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Peter Coates

Dr. Peter Coates is a Wildlife Biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey's Western Ecological Research Center.

He is interested in sound science and management practices aimed at restoring wildlife communities and their habitats. He is committed to progressive, scientifically defensible conservation actions in the face of increasing human population size and individual consumption. Abundance and distribution of wild populations often can be linked to changes in their environments caused by human land use practices, but identifying the ecological mechanisms of declining populations are often challenging. Specifically, Dr. Coates is interested in investigating the links between nesting habitat, predator composition, and incubation behavior and success of birds. Additionally, he is interested in the effects of anthropogenic-resource subsidies on the survival and reproduction of predators and how these changes influence demographics and distribution of prey populations. Dr. Coates seeks to develop a broader understanding of how human-caused landscape changes affect communities and aim to identify restoration practices that preserve natural ecological processes. He is also interested in behavioral traits of grouse that affect population establishment and persistence in the face of environmental challenges.
 


 

Professional Experience

  • Wildlife Biologist, U. S. Geological Survey, 2008–present

  • Postdoctoral Appointment, Idaho State University, 2008

  • Seasonal Wildlife Biologist, Wildlife Conservation Society, 2007

  • Graduate Research Assistantship, Idaho State University, 2002–2007

  • Teaching Assistantship, Idaho State University, 2004–2007

  • National Science Foundation GK–12 Teaching F, Idaho State University, 2005–2006

  • Seasonal Biological Specialist, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 2003–2005

  • Field Research Technician, University of Nevada Reno, 1999

  • Conservation Biological Technician I, II, and III, Nevada Department of Wildlife, 1996–1998

Education and Certifications

  • Ph. D., Biology, Idaho State University 2007

  • M. S., Biology, University of Nevada Reno 2001

  • B. S., Conservation Biology, University of Nevada Reno 1998

Affiliations and Memberships

  • American Ornithologists Union

  • Cooper Ornithological Society

  • Jack H. Berryman Institute

  • Society for Conservation Biology

  • The Wildlife Society

Science and Products

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NPS photo of a Black-Crowned Night Heron

Reproductive Success of Black-Crowned Night-Herons and Snowy Egrets on Alcatraz Island

Years after the last inmate departed Alcatraz Island, waterbirds like Black-crowned Night Herons and Snowy Egrets still make the forbidding island their home. The National Park Service has requested the aid of WERC’s Dr. Pete Coates to inform efforts to expand visitor access to the Island, and simultaneously maintain healthy waterbird populations.
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
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Reproductive Success of Black-Crowned Night-Herons and Snowy Egrets on Alcatraz Island

Years after the last inmate departed Alcatraz Island, waterbirds like Black-crowned Night Herons and Snowy Egrets still make the forbidding island their home. The National Park Service has requested the aid of WERC’s Dr. Pete Coates to inform efforts to expand visitor access to the Island, and simultaneously maintain healthy waterbird populations.
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Greater Sage-grouse

Greater Sage-Grouse Population Ecology

Greater Sage-grouse are iconic birds found only in the Great Basin of the western U.S. Known for their showy courting displays, sage-grouse rely on native sagebrush habitat to shelter their young. Dr. Pete Coates is providing resource managers with the tools and information they need to conserve sage-grouse as invasive plants, evolving wildfire patterns, and energy development change the Great...
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Ecosystems, Energy & Wildlife, Sage-grouse & Sagebrush Ecosystem, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
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Greater Sage-Grouse Population Ecology

Greater Sage-grouse are iconic birds found only in the Great Basin of the western U.S. Known for their showy courting displays, sage-grouse rely on native sagebrush habitat to shelter their young. Dr. Pete Coates is providing resource managers with the tools and information they need to conserve sage-grouse as invasive plants, evolving wildfire patterns, and energy development change the Great...
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Image: Greater Sage Grouse

Stressors to Greater Sage-Grouse

The Greater Sage-grouse is a small bird found only in the sagebrush steppe of the Great Basin. Invasions of non-native grasses, evolving wildfire patterns, grazing from livestock, and human land uses are changing this unique ecosystem. WERC’s Dr. Pete Coates studies sage-grouse populations to determine how these influences could affect the bird and other wildlife in the future.
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Ecosystems, Energy & Wildlife, Sage-grouse & Sagebrush Ecosystem, Status and Trends Program, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
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Stressors to Greater Sage-Grouse

