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Wildlife and Research Specialist

WILDLIFE AND RESEARCH SPECIALISTON THIS PAGE

Evan Adams, Ph.D.

Evan Adams, Ph.D.

Ecological Modeler

207-839-7600 x204
evan.adams@briloon.org

Evan is a quantitative ecologist whose work focuses on how animal populations respond to environmental change throughout complex life cycles.

Evan earned his master's degree in wildlife ecology and conservation from the University of Florida, where he worked under Dr. Peter Frederick to study the developmental and physiological effects of mercury exposure to the White Ibis. For his doctorate with Dr. Brian Olsen at the University of Maine, he developed new methods for estimating the size of migrating populations and applied these models to determine how climate and weather influence population status and behavior.

Now he works as a quantitative ecologist and designs experiments and models to understand how animals respond to a rapidly changing environment. Current projects include modeling offshore migratory events across the Atlantic coast of the United States and developing models that predict how salt marsh species will respond to sea level rise. Evan's research has been conducted in diverse locales including Caribbean lowland Costa Rica, Florida’s Everglades, and Hudson’s Bay, Canada.

Education

 
  • Ph.D., Ecology and Environmental Sciences, University of Maine-Orono, 2014
  • M.S., Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, 2007
  • B.A., Biology, Whitman College, 2004

Research Interests

 
  • Migratory physiology
  • Migratory bird conservation
  • Linkages among life stages in migratory animals
  • Ecological modeling and statistics
  • Avian population limitation
  • Landscape ecology
  • Individual tracking and movement

Journal Articles

 
  • Adams, E.M. and B.J. Olsen. In review. Using a hierarchical modeling framework to estimate abundance and detection bias in surveys of migrating animals. Submitted to Ecosphere.
  • Adams, E.M. and B.J. Olsen. In prep. Estimating the global effects of climate and the local effects of weather and habitat change on songbird migratory phenology and abundance. To be submitted to Ecology.
  • Adams, E.M., B.J. Olsen, K.A. Williams, and D.C. Evers. In prep. Environmental correlates to blood and feather mercury levels in songbirds on migratory stopover at Key Biscayne, FL during spring and fall. To be submitted to Ecotoxicology.
  • Adams, E.M. and B.J. Olsen. In prep. Age and density-dependent effects on migratory stopover refueling rates in seven songbird species. To be submitted to The Auk.

Presentations

 
  • Adams, E.M. and B.J. Olsen. 2013. Using a hierarchical modeling framework to estimate detection probability of bird migration banding censuses. American Ornithological Union.
  • Adams, E.M., and D.C Evers. 2011. Post-breeding movements in Gulf of Mexico Seaside Sparrow Populations. Waterbirds, Annapolis, MD.
  • Williams, K.A., E.M. Adams, D. Yates, T. Divoll, D.C. Evers. 2011. Monitoring bird and bat migration in the Thousand Islands region of New York State. NYSERDA EMEP.
  • Adams, E.M., D.G. Buck, D.C. Evers. 2011. Monitoring mercury levels in Central American songbirds during fall migration. Mercury as a Global Pollutant, Halifax, NS.
  • Adams, E.M., K.A. Williams, D.C. Evers. 2011. Winter Mercury Exposure in Neotropical Migrant Songbirds. American Ornithological Union, Jacksonville, FL.
  • Adams, E.M., K.A. Hobson, and R.L. Holberton. 2009. Ecological and physiological implications of migratory strategies: hormones and stable isotopes working together. Presented at American Ornithological Union, Philadelphia, PA.
  • Adams, E. M. 2008. Life is a journey, not a destination: the costs of migratory travel in the Blackpoll warbler (Dendroica striata), a long-distance Neotropical-Nearctic migrant. Presented at MIGRATE workshop, Newport, OR.
  • Holberton, R. L., E. M. Adams, S. M. Agius, K. M. Covino, A. J. Leppold, C. M. Tonra, W. A. Wright. 2008. Navigating the trail to the grail: a physiological codex in search of body condition. Presented at American Ornithological Union, Portland, OR.
  • E. M. Adams and P. C. Frederick. 2007. The sublethal effects of methylmercury on juvenile White Ibis development: the implications of non-linear exposure relationships. Presented at Society for Conservation Biology, Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
  • E. M. Adams and P. C. Frederick. 2006. Sublethal effects of chronic methylmercury exposure on the behavior of juvenile White Ibises (Eudocimus albus). Presented at North American Ornithological Conference, Veracruz, Mexico
  • E. M. Adams and P. C. Frederick. 2006. Sublethal effects of chronic methylmercury exposure on foraging behavior and endocrine development in juvenile White Ibises (Eudocimus albus). Presented at Greater Everglades Ecosystem Research, Orlando, FL
  • E.M. Adams and P.C. Frederick. 2006. Understanding Contaminants in the Greater Everglades Restoration. Presented at Greater Everglades Ecosystem Research Conference, Orlando, FL. --Invited Panel Presentation
  • E. M. Adams and P. C. Frederick. 2005 “Sublethal effects of methylmercury on foraging behavior and learning in juvenile White Ibises (Eudocimus albus)” Presented at Waterbird Society Meeting, Jekyll Island, GA

Grants, Awards, and Fellowships

 

Since 2007, more than 16 grants awarded totalling more than $4.65 million.

  • SFWS Natural Resource Damage Assessment (2013)
  • Maine SeaGrant (2013)
  • National Park Service (2012)
  • Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (2011)
  • Department of Energy (2011)
  • Florida Ornithological Society Research Grant (2010) 
  • Chapman Conservation Grant (2009)
  • Sigma Xi Grants-in-Aid of Research (2009)
  • Environment Canada (2009)
  • MIGRATE workshop student attendee, Churchill Northern Studies Centre (2008)
  • University of Maine Summer Graduate Research Fellowship (2008)
  • University of Maine Graduate School Government Research Award (2008)
  • Florida Wildlife Federation Scholarship (2007)
  • Graduate Student Council Travel Grant (2007)
  • IFAS Travel Grant (2007)
  • Wildlife Graduate Students Association Travel Grant (2007)
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