Chris Sutherland

University of St Andrews · School of Mathematics and Statistics

Patch occupancy models are extremely important and popular tools for understanding the dynamics, and predicting the persistence, of spatially structured populations. Typically this endeavor is facilitated either by models from classic metapopulation theory focused on spatially explicit, dispersal-driven colonization-extinction dynamics and generall...

1.Movement is influenced by landscape structure, configuration and geometry, but measuring distance as perceived by animals poses technical and logistical challenges. Instead, movement is typically measured using Euclidean distance, irrespective of location or landscape structure, or is based on arbitrary cost surfaces. A recently proposed extensio...

An enduring challenge in ecology is to understand what drives spatial variation in the size and structure of communities. The ability to count the number of species present at a location is hindered by the fact that not all species are equally detectable, and invariably some go completely undetected. This makes comparing species richness across dis...

Spatial heterogeneity in the environment induces variation in population demographic rates and dispersal patterns, which result in spatio-temporal variation in density and gene flow. Unfortunately, applying theory to learn about the role of spatial structure on populations has been hindered by the lack of mechanistic spatial models and inability to...

Spatial capture‐recapture (SCR) methods have become widely applied in ecology. The immediate adoption of SCR is due to the fact that it resolves some major criticisms of traditional capture‐recapture methods related to heterogeneity in detectabililty, and the emergence of new technologies (e.g., camera traps, non‐invasive genetics) has vastly impro...

Determining what factors influence the distribution and abundance of wildlife populations is crucial for implementing effective conservation and management actions. Yet, for species with dynamic seasonal, sex-, and age-specific spatial ecology, like the diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin; DBT), doing so can be challenging. Moreover, environm...

Abstract Carnivore intraguild dynamics depend on a complex interplay of environmental affinities and interspecific interactions. Context‐dependency is commonly expected with varying suites of interacting species and environmental conditions but seldom empirically described. In South Africa, decentralized approaches to conservation and the resulting...

Determining what factors influence the distribution and abundance of wildlife populations is crucial for implementing effective conservation and management actions. Yet, for species with dynamic seasonal, sex-, and age-specific spatial ecology, like the diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin; DBT), doing so can be challenging. Moreover, environm...

The status, size, and density of Malaclemys terrapin (Diamondback Terrapin) populations along the Atlantic coast have been reported by most states as unknown or declining. Robust demographic or population data are lacking, with even less information available on their spatial ecology. Spatial capturerecapture (SCR) methods explicitly incorporate sp...

Abstract 1. Connectivity is a fundamental concept linking dispersal to the emergent dynamics and persistence of spatially structured populations. Functional measures of connectivity typically seek to integrate aspects of landscape structure and animal movement to describe ecologically meaningful connectedness at the landscape and population scale....

Aim Identifying the mechanisms influencing species' distributions is critical for accurate climate change forecasts. However, current approaches are limited by correlative models that cannot distinguish between direct and indirect effects. Location New Hampshire and Vermont, USA. Methods Using causal and correlational models and new theory on ran...

Context Identifying factors driving patterns of species communities in heterogenous human-dominated landscapes remains elusive despite extensive research. Biodiversity is thought to decrease with habitat modification, as sensitive species are lost. Conversely, diversity has also been shown increase at moderate levels of landscape modification where...

Adversity early in life can shape the reproductive potential of individuals through negative effects on health and life span. However, long-lived populations with multiple reproductive events may present alternative life history strategies to optimize reproductive schedules and compensate for shorter life spans. Here, we quantify the effects of maj...

Theory on intraguild killing (IGK) is central to mammalian carnivore community ecology and top‐down ecosystem regulation. Yet, the cryptic nature of IGK hinders empirical evaluations. Using a novel data source ‐ online photographs of interspecific aggression between African carnivores ‐ we revisited existing predictions about the extent and drivers...

Human modification and habitat fragmentation significantly impact large carnivores requiring large, connected habitats to persist in a landscape. Understanding species responses to such change and the protection of critical areas and connectivity they provide is essential when planning effective conservation strategies. Our study examines the spati...

