Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit Staff Member
Dr. Sarah Sells
Assistant Unit Leader
Phone: (406) 243 - 4393
Email: ssells@usgs.gov
Faculty Email: sarah.sells@umontana.edu
Biography
Dr. Sells received her BS from Oregon State University and MS and PhD from the University of Montana. She was a postdoctoral research scientist before joining the Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit in 2022. Dr. Sells is a basic and applied ecologist with expertise in animal behavior, spatial ecology, quantitative analyses, agency collaboration, and decision analysis. Her research aims to ask and answer questions that advance understanding of the natural world and address pressing conservation challenges. To this end, she collaborates closely with resource managers to produce research that addresses conservation needs. Over the years, Dr. Sells has worked with numerous researchers on projects spanning the alpine meadows of Olympic National Park, to canyon country of the Southwest, and to cloud forests of Central America. Most recently, she has been collaborating with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to study grizzly bear connectivity among ecosystems. Prior to this, she studied wolf behavior and spatial ecology to help estimate abundance of wolves in Montana.
Areas of Expertise
Behavioral Ecology, Decision Support/Analysis, GIS/Spatial Analysis, Landscape Ecology, Movement Ecology, Population and Community Ecology, Statistics and Modelling, T&E Species Management, Wildlife Management
Taxon Groups Studied
Carnivores, Nongame Fish/Wildlife, Species of Greatest Conservation Need, Ungulates
| Research Publications | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| Sells, S. N., C. M. Costello, P. M. Lukacs, L. L. Roberts, & M. A. Vinks. 2023. Predicted connectivity pathways between grizzly bear ecosystems in Western Montana. Biological Conservation, Volume 284, 110199, ISSN 0006-3207, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2023.110199 | Abstract | Download | July 2023 |
| Sells SN, Costello CM (2024) Predicting future grizzly bear habitat use in the Bitterroot Ecosystem under recolonization and reintroduction scenarios. PLOS ONE 19(9): e0308043. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0308043 | Abstract | Download | September 2024 |
| Sarah N. Sells, Cecily M. Costello, Paul M. Lukacs, Frank T. van Manen, Mark Haroldson, Wayne Kasworm, Justin Teisberg, Milan A. Vinks, Dan Bjornlie. 2023. Grizzly bear movement models predict habitat use for nearby populations. Biological Conservation, Volume 279, 109940, ISSN 0006-3207, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2023.109940. | March 2023 |
| Project | Completion Date |
|---|---|
| Grand Teton Wildlife Connectivity Modeling | January 2027 |
| Montana Wolf Conservation via Management Strategy Evaluation | January 2026 |
| Moose Habitat on the Flathead Indian Reservation | January 2028 |
| Effects of Forest Management and Wildfire Disturbance on Grizzly Bears | January 2029 |
| Predictive Modeling for Grizzly Bears in the Bitterroot Ecosystem | January 2030 |
| Grizzly Bear Space Use in the US Northern Rocky Mountains | January 2030 |
| Interdisciplinary evaluation of grizzly bear reintroduction to California | December 2024 |
| Presentations | Presentation Date |
|---|---|
| Vinks, M. A., S. N. Sells, C. M. Costello, and L. L. Roberts. 2024. Effects of forest disturbance on grizzly bear resource selection in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem. Montana Chapter of The Wildlife Society, Butte Montana. | February 2024 |
| Sipe, H A, Sells, S N, Gude, J A, Podruzny, K M, Parks M, Lewis, M S, Metcalf, A L, and Metcalf, E C. 2024. Management strategy evaluation for informing decisions about wildlife management and conservation. Annual Conference of The Wildlife Society, Baltimore, Maryland. | October 2024 |
| Sells, S. N., and C. M. Costello. 2024. Predicted Grizzly Bear Habitat in the Bitterroot Ecosystem. Montana Chapter of The Wildlife Society, Butte Montana. | February 2024 |
| Sells, S. N., C. Costello, P. Lukacs, L. Roberts, and M. Vinks. 2024. Spatial Behavior of Grizzly Bears in the US Northern Rockies. International Association for Bear Research and Management, Edmonton, AB, Canada. | September 2024 |
| Sells, S. N., C. Costello, P. Lukacs, L. Roberts, and M. Vinks. 2023. Predicting Habitat and Movement Corridors for Grizzly Bears in the US Northern Rockies. 13th International Mammalogical Congress, Anchorage, AK. | July 2023 |
| Sells, S. N., C. Costello, P. Lukacs, L. Roberts, and M. Vinks. 2023. Predicted Habitat and Movement Corridors for Grizzly Bears in Western Montana. Montana Chapter Conference of The Wildlife Society | February 2023 |
| Sells, S. N., C. Costello, P. Lukacs, L. Roberts, and M. Vinks. 2023. Grizzly Bear Habitat Selection and Predicted Movement Corridors in the US Northern Rockies. Movement Ecology of Animals Gordon Research Seminar | May 2023 |
| Sells, S. N., C. Costello, P. Lukacs, L. Roberts, and M. Vinks. 2023. Grizzly Bear Habitat Selection and Predicted Movement Corridors in the US Northern Rockies. Movement Ecology of Animals Gordon Research Conference | May 2023 |
| Justin Gude, Nick DeCesare, Kelly Proffitt, Sarah Sells*, Bob Garrott, Imtiaz Rangwala, Mark Biel, Jessy Coltrane, Julie Cunningham, Tammy Fletcher, Karen Loveless, Rebecca Mowry, Megan O’Reilly, Ryan Rauscher, Mike Thompson. Demographic uncertainty and disease risk drive climate-informed mountain goat management. | November 2023 |
| Technical Publications | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| Parks, M., K. Podruzny, S. Sells, T. Parks, N. Lance, W. Cole, T. Smucker. S. Bhattacharjee 2023. Montana Gray Wolf Conservation and Management 2022 Annual Report. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Helena, Montana. 53 pages. | June 2023 |
| Cook, J.D., K. Flynn, D.A. Bell, M.E. Jaeger, J. Warren, R. Kreiner, J. Payne, J. Andrews, A. Brummond, E.H. Campbell Grant, and S.N. Sells | March 2023 |
| Type | Citation | Publication Date |
|---|---|---|
| Data Release | Sells, S.N., and Costello, C.M. 2024. Predicted connectivity pathways for grizzly bears between the Selkirk and Cabinet-Yaak Ecosystems: spatial data: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P91EWUO8. | May 2024 |
| Data Release | Sells, S.N. and Costello, C.M. 2024. Predicting future grizzly bear habitat use in the Bitterroot Ecosystem under recolonization and reintroduction scenarios: spatial data: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P91EWUO8. | May 2024 |
| Data Release | Sells, S.N. and Costello, C.M. 2024. Predicted grizzly bear movement pathways in Central Montana: spatial data: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P91EWUO8. | July 2023 |
| Data Release | Sells, S. N., Costello, C. M., Lukacs, P. M., van Manen, F. T., Haroldson, M., Kasworm, W., Teisberg, J., Vinks, M. A., and Bjornlie, D. 2023. Predicted grizzly bear habitat use in Western Montana: spatial data: U. S., Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P91EWUO8. | July 2023 |