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

Colorado Staff Member


Mr. Brian Gerber

Recreational climbing

Assistant Unit Leader
Phone: (970) 491 - 1415
Email: bgerber@usgs.gov
Faculty Website

Education

  • Ph D Colorado State University 2015
  • MS Virginia Tech 2010
  • BS University of Massachusetts 2003

Biography

I completed a B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation at the University of Massachusetts, an M.S. in Fish and Wildlife Conservation at Virginia Tech, and a PhD at Colorado State University. From 2017-2023 I was an assistant and then associate professor at the University of Rhode Island in the Department of Natural Resources. I joined the Cooperative Research Unit at Colorado State University in 2023.

My focus is on collaborative wildlife ecology science aimed to inform conservation and management practice. I am interested in all aspects of ecological learning, often focusing on statistical modeling and inference.

Areas of Expertise

Adaptive Management, Anthropogenic Impacts, Behavioral Ecology, Biodiversity, Decision Support/Analysis, Habitat Management, Landscape Ecology, Movement Ecology, Population Dynamics, Population and Community Ecology, Predator-Prey Dynamics, Species Distribution Modeling, Species Management, Statistics and Modelling, Wildlife Management

Taxon Groups Studied

Carnivores, Furbearers, Gamebirds, Nongame Fish/Wildlife, Ungulates, Waterfowl

Research Publications Publication Date
Zohdy, S, Gerber, BD, Tecot, S, Blanco, MB,Wright, PC, and Jernvall, J. 2014. Teeth,sex, and testosterone: Aging in the world’s smallest primate. PLOS ONE, e109528. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0109528 | Download October 2014
Wampole. E, Farris, Z, and Gerber, BD. 2021. A synthesis of life-history, functionaltraits, and consequences of anthropogenic pressures on Madagascar’s threatened carnivorans,Eupleridae. Mammal Review, 51: 402-419 https://doi.org/10.1111/mam.12234 | Download January 2021
Wampole, EM, Gerber, BD, Farris, ZJ, Razafimahaimodison, JC, Andrianarisoa, MH, Ralazampirenena, CJ, Wright, PC, et al. 2022. Madagascar Terrestrial Camera Survey Database 2021: A collation of protected forest camera surveys from 2007-2021. Ecology, 103:e3687. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3687 March 2022
Wampole, E.M., Farris, Z.J., Razafy, P. and Gerber, B.D. (2023), Forest carnivores living on the edge with invasive predators. Animal Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12926 | Download December 2023
Vitkalova, AV, Feng, L, Rybin, AN, Gerber, BD, Wang, T, Yang, H, Miquelle, DG,Shevtsova, EI, Aramilev, VV, Ge, J. 2018. Transboundary cooperation improves endangeredspecies monitoring and conservation actions: a case study of the global populationof Amur leopards. Conservation Letters, 11:e12574. DOI: 10.1111/conl.12574. | Download June 2018
Twining, JP, Zalewski, A, Cove, MV, Birks, J, Wearn, O, Haysom, J, Wereszczuk, A,Manzo, E, Bartolommei, P, Mortelli, A, Evans, B, Gerber, BD, McGreevy, TJ,Ganoe, L, Masseloux, J, Mayer, A, Wierzbowska, I, Akins, J, Drummey, D, McShea,W, Kays, R, Schuttler, S, Pardo, L, Boyce, A, Trujillo, AJV, L´opez-Gonz´alez, C, Lara-D´ıaz, NE, Sukmasuang, R, Whatton, M, Cosby, O, Giman, B, Ragai, RB, Li, S, Bu,H, Wang, D, Wang, F, Waggershauser, C, Bamber, J, Stewart, F, Fisher, J, Fuller,A, Perkins, K, Sutherland, C, and Powell, RA. In Press. Sociality in unexpected places: Using global remote camera data to evaluate the drivers of social complexity.Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. 121, e2312252121. | Abstract | Download | Publisher Website March 2024
