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Todd E Katzner

My research interests focus on wildlife conservation ecology and the interaction between wildlife and the role of wildlife in natural systems. 

Much of my work is built around utilization of novel technologies and approaches to wildlife ecology. I was part of a team that developed the first non-invasive monitoring scheme for any avian species, I was involved in development of novel high-frequency GPS-GSM telemetry systems for tracking migratory birds, and I developed a network of camera traps to monitor abundance and distribution of terrestrial avian scavengers across eastern North America. Much of my recent funding is focused on evaluating the potential impacts of renewable energy development on conservation-dependent birds.

 

Professional Experience

  • 2014 - Present: USGS, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Supervisory Research Wildlife Biologist, Boise, Idaho

     

Education and Certifications

  • Ph.D., Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ (2003)

  • M.S., University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY (1994)

  • B.A., Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH (1991)

     

Science and Products

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golden eagle in flight

Renewables-Wildlife Solutions Initiative

The USGS is leading a multi-disciplinary team with members from government, academia, non-profits, and industry, to generate science to inform resolution of wildlife-related issues that can impede development and operations of wind and solar energy facilities.
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Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
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Renewables-Wildlife Solutions Initiative

The USGS is leading a multi-disciplinary team with members from government, academia, non-profits, and industry, to generate science to inform resolution of wildlife-related issues that can impede development and operations of wind and solar energy facilities.
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USGS science for a changing world

Interaction Between Alternative Energy Development and Raptors

Energy production has become essential for modern society. At the same time, this process can have negative effects on wildlife and ecosystems. It is in the best interest of society and the environment to understand these effects and to manage and mitigate for them. Our team focuses on measuring how energy development influences birds of prey and learning how to minimize impacts.
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
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Interaction Between Alternative Energy Development and Raptors

Energy production has become essential for modern society. At the same time, this process can have negative effects on wildlife and ecosystems. It is in the best interest of society and the environment to understand these effects and to manage and mitigate for them. Our team focuses on measuring how energy development influences birds of prey and learning how to minimize impacts.
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USGS science for a changing world

Conservation Ecology and Monitoring of Raptors

Raptors, or birds of prey, are often used to indicate the state of an ecosystem, and monitoring their populations can help us to understand ecosystem processes. Raptors are particularly good animals for monitoring because they are big and therefore charismatic and easy to observe. Whether we’re monitoring nesting biology and reproductive output, counting individuals on roads, or setting up trail...
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
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Conservation Ecology and Monitoring of Raptors

Raptors, or birds of prey, are often used to indicate the state of an ecosystem, and monitoring their populations can help us to understand ecosystem processes. Raptors are particularly good animals for monitoring because they are big and therefore charismatic and easy to observe. Whether we’re monitoring nesting biology and reproductive output, counting individuals on roads, or setting up trail...
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USGS science for a changing world

Bird Movement and Migration

Migration is an amazing annual event. Every year billions of animals – birds, mammals, insects, and fish – make long-distance journeys from breeding grounds to wintering grounds. Most northern hemisphere birds migrate southward, but there are many other ways that birds move seasonally. If we want to protect birds that take these long distance journeys, we need to understand why they move, why they...
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
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Bird Movement and Migration

Migration is an amazing annual event. Every year billions of animals – birds, mammals, insects, and fish – make long-distance journeys from breeding grounds to wintering grounds. Most northern hemisphere birds migrate southward, but there are many other ways that birds move seasonally. If we want to protect birds that take these long distance journeys, we need to understand why they move, why they...
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If you are unable to access or download a product, email fresc_outreach@usgs.gov a request, including the full citation, or call (541) 750-1030.

Golden Eagle Accelerometry Calibration B-roll

B-roll footage of a trained golden eagle.
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Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Tri-axial acceleration data from California condors (Gymnogyps californianus), California, USA

We outfitted nine condors in a flight pen with patagial tags, each with a unique ID, and a proprietary solar powered Global Positioning System-Global System for Mobile Communications (GPS-GSM) telemetry device weighing 50 g (Cellular Tracking Technologies, LLC, Rio Grande, NJ). The units collected tri-axial acceleration data at a rate of 20 Hz. Data were transmitted once daily over cellular networ
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Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Demographic model inputs and code, catchment area population estimates, and counterfactual (CIU) estimates for population growth for 23 focal bird species.

Renewable energy production can kill birds, but little is known about how it affects avian populations. We assessed vulnerability of populations for 23 priority bird species killed at wind and solar facilities in California, USA.
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Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Demographic and potential biological removal models identify raptor species sensitive to current and future wind energy

A central challenge in applied ecology is understanding the effect of anthropogenic fatalities on wildlife populations and predicting which populations may be particularly vulnerable and in greatest need of management attention. We used 3 approaches to investigate potential effects of fatalities from collisions with wind turbines on 14 raptor species for both current (106 GW) and anticipated futur
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Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

Lead (Pb) in Bald and Golden Eagles from 38 United States, USA, 2010-2018

We evaluated lead poisoning in bald and golden eagles during all seasons of the year and from states in each of the four major flyways throughout the continental USA.
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Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Long-distance movements of non-migratory golden eagles in western North America, 2007-2017

We studied >500 golden eagles tracked by telemetry over a 10-year period in western North America, of which 160 engaged in non-routine, long-distance (> 300 km) movements. We identified spatial and temporal correlates of those movements at both small and large scales, and we quantified movement timing and direction. We further tested which age and sex classes of eagles were more likely to engage i
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Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Post-fire habitat associations of greater sage-grouse in Idaho and Oregon, 2016-2018

We investigated habitat selection by 28 male greater sage-grouse during each of three years (2016-2018) after a 113,000-ha wildfire in a sagebrush steppe ecosystem in Idaho and Oregon. During the study period, seeding and herbicide treatments were applied for habitat restoration. This dataset includes pre-fire land cover, post-fire vegetation, and post-fire treatment data within 500-m buffers of s
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Land Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Data derived from GPS tracking of free-flying bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), Iowa, USA

Comma-separated values (.csv) file containing data (and derived data) from GPS tracking of free-flying bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), Iowa, USA. NOTE: Data file does not load properly in Microsoft Excel due to the size of data file (2,093,022 rows x 15 columns) that far exceeds Excel's maximum of 1,048,576 rows. Use other program(s) like R or Notepad to view the file.
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Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Predictor, null model, response variable, and habitat suitability prediction rasters for a golden eagle hierarchical Bayesian synoptic model used for habitat selection in San Diego County, California. Derived from golden eagle data collected from November

This data release includes three types of data used in habitat modeling, and predictions from the habitat models. (1) Predictor rasters for proportion urban development within 1-km radius, proportion exurban within 1-km radius, vector ruggedness measure (VRM) within 500-m radius, topographic position index (TPI) within 500-m radius. (2) Twenty-nine null models for space use for 29 different golden
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

If you are unable to access or download a product, email fresc_outreach@usgs.gov a request, including the full citation, or call (541) 750-1030.

Wind turbines at the Altamont Pass Wind Farm
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6 white wind turbines on a forested hill, rolling hills in the background obscured by fog or clouds
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If you are unable to access or download a product, email fresc_outreach@usgs.gov a request, including the full citation, or call (541) 750-1030.

