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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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Color photo of sagebrush with a rainbow in the background

Assessing the Effectiveness of Fuel Breaks for Preserving Greater Sage-Grouse in the Great Basin

Fuel breaks have the potential to minimize catastrophic losses of sagebrush habitat and sage-grouse populations by altering fire behavior and facilitating fire suppression. However, they may carry risks to sage-grouse populations—of habitat loss, fragmentation, cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) invasion, and alteration of sage-grouse movements—that have not been quantified.
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Land Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
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Assessing the Effectiveness of Fuel Breaks for Preserving Greater Sage-Grouse in the Great Basin

Fuel breaks have the potential to minimize catastrophic losses of sagebrush habitat and sage-grouse populations by altering fire behavior and facilitating fire suppression. However, they may carry risks to sage-grouse populations—of habitat loss, fragmentation, cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) invasion, and alteration of sage-grouse movements—that have not been quantified.
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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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The greater sage grouse thrives in the sagebrush landscape of the West.

Greater Sage-Grouse Science (2015–17): Synthesis and Potential Management Implications

USGS led an interagency team of Federal and State agency biologists to develop a report that synthesizes greater sage-grouse scientific literature.
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Land Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
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Greater Sage-Grouse Science (2015–17): Synthesis and Potential Management Implications

USGS led an interagency team of Federal and State agency biologists to develop a report that synthesizes greater sage-grouse scientific literature.
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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 (unpublished), Land Management Research Program, 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, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Land Management Research Program, Species Management Research 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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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, Land Management Research Program, Species Management Research Program, 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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Photo of waterbirds feeding at a flooded agricultural field.

Dixon Field Station

WERC scientists at the Dixon Field Station conduct studies from the San Francisco Bay-Delta in California to the Great Basin spanning California and Nevada.
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
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Dixon Field Station

WERC scientists at the Dixon Field Station conduct studies from the San Francisco Bay-Delta in California to the Great Basin spanning California and Nevada.
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Greater sage-grouse in Wyoming.

Hierarchical Sage-Grouse Population Assessment Tool: Building a Foundation for True Adaptive Management

USGS scientists and colleagues have designed a hierarchical monitoring framework for greater sage-grouse in Nevada, Wyoming, and northeastern California that will provide land managers with a monitoring and detection system to identify sage-grouse breeding locations (known as leks), clusters of leks, and populations where intervention may be necessary to sustain populations and to evaluate...
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Land Management Research Program, Fort Collins Science Center
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Hierarchical Sage-Grouse Population Assessment Tool: Building a Foundation for True Adaptive Management

USGS scientists and colleagues have designed a hierarchical monitoring framework for greater sage-grouse in Nevada, Wyoming, and northeastern California that will provide land managers with a monitoring and detection system to identify sage-grouse breeding locations (known as leks), clusters of leks, and populations where intervention may be necessary to sustain populations and to evaluate...
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Sagebrush on fire in a controlled burn

Field of Sagebrush Dreams: Sage-grouse Responses to Burns and Sagebrush Restoration in Fire-Impacted Landscapes

Fire can reduce sage-grouse habitat, diminish local and regional population sizes, and result in the fragmentation of sage-grouse populations. Research is needed to identify the best ways to restore sagebrush to support sage-grouse demography, persistence, and space use.
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Land Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
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Field of Sagebrush Dreams: Sage-grouse Responses to Burns and Sagebrush Restoration in Fire-Impacted Landscapes

Fire can reduce sage-grouse habitat, diminish local and regional population sizes, and result in the fragmentation of sage-grouse populations. Research is needed to identify the best ways to restore sagebrush to support sage-grouse demography, persistence, and space use.
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Trends and a Targeted Annual Warning System for Greater Sage-Grouse in the Western United States (1960-2021)

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) are at the center of state and national land use policies largely because of their unique life-history traits as an ecological indicator for health of sagebrush ecosystems. These data represent an updated population trend analysis and Targeted Annual Warning System (TAWS) for state and federal land and wildlife managers to use best-available science
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

U.S. range-wide spatial prediction layers of lek persistence probabilities for greater sage-grouse

This dataset contains two predictive lek (breeding site) persistence raster layers covering the U.S. greater sage-grouse distribution. In the United States, locations where males display and breed with females (i.e., leks) are often monitored annually by state wildlife agencies, providing valuable information on the persistence of birds in the surrounding areas. A U.S. range-wide lek database was
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Fort Collins Science Center

Hierarchically nested and biologically relevant range-wide monitoring frameworks for greater sage-grouse, western United States

We produced 13 hierarchically nested cluster levels that reflect the results from developing a hierarchical monitoring framework for greater sage-grouse across the western United States. Polygons (clusters) within each cluster level group a population of sage-grouse leks (sage-grouse breeding grounds) and each level increasingly groups lek clusters from previous levels. We developed the hierarchic
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Fort Collins Science Center

