Paul Cross, Ph.D.
My research focuses on applied wildlife disease, conservation and management issues around the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
Research Interests
I try to integrate multiple different scientific fields, but my specific background is in field ecology, behavior and mathematical modeling. There are two central themes in my research: (1) the integration of empirical data and mathematical modeling, and (2) the effects of host behavior on disease dynamics. Currently, my research focuses on brucellosis, chronic wasting disease, canine distemper and sarcoptic mange.
Professional Experience
Research Wildlife Biologist, USGS, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, 2005-present.
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. Environmental Science, Policy, and Management. 2005. University of California, Berkeley
B.A. Environmental Science. 1998. University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Science and Products
Mapping brucellosis increases relative to elk density using hierarchical Bayesian models
Persistence of canine distemper virus in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem's carnivore community
Methods for assessing movement path recursion with application to African buffalo in South Africa
Disease, predation and demography: Assessing the impacts of bovine tuberculosis on African buffalo by monitoring at individual and population levels
Effects of chemical immobilization on survival of African buffalo in the Kruger National Park
Wildlife health initiatives in Yellowstone National Park
Scale-dependent approaches to modeling spatial epidemiology of chronic wasting disease.
Effects of supplemental feeding on gastrointestinal parasite infection in Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus elaphus): Preliminary observations
LoCoH: Non-parameteric kernel methods for constructing home ranges and utilization distributions
Utility of R0 as a predictor of disease invasion in structured populations
Modeling the invasion and spread of contagious disease in heterogeneous populations
Assessing vaccination as a control strategy in an ongoing epidemic: Bovine tuberculosis in African buffalo
Science and Products
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Filter Total Items: 110
Mapping brucellosis increases relative to elk density using hierarchical Bayesian models
The relationship between host density and parasite transmission is central to the effectiveness of many disease management strategies. Few studies, however, have empirically estimated this relationship particularly in large mammals. We applied hierarchical Bayesian methods to a 19-year dataset of over 6400 brucellosis tests of adult female elk (Cervus elaphus) in northwestern Wyoming. Management cAuthorsPaul C. Cross, Dennis M. Heisey, Brandon M. Scurlock, William H. Edwards, Angela Brennan, Michael R. EbingerPersistence of canine distemper virus in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem's carnivore community
Canine distemper virus (CDV) is an acute, highly immunizing pathogen that should require high densities and large populations of hosts for long-term persistence, yet CDV persists among terrestrial carnivores with small, patchily distributed groups. We used CDV in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem's (GYE) wolves (Canis lupus) and coyotes (Canis latrans) as a case study for exploring how metapopulatAuthorsEmily S. Almberg, Paul C. Cross, D.W. SmithMethods for assessing movement path recursion with application to African buffalo in South Africa
Recent developments of automated methods for monitoring animal movement, e.g., global positioning systems (GPS) technology, yield high-resolution spatiotemporal data. To gain insights into the processes creating movement patterns, we present two new techniques for extracting information from these data on repeated visits to a particular site or patch ("recursions"). Identification of such patchesAuthorsS. Bar-David, I. Bar-David, P.C. Cross, S.J. Ryan, C.U. Knechtel, W.M. GetzDisease, predation and demography: Assessing the impacts of bovine tuberculosis on African buffalo by monitoring at individual and population levels
SummaryUnderstanding the effects of disease is critical to determining appropriate management responses, but estimating those effects in wildlife species is challenging. We used bovine tuberculosis (BTB) in the African buffalo Syncerus caffer population of Kruger National Park, South Africa, as a case study to highlight the issues associated with estimating chronic disease effects in a long‐livedAuthorsP.C. Cross, D.M. Heisey, J.A. Bowers, C.T. Hay, J. Wolhuter, P. Buss, M. Hofmeyr, A.L. Michel, Roy G. Bengis, T.L.F. Bird, Johan T. du Toit, W.M. GetzEffects of chemical immobilization on survival of African buffalo in the Kruger National Park
Capturing, immobilizing, and fitting radiocollars are common practices in studies of large mammals, but success is based on the assumptions that captured animals are representative of the rest of the population and that the capture procedure has negligible effects. We estimated effects of chemical immobilization on mortality rates of African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) in the Kruger National Park, SAuthorsW.C. Oosthuizen, P.C. Cross, J.A. Bowers, C. Hay, M.R. Ebinger, P. Buss, M. Hofmeyr, E.Z. CameronWildlife health initiatives in Yellowstone National Park
No abstract available.AuthorsPaul C. Cross, G. PlumbScale-dependent approaches to modeling spatial epidemiology of chronic wasting disease.
This e-book is the product of a second workshop that was funded and promoted by the United States Geological Survey to enhance cooperation between states for the management of chronic wasting disease (CWD). The first workshop addressed issues surrounding the statistical design and collection of surveillance data for CWD. The second workshop, from which this document arose, followed logically fromAuthorsMary M. Conner, John E. Gross, Paul C. Cross, Michael R. Ebinger, Robert Gillies, Michael D. Samuel, Michael W. MillerEffects of supplemental feeding on gastrointestinal parasite infection in Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus elaphus): Preliminary observations
The effects of management practices on the spread and impact of parasites and infectious diseases in wildlife and domestic animals are of increasing concern worldwide, particularly in cases where management of wild species can influence disease spill-over into domestic animals. In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, USA, winter supplemental feeding of Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus) may enhanceAuthorsAlicia M. Hines, Vanessa O. Ezenwa, Paul C. Cross, Jared D. RogersonLoCoH: Non-parameteric kernel methods for constructing home ranges and utilization distributions
Parametric kernel methods currently dominate the literature regarding the construction of animal home ranges (HRs) and utilization distributions (UDs). These methods frequently fail to capture the kinds of hard boundaries common to many natural systems. Recently a local convex hull (LoCoH) nonparametric kernel method, which generalizes the minimum convex polygon (MCP) method, was shown to be moreAuthorsWayne M. Getz, Scott Fortmann-Roe, Paul C. Cross, Andrew J. Lyons, Sadie J. Ryan, Christopher C. WilmersUtility of R0 as a predictor of disease invasion in structured populations
Early theoretical work on disease invasion typically assumed large and well-mixed host populations. Many human and wildlife systems, however, have small groups with limited movement among groups. In these situations, the basic reproductive number, R0, is likely to be a poor predictor of a disease pandemic because it typically does not account for group structure and movement of individuals among gAuthorsPaul C. Cross, Philip L. Johnson, James O. Lloyd-Smith, Wayne M. GetzModeling the invasion and spread of contagious disease in heterogeneous populations
No abstract available.AuthorsW.M. Getz, James O. Lloyd-Smith, Paul C. Cross, S. Bar-David, P.L.F. Johnson, T.C. Porco, M.S. SanchezAssessing vaccination as a control strategy in an ongoing epidemic: Bovine tuberculosis in African buffalo
Bovine tuberculosis (BTB) is an exotic disease invading the buffalo population (Syncerus caffer) of the Kruger National Park (KNP), South Africa. We used a sex and age-structured epidemiological model to assess the effectiveness of a vaccination program and define important research directions. The model allows for dispersal between a focal herd and background population and was parameterized withAuthorsPaul C. Cross, Wayne M. Getz - Web Tools
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