Wayne E Thogmartin, PhD
I am a quantitative ecologist conducting scholarly research at the intersection of animal ecology, spatial analyses, and statistics.
My interests are in population ecology for animals declining in abundance, asking new questions of multiple, combined data sets to gain novel insight into the dynamics of animal populations, and translating science into guidance for practical management decisions.
Professional Experience
2014 to the present Research Ecologist, US Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, La Crosse, Wisconsin 54603
2002 to 2014 Research Statistician (Biology), US Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, La Crosse, Wisconsin 54603
1995 Wildlife Biologist, United States Forest Service, Forestry Sciences Lab
Education and Certifications
PhD, Zoology, Southern Illinois University, May, 2002
MS, Zoology, University of Arkansas, May, 1998
BA, Ecology / Behavior / Evolution, University of California, San Diego, June, 1990
Science and Products
Managing individual nests promotes population recovery of a top predator
Recreation economics to inform migratory species conservation: Case study of the northern pintail
Estimating the per-capita contribution of habitats and pathways in a migratory network: A modelling approach
Quantitative tools for implementing the new definition of significant portion of the range in the U.S. Endangered Species Act
Ecosystem services from transborder migratory species: Implications for conservation governance
Importance of scale, land cover, and weather on the abundance of bird species in a managed forest
Monarch butterfly population decline in North America: identifying the threatening processes
Effects of habitat and climate change on blackbird populations
Interpreting surveys to estimate the size of the monarch butterfly population: Pitfalls and prospects
Restoring monarch butterfly habitat in the Midwestern US: 'All hands on deck'
Defining and classifying migratory habitats as sources and sinks: The migratory pathway approach
Local and cross-seasonal associations of climate and land use with abundance of monarch butterflies Danaus plexippus
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Managing individual nests promotes population recovery of a top predator
Threatened species are managed using diverse conservation tactics implemented at multiple scales ranging from protecting individuals, to populations, to entire species. Individual protection strives to promote recovery at the population‐ or species‐level, although this is seldom evaluated.After decades of widespread declines, bald eagles, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, are recovering throughout their rAuthorsJennyffer Cruz, Steve K. Windels, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Shawn M. Crimmins, Leland Grim, Benjamin ZuckerbergRecreation economics to inform migratory species conservation: Case study of the northern pintail
Quantification of the economic value provided by migratory species can aid in targeting management efforts and funding to locations yielding the greatest benefits to society and species conservation. Here we illustrate a key step in this process by estimating hunting and birding values of the northern pintail (Anas acuta) within primary breeding and wintering habitats used during the species’ annuAuthorsBrady J. Mattsson, James A. Dubovsky, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Joshua H. Goldstein, John B. Loomis, James E. Diffendorfer, Darius J. Semmens, Ruscena Wiederholt, Laura Lopez-HoffmanEstimating the per-capita contribution of habitats and pathways in a migratory network: A modelling approach
Every year, migratory species undertake seasonal movements along different pathways between discrete regions and habitats. The ability to assess the relative demographic contributions of these different habitats and pathways to the species’ overall population dynamics is critical for understanding the ecology of migratory species, and also has practical applications for management and conservationAuthorsRuscena Wiederholt, Brady J. Mattsson, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Michael C. Runge, Jay E. Diffendorfer, Richard A. Erickson, Paula Federico, Laura Lopez-Hoffman, John Fryxell, D. Ryan Norris, Christine SampleQuantitative tools for implementing the new definition of significant portion of the range in the U.S. Endangered Species Act
In 2014, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service announced a new policy interpretation for the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). According to the act, a species must be listed as threatened or endangered if it is determined to be threatened or endangered in a significant portion of its range (SPR). The 2014 policy seeks to provide consistency by establishing thatAuthorsJulia E. Earl, Samuel Nicol, Ruscena Wiederholt, Jay E. Diffendorfer, Darius J. Semmens, D. T. Tyler Flockhart, Brady Mattsson, Gary McCracken, D. Ryan Norris, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Laura Lopez-HoffmanEcosystem services from transborder migratory species: Implications for conservation governance
