Todd E Katzner
Biography
Education
Ph.D. 2003, Arizona State University
M.S. 1994, University of Wyoming
B.A. 1991, Oberlin College
Specialty
Ecology, Animal Movement, Conservation Biology, Ornithology, Mammalogy, Population Biology, Animal Biotelemetry
Research Interests
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.
Science and Products
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.
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...
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...
High frequency of lead exposure in the population of an endangered Australian top predator, the Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle (Aquila audax fleayi)
Lead poisoning, mainly through incidental ingestion of lead ammunition in carcasses, is a threat to scavenging and predatory bird species worldwide. In Australia, shooting for animal control is widespread, and a range of native scavenging species are susceptible to lead exposure. However, the prevalence of lead exposure in Australia's scavenging...
Pay, James M.; Katzner, Todd E.; Hawkins, Clare E.; Koch, Amelia J.; Wiersm, Jason M.; Brown, William E.; Mooney, Nick J.; Cameron, Elissa Z.Ecological insights from three decades of animal movement tracking across a changing Arctic
The Arctic is entering a new ecological state, with alarming consequences for humanity. Animal-borne sensors offer a window into these changes. Although substantial animal tracking data from the Arctic and subarctic exist, most are difficult to discover and access. Here, we present the new Arctic Animal Movement Archive (AAMA), a growing...
Davidson, Sarah C; Bohrer, Gil; Gurarie, Eliezer; LaPoint, Scott; Mahoney, Peter J; Boelman, Natalie; Eitel, Jan UH; Prugh, Laura R.; Vierling, Lee A.; Jennewein, Jyoti; Grier, Emma; Couriot, Ophélie; Kelly, Allicia P; Meddens, Arjan JH; Oliver, Ruth Y; Kays, Roland; Wikelski, Martin; Aarvak, Tomas; Ackerman, Joshua T.; Almeida e Silva, Mónica; Alves, José A.; Bayne, Erin; Bedrosian, Bryan; Belant, Jerrold L.; Berdahl, Andrew M; Berlin, Alicia; Berteaux, Dominique; Bêty, Joël; Boiko, Dmitrij; Booms, Travis L.; Borg, Bridget L; Boutin, Stan; Boyd, W Sean; Brides, Kane; Brown, Stephen C.; Bulyuk, Victor N.; Burnham, Kurt K; Cabot, David; Casazza, Michael L.; Christie, Katherine S.; Craig, Erica H.; Davis, Shanti E.; Davison, Tracy; Demma, Dominic; DeSorbo, Christopher R.; Dixon, Andrew E.; Domenech, Robert; Eichhorn, Götz; Elliott, Kyle; Evenson, Joseph R.; Exo, Klaus-Michael; Ferguson, Steven; Fiedler, Wolfgang; Fisk, Aaron T.; Fort, J.; Franke, Alastair; Fuller, Mark R.; Garthe, Stefan; Gauthier, Gilles; Gilchrist, Grant; Glazov, Petr; Gray, Carrie E.; Grémillet, David; Griffin, Larry; Hallworth, Mike; Harrison, Autumn-Lynn; Hennin, Holly; Hipfner, J Mark; Hodson, James; Johnson, James A.; Joly, Kyle; Jones, Kimberly; Katzner, Todd E.; Kidd, Jeff W; Knight, Elly; Kochert, Michael N.; Kölzsch, Andrea; Kruckenberg, Helmut; Lagassé, Benjamin J; Lai, Sandra; Lamarre, Jean-François; Lanctot, Richard B.; Larter, Nicholas C; Latham, A David; Latty, Christopher J.; Lawler, James P.; Léandri-Breton, Don-Jean; Lee, Hansoo; Lewis, Stephen B.; Love, Oliver P.; Madsen, Jesper; Maftei, Mark; Mallory, Mark L.; Mangipane, Buck; Markovets, Mikhail Y.; Marra, Peter P.; McGuire, Rebecca L; McIntyre, Carol; McKinnon, Emily A; Miller, Tricia A.; Moonen, Sander; Mu, Tong; Müskens, Gerhard JDM; Ng, Janet; Nicholson, Kerry L; Jostein Øien, Ingar; Overton, Cory T.; Owen, Patricia A; Patterson, Allison G. L.; Petersen, Aevar; Pokrovsky, Ivan; Powell, Luke L.; Prieto, Rui; Quillfeldt, Petra; Rausch, Jennie; Russell, Kelsey; Saalfeld, Sarah T.; Schekkerman, Hans; Schmutz, Joel A.; Schwemmer, Philipp; Seip, Dale R.; Shreading, Adam; Silva, Mónica A.; Smith, Brian W.; Smith, Fletcher; Smith, Jeff P.; Snell, Katherine RS; Sokolov, Aleksandr; Sokolov, Vasiliy; Solovyeva, Diana V; Sorum, Mathew S; Tertitski, Grigori; Therrien, J F; Thorup, Kasper; Tibbitts, Lee; Tulp, Ingrid; Uher-Koch, Brian D.; van Bemmelen, Rob SA; Van Wilgenburg, Steve; Von Duyke, Andrew L.; Watson, Jesse; Watts, Bryan D; Williams, Judy A; Wilson, Matthew; Wright, Jay; Yates, Michael A; Yurkowski, David; Žydelis, Ramūnas; Hebblewhite, MarkEvaluating a rapid field assessment system for anticoagulant rodenticide exposure of raptors
Anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) are commonly used to control rodent pests. However, worldwide, their use is associated with secondary and tertiary poisoning of nontarget species, especially predatory and scavenging birds. No medical device can rapidly test for AR exposure of avian wildlife. Prothrombin time (PT) is a useful biomarker for AR...
