Claire Teitelbaum, PhD
Assistant Unit Leader - Georgia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Claire is an Assistant Unit Leader and Adjust Assistant Professor in in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Georgia. Claire's research broadly covers movement, behavior, and population dynamics of wildlife, especially related to habitat, climate, and infectious diseases. Claire uses and adapts quantitative methods to analyze and combine data sets from animal telemetry, biodiversity databases, biological surveys, and remote sensing. Claire received her Ph.D. from the Odum School of Ecology at the University of Georgia and her B.A. from Pomona College. Claire held post-doctoral positions at the USGS’s Eastern Ecological Science Center (formerly Patuxent Wildlife Research Center) and NASA’s Ames Research Center before joining the Georgia Unit.
Professional Experience
USGS’s Eastern Ecological Science Center (formerly USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center)
NASA Ames Research Center
Education and Certifications
Odum School of Ecology at the University of Georgia, PhD
Pomona College, B.A.
Abstracts and Presentations
Claire S. Teitelbaum, Nicholas M. Masto, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Allison C. Keever, Rebecca L. Poulson, Deborah L. Carter, Abigail G. Blake-Bradshaw, Cory J. Highway, Jamie C. Feddersen, Heath M. Hagy, Richard W. Gerhold, Bradley S. Cohen and Diann J. Prosser. 2024. Effects of highly pathogenic avian influenza infection on movement patterns of wintering and migrating mallards. 78th Annual Conference.
Claire S. Teitelbaum, Ackerman, Josh T, Casazza, Michael L, De La Cruz, Susan E, Hall, Laurie A, Lorenz, Austen A, Matchett, Elliott L, Mcduie, Fiona, Overton, Cory T, Sullivan, Jeffery D, and Prosser, Diann J. (2024). Using Animal Telemetry to Link Movement of Waterfowl Hosts with Influenza Infection and Environmental Transmission. 31st Annual Conference of The Wildlife Society. Baltimore, MD, 19
Science and Products
Data describing habitat use and availability for wild waterfowl in California, USA
These data describe the overlap of wild waterfowl and domestic poultry operations in California, USA. These data support a paired USGS publication.
Data showing similar movement ecology between mallards infected and not infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1
These data, which support a paired USGS publication, document the movement and infection status of mallards captured, marked, and tested at a wintering site in Tennessee. Data document differences in movement ecology between mallards infected and not infected with HPAI H5N1.
Data describing the effects of elastic leg-loop harnesses on adult and juvenile Common Terns
These data describe the affects of elastic leg-loop harnesses on the reproductive success and behavior of adult Common Terns and the growth and behavior of juvenile Common Terns. These data support a USGS authored manuscript.
Data describing infection status and movement ecology of North American waterfowl
These data, which support a USGS authored manuscript, describe how active and previous previous infection with avian influenza impacts the movement ecology of several wild waterfowl species that overwinter in California. Results varied by species and demonstrate that the relationships between avian influenza infection and wild bird movements are context- and species-dependent.
Surface water estimates for a complex study site derived from traditional and emerging methods
These data describe the area of different habitat covered in water as determined via three approaches: manual surveys, digitized aerial imagery, and categorization of the newly available dynamic surface water extent dataset derived from satellite imagery. These data support a scientific publication.
Data measuring avian influenza infection, mercury concentration, and body condition in wild waterfowl
These data represent mercury contamination, influenza infection, and body condition in 11 species of dabbling and diving ducks in the Pacific Flyway. These data support a USGS lead scientific publication.
Filter Total Items: 17
The potential of remote sensing for improved infectious disease ecology research and practice
Outbreaks of Covid-19 in humans, Dutch elm disease in forests, and highly pathogenic avian influenza in wild birds and poultry highlight the disruptive impacts of emerging infectious diseases on public health, ecosystems, and economies. Infectious disease dynamics often depend on environmental conditions that drive occurrence, transmission, and outbreaks. Remote sensing can contribute to...
Authors
Claire Stewart Teitelbaum, António Ferraz, Susan E.W. De La Cruz, Morgan Elizabeth Gilmour, Ian G. Brosnan
Species diversity links land consolidation to rodent disease
Four decades of data on rodent species composition and hantavirus prevalence across a changing urban–agricultural landscape demonstrate that long-term data are key for understanding links between biodiversity loss and disease dynamics
Authors
Claire Stewart Teitelbaum
Reframing wildlife disease management problems with decision analysis
Contemporary wildlife disease management is complex because managers need to respond to a wide range of stakeholders, multiple uncertainties, and difficult trade-offs that characterize the interconnected challenges of today. Despite general acknowledgment of these complexities, managing wildlife disease tends to be framed as a scientific problem, in which the major challenge is lack of...
