PRIMES (PRogram for Interdisciplinary Mathematics, Ecology, and Statistics) is designed to address the challenges of studying complex ecological systems. Modern studies of ecological systems incorporate an extremely wide range of scientific and quantitative techniques, from the collection of data in the field, to the modeling of complex systems, to the application of advanced computational techniques. Consequently, quantitative ecology has become an inherently multi-disciplinary activity. Read More

Colorado State University (M.S.)

The objective of my dissertation research is to develop logistic-normal and poisson mixed effects models for estimating animal abundance in mark-resight studies using both frequentist and Bayesian methods. The models will be robust to a variety of sampling conditions often problematic in these studies, including sighting heterogeneity and sampling with replacement. The ability to incorporate covariates in modeling sighting probabilities may also lead to improved precision of abundance estimates. I ultimately intend for the models to combine the favorable qualities of previously available mark-resight estimators into a generalized framework for a wide range of species and field conditions. They will initially be applied to black-tailed prairie dog colonies in the Pawnee National Grassland as part of the interdisciplinary Colorado State University Plague Project (Advisor: Gary C. White, Co-sponsor: Jennifer A. Hoeting).