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
Scale‐dependent effects of isolation on seasonal patch colonisation by two Neotropical freshwater fishes
The metapopulation paradigm has been central to improve the conservation and management of natural populations. However, despite the large number of studies on metapopulation dynamics, the overall support for the relationships on which the paradigm is based has not been strong. Here, we studied the occupancy dynamics of two Neotropical fishes (i.e., Pimelodella gracilis and Leporinus friderici) to
Authors
Jerry Penha, Karlo Y. P. Hakamada, James E. Hines, James D. Nichols
Occupancy models for citizen-science data
Large‐scale citizen‐science projects, such as atlases of species distribution, are an important source of data for macroecological research, for understanding the effects of climate change and other drivers on biodiversity, and for more applied conservation tasks, such as early‐warning systems for biodiversity loss.However, citizen‐science data are challenging to analyse because the observation pr
Authors
Res Altwegg, James D. Nichols
Partitioning global change: Assessing the relative importance of changes in climate and land cover for changes in avian distribution
Understanding the relative impact of climate change and land cover change on changes in avian distribution has implications for the future course of avian distributions and appropriate management strategies. Due to the dynamic nature of climate change, our goal was to investigate the processes that shape species distributions, rather than the current distributional patterns. To this end, we analyz
Authors
Matthew J. Clement, James D. Nichols, Jaime A. Collazo, Adam Terando, James E. Hines, Steven G. Williams
Science alive and well in North American wildlife management
Artelle et al. (1) entitled a recent article with the provocative claim: “Hallmarks of science missing from North American wildlife management”. Although we agree with some of the concerns and recommendations of Artelle et al. (1), we believe that the article is misleading about the distinction between science and management, the role of science in wise management, and the degree to which science
Authors
James D. Nichols, Fred A. Johnson, Byron K. Williams, G. Scott Boomer
Two-species occupancy modeling accounting for species misidentification and nondetection
In occupancy studies, species misidentification can lead to false‐positive detections, which can cause severe estimator biases. Currently, all models that account for false‐positive errors only consider omnibus sources of false detections and are limited to single‐species occupancy.However, false detections for a given species often occur because of the misidentification with another, closely rela
Authors
Thierry Chambert, Evan H. Campbell Grant, David A. W. Miller, James D. Nichols, Kevin P. Mulder, Adrianne B. Brand
Occupancy in community-level studies
Another type of multi-species studies, are those focused on community-level metrics such as species richness. In this chapter we detail how some of the single-species occupancy models described in earlier chapters have been applied, or extended, for use in such studies, while accounting for imperfect detection. We highlight how Bayesian methods using MCMC are particularly useful in such settings t
Authors
Darryl I. MacKenzie, James D. Nichols, Andy Royle, Kenneth H. Pollock, Larissa L. Bailey, James E. Hines
Strengthening links between waterfowl research and management
Waterfowl monitoring, research, regulation, and adaptive planning are leading the way in supporting science-informed wildlife management. However, increasing societal demands on natural resources have created a greater need for adaptable and successful linkages between waterfowl science and management. We presented a special session at the 2016 North American Duck Symposium, Annapolis, Maryland, U
Authors
Anthony J. Roberts, John M. Eadie, David Howerter, Fred A. Johnson, James D. Nichols, Michael C. Runge, Mark Vrtiska, Byron K. Williams
Are ranger patrols effective in reducing poaching-related threats within protected areas?
Poaching is one of the greatest threats to wildlife conservation world-wide. However, the spatial and temporal patterns of poaching activities within protected areas, and the effectiveness of ranger patrols and ranger posts in mitigating these threats, are relatively unknown.We used 10 years (2006–2015) of ranger-based monitoring data and dynamic multi-season occupancy models to quantify poaching-
Authors
Jennnifer F. Moore, Felix Mulindahabi, Michel K. Masozera, James D. Nichols, James E. Hines, Ezechiel Turikunkiko, Madan K. Oli
Field practices: Assessing tiger population dynamics using photographic captures
From these histories, capture frequency statistics and estimates of capture probabilities can be derived.
Authors
K. Ullas Karanth, James D. Nichols, Abishek Harihar, Dale Miquelle, N. Samba Kumar, Robert Dorazio
Concepts: Assessing tiger population dynamics using capture–recapture sampling
Capture-recapture can be viewed as an animal survey method in which the count statistic is the total number of animals caught, and the associated detection probability is the probability of capture.