Median Estimates of Impact Potential from Geothermal Energy Production Activities on Greater Sage-Grouse Populations in Nevada and California (2022)

These data are the result of an intersection between a surface representing the delta-finite rate of population change and another surface representing Greater Sage-grouse abundance and space-use. It was used to rank candidate sites according to greatest potential impact to Greater Sage-grouse populations resulting from the presence of geothermal energy activity. In 2022, candidate geothermal site
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Selection and Survival of Greater Sage-Grouse Broods in Mesic Areas of Long Valley, California (2003 - 2018)

We evaluated brood-rearing habitat selection and brood survival of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter, sage-grouse) in Long Valley, California, an area where the water rights are primarily owned by the city of Los Angeles and water is used locally to irrigate for livestock. This area thus represents a unique balance between the needs of wildlife and people that could increas
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Sagebrush Restoration Following Fire Disturbance in the Virginia Mountains, Nevada (2018)

We developed a framework that strategically targets burned areas for restoration actions (e.g., seeding or planting sagebrush) that have the greatest potential to positively benefit Greater Sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter sage-grouse) populations through time. Specifically, we estimated sagebrush (Artemisia Spp.) recovery following wildfire and risk of non-native annual grass inv
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Spatially-Explicit Predictive Maps of Greater Sage-Grouse Brood Selection Integrated with Brood Survival in Nevada and Northeastern California, USA

We used a hierarchical Bayesian modeling framework to estimate resource selection functions and survival for early and late brood-rearing stages of sage-grouse in relation to a broad suite of habitat characteristics evaluated at multiple spatial scales within the Great Basin from 2009 to 2019. Sage-grouse selected for greater perennial grass cover, higher relative elevations, and areas closer to s
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Greater Sage-Grouse Nest Observations Before and After Wildfire Disturbance in Northeastern California (2007-2018)

We monitored Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter, Sage-Grouse) nests and various habitat characteristics at the nest locations near Susanville in northeastern California, crossing over into northwestern Nevada. We employed a before-after-control-impact (BACI) experimental design to account for spatiotemporal heterogeneity in the system and to derive estimates of relative chan
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Fire Response Effects, Biocrust, and Vascular Plant Abundance Following Wildfire near Boise, Idaho (October 2021)

Twenty quadrats within the burn perimeter of a September 2021 wildfire outside of Boise, Idaho were surveyed for the abundance of fire effects, biocrusts and vascular plants immediately post-fire. The fire was too small to be named. Char was measured as a proxy for fire intensity. Biocrusts were surveyed by morphogroup (crustose lichens, cup lichens, fruticose lichens, gelatinous lichens, short mo
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Greater sage-grouse population structure and connectivity data to inform the development of hierarchical population units (western United States)

We present five hierarchical demarcations of greater sage-grouse population structure, representing the spatial structure of populations which can exist due to differences in dispersal abilities, landscape configurations, and mating behavior. These demarcations represent Thiessen polygons of graph constructs (least-cost path [LCP] minimum spanning trees [MST; LCP-MST]) representing greater sage-gr
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Fort Collins Science Center

Data to Inform an Integrated Population Model of Translocated Columbian Sharp-Tailed Grouse, Nevada 2013 - 2017

These data include encounter histories, nest attempts, hatched egg counts, brood counts, time-varying matrices, survival statistics, and lek counts, all used in an integrated population model (IPM) to determine the status of a population of translocated Columbian sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus columbianus; CSTG) in Nevada. Sharp-tailed grouse were translocated to a remote site in Ne
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

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 p
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
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Range-wide population trend analysis for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus)—Updated 1960–2021

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) are at the center of state and national land use policies largely because of their unique life-history traits as an ecological indicator for health of sagebrush ecosystems. This updated population trend analysis provides state and federal land and wildlife managers with best-available science to help guide current management and conservation plans ai
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Ecosystems, Fort Collins Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Moisture abundance and proximity mediate seasonal use of mesic areas and survival of greater sage-grouse broods

Water is a critical and limited resource, particularly in the arid West, but water availability is projected to decline even while demand increases due to growing human populations and increases in duration and severity of drought. Mesic areas provide important water resources for numerous wildlife species, including the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter, sage-grouse), an i
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Ecosystems, Species Management Research Program, Alaska Science Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Defining biologically relevant and hierarchically nested population units to inform wildlife management

Wildlife populations are increasingly affected by natural and anthropogenic changes that negatively alter biotic and abiotic processes at multiple spatiotemporal scales and therefore require increased wildlife management and conservation efforts. However, wildlife management boundaries frequently lack biological context and mechanisms to assess demographic data across the multiple spatiotemporal s
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Ecosystems, Fort Collins Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

