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
Estimating the spatial distribution of wintering little brown bat populations in the eastern United States
Large-scale climate variation modifies the winter grouping behavior of endangered Indiana bats
Prioritizing bird conservation actions in the Prairie Hardwood transition of the Midwestern United States
Replacement cost valuation of Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) subsistence harvest in Arctic and sub-Arctic North America
Effects of cave gating on population trends at individual hibernacula of the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalist)
BatTool: an R package with GUI for assessing the effect of White-nose syndrome and other take events on Myotis spp. of bats
Change in agricultural land use constrains adaptation of national wildlife refuges to climate change
Land use and climate affect Black Tern, Northern Harrier, and Marsh Wren abundance in the Prairie Pothole Region of the United States
Projected risk of population declines for native fish species in the Upper Mississippi River
Understanding the value of imperfect science from national estimates of bird mortality from window collisions
National valuation of monarch butterflies indicates an untapped potential for incentive-based conservation
Exposure and effects of perfluoroalkyl substances in tree swallows nesting in Minnesota and Wisconsin, USA
Science and Products
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Estimating the spatial distribution of wintering little brown bat populations in the eastern United States
Depicting the spatial distribution of wildlife species is an important first step in developing management and conservation programs for particular species. Accurate representation of a species distribution is important for predicting the effects of climate change, land-use change, management activities, disease, and other landscape-level processes on wildlife populations. We developed models to eAuthorsRobin E. Russell, Karl Tinsley, Richard A. Erickson, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Jennifer A. SzymanskiLarge-scale climate variation modifies the winter grouping behavior of endangered Indiana bats
Power laws describe the functional relationship between 2 quantities, such as the frequency of a group as the multiplicative power of group size. We examined whether the annual size of well-surveyed wintering populations of endangered Indiana bats (Myotis sodalis) followed a power law, and then leveraged this relationship to predict whether the aggregation of Indiana bats in winter was influencedAuthorsWayne E. Thogmartin, Patrick C. McKannPrioritizing bird conservation actions in the Prairie Hardwood transition of the Midwestern United States
Large-scale planning for the conservation of species is often hindered by a poor understanding of factors limiting populations. In regions with declining wildlife populations, it is critical that objective metrics of conservation success are developed to ensure that conservation actions achieve desired results. Using spatially explicit estimates of bird abundance, we evaluated several management aAuthorsWayne E. Thogmartin, Shawn M. Crimmins, Jennie PearceReplacement cost valuation of Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) subsistence harvest in Arctic and sub-Arctic North America
Migratory species provide economically beneficial ecosystem services to people throughout their range, yet often, information is lacking about the magnitude and spatial distribution of these benefits at regional scales. We conducted a case study for Northern Pintails (hereafter pintail) in which we quantified regional and sub-regional economic values of subsistence harvest to indigenous communitieAuthorsJoshua H. Goldstein, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Kenneth J. Bagstad, James A. Dubovsky, Brady J. Mattsson, Darius J. Semmens, Laura López-Hoffman, James E. DiffendorferEffects of cave gating on population trends at individual hibernacula of the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalist)
Installing gates at cave entrances to protect hibernating bat colonies is a widespread conservation action, particularly for endangered bat species such as the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis). However, there is surprisingly little evidence on the efficacy of gates for improving population growth rates. We used change-point models to determine the effects of gate construction on Indiana bats. We estimAuthorsShawn M. Crimmins, Patrick C. McKann, Jennifer A. Szymanski, Wayne E. ThogmartinBatTool: an R package with GUI for assessing the effect of White-nose syndrome and other take events on Myotis spp. of bats
Background: Myotis species of bats such as the Indiana Bat and Little Brown Bat are facing population declines because of White-nose syndrome (WNS). These species also face threats from anthropogenic activities such as wind energy development. Population models may be used to provide insights into threats facing these species. We developed a population model, BatTool, as an R package to help deciAuthorsRichard A. Erickson, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Jennifer A. SzymanskiChange in agricultural land use constrains adaptation of national wildlife refuges to climate change
Land-use change around protected areas limits their ability to conserve biodiversity by altering ecological processes such as natural hydrologic and disturbance regimes, facilitating species invasions, and interfering with dispersal of organisms. This paper informs USA National Wildlife Refuge System conservation planning by predicting future land-use change on lands within 25 km distance of 461 rAuthorsChristopher M. Hamilton, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Volker C. Radeloff, Andrew J. Plantinga, Patricia J. Heglund, Sebastian Martinuzzi, Anna M. PidgeonLand use and climate affect Black Tern, Northern Harrier, and Marsh Wren abundance in the Prairie Pothole Region of the United States
Bird populations are influenced by many environmental factors at both large and small scales. Our study evaluated the influences of regional climate and land-use variables on the Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Black Tern (Childonias niger), and Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris) in the prairie potholes of the upper Midwest of the United States. These species were chosen because their diverse hAuthorsGreg M. Forcey, Wayne E. Thogmartin, George M. Linz, Patrick C. McKannProjected risk of population declines for native fish species in the Upper Mississippi River
Conservationists are in need of objective metrics for prioritizing the management of habitats. For individual species, the threat of extinction is often used to prioritize what species are in need of conservation action. Using long-term monitoring data, we applied a Bayesian diffusion approximation to estimate quasi-extinction risk for 54 native fish species within six commercial navigation reacheAuthorsS.M. Crimmins, P. Boma, W.E. ThogmartinUnderstanding the value of imperfect science from national estimates of bird mortality from window collisions
The publication of a U.S. estimate of bird–window collisions by Loss et al. is an example of the somewhat contentious approach of using extrapolations to obtain large-scale estimates from small-scale studies. We review the approach by Loss et al. and other authors who have published papers on human-induced avian mortality and describe the drawbacks and advantages to publishing what could be considAuthorsCraig S. Machtans, Wayne E. ThogmartinNational valuation of monarch butterflies indicates an untapped potential for incentive-based conservation
The annual migration of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) has high cultural value and recent surveys indicate monarch populations are declining. Protecting migratory species is complex because they cross international borders and depend on multiple regions. Understanding how much, and where, humans place value on migratory species can facilitate market‐based conservation approaches. We perforAuthorsJames E. Diffendorfer, John, Loomiz, Leslie Ries, Karen Oberhauser, Laura Lopez-Hoffman, Darius J. Semmens, Brice Semmens, Bruce Butterfield, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Josh Goldstein, Ruscena Wiederholt, Brady Mattson, Wayne E. ThogmartinExposure and effects of perfluoroalkyl substances in tree swallows nesting in Minnesota and Wisconsin, USA
The exposure and effects of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) were studied at eight locations in Minnesota and Wisconsin between 2007 and 2011 using tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor). Concentrations of PFASs were quantified as were reproductive success end points. The sample egg method was used wherein an egg sample is collected, and the hatching success of the remaining eggs in the nest is asseAuthorsChristine M. Custer, Thomas W. Custer, Paul Dummer, Matthew A. Etterson, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Qian Wu, Kurunthachalam Kannan, Annette Trowbridge, Patrick C. McKann - Web Tools
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