Authors
Margaret C. McEachran, Johanna A. Harvey, Riley Olivia Mummah, Molly C. Bletz, Claire Stewart Teitelbaum, Elias Rosenblatt, F. Javiera Rudolph, Fernando Arce, Shanglai Yin, Diann Prosser, Brittany Mosher, Jennifer M. Mullinax, Graziella Vittoria DiRenzo, Jannelle Couret, Michael Runge, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Jonathan D. Cook
Potential use of poultry farms by wild waterfowl in California's Central Valley varies across space, times of day, and species: implications for influenza transmission risk
Interactions between wildlife and livestock can lead to cross-species disease transmission, which incurs economic costs and threatens wildlife conservation. Wild waterfowl are natural hosts of avian influenza viruses (AIVs), are often abundant near poultry farms, and have been linked to outbreaks of AIVs in poultry. Interspecific and seasonal variation in waterfowl movement and habitat...
Authors
Claire Stewart Teitelbaum, Michael L. Casazza, Cory T. Overton, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Elliott Matchett, Fiona McDuie, Austen Lorenz, Josh T. Ackerman, Susan E.W. De La Cruz, Diann Prosser
Climate change impacts on bird migration and highly pathogenic avian influenza
The unprecedented extent of highly pathogenic avian influenza coincides with intensifying global climate changes that alter host ecology and physiology, and could impact virus evolution and dynamics.
Authors
Diann Prosser, Claire Stewart Teitelbaum, Shenglai Yin, Nichola J. Hill, Xiangming Xiao
North American wintering mallards infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza show few signs of altered local or migratory movements
Avian influenza viruses pose a threat to wildlife and livestock health. The emergence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in wild birds and poultry in North America in late 2021 was the first such outbreak since 2015 and the largest outbreak in North America to date. Despite its prominence and economic impacts, we know relatively little about how HPAI spreads in wild bird...
Authors
Claire Stewart Teitelbaum, Nicholas Masto, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Allison Keever, Rebecca L. Poulson, Deborah L. Carter, Abigail Blake-Bradshaw, Corey Highway, Jamie Feddersen, Heath M. Hagy, Richard W. Gerhold, Bradley S. Cohen, Diann Prosser
Waterfowl recently infected with low pathogenic avian influenza exhibit reduced local movement and delayed migration
Understanding relationships between infection and wildlife movement patterns is important for predicting pathogen spread, especially for multispecies pathogens and those that can spread to humans and domestic animals, such as avian influenza viruses (AIVs). Although infection with low pathogenic AIVs is generally considered asymptomatic in wild birds, prior work has shown that influenza...
Authors
Claire Stewart Teitelbaum, Michael L. Casazza, Fiona McDuie, Susan E.W. De La Cruz, Cory T. Overton, Laurie Anne Hall, Elliott Matchett, Josh T. Ackerman, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Andrew M. Ramey, Diann Prosser
Differential shortstopping behaviour in Whooping Cranes: Habitat or social learning?
Many migratory bird species have begun shifting their wintering grounds closer to their breeding grounds, shortening their yearly migration distance through a behavior called shortstopping. While multiple studies have investigated possible drivers, it remains unclear why only some populations adopt this behavior.We studied the differential occurrence of shortstopping in two populations...
Authors
Philipp Mendgen, Sarah J. Converse, Aaron T. Pearse, Claire Stewart Teitelbaum, Thomas Mueller
An evaluation of transmitter effects on adult and juvenile Common Terns using leg-loop harness attachments
Marking birds with transmitters allows for the collection of data that are critical for fully understanding avian life history, but researchers must also be confident that performing such studies is as safe as possible for transmittered individuals. While much could be learned from tracking juveniles across dependency periods and first migration, doing so would require a harness-based...
Authors
Evan James Buck, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Claire Stewart Teitelbaum, David F. Brinker, Peter C. McGowan, Diann Prosser
Comparing Landsat Dynamic Surface Water Extent to alternative methods of measuring inundation in developing waterbird habitats
This study investigates the applicability of the Landsat Dynamic Surface Water Extent (DSWE) science product for waterbird habitat modeling in multiple non-canopied habitat types. We compare surface water distribution estimates derived from DSWE to two site-specific survey methods: visual surveys and digitized aerial imagery. These site-specific surveys were conducted on Poplar Island, a...
Authors
John W. Taylor, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Claire Stewart Teitelbaum, Jan G. Reese, Diann Prosser
Avian influenza antibody prevalence increases with mercury contamination in wild waterfowl
Environmental contamination is widespread and can negatively impact wildlife health. Some contaminants, including heavy metals, have immunosuppressive effects, but prior studies have rarely measured contamination and disease simultaneously, which limits our understanding of how contaminants and pathogens interact to influence wildlife health. Here, we measured mercury concentrations...