Ecological processes are strongly shaped by human landscape modification, and understanding the reciprocal relationship between ecosystems and modified landscapes is critical for informed conservation. Single axis measures of spatial heterogeneity proliferate in the contemporary gradient ecology literature, though they are unlikely to capture the c...

Tropical ecosystems are expected to experience climate warming, with predicted increases in drying and heat extremes in the coming years. Understanding how these changes will affect terrestrial vertebrates such as amphibians is limited. The Tropical Responses to Altered Climate Experiment (TRACE) in the Luquillo Experimental Forest in northeastern...

Understanding how broad‐scale patterns in animal populations emerge from individual‐level processes is an enduring challenge in ecology that requires investigation at multiple scales and perspectives. Complementary to this need for diverse approaches is the recent focus on integrated modeling in statistical ecology. Population‐level processes repre...

Understanding the mechanisms by which similar species coexist in sympatry is a major driver of ecological research. Niche partitioning and ecological plasticity can facilitate spatial and habitat use overlap between generalist and specialist species. Mouse lemurs (Microcebus spp.) are a highly speciose group of small primates that are endemic to th...

Adversity early in life can shape the reproductive potential of individuals through negative effects on health and lifespan. However, long-lived populations with multiple reproductive events may present alternative life history strategies to optimize reproductive schedules and compensate for shorter lifespans when experiencing adversities early in...

Understanding the mechanisms by which similar species coexist in sympatry is a major driver of ecological research. Niche partitioning and ecological plasticity can facilitate spatial and habitat use overlap between generalist and specialist species. Mouse lemurs (Microcebus spp.) are a highly speciose group of small primates that are endemic to th...

Context: Identifying factors driving patterns of species communities in heterogenous human-dominated landscapes remains elusive despite extensive research. Biodiversity is thought to decrease with habitat modification, as sensitive species are lost. Conversely, diversity has also been shown increase at moderate levels of landscape modification wher...

A principal challenge impeding strong inference in analyses of wild populations is the lack of robust and long‐term data sets. Recent advancements in analytical tools used in wildlife science may increase our ability to integrate smaller data sets and enhance the statistical power of population estimates. One such advancement, the development of sp...

The simultaneous development of technology (e.g. camera traps) and statistical methods, particularly spatially capture–recapture (SCR), has improved monitoring of large mammals in recent years. SCR estimates are known to be sensitive to sampling design, yet existing recommendations about trap spacing and coverage are often not achieved, particularl...

Connectivity is a central concept in ecology, wildlife management, and conservation science. Understanding the role of connectivity in determining species persistence is increasingly important in the face of escalating anthropogenic impacts on climate and habitat. These connectivity augmenting processes can severely impact species distributions and...

Ecological processes are strongly shaped by human landscape modification, and understanding the reciprocal relationship between ecosystems and modified landscapes is critical for informed conservation. Single axis measures of spatial heterogeneity proliferate in the contemporary gradient ecology literature, though they are unlikely to capture the c...

With the accelerating pace of global change, it is imperative that we obtain rapid inventories of the status and distribution of wildlife for ecological inferences and conservation planning. To address this challenge, we launched the SNAPSHOT USA project, a collaborative survey of terrestrial wildlife populations using camera traps across the Unite...

Salamanders represent exceptional indicators for understanding environmental change and forest degradation. Coverboards, a type of artificial cover object, have become a popular tool for censusing salamanders given their low cost of installation and lack of danger to the environment and animals. Previous work has suggested that a variety of factors...

Apex predator reintroductions have proliferated across southern Africa, yet their ecological effects and proposed umbrella benefits of associated management lack empirical evaluations. Despite a rich theory on top-down ecosystem regulation via mesopredator suppression, a knowledge gap exists relating to the influence of lions (Panthera leo) over Af...

Aim In the face of global change, understanding causes of range limits are one of the most pressing needs in biogeography and ecology. A prevailing hypothesis is that abiotic stress forms cold (upper latitude/altitude) limits, whereas biotic interactions create warm (lower) limits. A new framework – Interactive Range‐Limit Theory (iRLT) – asserts t...