Authors
J. Andrew Royle, Arjun M. Gopalaswamy, Robert Dorazio, James D. Nichols, Devcharan Jathanna, Ravishankar Parameshwaran
A new framework for analysing automated acoustic species detection data: Occupancy estimation and optimization of recordings post-processing
The development and use of automated species-detection technologies, such as acoustic recorders, for monitoring wildlife are rapidly expanding. Automated classification algorithms provide a cost- and time-effective means to process information-rich data, but often at the cost of additional detection errors. Appropriate methods are necessary to analyse such data while dealing with the different typ
Authors
Thierry A. Chambert, J. Hardin Waddle, David A.W. Miller, Susan C. Walls, James D. Nichols
Using optimal transport theory to estimate transition probabilities in metapopulation dynamics
This work considers the estimation of transition probabilities associated with populations moving among multiple spatial locations based on numbers of individuals at each location at two points in time. The problem is generally underdetermined as there exists an extremely large number of ways in which individuals can move from one set of locations to another. A unique solution therefore requires a
Authors
Jonathan M. Nichols, Jeffrey A. Spendelow, James D. Nichols
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 401
Scale‐dependent effects of isolation on seasonal patch colonisation by two Neotropical freshwater fishes
The metapopulation paradigm has been central to improve the conservation and management of natural populations. However, despite the large number of studies on metapopulation dynamics, the overall support for the relationships on which the paradigm is based has not been strong. Here, we studied the occupancy dynamics of two Neotropical fishes (i.e., Pimelodella gracilis and Leporinus friderici) to
Authors
Jerry Penha, Karlo Y. P. Hakamada, James E. Hines, James D. Nichols
Occupancy models for citizen-science data
Large‐scale citizen‐science projects, such as atlases of species distribution, are an important source of data for macroecological research, for understanding the effects of climate change and other drivers on biodiversity, and for more applied conservation tasks, such as early‐warning systems for biodiversity loss.However, citizen‐science data are challenging to analyse because the observation pr
Authors
Res Altwegg, James D. Nichols
Partitioning global change: Assessing the relative importance of changes in climate and land cover for changes in avian distribution
Understanding the relative impact of climate change and land cover change on changes in avian distribution has implications for the future course of avian distributions and appropriate management strategies. Due to the dynamic nature of climate change, our goal was to investigate the processes that shape species distributions, rather than the current distributional patterns. To this end, we analyz
Authors
Matthew J. Clement, James D. Nichols, Jaime A. Collazo, Adam Terando, James E. Hines, Steven G. Williams
Science alive and well in North American wildlife management
Artelle et al. (1) entitled a recent article with the provocative claim: “Hallmarks of science missing from North American wildlife management”. Although we agree with some of the concerns and recommendations of Artelle et al. (1), we believe that the article is misleading about the distinction between science and management, the role of science in wise management, and the degree to which science
Authors
James D. Nichols, Fred A. Johnson, Byron K. Williams, G. Scott Boomer
Two-species occupancy modeling accounting for species misidentification and nondetection
In occupancy studies, species misidentification can lead to false‐positive detections, which can cause severe estimator biases. Currently, all models that account for false‐positive errors only consider omnibus sources of false detections and are limited to single‐species occupancy.However, false detections for a given species often occur because of the misidentification with another, closely rela
Authors
Thierry Chambert, Evan H. Campbell Grant, David A. W. Miller, James D. Nichols, Kevin P. Mulder, Adrianne B. Brand
Occupancy in community-level studies
Another type of multi-species studies, are those focused on community-level metrics such as species richness. In this chapter we detail how some of the single-species occupancy models described in earlier chapters have been applied, or extended, for use in such studies, while accounting for imperfect detection. We highlight how Bayesian methods using MCMC are particularly useful in such settings t
Authors
Darryl I. MacKenzie, James D. Nichols, Andy Royle, Kenneth H. Pollock, Larissa L. Bailey, James E. Hines
Strengthening links between waterfowl research and management
Waterfowl monitoring, research, regulation, and adaptive planning are leading the way in supporting science-informed wildlife management. However, increasing societal demands on natural resources have created a greater need for adaptable and successful linkages between waterfowl science and management. We presented a special session at the 2016 North American Duck Symposium, Annapolis, Maryland, U
Authors
Anthony J. Roberts, John M. Eadie, David Howerter, Fred A. Johnson, James D. Nichols, Michael C. Runge, Mark Vrtiska, Byron K. Williams
Are ranger patrols effective in reducing poaching-related threats within protected areas?
Poaching is one of the greatest threats to wildlife conservation world-wide. However, the spatial and temporal patterns of poaching activities within protected areas, and the effectiveness of ranger patrols and ranger posts in mitigating these threats, are relatively unknown.We used 10 years (2006–2015) of ranger-based monitoring data and dynamic multi-season occupancy models to quantify poaching-
Authors
Jennnifer F. Moore, Felix Mulindahabi, Michel K. Masozera, James D. Nichols, James E. Hines, Ezechiel Turikunkiko, Madan K. Oli
Field practices: Assessing tiger population dynamics using photographic captures
From these histories, capture frequency statistics and estimates of capture probabilities can be derived.
Authors
K. Ullas Karanth, James D. Nichols, Abishek Harihar, Dale Miquelle, N. Samba Kumar, Robert Dorazio
Concepts: Assessing tiger population dynamics using capture–recapture sampling
Capture-recapture can be viewed as an animal survey method in which the count statistic is the total number of animals caught, and the associated detection probability is the probability of capture.
Authors
J. Andrew Royle, Arjun M. Gopalaswamy, Robert Dorazio, James D. Nichols, Devcharan Jathanna, Ravishankar Parameshwaran
A new framework for analysing automated acoustic species detection data: Occupancy estimation and optimization of recordings post-processing
The development and use of automated species-detection technologies, such as acoustic recorders, for monitoring wildlife are rapidly expanding. Automated classification algorithms provide a cost- and time-effective means to process information-rich data, but often at the cost of additional detection errors. Appropriate methods are necessary to analyse such data while dealing with the different typ
Authors
Thierry A. Chambert, J. Hardin Waddle, David A.W. Miller, Susan C. Walls, James D. Nichols
Using optimal transport theory to estimate transition probabilities in metapopulation dynamics
This work considers the estimation of transition probabilities associated with populations moving among multiple spatial locations based on numbers of individuals at each location at two points in time. The problem is generally underdetermined as there exists an extremely large number of ways in which individuals can move from one set of locations to another. A unique solution therefore requires a
Authors
Jonathan M. Nichols, Jeffrey A. Spendelow, James D. Nichols