Tecot, S, Gerber, BD, King, SJ, Verdolin, JL, and Wright, PC. 2013. Risky business:Sex differences in mortality and dispersal in a polygynous, monomorphic lemur, Milne-Edwards’ sifaka (Propithecus edwardsi). Behavioral Ecology, 24, 987-996. DOI: 10.1093/beheco/art008 December 2013
Sporer,, MK, Dwyer, JF, Gerber, BD, Harness, RE, and Pandey, AK. 2013. Markingpower lines reduces avian collisions near the Audubon National Wildlife Refuge, NorthDakota. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 37, 796-804. DOI: 10.1002/wsb.329 | Download December 2013
Shannon, G, Lewis, J, and Gerber, BD. 2014. Recommended survey designs for occupancy modeling using motion-activated cameras: insights from empirical wildlife data. PeerJ, 2:e532. doi.org/10.7717/peerj.532 | Download December 2014
Seymour, AS, Tarrant, MR, Gerber, BD, Sharp, A, Woollam J, and Cox, R. 2017.Effects of El Ni˜no on the population dynamics of the Malay civet east of the Wallaceline. Journal of Zoology, 303, 120-128. https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.12469 | Download May 2017
Setiawan, R, Gerber, BD, Rahmat, UM, Daryan, D, Firdaus, AY, Haryono, M, et al.2017. Preventing global extinction of the Javan rhino: tsunami risk and future conservationdirection. Conservation Letters, 11:e12366. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12366 | Download April 2017
Setash, C, Zohdy, S, Gerber, BD, and Karanewsky, C. 2017. A biogeographicalperspective on the variation in mouse lemur density across Madagascar. MammalReview, 47, 212-229. https://doi.org/10.1111/mam.12093 | Download June 2017
Ross, P, Patel, E, Ferguson, B, Ravelijaona, R, Raoloniana, G, Wampole, E, Gerber,BD, and Farris, Z. 2020. Assessment of the threatened carnivore community in the recently expanded rainforest protected area Anjanaharibe-Sud Special Reserve, Madagascar. Endangered Species Research. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01055. | Download May 2020
Rivera, K, Fidino, M, Farris, ZJ, Murphy, A, Magle, S, and Gerber, BD. 2022. Rethinking habitat occupancy modeling and the role of diel activity in an anthropogenic world. American Naturalist, 200, 4, 556-570. https://doi.org/10.1086/720714 August 2022
Northrup, J., Vander Wal. E, Bonar, M, Fieberg, J, Laforge, MP, Leclerc, M, Prokopenko,C., and Gerber, BD. 2021. Conceptual and methodological advances in habitat5selection modeling: guidelines for ecology and evolution. Ecological Applications,32:e02470. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2470 | Download October 2021
Northrup, J, Anderson, C, Gerber, BD, and Wittemeyer, G. 2021. Behavioral and demographic responses of mule deer to energy development on winter range. WildlifeMonograph, 208, 1-37. https://doi.org/10.1002/wmon.1060 | Download January 2021
Northrup, J and Gerber, BD. 2018. A comment on Bayesian occupancy priors. PlosOne, 13:e0192819. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0192819 | Download February 2018
Murphy, A, Gerber, BD, Kelly, MJ, Karpanty, S, Ratelohy, F, and Farris, ZJ. 2018.Making the most of sparse data to estimate density of a rare and threatened species:a case study with the fosa, a little-studied Malagasy carnivore. Animal Conservation,21, 496-504. https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12420 | Download April 2018
Mayer, AE, McGreevy, TJ, Sullivan, M, Brown, C, Husband, T, and Gerber, BD. 2021. Population genetics and ecology of bobcats (Lynx rufus) in a high human density landscape of New England. Northeast Naturalist, 28, 408-429. https://doi.org/10.1656/045.028.0401 November 2021
Mayer, A. E., Ganoe, L. S., Brown, C., & Gerber, B. D. (2023). Diel activity structures the occurrence of a mammal community in a human-dominated landscape. Ecology and Evolution, 13, e10684. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10684 | Download November 2023
