Shannon White, Ph.D.

Urban landscapes are often overlooked in conservation planning, allowing human activities to take precedence in ecosystem management. However, even heavily modified environments can support diverse species profiles, but continued expansion of the human footprint could transform these biodiversity hotspots into ecological traps that serve as hidden catalysts for demographic declines. In...

Effective recovery plans for endangered species rely on insights into species’ ecology to identify risks and develop population recovery strategies. Data gaps pose challenges for many species of conservation concern, particularly those with cryptic behaviors or that occupy difficult-to-access habitats. Sounds produced by these species offer an effective means of observing many such...

The Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) is an important species in eastern North America due to its conservation status and cultural significance. Local Mi'gmaw fishers have reported an increase in sturgeon sightings over the last decade in the Restigouche River and estuary. Mi’gmaw Knowledge, oral history, and archaeological finds attest to their historical presence in...

For endangered shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum), the ability to estimate and monitor population size is critical for tracking species’ recovery. Yet, contemporary abundance estimates have not been completed for many shortnose sturgeon populations, largely owing to the difficulty in using traditional abundance estimators for sturgeons. Here, we estimate the adult shortnose...

Population genetic analysis of invasive populations can provide valuable insights into the source of introductions, pathways for expansion, and their demographic histories. Flathead catfish (Pylodictis olivaris) are a prolific invasive species with high fecundity, long-distance dispersal, and piscivorous feeding habits that can lead to declines in native fish populations. In this study...

Sturgeons (Family: Acipenseridae) are among the most endangered taxa worldwide. Significant resources have been invested into the conservation of global sturgeon populations, including the development of commercial aquaculture programs. These programs are intended to improve conservation outcomes by reducing the harvest of wild populations while still meeting commercial demand for...

Background Monitoring movement across an organism’s ontogeny is often challenging, particularly for long-lived or wide-ranging species. When empirical data are unavailable, general knowledge about species’ ecology may be used to make assumptions about habitat use across space or time. However, inferences about habitat use based on population-level ecology may overlook important eco...

Critical to Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus recovery and monitoring is the ability to estimate abundance and identify age- and stock-specific threats to survival. As adult Atlantic sturgeon spend much of their lives broadly distributed in marine and estuarine environments, it is challenging to collect data needed to estimate these demographic parameters in the adult...

Movement is an important eco-evolutionary process that can shape population and ecosystem structure and function. Accordingly, a firm understanding of species movement ecology is often foundational to effective management and conservation. However, despite movement being an inherently individual-level behavior, there remains a tendency to describe dispersal and migration patterns using...

Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus (Atlantic sturgeon) were once abundant and supported large-scale fisheries throughout much of the east coast of the United States. However, historic overharvest and habitat loss resulted in dramatic declines in abundance and eventual listing under the Endangered Species Act of the United States. As part of this listing, Atlantic sturgeon populations were...

Brook trout populations have been declining throughout their native range in the east coast of the United States. Many populations are now distributed in small, isolated habitat patches where low genetic diversity and high rates of inbreeding reduce contemporary viability and long-term adaptive potential. Although human-assisted gene flow could theoretically improve conservation outcomes...

As North Carolina’s only native salmonid, Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis is a fish of considerable ecological and cultural significance in the state, but anthropogenic alterations to the landscape and introductions of nonnative salmonids have fragmented and reduced its native range. As a result, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) has enacted numerous efforts to...