Education

M.S. in Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, 2014

B.S. in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois, 2011

Research Interests

I am generally interested in mammalian ecology and population dynamics. My research has focused on the use of population and ecological modeling as a tool for conservation and management of wildlife populations. I am particularly interested in species interactions and how these interactions shape population dynamics.

Projects

I completed a master’s degree at Auburn University where I estimated abundance of white-tailed deer using camera traps and N-mixture models and evaluated effects of coyote removal and wild pigs on deer abundance. 

Currently, I am collaborating with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to develop an adaptive harvest management model to help inform harvest decisions for wolves in Montana while decreasing uncertainty in wolf population dynamics and improving methods to estimate recruitment across the state.

Publications

Mitchell, M. S., S. N. Sells, S. B. Bassing, K. J. Barker, A. C. Keever, S. C. Forshee, and J. W. Goerz. 2018. Explicitly reporting tests of hypotheses improves communication of science. Journal of Wildlife Management doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.21461

Sells, S. N., S. B. Bassing, K. J. Barker, S. C. Forshee, A. C. Keever, J. W. Goerz, and M. S. Mitchell. 2018. Increased scientific rigor will improve reliability of research and effectiveness of management. Journal of Wildlife Management 82:485-494.

Keever, A. C., C. P. McGowan, S. S. Ditchkoff, P. K. Acker, J. B. Grand, and C. H. Newbolt. 2017. Efficacy of N-mixture models for surveying and monitoring white-tailed deer populations. Mammal Research 62:413-422.

O’Donnell, K. M., A. F. Messerman, W. J. Barichivich, R. D. Semlitsch, T. A. Gorman, H. G. Mitchell, N. Allan, D. Fenolio, A. Green, F. A. Johnson, A. C. Keever, M. Mandica, J. Martin, J. Mott, T. Peacock, J. Reinman, S. S. Romañach, G. Titus, C. P. McGowan, and S. C. Walls. 2017. Structured decision making as a conservation tool for recovery planning of two endangered salamanders. Journal for Nature Conservation 37:66-72.

Price Tack, J. L., B. S. West, C. P. McGowan, S. S. Ditchkoff, S. J. Reeves, A. C. Keever, and J. B. Grand. 2016. A semi-automated system for animal detection in time-lapse camera trap images. Ecological Informatics 36:145-151