Taylor, R. L., J. D. Tack, D. E. Naugle, and L. S. Mills. 2013. Combined effects of energy development and disease on Greater Sage-Grouse. PLoS One 8(8):e71256. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0071256
Rebecca Taylor, Ph.D.
Biography
Education
Ph.D. 2009 Montana State University-Bozeman, MT Fish and Wildlife Biology
M.S. 2008 Montana State University-Bozeman, MT Statistics
M.S. 2001 Montana State University-Bozeman, MT Land Resources and Environmental Sciences
B.S. 1991 University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI Natural Science with majors in Wildlife Ecology and Zoology
Science and Products
Date published: January 21, 2020
Status: Active Ecosystems Analytics
The Ecosystems Analytics group uses novel and cutting edge statistical, mapping, and graphical methods to conduct research on a variety of taxa. Our overarching goal is to help inform wildlife and land management decisions through assisting partners with designing monitoring programs, analyzing existing data, and developing new research projects. Our focus often involves modeling wildlife...
Attribution: Alaska Science Center
Year Published: 2018
Design considerations for estimating survival rates with standing age structures
Survival rate estimates are critical to understanding the dynamics and status of a population, and they are often inferred from samples of the population’s age structure. A recently developed method uses time series of standing age-structure data with information about population growth rate or fecundity to provide explicit maximum likelihood...
Taylor, Rebecca L.; Udevitz, Mark S.View Citation
Taylor, R.L., and M.S. Udevitz. 2018. Design considerations for estimating survival rates with standing age structures. Wildlife Society Bulletin 42(1):32–39; DOI: 10.1002/wsb.858
Year Published: 2018
Demography of the Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) in a changing Arctic
The Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) is a candidate to be listed as an endangered species under United States law, in part, because of climate change‐related concerns. While the population was known to be declining in the 1980s and 1990s, its recent status has not been determined. We developed Bayesian models of walrus population...
Taylor, Rebecca L.; Udevitz, Mark S.; Jay, Chadwick V.; Citta, John J.; Quakenbush, Lori T.; Lemons, Patrick R.; Snyder, Jonathan A.Attribution: Alaska Science Center, Ecosystems, Energy & Wildlife, Region 11: Alaska, United States of America, Advanced Research Computing (ARC)
View Citation
Taylor, R.L., and Udevitz, M.S. 2015. Marine Mammal Science, vol. 31, no. 1, p. 231-254. doi: 10.1111/mms.12156
Year Published: 2017
Forecasting consequences of changing sea ice availability for Pacific walruses
The accelerating rate of anthropogenic alteration and disturbance of environments has increased the need for forecasting effects of environmental change on fish and wildlife populations. Models linking projections of environmental change with behavioral responses and bioenergetic effects can provide a basis for these forecasts. There is particular...
Udevitz, Mark S.; Jay, Chadwick V.; Taylor, Rebecca L.; Fischbach, Anthony S.; Beatty, William S.; Noren, Shawn R.Attribution: Alaska Science Center, Ecosystems, Energy & Wildlife, Region 11: Alaska, United States of America
View Citation
Udevitz, M.S., Jay, C.V., Taylor, R.L., Fischbach, A.S., Beatty, W.S., Noren, S.R., 2017, Forecasting consequences of changing sea ice availability for Pacific walruses: Ecosphere, vol. 8, no. 11 p. e02014. doi:10.1002/ecs2.2014
Year Published: 2017
Walrus haul-out and in water activity levels relative to sea ice availability in the Chukchi Sea
An animal’s energetic costs are dependent on the amount of time it allocates to various behavioral activities. For Arctic pinnipeds, the time allocated to active and resting behaviors could change with future reductions in sea ice cover and longer periods of open water. The Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) is a large Arctic pinniped...
Jay, Chadwick V.; Taylor, Rebecca L.; Fischbach, Anthony S.; Udevitz, Mark S.; Beatty, William
Year Published: 2016
Space use of a dominant Arctic vertebrate: Effects of prey, sea ice, and land on Pacific walrus resource selection
Sea ice dominates marine ecosystems in the Arctic, and recent reductions in sea ice may alter food webs throughout the region. Sea ice loss may also stress Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens), which feed on benthic macroinvertebrates in the Bering and Chukchi seas. However, no studies have examined the effects of sea ice on foraging...
