McManus, L.C., Yurek, S., Teare, P.B., Dolan, T.E. and Serafy, J.E., 2014. Killifish habitat suitability as a measure of coastal restoration performance: integrating field data, behavioral trials and simulation. Ecological Indicators, 44, pp.173-181.
Simeon Yurek, Ph.D.
Biography
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Identifying optimal strategies for restoration decision making and adaptation planning in coastal areas, given uncertainty in environmental conditions and risk tolerance of decision makers
Ecological modeling of hydrologically pulsed ecosystems with complex geomorphology, dynamic food webs, animal movement, and predator-prey systems
Ensemble-style modeling of alternative scenarios of biophysical and ecological conditions and management decision making, with a goal of predicting ecological outcomes and identifying tradeoffs and risks associated with ecosystem services of interest
Science and Products
Date published: March 1, 2019
Status: Active Climate Change Adaptation for Coastal National Wildlife Refuges
National Wildlife Refuges provide habitat for important fish and wildlife species and services that benefit coastal communities, like storm-surge protection. USGS scientists are helping coastal refuges plan for and adapt to sea-level rise.
Year Published: 2019
Spatial conservation planning under uncertainty: Adapting to climate change risks using modern portfolio theory
Climate change and urban growth impact habitats, species, and ecosystem services. To buffer against global change, an established adaptation strategy is designing protected areas to increase representation and complementarity of biodiversity features. Uncertainty regarding the scale and magnitude of landscape change complicates reserve planning...
Eaton, Mitchell; Yurek, Simeon; Haider, Zulqarnain; Martin, Julien; Johnson, Fred; Udell, Bradley J; Charkhgard, Hadi; Kwon, Changhyun
Year Published: 2019
Resource concentration mechanisms facilitate foraging success in simulations of a pulsed oligotrophic wetland
ContextMovement of prey on hydrologically pulsed, spatially heterogeneous wetlands can result in transient, high prey concentrations, when changes in landscape features such as connectivity between flooded areas alternately facilitate and impede prey movement. Predators track and exploit these concentrations, depleting them as they arise....
Yurek, Simeon; DeAngelis, Donald L.Attribution: Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, Ecosystems
Year Published: 2017
Spatially explicit modeling in ecology: A review
The use of spatially explicit models (SEMs) in ecology has grown enormously in the past two decades. One major advancement has been that fine-scale details of landscapes, and of spatially dependent biological processes, such as dispersal and invasion, can now be simulated with great precision, due to improvements in computer technology. Many areas...
DeAngelis, Donald L.; Yurek, Simeon
Year Published: 2016
Persistence and diversity of directional landscape connectivity improves biomass pulsing in expanding and contracting wetlands
In flood-pulsed ecosystems, hydrology and landscape structure mediate transfers of energy up the food chain by expanding and contracting in area, enabling spatial expansion and growth of fish populations during rising water levels, and subsequent concentration during the drying phase. Connectivity of flooded areas is dynamic as waters rise and...
Yurek, Simeon; DeAngelis, Donald L.; Trexler, Joel C.; Klassen, Stephen; Larsen, Laurel G.Attribution: Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, Ecosystems
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Yurek, S., DeAngelis, D.L., Trexler, J.C., Klassen, J.A., and Larsen, L.G., 2016, Persistence and diversity of directional landscape connectivity improves biomass pulsing in expanding and contracting wetlands: Ecological Complexity, v. 28, p. 1-11, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecocom.2016.08.004.
Year Published: 2015
Equation-free modeling unravels the behavior of complex ecological systems
Ye et al. (1) address a critical problem confronting the management of natural ecosystems: How can we make forecasts of possible future changes in populations to help guide management actions? This problem is especially acute for marine and anadromous fisheries, where the large interannual fluctuations of populations, arising from complex...
DeAngelis, Donald L.; Yurek, SimeonAttribution: Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, Ecosystems
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DeAngelis, D. L., and S. Yurek. 2015 Equation-free modeling unravels the behavior of complex ecological systems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112:3856-3857.
DOI: 10.1073/PNAS.1503154112
Year Published: 2015
Proposed best modeling practices for assessing the effects of ecosystem restoration on fish
Large-scale aquatic ecosystem restoration is increasing and is often controversial because of the economic costs involved, with the focus of the controversies gravitating to the modeling of fish responses. We present a scheme for best practices in selecting, implementing, interpreting, and reporting of fish modeling designed to assess the effects...
Rose, Kenneth A; Sable, Shaye; DeAngelis, Donald L.; Yurek, Simeon; Trexler, Joel C.; Graf, William L.; Reed, Denise J.Attribution: Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, Ecosystems
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Rose, K.A., Sable, S., DeAngelis, D.L., Yurek, S., Trexler, J.C., Graf, W., and Reed, D.J., 2015, Proposed best modeling practices for assessing the effects of ecosystem restoration on fish: Ecological Modelling, v. 300, p. 12-29, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2014.12.020.
Year Published: 2013
Simulating mechanisms for dispersal, production and stranding of small forage fish in temporary wetland habitats
Movement strategies of small forage fish (<8 cm total length) between temporary and permanent wetland habitats affect their overall population growth and biomass concentrations, i.e., availability to predators. These fish are often the key energy link between primary producers and top predators, such as wading birds, which require high...
Yurek, Simeon; DeAngelis, Donald L.; Trexler, Joel C.; Jopp, Fred; Donalson, Douglas D.Attribution: Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, Ecosystems
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Simulating mechanisms for dispersal, production and stranding of small forage fish in temporary wetland habitats; 2013; Article; Journal; Ecological Modeling; Yurek, Simeon ; DeAngelis, Donald L.; Trexler, Joel C.; Jopp, Fred ; Donalson, Douglas D.