Shoemaker Lab

An integrated model improves inferences about survival in the Mojave desert tortoise

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Combining mark-recapture and telemetry data reveals survival patterns missed by either data source alone

Late season frosts and changing snowpack may exacerbate human-bear conflicts

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Late frosts and low snowpack are linked to higher human-black bear conflict in northwestern Nevada

We need better ways to re-evaluate conservation policies when they're founded on flawed research

Wed, 07 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

An opinion piece on why flawed models are hard to correct once they've shaped conservation policy

Common-garden experiment reveals outbreeding depression and region-of-origin effects in a frequently translocated tortoise

Tue, 13 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Hatching success in translocated gopher tortoises declines with parental genetic distance and depends on mothers' region of origin

Asymmetric mate preference and reproductive interference mediate climate-induced changes in mate availability in a small mammal hybrid zone

Thu, 08 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Drought-driven mortality is reshaping mate availability and hybridization rates in a woodrat hybrid zone

Inflated predictions from a flawed model influenced the decision to deny federal protection to the gopher tortoise

Tue, 16 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

A coding error in a widely-cited population model overstated the resilience of gopher tortoise populations

Tail bifurcation in Plestiodon skiltonianus

Thu, 21 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000

A new natural history note from the A.P.E. lab!

Dr. Kevin Shoemaker

Sun, 10 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Assistant professor at UNR

Modeling critical habitat breadth for Gopherus tortoises

Sat, 25 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

A multi-year, multi-institution collaboration

Using light-level geolocators to model waterfowl movements and breeding propensity

Fri, 20 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

This project, supported by the Nevada Department of Wildlife and Nevada Waterfowl Association, uses light-level geolocators to understand the annual migratory pathways of waterfowl in the Pacific flyway, and to assess the timing and location of individual breeding activities.

This work is part of a larger effort to monitor wood duck population dynamics and movements in and around Fallon, NV (Fallon Wood Duck Project, PI Chris Nicolai).

Delta Waterfowl:

Dr. Chris Nicolai

Publications

Cook, N.A., Nicolai, C.A., Shoemaker, K.T. In prep. Monitoring waterfowl breeding activities with geolocators: a case study with Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa) in northern Nevada. Journal of Animal Ecology.
Cook, N.A., Nicolai, C.A., Shoemaker, K.T. Submitted. Movements and staging locations of Canvasback (Aythya valisineria) in the Pacific Flyway. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management.

Conservation of bog turtle metapopulations in the eastern USA

Thu, 20 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Dr. Shoemaker’s PhD dissertation focused on the conservation of bog turtles (Glyptemys muhlenbergii) in New York and Massachusetts. Building upon an existing capture-recapture dataset, he estimated population vital rates and abundance of these turtles in small wetlands in eastern New York (Dutchess County) and assessed for evidence of dispersal within a complex of multiple neighboring wetlands. His work also used microsatellite genotypes to further assess gene flow within these wetland complexes.

Simulation modeling to support restoration of extinct Galapagos giant tortoise populations

Thu, 23 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

In the 19th century, populations of giant tortoises in the Galapagos Islands were decimated by whalers and pirates, who kept and killed tortoises on their ships as a resilient source of fresh meat for long ocean voyages. Particularly hard-hit were “saddlebacked” species that inhabited the islands’ arid lowlands closer to the coasts. Of the five saddlebacked species, two have been declared extinct: Chelonoidis elephantopus from Floreana Island and C. abingdonii from Pinta Island (the latter only recently declared extinct in 2012 with the death of the Lonesome George). However, geneticists have recently discovered that, through the translocating behaviors of the very same sailors, the genotypes of these extinct species still exist within individuals of mixed ancestry on Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island. An expedition in 2015 recovered some of these mixed ancestry tortoises and brought them into captivity with the hope of starting a captive breeding program to restore tortoise populations on Floreana and Pinta Islands that represent the original genotype of the native species.

Miranda Crowell

Sun, 19 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

PhD Candidate at University of Nevada, Reno

Understanding the conservation status and habitat needs of the pygmy rabbit

Fri, 17 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Rangewide demography, genetics and habitat mapping

Margarete Walden

Fri, 10 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

PhD Candidate at University of Nevada, Reno

Danielle C Miles

Fri, 04 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Doctoral Candidate - Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology

Modeling population growth of COTS in Australia's Great Barrier Reef

Sun, 29 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Crown of thorns starfish project

Predictive modeling of plague die-offs in prairie dog colonies

Tue, 23 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Several published studies have already shown that temperature, precipitation and topography can affect the probability of a die-off event. However, a broader synthesis of datasets from across the BTPD range may enable more accurate prediction of when and where die-offs will occur. The APE lab is leading a large collaborative project to create predictive models of BTPD colony die-offs caused by the plague bacterium. We have acquired colony history data from across the BTPD range and are working on using machine learning techniques to create a model of plague outbreaks that can help managers determine how best to target their anti-plague management activities (such as “dusting” for fleas and vaccine administration). This model will also help us better understand the selection pressures that could lead to genetic resistance to plague.

Dr. Elizabeth Hunter

Mon, 22 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Dr. Elizabeth Hunter was a postdoctoral researcher in the A.P.E. lab from 2016-2018 where she worked on several population modeling projects including: predicting plague outbreaks in black-tailed prairie dogs, using abundance data to predict the effects of competition on songbird responses to climate change, and simulation modeling to inform restoration of giant tortoise populations in the Galapagos Islands. She is now an Assistant Professor of Landscape Ecology at Georgia Southern University.

Understanding the potential for widespread plague resistance in prairie dogs

Wed, 17 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Modeling host evolution in a dynamic metapopulation

Understanding the broader ecological impacts of PJ removal

Wed, 12 Oct 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Assessing small and large-scale effects on insects, small mammals, herps, birds, and bats

Publications

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Publications by the Applied Population Ecology (A.P.E.) Lab

Teaching

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Courses and workshops taught by Kevin Shoemaker