson, J Waldman and A Parris (eds) Prospects for Resilience. Island Press
Johnson, FA, MJ Eaton, J Williams, G Jensen, and J Madsen. 2015. Training Conservation Practitioners to be Better Decision Makers. Sustainability. 7:8354–8373.
Johnson, FA, MJ Eaton, G McMahon, R Nilius, M Bryant, DJ Case, J Martin, NJ Wood, and LO Taylor. 2015. Global Change and Conservation Triage on National Wildlife Refuges. Ecology & Society. 20(4): 14.
Nichols, JD, MJ Eaton and J Martin. 2014. Thresholds for conservation and management: structured decision making as a conceptual framework. In P Geissler, J Gross, G Guntenspergen, (eds) Application of Threshold Concepts in Natural Resource Decision Making. Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heildeberg.
Eaton, MJ, J Martin, JD Nichols, C McIntyre, MC McCluskie and JA Schmutz. 2014. Application of threshold concepts to ecological management problems: occupancy of golden eagles in Denali National Park, Alaska. In P Geissler, J Gross, G Guntenspergen, (eds) Application of Threshold Concepts in Natural Resource Decision Making. Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heildeberg.
Eaton, MJ, PT Hughes, JE Hines and JD Nichols. 2014. Testing metapopulation concepts: effects of patch characteristics and neighborhood occupancy on the dynamics of an endangered lagomorph. Oikos. 123(6): 662-676.
Breininger, D, B Duncan, MJ Eaton, F Johnson, and JD Nichols. 2014. Integrating land cover modeling and adaptive management to conserve endangered species and reduce catastrophic fire risk. Land. 3:874–897.
Eaton, MJ. 2012. Monitoring trends in hunting returns and harvest sustainability: catch per unit effort (CPUE). In Clark, C.J. and J.R. Poulsen (eds). Tropical Forest Conservation and Industry Partnership: an Experience from the Congo Basin. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK.
Laurance, WF, et al. 2012. Averting biodiversity collapse in tropical protected areas. Nature. 489: 290-294.
Link, WA and MJ Eaton. 2012. On thinning of chains in MCMC. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. 3(1): 112-115.
Eaton, MJ, PT Hughes, JD Nichols, A Morkill and C Anderson. 2011. Spatial occupancy patterns of the Lower Keys marsh rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris hefneri). Journal of Wildlife Management. 75(5): 1186-1193.
Eaton, MJ and WA Link. 2011. Estimating age from recapture data: integrating incremental growth measures with ancillary data to infer age-at-length. Ecological Applications. 21(7): 2487-2497.
Martin, J, JD Nichols, BC Lubow, MJ Eaton, MC Runge, BM Stith, and CA Langtimm. 2011. Structured decision making as a proactive approach to dealing with sea level rise in Florida. Climatic Change. 107(1-2): 185-202.
Williams, BK, MJ Eaton, D Breininger. 2011. Adaptive resource management and the value of information. Ecological Modelling. 222(18): 3429– 3436.
Eaton, MJ, G Myers, SO Kolokotronis, M Leslie and G Amato. 2010. Barcoding bushmeat: molecular identification of Central African and South American harvested vertebrates. Conservation Genetics. 11(4): 1389-1404.
Eaton, MJ, A Martin, JB Thorbjarnarson and G Amato. 2009. Species-level diversification of African dwarf crocodiles (Genus Osteolaemus): a geographic and molecular phylogenetic perspective. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 50(3): 496-506.
Science and Products
Climate Change Adaptation for Coastal National Wildlife Refuges
National Wildlife Refuges provide habitat for important fish and wildlife species and services that benefit coastal communities, like storm-surge protection. USGS scientists are helping coastal refuges plan for and adapt to sea-level rise.
Do empirical observations support commonly-held climate change range shift hypotheses? A systematic review protocol
Background Among the most widely anticipated climate-related impacts to biodiversity are geographic range shifts, whereby species shift their spatial distribution in response to changing climate conditions. In particular, a series of commonly articulated hypotheses have emerged: species are expected to shift their distributions to higher...
Rubenstein, Madeleine A.; Weiskopf, Sarah R.; Carter, Shawn; Eaton, Mitchell; Johnson, Ciara; Lynch, Abigail; Miller, Brian W.; Morelli, Toni Lyn; Rodriguez, Mari Angel; Terando, Adam; Thompson, Laura
A decision framework to analyze tide-gate options for restoration of the Herring River Estuary, Massachusetts
The collective set of decisions involved with the restoration of degraded wetlands is often more complex than considering only ecological responses and outcomes. Restoration is commonly driven by a complex interaction of social, economic, and ecological factors representing the mandate of resource stewards and the values of stakeholders. The...
Smith, David R.; Eaton, Mitchell J.; Gannon, Jill J.; Smith, Timothy P.; Derleth, Eric L.; Katz, Jonathan; Bosma, Kirk F.; Leduc, Elise Spatial conservation planning under uncertainty using modern portfolio theory and nash bargaining solution
In recent years, researchers from interdisciplinary teams involving ecologists, economists and operations re- searchers collaborated to provide decision support tools to address the challenges of preserving biodiversity by optimizing the design of reserves. The goal of this paper is to further advance this area of research and provide new...
