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.
Professional Experience
Adjunct graduate faculty at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Texas Tech, and South Dakota State
EPA Star Graduate Fellow 2010-2013
USGS contractor 2013-2014
Education and Certifications
Texas Tech University (Env. Tox., Math minor), PhD 2013
Texas Tech University (Env. Tox.), MS 2009
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (Wildlife and Biology, Chem. minor), BS 2007
Science and Products
Estimating the per-capita contribution of habitats and pathways in a migratory network: A modelling approach
EROD activity, chromosomal damage, and oxidative stress in response to contaminants exposure in tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) nestlings from Great Lakes Areas of Concern
eDNAoccupancy: An R package for multi-scale occupancy modeling of environmental DNA data
Using dissolved carbon dioxide to alter the behavior of invasive round goby
Monarch butterfly population decline in North America: identifying the threatening processes
Seasonal trends in eDNA detection and occupancy of bigheaded carps
An integral projection model with YY-males and application to evaluating grass carp control
Incorporating Allee effects into the potential biological removal level
Defining and classifying migratory habitats as sources and sinks: The migratory pathway approach
Carbon dioxide as an under-ice lethal control for invasive fishes
Community for Data Integration 2016 annual report
A method to assess the population-level consequences of wind energy facilities on bird and bat species
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Estimating the per-capita contribution of habitats and pathways in a migratory network: A modelling approach
Every year, migratory species undertake seasonal movements along different pathways between discrete regions and habitats. The ability to assess the relative demographic contributions of these different habitats and pathways to the species’ overall population dynamics is critical for understanding the ecology of migratory species, and also has practical applications for management and conservationAuthorsRuscena Wiederholt, Brady J. Mattsson, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Michael C. Runge, Jay E. Diffendorfer, Richard A. Erickson, Paula Federico, Laura Lopez-Hoffman, John Fryxell, D. Ryan Norris, Christine SampleEROD activity, chromosomal damage, and oxidative stress in response to contaminants exposure in tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) nestlings from Great Lakes Areas of Concern
Tree swallow, Tachycineta bicolor, nestlings were collected from 60 sites in the Great Lakes, which included multiple sites within 27 Areas of Concern (AOCs) and six sites not listed as AOCs from 2010 to 2014. Nestlings, approximately 12 days-of-age, were evaluated for ethoxyresorufin-O-dealkylase (EROD) activity, chromosomal damage, and six measures of oxidative stress. Data on each of these biomAuthorsThomas W. Custer, Christine M. Custer, Paul Dummer, Emilie Bigorgne, Elias Oziolor, Natalie K. Karouna-Renier, Sandra L. Schultz, Richard A. Erickson, Kevin Aagaard, Cole W. MatsoneDNAoccupancy: An R package for multi-scale occupancy modeling of environmental DNA data
In this article we describe eDNAoccupancy, an R package for fitting Bayesian, multi-scale occupancy models. These models are appropriate for occupancy surveys that include three, nested levels of sampling: primary sample units within a study area, secondary sample units collected from each primary unit, and replicates of each secondary sample unit. This design is commonly used in occupancy surveysAuthorsRobert Dorazio, Richard A. EricksonUsing dissolved carbon dioxide to alter the behavior of invasive round goby
Fisheries managers need effective methods to limit the spread of invasive round goby Neogobius melanostomus in North America. Elevating carbon dioxide (CO2) in water at pinch points of rivers (e.g., inside locks) is one approach showing potential to deter the passage of invasive fishes, such as bigheaded carps Hypophthalmichthys spp., but the effectiveness of this method to alter round goby behaviAuthorsAaron R. Cupp, John Tix, Justin Smerud, Richard A. Erickson, Kim T. Fredricks, Jon Amberg, Cory D. Suski, Robert WakemanMonarch butterfly population decline in North America: identifying the threatening processes
The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) population in North America has sharply declined over the last two decades. Despite rising concern over the monarch butterfly's status, no comprehensive study of the factors driving this decline has been conducted. Using partial least-squares regressions and time-series analysis, we investigated climatic and habitat-related factors influencing monarch populAuthorsWayne E. Thogmartin, Ruscena Wiederholt, Karen Oberhauser, Ryan G. Drum, Jay E. Diffendorfer, Sonia Altizer, Orley R. Taylor, John M. Pleasants, Darius J. Semmens, Brice X. Semmens, Richard A. Erickson, Kaitlin Libby, Laura Lopez-HoffmanSeasonal trends in eDNA detection and occupancy of bigheaded carps
