James Nichols, Ph.D.
Dr. Jim Nichols conducts research on animal population dynamics and management
Recent Accomplishments
Education
- B.S. Wake Forest University, Biology, 1971
- M.S. Louisiana State University, Wildlife Management, 1973
- Ph.D. Michigan State University, Wildlife Ecology, 1976
Professional Studies/Experience
- Adaptive management and assessment of habitat changes on migratory birds
- Development of models of mallard population dynamics for adaptive harvest management
- Development of methods to estimate parameters associated with animal population dynamics
- Statistical methods for species richness estimation
- Technical Assistance -Tiger Monitoring and Population Research
- Development of methods for estimating patch occupancy and patch-dynamic parameters from detection-nondetection survey data
- Development of methods to estimate species richness and community-dynamic parameters from species list data
Mentorship/Outreach
Professional societies/affiliations/committees/editorial boardsScientific/Oral Presentations, Abstracts
Honors, awards, recognition, elected offices
- 2005 - U.S. Presidential Rank Award (Meritorious Senior Professional)
- 2004 - U.S. Geological Survey Meritorious Service Award
- 2004 - IFAS Scholar Award, University of Florida
- 1998 - Promoted to Senior Scientist, U.S. Geological Survey
- 1991 - The George W. Snedecor Award of the American Statistical Association
- 1991 - The Wildlife Society's Wildlife Publication Award for Monograph
- 1984 - Southeastern Section of the Wildlife Society, Outstanding Publication Award
Scientific/Oral Presentations, Abstracts
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 401
Managing North American waterfowl in the face of uncertainty
Informed management of waterfowl (or any animal population) requires management goals and objectives, the ability to implement management actions, periodic information about population and goal-related varlables, and knowledge of effects of management actions on population and goal-related variables. In North America, international treaties mandate a primary objective of protecting migratory bird
Authors
James D. Nichols, Fred A. Johnson, Byron K. Williams
A capture-recapture survival analysis model for radio-tagged animals
In recent years, survival analysis of radio-tagged animals has developed using methods based on the Kaplan-Meier method used in medical and engineering applications (Pollock et al., 1989a,b). An important assumption of this approach is that all tagged animals with a functioning radio can be relocated at each sampling time with probability 1. This assumption may not always be reasonable in practice
Authors
K. H. Pollock, C. M. Bunck, S.R. Winterstein, C.-L. Chen
On the use of secondary capture-recapture samples to estimate temporary emigration and breeding proportions
The use of the Cormack- Jolly-Seber model under a standard sampling scheme of one sample per time period, when the Jolly-Seber assumption that all emigration is permanent does not hold, leads to the confounding of temporary emigration probabilities with capture probabilities. This biases the estimates of capture probability when temporary emigration is a completely random process, and both captur
Authors
W. L. Kendall, J. D. Nichols
The use of multi-state capture-recapture models to address questions in evolutionary ecology
No abstract available.
Authors
J. D. Nichols, W. L. Kendall
Delineating bird populations using ring recoveries
We delineate bird populations using cluster analysis to group ringing sites based on pairwise comparisons of recoveries. Clustering provides a quantitative (but non-unique) grouping that can be used to examine the relationships of bird distributions at both local and regional geographic scales. Clustering is based on similarity matrices composed of pairwise comparisons of recovery distributions
Authors
G.W. Pendleton, J.R. Sauer
Estimating bird species richness from capture and count data
We used capture-recapture methods to estimate bird species richness from mist-net and point-count data from a study area in Campeche, Mexico. We estimated species richness separately for each survey technique for two habitats, forest and pasture, in six sampling periods. We then estimated richness based on species' detections by either technique, and estimated the proportion of species detected
Authors
D.K. Dawson, J.R. Sauer, P.A. Wood, M. Berlanga, M.H. Wilson, C.S. Robbins
Banding reference areas and survival rates of green-winged teal, 1950-1989
The green-winged teal (Anas crecca carolinensis) is an important harvest species, yet we know relatively little about its population ecology. We investigated aspects of green-winged teal population ecology of potential importance to waterfowl managers. We used recoveries of green-winged teal banded during winter (1950-89) to establish banding reference areas and estimate survival and band recove
Authors
D.S. Chu, J. D. Nichols, J.B. Hestbeck, J. E. Hines
Statistics and ornithology: State-of-the-art data analysis for studies of marked birds. Proceedings of the 4th EURING Technical Meeting, 19-24 September, 1994
No abstract available.