The Greater Sage-grouse is a small bird found only in the sagebrush steppe of the Great Basin. Invasions of non-native grasses, evolving wildfire patterns, grazing from livestock, and human land uses are changing this unique ecosystem. WERC’s Dr. Pete Coates studies sage-grouse populations to determine how these influences could affect the bird and other wildlife in the future.
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WERC Fire

WERC Fire Science

WERC scientists are defining the past, present, and future of wildfires for wildlife and human communities. Explore this webpage to learn about specific, ongoing projects across California and parts of Nevada.
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
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WERC Fire Science

WERC scientists are defining the past, present, and future of wildfires for wildlife and human communities. Explore this webpage to learn about specific, ongoing projects across California and parts of Nevada.
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Filter Total Items: 15

Trend Estimates of Common Raven Populations in the United States and Canada, 1966 - 2018

These data identify the mean population growth rate and ratio change in abundance of common raven (Corvus corax; ravens) populations from 1966 through 2018, delineated by ecoregions defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This enables researchers and land managers to identify regions which may be more heavily affected by growing raven populations. These data support the following
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Raven Occurrence and Density in the Great Basin Region of the Western United States (2007-2019)

We generated a spatially explicit map of categories of expected occurrence and density associated with predicted concentrations of resident and transient common ravens (Corvus corax; ravens) using the residuals from a generalized linear regression between the occurrence and density parameters. These data support the following publication: Webster, S.C., O'Neil, S.T., Brussee, B.E., Coates, P.S, J
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Geospatial Information and Predictive Maps of Greater Sage-grouse Habitat Selection in Southwestern North Dakota, USA

We use locations from previously released radio-marked greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter sage-grouse) in a resource selection function framework to evaluate habitat selection following translocation and identify areas of seasonal habitat to inform habitat management and potential restoration needs. We also evaluate possible changes in seasonal habitat since the late 1980s u
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Spatially-explicit predictive maps of greater sage-grouse nest selection integrated with nest survival in Nevada and northeastern California, USA

We applied spatially-explicit models to a spatiotemporally robust dataset of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) nest locations and fates across wildfire-altered sagebrush ecosystems of the Great Basin ecoregion, western USA. Using sage-grouse as a focal species, we quantified scale-dependent factors driving nest site selection and nest survival across broad spatial scales in order to
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Additional mapping tools for Great Basin wildfire and conifer management to increase operational resilience: integrating sagebrush ecosystem and sage-grouse response

Conservation planning efforts for sagebrush ecosystems of western North America increasingly focus on enhancing operational resilience though decision-support tools that link spatially explicit variation in soil and plant processes to outcomes of biotic and abiotic disturbances spanning large spatial extents. However, failure to consider higher trophic-level fauna (e.g. wildlife) in these tools ca
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Hierarchically nested and biologically relevant monitoring frameworks for Greater Sage-grouse, 2019, Nevada and Wyoming, Interim

We developed a hierarchical clustering approach that identifies biologically relevant landscape units that can 1) be used as a long-term population monitoring framework, 2) be repeated across the Greater sage-grouse range, 3) be used to track the outcomes of local and regional populations by comparing population changes across scales, and 4) be used to inform where to best spatially target studies
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Fort Collins Science Center

Simulation to evaluate response of population models to annual trends in detectability

In 'Simulation to evaluate response of population models to annual trends in detectability', we provide data and R code necessary to create simulation scenarios and estimate trends with different population models (Monroe et al. 2019). Literature cited: Monroe, A. P., G. T. Wann, C. L. Aldridge, and P. S. Coates. 2019. The importance of simulation assumptions when evaluating detectability in p
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Fort Collins Science Center

Spatially Explicit Modeling of Annual and Seasonal Habitat for Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in Northeastern California

Successful adaptive management hinges largely upon integrating new and improved sources of information as they become available. Updating management tools for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus, hereafter referred to as "sage-grouse") populations, which are indicators for the large-scale health of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems in the Great Basin of North Ameri
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Data from: Broad-scale occurrence of a subsidized avian predator: reducing impacts of ravens on sage-grouse and other sensitive prey

Expanding human enterprise across remote environments impacts many wildlife species, including sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), an indicator species whose decline is at the center of national conservation strategies and land use policies. Anthropogenic resources provide subsidies for generalist predators, potentially leading to cascading effects on sensitive prey species at lower trophic l
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Geospatial data for object-based high-resolution classification of conifers within greater sage-grouse habitat across Nevada and a portion of northeastern California