Filter Total Items: 122

Ferruginous Hawk movements respond predictably to intra-annual variation but unexpectedly to anthropogenic habitats

Birds exhibit flexible movement responses to environmental variation across the annual cycle, and those responses can provide insight into potential impacts that environmental changes may have on these species. To understand year-round variation in space use by Ferruginous Hawks Buteo regalis, we tracked 12 birds breeding in southwestern Idaho, USA, using GPS telemetry collected over 207 bird-mont
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Georgia H. Isted, Robert J. Thomas, Kevin S. Warner, Matthew J. Stuber, Ethan A. Ellsworth, Todd E. Katzner
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Priorities for translating goodwill between movement ecologists and conservation practitioners into effective collaboration

Addressing ongoing biodiversity loss requires collaboration between conservation scientists and practitioners. However, such collaboration has proved challenging. Despite the potential importance of tracking animal movements for conservation, reviews of the tracking literature have identified a gap between the academic discipline of movement ecology and its application to biodiversity conservation
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Rascha J. M. Nuijten, Todd E. Katzner, Andrew M. Allen, Allert I. Bijleveld, Tjalle Boorsma, Luca Börger, Francesca Cagnacci, Tom Hart, Michelle Henley, Richard M. Herren, Eva Kok, Bronwyn Maree, Bruno Nebe, David Shohami, Susanne Marieke Vogel, Paul Walker, Ignas M. A. Heitkönig, E. J. Milner-Gulland
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

A review of supervised learning methods for classifying animal behavioural states from environmental features

Accurately predicting behavioural modes of animals in response to environmental features is important for ecology and conservation. Supervised learning (SL) methods are increasingly common in animal movement ecology for classifying behavioural modes. However, few examples exist of applying SL to classify polytomous animal behaviour from environmental features especially in the context of millions
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Silas Bergen, Manuela Huso, Adam E. Duerr, Missy A Braham, Sara Schmuecker, Tricia A. Miller, Todd E. Katzner
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Limited rigor in studies of raptor mortality and mitigation at wind power facilities

Wind power is an expanding source of renewable energy. However, there are ecological challenges related to wind energy generation, including collisions of wildlife with turbines. Lack of rigor, and variation in study design, together limit efforts to understand the broad-scale effects of wind power infrastructure on wildlife populations. It is not clear, however, whether these types of limitations
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Tara Conkling, Christopher J. W. McClure, Sandra Cuadros, S. R. Loss, Todd E. Katzner
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Demographic and environmental correlates of home ranges and long-distance movements of Mohave ground squirrels

Space use by mammals can differ among age-classes, sexes, or seasons, and these processes are recognized as adaptive behavioral strategies. Semi-fossorial ground squirrels, in particular, have shown age- and sex-specific patterns in their aboveground movement behaviors. We studied space use of Mohave ground squirrels (Xerospermophilus mohavensis) at the Freeman Gulch study site in the central regi
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Sharon Poessel, Philip Leitner, Rich Inman, Todd C. Esque, Todd E. Katzner
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Selecting auditory alerting stimuli for eagles on the basis of auditory evoked potentials

Development of wind energy facilities results in interactions between wildlife and wind turbines. Raptors, including bald and golden eagles, are among the species known to incur mortality from these interactions. Several alerting technologies have been proposed to mitigate this mortality by increasing eagle avoidance of wind energy facilities. However, there has been little attempt to match signal
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Benjamin Goller, Patrice Baumhardt, Ernesto Dominguez-Villegas, Todd E. Katzner, Esteban Fernández-Juricic, Jeffrey R. Lucas
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Considering behavioral state when predicting habitat use: Behavior-specific spatial models for the endangered Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle

Effective planning for species conservation often requires an understanding of habitat use. The resources an animal selects within the landscape relate to its behavioral state and, therefore, incorporating behavior into habitat selection analyses can help inform management of threatened species. Here we present an approach for developing behavior-specific spatial habitat-use models using large qua
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James M. Pay, Toby A Patterson, Kirstin M Proft, Elissa Z. Cameron, Clare E. Hawkins, Amelia J. Koch, Jason M Wiersma, Todd E. Katzner
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Confirmation that eagle fatalities can be reduced by automated curtailment of wind turbines

Automated curtailment is potentially a powerful technique to reduce collision mortality of wildlife with wind turbines. Previously, we used a before–after–control–impact framework to demonstrate that eagle fatalities declined after automated curtailment was implemented with the IdentiFlight system at a wind power facility in Wyoming, USA. We received substantial interest and feedback regarding our
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Christopher J. W. McClure, Brian W. Rolek, Leah Dunn, Jennifer D. McCabe, Luke Martinson, Todd E. Katzner
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Open-source intelligence for conservation biology

Open-source intelligence (OSINT) evolved in spy agencies but now is rapidly changing many fields of study, from anthropology to zoology. Despite the fact that OSINT occasionally is used in conservation biology, there is little recognition that some tools and frameworks used by conservation professionals are drawn from this well-established field. The history and conceptual foundations of OSINT ste
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Todd E. Katzner, Eve C. Thomason, Karrin Huhmann, Tara Conkling, Camille B. Concepcion, Vincent Slabe, Sharon Poessel
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Interannual consistency of migration phenology is season- and breeding region-specific in North American Golden Eagles

Interannual consistency (an indicator of the strength of adjustments) in migration phenology of Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) in North America is most strongly associated with the breeding region, the season, and with late-season temperature on breeding and wintering grounds. Consistency was greatest in boreal spring migration and the breeding regions of eastern Canada. Using multi-year GPS tr
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Laurie D Maynard, Jean-François Therrien, Jérôme Lemaître, Travis L. Booms, Tricia A. Miller, Todd E. Katzner, Scott Somershoe, Jeff Cooper, Robert Sargent, Nicolas Lecomte
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Migration of first-year steppe eagles (Aquila nipalensis) from northern Kazakhstan and implications for conservation

Extensive anthropogenic alteration of steppe ecosystems throughout Eurasia leaves central Asia with some of the world’s last remaining large expanses of grassland habitat. Steppe eagles (Aquila nipalensis) are globally endangered breed primarily in these steppe ecosystems. We evaluated migratory movements of first year steppe eagles hatched in northern Kazakhstan, to understand their migration and
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Todd E. Katzner, R. Efrat, A. E. Bragin, Y. Lehnardt, E. A. Bragin, N. Sapir
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Managing macropods without poisoning ecosystems

A recent review of the management of hyperabundant macropods in Australia proposed that expanded professional shooting is likely to lead to better biodiversity and animal welfare outcomes. While the tenets of this general argument are sound, it overlooks one important issue for biodiversity and animal health and welfare: reliance on toxic lead-based ammunition. Lead poisoning poses a major threat
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Jordan O Hampton, James M. Pay, Todd E. Katzner, Jon M Arnemo, Mark A Pokras, Eric Buenz, Niels Kanstrup, Vernon G Thomas, Marcela Uhart, Sergio A Lambertucci, Oliver Krone, Navinder J Singh, Vinny Naidoo, Mayumi Ishizuka, Keisuke Saito, Björn Helander, Rhys E. Green
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Non-USGS Publications**

