Richard Erickson, PhD
Folks call me Richie. My research focuses on applying quantitative ecology to invasive species. Currently, I am developing population models to inform Invasive carp management and developing methods for applying occupancy models to environmental DNA (eDNA).
Broadly, I am a research ecologist who studies the interactions between people and their environment. Specifically, I have studied:
- Terrestrial invasive plant species (undergraduate jobs and internships);
- Mosquito/dengue disease dynamics (my MS research);
- Population-level and interspecific effects of pesticides (my PhD research);
- The spatial impacts of wind energy and white-nose syndrome on bat population dynamics (my post-doc project); and
- The distribution and dynamics of aquatic invasive species and the application of this knowledge to their control (my current position).
Or, as a friend once said, "you model things dying".
Along the way, I have picked up skills in ecological, mathematical ecology, computation biology, and high-throughput computing. Although my skill set and research interests may appear to be broad, they have an underlying theme of studying population-level effects and distribution and then applying these finding to resource management.
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 19
fishStan: Hierarchical Bayesian models in support of fisheries management for fisheries
Hierarchical Bayesian models allow for using shared statistical distributions to inform parameter estimates.. The fishStan statistical programming package in R has been used to evaluate common fisheries models using the probabilistic programming language Stan language. The software package also includes documentation about how to use the models.
Multispecies occupancy modeling
Sampling for individual organisms may result in imperfect detection. Occupancy models can account for imperfect detection by estimating the probability of detection as well as the probability that species occur at a location. While many occupancy models focus on single species, this project developed a multispecies occupancy model that allows for the estimation among species occupying locations...
Bigheaded carps population-level modeling projects
Bighead carp ( Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) and silver carp ( Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), collectively known as bigheaded carps, are invasive carp species within the Mississippi River basin. In the early-1970s these species escaped from ponds where people introduced them to control algae (ICRCC). Invasive carp cause ecological and economic damage by outcompeting native species and disrupting...
Population-level modeling of bigheaded carps in the Upper Mississippi River
Bighead carp and silver carp (collectively known as bigheaded carps) first escaped to the Mississippi River Basin in the 1970s and have since invaded the Upper Mississippi River. The species threaten the economies and ecosystems for the Upper Mississippi River. USGS scientists are developing population-level models to help guide and inform control strategies and evaluate ongoing management actions...
Food web tradeoffs of bigheaded carps control efforts
Bighead carp and silver carp (collectively known as bigheaded carps) affect the entire food web, with the species comprising up to 90% of the fish biomass in some systems. Current control tools, such as harvest, target larger fish and do not remove all sizes of carp. It is currently unknown if there are benefits to the native species and food web from harvesting all sizes of carp. This project...
Population-level modeling of bigheaded carps in the Red River
Bighead carp and silver carp (collectively known as bigheaded carps) first escaped to the Mississippi River Basin in the 1970s and have since invaded the Red River. The species threaten the economies and ecosystems for the Red River. USGS scientists are developing population-level models to help guide and inform control strategies and evaluate ongoing management actions with collaborators from...
Population-level modeling of bigheaded carps in the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers
Bighead carp and silver carp (collectively known as bigheaded carps) first escaped to the Mississippi River Basin in the 1970s and by 1989 had invaded the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. The species threaten the economies and ecosystems for these rivers and are currently spreading upriver. USGS scientists are developing population-level models to help guide and inform control strategies and...
Detecting seasonal movements and spawning of bigheaded carp using environmental DNA (eDNA)
Silver carp ( Hypophthalmichthys molirix) and bighead carp ( H. nobilis), commonly call bigheaded carp, are native to portions of Asia and were introduced to North America in aquaculture farms and sewage treatment ponds to control algae and plant growth. Bigheaded carp escaped from their intended locations and have an adverse effect on the ecosystem functions and the economic value of the...
R package creation supports cutting edge science
R is a free software that is used to run statistical analyses and models as well as create figures such as graphs and maps that can be used to display the data collected. While using this software researchers can also use downloadable packages that increase the number of analyses and models they can perform. Statisticians and researchers collaborate to create new packages that can be used by other...
Sampling design for landscape level environmental DNA monitoring programs
During traditional monitoring programs researchers often use occupancy models to quantity the probability a species occupies an area while accounting for imperfect detection. This approach uses as two-level model. Traditionally, presence or absence data are collected for species, however, recently scientists have started to use environmental DNA (eDNA) in monitoring programs. Examples of eDNA...
occStan: Occupancy models with RStan
Occupancy models are used by researchers to estimate the true occupancy of a species and accounts for imperfect detection of organisms in a study. Researchers will visit sampling sites to collect species detection data (e.g., species count). Occupancy models can predict the detection probability (probability of finding a species at a specific time and site) and occupancy (probability a species...
