Dr. Susan

susan and snow geese — Rounding up snow geese to band along the Western Hudson Bay.

Education

B.S. Biology (Emphasis: Ecology) - Penn State Erie, The Behrend College - 2005

Ph.D. Forest Resources (Emphasis: Wildlife Ecology and Management) - University of Georgia - 2010

Publications

Peer-Reviewed Articles

Hervey, S.D, A. F. Barnas, T.J. Stechmann, R.F. Rockwell, S.N. Ellis-Felege, and B.J. Darby. 2019. Kin grouping is insufficient to explain the inclusive fitness gains of conspecific brood parasitism in the common eider. Molecular Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.15258

Svedarsky, D. W., R. Grosshans, H. Venema, S. N. Ellis-Felege, J. Bruggman, A. Ostlund, and J. Lewis. 2019. Integrated management of invasive cattails for wetland habitat and biofuel in the Northern Great Plains of the United States and Canada: A review. Mires and Peat 25:1-14. DOI: 10.19189/MaP.2018.APG.367

Felege, C., R. Romsdahl, J. Hunter, C. Hunter, and S. N. Ellis-Felege. 2019. Immersive field experiences lead to higher level of learning and more translational impacts on students. Journal of Environmental Studies and Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13412-019-00555-y

Barnas, A., B. J. Darby, G. Vandeberg, R. F. Rockwell, and S. N. Ellis-Felege. 2019. Assessment of lesser snow goose (Anser caerulescens caerulescens) habitat degradation in La Perouse Bay using unmanned aircraft. PLOS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0217049

Bowley, C., A. Barnas, M. Mattingly, S. N. Ellis-Felege, and T. Desell. 2019. An Analysis of Altitude, Citizen Science and a Convolutional Neural Network Feedback Loop on Object Detection in Unmanned Aerial Systems. Journal of Computational Science 34: 102-116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocs.2019.04.010.

Palmer, W.E., J. P. Carroll, D. C. Sisson, S.D. Wellendorf, T. M. Therhune, S. N. Ellis-Felege, and J. A. Martin. 2019. Reduction in meso-mammal nest predators improves northern bobwhite demographics. Journal of Wildlife Management 83(3): 646 – 656. https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.21627.

Andes, A. K., T.L. Shaffer, M.H. Sherfy, C. M. Huber, C. Dovichin, and S.N. Ellis-Felege. 2019. Accuracy of Nest Fate Classification and Predator Identification from Evidence at Nests of Least Terns and Piping Plovers. IBIS 161: 286-300. https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12629.

Barnas, A., C.J. Felege, R.F. Rockwell, and S.N. Ellis-Felege. 2018. A pilot(less) study on the use of an unmanned aircraft vehicle for studying polar bears. Polar Biology.https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-018-2270-0.

Ellis-Felege, S. N., C. Skaggs, and G. A. Knutsen. Accepted. Increased Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) Breeding Activity in Minnesota. Canadian Field Natural.

Barnas, A., R. A. Newman, C. J. Felege, M. P. Corcoran, S. D. Hervey, T. D. Stechmann, R.F. Rockwell, and S. N. Ellis-Felege. 2017. Evaluating Behavioral Responses of Nesting Lesser Snow Geese to Unmanned Aircraft Surveys. Ecology and Evolution 8 (2):1328 – 1338. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3731.

Gormezano, L. J., S. N. Ellis-Felege. D. T. Iles, A. Barnas, and R.F. Rockwell. 2017. Polar bear foraging behavior during the ice-free period in western Hudson Bay: observations, origins, and potential significance. American Museum Novitiates 3885: 1-28. https://doi.org/10.1206/3885.1.

Gross, R., S. Tucker, B. J. Darby, and S. N. Ellis-Felege. 2017. Trapping efficiency and incidental take of waterbirds using covered and uncovered floating muskrat sets. Wildlife Research https://doi.org/10.2981/wlb.00308.

Bowley, C, M. Mattingly III, A. Barnas, S. N. Ellis-Felege, and T. Desell. 2017. Toward Using Citizen Scientists to Drive Automated Ecological Object Detection in Aerial Imagery. E-Science. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/eScience.2017.22.

X. Yu, S. N. Ellis-Felege,and J. P. Carroll. 2017. Risk taking by incubating northern bobwhites: effects of predator type and investment. Avian Biology Research 10 (2): 69 - 75. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3184/175815617X14836196626746

Ellis-Felege, S. N, S. E. Albeke, N. P. Nibbleink, M. J. Conroy, W. E. Palmer, D.C. Sisson, and J. P. Carroll. 2017. Landscape features affecting northern bobwhite predator-specific nest failures in the southeastern United States. Proceedings of the Eighth National Quail Symposium 8: 344-354.

