Pacific Southwest Research Station

Pacific Southwest Research Station
800 Buchanan Street
West Annex Building
Albany, CA 94710-0011

(510) 559-6300

• Ph.D., Statistics. University of California, Berkeley, 1977.
• M.Sc., Statistics. American University of Beirut, Lebanon, 1972.

Haiganoush has been with the Environmental Statistics Unit at Albany since August 1997. Prior to that, she was the research statistician for the Forest Insect Population Unit (4503) also at Albany. Her research with the Forest Insect Unit was concerned with the statistical aspects of dose-response bioassays; modeling of bark beetle attacks; modeling chemotaxis of bark beetle's and spread of root disease in forest stands. Haiganoush earned her Ph.D. in Statistics from the university of California, Berkeley in 1977 and joined the Forest Service in 1984.

Her current research includes development of probability models for predicting and forecasting forest fires; Estimation techniques for stochastic differential equations describing animal movement; Statistical modeling of effects of pollution on trees.

Current Emphases, Studies, Projects

• Probability modeling and forecasting fire risk. [In collaboration with Fire Management Unit (4402), University of California, Berkeley, University of Toronto, Canada and NICC Predictive Services]
• Stochastic modeling of animal movement [In collaboration with the PNW Starkey Project]
• Statistical modeling of pollution effects on trees [In collaboration with the Atmospheric Deposition Unit (PSW- 4451)]

In press

• Preisler,H.K.,Chen, S.C. Fujioka, F., Benoit, J.W. and Westerling, A.L. (In press). "Wildland fire probabilities estimated from weather model-deduced monthly mean fire danger indices". International Journal of Wildland Fire. (PDF)

• Preisler,H.K., Ager, A.A. and Hayes, J.L. (In press). "Probabilistic risk models for multiple disturbances: An example of forest insects and wildfires". Encyclopedia of Forest Threats. (PDF)

• Preisler,H.K., Zhong, S., Esperanza, A., Tarnay, L. and Koracin, J.K. (In press). "A statistical model for forecasting hourly ozone levels during fire season". Elsevier book chapter (PDF)

2007

• Preisler,H.K., Westerling, A.L. 2007. "Statistical model for forecasting monthly large wildfire events in western United States". Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology 46, 1020-1030. (PDF)

2006

• Preisler,H.K., A.A. Ager and M.J. Wisdom. 2006. "Statistical methods for analyzing responses of wildlife to human disturbance". Journal of Applied Ecology 43, 164-172. (PDF)

2005

• H.K. Preisler and A. L. Westerling. 2005. "Estimating risk probabilities for wildfires". Proceedings of the Joint Statistical Meeting, Minneapolis, MN, August 2005. (PDF)

2004

• Preisler, H.K. and J.W. Benoit. 2004. "A State space model for predicting wildland fire risk" Proceedings of the Joint Statistical Meeting, Toronto, August 8-12, 2004. (PDF)
• Preisler, H.K., Ager, A.A., Johnson, B.K., and Kie, J.G. (2004). Modeling animal movements using stochastic differential equations. Environmetrics,15, 643-657
• Preisler, H.K., D.R. Brillinger, R.E. Burgan, and J.W. Benoit. (2004) Probability based models for estimation of wildfire risk. Journal of Wildland Fire, 13, 133-142. PDF.
• Dunk, J. R., Zielinski, W.J., Preisler, H.K. (2004) Predicting the occurrence of rare Mollusks in Northern California Forests. Ecological Applications. 14(3) 713-729. statistics.
• Brillinger, D. R., Preisler, H.K., Ager, A.A., and Kie, J.G. (2004). An exploratory data analysis (EDA) of the paths of moving animals. Journal of Statistical Planning and Inference. 122: 43-63.

2003

• Knapp, R. A., K. R. Matthews, H. K. Preisler, and R. Jellison. 2003. Developing probabilistic models to predict amphibian site occupancy in a patchy landscape. Ecological Applications, 13(4), pp: 1069-1082.
• Grulke, N.E., Preisler, H.K. (2003). Un approccio statistico per stimare l "assorbimento di ozono e valutare gli effetti di stress idrico e ozono sulla fotosintesi in un pino mediterraneo. Monti E Boschi 1: 41-46
• D.R. Brillinger, H.K. Preisler, and J.W. Benoit. (2003). Risk assessment: a forest fire example. In Science and Statistics: A Festschrift for Terry Speed. D.R. Goldstein [Ed.]. pp: 177- 196.
• Preisler, H.K., A., Schilling, S.L. (2003). Use of nonparametric local regression to estimate surface ozone patterns. In Ozone Air Pollution in the Sierra Nevada – Distribution and Effects on Forests. Elsevier, CRC Press. Pp: 195–214

2002

• Preisler, H.K., Arbaugh, M. J., Bytnerowicz, A., Schilling, S.L. (2002). Development of a statistical model for estimating spatial and temporal ambient ozone patterns in the Sierra Nevada, California. The Scientific World. 2 141-154.
• Grulke, N.E., H.K. Preisler, C. Rose, J. Kirsch, and L. Balduman. (2002). O₃ uptake and drought stresss effects on carbon acquisition of ponderosa pine in natural stands. New Phytologist. 154
• Brillinger, D. R., Preisler, H.K., Ager, A.A., Kie, J.G., and Stewart, B.S. 2002. Employing stochastic differential equations to model wildlife motion. Bulletin of the Brazilian Mathematical Society 33: 93-116.

2001

• Grulke, N.E., Preisler, H.K., Fan, W.A., and W.A. Retzlaff. (2001) A statistical approach to estimate O₃ uptake of ponderosa pine in a mediterranean climate. Environmental Pollution.
• Preisler, H.K., Arbaugh, M.J., Bytnerowicz, A. and Schilling, S.I. A statistical model for estimating spatial and temporal ambient ozone patterns in the Sierra Nevada, California. International Symposium "Passive Sampling of Gaseous Air Pollutants in Ecological Effects Research". 33rd Air Pollution Workshop. Riverside, CA. April 9-11, 2001.
• Preisler, H.K., Brillinger, D.R., Ager, A.A., Kie, J.G., and R. P. Akers. Stochastic differential equations: A tool for studying animal movement. IUFRO 4.11 Conference "Forest Biometry, Modelling and Information Science". Greenwich, UK. June 25-29, 2001.
• Brillinger, D. R., Preisler, H.K., Ager, A.A., and Kie, J.G. 2001. The use of potential functions in modeling animal movement. Pages 369-386 In A. K. Md. E. Saleh, editor. Data Analysis from Statistical Foundations. Nova Science Publishers, Inc., Huntington, New York, USA.
• Brillinger, D. R., Preisler, H. K., Ager, A. A. Kie, J., and Stewart, B. S. 2001. Modelling movements of free-ranging animals. UCB Statistics Technical Report 610.
• Matthews, K.R., K.L. Pope, H. K. Preisler, and R.A. Knapp. (2001). Effects of non-native trout on Pacific treefrogs (Hyla regilla) in the Sierra Nevada. Copeia.