Katzner, T.E., Miller, T.A., Rodrigue, J.L., Shaffer, S., 2015, A Most Dangerous Game- Death and Injury to Birds from Porcupine Quills: Wilson Journal of Ornithology, v. 127, no. 1, p. 102-108, https://doi.org/10.1676/14-066.1.
Behmke, S., Fallon, J.A., Duerr, A., Lehner, A., Buchweitz, J., Katzner, T.E., 2015, Chronic lead exposure is epidemic in obligate scavenger populations in eastern North America: Environment International, v. 79, p. 51-55, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2015.03.010.
Duerr, A.E., Miller, T.A., Lanzone, M.J., Brandes, D., Cooper, J., O'Malley, K., Maisonnueve, C., Tremblay, J., Katzner, T.E., 2015, Flight response of slope-soaring birds to seasonal variation in thermal generation: Functional Ecology, v. 29, no. 6, p. 779-790, https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12381.
Dennhardt, A.J., Duerr, A.E., Brandes, D., Katzner, T.E., 2015, Integrating citizen-science data with movement models to estimate the size of a migratory golden eagle population: Biological Conservation, v. 184, p. 68-78, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2015.01.003.
Morneau, F., Tremblay, J., Todd, C., Chubbs, T.E., Maisonnueve, C., Lemaıˆtre, J., Katzner, T.E., 2015, Known Breeding Distribution and Abundance of Golden Eagles in Eastern North America: Northeastern Naturalist, v. 22, no. 2, p. 236-247, https://doi.org/10.1656/045.022.0201.
Miller, T.A., Brooks, R.P., Lanzone, M.J., Brandes, D., Cooper, J., Tremblay, J., Wilhelm, J., Duerr, A.E., Katzner, T.E., 2015, Limitations and mechanisms influencing the migratory performance of soaring birds: Ibis, v. 158, no. 1, p. 116-134, https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12331.
Dennhardt, A.J., Duerr, A.E., Brandes, D., Katzner, T.E., 2015, Modeling autumn migration of a rare soaring raptor identifies new movement corridors in central Appalachia: Ecological Modelling, v. 303, p. 19-29, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2015.02.010.
Katzner, T.E., Turk, P., Duerr, A.E., Miller, T.A., Lanzone, M.J., Cooper, J., Brandes, D., Tremblay, J., Lemaıˆtre, J., 2015, Use of multiple modes of flight subsidy by a soaring terrestrial bird, the golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos, when on migration: Journal of the Royal Society Interface, v. 12, no. 112, p. 20150530, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2015.0530.
Pettorelli, N., Evans, D.M., Garner, T.W., Katzner, T.E., Gompper, M.E., Altwegg, R., Branch, T.A., Johnson, J.A., Pollock, K., DaVolls, L., Rantanen, E., Gordon, I.J., 2013, Addressing gender imbalances in Animal Conservation: Animal Conservation, v. 16, p. 131-133, https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12032.
Katzner, T.E., Collar, N.J., 2013, Are insular populations of the Philippine falconet (Microhierax erythrogenys) steps in a cline?: The Condor, v. 115, no. 3, p. 576-583, https://doi.org/10.1525/cond.2013.120070.
Latta, S.C., Musher, L.J., Latta, K.N., Katzner, T.E., 2013, Influence of human population size and the built environment on avian assemblages in urban green spaces: Urban Ecosystems, v. 16, no. 3, p. 463-479, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-012-0282-z.
Sklyarenko, S.L., Katzner, T.E., 2012, The Status of Populations of Vultures in Kazakhstan In Kovshar, A.F., Rustamov, E.A., Mitropolsky, O.V., Levin, A.S., Kovshar, V.A., eds., Ornithological News of Kazakhstan and Middle Asia: ISBN 978-601-7287-05-4, Almaty, Kazakhstan, Menzbier’s Ornithological Society, p. 178-185.
Katzner, T.E., Winton, J.D., McMorris, F.A., Brauning, D., 2012, Dispersal, Band Encounters, and Causes of Death in a Reintroduced and Rapidly Growing Population of Peregrine Falcons: Journal of Raptor Research, v. 46, no. 1, p. 75-83, https://doi.org/10.3356/JRR-10-93.1.
Al Hasani, I.K., Azar, J.F., Nishimura, K., Amr, Z.S., Katzner, T.E., 2012, Distribution, diet and winter ecology of the Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca in Jordan.: Vertebrate Zoology, v. 62, no. 2, p. 273-280.
Borher, G., Brandes, D., Mandel, J., Bildstein, K.L., Miller, T., Lanzone, M., Katzner, T.E., Maissoneuve, C., Tremblay, J., 2012, Estimating updraft velocity components over large spatial scales- Contrasting migration strategies of golden eagles and turkey vultures: Ecology Letters, v. 15, no. 2, p. 96-103, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01713.x.
Branch, T.A., Austin, J.D., Pollock, K., Gordon, I.J., Gompper, M.E., Katzner, T.E., Pettorelli, N., 2012, Fisheries conservation and management- finding consensus in the midst of competing paradigms: Animal Conservation, v. 15, no. 1, p. 1-3, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2011.00502.x.
Lanzone, M., Miller, T., Turk, P., Brandes, D., Halverson, C., Maissoneuve, C., Tremblay, J., Cooper, J., O'Malley, K., Brooks, R., Katzner, T.E., 2012, Flight responses by a migratory soaring raptor to changing meteorological conditions: Biology Letters, v. 8, no. 5, p. 710-713, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2012.0359.
Evans, D.M., Barnard, P., Koh, L.P., Chapman, C.A., Altwegg, R., Garner, T.W., Gompper, M.E., Gordon, I.J., Katzner, T.E., Pettorelli, N., 2012, Funding nature conservation- who pays?: Animal Conservation, v. 15, no. 3, p. 215-216, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2012.00550.x.
Bragin, E., Katzner, T.E., 2012, Second nest record of Smew Mergus albellus in the Naurzum forest: Russian Ornithological Society: Express Issue, v. 21, no. 743, p. 724-725.
Katzner, T.E., Smith, B.W., Miller, T.A., Brandes, D., Cooper, J., Lanzone, M., Brauning, D., Farmer, C., Harding, S., Kramer, D., Koppie, C., Maissoneuve, C., Martell, M., Mojica, E.K., Todd, C., Tremblay, J., Wheeler, M., Brinker, D.F., Chubbs, T.E., O'Malley, K., Mehus, S., Porter, B., Brooks, R.P., Watts, B.D., Bildstein, K.L., 2012, Status, biology and conservation priorities for North America’s eastern Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) population: Auk, v. 29, no. 1, p. 168-176, https://doi.org/10.1525/auk.2011.11078.
Bragin, E., Katzner, T.E., Bragin, E., 2012, Summer accumulation of large birds of prey , and the problem of estimating their number - Proceedings Menzbirovskogo Ornithological Society: Volume I: Proceedings of XIII International Ornithological Conference of Northern Eurasia, p. 234-240.
Duerr, A., Miller, T., Lanzone, M., Brandes, D., Cooper, J., O'Malley, K., Maissoneuve, C., Tremblay, J., Katzner, T.E., 2012, Testing an emerging paradigm in migration ecology shows surprising differences in efficiency between flight modes: PLOS ONE, v. 7, no. 4, p. e35548, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0035548.
Katzner, T.E., Wheeler, M., Negro, J.J., Kapetanakos, Y., DeWoody, J.A., Horvath, M., Lovette, I., 2012, To pluck or not to pluck- scientific methodologies should be carefully chosen, not “one size fits all": Journal of Avian Biology, v. 43, p. 15-17, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-048X.2011.05592.x.
Katzner, T.E., Brandes, D., Miller, T., Lanzone, M., Maissoneuve, C., Tremblay, J., Mulvihill, R., Merovich, G., 2012, Topography drives migratory flight altitude of golden eagles- implications for on-shore wind energy development: Journal of Applied Ecology, v. 49, no. 5, p. 1178-1186, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2012.02185.x.
Gordon, I.J., Pollock, K., Altwegg, R., Garner, T.W., Gompper, M.E., Katzner, T.E., Pettorelli, N., Redpath, S., 2012, What the ‘food security’ agenda means for animal conservation in terrestrial ecosystems: Animal Conservation, v. 15, no. 2, p. 115-116, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2012.00541.x.
Katzner, T.E., Ivy, J.R., Bragin, E., Milner-Gulland, E.J., DeWoody, J.A., 2011, Conservation implications of inaccurate estimation of cryptic population size: Animal Conservation, v. 14, no. 4, p. 328-332, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2011.00444.x.
Iverson, S.A., Gavrilov, A., Katzner, T.E., Takekawa, J., Newman, S., Miller, T., Hagemeijer, W., Sivananinthaperumal, B., Mundkur, T., DeMattos, C., Ahmed, L.S., 2011, Migratory movements of waterfowl in Central Asia and avian influenza emergence- sporadic transmission of H5N1 from east to west: Ibis, v. 153, no. 2, p. 279-292, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1474-919X.2010.01095.x.
Jones, J.P., Collen, B., Baxter, P.W., Bubb, P., Illian, J., Katzner, T.E., Keane, A., Loh, J., McDonald-Madden, E., Nicholson, E., Pereira, H., Possingham, H., Pullin, A., Rodrigues, A., Ruiz-Gutierrez, V., Sommerville, M., Milner-Gulland, E.J., 2011, The Why, What, and How of Global Biodiversity Indicators Beyond the 2010 Target: Conservation Biology, v. 25, no. 3, p. 450-457, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2010.01605.x.
Terraube, J., Arroyo, B.E., Mougeot, F., Katzner, T.E., Bragin, E., 2010, Breeding biology of the Montagu’s harrier (Circus pygargus) in north-central Kazakhstan: Journal of Ornithology, v. 151, no. 3, p. 713-722, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-010-0505-0.
Rudnick, J.A., Katzner, T.E., DeWoody, J.A., 2009, Genetic Analyses of Noninvasively Collected Feathers Can Provide Insights into Avian Demography and Behavior In Aronoff, J.B., ed., Handbook of Nature Conservation: Hauppauge, NY, Nova Science Publishers, p. 181-197.
Miller, T.M., Brandes, D., Lanzone, M., Ombalski, D., Maisonnueve, C., Katzner, T.E., 2009, Golden eagle migration and winter behavior in Pennsylvania In Majumdar, S.K., ed., Avian Ecology and Conservation: A Pennsylvania Focus with National Implications: Immaculata, PA, Pennsylvania Academy of Sciences, p. 111-125.
Brandes, D., Miller, T.M., Katzner, T.E., 2009, Wind Power Mortality In Majumdar, S.K., ed., Avian Ecology and Conservation: A Pennsylvania Focus with National Implications: Immaculata, PA, Pennsylvania Academy of Sciences, p. 300-303.
Rudnick, J.A., Katzner, T.E., Bragin, E.A., DeWoody, J.A., 2008, A non-invasive genetic evaluation of population size, natal philopatry, and roosting behavior of non-breeding eastern imperial eagles (Aquila heliaca) in central Asia: Conservation Genetics, v. 9, p. 667-676.
Poulakakis, N., Antoniou, A., Mantziou, G., Parmakelis, A., Skartsi, T., Vasilakis, D., Elorriaga, J., De La Puente, J., Gavashelishvili, A., Ghasabyan, M., Katzner, T.E., McGrady, M.J., Batbayar, N., Fuller, M.R., Natsagdorj, T., 2008, Population structure, diversity, and phylogeography in the near-threatened Eurasian black vultures Aegypius monachus (Falconiformes; Accipitridae) in Europe- insights from microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA variation: Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, v. 95, p. 859-872.
Kenward, R., Katzner, T.E., Wink, M., Marcström, V., Walls, S., Karlbom, M., Pfeffer, R., Bragin, E.A., Hodder, K., Levin, A.S., 2007, Rapid sustainability modelling for raptors by radio tagging and DNA fingerprinting: Journal of Wildlife Management, v. 71, no. 1, p. 238-245.
Ryabtsev, V.V., Katzner, T.E., 2007, Severe declines of Eastern Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca populations in the Baikal region, Russia- a modern and historical perspective: Bird Conservation International, v. 17, no. 03, p. 197-209.
Rudnick, J.A., Katzner, T.E., Bragin, E.A., DeWoody, J.A., 2007, Species identification of birds through genetic analysis of naturally shed feathers: Molecular Ecology Notes, p. 757-762.
Katzner, T.E., Milner-Gulland, E.J., Bragin, E.A., 2007, Using modeling to improve monitoring of structured populations- are we collecting the right data?: Conservation Biology, v. 21, no. 1, p. 241-252.
Katzner, T.E., Bragin, E.A., Milner-Gulland, E.J., 2006, Modelling populations of long lived birds of prey for conservation- a study of Imperial Eagles (Aquila heliaca) in Kazakhstan: Biological Conservation, v. 132, no. 3, p. 322-335.
Katzner, T.E., 2005, Corruption - a double-edged sword for conservation? A response to Smith and Walpole.: Oryx, v. 39, no. 3, p. 260-262.
Katzner, T.E., Robertson, S., Robertson, B., Klucsarits, J., McCarty, K.M., Bildstein, K.L., 2005, Results from a long-term nest-box program for American Kestrels- implications for improved population monitoring and conservation: Journal of Field Ornithology, v. 76, no. 3, p. 217-318.
Busch, J., Katzner, T.E., Bragin, E.A., Keim, P., 2005, Tetranucleotide microsatellites for aquila and haliaeetus eagles: Molecular Ecology Notes, v. 5, no. 1, p. 39-41.
Rudnick, J.A., Katzner, T.E., Bragin, E.A., Rhodes, O.E., DeWoody, J.A., 2005, Using naturally shed feathers for individual identification, genetic parentage analyses, and population monitoring in an endangered Eastern imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca) population from Kazakhstan: Molecular Ecology, v. 14, no. 10, p. 2959-2967.
Katzner, T.E., Hsun Lai, C., Gardiner, J.D., Foggin, J.M., Pearson, D., Smith, A.T., 2004, Adjacent nesting by Lammergeier Gypaetus barbatus and Himalayan Griffon Gyps himalayensis on the Tibetan Plateau, China: Forktail, v. 20, p. 94-96.
Leppert, L.L., Layman, S., Bragin, E.A., Katzner, T.E., 2004, Survey for Hemoparasites in Imperial Eagles (Aquila heliaca), Steppe Eagles (Aquila nipalensis), and White-tailed Sea Eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) from Kazakhstan: Journal of Wildlife Diseases, v. 40, no. 2, p. 316-319.
Sharik, T.L., Katzner, T.E., Bragina, T.M., 2003, A new species of Copidosoma Ratzeburg (Hymenoptera- Encyrtidae) from eagle nests in Kazakhstan: Journal of Hymenoptera Research, v. 12, no. 2, p. 308-311.
Pain, D.J., Cunningham, P.G., Donald, P.F., Duckworth, J.W., Houston, D.C., Katzner, T.E., Parry-Jones, J., Poole, C., Prakash, V., Round, P., Timmins, R., 2003, Causes and impacts of temporospatial declines of Gypsvultures in Asia: Conservation Biology, v. 17, no. 3, p. 661-671.
Katzner, T.E., Parker, K.L., 1998, Long distance movements from established burrow sites by pygmy rabbits (Brachylagus idahoensis) in southwestern Wyoming: Northwest Naturalist, v. 79, no. 2, p. 72-74.
Katzner, T.E., Cruz, Y.P., 1998, Survival of the Polyembryonic Parasitoid Copidosomopsis tanytmema (Hymenoptera- Encyrtidae) in Envenomized Larvae of its Host Anagasta kuehniella (Lepidoptera- Pyralidae): Annals of the Entomological Society of America, v. 91, no. 6, p. 808-812.
Katzner, T.E., Parker, K.L., Hardegree, S.P., 1997, Metabolism and Thermal Response in Winter-Acclimatized Pygmy Rabbits (Brachylagus idahoensis): Journal of Mammalogy, v. 78, no. 4, p. 1053-1062.
Katzner, T.E., Parker, K.L., 1997, Vegetative Characteristics and Size of Home Ranges Used by Pygmy Rabbits (Brachylagus idahoensis) during Winter: Journal of Mammalogy, v. 78, no. 4, p. 1063-1072.

