Richard Erickson
Folks call me Richie. My research focuses on applying quantitative ecology to invasive species. Currently, I am developing population models to inform Asian carp management and developing methods for applying occupancy models to environmental DNA (eDNA).
Biography
Broadly, I am quantitative ecologist who studies the interactions between people and their environment. Specificlly, 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.
Education:
2013, PhD, major: Environmental Toxicology, minor: Mathematics, Texas Tech University
2009, MS, major: Environmental Toxicology, Texas Tech University
2007, BS, major: Wildlife Ecology and Biology, minor: Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Self-updating lists of publications:
My Google scholar profile, ResearchGate profile, and ORCID orofile all link to self-updating lists of my publications.
Outside Interest:
When not working, I enjoy cross-country skiing, hiking/backpacking, sea kayaking, and SCUBA Diving (in addition to being a recreational dive, I was a Divemaster and Instructor).
Science and Products
Using Jupyter Notebooks to tell data stories and create reproducible workflows
Increasingly, USGS scientists seek to share and collaborate while working on data and code. Furthermore, these scientists often require advanced computing resources. Jupyter Notebooks are one such tool for creating these workflows. The files are interactive, code “notebooks” which allow users to combine code and text in one document, enabling scientists to share the stories held within their...
Whole Wildlife Toxicology Catalog
Developed in 2008, the Whole Wildlife Toxicology Catalog is a portal to wildlife toxicology-oriented websites and databases. The catalog attempts to compile and provide access to website containing information that should be of value to scientists, regulators, natural resource managers, students and other members of the public. The catalog is updated annually. Please contact Barnett Rattner...
Flocks of a feather dock together: Using Docker and HTCondor to link high-throughput computing across the USGS
USGS scientists often face computationally intensive tasks that require high-throughput computing capabilities. Several USGS facilities use HTCondor to run their computational pools but are not necessarily connected to the larger USGS pool. This project demonstrated how to connect HTCondor pools by flocking, or coordinating, within the USGS. In addition to flocking the Upper Midwest...
Hunting Invasive Species with HTCondor: High Throughput Computing for Big Data and Next Generation Sequencing
Large amounts of data are being generated that require hours, days, or even weeks to analyze using traditional computing resources. Innovative solutions must be implemented to analyze the data in a reasonable timeframe. The program HTCondor (https://research.cs.wisc.edu/htcondor/) takes advantage of the processing capacity of individual...
Asian carp population modeling to support an adaptive management framework
This Monitoring and Response Plan provides the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ACRCC) with updates on FWS and USGS modeling efforts for the Spatially Explicit Asian carp Population (SEAcarP) model. For FY2020, efforts are underway to parameterize and analyze the SEAcarP model. Themes: invasive species; Asian carp; Great Lakes.
Kallis, Jahn L.; Erickson, Richard A.; Fritts, Mark W. Using Markov chains to quantitatively assess movement patterns of invasive fishes impacted by a carbon dioxide barrier in outdoor ponds
Natural resource managers use barriers to deter the movement of aquatic invasive species. Research and development of new invasive species barriers is often evaluated in pond and field scales using high‐resolution telemetry data. Telemetry data sets can be a rich source of data about fish movement and behavior but can be difficult to analyze due...
Borland, Lauren K; Mulcahy, Collin J; Bennie, Barb; Baumann, Douglas D; Haro, Roger J.; Van Appledorn, Molly; Jankowski, Kathi Jo; Cupp, Aaron R.; Erickson, Richard A. Toxicity of carbon dioxide to freshwater fishes: Implications for aquatic invasive species management
Carbon dioxide (CO2) has been approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency as a new aquatic pesticide to control invasive Asian carps and other aquatic nuisance species in the United States. However, limited CO2 toxicity data could make it challenging for resource managers to characterize the potential risk to nontarget species during...
Cupp, Aaron R.; Smerud, Justin R.; Thomas, Linnea M; Waller, Diane L.; Smith, David L.; Erickson, Richard A.; Gaikowski, Mark P. Moving beyond p<0.05 in ecotoxicology: A guide for practitioners
Statistical inferences play a critical role in ecotoxicology. Historically, Null Hypothesis Significance Testing (NHST) has been the dominant method for inference in ecotoxicology. As a brief and informal definition of the NHST approach, researchers compare (or test) an experimental treatment or observation against a hypothesis of no relationship...
