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Toni Lyn Morelli, Ph.D.

Toni Lyn Morelli is a Research Ecologist at the Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center, where she uses field studies, ecological modeling, genetics, and translational ecology to help resource managers conserve species in the face of global change. 

Toni Lyn grew up near Detroit and received a B.S. in Zoology from Michigan State University. For her Ph.D. at Stony Brook University, she studied lemur behavior, ecology, and genetics in Madagascar. After her Ph.D., Toni Lyn worked as a postdoctoral fellow at UC Berkeley to understand how climate change had affected small mammals and montane meadows over the last century. She has also worked for the U.S. Forest Service, both as a research ecologist at the Pacific Southwest Research Station and as the Technical Advisor to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Toni Lyn uses translational ecology, species distribution modeling, occupancy modeling, geospatial analysis, population and landscape genetics techniques, and decision analysis to facilitate natural resource management and habitat and species conservation in the face of climate and land use change and invasive species. Current projects include studying the impacts of climate change in boreal ecosystems; helping the National Park Service update its taxonomy and analyze citizen science data; organizing a continent-wide network on Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change (RISCC) Management; and a continued focus on operationalizing the concept of climate change refugia.

Education and Certifications

  • Ph.D., Stony Brook University

  • B.S. in Zoology, Michigan State University

Affiliations and Memberships*

  • Member of the USGS EMA DEIA Leadership Council, 2022 

  • Member of the NECASC Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, 2021-2022 

  • Leader of the USGS CASC DEIA Recruitment and Retention Working Group, 2021-2022 

  • Member of the USGS CASC Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) Leadership Council, 2020-2022 

  • Co-Leader of the CASC Inclusive Mentoring Working Group, 2021-2022 

  • Associate Editor for Conservation Science & Practice, 2018-2022; recognized as 1 of 2 top CSP AEs 

  • Member of the American Geophysical Union 

  • Member of The Ecological Society of America 

  • Member of the Society of Conservation Biology 

  • Member of The Wildlife Society 

Honors and Awards

  • Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies Climate Adaptation Leadership Award for Broad Participation (to NE Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change (RISCC) Management Network) 

  • University of Massachusetts Department of Environmental Conservation (ECo) Inaugural Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Faculty Award, 2021 

  • USFWS Species Support Partnership (NE Region) Research Grant, 2021-2023

  • USGS Natural Resources Preservation Program (NE Region) Research Grant, 2019-21

  • USGS Ecosystems Mission Area Invasive Species Program Research Grant, 2020-2022 

  • National Climate Adaptation Science Center Research Grant (co-I), 2020-2022 

  • Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center Research Grant, 2019-2020

  • USGS-NPS Natural Resource Preservation Partnership, 2019-2020

  • Second Century Stewardship Fellowship 2018 (Postdoctoral Supervisee)  

  • Community for Data Integration, USGS, 2017 (Co-PI) 

  • Community for Data Integration, USGS, 2018 (Co-PI) 

  • National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants 2017 Climate Adaptation Leadership Award for Natural Resources (awarded to the Massachusetts Wildlife Climate Action Tool Partnership) 

  • YES Internship Awards (x2), USGS, 2017 

  • USGS STAR Award, 2016 

  • National Park Service Grant, Bioblitz Analysis, 2016

Science and Products

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Final report for climate effects on the culture and ecology of sugar maple

Maple syrup is produced from the sap of sugar maple trees collected in the late winter and early spring. Native American tribes have collected and boiled down sap for centuries, and the tapping of maple trees is a cultural touchstone for many people in the northeast and Midwest. Because the tapping season is dependent on weather conditions, there is concern about the sustainability of...
Authors
Toni Lyn Morelli, Kristina A. Stinson
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers

Looking beyond wildlife: Using remote cameras to evaluate accuracy of gridded snow data

The use of remote cameras is widespread in wildlife ecology, yet few examples exist of their utility for collecting environmental data. We used a novel camera trap method to evaluate the accuracy of gridded snow data in a mountainous region of the northeastern US. We were specifically interested in assessing (1) how snow depth observations from remote cameras compare with gridded climate...
Authors
Alexej P.K. Sirén, Marcelo Somos-Valenzuela, Catherine Callahan, Jillian R. Kilborn, Timothy Duclos, Cassie Tragert, Toni Lyn Morelli
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers

Ecosystems, Ecosystem Services, and Biodiversity

Biodiversity—the variety of life on Earth—provides vital services that support and improve human health and well-being. Ecosystems, which are composed of living things that interact with the physical environment, provide numerous essential benefits to people. These benefits, termed ecosystem services, encompass four primary functions: provisioning materials, such as food and fiber...
Authors
Douglas Lipton, Madeleine A. Rubenstein, Sarah R. Weiskopf, Shawn L. Carter, Jay Peterson, Lisa Crozier, Michael Fogarty, Sarah Gaichas, Kimberly J. W. Hyde, Toni Lyn Morelli, Jeffrey Morisette, Hassan Moustahfid, Roldan Munoz, Rajendra Poudel, Michelle D. Staudinger, Charles Stock, Laura Thompson, Robin S. Waples, Jake Weltzin
By
Office of Science Quality and Integrity