**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.

To request an interview, contact fresc_outreach@usgs.gov or call (541) 750-1030.

Filter Total Items: 46
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Improving Collaboration Between Wildlife Ecologists and Conservation Practitioners

Addressing ongoing biodiversity loss requires collaboration between scientists who conduct research related to conservation and practitioners working...

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Classifying Animal Behavior States from Environmental Features

Understanding an animal’s response to its environment and predicting its behavior is a common goal of animal movement ecology and conservation...

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Groundbreaking Study Finds Widespread Lead Poisoning in Bald and Golden Eagles

A first-of-its-kind, eight-year study has found widespread and frequent lead poisoning in North American bald and golden eagles impacting both species...

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Linking Behavioral States to Landscape Features for Improved Conservation Management

Behavioral Change Point Analysis (BCPA) is a tool that analyzes changes in species’ movement and behavior.

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Predicted Climate-Induced Reductions in Scavenging in Eastern North America

Scavenging is an important function within ecosystems. Scavengers remove organic matter, reduce disease, stabilize food webs, and generally make...

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Yearly Temperature Fluctuations and Survey Speed Influence Road Counts of Wintering Raptors

Researchers examined data from 2,155 road surveys of raptors conducted from 2001–2018 by community scientists while participating in the Pennsylvania...

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Wildlife Mortality from Wind Turbines Scales with Energy Production

Older wind facilities are being “repowered,” which involves replacing smaller, closely spaced turbines with larger ones, more widely spaced.

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Eagle Fatalities are Reduced by Automated Curtailment of Wind Turbines

Collision-caused fatalities of animals at wind power facilities create a ‘green versus green’ conflict between wildlife conservation and renewable...

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Shared Functional Traits Explain Synchronous Long-Term Trends in Counts of Migratory Raptors

Assessing long-term trends in counts of species is important to understand the consequences of ongoing global environmental change. One approach to...

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Assessing Consequences of Human Activity on Wildlife Populations

Human activity sometimes stresses or kills individual animals. Most of the tools we have to address this problem are focused on those individuals. We...

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Diurnal Timing of Nonmigratory Movement by Birds

Birds optimize foraging either by minimizing energy loss through passive movement or by maximizing energetic gain through foraging.

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Evaluating a Rapid Field Assessment System for Anticoagulant Rodenticide Exposure of Raptors

Anticoagulant rodenticides are commonly used to control rodents; however, there is a risk of poisoning non-target species, especially predatory and...