Mayer, A, McGreevy, TJ, Brown, C, Ganoe, L, and Gerber, BD. 2022. Transientpersistence of bobcat (Lynx rufus) occurrence throughout a human-dominated landscape.Population Ecology, 64, 323-335. https://doi.org/10.1002/1438-390X.12123 | Download March 2022
Masseloux, J, Tan Le, Q, Burr, J, and Gerber, BD. 2022. Forest structure shapestropical mammal communities in a historically disturbed protected area. Ecosphere, 13:e3999. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3999 | Download March 2022
Masseloux, J, Tan Le, Q, Burr, J, and Gerber, BD. 2022. Estimating arboreality and the effects of forest structure on tropical tree-dwelling meso-mammals using arboreal camera traps. Animal Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12822 September 2022
Kotschwar-Logan, M, Gerber, BD, Karpanty, SM, Justin, S, and Rabenahy, F. 2015.Assessing carnivore distribution from local knowledge across a human-dominatedlandscape in central-southeastern Madagascar. Animal Conservation, 18, 82-91. https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12137 | Download June 2014
Kays, Roland, Cove, Michael V., Diaz, Jose, Todd, Kimberly, Bresnan, Claire, Snider, Matt, Lee, Thomas E., et al. 2022. “ SNAPSHOT USA 2020: A Second Coordinated National Camera Trap Survey of the United States during the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Ecology 103(10): e3775. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3775 June 2022
Ivan, JS, Newkirk, ES, and Gerber, BD. 2023. Differential impacts of spruce beetle outbreaks on snowshoe hares and red squirrels in the southern Rocky Mountains. Forest Ecology & Management, 544, 121147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2023.121147 June 2023
Hallisey, N, Buchanan, SW, Gerber, BD, Corcoran, LS, and Karraker, NE. 2022.Addressing Imperfect Detection in Road Mortality Hotspot Models: A Case Studywith Amphibians and Reptiles. Land, 11, 739. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11050739 May 2022
Gerber, BD, Williams, PJ, and Bailey, LL. 2014. Primates and Cameras. International Journal of Primatology, 35, 841-858. doi.org/10.1007/s10764-014-9761-9 | Download December 2014
Gerber, BD, Mosher, B, Bailey, L, Muths, E, Crockett, H, and Converse, SJ. 2023.Optimal management decisions are robust to unknown dynamics in an amphibian metapopulation plagued by disease. Animal Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12877 May 2023
Gerber, BD, Karpanty, SM, Crawford, C, Kotschwar, M, and Randrianantenaina, J. (2010). An assessment of carnivore relative abundance and density in the eastern rainforests of Madagascar using remotely-triggered camera traps. Oryx 44, 219-222. | Abstract | Download | Publisher Website December 2010
Gerber, BD, Ivan, JS, and Burnham, KP. 2014. Estimating the abundance of rare and elusive carnivores from photographic-sampling data when the population size is very small. Population Ecology, 56, 463-470. doi:10.1007/s10144-014-0431-8 | Download December 2014
Gerber, BD and Parmenter, RR. 2015. Spatial capture-recapture model performancewith known small-mammal densities. Ecological Applications, 25, 695–705. https://doi.org/10.1890/14-0960.1 | Download April 2015
Gerber, BD and Northrup, JM. 2020. Improving spatial predictions of animal resourceselection to guide conservation decision making. Ecology, 101:e02953. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2953 | Download January 2020
Gerber, B.D., M.B. Hooten, C.P. Peck, M.B. Rice, J.H. Gammonley, A.D. Apa, and A.J. Davis. (2019). Extreme site fidelity as an optimal strategy in an unpredictable and homogeneous environment. Functional Ecology, 33: 1695-1707. | Download August 2019
Gerber, B.D., M.B. Hooten, C.P. Peck, M.B. Rice, J.H. Gammonley, A.D. Apa, and A.J. Davis. (2018). Accounting for location uncertainty in azimuthal telemetry data improves ecological inference. Movement Ecology, 6: 14. January 2018