Dickson, Ariana J; Belthoff, James R.; Mitchell, Kristen A; Smith, Brian W.; Wallace, Zachary P.; Stuber, Matthew J.; Lockhart, Michael J; Rattner, Barnett A.; Katzner, Todd E.Diurnal timing of nonmigratory movement by birds: The importance of foraging spatial scales
Timing of activity can reveal an organism's efforts to optimize foraging either by minimizing energy loss through passive movement or by maximizing energetic gain through foraging. Here, we assess whether signals of either of these strategies are detectable in the timing of activity of daily, local movements by birds. We compare the similarities...
Mallon, Julie M.; Tucker, Marlee A.; Beard, Annalea; Bierregaard Jr., Richard O; Bildstein, Keith L.; Böhning-Gaese, Katrin; Brzorad, John N.; Buechley, Evan R.; Bustamante, Javier; Carrapato, Carlos; Castillo‐Guerrero, José Alfredo; Clingham, Elizabeth; Desholm, Mark; DeSorbo, Christopher R.; Domenech, Robert; Douglas, Hayley; Duriez, Olivier; Enggist, Peter; Farwig, Nina; Fiedler, Wolfgang; Gagliardo, Anna; García‐Ripollés, Clara; Gil Gallús, José Antonio; Gilmour, Morgan E.; Harel, Roi; Harrison, Autumn-Lynn; Henry, Leeann; Katzner, Todd E.; Kays, Roland; Kleyheeg, Erik; Limiñana, Rubén; López-López, Pascual; Lucia, Giuseppe; Maccarone, Alan; Mallia, Egidio; Mellone, Ugo; Mojica, E.K.; Nathan, Ran; Newman, Scott H.; Oppel, Steffen; Orchan, Yotam; Prosser, Diann J.; Riley, Hannah; Rösner, Sascha; Schabo, Dana G.; Schulz, Holger; Shaffer, Scott A.; Shreading, Adam; Silva, João Paulo; Sim, Jolene; Skov, Henrik; Spiegel, Orr; Stuber, Matthew J.; Takekawa, John Y.; Urios, Vicente; Vidal‐Mateo, Javier; Warner, Kevin; Watts, Bryan D.; Weber, Nicola; Weber, Sam; Wikelski, Martin; Zydelis, Ramunas; Mueller, Thomas; Fagan, William F.Illegal killing of nongame wildlife and recreational shooting in conservation areas
Illegal killing of nongame wildlife is a global yet poorly documented problem. The prevalence and ecological consequences of illegal killing are often underestimated or completely unknown. We review the practice of legal recreational shooting and present data gathered from telemetry, surveys, and observations on its association with illegal...
Katzner, Todd E.; Carlisle, Jay D.; Poessel, Sharon; Thomason, Eve C.; Pauli, Benjamin P.; Pilliod, David; Belthoff, James R.; Heath, Julie A.; Parker, Kristina J.; Warner, Kevin S.; Hayes, Heather; Aberg, Madeline; Ortiz, Patricia; Amdor, Sandra; Alsup, Steven; Coates, Stephanie E.; Miller, Tricia A.; Duran, Zoe K. T.GIS-Modeling of island hopping through the Philippines demonstrates trade-offs migrant grey-faced buzzards during oceanic crossings
Migration can be costly with consequences that can influence population trajectories. These costs and consequences are especially heightened during over-water travels, which can be high-risk events for birds. We created spatial models to evaluate potential migratory responses of “oceanic”, island-hopping grey-faced buzzards that encounter...
Concepcion, Camille B.; Bildstein, Keith L.; Katzner, Todd E.Understanding the golden eagle and bald eagle sensory worlds to enhance detection and response to wind turbines
The objective for this study was to measure the auditory and visual physiology of Golden and Bald Eagles in order to use eagle sensory capabilities to inform the design of potential deterrent stimuli that could be used to reduce eagle/turbine collisions with wind turbines. The rationale for this approach is that sensory systems of any organism...
