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Melinda Knutson

Position title: Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Refuge Biological Monitoring Team

Email: melinda_knutson@fws.gov
Phone: 608.781.9343
Fax: 608.783.6066

Education:
1995 Ph.D., Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Iowa State University
1991 M.S., Environmental and Forest Biology, State University of New York, College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry
1984 M.P.H., Public Health, University of Minnesota
1977 B.S.N., Nursing, University of Minnesota

Primary Responsibilities/Activities: 
I worked as a Research Wildlife Biologist for the USGS from 1995 to 2005 studying forest birds and amphibians. Since 1995, I've been working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; my team is addressing the biological monitoring and adaptive management needs of National Wildlife Refuges in the Midwest and Northeastern Regions. We work with USGS on adaptive management research designed to improve natural resources management on refuges. We also identify common monitoring and research needs and develop standardized biological monitoring protocols and databases for refuges.

Research Interests: 

• Avian ecology and conservation
• Amphibian ecology and conservation
• Adaptive resource management
• Structured decision-making

Active Projects:

• Adaptive management consultancy: implementing adaptive management within the National Wildlife Refuge System.
• A passerine monitoring protocol for National Wildlife Refuges (Midwest and Northeast) and National Parks of the Great Lakes Network.
• Inventory and Monitoring Policy for the National Wildlife Refuge System, Fish and Wildlife Service Manual 701 FW2.
• View all projects

Select Publications:  
Potter, B. A., G. J. Soulliere, D. N. Ewert, M. G. Knutson, W. E. Thogmartin, J. S. Castrale, and M. J. Roell. 2007. Upper Mississippi River and Great Lakes Region Joint Venture Landbird Habitat Conservation Strategy. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Fort Snelling, MN. 124 pp. (http://www.uppermissgreatlakesjv.org/docs/UMRGLR_JV_LandbirdHCS.pdf)

Thogmartin, W. E., B. R. Gray, M. Gallagher, N. Young, J. J. Rohweder, and M. G. Knutson. 2007. Power to detect trend in short-term time series of bird abundance. Condor 109:943–948.

Kapfer, J. M., M. B. Sandheinrich, and M. G. Knutson. 2007. Use of FETAX to examine acute survival of Xenopus laevis larvae in water from natural and constructed ponds in the Upper Midwest. Herpetological Conservation and Biology 2:119-125.

Knutson, M. G., B. R. Gray, and M. S. Meier. 2007. Comparing the effects of local, landscape, and temporal factors on forest bird nest survival using logistic-exposure models. Pages 105-116 in Beyond Mayfield: measurements of nest survival data (S. L. Jones and G. R. Geupel, Eds.). Studies in Avian Biology No. 34, Denver, CO.

Thogmartin, W. E., J. R. Sauer, and M. G. Knutson. 2007. Modeling and mapping abundance of American Woodcock across the midwestern and northeastern United States. Journal of Wildlife Management 71:376-382.

Thogmartin, W. E., and M. G. Knutson. 2007. Scaling local species-habitat relations to the larger landscape with a hierarchical spatial count model. Landscape Ecology 22:61–75.

Knutson, M. G., T. Sutherland, and H. Laskowski. 2006. Management-focused research needs of refuges in the Midwest and Northeast Regions of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, FY2006. Biological Monitoring Team Technical Report BMT-2006-01. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Wildlife Refuge System, La Crosse, WI.

Knutson, M. G., T. Sutherland, H. Laskowski, S. Lor, K. Ranallo, and M. Williams. 2006. Biological surveys on refuges in the Midwest and Northeast Regions of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, FY 2003-2005. Biological Monitoring Team Technical Report BMT-2006-02. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Wildlife Refuge System, La Crosse, WI.

Thogmartin, W. E., T. J. Fox, J. J. Rohweder, and M. G. Knutson. 2006. Emerging technologies: LINK - a land conservation decision support tool. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America (online) 87:http://www.esapubs.org/bulletin/backissues/087-3/87_3.htm

Thogmartin, W. E., M. G. Knutson, J. J. Rohweder, and B. R. Gray. 2006. Bird habitat associations on the lower Missouri River floodplain: A report to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Big Muddy National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. U.S. Geological Survey Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, La Crosse, WI. 123 pp

Powell, L. A., and M. G. Knutson. 2006. A productivity model for parasitized, multi-brooded songbirds. Condor 108:292-300.

Knutson, M. G., L. A. Powell, M. A. Friberg, G. J. Niemi, and R. K. Hines. 2006. An assessment of bird habitat quality using population growth rates. Condor 108:301-314. [Appendices ABC]

Thogmartin, W. E., M. G. Knutson, and J. R. Sauer. 2006. Predicting regional abundance of rare grassland birds with a hierarchical spatial count model. Condor 108:25-46.

View all publications

Links: 
Biological Monitoring Team (FWS intranet)

Abundance, diversity, and productivity of songbirds nesting in upland and floodplain forests of the Upper Mississippi River Basin

Farm ponds as critical habitats for native amphibians

Maps, Models, and Tools for Bird Conservation Planning

Breeding bird productivity in early successional forests in support of Mark Twain National Wildlife Refuge complex planning

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