Movement Data Specialist (Post-doc)
Department of Wildland Resources
Utah State University
Logan, UT
Recent News:
BRIAN J. SMITH
Welcome! Thank you for your interest in my work.
I am a Movement Data Specialist (in a postdoctoral research position) with Dr. Kezia Manlove in the Department of Wildland Resources at Utah State University.
CURRENT RESEARCH
My current research focuses on predicitve modeling of animal movement using integrated step selection analysis. Much of the research on animal movement has focused on inference, and many of us have developed complex movement models that capture many important details of our systems and the hypotheses we wish to test. Recent work has focused on scaling up from individual behavior to population distribution, and models designed for such predicition are different than models designed for inference.
PAST RESEARCH
My dissertation research focused on tying animal movements and space use to population demography. I work on elk in the Northern Range of Yellowstone National Park, and I'm interested in how the pressures of density-dependence and predation risk influence elk behavior, and how those responses, in turn, affect elk survival and reproduction.