Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: South Carolina
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

South Carolina Staff Member

Ms. Abigail Lawson

Abby with a gray whale cervical vertebrae in Nelson Lagoon, Alaska.

Email: ajlawso@clemson.edu
Personal website

Education

  • Ph D Clemson University 2019
  • MS University of Nevada, Reno 2012
  • BS University of California, Davis 2007

Biography

Abby is a population ecologist, focusing on developing tools to improve conservation decision-making in long-lived species. Abby received her B.S. from U.C. Davis in 2007, and completed her M.S. at the University of Nevada, Reno, investigating life history patterns and population biology of Common Goldeneyes in Alaska (her home state). Her PhD research examined reducing uncertainties in conservation decision-making for American alligators. Abby is now a postdoctoral fellow in the Alabama Coop Unit.

Research Interest

Population dynamics, life history strategies, quantitative ecology, and structured decision making.

Research Publications Publication Date
Lawson, A.J., J.S. Sedinger, and E.J. Taylor. 2017. Life history patterns, individual heterogeneity, and density dependence in breeding common goldeneyes of the northern boreal forest. Journal of Avian Biology 48:597–610. doi:10.1111/jav.00975 | Abstract | Publisher Website 2017-02-28
Lawson, A.J., J.S. Sedinger, and E.J. Taylor. 2017. Identifying demographic and environmental drivers of recruitment and population growth in a cavity nesting sea duck population. Journal of Avian Biology 48:1394–1405. doi: 10.1111/jav.01359 | Abstract | Publisher Website 2017-09-30
Lawson, A.J., Clinton T. Moore, Thomas R. Rainwater, Frances M. Nilsen, Philip M. Wilkinson, Russell H. Lowers, Louis J. Guillette Jr., K.W. McFadden, and Patrick G.R. Jodice. 2020. Nonlinear patterns in mercury bioaccumulation in American alligators are a function of predicted age. Science of the Total Environment 707:135103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135103 | Download 2020-03-31
Project Completion Date
South Carolina Alligator Adaptive Management Strategies: Population Dynamics, Habitat Utilization and Conservation Threats 2019-03-30
Presentations Presentation Date
Lawson, A.J., and K.W. McFadden. 2014. Optimizing survey designs for complex habitat: evaluating seasonal variation of alligator abundance estimates derived from nightlight surveys in South Carolina. Crocodile Specialist Group Working Meeting, Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA. 2014-05-29
Lawson, A.J., and K.W. McFadden. 2014. Optimizing Alligator Nightlight Survey Designs for Complex Habitat: Evaluating Seasonal Variation in Abundance and Detectability in South Carolina. The Wildlife Society Annual Conference, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Poster Presentation. 2014-10-27
Lawson, A.J., and K.W. McFadden. 2013. South Carolina alligator adaptive management strategies: population dynamics, habitat utilization, and conservation threats. U.S. Geological Survey South Carolina Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit Coordinating Committee Meeting, Clemson, South Carolina. 2013-05-14
Lawson, A.J., and K.W. McFadden. 2013. Influence of habitat on American Alligator densities in coastal South Carolina derived from nightlight survey data (1971-2012). The Wildlife Society Annual Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Poster presentation. 2013-10-07
Lawson, A.J., P.G.R. Jodice. 2015. Do changes in size class composition influence ontogenetic niche shifts in American alligators? Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting. Baltimore, Maryland. 2015-09-14
Lawson, A.J., P.G.R. Jodice, and C.T. Moore. 2019. Synthesizing monitoring data to estimate abundance and detection probability in American alligators in South Carolina. Southeastern Assoc Fish & Wildlife Agencies. 2019-10-29
Lawson, A.J., K.W. McFadden, P.G.R. Jodice. 2015. Does harvest pressure influence body size class composition in American alligator populations? The Wildlife Society Annual Meeting. Winnipeg, Manitoba. 2015-10-20
Lawson, A.J., J.S. Sedinger, and E.J. Taylor. 2013. Does density dependence influence local recruitment and population growth of Common Goldeneyes? The Wildlife Society Annual Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Oral presentation. 2013-10-07
Lawson, A.J., C.T. Moore, and P.G.R. Jodice. 2018. Synthesizing multiple data streams to estimate abundance and detection probability in a highly wary, long-lived apex predator: an integrated modeling approach. International Statistical Ecology Conference, 2-6 July 2018, St. Andrews, Scotland. 2018-07-02
Lawson, A.J. 2014. Land cover influence on South Carolina American alligator densities derived from nightlight surveys (1971-2013). Clemson University Graduate Research and Discovery Symposium, Clemson, South Carolina, 4 April 2014. 2014-04-04
Lawson, A.J, P.G.R. Jodice, C.T. Moore. 2015. Using Seasonal Abundance Patterns to Improve Monitoring Programs and Conservation Decision-Making: An American Alligator Example. Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, 1-4 November 2015, Asheville, NC. 2015-11-03
Lawson, A., P. Jodice, T. Rainwater, K.McFadden. Evaluating American alligator home range size and site fidelity patterns in artificial wetlands. Annual Meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology. 2017-07-25
Lawson, A. J., T. G. Crawford, and C. T. Moore. 2019. Development of an American alligator adaptive harvest management framework: what can be learned from waterfowl management? Oral presentation at Joint Annual Conference of American Fisheries Society and The Wildlife Society, 29 September - 3 October 2019, Reno, NV. 2019-09-29
Lawson, A. J., C. T. Moore, P. G. R. Jodice, and K. W. McFadden. 2016. Optimizing American alligator population survey design to improve management decision-making. The Wildlife Society 23rd Annual Conference, 15-19 October 2016, Raleigh, NC. 2016-10-19
Lawson, A. J., C. T. Moore, B. E. Ross, and P. G. R. Jodice. 2018. Synthesizing multiple data streams to estimate abundance and detection probability in a highly wary, long-lived apex predator: an integrated modeling approach. The Wildlife Society 25th Annual Conference, 7-11 October 2018, Cleveland, OH. 2018-10-08
Abigail J. Lawson, Clinton T. Moore, Thomas R. Rainwater, Frances M. Nilsen, Philip M. Wilkinson, Russell H. Lowers, Louis J. Guillette Jr., K.W. McFadden, and Patrick G.R. Jodice. 2019. Non-linear mercury bioaccumulation patterns in American alligators are a function of predicted age. The Wildlife Society Annual Conference, Reno, Nevada, USA. 2019-10-01