Authors
Claire Stewart Teitelbaum, Josh T. Ackerman, Mason A. Hill, Jaqueline M. Satter, Michael L. Casazza, Susan E.W. De La Cruz, Walter M. Boyce, Evan James Buck, John M. Eadie, Mark P. Herzog, Elliott Matchett, Cory T. Overton, Sarah H. Peterson, Magdalena Plancarte, Andrew M. Ramey, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Diann Prosser
Ontogenetic shifts from social to experiential learning drive avian migration timing
Migrating animals may benefit from social or experiential learning, yet whether and how these learning processes interact or change over time to produce observed migration patterns remains unexplored. Using 16 years of satellite-tracking data from 105 reintroduced whooping cranes, we reveal an interplay between social and experiential learning in migration timing. Both processes...
Authors
Briana L. Abrahms, Claire Stewart Teitelbaum, Thomas Mueller, Sarah J. Converse
Science and Products
Data describing habitat use and availability for wild waterfowl in California, USA
These data describe the overlap of wild waterfowl and domestic poultry operations in California, USA. These data support a paired USGS publication.
Data showing similar movement ecology between mallards infected and not infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1
These data, which support a paired USGS publication, document the movement and infection status of mallards captured, marked, and tested at a wintering site in Tennessee. Data document differences in movement ecology between mallards infected and not infected with HPAI H5N1.
Data describing the effects of elastic leg-loop harnesses on adult and juvenile Common Terns
These data describe the affects of elastic leg-loop harnesses on the reproductive success and behavior of adult Common Terns and the growth and behavior of juvenile Common Terns. These data support a USGS authored manuscript.
Data describing infection status and movement ecology of North American waterfowl
These data, which support a USGS authored manuscript, describe how active and previous previous infection with avian influenza impacts the movement ecology of several wild waterfowl species that overwinter in California. Results varied by species and demonstrate that the relationships between avian influenza infection and wild bird movements are context- and species-dependent.
Surface water estimates for a complex study site derived from traditional and emerging methods
These data describe the area of different habitat covered in water as determined via three approaches: manual surveys, digitized aerial imagery, and categorization of the newly available dynamic surface water extent dataset derived from satellite imagery. These data support a scientific publication.
Data measuring avian influenza infection, mercury concentration, and body condition in wild waterfowl
These data represent mercury contamination, influenza infection, and body condition in 11 species of dabbling and diving ducks in the Pacific Flyway. These data support a USGS lead scientific publication.
Filter Total Items: 17
The potential of remote sensing for improved infectious disease ecology research and practice
Outbreaks of Covid-19 in humans, Dutch elm disease in forests, and highly pathogenic avian influenza in wild birds and poultry highlight the disruptive impacts of emerging infectious diseases on public health, ecosystems, and economies. Infectious disease dynamics often depend on environmental conditions that drive occurrence, transmission, and outbreaks. Remote sensing can contribute to...
Authors
Claire Stewart Teitelbaum, António Ferraz, Susan E.W. De La Cruz, Morgan Elizabeth Gilmour, Ian G. Brosnan
Species diversity links land consolidation to rodent disease
Four decades of data on rodent species composition and hantavirus prevalence across a changing urban–agricultural landscape demonstrate that long-term data are key for understanding links between biodiversity loss and disease dynamics
Authors
Claire Stewart Teitelbaum
Reframing wildlife disease management problems with decision analysis
Contemporary wildlife disease management is complex because managers need to respond to a wide range of stakeholders, multiple uncertainties, and difficult trade-offs that characterize the interconnected challenges of today. Despite general acknowledgment of these complexities, managing wildlife disease tends to be framed as a scientific problem, in which the major challenge is lack of...
Authors
Margaret C. McEachran, Johanna A. Harvey, Riley Olivia Mummah, Molly C. Bletz, Claire Stewart Teitelbaum, Elias Rosenblatt, F. Javiera Rudolph, Fernando Arce, Shanglai Yin, Diann Prosser, Brittany Mosher, Jennifer M. Mullinax, Graziella Vittoria DiRenzo, Jannelle Couret, Michael Runge, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Jonathan D. Cook
Potential use of poultry farms by wild waterfowl in California's Central Valley varies across space, times of day, and species: implications for influenza transmission risk
Interactions between wildlife and livestock can lead to cross-species disease transmission, which incurs economic costs and threatens wildlife conservation. Wild waterfowl are natural hosts of avian influenza viruses (AIVs), are often abundant near poultry farms, and have been linked to outbreaks of AIVs in poultry. Interspecific and seasonal variation in waterfowl movement and habitat...