An estimated 10 million families, individuals, trusts, and estates own 39 percent of the forestland in the United States, excluding interior Alaska. Using segmented regression, the relationships between size of forest holdings and the attitudes and behaviors of these family forest ownerships were tested using data from the 2018 iteration of the USD...

Understanding the influence of spatiotemporal variation in environmental factors on phenology is crucial for determining the effects of climate change on amphibian populations. Here we quantify the relative influence of temperature and precipitation on surface activity of a terrestrial salamander, the Eastern Red-Backed Salamander (Plethodon cinere...

Spatial capture‐recapture (SCR) has emerged as the industry standard for estimating population density by leveraging information from spatial locations of repeat encounters of individuals. The precision of density estimates depends fundamentally on the number and spatial configuration of traps. Despite this knowledge, existing sampling design recom...

1. Spatial capture-recapture (SCR) methods use the location of detectors (camera traps, hair snares, live-capture traps) and the locations at which animals were detected (their spatial capture histories) to estimate animal density. Despite the often large expense and effort involved in placing detectors in a landscape, there has been relatively lit...

The state of an ecosystem is governed by dynamic biotic and abiotic processes, which can only be partially observed. Costs associated with measuring each component limit the feasibility of comprehensive assessments of target ecosystems. Instead, indicator species are recommended as a surrogate index. While this is an attractive concept, indicator s...

Conservation efforts in South Africa play out across multi‐use landscapes where formal protected areas coexist with private wildlife business (ecotourism and/or hunting) in a human‐dominated matrix. Despite the persistence of highly diverse carnivore guilds, management idiosyncrasies are often orientated towards charismatic large predators and asse...

PAWS aims to produce a robust estimate of the snow leopard’s population status

Bed bugs have re‐established themselves as a common household pest in the United States and pose significant public health and economic concerns, particularly in urban areas. Documenting the scale of the bed bug resurgence and identifying the underlying predictors of the spatial patterns of their incidence is challenging, largely because available...

Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis), a keystone species and an obligate mutualist of the Clark’s nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana), is rapidly declining throughout its range. Evidence suggests this decline is leading to a downward trend in local nutcracker populations, which would in-turn decrease whitebark pine regeneration. Our objectives were to (...

Spatial capture-recapture (SCR) has emerged as the industry standard for analyzing observational data to estimate population size by leveraging information from spatial locations of repeat encounters of individuals. The resulting precision of density estimates depends fundamentally on the number and spatial configuration of traps. Despite this know...

Assessing trends in abundance and density of species of conservation concern is vital to inform conservation and management strategies. The remaining population of the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) largely exists outside of protected areas, where they are often in conflict with humans. Despite this, the population status and dynamics of cheetah outsid...

The understanding of global diversity patterns has benefitted from a focus on functional traits and how they relate to variation in environmental conditions among assemblages. Distant communities in similar environments often share characteristics, and for tropical forest mammals, this functional trait convergence has been demonstrated at coarse sc...

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Modeling the population dynamics of patchily distributed species is a challenge, particularly when inference must be based on incomplete and small data sets such as those from most species of conservation concern. Here, we develop an open population spatial capture–recapture (SCR) model with sex‐specific detection and population dynamics parameters...

Habitat fragmentation is a primary driver of wildlife loss, and establishment of biological corridors is a common strategy to mitigate this problem. A flagship example is the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor (MBC), which aims to connect protected forest areas between Mexico and Panama to allow dispersal and gene flow of forest organisms. Because fo...

Determining the population status of the diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin spp.) is challenging due to their ecology and limitations associated with traditional sampling methods. Visual counting of emergent heads offers a promising, efficient, and non-invasive method for generating abundance estimates of terrapin populations across broader...

Under the current amphibian biodiversity crisis, common species provide an opportunity to measure population dynamics across a wide range of environmental conditions while examining the processes that determine abundance and structure geographical ranges. Studying species at their range limits also provides a window for understanding the dynamics e...