These products were developed to provide scientific and correspondingly spatially explicit information regarding the distribution and abundance of conifers (namely, singleleaf pinyon (Pinus monophylla), Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma), and western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis)) in Nevada and portions of northeastern California. Encroachment of these trees into sagebrush ecosystems of the G
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Data for: A conservation planning tool for greater sage-grouse using indices of species distribution, resilience, and resistance

Managers require quantitative yet tractable tools that can identify areas for restoration yielding effective benefits for targeted wildlife species and the ecosystems they inhabit. A spatially explicit conservation planning tool that guides effective sagebrush restoration for sage-grouse can be made more effective by integrating baseline maps describing existing (pre-restoration) habitat suitabili
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Geospatial data for object-based high-resolution classification of conifers within the geographic range of the Bi-State Distinct Population Segment of greater sage-grouse in California and Nevada

These products were developed to provide scientific and correspondingly spatially explicit information regarding the distribution and abundance of conifers (namely, singleleaf pinyon (Pinus monophylla), Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma), and western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis)) in Nevada and portions of northeastern California. Encroachment of these trees into sagebrush ecosystems of the G
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Ecosystems, Sage-grouse & Sagebrush Ecosystem, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
Filter Total Items: 90

Monitoring and research on the Bi-State Distinct Population Segment of greater sage-grouse (<i>Centrocercus urophasianus</i>) in the Pine Nut Mountains, California and Nevada—Study progress report, 2011–15

The Bi-State distinct population segment (DPS) of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) that occurs along the Nevada–California border was proposed for listing as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) in October 2013. However, in April 2015, the FWS determined that the Bi-State DPS no longer required protection under the ESA and wit
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Importance of regional variation in conservation planning: A rangewide example of the Greater Sage-Grouse

We developed rangewide population and habitat models for Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) that account for regional variation in habitat selection and relative densities of birds for use in conservation planning and risk assessments. We developed a probabilistic model of occupied breeding habitat by statistically linking habitat characteristics within 4 miles of an occupied lek usin
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

A serosurvey of Greater Sage-grouse (<i>Centrocercus urophasianus</i>) in Nevada, USA

To better understand the potential avian diseases in Greater Sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in the Great Basin in Nevada, we collected 31 blood samples March–April 2014 and tested for antibodies to eight viruses and two bacteria. Specifically, sera were tested for antibodies to avian leukosis virus type A, B, and J (ALV-A, ALV-B, and ALV-J, respectively), infectious bursal disease virus,
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Conserving the Greater Sage-grouse: A social-ecological systems case study from the California-Nevada region

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) continues to serve as one of the most powerful and contested federal legislative mandates for conservation. In the midst of heated debates, researchers, policy makers, and conservation practitioners champion the importance of cooperative conservation and social-ecological systems approaches, which forge partnerships at multiple levels and scales to address complex
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Encounters with Pinyon-Juniper influence riskier movements in Greater Sage-Grouse across the Great Basin

Fine-scale spatiotemporal studies can better identify relationships between individual survival and habitat fragmentation so that mechanistic interpretations can be made at the population level. Recent advances in Global Positioning System (GPS) technology and statistical models capable of deconstructing high-frequency location data have facilitated interpretation of animal movement within a behav
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Ecosystems, Sage-grouse & Sagebrush Ecosystem, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Wildfire, climate, and invasive grass interactions negatively impact an indicator species by reshaping sagebrush ecosystems

Iconic sagebrush ecosystems of the American West are threatened by larger and more frequent wildfires that can kill sagebrush and facilitate invasion by annual grasses, creating a cycle that alters sagebrush ecosystem recovery post disturbance. Thwarting this accelerated grass–fire cycle is at the forefront of current national conservation efforts, yet its impacts on wildlife populations inhabitin
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Ecosystems, Sage-grouse & Sagebrush Ecosystem, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Pinyon and juniper encroachment into sagebrush ecosystems impacts distribution and survival of greater sage-grouse

In sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems, encroachment of pinyon (Pinus spp.) and juniper (Juniperus spp.; hereafter, “pinyon-juniper”) trees has increased dramatically since European settlement. Understanding the impacts of this encroachment on behavioral decisions, distributions, and population dynamics of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and other sagebrush obligate species could
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Ecosystems, Sage-grouse & Sagebrush Ecosystem, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Active season microhabitat and vegetation selection by giant gartersnakes associated with a restored marsh in California