This article discusses the conservation challenges of volant migratory transborder species and conservation governance primarily in North America. Many migratory species provide ecosystem service benefits to society. For example, insectivorous bats prey on crop pests and reduce the need for pesticides; birds and insects pollinate food plants; and birds afford recreational opportunities to huntersAuthorsLaura Lopez-Hoffman, Charles C. Chester, Darius J. Semmens, Wayne E. Thogmartin, M. Sofia Rodriguez-McGoffin, Robert W. Merideth, Jay E. DiffendorferImportance of scale, land cover, and weather on the abundance of bird species in a managed forest
Climate change and habitat loss are projected to be the two greatest drivers of biodiversity loss over the coming century. While public lands have the potential to increase regional resilience of bird populations to these threats, long-term data are necessary to document species responses to changes in climate and habitat to better understand population vulnerabilities. We used generalized linearAuthorsAlexis R. Grinde, Gerald J. Hiemi, Brian R. Sturtevant, Hannah Panci, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Peter WolterMonarch butterfly population decline in North America: identifying the threatening processes
The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) population in North America has sharply declined over the last two decades. Despite rising concern over the monarch butterfly's status, no comprehensive study of the factors driving this decline has been conducted. Using partial least-squares regressions and time-series analysis, we investigated climatic and habitat-related factors influencing monarch populAuthorsWayne E. Thogmartin, Ruscena Wiederholt, Karen Oberhauser, Ryan G. Drum, Jay E. Diffendorfer, Sonia Altizer, Orley R. Taylor, John M. Pleasants, Darius J. Semmens, Brice X. Semmens, Richard A. Erickson, Kaitlin Libby, Laura Lopez-HoffmanEffects of habitat and climate change on blackbird populations
Global biodiversity loss is proceeding at an accelerating pace (Newbold et al. 2015, 2016) in large part due to land use and, climate change, and associated spread of disease and non-native species (Hobbs et al. 2006, Williams and Jackson 2007, Ellis 2011, Radeloff et al. 2015). Over the last century, U.S. average temperature has increased 0.7–1.1°C, leading to an increased frost-free season, moreAuthorsGreg M. Forcey, Wayne E. ThogmartinInterpreting surveys to estimate the size of the monarch butterfly population: Pitfalls and prospects
To assess the change in the size of the eastern North American monarch butterfly summer population, studies have used long-term data sets of counts of adult butterflies or eggs per milkweed stem. Despite the observed decline in the monarch population as measured at overwintering sites in Mexico, these studies found no decline in summer counts in the Midwest, the core of the summer breeding range,AuthorsJohn M. Pleasants, Myron P. Zalucki, Karen S. Oberhauser, Lincoln P. Brower, Orley R. Taylor, Wayne E. ThogmartinRestoring monarch butterfly habitat in the Midwestern US: 'All hands on deck'
The eastern migratory population of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus plexippus) has declined by >80% within the last two decades. One possible cause of this decline is the loss of ≥1.3 billion stems of milkweed (Asclepias spp.), which monarchs require for reproduction. In an effort to restore monarchs to a population goal established by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and adopted by Mexico,AuthorsWayne E. Thogmartin, Laura Lopez-Hoffman, Jason J. Rohweder, James E. Diffendorfer, Ryan G. Drum, Darius J. Semmens, Scott Black, Iris Caldwell, Donita Cotter, Pauline Drobney, Laura L. Jackson, Michael Gale, Doug Helmers, Steven B. Hilburger, Elizabeth Howard, Karen S. Oberhauser, John M. Pleasants, Brice X. Semmens, Orley R. Taylor, Patrick Ward, Jake F. Weltzin, Ruscena WiederholtDefining and classifying migratory habitats as sources and sinks: The migratory pathway approach
Understanding and conserving migratory species requires a method for characterizing the seasonal flow of animals among habitats. Source-sink theory describes the metapopulation dynamics of species by classifying habitats as population sources (i.e. net contributors) or sinks (i.e. net substractors). Migratory species may have non-breeding habitats important to the species (e.g. overwintering or stAuthorsRichard A. Erickson, James E. Diffendorfer, Ryan Norris, Joanna A. Bieri, Julia Earl, Paula Federico, John Fryxell, Kevin Long, Brady J. Mattsson, Christine Sample, Ruscena Wiederholt, Wayne E. ThogmartinLocal and cross-seasonal associations of climate and land use with abundance of monarch butterflies Danaus plexippus
Quantifying how climate and land use factors drive population dynamics at regional scales is complex because it depends on the extent of spatial and temporal synchrony among local populations, and the integration of population processes throughout a species’ annual cycle. We modeled weekly, site-specific summer abundance (1994–2013) of monarch butterflies Danaus plexippus at sites across Illinois,AuthorsSarah P. Saunders, Leslie Ries, Karen S. Oberhasuer, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Elise F. Zipkin - Web Tools
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