Mitchell J Eaton, Ph.D.
Mitchell Eaton is a Research Ecologist with the USGS Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center and an adjunct faculty member in Applied Ecology at NC State University. His research focuses on wildlife ecology and management, emphasizing quantitative modeling to understand resource dynamics and use of decision-theoretic methods to guide management decisions under uncertainty.
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.
Additional Projects:
-
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
-
Development of an adaptive management plan to restore the Herring River estuary, Cape Cod
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado
M.S. in Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota
Science and Products
Optimizing historical preservation under climate change—An overview of the optimal preservation model and pilot testing at Cape Lookout National Seashore
Optimizing historic preservation under climate change: Decision support for cultural resource adaptation planning in national parks
Application of decision science to resilience management in Jamaica Bay
Training conservation practitioners to be better decision makers
Global change and conservation triage on National Wildlife Refuges
Maximizing the social and ecological value of Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, South Carolina as the effects of global change processes increase.
Integrating land cover modeling and adaptive management to conserve endangered species and reduce catastrophic fire risk
Testing metapopulation concepts: effects of patch characteristics and neighborhood occupancy on the dynamics of an endangered lagomorph
Application of threshold concepts to ecological management problems: Occupancy of Golden Eagles in Denali National Park, Alaska
Thresholds for conservation and management: structured decision making as a conceptual framework
On thinning of chains in MCMC
Spatial patch occupancy patterns of the Lower Keys marsh rabbit
Non-USGS Publications**
**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.
Science and Products
- Science
Filter Total Items: 14
- Multimedia
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 39
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 resources for climate-change adaptation. PrioritizaAuthorsErin Seekamp, Max Post van der Burg, Sandra Fatorić, Mitchell J. Eaton, Xiao Xiao, Allie McCrearyOptimizing 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 and erosion. However, research that assesses the trade-offs between actions for protecting vulneraAuthorsXiao Xiao, Erin Seekamp, Max Post van der Burg, Mitchell Eaton, Sandra Fatorić, Allie McCrearyApplication 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 interventions (i.e., via predictions or projections).AuthorsMitchell J. Eaton, Angela K. Fuller, Fred A. Johnson, M. P. Hare, Richard C. StedmanTraining conservation practitioners to be better decision makers
Traditional conservation curricula and training typically emphasizes only one part of systematic decision making (i.e., the science), at the expense of preparing conservation practitioners with critical skills in values-setting, working with decision makers and stakeholders, and effective problem framing. In this article we describe how the application of decision science is relevant to conservatiAuthorsFred A. Johnson, Mitchell J. Eaton, James H. Williams, Gitte H. Jensen, Jesper MadsenGlobal 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 at the same time facing tighter budgets and reducedAuthorsFred A. Johnson, Mitchell J. Eaton, Gerard McMahon, Raye Nilius, Mike Bryant, Dave Case, Julien Martin, Nathan J. Wood, Laura TaylorMaximizing the social and ecological value of Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, South Carolina as the effects of global change processes increase.
Coastal ecosystems in the eastern U.S. have been severely altered by processes associated with human development, including drainage of coastal wetlands, changes in hydrology that alter sediment and freshwater delivery to the coast, land clearing, agricultural and forestry activity, and the construction of seawalls and other structures that “harden” the coast. Sea-level rise and the changing frequAuthorsRaye Nilius, Sarah Dawsey, Mitchell J. Eaton, Julien Martin, Stephanie S. Romañach, Suzanne Baird, Michael Bryant, David J. Case, Fred A. Johnson, Gerard McMahon, Nancy Pau, Elizabeth Pienaar, Mary Ratnaswamy, Steven Seibert, Pamela Wingrove, Nathan J. WoodIntegrating 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 learn in order to better accomplish management objectivAuthorsDavid Breininger, Brean Duncan, Mitchell J. Eaton, Fred Johnson, James NicholsTesting 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 combined with four years of data from a new monitorAuthorsMitchell J. Eaton, Phillip T. Hughes, James E. Hines, James D. NicholsApplication of threshold concepts to ecological management problems: Occupancy of Golden Eagles in Denali National Park, Alaska
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 thresholds to management problems through a formalized dAuthorsMitchell J. Eaton, Julien Martin, James D. Nichols, Carol McIntyre, Maggie C. McCluskie, Joel A. Schmutz, Bruce L. Lubow, Michael C. RungeThresholds for conservation and management: structured decision making as a conceptual framework
A conceptual framework is provided for considering the threshold concept in natural resource management and conservation. We define three kinds of thresholds relevant to management and conservation. Ecological thresholds are values of system state variables at which small changes bring about substantial or specified changes in system dynamics. They are frequently incorporated into ecological modelAuthorsJames D. Nichols, Mitchell J. Eaton, Julien MartinOn thinning of chains in MCMC
1. Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) is a simulation technique that has revolutionised the analysis of ecological data, allowing the fitting of complex models in a Bayesian framework. Since 2001, there have been nearly 200 papers using MCMC in publications of the Ecological Society of America and the British Ecological Society, including more than 75 in the journal Ecology and 35 in the Journal of AAuthorsWilliam A. Link, Mitchell J. EatonSpatial patch occupancy patterns of the Lower Keys marsh rabbit
Reliable estimates of presence or absence of a species can provide substantial information on management questions related to distribution and habitat use but should incorporate the probability of detection to reduce bias. We surveyed for the endangered Lower Keys marsh rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris hefneri) in habitat patches on 5 Florida Key islands, USA, to estimate occupancy and detection probaAuthorsMitchell J. Eaton, Phillip T. Hughes, James D. Nichols, Anne Morkill, Chad AndersonNon-USGS Publications**
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, W., Carolina Useche, D., Rendeiro, J. et al. Averting biodiversity collapse in tropical forest protected areas. Nature 489, 290–294 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11318Eaton, M.J., Meyers, G.L., Kolokotronis, SO. et al. Barcoding bushmeat: molecular identification of Central African and South American harvested vertebrates. Conserv Genet 11, 1389–1404 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-009-9967-0Mitchell J. Eaton, Andrew Martin, John Thorbjarnarson, George Amato. Species-level diversification of African dwarf crocodiles (Genus Osteolaemus): A geographic and phylogenetic perspective, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Volume 50, Issue 3, 2009, Pages 496-506, ISSN 1055-7903, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2008.11.009**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.
- News