Studies of habitat selection can reveal important patterns to guide habitat restoration and management for species of conservation concern. Giant gartersnakes Thamnophis gigas are endemic to the Central Valley of California, where >90% of their historical wetland habitat has been converted to agricultural and other uses. Information about the selection of habitats by individual giant gartersnakes
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Survival of translocated sharp-tailed grouse: Temporal threshold and age effects

Context: The Columbian sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus columbianus) is a subspecies of conservation concern in the western United States, currently occupying ≤10% of its historic range. Land and management agencies are employing translocation techniques to restore Columbian sharp-tailed grouse (CSTG) populations. However, establishing self-sustaining populations by translocating grou
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Nest survival is influenced by parental behaviour and heterospecifics in a mixed-species colony

Studies of avian nest success often focus on examining influences of variation in environmental and seasonal factors. However, in-depth evaluations can also incorporate variation in individual incubation behaviour to further advance our understanding of avian reproductive ecology. We examined these relationships in colonially nesting Black-crowned Night-Herons Nycticorax nycticorax using intensive
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Landscape characteristics and livestock presence influence common ravens: Relevance to greater sage-grouse conservation

Common raven (Corvus corax; hereafter, raven) population abundance in the sagebrush steppe of the American West has increased threefold during the previous four decades, largely as a result of unintended resource subsidies from human land-use practices. This is concerning because ravens frequently depredate nests of species of conservation concern, such as greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophas
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Ecosystems, Sage-grouse & Sagebrush Ecosystem, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

The effects of heterospecifics and climatic conditions on incubation behavior within a mixed-species colony

Parental incubation behavior largely influences nest survival, a critical demographic process in avian population dynamics, and behaviors vary across species with different life history breeding strategies. Although research has identified nest survival advantages of mixing colonies, behavioral mechanisms that might explain these effects is largely lacking. We examined parental incubation behavior
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

grsg_lekdb: Compiling and standardizing greater sage-grouse lek databases

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) are landscape-scale sagebrush obligate species and an important gamebird and iconic species of the western United States. They occupy the sagebrush biome in western North America, extending east of the Sierra Nevada/Cascade Mountain ranges to the western regions of the Great Plains of the United States. Sage-grouse are one of the most closely monitor
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Fort Collins Science Center

popcluster: Developing Hierarchical Population Monitoring Frameworks for mobile species with high site fidelity

The software "popcluster" constructs hierarchically nested groupings of similar habitats associated with field surveys while considering biological structure/connectedness (movements between habitats). This approach can support mobile species with high site fidelity where monitoring during surveys occurs on birthing grounds, breeding grounds, or stopovers/seasonal habitat for migratory species. Ea
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Fort Collins Science Center
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Cumulative Effects of Wildfire Adversely Affect Greater Sage-Grouse in the Great Basin

Slowing fire-related population declines in greater sage-grouse in the Great Basin over the next 30 years may depend on the intensity of fire...
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Altering Sagebrush Landscapes with Fuel Breaks to Save Them from Wildfire

Linear fuel breaks have long been used to help suppress fire in the Great Basin, and thousands of miles of new fuel breaks may be constructed in...

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Research Spotlight: Human Enterprise Brings More Ravens to the Great Basin, Threatening Greater Sage-Grouse

A new publication from the US Geological Survey Western Ecological Research Center (USGS WERC) and partners finds that ravens present a major risk to...

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Post-Fire Growth of Seeded and Planted Big Sagebrush – Strategic Designs for Restoring Greater Sage-grouse Nesting Habitat

Recent wildfire-induced losses of big sagebrush are outpacing natural recovery and leading to substantial losses in habitat for species such as...

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Research Spotlight: New Research Indicates that Greater Sage-Grouse are Struggling to Adapt to Wildfire-Induced Changes in the Great Basin

Research from the USGS and partners concluded that greater sage-grouse in the Great Basin often select nest sites that result in poor nest survival...

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12 Days of Conifers: Pinyon, Juniper, and the Greater Sage-Grouse

It’s Day 7 of 12 Days Of Conifers and we’re headed to the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada and into the sagebrush country at the edge of the Great...

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When Unchecked, Free-Roaming Horse Populations Threaten Greater Sage-Grouse

Greater sage-grouse populations may decline by more than 70% within free-roaming horse-occupied areas by 2034 if horse populations increase unchecked...

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