Context The urban gradient concept has been applied widely to test biological responses to urbanization. However, a general understanding of the effects of urbanization has remained elusive, largely due to inconsistencies in the definition of ‘urban’. Moreover, ambiguities about how to measure urban gradients exist, despite well-established best pr...

Ecological distance-based spatial capture-recapture models (SCR) are a promising approach for simultaneously estimating animal density and connectivity, both of which affect spatial population processes and ultimately species persistence. We explored how SCR models can be integrated into reserve-design frameworks that explicitly acknowledge both th...

Generating a range-wide population status of the diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin spp.) is challenging due to a combination of species ecology and behavior, and limitations associated with traditional sampling methods. Visual counting of emergent heads offers an efficient, non-invasive and promising method for generating abundance estimate...

1. Modeling the population dynamics of patchily distributed species is a challenge, particularly when inference must be based on incomplete and small data sets such as those from most species of conservation concern. Open population spatial capture-recapture (SCR) models are ideally suited to quantify population trends, but have seen only limited u...

Modeling the population dynamics of patchily distributed species is a challenge, particularly when inference must be based on incomplete and small data sets such as those from most species of conservation concern. Open population spatial capture-recapture (SCR) models are ideally suited to quantify population trends, but have seen only limited use...

Spatial capture-recapture models (SCR) are used to estimate animal density and to investigate a range of problems in spatial ecology that cannot be addressed with traditional nonspatial methods. Bayesian approaches in particular offer tremendous flexibility for SCR modeling. Increasingly, SCR data are being collected over very large spatial extents...

—Many animals, including crustaceans, engage in dominance fights and thus the risk of damage. This makes opponent assessment a critical component of social information gathering. American lobsters, Homarus americanus (H. Milne-Edwards, 1837), are well known for surprisingly complex social behavior. Males fight for dominance, and winners are preferr...

Monitoring indicator species is a pragmatic approach to natural resource assessments, especially when the link between the indicator species and ecosystem state is well justified. However, conducting ecosystem assessments over representative spatial scales that are insensitive to local heterogeneity is challenging. We examine the link between polyc...

Shared enemies may instigate or modify competitive interactions between species. The dis-equilibrium caused by non-native species introductions has revealed that the outcome of such indirect interactions can often be dramatic. However, studies of enemy-mediated competition mostly consider the impact of a single enemy, despite species being embedded...

Table S2 from The enemy of my enemy is my friend: Native pine marten recovery reverses the decline of the red squirrel by suppressing grey squirrel populations

Table S5 from The enemy of my enemy is my friend: Native pine marten recovery reverses the decline of the red squirrel by suppressing grey squirrel populations

Table S6 from The enemy of my enemy is my friend: Native pine marten recovery reverses the decline of the red squirrel by suppressing grey squirrel populations

File S8 from The enemy of my enemy is my friend: Native pine marten recovery reverses the decline of the red squirrel by suppressing grey squirrel populations

File S4 from The enemy of my enemy is my friend: Native pine marten recovery reverses the decline of the red squirrel by suppressing grey squirrel populations

Data S10 from The enemy of my enemy is my friend: Native pine marten recovery reverses the decline of the red squirrel by suppressing grey squirrel populations

Data S11 from The enemy of my enemy is my friend: Native pine marten recovery reverses the decline of the red squirrel by suppressing grey squirrel populations

Data S12 from The enemy of my enemy is my friend: Native pine marten recovery reverses the decline of the red squirrel by suppressing grey squirrel populations

Table S1 from The enemy of my enemy is my friend: Native pine marten recovery reverses the decline of the red squirrel by suppressing grey squirrel populations

File S3 from The enemy of my enemy is my friend: Native pine marten recovery reverses the decline of the red squirrel by suppressing grey squirrel populations

Data S9 from The enemy of my enemy is my friend: Native pine marten recovery reverses the decline of the red squirrel by suppressing grey squirrel populations

Table S7 from The enemy of my enemy is my friend: Native pine marten recovery reverses the decline of the red squirrel by suppressing grey squirrel populations