Airboat docked at a slough near the Columbia River. Researchers gaze at the swarms of gulls, terns, pelicans, and swallows on our way to a sampling site.
Sarah J Converse, PhD
Unit Leader - Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Dr. Converse received graduate degrees from the University of Nebraska and Colorado State University. She then completed a postdoctoral position at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center before accepting a permanent position with USGS at Patuxent, where she led a research program for 10 years focused on endangered species conservation, decision science, and quantitative ecology. In 2017 she became the Unit Leader of the Washington Unit at University of Washington, where she serves as an Associate Professor. Her research focuses on the development and application of methods to understand the functioning of populations and to improve their management. She works across a broad variety of taxa: terrestrial birds, seabirds, marine mammals, amphibians, and others. Her research projects tend to reflect two primary themes: (1) development and application of quantitative methods in population ecology, particularly for small and declining populations; and (2) development and application of decision-analytic methods to inform management of populations. Sarah collaborates extensively with managers in federal and state agencies, and she works internationally, with current research projects located in Europe, New Zealand, French Polynesia, and the Arctic. Sarah teaches graduate courses in statistics and demographic analysis, and teaches professional and graduate courses on decision analysis.
RECENT HONORS AND AWARDS
- Conference Best Paper Award, Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence, 2011
- Department of Interior STAR Award, for work with Outer Continental Shelf energy development team, 2011
- Department of Interior STAR Award, for work with Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership, 2009
- Department of Interior STAR Award, for work with Washington Fish and Wildlife Office, 2009
- Department of Interior STAR Award, for work with Northeast Region Fisheries Program, 2008
CURRENT TRAINING ACTIVITIES
- Instructor: Training for Effective Conservation Translocation (with IUCN Reintroduction Specialist Group), workshop venues
- Instructor: Integrated Population Modeling (with Drs. Marc Kery and Michael Schaub), workshop venues
- Instructor: Introduction to Structured Decision Making, National Conservation Training Center
ASSOCIATED POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCHERS
- Dr. Nathan Hostetter, Improved Design and Analysis of Polar Bear Population Studies (2016-Present)
- Dr. Jonathan Cummings, Landscape Level Population Modeling as a Decision Support Tool for the Lesser Prairie-Chicken (2014-Present, w/Dr. Dave Smith, USGS Leetown Science Center)
- Dr. Sabrina Servanty, Population Viability of the Eastern Migratory Population of Whooping Cranes (2009-2013, w/Dr. Larissa Bailey, Colorado State University)
ASSOCIATED STUDENTS
- Dr. Stefano Canessa, Decision Theory for Reintroductions (2011-2015, w/Drs. Mick McCarthy and Kirsten Parris, University of Melbourne)
- Ms. Megan Brown, Causes of Poor Fertility i
Science and Products
Evaluating Climate-related Threats and Conservation Strategies for the Cascade Red Fox in Washington
The endangered Cascade red fox, native to Washington’s southern Cascades, faces threats from climate change, habitat loss, and coyotes, which are both competitors and predators. Researchers supported by this Northwest CASC project will track Cascade red fox population sizes, movement, habitat use, and survival using GPS collars. They will use the collected data in collaboration with...
Decline of Beluga Whales in Cook Inlet, Alaska
In conjunction with the Cook Inlet PhotoID Project and federal agencies, the USGS Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit is aiming to learn more about the fundamental factors that drive changes in beluga whale population dynamics, specifically what affects the rates at which individuals survive and reproduce. Understanding this piece of the puzzle is critical to future conservation...
Adaptive Management for Threatened and Endangered Species
The Challenge: Threatened and endangered species have to be managed in the face of uncertainty, but traditionally, there has been reluctance to think about adaptive management of listed species. Management agencies with responsibility for threatened and endangered species need tools to help manage in the face of uncertainty, with the hope of reducing that uncertainty.
Structured Decision Making: Methods, Applications, and Capacity-Building
The Challenge: The field of decision analysis is a rich and mature discipline that provides robust methods for helping decision makers understand the nature of their decisions, involve stakeholders and scientists in appropriate steps of the process, and develop transparent records for the public. The use of these structured approaches is emerging in natural resource management, and there is strong...
Science and Products
Evaluating Climate-related Threats and Conservation Strategies for the Cascade Red Fox in Washington
The endangered Cascade red fox, native to Washington’s southern Cascades, faces threats from climate change, habitat loss, and coyotes, which are both competitors and predators. Researchers supported by this Northwest CASC project will track Cascade red fox population sizes, movement, habitat use, and survival using GPS collars. They will use the collected data in collaboration with...
Decline of Beluga Whales in Cook Inlet, Alaska
In conjunction with the Cook Inlet PhotoID Project and federal agencies, the USGS Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit is aiming to learn more about the fundamental factors that drive changes in beluga whale population dynamics, specifically what affects the rates at which individuals survive and reproduce. Understanding this piece of the puzzle is critical to future conservation...
Adaptive Management for Threatened and Endangered Species
The Challenge: Threatened and endangered species have to be managed in the face of uncertainty, but traditionally, there has been reluctance to think about adaptive management of listed species. Management agencies with responsibility for threatened and endangered species need tools to help manage in the face of uncertainty, with the hope of reducing that uncertainty.
Structured Decision Making: Methods, Applications, and Capacity-Building
The Challenge: The field of decision analysis is a rich and mature discipline that provides robust methods for helping decision makers understand the nature of their decisions, involve stakeholders and scientists in appropriate steps of the process, and develop transparent records for the public. The use of these structured approaches is emerging in natural resource management, and there is strong...
Airboat
Airboat docked at a slough near the Columbia River. Researchers gaze at the swarms of gulls, terns, pelicans, and swallows on our way to a sampling site.
Airboat docked at a slough near the Columbia River. Researchers gaze at the swarms of gulls, terns, pelicans, and swallows on our way to a sampling site.