Beatty, William; Jay, Chadwick V.; Fischbach, Anthony S.; Grebmeier, Jacqueline M.; Taylor, Rebecca L.; Blanchard, Arny L.; Jewett, Stephen C.Attribution: Alaska Science Center, Ecosystems, Energy & Wildlife, Region 11: Alaska, United States of America
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Beatty, W. S., C. V. Jay, A. S. Fischbach, J. M. Grebmeier, R. Taylor, A. L. Blanchard, and S. C. Jewett. 2016. Space use of a dominant Arctic vertebrate: effects of prey, sea ice, and land on foraging Pacific walrus resource selection. Biological Conservation.
Year Published: 2016
Daniel Goodman’s empirical approach to Bayesian statistics
Bayesian statistics, in contrast to classical statistics, uses probability to represent uncertainty about the state of knowledge. Bayesian statistics has often been associated with the idea that knowledge is subjective and that a probability distribution represents a personal degree of belief. Dr. Daniel Goodman considered this viewpoint...
Gerrodette, Tim; Ward, Eric; Taylor, Rebecca L.; Schwarz, Lisa K.; Eguchi, Tomoharu; Wade, Paul; Himes Boor, Gina
Year Published: 2015
Demography of the Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens): 1974-2006
Global climate change may fundamentally alter population dynamics of many species for which baseline population parameter estimates are imprecise or lacking. Historically, the Pacific walrus is thought to have been limited by harvest, but it may become limited by global warming-induced reductions in sea ice. Loss of sea ice, on which walruses rest...
Taylor, Rebecca L.; Udevitz, Mark S.Attribution: Biology and Ecosystems, Alaska Science Center, Ecosystems, Wildlife Program, Region 11: Alaska
View Citation
Demography of the Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens): 1974-2006; 2014; Article; Journal; Marine Mammal Science; Taylor, Rebecca L.; Udevitz, Mark S.
Year Published: 2013
Potential population-level effects of increased haulout-related mortality of Pacific walrus calves
Availability of summer sea ice has been decreasing in the Chukchi Sea during recent decades, and increasing numbers of Pacific walruses have begun using coastal haulouts in late summer during years when sea ice retreats beyond the continental shelf. Calves and yearlings are particularly susceptible to being crushed during disturbance events that...
Udevitz, Mark S.; Taylor, Rebecca L.; Garlich-Miller, Joel L.; Quakenbush, Lori T.; Snyder, Jonathan A.View Citation
Potential population-level effects of increased haulout-related mortality of Pacific walrus calves; 2013; Article; Journal; Polar Biology; Udevitz, Mark S.; Taylor, Rebecca L.; Garlich-Miler, Joel L.; Quakenbush, Lori T.; Snyder, Jonathan A.
Pre-USGS Publications
Taylor, R. L., B. L. Walker, D. E. Naugle, and L. S. Mills. 2012. Managing multiple vital rates to maximize Greater Sage-grouse population growth. Journal of Wildlife Management 76(2):336-347. doi:10.1002/jwmg.267
Taylor, R. L. and G. K. Himes Boor. 2012. Beyond the robust design: Accounting for changing, uncertain states and sparse, biased detection in a multistate mark-recapture model. Ecological Modeling 243:73-80. doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2012.06.013
Taylor, R. L., B. D. Maxwell, and R. J. Boik. 2006. Indirect effects of herbicides on bird food resources and beneficial arthropods. Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Environment 116:157-164. doi:10.1016/j.agee.2006.01.012
Reproductive Performance and Pup Mortality in Steller Sea Lions
Maniscalco, J. M., R. L. Taylor, D. G. Calkins, and S. N. Atkinson. 2005. Reproductive Performance and Pup Mortality in Steller Sea Lions. Pages 290-301 in T. R. Loughlin, S. Atkinson and D. G. Calkins (eds). Synopsis of Research on Steller sea lions: 2001-2005. Alaska SeaLife Center, 344 p. Seward, AK, USA.
Taylor, R. L., S. A. Temple, and D. M. Bird. 1991. Nutritional and energetic implications for raptors consuming starving prey. The Auk 108(3):716-719.
Taylor, R. L. 1990. Avian indicators in the Chequamegon National Forest. The Passenger Pigeon 52(3):225-231.
Date published: September 8, 2014
Research Shows Historic Decline in Pacific Walrus Population
The Pacific walrus population roughly halved between 1981 and 1999, the last year for which demographic data are available. A recent study by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey quantifies this historic population decline.
Attribution: Region 11: Alaska, Alaska Science Center