A sagebrush conservation design to proactively restore America’s sagebrush biome

A working group of experts with diverse professional backgrounds and disciplinary expertise was assembled to conceptualize a spatially explicit conservation design to support and inform the Sagebrush Conservation Strategy Part 2. The goal was to leverage recent advancements in remotely sensed landcover products to develop spatially and temporally explicit maps of sagebrush rangeland condition and
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Ecosystems

Defining fine-scaled population structure among continuously distributed populations

Understanding wildlife population structure and connectivity can help managers identify conservation strategies, as structure can facilitate the study of population changes and habitat connectivity can provide information on dispersal and biodiversity. To facilitate the use of wildlife monitoring data for improved adaptive management, we developed a novel approach to define hierarchical tiers (mul
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Ecosystems, Fort Collins Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Targeting sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) restoration following wildfire with Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) nest selection and survival models

Unprecedented conservation efforts for sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems across the western United States have been catalyzed by risks from escalated wildfire activity that reduces habitat for sagebrush-obligate species such as Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). However, post-fire restoration is challenged by spatial variation in ecosystem processes influencing resilience to dist
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Ecosystems, Fort Collins Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Behavioral state-dependent habitat selection and implications for animal translocations

Post-release monitoring of translocated animals is often used to inform future translocation protocols. Quantifying habitat selection of translocated individuals may help identify features that characterize good settlement habitat and thus inform the choice of future release sites. However, translocated animals often undergo post-release behavioural modification, and their habitat selection may va
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Health surveillance of a potential bridge host: Pathogen exposure risks posed to avian populations augmented with captive-bred pheasants

Augmentation of wild populations with captive-bred individuals presents an inherent risk of co-introducing novel pathogens to naïve species, but it can be an important tool for supplementing small or declining populations. Game species used for human enterprise and recreation such as the ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) are commonly raised in captivity and released onto public and privat
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Individual variation in temporal dynamics of post-release habitat selection

Translocated animals undergo a phase of behavioral adjustment after being released in a novel environment, initially prioritizing exploration and gradually shifting toward resource exploitation. This transition has been termed post-release behavioral modification. Post-release behavioral modification may also manifest as changes in habitat selection through time, and these temporal dynamics may di
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Field methods for translocating female greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) with their broods

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) have experienced considerable range contraction and reduced abundance in response to habitat loss and degradation. Translocation is a conservation action that is often used to reintroduce extirpated populations or augment existing small populations. Translocations have had limited success in restoring viable populations of sage-grouse; a lack of succ
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Sage-grouse population dynamics are adversely impacted by overabundant feral horses

In recent decades, feral horse (Equus caballus; horse) populations increased in sagebrush (Artimesia spp.) ecosystems, especially within the Great Basin, to the point of exceeding maximum appropriate management levels (AMLmax), which were set by land administrators to balance resource use by feral horses, livestock, and wildlife. Concomitantly, greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Ecological correlates of fecal corticosterone metabolites in female Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrococercus urophasianus)

Measurement of physiological responses can reveal effects of ecological conditions on an animal and correlate with demographic parameters. Ecological conditions for many animal species have deteriorated as a function of invasive plants and habitat fragmentation. Expansion of juniper (Juniperus spp.) trees and invasion of annual grasses into sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems have contributed to
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Ecosystems, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

popcluster: hierarchical population monitoring frameworks, Version 2.0.0

We developed a method to construct hierarchically nested and biologically relevant groupings of similar habitats associated with field surveys while considering structure/connectedness (movements between habitats). This approach can support mobile species using high fidelity sites where monitoring during surveys occurs, such as birthing grounds, breeding grounds, or stopovers/seasonal habitats for
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Fort Collins Science Center

grsg_lekdb: Compiling and standardizing greater sage-grouse lek databases, version 1.1.0

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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Land Management Research Program, Fort Collins Science Center

lcp_centrality: Defining least-cost paths and graph theory centrality measures

We present software that creates least-cost path spanning trees, a least-cost path minimum spanning tree, and graph theory centrality measures. The software was developed to support identification of population structures--specifically, greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), but also support other species or graph theory applications where least-cost paths are desired. We used habitat pa
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Fort Collins Science Center

Science-based Management of Ravens Tool (SMaRT)

The Science-based Management of Ravens Tool (SMaRT) supports a science-based adaptive management framework that incorporates recent quantitative analyses and mapping products for addressing areas with elevated common raven (Corvus corax) numbers and minimizing potential adverse impacts to sensitive species, agricultural damage, and human safety (Dettenmaier et al. 2021). This is a web-based applic
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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 s
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Ecosystems, Land Management Research Program, Fort Collins Science Center
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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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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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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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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: 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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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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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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Science and Products

*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government