Climate change refugia and habitat connectivity promote species persistence

BackgroundClimate change refugia, areas buffered from climate change relative to their surroundings, are of increasing interest as natural resource managers seek to prioritize climate adaptation actions. However, evidence that refugia buffer the effects of anthropogenic climate change is largely missing.MethodsFocusing on the climate-sensitive Belding’s ground squirrel (Urocitellus...
Authors
Toni Lyn Morelli, Sean P. Maher, Marisa C. W. Lim, Christina Kastely, Lindsey M. Eastman, Lorraine E. Flint, Alan L. Flint, Steven R. Beissinger, Craig Moritz
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers

Navigating translational ecology: Creating opportunities for scientist participation

Interest in translational ecology (TE) – a research approach that yields useful scientific outcomes through ongoing collaboration between scientists and stakeholders – is growing among both of these groups. Translational ecology brings together participants from different cultures and with different professional incentives. We address ways to cultivate a culture of TE, such as investing...
Authors
Lauren M. Hallett, Toni Lyn Morelli, Leah R. Gerber, Max A. Moritz, Mark W. Schwartz, Nathan L. Stephenson, Jennifer L. Tank, Matthew A. Williamson, Connie A. Woodhouse
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Balancing research and service to decision makers

No abstract available.
Authors
Jeremy S. Littell, Adam J. Terando, Toni Lyn Morelli
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers

Developing a translational ecology workforce

We define a translational ecologist as a professional ecologist with diverse disciplinary expertise and skill sets, as well as a suitable personal disposition, who engages across social, professional, and disciplinary boundaries to partner with decision makers to achieve practical environmental solutions. Becoming a translational ecologist requires specific attention to obtaining...
Authors
Mark W. Schwartz, J. Kevin Hiers, Frank W. Davis, Gregg Garfin, Stephen T. Jackson, Adam J. Terando, Connie A. Woodhouse, Toni Lyn Morelli, Matthew A. Williamson, Mark W. Brunson
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers

Foundations of translational ecology

Ecologists who specialize in translational ecology (TE) seek to link ecological knowledge to decision making by integrating ecological science with the full complement of social dimensions that underlie today's complex environmental issues. TE is motivated by a search for outcomes that directly serve the needs of natural resource managers and decision makers. This objective distinguishes...
Authors
Carolyn A. F. Enquist, Stephen T. Jackson, Gregg M. Garfin, Frank W. Davis, Leah R. Gerber, Jeremy Littell, Jennifer L. Tank, Adam Terando, Tamara U. Wall, Benjamin S. Halpern, J. Kevin Hiers, Toni L. Morelli, Elizabeth McNie, Nathan L. Stephenson, Matthew A. Williamson, Connie A. Woodhouse, Laurie Yung, Mark W. Brunson, Kimberly R. Hall, Lauren M. Hallett, Dawn M. Lawson, Max A. Moritz, Koren R. Nydick, Amber Pairis, Andrea J. Ray, Claudia M. Regan, Hugh D. Safford, Mark W. Schwartz, M. Rebecca Shaw
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers

Grand challenges for integrated USGS science — A workshop report

Executive SummaryThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has a long history of advancing the traditional Earth science disciplines and identifying opportunities to integrate USGS science across disciplines to address complex societal problems. The USGS science strategy for 2007–2017 laid out key challenges in disciplinary and interdisciplinary arenas, culminating in a call for increased focus...
Authors
Karen E. Jenni, Martin B. Goldhaber, Julio L. Betancourt, Jill S. Baron, Sky Bristol, Mary Cantrill, Paul E. Exter, Michael J. Focazio, John W. Haines, Lauren E. Hay, Leslie Hsu, Victor F. Labson, Kevin D. Lafferty, K. A. Ludwig, Paul C. D. Milly, Toni L. Morelli, Suzette A. Morman, Nedal T. Nassar, Timothy R. Newman, Andrea C. Ostroff, Jordan S. Read, Sasha C. Reed, Carl D. Shapiro, Richard A. Smith, Ward E. Sanford, Terry L. Sohl, Edward G. Stets, Adam J. Terando, Donald E. Tillitt, Michael A. Tischler, Patricia L. Toccalino, David J. Wald, Mark P. Waldrop, Anne Wein, Jake F. Weltzin, Christian E. Zimmerman
By
Science Synthesis, Analysis and Research Program, Science Analytics and Synthesis (SAS) Program, Science and Decisions Center, Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center , Land Use Land Cover Modeling

Mapping climate change refugia in the Sierra Nevada

No abstract available.
Authors
Toni Lyn Morelli
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers

Erosion of refugia in the Sierra Nevada meadows network with climate change

Climate refugia management has been proposed as a climate adaptation strategy in the face of global change. Key to this strategy is identification of these areas as well as an understanding of how they are connected on the landscape. Focusing on meadows of the Sierra Nevada in California, we examined multiple factors affecting connectivity using circuit theory, and determined how patches...
Authors
Sean P. Maher, Toni Lyn Morelli, Michelle Hershey, Alan L. Flint, Lorraine E. Flint, Craig Moritz, Steven R. Beissinger
By
Water Resources Mission Area, California Water Science Center

Vulnerabilities to climate change of Massachusetts animal species of greatest conservation need

Over the last decade, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has addressed the potential and actual impacts of climate change on state flora and fauna. The state’s involvement began in 2007 when, led by the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (DFW) and assisted by Manomet Center for Con-servation Research, it carried out one of the first habitat vulnerability assessments in North America...
Authors
Hector Galbraith, Toni L. Morelli
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers

Science and Products

*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

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