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Last updated: 2021-03-16.

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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

Ph.D., Environmental Science

University of Rhode Island

Kingston, RI

2013

  • Thesis: Migration and stopover ecology of songbirds and bats along a major ecological barrier

M.S., Raptor Biology

Boise State University

Boise, ID

2006

  • Thesis: Exploring raptor migration using stable isotope analysis: the Northern Goshawk in western North America

B.S., Wildlife Biology

Murray State University

Murray, KY

2000

Professional Experience

Quantitative Ecologist

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Athens, GA

2020 - 2015

Contract analyst

Birds Canada

Athens, GA

2019

  • Provide visualization and analytical support for Red Knot movement data

Postdoctoral Fellow

University of Rhode Island

Kingston, RI

2015 - 2013

  • 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

Research Associate

University of Florida

N/A

2008

  • 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

Avian Research Technician II/III

Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources

Frankfort, KY

2007 - 2005

  • 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

Software

Grants

NOTE: asterisks (*) indicate integral contribution to project development, design, and implementation, but institutional policies prevented inclusion as a PI.

Given, A, and AD Smith. Local and post-breeding movements of Painted Buntings associated with molt. $3,500. Carolina Bird Club.

N/A

N/A

2019

*McRae, S. Evaluating the use of autonomous recording units (ARUs) to survey Black Rails. $19,715. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

N/A

N/A

2018

*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.

N/A

N/A

2017

*Moore, C, and R. Cooper. Black Rail ecology to inform effective survey design and support population modelling. $172,907. U.S. Geological Survey.

N/A

N/A

2016

Smith, AD, and W Wiest. Secretive marsh bird surveys on southeastern National Wildlife Refuges. $92,700. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

N/A

N/A

2016

Smith, AD, and A Given. Seasonal connectivity of MacGillivray’s Seaside Sparrow. $11,750. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

N/A

N/A

2016

*Given, A. Seasonal connectivity of MacGillivray’s Seaside Sparrrow. $4,800. Carolina Bird Club.

N/A

N/A

2016

*McWilliams, SR. Automated telemetry monitoring of migratory birds. $7,426. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

N/A

N/A

2014

*McWilliams, SR. Acoustic monitoring of migrating bats and birds of Rhode Island National Wildlife Refuges. $33,038. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services.

N/A

N/A

2010

*McWilliams, SR. Rapid assessment of fruits available to songbirds during fall migration. $9,276. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

N/A

N/A

2008

*Dufty, A. Migratory connectivity: linking raptors to their breeding areas. $17,900. Idaho Department of Fish and Game.

N/A

N/A

2002

Teaching

(Workshop) R tools for a code-based data workflow

USFWS Virtual Data Management Workshop

N/A

2020

(Workshop) Motus wildlife tracking

ACE Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve

Charleston, SC

2018

  • presented with N. Wallover and F. Sanders

(Workshop) Using the Motus wildlife tracking network to study avian migration pathways through the southeastern United States

Association of Southeastern Biologists

Myrtle Beach, SC

2018

  • presented with K. Lefevre and S. Mackenzie

Raster Processing in R

USFWS Geospatial Training Workshop

Shepherdstown, WV

2016

Scientific Computing and Programming for Coastal Resource Management: Fundamental Concepts and Open Access Tools

University of Rhode Island

Kingston, RI

2014

  • co-instructor with J. Hollister and P. August

Teaching Assistant, Wildlife Management Techniques

University of Rhode Island

Kingston, RI

2012

Head Teaching Assistant, Human Anatomy and Physiology

Boise State University

Boise, ID

2004

Teaching Assistant, Human Anatomy and Physiology

Boise State University

Boise, ID

2003 - 2001

Invited Talks

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

N/A

N/A

2016

Smith AD Songbird migration and stopover dynamics along an ecological barrier. Connecticut College.

N/A

N/A

2014

Contributed Talks

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.

N/A

N/A

2020

Lefevre, KL and AD Smith. The case for expanding automated telemetry efforts across the Caribbean. North American Ornithological Conference.

N/A

N/A

2020

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.

N/A

N/A

2016

Hofner, B, and AD Smith. Boosted zero-inflated negative binomial models for spatiotemporal abundance of sea birds. International Workshop on Statistical Modelling.

N/A

N/A

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.

N/A

N/A

2015

Smith, AD, and SR McWilliams. Keeping fruit biochemistry in context: neighborhood influences on patterns of fruit consumption. Wilson Ornithological Society.

N/A

N/A

2014

Smith, AD. Acoustic monitoring of migrating songbirds and bats in coastal Rhode Island. Northeast Regional Migration Monitoring Network.

N/A

N/A

2014

Smith, AD. Coastal bat migration and weather: like the birds or for the birds. University of Rhode Island.

N/A

N/A

2013

Smith, AD. What you don’t know can’t help you: linear mixed models in the environmental sciences. University of Rhode Island.

N/A

N/A

2012

Smith, AD. Body condition influences the stopover decisions of a migratory songbird. University of Rhode Island.

N/A

N/A

2010

Smith, AD. Inferring diets of migrating birds: are stable isotopes the answer? University of Rhode Island.

N/A

N/A

2009

Advising

Forrest Wallace, M.S. committee member

Florida Gulf Coast University

Fort Myers, FL

2021

David Tilson, M.S. committee member

University of Georgia

Athens, GA

2020

Sarah Donlan, Senior Honors Project

University of Rhode Island

Kingston, RI

2011

Undergraduate Natural Resources Science Research Apprenticeships (x2)

University of Rhode Island

Kingston, RI

2011