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Science and Products

  • Science
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    golden eagle in flight

    Renewables-Wildlife Solutions Initiative

    The USGS is leading a multi-disciplinary team with members from government, academia, non-profits, and industry, to generate science to inform resolution of wildlife-related issues that can impede development and operations of wind and solar energy facilities.
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    Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
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    Renewables-Wildlife Solutions Initiative

    The USGS is leading a multi-disciplinary team with members from government, academia, non-profits, and industry, to generate science to inform resolution of wildlife-related issues that can impede development and operations of wind and solar energy facilities.
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    USGS science for a changing world

    Interaction Between Alternative Energy Development and Raptors

    Energy production has become essential for modern society. At the same time, this process can have negative effects on wildlife and ecosystems. It is in the best interest of society and the environment to understand these effects and to manage and mitigate for them. Our team focuses on measuring how energy development influences birds of prey and learning how to minimize impacts.
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    Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
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    Interaction Between Alternative Energy Development and Raptors

    Energy production has become essential for modern society. At the same time, this process can have negative effects on wildlife and ecosystems. It is in the best interest of society and the environment to understand these effects and to manage and mitigate for them. Our team focuses on measuring how energy development influences birds of prey and learning how to minimize impacts.
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    USGS science for a changing world

    Conservation Ecology and Monitoring of Raptors

    Raptors, or birds of prey, are often used to indicate the state of an ecosystem, and monitoring their populations can help us to understand ecosystem processes. Raptors are particularly good animals for monitoring because they are big and therefore charismatic and easy to observe. Whether we’re monitoring nesting biology and reproductive output, counting individuals on roads, or setting up trail...
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    Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
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    Conservation Ecology and Monitoring of Raptors

    Raptors, or birds of prey, are often used to indicate the state of an ecosystem, and monitoring their populations can help us to understand ecosystem processes. Raptors are particularly good animals for monitoring because they are big and therefore charismatic and easy to observe. Whether we’re monitoring nesting biology and reproductive output, counting individuals on roads, or setting up trail...
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    USGS science for a changing world

    Bird Movement and Migration

    Migration is an amazing annual event. Every year billions of animals – birds, mammals, insects, and fish – make long-distance journeys from breeding grounds to wintering grounds. Most northern hemisphere birds migrate southward, but there are many other ways that birds move seasonally. If we want to protect birds that take these long distance journeys, we need to understand why they move, why they...
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    Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
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    Bird Movement and Migration

    Migration is an amazing annual event. Every year billions of animals – birds, mammals, insects, and fish – make long-distance journeys from breeding grounds to wintering grounds. Most northern hemisphere birds migrate southward, but there are many other ways that birds move seasonally. If we want to protect birds that take these long distance journeys, we need to understand why they move, why they...
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  • Data

    If you are unable to access or download a product, email fresc_outreach@usgs.gov a request, including the full citation, or call (541) 750-1030.

    Golden Eagle Accelerometry Calibration B-roll

    B-roll footage of a trained golden eagle.
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    Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

    Tri-axial acceleration data from California condors (Gymnogyps californianus), California, USA

    We outfitted nine condors in a flight pen with patagial tags, each with a unique ID, and a proprietary solar powered Global Positioning System-Global System for Mobile Communications (GPS-GSM) telemetry device weighing 50 g (Cellular Tracking Technologies, LLC, Rio Grande, NJ). The units collected tri-axial acceleration data at a rate of 20 Hz. Data were transmitted once daily over cellular networ
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    Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

    Demographic model inputs and code, catchment area population estimates, and counterfactual (CIU) estimates for population growth for 23 focal bird species.

    Renewable energy production can kill birds, but little is known about how it affects avian populations. We assessed vulnerability of populations for 23 priority bird species killed at wind and solar facilities in California, USA.
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    Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

    Demographic and potential biological removal models identify raptor species sensitive to current and future wind energy

    A central challenge in applied ecology is understanding the effect of anthropogenic fatalities on wildlife populations and predicting which populations may be particularly vulnerable and in greatest need of management attention. We used 3 approaches to investigate potential effects of fatalities from collisions with wind turbines on 14 raptor species for both current (106 GW) and anticipated futur
    By
    Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

    Lead (Pb) in Bald and Golden Eagles from 38 United States, USA, 2010-2018

    We evaluated lead poisoning in bald and golden eagles during all seasons of the year and from states in each of the four major flyways throughout the continental USA.
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    Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

    Long-distance movements of non-migratory golden eagles in western North America, 2007-2017

    We studied >500 golden eagles tracked by telemetry over a 10-year period in western North America, of which 160 engaged in non-routine, long-distance (> 300 km) movements. We identified spatial and temporal correlates of those movements at both small and large scales, and we quantified movement timing and direction. We further tested which age and sex classes of eagles were more likely to engage i
    By
    Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

    Post-fire habitat associations of greater sage-grouse in Idaho and Oregon, 2016-2018

    We investigated habitat selection by 28 male greater sage-grouse during each of three years (2016-2018) after a 113,000-ha wildfire in a sagebrush steppe ecosystem in Idaho and Oregon. During the study period, seeding and herbicide treatments were applied for habitat restoration. This dataset includes pre-fire land cover, post-fire vegetation, and post-fire treatment data within 500-m buffers of s
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    Land Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

    Data derived from GPS tracking of free-flying bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), Iowa, USA

    Comma-separated values (.csv) file containing data (and derived data) from GPS tracking of free-flying bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), Iowa, USA. NOTE: Data file does not load properly in Microsoft Excel due to the size of data file (2,093,022 rows x 15 columns) that far exceeds Excel's maximum of 1,048,576 rows. Use other program(s) like R or Notepad to view the file.
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    Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

    Predictor, null model, response variable, and habitat suitability prediction rasters for a golden eagle hierarchical Bayesian synoptic model used for habitat selection in San Diego County, California. Derived from golden eagle data collected from November

    This data release includes three types of data used in habitat modeling, and predictions from the habitat models. (1) Predictor rasters for proportion urban development within 1-km radius, proportion exurban within 1-km radius, vector ruggedness measure (VRM) within 500-m radius, topographic position index (TPI) within 500-m radius. (2) Twenty-nine null models for space use for 29 different golden
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    Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
  • Multimedia

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    Wind turbines at the Altamont Pass Wind Farm
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    6 white wind turbines on a forested hill, rolling hills in the background obscured by fog or clouds
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  • Publications

    If you are unable to access or download a product, email fresc_outreach@usgs.gov a request, including the full citation, or call (541) 750-1030.

    Filter Total Items: 122

    Ferruginous Hawk movements respond predictably to intra-annual variation but unexpectedly to anthropogenic habitats

    Birds exhibit flexible movement responses to environmental variation across the annual cycle, and those responses can provide insight into potential impacts that environmental changes may have on these species. To understand year-round variation in space use by Ferruginous Hawks Buteo regalis, we tracked 12 birds breeding in southwestern Idaho, USA, using GPS telemetry collected over 207 bird-mont
    Authors
    Georgia H. Isted, Robert J. Thomas, Kevin S. Warner, Matthew J. Stuber, Ethan A. Ellsworth, Todd E. Katzner
    By
    Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

    Priorities for translating goodwill between movement ecologists and conservation practitioners into effective collaboration

    Addressing ongoing biodiversity loss requires collaboration between conservation scientists and practitioners. However, such collaboration has proved challenging. Despite the potential importance of tracking animal movements for conservation, reviews of the tracking literature have identified a gap between the academic discipline of movement ecology and its application to biodiversity conservation
    Authors
    Rascha J. M. Nuijten, Todd E. Katzner, Andrew M. Allen, Allert I. Bijleveld, Tjalle Boorsma, Luca Börger, Francesca Cagnacci, Tom Hart, Michelle Henley, Richard M. Herren, Eva Kok, Bronwyn Maree, Bruno Nebe, David Shohami, Susanne Marieke Vogel, Paul Walker, Ignas M. A. Heitkönig, E. J. Milner-Gulland
    By
    Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

    A review of supervised learning methods for classifying animal behavioural states from environmental features

