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Katrina Alger

Katrina is a sociologist and decision scientist for the USGS Integrated Information Dissemination Division and the Program Manager for the Water Mission Area Social and Economic Drivers Program.

Katrina has a BA in sociology and history from Eastern Mennonite University and an MS in conservation biology from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. She began her USGS career at the National Wildlife Health Center where she held a variety of roles including diagnostics, research, and partner-focused decision support. Her current work focuses on understanding and improving decision-making related to water resources, model development, and data delivery, as well as helping teams develop internal structures to support organizational decision quality. She is also the Program Manager for the WMA Social and Economic Drivers Program that supports research integrating social and behavioral science with hydrologic science, modeling, and assessments to better understand the human dimensions of water availability across the nation. She is a 2017 Presidential Management Fellow and graduate of the Department of Interior’s Decision Analysis Certification Program.

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Climate-related drivers of migratory bird health in the south-central USA Climate-related drivers of migratory bird health in the south-central USA

Migratory birds are species of concern that play important ecological roles while also supporting recreational opportunities for the hunting and birdwatching public. Direct and indirect effects of climate variability, extremes, and change on migratory bird health manifest at the individual, population, species, and community levels. This review focuses on the effects of climate on...
Authors
Renee A. McPherson, Katrina E. Alger, Erik K. Hofmeister
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Disease-smart climate adaptation for wildlife management and conservation Disease-smart climate adaptation for wildlife management and conservation

Climate change is a well-documented driver and threat multiplier of infectious disease in wildlife populations. However, wildlife disease management and climate-change adaptation have largely operated in isolation. To improve conservation outcomes, we consider the role of climate adaptation in initiating or exacerbating the transmission and spread of wildlife disease and the deleterious...
Authors
Lindsey Thurman, Katrina E. Alger, Olivia E. LeDee, Laura Thompson, Erik K. Hofmeister, Michael J Hudson, Alynn Martin, Tracy Melvin, Sarah H Olson, Mathieu Pruvot, Jason R. Rohr, Jennifer Szymanksi, Oscar Aleuy, Benjamin Zuckerberg
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers, National Wildlife Health Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center

White-Nose Syndrome Diagnostic Laboratory Network handbook White-Nose Syndrome Diagnostic Laboratory Network handbook

When responding to a wildlife disease outbreak, managers depend on consistent and clear data to make decisions. However, diagnostic methods for detecting pathogens of wildlife often lack the level of procedural and interpretational standardization that occurs in the investigation of human and domestic animal diseases. This lack of standardization can hamper diagnostic reliability in two...
Authors
Katrina E. Alger
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center

Principles and mechanisms of wildlife population persistence in the face of disease Principles and mechanisms of wildlife population persistence in the face of disease

Emerging infectious diseases can result in species declines and hamper recovery efforts for at-risk populations. Generalizing considerations for reducing the risk of pathogen introduction and mitigating the effects of disease remains challenging and inhibits our ability to provide guidance for species recovery planning. Given the growing rates of emerging pathogens globally, we identify...
Authors
Robin E. Russell, Graziella Vittoria DiRenzo, J. Szymanski, Katrina E. Alger, Evan H. Campbell Grant
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Eastern Ecological Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center

Inactivation of viable surrogates for the select agents virulent Newcastle disease virus and highly pathogenic avian influenza virus using either commercial lysis buffer or heat Inactivation of viable surrogates for the select agents virulent Newcastle disease virus and highly pathogenic avian influenza virus using either commercial lysis buffer or heat

Introduction:Federal Select Agent Program regulations require laboratories to document a validated procedure for inactivating select agents prior to movement outside registered space. Avian influenza viruses and virulent Newcastle disease virus (vNDV) are cultured in chicken amnio-allantoic fluid (AAF), but the efficacy of commercial lysis buffers to inactivate viruses in protein-rich...
Authors
Katrina E. Alger, Hon S. Ip, Jeffrey S. Hall, Sean Nashold, Katherine Richgels, Carrie Alison Smith
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center
Image: Brown Bats with White Nose

White-nose syndrome diagnostic harmonization

The USGS National Wildlife Health Center, in partnership with the White-nose Syndrome (WNS) National Response Team Diagnostic Working Group, has developed the White-Nose Syndrome Diagnostic Laboratory Network Handbook to harmonize WNS diagnostics.
By
National Wildlife Health Center
White-nose syndrome diagnostic harmonization

White-nose syndrome diagnostic harmonization

The USGS National Wildlife Health Center, in partnership with the White-nose Syndrome (WNS) National Response Team Diagnostic Working Group, has developed the White-Nose Syndrome Diagnostic Laboratory Network Handbook to harmonize WNS diagnostics.
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Image: Here's Looking at You

Assessing the Impact of Changing Water Resources on Migratory Bird Health and Management in the Central Flyway

There is a growing movement within natural resource management to view wildlife health as a cumulative outcome of many different factors, rather than simply the absence of disease. This inclusive understanding of health opens the door to management options that are more creative than traditional techniques aimed at preventing or mitigating pathogens. The public health field uses a...
By
Climate Adaptation Science Centers
Assessing the Impact of Changing Water Resources on Migratory Bird Health and Management in the Central Flyway

Assessing the Impact of Changing Water Resources on Migratory Bird Health and Management in the Central Flyway

There is a growing movement within natural resource management to view wildlife health as a cumulative outcome of many different factors, rather than simply the absence of disease. This inclusive understanding of health opens the door to management options that are more creative than traditional techniques aimed at preventing or mitigating pathogens. The public health field uses a related concept
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Data Release for Assessing the Impact of Changing Water Resources on Migratory Bird Health and Management in the Central Flyway of the United States Data Release for Assessing the Impact of Changing Water Resources on Migratory Bird Health and Management in the Central Flyway of the United States

There is a growing movement within natural resource management to view wildlife health as a cumulative outcome of many different factors, rather than simply the absence of disease. This inclusive understanding of health opens the door to management options that are more creative than traditional techniques to prevent or mitigate pathogens. The public health field uses a determinants of...
By
Climate Adaptation Science Centers

Metrics of Resilience in Water Management Institutions in the Upper Colorado and Delaware River Basins, United States 2022 Metrics of Resilience in Water Management Institutions in the Upper Colorado and Delaware River Basins, United States 2022

The data in this data release are from an effort focused on understanding social vulnerability to water insecurity, resiliency demonstrated by institutions, and conflict or crisis around water resource management. This data release focuses on definitions and metrics of resilience in water management institutions. Water resource managers, at various scales, are tasked with making complex...
By
Water Resources Mission Area

Pd qPCR Interlaboratory Testing Results Pd qPCR Interlaboratory Testing Results

These data were collected as part of a voluntary initiative to create a White-Nose Syndrome Diagnostic Laboratory Network among laboratories participating in research and surveillance for Pseudogymonascus destructans (Pd) - the fungal pathogen causing White-Nose Syndrome in bats. Pd_qPCR_InterlaboratoryLODdata.xlsx is raw qPCR data from multiple laboratories running serial dilutions of...
By
National Wildlife Health Center

White-nose syndrome surveillance and research updates

Updates on white-nose syndrome surveillance and research from the USGS National Wildlife Health Center in Fall 2019.

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