Authors
P.M. North, J. D. Nichols
Estimating annual survival and movement rates of adults within a metapopulation of roseate terns
Several multistratum capture—recapture models were used to test various hypotheses about possible geographic and temporal variation in survival, movement, and recapture/resighting probabilities of 2399 adult Roseate Terns (Sterna dougallii) color—banded from 1988 to 1992 at the sites of the four largest breeding colonies of this species in the northeastern USA. Linear—logistic ultrastructural mode
Authors
Jeffrey A. Spendelow, James D. Nichols, Ian C. T. Nisbet, Helen Hays, Grace Cormons, Joanna Burger, C. Safina, James E. Hines, Michael Gochfeld
Geographic variation in band reporting rates for mallards based on reward banding
We conducted a reward band study on mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) to estimate and test hypotheses about sources of variation in band reporting rate. We banded 25,398 mallards with standard and 100 reward bands (3 mallards banded with standard bands for every reward-banded mallard) during preseason (Jul-Sep), 1988. We used a series of multinomial models to model the resulting 2,776 band recoveries
Authors
J. D. Nichols, R. E. Reynolds, R.J. Blohm, R.E. Trost, J. E. Hines, J.P. Bladen
Spring-summer survival rates of yearling versus adult mallard females
Knowledge of the timing, magnitude, and cause of mortality in wildlife populations is imperative for developing management strategies that protect or improve the status of these populations. Age- and sex-specific population parameter estimates provide the most useful information for this purpose. Numerous studies have provided information about survival rates in mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), but
Authors
R. E. Reynolds, R.J. Blohm, J. D. Nichols, J. E. Hines
Overwinter survival of neotropical migratory birds in early-successional and mature tropical forests
Many Neotropical migratory species inhabit both mature and earty-successional forests on their wintering grounds, yet comparisons of survival rates between habitats are lacking. Consequently, the factors affecting habitat suitability for Neotropical migrants and the potential effects of tropical deforestation on migrants are not well understood. We estimated overwinter survival and capture probabi
Authors
C.J. Conway, G. V. N. Powell, J. D. Nichols
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 401
Managing North American waterfowl in the face of uncertainty
Informed management of waterfowl (or any animal population) requires management goals and objectives, the ability to implement management actions, periodic information about population and goal-related varlables, and knowledge of effects of management actions on population and goal-related variables. In North America, international treaties mandate a primary objective of protecting migratory bird
Authors
James D. Nichols, Fred A. Johnson, Byron K. Williams
A capture-recapture survival analysis model for radio-tagged animals
In recent years, survival analysis of radio-tagged animals has developed using methods based on the Kaplan-Meier method used in medical and engineering applications (Pollock et al., 1989a,b). An important assumption of this approach is that all tagged animals with a functioning radio can be relocated at each sampling time with probability 1. This assumption may not always be reasonable in practice
Authors
K. H. Pollock, C. M. Bunck, S.R. Winterstein, C.-L. Chen
On the use of secondary capture-recapture samples to estimate temporary emigration and breeding proportions
The use of the Cormack- Jolly-Seber model under a standard sampling scheme of one sample per time period, when the Jolly-Seber assumption that all emigration is permanent does not hold, leads to the confounding of temporary emigration probabilities with capture probabilities. This biases the estimates of capture probability when temporary emigration is a completely random process, and both captur
Authors
W. L. Kendall, J. D. Nichols
The use of multi-state capture-recapture models to address questions in evolutionary ecology
No abstract available.
Authors
J. D. Nichols, W. L. Kendall
Delineating bird populations using ring recoveries
We delineate bird populations using cluster analysis to group ringing sites based on pairwise comparisons of recoveries. Clustering provides a quantitative (but non-unique) grouping that can be used to examine the relationships of bird distributions at both local and regional geographic scales. Clustering is based on similarity matrices composed of pairwise comparisons of recovery distributions
Authors
G.W. Pendleton, J.R. Sauer
Estimating bird species richness from capture and count data
We used capture-recapture methods to estimate bird species richness from mist-net and point-count data from a study area in Campeche, Mexico. We estimated species richness separately for each survey technique for two habitats, forest and pasture, in six sampling periods. We then estimated richness based on species' detections by either technique, and estimated the proportion of species detected
Authors
D.K. Dawson, J.R. Sauer, P.A. Wood, M. Berlanga, M.H. Wilson, C.S. Robbins
Banding reference areas and survival rates of green-winged teal, 1950-1989
The green-winged teal (Anas crecca carolinensis) is an important harvest species, yet we know relatively little about its population ecology. We investigated aspects of green-winged teal population ecology of potential importance to waterfowl managers. We used recoveries of green-winged teal banded during winter (1950-89) to establish banding reference areas and estimate survival and band recove
Authors
D.S. Chu, J. D. Nichols, J.B. Hestbeck, J. E. Hines
Statistics and ornithology: State-of-the-art data analysis for studies of marked birds. Proceedings of the 4th EURING Technical Meeting, 19-24 September, 1994
No abstract available.
Authors
P.M. North, J. D. Nichols
Estimating annual survival and movement rates of adults within a metapopulation of roseate terns
Several multistratum capture—recapture models were used to test various hypotheses about possible geographic and temporal variation in survival, movement, and recapture/resighting probabilities of 2399 adult Roseate Terns (Sterna dougallii) color—banded from 1988 to 1992 at the sites of the four largest breeding colonies of this species in the northeastern USA. Linear—logistic ultrastructural mode
Authors
Jeffrey A. Spendelow, James D. Nichols, Ian C. T. Nisbet, Helen Hays, Grace Cormons, Joanna Burger, C. Safina, James E. Hines, Michael Gochfeld
Geographic variation in band reporting rates for mallards based on reward banding
We conducted a reward band study on mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) to estimate and test hypotheses about sources of variation in band reporting rate. We banded 25,398 mallards with standard and 100 reward bands (3 mallards banded with standard bands for every reward-banded mallard) during preseason (Jul-Sep), 1988. We used a series of multinomial models to model the resulting 2,776 band recoveries
Authors
J. D. Nichols, R. E. Reynolds, R.J. Blohm, R.E. Trost, J. E. Hines, J.P. Bladen
Spring-summer survival rates of yearling versus adult mallard females
Knowledge of the timing, magnitude, and cause of mortality in wildlife populations is imperative for developing management strategies that protect or improve the status of these populations. Age- and sex-specific population parameter estimates provide the most useful information for this purpose. Numerous studies have provided information about survival rates in mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), but
Authors
R. E. Reynolds, R.J. Blohm, J. D. Nichols, J. E. Hines
Overwinter survival of neotropical migratory birds in early-successional and mature tropical forests
Many Neotropical migratory species inhabit both mature and earty-successional forests on their wintering grounds, yet comparisons of survival rates between habitats are lacking. Consequently, the factors affecting habitat suitability for Neotropical migrants and the potential effects of tropical deforestation on migrants are not well understood. We estimated overwinter survival and capture probabi
Authors
C.J. Conway, G. V. N. Powell, J. D. Nichols