Gerber, B.D., Karpanty, S.M., Randrianantenaina, J., 2012. Activity patterns of carnivores in the rain forests of Madagascar: implications for species coexistence. Journal of Mammalogy 93, 667-676. | Abstract | Download | Publisher Website June 2012
Gerber, B., Karpanty, S., Kelly, M., 2011. Evaluating the potential biases in carnivore capture–recapture studies associated with the use of lure and varying density estimation techniques using photographic-sampling data of the Malagasy civet. Population Ecology, 1-12. | Abstract | Download | Publisher Website December 2011
Gerber, B., Arrigo-Nelson, S., Karpanty, S., Kotschwar, M., Wright, P., 2012. Spatial Ecology of the Endangered Milne-Edwards’ Sifaka (Propithecus edwardsi): Do Logging and Season Affect Home Range and Daily Ranging Patterns? International Journal of Primatology 33, 305-321. | Abstract | Download | Publisher Website December 2012
Gerber, B. D., and W. L. Kendall. Adaptive management of animal populations with significant unknowns and uncertainties: a case study. Ecological Applications 28:1325-1341, https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.1734. | Download April 2018
Gerber, B. D., and W. L. Kendall. 2017. Evaluating and improving count-based population inference: A case study from 31 years of monitoring sandhill cranes. The Condor: Ornithological Applications 119:191-206 January 2017
Gerber, B. D., and W. L. Kendall. 2016. Considering transient population dynamics in the conservation of slow life-history species: An application to the sandhill crane. Biological Conservation 200:228-239. | Download August 2016
Gerber, B. D., W. L. Kendall, M. B. Hooten, J. A. Dubovsky, and R. C. Drewien. 2015. Optimal population prediction of sandhill crane recruitment based on climate-mediated habitat limitations. Journal of Animal Ecology, DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12370 May 2015
Gerber, B. D., Devarajan, K., Farris, Z. J., & Fidino, M. (2024). A model-based hypothesis framework to define and estimate the diel niche via the ‘Diel.Niche’ R package. Journal of Animal Ecology, 00, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.14035 | Abstract | Download January 2024
Gerber BD, SJ Converse, E Muths, HJ Crockett, BA Mosher, and LL Bailey. 2018. Identifying species conservation strategies to reduce disease-associated declines. Conservation Letters 11:1-10. | Download March 2018
Gallo, T, Fidino, M, Gerber, BD, Ahlers, AA, Angstmann, JA, et al. 2022. Mammals adjust diel activity across gradients of urbanization. eLife, 11:e74756. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.74756 | Download March 2022
Farris, ZJ, Gerber, BD, Valenta, K, Rafaliarison, R, Razafimahaimodison, JC, Larney,E, Hariniaina, T, Randriana, Z, Wright, PC, and Chapman, CA. 2017. Threats toa rainforest carnivore community: a multi-year assessment of occupancy and cooccurrencein Madagascar. Biological Conservation, 210, 116-124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2017.04.010 | Download April 2017
Farris, Z, Gerber, BD, Karpanty, SM, Murphy, A, Andrianjakarivelo V, Ratelolahy,F, and Kelly, M. 2015. When the carnivores roam: temporal partitioning among Madagascar’s native and exotic carnivores. Journal of Zoology, 296, 45-57. https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.12216 | Download February 2017
Farris ZJ, Gerber, BD, Karpanty, S, Murphy, A, Wampole, E, Ratelolahy, F, and Kelly, M. 2020. Exploring and interpreting spatiotemporal interactions among native -invasive carnivores across a gradient of rainforest degradation. Biological Invasions,22, 2033-2047. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-020-02237-1 | Download February 2020
