David Douglas
Satellite remote sensing of landscape features that possess high-frequency dynamics, such as sea ice distribution and vegetation phenology, and spatial analyses of how wildlife migrations are influenced by habitat and weather dynamics.
My projects aim to pioneer new analytical avenues in applied wildlife research by combining remote sensing with traditional wildlife studies to answer questions about habitat use and animal movements at landscape scales. The studies I engage align with Department of Interior priorities in the Arctic by addressing a growing need to understand how changes in climate or land use practices affect wildlife migrations, habitat availability, habitat quality, and population dynamics. Climate is the overarching force that controls wildlife habitat resources in the Arctic, so understanding linkages between the physical and biological environment is critical for making informed management decisions in the face of accelerating warming and expanding human activities. My expertise includes tracking wildlife by satellite, monitoring sea ice and vegetation changes by satellite, and the implications of future climate change on Arctic wildlife in general.
Professional Experience
1986 - Present Research Wildlife Biologist USGS Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, Alaska
1985 - 1986 Biological Technician Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Fairbanks, Alaska
1980 - 1984 Biological Technician US Forest Service, Region 4, Ogden, Utah
Education and Certifications
M.S. 1986 Washington State University, Pullman, WA Wildlife Biology
B.A. 1982 Utah State University, Logan, UT Biology
Affiliations and Memberships*
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Science and Products
Post-breeding migration of Dutch-breeding black-tailed godwits: timing, routes, use of stopovers, and nonbreeding destinations
Sources of global climate data and visualization portals
Evaluation of potential protective factors against metabolic syndrome in bottlenose dolphins:feeding and activity patterns of dolphins in Sarasota Bay, Florida
Variation in the response of an Arctic top predator experiencing habitat loss: Feeding and reproductive ecology of two polar bear populations
Migration and wintering areas of American Bitterns (Botaurus lentiginosus) that summer in central North America as determined by satellite and radio telemetry, 1998-2003
Movements of wild ruddy shelducks in the Central Asian Flyway and their spatial relationship to outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1
Patterns of social association in the franciscana, Pontoporia blainvillei
Movements and dive patterns of short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) released from a mass stranding in the Florida Keys
The environmental-data automated track annotation (Env-DATA) system: linking animal tracks with environmental data
Moderating Argos location errors in animal tracking data
Effects of sea ice on winter site fidelity of Pacific common eiders (Somateria mollissima v-nigrum)
Polar bear and walrus response to the rapid decline in Arctic sea ice
Science and Products
Post-breeding migration of Dutch-breeding black-tailed godwits: timing, routes, use of stopovers, and nonbreeding destinations
Sources of global climate data and visualization portals
Evaluation of potential protective factors against metabolic syndrome in bottlenose dolphins:feeding and activity patterns of dolphins in Sarasota Bay, Florida
Variation in the response of an Arctic top predator experiencing habitat loss: Feeding and reproductive ecology of two polar bear populations
Migration and wintering areas of American Bitterns (Botaurus lentiginosus) that summer in central North America as determined by satellite and radio telemetry, 1998-2003
Movements of wild ruddy shelducks in the Central Asian Flyway and their spatial relationship to outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1
Patterns of social association in the franciscana, Pontoporia blainvillei
Movements and dive patterns of short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) released from a mass stranding in the Florida Keys
The environmental-data automated track annotation (Env-DATA) system: linking animal tracks with environmental data
Moderating Argos location errors in animal tracking data
Effects of sea ice on winter site fidelity of Pacific common eiders (Somateria mollissima v-nigrum)
Polar bear and walrus response to the rapid decline in Arctic sea ice
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government