    Accurately predicting behavioural modes of animals in response to environmental features is important for ecology and conservation. Supervised learning (SL) methods are increasingly common in animal movement ecology for classifying behavioural modes. However, few examples exist of applying SL to classify polytomous animal behaviour from environmental features especially in the context of millions
    Authors
    Silas Bergen, Manuela Huso, Adam E. Duerr, Missy A Braham, Sara Schmuecker, Tricia A. Miller, Todd E. Katzner
    By
    Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

    Limited rigor in studies of raptor mortality and mitigation at wind power facilities

    Wind power is an expanding source of renewable energy. However, there are ecological challenges related to wind energy generation, including collisions of wildlife with turbines. Lack of rigor, and variation in study design, together limit efforts to understand the broad-scale effects of wind power infrastructure on wildlife populations. It is not clear, however, whether these types of limitations
    Authors
    Tara Conkling, Christopher J. W. McClure, Sandra Cuadros, S. R. Loss, Todd E. Katzner
    By
    Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

    Demographic and environmental correlates of home ranges and long-distance movements of Mohave ground squirrels

    Space use by mammals can differ among age-classes, sexes, or seasons, and these processes are recognized as adaptive behavioral strategies. Semi-fossorial ground squirrels, in particular, have shown age- and sex-specific patterns in their aboveground movement behaviors. We studied space use of Mohave ground squirrels (Xerospermophilus mohavensis) at the Freeman Gulch study site in the central regi
    Authors
    Sharon Poessel, Philip Leitner, Rich Inman, Todd C. Esque, Todd E. Katzner
    By
    Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

    Selecting auditory alerting stimuli for eagles on the basis of auditory evoked potentials

    Development of wind energy facilities results in interactions between wildlife and wind turbines. Raptors, including bald and golden eagles, are among the species known to incur mortality from these interactions. Several alerting technologies have been proposed to mitigate this mortality by increasing eagle avoidance of wind energy facilities. However, there has been little attempt to match signal
    Authors
    Benjamin Goller, Patrice Baumhardt, Ernesto Dominguez-Villegas, Todd E. Katzner, Esteban Fernández-Juricic, Jeffrey R. Lucas
    By
    Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

    Considering behavioral state when predicting habitat use: Behavior-specific spatial models for the endangered Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle

    Effective planning for species conservation often requires an understanding of habitat use. The resources an animal selects within the landscape relate to its behavioral state and, therefore, incorporating behavior into habitat selection analyses can help inform management of threatened species. Here we present an approach for developing behavior-specific spatial habitat-use models using large qua
    Authors
    James M. Pay, Toby A Patterson, Kirstin M Proft, Elissa Z. Cameron, Clare E. Hawkins, Amelia J. Koch, Jason M Wiersma, Todd E. Katzner
    By
    Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

    Confirmation that eagle fatalities can be reduced by automated curtailment of wind turbines

    Automated curtailment is potentially a powerful technique to reduce collision mortality of wildlife with wind turbines. Previously, we used a before–after–control–impact framework to demonstrate that eagle fatalities declined after automated curtailment was implemented with the IdentiFlight system at a wind power facility in Wyoming, USA. We received substantial interest and feedback regarding our
    Authors
    Christopher J. W. McClure, Brian W. Rolek, Leah Dunn, Jennifer D. McCabe, Luke Martinson, Todd E. Katzner
    By
    Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

    Open-source intelligence for conservation biology

    Open-source intelligence (OSINT) evolved in spy agencies but now is rapidly changing many fields of study, from anthropology to zoology. Despite the fact that OSINT occasionally is used in conservation biology, there is little recognition that some tools and frameworks used by conservation professionals are drawn from this well-established field. The history and conceptual foundations of OSINT ste
    Authors
    Todd E. Katzner, Eve C. Thomason, Karrin Huhmann, Tara Conkling, Camille B. Concepcion, Vincent Slabe, Sharon Poessel
    By
    Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

    Interannual consistency of migration phenology is season- and breeding region-specific in North American Golden Eagles

    Interannual consistency (an indicator of the strength of adjustments) in migration phenology of Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) in North America is most strongly associated with the breeding region, the season, and with late-season temperature on breeding and wintering grounds. Consistency was greatest in boreal spring migration and the breeding regions of eastern Canada. Using multi-year GPS tr
    Authors
    Laurie D Maynard, Jean-François Therrien, Jérôme Lemaître, Travis L. Booms, Tricia A. Miller, Todd E. Katzner, Scott Somershoe, Jeff Cooper, Robert Sargent, Nicolas Lecomte
    By
    Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

    Migration of first-year steppe eagles (Aquila nipalensis) from northern Kazakhstan and implications for conservation

    Extensive anthropogenic alteration of steppe ecosystems throughout Eurasia leaves central Asia with some of the world’s last remaining large expanses of grassland habitat. Steppe eagles (Aquila nipalensis) are globally endangered breed primarily in these steppe ecosystems. We evaluated migratory movements of first year steppe eagles hatched in northern Kazakhstan, to understand their migration and
    Authors
    Todd E. Katzner, R. Efrat, A. E. Bragin, Y. Lehnardt, E. A. Bragin, N. Sapir
    By
    Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

    Managing macropods without poisoning ecosystems

    A recent review of the management of hyperabundant macropods in Australia proposed that expanded professional shooting is likely to lead to better biodiversity and animal welfare outcomes. While the tenets of this general argument are sound, it overlooks one important issue for biodiversity and animal health and welfare: reliance on toxic lead-based ammunition. Lead poisoning poses a major threat
    Authors
    Jordan O Hampton, James M. Pay, Todd E. Katzner, Jon M Arnemo, Mark A Pokras, Eric Buenz, Niels Kanstrup, Vernon G Thomas, Marcela Uhart, Sergio A Lambertucci, Oliver Krone, Navinder J Singh, Vinny Naidoo, Mayumi Ishizuka, Keisuke Saito, Björn Helander, Rhys E. Green
    By
    Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