Authors
Claire Stewart Teitelbaum, Michael L. Casazza, Cory T. Overton, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Elliott Matchett, Fiona McDuie, Austen Lorenz, Josh T. Ackerman, Susan E.W. De La Cruz, Diann Prosser
Climate change impacts on bird migration and highly pathogenic avian influenza
The unprecedented extent of highly pathogenic avian influenza coincides with intensifying global climate changes that alter host ecology and physiology, and could impact virus evolution and dynamics.
Authors
Diann Prosser, Claire Stewart Teitelbaum, Shenglai Yin, Nichola J. Hill, Xiangming Xiao
North American wintering mallards infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza show few signs of altered local or migratory movements
Avian influenza viruses pose a threat to wildlife and livestock health. The emergence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in wild birds and poultry in North America in late 2021 was the first such outbreak since 2015 and the largest outbreak in North America to date. Despite its prominence and economic impacts, we know relatively little about how HPAI spreads in wild bird...
Authors
Claire Stewart Teitelbaum, Nicholas Masto, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Allison Keever, Rebecca L. Poulson, Deborah L. Carter, Abigail Blake-Bradshaw, Corey Highway, Jamie Feddersen, Heath M. Hagy, Richard W. Gerhold, Bradley S. Cohen, Diann Prosser
Waterfowl recently infected with low pathogenic avian influenza exhibit reduced local movement and delayed migration
Understanding relationships between infection and wildlife movement patterns is important for predicting pathogen spread, especially for multispecies pathogens and those that can spread to humans and domestic animals, such as avian influenza viruses (AIVs). Although infection with low pathogenic AIVs is generally considered asymptomatic in wild birds, prior work has shown that influenza...
Authors
Claire Stewart Teitelbaum, Michael L. Casazza, Fiona McDuie, Susan E.W. De La Cruz, Cory T. Overton, Laurie Anne Hall, Elliott Matchett, Josh T. Ackerman, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Andrew M. Ramey, Diann Prosser
Differential shortstopping behaviour in Whooping Cranes: Habitat or social learning?
Many migratory bird species have begun shifting their wintering grounds closer to their breeding grounds, shortening their yearly migration distance through a behavior called shortstopping. While multiple studies have investigated possible drivers, it remains unclear why only some populations adopt this behavior.We studied the differential occurrence of shortstopping in two populations...
Authors
Philipp Mendgen, Sarah J. Converse, Aaron T. Pearse, Claire Stewart Teitelbaum, Thomas Mueller
An evaluation of transmitter effects on adult and juvenile Common Terns using leg-loop harness attachments
Marking birds with transmitters allows for the collection of data that are critical for fully understanding avian life history, but researchers must also be confident that performing such studies is as safe as possible for transmittered individuals. While much could be learned from tracking juveniles across dependency periods and first migration, doing so would require a harness-based...
Authors
Evan James Buck, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Claire Stewart Teitelbaum, David F. Brinker, Peter C. McGowan, Diann Prosser
Comparing Landsat Dynamic Surface Water Extent to alternative methods of measuring inundation in developing waterbird habitats
This study investigates the applicability of the Landsat Dynamic Surface Water Extent (DSWE) science product for waterbird habitat modeling in multiple non-canopied habitat types. We compare surface water distribution estimates derived from DSWE to two site-specific survey methods: visual surveys and digitized aerial imagery. These site-specific surveys were conducted on Poplar Island, a...
Authors
John W. Taylor, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Claire Stewart Teitelbaum, Jan G. Reese, Diann Prosser
Avian influenza antibody prevalence increases with mercury contamination in wild waterfowl
Environmental contamination is widespread and can negatively impact wildlife health. Some contaminants, including heavy metals, have immunosuppressive effects, but prior studies have rarely measured contamination and disease simultaneously, which limits our understanding of how contaminants and pathogens interact to influence wildlife health. Here, we measured mercury concentrations...
Authors
Claire Stewart Teitelbaum, Josh T. Ackerman, Mason A. Hill, Jaqueline M. Satter, Michael L. Casazza, Susan E.W. De La Cruz, Walter M. Boyce, Evan James Buck, John M. Eadie, Mark P. Herzog, Elliott Matchett, Cory T. Overton, Sarah H. Peterson, Magdalena Plancarte, Andrew M. Ramey, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Diann Prosser
Ontogenetic shifts from social to experiential learning drive avian migration timing
Migrating animals may benefit from social or experiential learning, yet whether and how these learning processes interact or change over time to produce observed migration patterns remains unexplored. Using 16 years of satellite-tracking data from 105 reintroduced whooping cranes, we reveal an interplay between social and experiential learning in migration timing. Both processes...
Authors
Briana L. Abrahms, Claire Stewart Teitelbaum, Thomas Mueller, Sarah J. Converse