Multiscale occupancy modeling of environmental DNA using the R package EDNAOCCUPANCY
Presence-absence surveys are commonly used to estimate the spatial distribution of a species. However, during a field survey some organisms, especially rare or elusive species, can be missed; increasing the chance of error in the data collected. To combat the potential error, researchers will regularly visit sites and collect more data that will later be analyzed using occupancy models. Occupancy...
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 19
fishStan: Hierarchical Bayesian models in support of fisheries management for fisheries
Hierarchical Bayesian models allow for using shared statistical distributions to inform parameter estimates.. The fishStan statistical programming package in R has been used to evaluate common fisheries models using the probabilistic programming language Stan language. The software package also includes documentation about how to use the models.
Multispecies occupancy modeling
Sampling for individual organisms may result in imperfect detection. Occupancy models can account for imperfect detection by estimating the probability of detection as well as the probability that species occur at a location. While many occupancy models focus on single species, this project developed a multispecies occupancy model that allows for the estimation among species occupying locations...
Bigheaded carps population-level modeling projects
Bighead carp ( Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) and silver carp ( Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), collectively known as bigheaded carps, are invasive carp species within the Mississippi River basin. In the early-1970s these species escaped from ponds where people introduced them to control algae (ICRCC). Invasive carp cause ecological and economic damage by outcompeting native species and disrupting...
Population-level modeling of bigheaded carps in the Upper Mississippi River
Bighead carp and silver carp (collectively known as bigheaded carps) first escaped to the Mississippi River Basin in the 1970s and have since invaded the Upper Mississippi River. The species threaten the economies and ecosystems for the Upper Mississippi River. USGS scientists are developing population-level models to help guide and inform control strategies and evaluate ongoing management actions...
Food web tradeoffs of bigheaded carps control efforts
Bighead carp and silver carp (collectively known as bigheaded carps) affect the entire food web, with the species comprising up to 90% of the fish biomass in some systems. Current control tools, such as harvest, target larger fish and do not remove all sizes of carp. It is currently unknown if there are benefits to the native species and food web from harvesting all sizes of carp. This project...
Population-level modeling of bigheaded carps in the Red River
Bighead carp and silver carp (collectively known as bigheaded carps) first escaped to the Mississippi River Basin in the 1970s and have since invaded the Red River. The species threaten the economies and ecosystems for the Red River. USGS scientists are developing population-level models to help guide and inform control strategies and evaluate ongoing management actions with collaborators from...
Population-level modeling of bigheaded carps in the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers
Bighead carp and silver carp (collectively known as bigheaded carps) first escaped to the Mississippi River Basin in the 1970s and by 1989 had invaded the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. The species threaten the economies and ecosystems for these rivers and are currently spreading upriver. USGS scientists are developing population-level models to help guide and inform control strategies and...
Detecting seasonal movements and spawning of bigheaded carp using environmental DNA (eDNA)
Silver carp ( Hypophthalmichthys molirix) and bighead carp ( H. nobilis), commonly call bigheaded carp, are native to portions of Asia and were introduced to North America in aquaculture farms and sewage treatment ponds to control algae and plant growth. Bigheaded carp escaped from their intended locations and have an adverse effect on the ecosystem functions and the economic value of the...
R package creation supports cutting edge science
R is a free software that is used to run statistical analyses and models as well as create figures such as graphs and maps that can be used to display the data collected. While using this software researchers can also use downloadable packages that increase the number of analyses and models they can perform. Statisticians and researchers collaborate to create new packages that can be used by other...
Sampling design for landscape level environmental DNA monitoring programs
During traditional monitoring programs researchers often use occupancy models to quantity the probability a species occupies an area while accounting for imperfect detection. This approach uses as two-level model. Traditionally, presence or absence data are collected for species, however, recently scientists have started to use environmental DNA (eDNA) in monitoring programs. Examples of eDNA...
occStan: Occupancy models with RStan
Occupancy models are used by researchers to estimate the true occupancy of a species and accounts for imperfect detection of organisms in a study. Researchers will visit sampling sites to collect species detection data (e.g., species count). Occupancy models can predict the detection probability (probability of finding a species at a specific time and site) and occupancy (probability a species...
Multiscale occupancy modeling of environmental DNA using the R package EDNAOCCUPANCY
Presence-absence surveys are commonly used to estimate the spatial distribution of a species. However, during a field survey some organisms, especially rare or elusive species, can be missed; increasing the chance of error in the data collected. To combat the potential error, researchers will regularly visit sites and collect more data that will later be analyzed using occupancy models. Occupancy...