    Non-USGS Publications**

    Katzner, T.E., Miller, T.A., Rodrigue, J.L., Shaffer, S., 2015, A Most Dangerous Game- Death and Injury to Birds from Porcupine Quills: Wilson Journal of Ornithology, v. 127, no. 1, p. 102-108, https://doi.org/10.1676/14-066.1.
    Behmke, S., Fallon, J.A., Duerr, A., Lehner, A., Buchweitz, J., Katzner, T.E., 2015, Chronic lead exposure is epidemic in obligate scavenger populations in eastern North America: Environment International, v. 79, p. 51-55, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2015.03.010.
    Duerr, A.E., Miller, T.A., Lanzone, M.J., Brandes, D., Cooper, J., O'Malley, K., Maisonnueve, C., Tremblay, J., Katzner, T.E., 2015, Flight response of slope-soaring birds to seasonal variation in thermal generation: Functional Ecology, v. 29, no. 6, p. 779-790, https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12381.
    Dennhardt, A.J., Duerr, A.E., Brandes, D., Katzner, T.E., 2015, Integrating citizen-science data with movement models to estimate the size of a migratory golden eagle population: Biological Conservation, v. 184, p. 68-78, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2015.01.003.
    Morneau, F., Tremblay, J., Todd, C., Chubbs, T.E., Maisonnueve, C., Lemaıˆtre, J., Katzner, T.E., 2015, Known Breeding Distribution and Abundance of Golden Eagles in Eastern North America: Northeastern Naturalist, v. 22, no. 2, p. 236-247, https://doi.org/10.1656/045.022.0201.
    Miller, T.A., Brooks, R.P., Lanzone, M.J., Brandes, D., Cooper, J., Tremblay, J., Wilhelm, J., Duerr, A.E., Katzner, T.E., 2015, Limitations and mechanisms influencing the migratory performance of soaring birds: Ibis, v. 158, no. 1, p. 116-134, https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12331.
    Dennhardt, A.J., Duerr, A.E., Brandes, D., Katzner, T.E., 2015, Modeling autumn migration of a rare soaring raptor identifies new movement corridors in central Appalachia: Ecological Modelling, v. 303, p. 19-29, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2015.02.010.
    Katzner, T.E., Turk, P., Duerr, A.E., Miller, T.A., Lanzone, M.J., Cooper, J., Brandes, D., Tremblay, J., Lemaıˆtre, J., 2015, Use of multiple modes of flight subsidy by a soaring terrestrial bird, the golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos, when on migration: Journal of the Royal Society Interface, v. 12, no. 112, p. 20150530, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2015.0530.
    Pettorelli, N., Evans, D.M., Garner, T.W., Katzner, T.E., Gompper, M.E., Altwegg, R., Branch, T.A., Johnson, J.A., Pollock, K., DaVolls, L., Rantanen, E., Gordon, I.J., 2013, Addressing gender imbalances in Animal Conservation: Animal Conservation, v. 16, p. 131-133, https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12032.
    Katzner, T.E., Collar, N.J., 2013, Are insular populations of the Philippine falconet (Microhierax erythrogenys) steps in a cline?: The Condor, v. 115, no. 3, p. 576-583, https://doi.org/10.1525/cond.2013.120070.
    Latta, S.C., Musher, L.J., Latta, K.N., Katzner, T.E., 2013, Influence of human population size and the built environment on avian assemblages in urban green spaces: Urban Ecosystems, v. 16, no. 3, p. 463-479, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-012-0282-z.
    Sklyarenko, S.L., Katzner, T.E., 2012, The Status of Populations of Vultures in Kazakhstan In Kovshar, A.F., Rustamov, E.A., Mitropolsky, O.V., Levin, A.S., Kovshar, V.A., eds., Ornithological News of Kazakhstan and Middle Asia: ISBN 978-601-7287-05-4, Almaty, Kazakhstan, Menzbier’s Ornithological Society, p. 178-185.
    Katzner, T.E., Winton, J.D., McMorris, F.A., Brauning, D., 2012, Dispersal, Band Encounters, and Causes of Death in a Reintroduced and Rapidly Growing Population of Peregrine Falcons: Journal of Raptor Research, v. 46, no. 1, p. 75-83, https://doi.org/10.3356/JRR-10-93.1.
    Al Hasani, I.K., Azar, J.F., Nishimura, K., Amr, Z.S., Katzner, T.E., 2012, Distribution, diet and winter ecology of the Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca in Jordan.: Vertebrate Zoology, v. 62, no. 2, p. 273-280.
    Borher, G., Brandes, D., Mandel, J., Bildstein, K.L., Miller, T., Lanzone, M., Katzner, T.E., Maissoneuve, C., Tremblay, J., 2012, Estimating updraft velocity components over large spatial scales- Contrasting migration strategies of golden eagles and turkey vultures: Ecology Letters, v. 15, no. 2, p. 96-103, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01713.x.
    Branch, T.A., Austin, J.D., Pollock, K., Gordon, I.J., Gompper, M.E., Katzner, T.E., Pettorelli, N., 2012, Fisheries conservation and management- finding consensus in the midst of competing paradigms: Animal Conservation, v. 15, no. 1, p. 1-3, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2011.00502.x.
    Lanzone, M., Miller, T., Turk, P., Brandes, D., Halverson, C., Maissoneuve, C., Tremblay, J., Cooper, J., O'Malley, K., Brooks, R., Katzner, T.E., 2012, Flight responses by a migratory soaring raptor to changing meteorological conditions: Biology Letters, v. 8, no. 5, p. 710-713, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2012.0359.
    Evans, D.M., Barnard, P., Koh, L.P., Chapman, C.A., Altwegg, R., Garner, T.W., Gompper, M.E., Gordon, I.J., Katzner, T.E., Pettorelli, N., 2012, Funding nature conservation- who pays?: Animal Conservation, v. 15, no. 3, p. 215-216, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2012.00550.x.
    Bragin, E., Katzner, T.E., 2012, Second nest record of Smew Mergus albellus in the Naurzum forest: Russian Ornithological Society: Express Issue, v. 21, no. 743, p. 724-725.
    Katzner, T.E., Smith, B.W., Miller, T.A., Brandes, D., Cooper, J., Lanzone, M., Brauning, D., Farmer, C., Harding, S., Kramer, D., Koppie, C., Maissoneuve, C., Martell, M., Mojica, E.K., Todd, C., Tremblay, J., Wheeler, M., Brinker, D.F., Chubbs, T.E., O'Malley, K., Mehus, S., Porter, B., Brooks, R.P., Watts, B.D., Bildstein, K.L., 2012, Status, biology and conservation priorities for North America’s eastern Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) population: Auk, v. 29, no. 1, p. 168-176, https://doi.org/10.1525/auk.2011.11078.
    Bragin, E., Katzner, T.E., Bragin, E., 2012, Summer accumulation of large birds of prey , and the problem of estimating their number - Proceedings Menzbirovskogo Ornithological Society: Volume I: Proceedings of XIII International Ornithological Conference of Northern Eurasia, p. 234-240.
    Duerr, A., Miller, T., Lanzone, M., Brandes, D., Cooper, J., O'Malley, K., Maissoneuve, C., Tremblay, J., Katzner, T.E., 2012, Testing an emerging paradigm in migration ecology shows surprising differences in efficiency between flight modes: PLOS ONE, v. 7, no. 4, p. e35548, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0035548.
    Katzner, T.E., Wheeler, M., Negro, J.J., Kapetanakos, Y., DeWoody, J.A., Horvath, M., Lovette, I., 2012, To pluck or not to pluck- scientific methodologies should be carefully chosen, not “one size fits all": Journal of Avian Biology, v. 43, p. 15-17, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-048X.2011.05592.x.
    Katzner, T.E., Brandes, D., Miller, T., Lanzone, M., Maissoneuve, C., Tremblay, J., Mulvihill, R., Merovich, G., 2012, Topography drives migratory flight altitude of golden eagles- implications for on-shore wind energy development: Journal of Applied Ecology, v. 49, no. 5, p. 1178-1186, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2012.02185.x.
    Gordon, I.J., Pollock, K., Altwegg, R., Garner, T.W., Gompper, M.E., Katzner, T.E., Pettorelli, N., Redpath, S., 2012, What the ‘food security’ agenda means for animal conservation in terrestrial ecosystems: Animal Conservation, v. 15, no. 2, p. 115-116, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2012.00541.x.
    Katzner, T.E., Ivy, J.R., Bragin, E., Milner-Gulland, E.J., DeWoody, J.A., 2011, Conservation implications of inaccurate estimation of cryptic population size: Animal Conservation, v. 14, no. 4, p. 328-332, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2011.00444.x.
    Iverson, S.A., Gavrilov, A., Katzner, T.E., Takekawa, J., Newman, S., Miller, T., Hagemeijer, W., Sivananinthaperumal, B., Mundkur, T., DeMattos, C., Ahmed, L.S., 2011, Migratory movements of waterfowl in Central Asia and avian influenza emergence- sporadic transmission of H5N1 from east to west: Ibis, v. 153, no. 2, p. 279-292, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1474-919X.2010.01095.x.
    Jones, J.P., Collen, B., Baxter, P.W., Bubb, P., Illian, J., Katzner, T.E., Keane, A., Loh, J., McDonald-Madden, E., Nicholson, E., Pereira, H., Possingham, H., Pullin, A., Rodrigues, A., Ruiz-Gutierrez, V., Sommerville, M., Milner-Gulland, E.J., 2011, The Why, What, and How of Global Biodiversity Indicators Beyond the 2010 Target: Conservation Biology, v. 25, no. 3, p. 450-457, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2010.01605.x.
    Terraube, J., Arroyo, B.E., Mougeot, F., Katzner, T.E., Bragin, E., 2010, Breeding biology of the Montagu’s harrier (Circus pygargus) in north-central Kazakhstan: Journal of Ornithology, v. 151, no. 3, p. 713-722, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-010-0505-0.
    Rudnick, J.A., Katzner, T.E., DeWoody, J.A., 2009, Genetic Analyses of Noninvasively Collected Feathers Can Provide Insights into Avian Demography and Behavior In Aronoff, J.B., ed., Handbook of Nature Conservation: Hauppauge, NY, Nova Science Publishers, p. 181-197.
    Miller, T.M., Brandes, D., Lanzone, M., Ombalski, D., Maisonnueve, C., Katzner, T.E., 2009, Golden eagle migration and winter behavior in Pennsylvania In Majumdar, S.K., ed., Avian Ecology and Conservation: A Pennsylvania Focus with National Implications: Immaculata, PA, Pennsylvania Academy of Sciences, p. 111-125.
    Brandes, D., Miller, T.M., Katzner, T.E., 2009, Wind Power Mortality In Majumdar, S.K., ed., Avian Ecology and Conservation: A Pennsylvania Focus with National Implications: Immaculata, PA, Pennsylvania Academy of Sciences, p. 300-303.
    Rudnick, J.A., Katzner, T.E., Bragin, E.A., DeWoody, J.A., 2008, A non-invasive genetic evaluation of population size, natal philopatry, and roosting behavior of non-breeding eastern imperial eagles (Aquila heliaca) in central Asia: Conservation Genetics, v. 9, p. 667-676.
    Poulakakis, N., Antoniou, A., Mantziou, G., Parmakelis, A., Skartsi, T., Vasilakis, D., Elorriaga, J., De La Puente, J., Gavashelishvili, A., Ghasabyan, M., Katzner, T.E., McGrady, M.J., Batbayar, N., Fuller, M.R., Natsagdorj, T., 2008, Population structure, diversity, and phylogeography in the near-threatened Eurasian black vultures Aegypius monachus (Falconiformes; Accipitridae) in Europe- insights from microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA variation: Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, v. 95, p. 859-872.
    Kenward, R., Katzner, T.E., Wink, M., Marcström, V., Walls, S., Karlbom, M., Pfeffer, R., Bragin, E.A., Hodder, K., Levin, A.S., 2007, Rapid sustainability modelling for raptors by radio tagging and DNA fingerprinting: Journal of Wildlife Management, v. 71, no. 1, p. 238-245.
    Ryabtsev, V.V., Katzner, T.E., 2007, Severe declines of Eastern Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca populations in the Baikal region, Russia- a modern and historical perspective: Bird Conservation International, v. 17, no. 03, p. 197-209.
    Rudnick, J.A., Katzner, T.E., Bragin, E.A., DeWoody, J.A., 2007, Species identification of birds through genetic analysis of naturally shed feathers: Molecular Ecology Notes, p. 757-762.
    Katzner, T.E., Milner-Gulland, E.J., Bragin, E.A., 2007, Using modeling to improve monitoring of structured populations- are we collecting the right data?: Conservation Biology, v. 21, no. 1, p. 241-252.
    Katzner, T.E., Bragin, E.A., Milner-Gulland, E.J., 2006, Modelling populations of long lived birds of prey for conservation- a study of Imperial Eagles (Aquila heliaca) in Kazakhstan: Biological Conservation, v. 132, no. 3, p. 322-335.
    Katzner, T.E., 2005, Corruption - a double-edged sword for conservation? A response to Smith and Walpole.: Oryx, v. 39, no. 3, p. 260-262.
    Katzner, T.E., Robertson, S., Robertson, B., Klucsarits, J., McCarty, K.M., Bildstein, K.L., 2005, Results from a long-term nest-box program for American Kestrels- implications for improved population monitoring and conservation: Journal of Field Ornithology, v. 76, no. 3, p. 217-318.
    Busch, J., Katzner, T.E., Bragin, E.A., Keim, P., 2005, Tetranucleotide microsatellites for aquila and haliaeetus eagles: Molecular Ecology Notes, v. 5, no. 1, p. 39-41.
    Rudnick, J.A., Katzner, T.E., Bragin, E.A., Rhodes, O.E., DeWoody, J.A., 2005, Using naturally shed feathers for individual identification, genetic parentage analyses, and population monitoring in an endangered Eastern imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca) population from Kazakhstan: Molecular Ecology, v. 14, no. 10, p. 2959-2967.
    Katzner, T.E., Hsun Lai, C., Gardiner, J.D., Foggin, J.M., Pearson, D., Smith, A.T., 2004, Adjacent nesting by Lammergeier Gypaetus barbatus and Himalayan Griffon Gyps himalayensis on the Tibetan Plateau, China: Forktail, v. 20, p. 94-96.
    Leppert, L.L., Layman, S., Bragin, E.A., Katzner, T.E., 2004, Survey for Hemoparasites in Imperial Eagles (Aquila heliaca), Steppe Eagles (Aquila nipalensis), and White-tailed Sea Eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) from Kazakhstan: Journal of Wildlife Diseases, v. 40, no. 2, p. 316-319.
    Sharik, T.L., Katzner, T.E., Bragina, T.M., 2003, A new species of Copidosoma Ratzeburg (Hymenoptera- Encyrtidae) from eagle nests in Kazakhstan: Journal of Hymenoptera Research, v. 12, no. 2, p. 308-311.
    Pain, D.J., Cunningham, P.G., Donald, P.F., Duckworth, J.W., Houston, D.C., Katzner, T.E., Parry-Jones, J., Poole, C., Prakash, V., Round, P., Timmins, R., 2003, Causes and impacts of temporospatial declines of Gypsvultures in Asia: Conservation Biology, v. 17, no. 3, p. 661-671.
    Katzner, T.E., Parker, K.L., 1998, Long distance movements from established burrow sites by pygmy rabbits (Brachylagus idahoensis) in southwestern Wyoming: Northwest Naturalist, v. 79, no. 2, p. 72-74.
    Katzner, T.E., Cruz, Y.P., 1998, Survival of the Polyembryonic Parasitoid Copidosomopsis tanytmema (Hymenoptera- Encyrtidae) in Envenomized Larvae of its Host Anagasta kuehniella (Lepidoptera- Pyralidae): Annals of the Entomological Society of America, v. 91, no. 6, p. 808-812.
    Katzner, T.E., Parker, K.L., Hardegree, S.P., 1997, Metabolism and Thermal Response in Winter-Acclimatized Pygmy Rabbits (Brachylagus idahoensis): Journal of Mammalogy, v. 78, no. 4, p. 1053-1062.
    Katzner, T.E., Parker, K.L., 1997, Vegetative Characteristics and Size of Home Ranges Used by Pygmy Rabbits (Brachylagus idahoensis) during Winter: Journal of Mammalogy, v. 78, no. 4, p. 1063-1072.

