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Adam D. Smith
As a Quantitative Ecologist with the United States Fish & Wildlife Service Inventory and Monitoring Program, I provide varied ecological inventory and monitoring support, build statistical models relevant to this monitoring, and develop methods and tools to synthesize, analyze, and report on ecological data, with a responsibility to 130 southeastern National Wildlife Refuges. In addition, I engage in diverse partnerships with conservation and resource management agencies and organizations to support a research program built around modern quantitative tools and approaches to understand the ecology and conservation of migratory animals. Most of my active projects are collaborative and integrate digitally-coded telemetry or GPS logging technology to answer landscape and local scale questions relevant to conservation and management. I am an open science advocate.
Education
2013
Ph.D., Environmental Science
University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI- Thesis: Migration and stopover ecology of songbirds and bats along a major ecological barrier
2006
M.S., Raptor Biology
Boise State University Boise, ID- Thesis: Exploring raptor migration using stable isotope analysis: the Northern Goshawk in western North America
2000
B.S., Wildlife Biology
Murray State University Murray, KYProfessional Experience
20202015
Quantitative Ecologist
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Athens, GA- Provide ecological, design, and analytical assistance to southeastern National Wildlife Refuges
- Build statistical models relevant to ecological research (e.g., occupancy models, hierarchical models)
- Develop methodologies and tools (e.g., R packages) that facilitate the synthesis and analysis of ecological data.
- Coordinate installation and maintenance of automated telemetry stations as part of the Motus Wildlife Tracking network
2019
Contract analyst
Birds Canada Athens, GA- Provide visualization and analytical support for Red Knot movement data
20152013
Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI- Described spatiotemporal variation in the behavior and abundance of sea ducks in southern New England and developed novel statistical methodologies to predict animal distribution and abundance relative to environmental covariates
- Studied post-breeding and migratory movement ecology of migratory birds using automated telemetry
2008
Research Associate
University of Florida- Generated probabilistic (Bayesian) models of songbird resource use based on the isotopic composition of avian tissues and potential food resources to document the extent of community-level diet shifts and the seasonal importance of different food resources to migratory songbirds
20072005
Avian Research Technician II/III
Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources Frankfort, KY- Coordinated and implemented statewide Bald Eagle and Peregrine Falcon monitoring, two Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) banding stations, migratory songbird banding, winter raptor surveys, and songbird banding training for staff and cooperators
Publications
Grants
NOTE: asterisks (*) indicate integral contribution to project development, design, and implementation, but institutional policies prevented inclusion as a PI.
2019
Given, A, and AD Smith. Local and post-breeding movements of Painted Buntings associated with molt. $3,500. Carolina Bird Club.
2018
*McRae, S. Evaluating the use of autonomous recording units (ARUs) to survey Black Rails. $19,715. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
2017
*McRae,S. Inventory and assessment of secretive marshbirds: using eDNA to determine occupancy with a focus on Eastern Black Rail and King Rail. $27,352. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
2016
*Moore, C, and R. Cooper. Black Rail ecology to inform effective survey design and support population modelling. $172,907. U.S. Geological Survey.
2016
Smith, AD, and W Wiest. Secretive marsh bird surveys on southeastern National Wildlife Refuges. $92,700. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
2016
Smith, AD, and A Given. Seasonal connectivity of MacGillivray’s Seaside Sparrow. $11,750. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
2016
*Given, A. Seasonal connectivity of MacGillivray’s Seaside Sparrrow. $4,800. Carolina Bird Club.
2014
*McWilliams, SR. Automated telemetry monitoring of migratory birds. $7,426. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
2010
*McWilliams, SR. Acoustic monitoring of migrating bats and birds of Rhode Island National Wildlife Refuges. $33,038. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services.
2008
*McWilliams, SR. Rapid assessment of fruits available to songbirds during fall migration. $9,276. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
2002
*Dufty, A. Migratory connectivity: linking raptors to their breeding areas. $17,900. Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
Teaching
2020
(Workshop) R tools for a code-based data workflow
USFWS Virtual Data Management Workshop- presented with M. Cobb
- Webinar recording
2018
(Workshop) Motus wildlife tracking
ACE Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve Charleston, SC- presented with N. Wallover and F. Sanders
2018
(Workshop) Using the Motus wildlife tracking network to study avian migration pathways through the southeastern United States
Association of Southeastern Biologists Myrtle Beach, SC- presented with K. Lefevre and S. Mackenzie
2016
Raster Processing in R
USFWS Geospatial Training Workshop Shepherdstown, WV2014
Scientific Computing and Programming for Coastal Resource Management: Fundamental Concepts and Open Access Tools
University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI- co-instructor with J. Hollister and P. August
2012
Teaching Assistant, Wildlife Management Techniques
University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI2004
Head Teaching Assistant, Human Anatomy and Physiology
Boise State University Boise, ID20032001
Teaching Assistant, Human Anatomy and Physiology
Boise State University Boise, IDInvited Talks
2016
Smith AD, SR McWilliams, R Gray, and C DeSorbo. Southbound Merlin migration in southern New England and the mid-Atlantic (Automated telemetry symposium). North American Ornithological Conference
2014
Smith AD Songbird migration and stopover dynamics along an ecological barrier. Connecticut College.
Contributed Talks
2020
McWilliams, SR, A Smith, C Cooper-Mullin, and C Graham. Pump it up: how diet and body condition affect migratory movements of shorebirds and songbirds. North American Ornithological Conference.
2020
Lefevre, KL and AD Smith. The case for expanding automated telemetry efforts across the Caribbean. North American Ornithological Conference.
2016
McWilliams, SR, AD Smith, S Smith-Pagano, L Langlois, M Skrip, and B Pierce. What is good quality habitat for migrating songbirds? A nutritional and physiological perspective. North American Ornithological Conference.
2015
Hofner, B, and AD Smith. Boosted zero-inflated negative binomial models for spatiotemporal abundance of sea birds. International Workshop on Statistical Modelling.
2015
BC Jones, AD Smith, SE Bebus, and SJ Shoech. Spectating is stressful: witnessing two seconds of a predator attack increases levels of circulating glucocorticoids. Society for Integrative and Comparitive Biology.
2014
Smith, AD, and SR McWilliams. Keeping fruit biochemistry in context: neighborhood influences on patterns of fruit consumption. Wilson Ornithological Society.
2014
Smith, AD. Acoustic monitoring of migrating songbirds and bats in coastal Rhode Island. Northeast Regional Migration Monitoring Network.
2013
Smith, AD. Coastal bat migration and weather: like the birds or for the birds. University of Rhode Island.
2012
Smith, AD. What you don’t know can’t help you: linear mixed models in the environmental sciences. University of Rhode Island.
2010
Smith, AD. Body condition influences the stopover decisions of a migratory songbird. University of Rhode Island.
2009
Smith, AD. Inferring diets of migrating birds: are stable isotopes the answer? University of Rhode Island.
Advising
2021
Forrest Wallace, M.S. committee member
Florida Gulf Coast University Fort Myers, FL2020
David Tilson, M.S. committee member
University of Georgia Athens, GA2011
Sarah Donlan, Senior Honors Project
University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI2011