Dwyer, JF, Harness, RE, Gerber, BD, Landon, MA, Petersen, P, Austin, D, andEccleston, D. 2016. Power pole density informs spatial prioritization for mitigatingavian electrocution. Journal of Wildlife Management, 80, 634:642. https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.1048 | Download February 2016
Dwyer, JF, Gerber, BD, Petersen, P, Armstrong, WE, and Harness, R. 2020. Powerpole density and avian electrocution risk throughout the western United States. Journalof Raptor Research, 54:93–109. https://doi.org/10.3356/0892-1016-54.2.93 | Download March 2020
Davy, CM, Von Zuben, V, Kukka, P, Gerber, BD, Slaught, B, and Jung, T. 2022.Rapidly declining body size in an insectivorous bat is associated with increased precipitation and decreased survival. Ecological Applications, 32: e2639. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2639 | Download April 2022
Cove, M et al. 2021. SNAPSHOT USA 2019: the firstcoordinated national camera trap survey of the United States. Ecology, 102:e03353. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3353 May 2021
Cordes, L, Blumstein, DT, Armitage, KB, CaraDonna, PJ, Childs, DZ, Gerber, BD,Martin, JGA, Oli, MK, and Ozgul, A. 2020. Contrasting effects of climate change onseasonal survival of a seasonally active mammal. Proceedings of the National Academyof Science, 117, 18119-18126. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1918584117 | Download July 2020
Converse, SJ, Bailey, LL, Mosher, B, Funk, C, Gerber, BD, and Muths, E. 2017. A model to inform management actions as a response to Chytridiomycosis-Associated Decline. EcoHealth, 14, S144-S155. DOI: 10.1007/s10393-016-1117-9 | Download March 2017
Cohen, J.B., Gerber, B.D., Karpanty, S.M., Fraser, J.D., Truitt, B.R., 2011. Day and Night Foraging of Red Knots (Calidris canutus) during Spring Stopover in Virginia, USA. Waterbirds 34, 352-356. | Abstract | Download | Publisher Website December 2011
Chanchani, P, Gerber, BD, Noon, B. 2018. Elevated potential for intraspecific competition in small tiger populations occupying fragmented landscapes. Biological Conservation,227, 275-283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2018.08.017 | Download September 2018
Carter, W, McGreevy TJ, Mayer, AE, Sullivan, ME, Tefft, BC, Gerber, BD, and Husband, TP. 2022. High similarity in diet between imperiled New England cottontail and invasive eastern cottontail. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management.https://doi.org/10.3996/JFWM-22-05. May 2022
Burton, A.C., Beirne, C., Gaynor, K.M. et al. Mammal responses to global changes in human activity vary by trophic group and landscape. Nat Ecol Evol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02363-2 | Download March 2024
Brown, KA, Farris, ZJ, Yesuf, G, Gerber, BD, Rasambainarivo, D, Karpanty, S, Kelly,MJ, Razafimahaimodison, JC, Larney, E, Wright, P, and Johnson, SE. 2016. Modelingco-occurrence between toxic prey and na¨ıve predators in an incipient invasion.Biodiversity and Conservation, 25, 2723-2741. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-016-1198-3 | Download August 2016
Betts, MG, Northrup, JM, Bailey Guerrero, JA, Adrean, LJ, Nelson, SK, Fisher, JL, Gerber, BD, Garcia-Heras, MS, Yang, Z, Roby, DD, and Rivers, J. 2020. Squeezed by a habitat split: warm ocean conditions and old-forest loss interact to reduce long term occupancy of a threatened seabird. Conservation Letters, 13:e12745. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12745 | Download August 2020
Betts, BG, Yang, Z, Hadley, AS, Rousseau, JS, Northrup, JM, Nocera, JJ, Taylor, PD,Gorelick, N, and Gerber, BD. 2022. Forest degradation, not loss, drives wide spread avian population declines in eastern Canada. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 6, 709-719. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01737-8 April 2022