Bigheaded carps, which include silver and bighead carp, are threatening to invade the Great Lakes. These species vary seasonally in distribution and abundance due to environmental conditions such as precipitation and temperature. Monitoring this seasonal movement is important for management to control the population size and spread of the species. We examined if environmental DNA (eDNA) approachesAuthorsRichard A. Erickson, Christopher M. Merkes, Craig Jackson, Reuben Goforth, Jon AmbergAn integral projection model with YY-males and application to evaluating grass carp control
Invasive fish species disrupt ecosystems and cause economic damage. Several methods have been discussed to control populations of invasive fish including the release of YY-males. YY-males are fish that have 2 male chromosomes compared to a XY-male. When YY-males mate, they only produce male (XY) offspring. This decreases the female proportion of the population and can, in theory, eradicate local pAuthorsRichard A. Erickson, Eric A. Eager, Marybeth K. Brey, Michael J. Hansen, Patrick KočovskýIncorporating Allee effects into the potential biological removal level
Potential biological removal (PBR) is an approach used to calculate sustainable harvest and “take” limits for populations. PBR was originally derived assuming logistic growth while ignoring the effects of small population size (i.e., an Allee effect). We derived a version of PBR that includes an Allee effect (i.e., small population size or densities limiting population growth rates). We found thatAuthorsHumza Hadier, Sarah Oldfield, Tiffany Tu, Rosa Moreno, Jay E. Diffendorfer, Eric A. Eager, Richard A. EricksonDefining and classifying migratory habitats as sources and sinks: The migratory pathway approach
Understanding and conserving migratory species requires a method for characterizing the seasonal flow of animals among habitats. Source-sink theory describes the metapopulation dynamics of species by classifying habitats as population sources (i.e. net contributors) or sinks (i.e. net substractors). Migratory species may have non-breeding habitats important to the species (e.g. overwintering or stAuthorsRichard A. Erickson, James E. Diffendorfer, Ryan Norris, Joanna A. Bieri, Julia Earl, Paula Federico, John Fryxell, Kevin Long, Brady J. Mattsson, Christine Sample, Ruscena Wiederholt, Wayne E. ThogmartinCarbon dioxide as an under-ice lethal control for invasive fishes
Resource managers need effective tools to control invasive fish populations. In this study, we tested under-ice carbon dioxide (CO2) injection as a novel piscicide method for non-native Silver Carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), Bighead Carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis), Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) and native Bigmouth Buffalo (Ictiobus cyprinellus). Fish werAuthorsAaron R. Cupp, Zebadiah Woiak, Richard A. Erickson, Jon Amberg, Mark P. GaikowskiCommunity for Data Integration 2016 annual report
The Community for Data Integration (CDI) represents a dynamic community of practice focused on advancing science data and information management and integration capabilities across the U.S. Geological Survey and the CDI community. This annual report describes the various presentations, activities, and outcomes of the CDI monthly forums, working groups, virtual training series, and other CDI-sponsoAuthorsMadison L. Langseth, Leslie Hsu, Jon Amberg, Norman Bliss, Andrew R. Bock, Rachel T. Bolus, R. Sky Bristol, Katherine J. Chase, Theresa M. Crimmins, Paul S. Earle, Richard Erickson, A. Lance Everette, Jeff T. Falgout, John Faundeen, Michael N. Fienen, Rusty Griffin, Michelle R. Guy, Kevin D. Henry, Nancy J. Hoebelheinrich, Randall J. Hunt, Vivian B. Hutchison, Drew A. Ignizio, Dana M. Infante, Catherine Jarnevich, Jeanne M. Jones, Tim Kern, Scott Leibowitz, Francis L. Lightsom, R. Lee Marsh, S. Grace McCalla, Marcia McNiff, Jeffrey T. Morisette, John C. Nelson, Tamar Norkin, Todd M. Preston, Alyssa Rosemartin, Roy Sando, Jason T. Sherba, Richard P. Signell, Benjamin M. Sleeter, Eric T. Sundquist, Colin B. Talbert, Roland J. Viger, Jake F. Weltzin, Sharon Waltman, Marc Weber, Daniel J. Wieferich, Brad Williams, Lisamarie Windham-MyersA method to assess the population-level consequences of wind energy facilities on bird and bat species
For this study, a methodology was developed for assessing impacts of wind energy generation on populations of birds and bats at regional to national scales. The approach combines existing methods in applied ecology for prioritizing species in terms of their potential risk from wind energy facilities and estimating impacts of fatalities on population status and trend caused by collisions with windAuthorsJames E. Diffendorfer, Julie A. Beston, Matthew D. Merrill, Jessica C. Stanton, M.D. Corum, Scott R. Loss, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Douglas H. Johnson, Richard A. Erickson, Kevin W. Heist - Web Tools
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