    **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.

  • News

    To request an interview, contact fresc_outreach@usgs.gov or call (541) 750-1030.

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    Improving Collaboration Between Wildlife Ecologists and Conservation Practitioners

    Addressing ongoing biodiversity loss requires collaboration between scientists who conduct research related to conservation and practitioners working...

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    Classifying Animal Behavior States from Environmental Features

    Understanding an animal’s response to its environment and predicting its behavior is a common goal of animal movement ecology and conservation...

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    Groundbreaking Study Finds Widespread Lead Poisoning in Bald and Golden Eagles

    A first-of-its-kind, eight-year study has found widespread and frequent lead poisoning in North American bald and golden eagles impacting both species...

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    Linking Behavioral States to Landscape Features for Improved Conservation Management

    Behavioral Change Point Analysis (BCPA) is a tool that analyzes changes in species’ movement and behavior.

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    Predicted Climate-Induced Reductions in Scavenging in Eastern North America

    Scavenging is an important function within ecosystems. Scavengers remove organic matter, reduce disease, stabilize food webs, and generally make...

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    Yearly Temperature Fluctuations and Survey Speed Influence Road Counts of Wintering Raptors

    Researchers examined data from 2,155 road surveys of raptors conducted from 2001–2018 by community scientists while participating in the Pennsylvania...

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    Wildlife Mortality from Wind Turbines Scales with Energy Production

    Older wind facilities are being “repowered,” which involves replacing smaller, closely spaced turbines with larger ones, more widely spaced.

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    Eagle Fatalities are Reduced by Automated Curtailment of Wind Turbines

    Collision-caused fatalities of animals at wind power facilities create a ‘green versus green’ conflict between wildlife conservation and renewable...

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    Shared Functional Traits Explain Synchronous Long-Term Trends in Counts of Migratory Raptors

    Assessing long-term trends in counts of species is important to understand the consequences of ongoing global environmental change. One approach to...

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    Assessing Consequences of Human Activity on Wildlife Populations

    Human activity sometimes stresses or kills individual animals. Most of the tools we have to address this problem are focused on those individuals. We...

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    Diurnal Timing of Nonmigratory Movement by Birds

    Birds optimize foraging either by minimizing energy loss through passive movement or by maximizing energetic gain through foraging.

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    Evaluating a Rapid Field Assessment System for Anticoagulant Rodenticide Exposure of Raptors

    Anticoagulant rodenticides are commonly used to control rodents; however, there is a risk of poisoning non-target species, especially predatory and...

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