Erickson, Richard A.; Rattner, Barnett A. Temperature‐related responses of an invasive mussel and 2 unionid mussels to elevated carbon dioxide
Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) have exacerbated the decline of native freshwater mussels (Order Unionida) in North America since their arrival in the 1980s. Options for controlling invasive mussels, particularly in unionid mussel habitats, are limited. Previously, carbon dioxide (CO2) showed selective toxicity for zebra mussels, relative to...
Waller, Diane L.; Bartsch, Michelle R.; Lord, Eric G.; Erickson, Richard A.
A Methodology to Assess the National and Regional Impacts of U.S. Wind Energy Development on Birds and Bats
This scientific investigations report describes an effort by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) that used research, monitoring data, and modeling to develop a methodology to assess both the current and future population-level consequences of wind energy development on species of birds and bats that are present in the United States during any part...
Diffendorfer, James E.; Beston, J.A.; Merrill, Matthew D.; Stanton, J.C.; Corum, M.D.; Loss, S.R.; Thogmartin, W.E.; Johnson, D.H.; Erickson, R.A.; Heist, K.W. Refinement of eDNA as an early monitoring tool at the landscape-level: Study design considerations
Natural resource managers use data on the spatial range of species to guide management decisions. These data come from survey or monitoring efforts that use a wide variety of tools. Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a surveillance tool that uses genetic markers for detecting species and holds potential as a tool for large-scale monitoring programs....
Mize, Erica L.; Erickson, Richard A.; Merkes, Christopher M.; Berndt, N.; Bockrath, K.D.; Credico, J.; Grueneis, N.; Merry, J.; Mosel, Kyle; Tuttle-Lau, M.T.; Von Ruden, K.; Amberg, Jon J.; Baerwaldt, K.; Finney, S.T.; Monroe, E.M. Sampling designs for landscape-level eDNA monitoring programs using three-level occurrence models
Resource managers conduct landscape-level monitoring using environmental DNA (eDNA). These managers must contend with imperfect detection in samples and sub-samples (i.e., molecular analyses). This imperfect detection impacts their ability to both detect species and estimate occurrence. Although occurrence (synonymously occupancy) models can...
Erickson, Richard A.; Merkes, Christopher M.; Mize, Erica L. Environmental DNA as a tool to help inform zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, management in inland lakes
Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) are an aquatic invasive species that plague much of North America and are difficult to impossible to eradicate once they become established. Therefore, prevention and monitoring are key elements in the control of these organisms. Traditional microscopy is commonly used in monitoring but requires the presence of...
Amberg, Jon J.; Merkes, Christopher M.; Stott, Wendylee; Rees, Christopher B.; Erickson, Richard A. Patterns of mercury and selenium exposure in Minnesota common loons
Common loons (Gavia immer) are at risk of elevated dietary mercury (Hg) exposure in portions of their breeding range. To assess the level of risk among loons in Minnesota (USA), we investigated loon blood Hg concentrations in breeding lakes across Minnesota. Loon blood Hg concentrations were regressed on predicted Hg concentrations in standardized...
Kenow, Kevin P.; Houdek, Steven C.; Fara, Luke J.; Erickson, Richard A.; Gray, Brian R.; Harrison, Travis J.; Monson, Bruce; Henderson, Carrol L. Effects of flood inundation, invasion by Phalaris arundinacea, and nitrogen enrichment on extracellular enzyme activity in an Upper Mississippi River floodplain forest
The community structures and ecosystem functions of floodplains are primarily driven by variation in flood inundation. However, global changes, such as invasive species and nutrient enrichment, may alter the effects of flooding in these systems. We added nitrogen (N) to correspond with twice the annual atmospheric deposition rate of the south-west...
De Jager, Nathan R.; Swanson, Whitney; Hernandez, Daniel L.; Reich, Julia; Erickson, Richard A.; Strauss, Eric A. Ethanol and sodium acetate as a preservation method to delay degradation of environmental DNA
Environmental DNA (eDNA) samples that are collected from remote locations depend on rapid stabilization of the DNA. The degradation of eDNA in water samples is minimized when samples are stored at ≤ 4 °C. Developing a preservation technique to maintain eDNA integrity at room temperature would allow a wider range of locations to be sampled. We...
Ladell, Bridget A.; Walleser, Liza R.; McCalla, S. Grace; Erickson, Richard A.; Amberg, Jon J.
A Deadly Double Punch: Together, Turbines and Disease Jeopardize Endangered Bats