Sara J Oyler-McCance, PhD
Dr. Sara Oyler-McCance is a Supervisory Research Geneticist at the Fort Collins Science Center. She is a conservation geneticist studying a wide variety of taxa.
As a research geneticist and director of the Fort Collins Science Center’s Molecular Ecology Lab, Dr. Oyler-McCance’s research is dedicated to the application and advancement of genetic theory and techniques to address a variety of complex questions and conservation issues facing the management of the Nation's fish and wildlife resources and their habitats. Much of her research involves questions concerning threatened and endangered species, yet some involves detection of invasive species. She uses genetic and genomic methods to investigate connectivity and to identify adaptive genetic diversity, both of which are important for ensuring persistence of species of conservation concern. She explores how species are impacted by land use change and changing climates and how to give them the best chance of surviving in a changing world. Her work also explores how to optimally manage the genetic diversity within a species (for example, through translocations) and how to best inventory what species are present and the state of species well-being, persistence, or risk (that is, population size, levels of genetic diversity).
Professional Experience
March 2023 - Present: Acting Branch Chief, Ecosystem and Organismal Ecology Branch, US Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center, Fort Collins, Colorado
February 1999 - Present: Research Geneticist, US Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center, Fort Collins, Colorado
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. in Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, 1999
M.S. in Wildlife Biology, University of Maine, 1993
B.S. in Biology, University of Michigan, 1991
Affiliations and Memberships*
Affiliate Faculty, Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Colorado State University
Affiliate Faculty, Fish Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University
Affiliate Faculty, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University
Affiliate Faculty, Department of Integrative Biology, University of Colorado, Denver
Science and Products
Incorporating Genetic Data into Spatially-explicit Population Viability Models for Gunnison Sage-grouse
Molecular Ecology Lab (MEL)
Conservation Genomics
Landscape Genetics
Population Genetics
Molecular Tagging
Environmental DNA (eDNA) Sampling Improves Occurrence and Detection Estimates of Invasive Burmese Pythons and Other Constrictor Snakes in Florida
Investigating Prey of Burmese Pythons using eDNA Methods
Taxonomic Uncertainty
Family Relationships and Mating Systems
Population Models
Landscape Genetics of Sage Grouse
Sample collection information and microsatellite data for Gunnison sage-grouse pre and post translocation
Sample collection information and whole genome data for Greater and Gunnison Sage-grouse range generated in the Molecular Ecology Lab during 2015-2018
Genetic data and genetic network attributes for rangewide Greater Sage-grouse network constructed in 2018 (ver. 2.0, December 2022)
Sample collection information, single nucleotide polymorphism, and microsatellite data for white-tailed ptarmigan across the species range generated in the Molecular Ecology Lab during 2016
Metagenetic analysis of stream community composition based on environmental DNA
Genetic and functional connectivity data for greater sage-grouse across the species range generated 2005-2015 (ver. 2.0, December 2022)
Indiana Bat fecal DNA study, Indianapolis, IN Summer 2008
Scale-dependent influence of the sagebrush community on genetic connectivity of the sagebrush obligate Gunnison sage-grouse
Functional connectivity in a continuously distributed, migratory species as revealed by landscape genomics
Using fecal DNA and closed-capture models to estimate feral horse population size
Historical effective population size of North American hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus) and challenges to estimating trends in contemporary effective breeding population size from archived samples
Feral horse space use and genetic characteristics from fecal DNA
Environmental gradients of selection for an alpine-obligate bird, the white-tailed ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura)
Conservation genetics and molecular ecology in wildlife management
An empirical comparison of population genetic analyses using microsatellite and SNP data for a species of conservation concern
The transformative impact of genomics on sage-grouse conservation and management
Characterizing range-wide population divergence in an alpine-endemic bird: A comparison of genetic and genomic approaches
Genetic mark‐recapture analysis of winter faecal pellets allows estimation of population size in Sage Grouse Centrocercus urophasianus
Signatures of adaptive divergence among populations of an avian species of conservation
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
Incorporating Genetic Data into Spatially-explicit Population Viability Models for Gunnison Sage-grouse
Molecular Ecology Lab (MEL)
Conservation Genomics
Landscape Genetics
Population Genetics
Molecular Tagging
Environmental DNA (eDNA) Sampling Improves Occurrence and Detection Estimates of Invasive Burmese Pythons and Other Constrictor Snakes in Florida
Investigating Prey of Burmese Pythons using eDNA Methods
Taxonomic Uncertainty
Family Relationships and Mating Systems
Population Models
Landscape Genetics of Sage Grouse
Sample collection information and microsatellite data for Gunnison sage-grouse pre and post translocation
Sample collection information and whole genome data for Greater and Gunnison Sage-grouse range generated in the Molecular Ecology Lab during 2015-2018
Genetic data and genetic network attributes for rangewide Greater Sage-grouse network constructed in 2018 (ver. 2.0, December 2022)
Sample collection information, single nucleotide polymorphism, and microsatellite data for white-tailed ptarmigan across the species range generated in the Molecular Ecology Lab during 2016
Metagenetic analysis of stream community composition based on environmental DNA
Genetic and functional connectivity data for greater sage-grouse across the species range generated 2005-2015 (ver. 2.0, December 2022)
Indiana Bat fecal DNA study, Indianapolis, IN Summer 2008
Scale-dependent influence of the sagebrush community on genetic connectivity of the sagebrush obligate Gunnison sage-grouse
Functional connectivity in a continuously distributed, migratory species as revealed by landscape genomics
Using fecal DNA and closed-capture models to estimate feral horse population size
Historical effective population size of North American hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus) and challenges to estimating trends in contemporary effective breeding population size from archived samples
Feral horse space use and genetic characteristics from fecal DNA
Environmental gradients of selection for an alpine-obligate bird, the white-tailed ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura)
Conservation genetics and molecular ecology in wildlife management
An empirical comparison of population genetic analyses using microsatellite and SNP data for a species of conservation concern
The transformative impact of genomics on sage-grouse conservation and management
Characterizing range-wide population divergence in an alpine-endemic bird: A comparison of genetic and genomic approaches
Genetic mark‐recapture analysis of winter faecal pellets allows estimation of population size in Sage Grouse Centrocercus urophasianus
Signatures of adaptive divergence among populations of an avian species of conservation
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
*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