Sierra-Altamiranda, Alvaro; Charkhgard, Hadi; Eaton, Mitchell J.; Martin, Julien; Yurek, Simeon; Udell, Bradley J. Spatial conservation planning under uncertainty: Adapting to climate change risks using modern portfolio theory
Climate change and urban growth impact habitats, species, and ecosystem services. To buffer against global change, an established adaptation strategy is designing protected areas to increase representation and complementarity of biodiversity features. Uncertainty regarding the scale and magnitude of landscape change complicates reserve planning...
Eaton, Mitchell J.; Yurek, Simeon; Haider, Zulqarnain; Martin, Julien; Johnson, Fred; Udell, Bradley J; Charkhgard, Hadi; Kwon, Changhyun Implementation of an occupancy-based monitoring protocol for a wide-spread and cryptic species, the New England cottontail Sylvilagus transitionalis
Designing effective long-term monitoring strategies is essential for managing wildlife populations. Implementing a cost-effective, practical monitoring program is especially challenging for widespread but locally rare species. Early successional habitat preferred by the New England cottontail (NEC) has become increasingly rare and fragmented,...
Shea, Colin P.; Eaton, Mitchell; MacKenzie, Darryl I.
Optimizing historical preservation under climate change—An overview of the optimal preservation model and pilot testing at Cape Lookout National Seashore
Adapting cultural resources to climate-change effects challenges traditional cultural resource decision making because some adaptation strategies can negatively affect the integrity of cultural resources. Yet, the inevitability of climate-change effects—even given the uncertain timing of those effects—necessitates that managers begin prioritizing...
Seekamp, Erin; Post van der Burg, Max; Fatorić, Sandra; Eaton, Mitchell J.; Xiao, Xiao; McCreary, Allie Optimizing historic preservation under climate change: Decision support for cultural resource adaptation planning in national parks
Climate change poses great challenges for cultural resource management, particularly in coastal areas. Cultural resources, such as historic buildings, in coastal areas are vulnerable to climate impacts including inundation, deterioration, and destruction from sea-level rise and storm-related flooding...
Xiao, Xiao; Seekamp, Erin; Post van der Burg, Max; Eaton, Mitchell; Fatorić, Sandra; McCreary, Allie Application of decision science to resilience management in Jamaica Bay
This book highlights the growing interest in management interventions designed to enhance the resilience of the Jamaica Bay socio-ecological system. Effective management, whether the focus is on managing biological processes or human behavior or (most likely) both, requires decision makers to anticipate how the managed system will respond to...
Sanderson, E.W.; Solecki, W. D.; Waldman, J.R.; Paris, A. S.; Eaton, Mitchell J.; Fuller, Angela K.; Johnson, Fred A.; Hare, M. P.; Stedman, Richard C. Global change and conservation triage on National Wildlife Refuges
National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs) in the United States play an important role in the adaptation of social-ecological systems to climate change, land-use change, and other global-change processes. Coastal refuges are already experiencing threats from sea-level rise and other change processes that are largely beyond their ability to influence, while...
Johnson, Fred A.; Eaton, Mitchell J.; McMahon, Gerard; Raye Nilius; Mike Bryant; Dave Case; Martin, Julien; Wood, Nathan J.; Laura Taylor Integrating land cover modeling and adaptive management to conserve endangered species and reduce catastrophic fire risk
Land cover modeling is used to inform land management, but most often via a two-step process, where science informs how management alternatives can influence resources, and then, decision makers can use this information to make decisions. A more efficient process is to directly integrate science and decision-making, where science allows us to...
Breininger, David; Duncan, Brean; Eaton, Mitchell J.; Johnson, Fred; Nichols, James Testing metapopulation concepts: effects of patch characteristics and neighborhood occupancy on the dynamics of an endangered lagomorph
Metapopulation ecology is a field that is richer in theory than in empirical results. Many existing empirical studies use an incidence function approach based on spatial patterns and key assumptions about extinction and colonization rates. Here we recast these assumptions as hypotheses to be tested using 18 years of historic detection survey data...
Eaton, Mitchell J.; Hughes, Phillip T.; Hines, James E.; Nichols, James D. Application of threshold concepts to ecological management problems: occupancy of Golden Eagles in Denali National Park, Alaska: Chapter 5
In this chapter, we demonstrate the application of the various classes of thresholds, detailed in earlier chapters and elsewhere, via an actual but simplified natural resource management case study. We intend our example to provide the reader with the ability to recognize and apply the theoretical concepts of utility, ecological and decision...
Guntenspergen, Glenn R.; Eaton, Mitchell J.; Martin, Julien; Nichols, James D.; McIntyre, Carol; McCluskie, Maggie C.; Schmutz, Joel A.; Lubow, Bruce L.; Runge, Michael C.
Study Finds Knowledge Gaps on Protecting Cultural Sites from Climate Change
Livingston Ledger has published an article about a study from Southeast CASC-supported researchers at North Carolina State University that found significant knowledge gaps in how to protect culturally significant sites from climate change. Researchers are now working with managers to identify possible solutions to these gaps.