Ryan R. McShane
As a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center, Ryan has been working on developing geospatial tools for predicting water availability in streams, and building models for assessing water use associated with energy development.
Ryan's research interests include: 1) understanding how scale modifies the influence of physiography and climate on the hydrologic and geomorphic processes that drive spatial and temporal patterns of high and low flow in streams; 2) understanding how changes in climate and water use for food and energy could affect water availability in streams; 3) understanding how water resources management influences the distribution and abundance of aquatic and riparian species; and 4) understanding how alterations to the management of water supply from streams might help sustain aquatic animals and riparian plants while still maintaining human demands for water. For his dissertation research, Ryan has been studying how changes in climate might affect water availability and use in the upper Green River basin in Wyoming, and how modifying streamflow regulation could influence the distribution and abundance of native and non-native aquatic and riparian species.
For his master’s research in New Mexico, Ryan studied how invasive fishes affected native aquatic organisms in streams during drought. After college, Ryan worked as a fishery biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey Western Fisheries Research Center in Nevada, studying the effects of invasive species and hydrologic and geomorphic alteration on threatened and endangered aquatic species in the Basin and Range and Sierra Nevada.
Education and Certifications
PhD in ecology at Colorado State University (in progress)
MS in fisheries and wildlife science from New Mexico State University
BS in natural resources and environmental science from University of Michigan
Science and Products
The Implications of Stream Fragmentation for Climate Change Resilience of Northern Prairie Fishes
WLCI: Determining Streamflow Drivers in Wyoming Range Small Streams
Geospatial Research and Development to Understand Hydrologic Processes
Probability of Streamflow Permanence (PROSPER)
Estimating National Water Use Associated with Continuous Oil and Gas Development
Data-Driven Drought Prediction Project Model Outputs for Select Spatial Units within the Conterminous United States
R scripts and results of estimated water use associated with continuous oil and gas development, Permian Basin, United States, 2010-19
Input data, model output, and R scripts for a machine learning streamflow model on the Wyoming Range, Wyoming, 2012-17
Data to Estimate Water Use Associated with Continuous Oil and Gas Development, Permian Basin, United States, 1980-2019.
Data to Estimate Water Use Associated with Continuous Oil and Gas Development, Williston Basin, United States, 1980-2017 (ver. 3.0, October 2022)
Streamflow Observation Points in the Pacific Northwest, 1977-2016
Regional streamflow drought forecasting in the Colorado River Basin using Deep Neural Network models
Predictions and drivers of sub-reach-scale annual streamflow permanence for the upper Missouri River basin: 1989-2018
Estimates of water use associated with continuous oil and gas development in the Permian Basin, Texas and New Mexico, 2010–19, with comparisons to the Williston Basin, North Dakota and Montana
A machine learning approach to modeling streamflow with sparse data in ungaged watersheds on the Wyoming Range, Wyoming, 2012–17
Estimates of water use associated with continuous oil and gas development in the Permian Basin, Texas and New Mexico, 2010–19
U.S. Geological Survey science for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative—2018 annual report
Beyond streamflow: Call for a national data repository of streamflow presence for streams and rivers in the United States
Estimates of water use associated with continuous oil and gas development in the Williston Basin, North Dakota and Montana, 2007–17
Analytical framework to estimate water use associated with continuous oil and gas development
U.S. Geological Survey science for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative—2017 annual report
Probability of streamflow permanence model (PROSPER): A spatially continuous model of annual streamflow permanence throughout the Pacific Northwest
Conceptual model to assess water use associated with the life cycle of unconventional oil and gas development
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
The Implications of Stream Fragmentation for Climate Change Resilience of Northern Prairie Fishes
WLCI: Determining Streamflow Drivers in Wyoming Range Small Streams
Geospatial Research and Development to Understand Hydrologic Processes
Probability of Streamflow Permanence (PROSPER)
Estimating National Water Use Associated with Continuous Oil and Gas Development
Data-Driven Drought Prediction Project Model Outputs for Select Spatial Units within the Conterminous United States
R scripts and results of estimated water use associated with continuous oil and gas development, Permian Basin, United States, 2010-19
Input data, model output, and R scripts for a machine learning streamflow model on the Wyoming Range, Wyoming, 2012-17
Data to Estimate Water Use Associated with Continuous Oil and Gas Development, Permian Basin, United States, 1980-2019.
Data to Estimate Water Use Associated with Continuous Oil and Gas Development, Williston Basin, United States, 1980-2017 (ver. 3.0, October 2022)
Streamflow Observation Points in the Pacific Northwest, 1977-2016
Regional streamflow drought forecasting in the Colorado River Basin using Deep Neural Network models
Predictions and drivers of sub-reach-scale annual streamflow permanence for the upper Missouri River basin: 1989-2018
Estimates of water use associated with continuous oil and gas development in the Permian Basin, Texas and New Mexico, 2010–19, with comparisons to the Williston Basin, North Dakota and Montana
A machine learning approach to modeling streamflow with sparse data in ungaged watersheds on the Wyoming Range, Wyoming, 2012–17
Estimates of water use associated with continuous oil and gas development in the Permian Basin, Texas and New Mexico, 2010–19
U.S. Geological Survey science for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative—2018 annual report
Beyond streamflow: Call for a national data repository of streamflow presence for streams and rivers in the United States
Estimates of water use associated with continuous oil and gas development in the Williston Basin, North Dakota and Montana, 2007–17
Analytical framework to estimate water use associated with continuous oil and gas development
U.S. Geological Survey science for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative—2017 annual report
Probability of streamflow permanence model (PROSPER): A spatially continuous model of annual streamflow permanence throughout the Pacific Northwest
Conceptual model to assess water use associated with the life cycle of unconventional oil and gas development
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.