Fernández-Juricic, Esteban; Lucas, Jeffrey; Katzner, Todd E.; Goller, B.; Baumhardt, P.; Lovko, N.Learning from real-world experience to understand renewable energy impacts to wildlife
The project team sought to use real-world data to understand adverse effects to wildlife of renewable energy production that is critical to meeting California’s climate and clean energy goals. The project had three main components. First, a systematic literature review studied 20 peer-reviewed publications and 612 reports from other nonreviewed...
Conkling, Tara J; Vander Zanden, Hannah B.; Poessel, Sharon; Loss, Scott R.; Allison, Taber D; Diffendorfer, James E.; Duerr, Adam E.; Nelson, David M.; Yee, Julie L; Katzner, Todd E.Assessing population-level consequences of anthropogenic stressors for terrestrial wildlife
Human activity influences wildlife. However, the ecological and conservation significances of these influences are difficult to predict and depend on their population‐level consequences. This difficulty arises partly because of information gaps, and partly because the data on stressors are usually collected in a count‐based manner (e.g., number of...
Katzner, Todd E.; Braham, Melissa A.; Conkling, Tara; Diffendorfer, James E.; Duerr, Adam E.; Loss, Scott R.; Nelson, David M.; Vander Zanden, Hannah B.; Yee, Julie L.Movements and habitat use of loons for assessment of conservation buffer zones in the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska
Oil and gas development in the Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska, may pose threats to wildlife. Management guidelines within the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska dictate buffer zones for coastal wildlife habitat and for breeding and foraging sites of yellow-billed loons (YBLOs; Gavia adamsii), a species of conservation concern. However, few data...
Poessel, Sharon; Uher-Koch, Brian D.; Pearce, John M.; Schmutz, Joel A.; Katzner, Todd E.; Douglas, David C.; von Biela, Vanessa R.; Harrison, Autumn-LynneFeeding ecology drives lead exposure of facultative and obligate avian scavengers in the eastern United States
Lead poisoning of scavenging birds is a global issue. However, the drivers of lead exposure of avian scavengers have been understood from the perspective of individual species, not cross‐taxa assemblages. We analyzed blood (n = 285) and liver (n = 226) lead concentrations of 5 facultative (American crows [Corvus brachyrhynchos], bald eagles [...
Slabe, Vincent; Anderson, James T.; Cooper, Jeff L; Miller, Tricia A.; Brown, Bracken; Wrona, Anna; Ortiz, Patricia; Buchweitz, John; McRuer, David; Dominguez-Villegas, Ernesto; Behmke, Shannon; Katzner, Todd E.Relevance of individual and environmental drivers of movement of Golden Eagles
An animal's movement is expected to be governed by an interplay between goals determined by its internal state and energetic costs associated with navigating through the external environment. Understanding this ecological process is challenging when an animal moves in two dimensions and even more difficult for birds that move in a third dimension...
Sur, Maitreyi; Duerr, Adam E.; Bell, Doug A.; Fisher, Robert N.; Tracey, Jeff A.; Bloom, Peter H.; Miller, Trish; Katzner, Todd E.Pre-USGS Publications
Golden Eagle Flight
Golden eagles can be killed by colliding with a number of human-made objects, including wind turbines. USGS research wildlife biologist Todd Katzner describes his studies of golden eagle flight. This research is being done to model flight behavior which might help managers understand how placement of wind turbines might pose significant risks to golden eagles.
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.
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 energy. Automated monitoring systems could improve efficacy of informed curtailment, yet such technology is undertested.
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 study drivers of species assemblage changes is to identify the traits, such as body mass or migratory behavior, associated with count trends among species.
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 have limited ways to understand how human activity impacts wildlife populations. USGS scientists have developed a new tool to help managers understand the effects of human stressors on wildlife populations.
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.
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 scavenging birds.
Illegal Killing of Non-Game Wildlife and Recreational Shooting in Conservation Areas
Illegal killing of non-game wildlife is a global yet poorly documented problem.
Online Reference: Birds of the World – Golden Eagles v 2.0
Birds of the World is a scientific resource that synthesizes information into species accounts for every avian species throughout the world.
Trade-Offs Migrant Grey-Faced Buzzards Face During Oceanic Crossings
Costs and consequences of bird migration are especially heightened during high-risk over-water travels.
Patterns in Age Structure of Golden Eagles Wintering in Eastern North America
Wildlife behavior varies seasonally, particularly for long-distance migrants, and that variation can have substantial demographic consequences.
Learning From Real-World Experience to Understand Renewable Energy Impacts to Wildlife
A comprehensive analysis of how renewable energy facilities affect wildlife could inform efforts to predict and reduce these impacts. A team of researchers was asked to gain a better understanding of the actual environmental impacts of renewable energy generation on sensitive species and habitats in California.
Demographic Consequences of Human Stressors on Wildlife Populations
Predicting the ecological and conservation significances of human influences on wildlife populations is difficult. However, methodological developments can help make the transition from count-based field data on individuals to rate-based demographic estimates.