Baden, A, Oliveras, J, and Gerber, BD. 2021. Sex-segregated range use by black-andwhiteruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata) in Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar.Folia Primatologica, 92, 12-34. https://doi.org/10.1159/000510965 November 2020
Presentations Presentation Date
Mezebish Quinn, T, Paton, P, Gerber, BD, Kilburn, J, and McWilliams Scott. Habitat selection of American black ducks wintering in an urban estuary with increasing shellfish aquaculture. North American Duck Symposium; Feb 2024; Oregon February 2024
Kendall, W. L., R. C. Drewien, W. Brown, and B. D. Gerber. 2014. Pre- and post-harvest mortality sources and survival of the Rocky Mountain Sandhill Crane. 21st Annual Conference of The Wildlife Society, Pittsburgh, PA. October 2014
James W. Rivers, Lindsay J. Adrean, Jennifer A. Bailey Guerrero, Jonathan Dachenhaus, Jennifer L. Fisher, Cecelia Frisinger, Marie-Sophie Garcia-Heras, Brian D. Gerber, Carolyn B. Meyer, S. Kim Nelson, Joseph M. Northrup, Daniel D. Roby, Jonathon Valente, Christopher Wolf, Ethan Woodis, Zhiqiang Yang, and Matthew G. Betts. Warming ocean conditions curtail breeding activity of the Marbled Murrelet, a most unusual forest-nesting bird. Oregon chapter of The Wildlife Society, February 2024. February 2024
Iannarilli, F, Gerber, BD, Erb, J, Wikelski, M, Fieberg, JR. A hierarchical modeling framework for estimating animal activity patterns: the effect of human presence on diel activity. The International Statistical Ecology Conference, Swansea, United Kingdom. 15-19, July 2024. July 2024
Gerber, BD, Devarajan, K, Farris, ZJ, and Fidino, M. A framework to define and estimate animal diel activity. The 103rd Annual American Society of Mammalogists Meeting. June 7-11, 2024. Boulder, CO, USA. June 2024
Gerber, BD, Devarajan, K, Farris, ZJ, and Fidino, M. A conceptual and statistical framework to define animal diel activity patterns and investigate species plasticity. The 31st Annual Wildlife Society Conference. October 19-23, 2024. Baltimore, MD, USA. October 2024
Gerber, B. Kendall, W. Hooten, M., Dubovsky, J., Drewien, R. Predicting Juvenile Sandhill Crane Production From Ecologically-Driven Hypotheses Using Statistical Regularization October 2014
Gerber, B. D., W. L. Kendall, J. A. Dubovsky, R. C. Drewien, and M. B. Hooten. Annual variation of young of the year in the Rocky Mountain Population of Sandhill Cranes. 13th North American Crane Workshop. Lafayette, LA, USA. April 2014
Gerber BD, BA Mosher, LL Bailey, E Muths, HJ Crockett, and SJ Converse. 2023. Optimal management decisions are robust to unknown dynamics in an amphibian metapopulation plagued by disease. The Wildlife Society Annual Conference, Louisville, Kentucky, USA. 5-9 November. November 2023
Drewien, R. C., W. L. Kendall, W. Brown, and B. D. Gerber. Survival of the Rocky Mountain Sandhill Crane. 13th North American Crane Workshop. Lafayette, LA. April 2014
Betts, MG, Frey, SJK,Gerber, BD. Bird interspecific colonization and extinction dynamics are mediated by microclimate. Annual meeting of the American Ornithological Society. Estes Park, Colorado. October 1-5, 2024. October 2024
Belotti, MCTD, Gerber, B, Deng, Y, Zhao, W, Simmons, VF, Cheng, Z, Perez, G, Tielens, E, Maji, S, Sheldon, D, Kelly, JF, and Horton, KG. Comparison of swallow and martin trends from three large-scale data sources. Annual meeting of the American Ornithological Society. October 1 - 5, 2024. October 2024
Bellier, E., McGreevy Jr., T.J., Petrullo, A. and Gerber. B.D. Evaluating the spatial count model to monitor the population dynamics of unmarked small mammals. Annual meeting of the Ecological society of America. August 4 - 9, 2024. August 2024