Tabitha Graves, Ph.D.
I answer applied research questions at the intersection of wildlife biology, landscape ecology, and statistics.
Research Interests
My work falls under three broad themes: (1) understand the influence of humans and associated land use impacts on wildlife distributions, densities, and related processes at local and landscape scales, (2) develop new analytical tools that address the influence of landscape features on animals at the sub-population and population scales, and (3) improve efficiency of research and monitoring through optimal study design. I have >15 years experience studying grizzly bears, bighorn sheep, elk, and the development of novel and integrated analyses of habitat use, connectivity, migration, and genetics, all very applied work. I have also assisted with projects studying black bears, wolverines, mountain goats, wolves, lynx, kinkajou, loons, hawks, owls, riparian vegetation, pika, and sugar pine.
Current projects
- Chronic wasting disease- evaluating changes in density and contacts across multiple cervid populations
- Assessing current and changing forage for elk and mule deer with climate change
- Assessing connectivity and migration in and around Glacier National Park (GNP)
- Optimal monitoring of wildlife with occupancy models
- Pollinator communities and Western bumble bee assessment on BLM lands in Montana and the Dakotas, in GNP, and across the west
- Mountain goat and bighorn sheep abundance, trend, population structure, and habitat
- Spatial capture recapture approaches
- Water to Wildlife: Connecting changes in water to vegetation to wildlife across 3 northwest parks
- Evaluating potential impacts of climate change on berry plant abundance and production
Professional Experience
Research Ecologist, USGS Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center: 2/10/14-present
David H. Smith Post-doctoral Conservation Research Fellow: 7/12 – 2/14
Education and Certifications
PhD. 2012. Northern Arizona University. Dissertation Title: Spatial ecology of grizzly bears in northwestern Montana and estimating resistance to gene flow
M.S. Wildlife Biology. 2002. University of Montana
Honors B.A. German Literature with distinction. 1995. University of Wisconsin-Madison
Science and Products
Predicting changes in Bear Foods
Bighorn Sheep in and near Glacier National Park
Ecology of Elk on Department of Interior Lands in Southwest Wyoming
Geocaching Natural Features - Applying Game Mechanics to Citizen Science Data Collection
Daily 30-m fractional snow covered area and summary stats for the National Elk Refuge, Wyoming from 2015 to 2020
Historical trend analysis of phenology dates across the Western US from 1982 to 2016
Projected peak instantaneous rate of green-up date and spring scale across Wyoming from 2000 to 2099
Remotely sensed elk locations on the National Elk Refuge, Wyoming, 2017-2019
Western bumble bee predicted occupancy and detection probability rasters for the western continental United States from 1998 to 2018
Ungulate Migrations of the Western United States, Volume 1
Bighorn sheep Ovine HD array genotypes from National Parks, 2004-2011
Bear capture recapture sampling in Glacier National Park, Montana, 2004
West Green River elk herd locations in southwestern Wyoming, 2005-2010
Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) genetic profiles, 1998-2012
The smell of success: Reproductive success related to rub behavior in brown bears
Human activities and weather drive contact rates of wintering elk
Systematics, evolution, and genetics of bears
Evaluating wildlife translocations using genomics: A bighorn sheep case study
Ungulate migrations of the western United States, Volume 1
Comparative performance and trend of remotely sensed phenology and productivity metrics across the Western United States
Western bumble bee: Declines in United States and range-wide information gaps
Connectivity in the Crown: Highway 2 wildlife crossings
To forage or flee: Lessons from an elk migration near a protected area
Mapping a keystone shrub species, huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum), using seasonal colour change in the Rocky Mountains
U.S. Geological Survey science for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative—2017 annual report
Keeping the crown of the continent connected: An interagency US2 connectivity workshop report
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
Predicting changes in Bear Foods
Bighorn Sheep in and near Glacier National Park
Ecology of Elk on Department of Interior Lands in Southwest Wyoming
Geocaching Natural Features - Applying Game Mechanics to Citizen Science Data Collection
Daily 30-m fractional snow covered area and summary stats for the National Elk Refuge, Wyoming from 2015 to 2020
Historical trend analysis of phenology dates across the Western US from 1982 to 2016
Projected peak instantaneous rate of green-up date and spring scale across Wyoming from 2000 to 2099
Remotely sensed elk locations on the National Elk Refuge, Wyoming, 2017-2019
Western bumble bee predicted occupancy and detection probability rasters for the western continental United States from 1998 to 2018
Ungulate Migrations of the Western United States, Volume 1
Bighorn sheep Ovine HD array genotypes from National Parks, 2004-2011
Bear capture recapture sampling in Glacier National Park, Montana, 2004
West Green River elk herd locations in southwestern Wyoming, 2005-2010
Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) genetic profiles, 1998-2012
The smell of success: Reproductive success related to rub behavior in brown bears
Human activities and weather drive contact rates of wintering elk
Systematics, evolution, and genetics of bears
Evaluating wildlife translocations using genomics: A bighorn sheep case study
Ungulate migrations of the western United States, Volume 1
Comparative performance and trend of remotely sensed phenology and productivity metrics across the Western United States
Western bumble bee: Declines in United States and range-wide information gaps
Connectivity in the Crown: Highway 2 wildlife crossings
To forage or flee: Lessons from an elk migration near a protected area
Mapping a keystone shrub species, huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum), using seasonal colour change in the Rocky Mountains
U.S. Geological Survey science for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative—2017 annual report
Keeping the crown of the continent connected: An interagency US2 connectivity workshop report
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.