Burr, P.C.,A. C. Robinson, R. T. Larsen, R.A. Newman, S. N. Ellis-Felege. 2017. Sharp-tailed grouse nest survival and nest predator habitat use in North Dakota’s Bakken oil field. PLoS One. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0170177

Mattingly III, M., A. Barnas, S. N. Ellis-Felege, R. Newman, D. Iles, and T. Desell. 2016. Developing a citizen science web portal for manual and automated ecological image detection. IEEE 12th International Conference on e-Science. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/eScience.2016.7870903

Bowley, C., A. Andes, S. N. Ellis-Felege, and T. Desell. 2016. Detecting wildlife in uncontrolled outdoor video using convolutional neural networks. IEEE 12th International Conference on e-Science. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/eScience.2016.7870906

Darby B.J., S.F. Erickson, S.D. Hervey, S. N. Ellis-Felege. 2016. Digital Fragment Analysis of Short Tandem Repeats. Ecology and Evolution. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2221.

Goehner, K., R. Eckroad, L. Mohsenian, P. Burr, N. Caswell, A. Andes, S. Ellis-Felege, and T. Desell. 2015. A Comparison of Background Subtraction Algorithms for Detecting Avian Nesting Events in Uncontrolled Outdoor Video. Pp. 187-195 in 2015 IEEE 11th International Conference on e-Science. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/eScience.2015.10.

Desell, T., K. Goehner, A. Andes, R. Eckroad, and S.N. Ellis-Felege. 2015. On the effectiveness of crowd sourcing avian nesting video analysis at Wildlife@Home. In 15th International Conference on Computation Science. Reykjavik, Iceland. June 1 - 3, 2015.

Ellis-Felege, S. N., T. Desell, and C. J. Felege. 2014. Birds' eye view...of birds: combining technology and citizen science for conservation. Wildlife Professional 8: 27-30.

Ellis-Felege, S. N., J. S. Burnam, W. E. Palmer, D. C. Sisson, and J. P. Carroll. 2013. Fight or flight: parental decisions about predators at the nest of northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus). Auk 130: 637-644.

Desell, T. R. Bergman, K. Goehner, R. Marsh, R. Vanderclute, and S. N. Ellis-Felege. Wildlife@Home: combining crowd sourcing and volunteer computing to analyze avian nesting video. In 2013 IEEE 9th International Conference on e-Science. Beijing, China. October 23-25, 2013.

Ellis-Felege, S. N., C. S. Dixon, S. D. Wilson. 2013. Impacts and management of invasive cool-season grasses in the Northern Great Plains: challenges and opportunities for wildlife. Wildlife Society Bulletin 37: 510-516 (Invited Manuscript).

Ellis-Felege, S. N., M. J. Conroy, W. E. Palmer, and J. P. Carroll. 2012. Predation reduction results in compensatory shifts in losses of avian ground nests. Journal of Applied Ecology 49: 661-669. (Article featured in the "Science in Short" section of the Wildlife Professional (2012, vol. 6, pg 11)).

Etterson, M.A., S.N. Ellis-Felege, D. Evers, G. Gauthier, J.A. Grzybowski, B.J. Mattson, L.R. Nagy, B. J. Olsen, C.M. Pease, M. Post van der Burg, A. Potvien. 2011. Modeling fecundity in birds: conceptual overview, current models and considerations for future developments. Ecological Modelling 222: 2178-2190.

Ellis-Felege, S.N., J.S. Burnam, W.E. Palmer, D.C. Sisson, S.D. Wellendorf, R.P. Thornton, and H.E. Stribling. 2008. Cameras identify white-tailed deer depredating northern bobwhite nests. Southeastern Naturalist 7:562-564.

Voss, M.A., F.R. Reed, and S.N. Ellis-Felege. 2006. Use of a new model to quantify compromises between embryo development and parental self-maintenance in three species of intermittently incubating passerines. Journal of Thermal Biology 31:453-460.

Peer-Reviewed Book Chapters

Ellis-Felege, S.N. and J.P. Carroll. Gamebirds and nest cameras: present and future. 2012. Pp. 35-44 in C.A. Ribic, F.R. Thompson III, and P.J. Pietz (editors). Video surveillance of nesting birds. Studies in Avian Biology (no. 43), University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.

Burnam, J.S., G. Turner, S.N. Ellis-Felege, W.E. Palmer, D.C. Sisson, and J.P. Carroll. 2012. Patterns of incubation behavior in northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus). Pp. 77- 88 in C.A. Ribic, F.R. Thompson III, and P.J. Pietz (editors). Video surveillance of nesting birds. Studies in Avian Biology (no. 43), University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.

Ellis-Felege, S.N., A. Miller, J.S. Burnam, S.D. Wellendorf, D.C. Sisson, W.E. Palmer, and J.P. Carroll. 2012. Partial depredations on northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) nests. Pp. 161-172 in C.A. Ribic, F.R. Thompson III, and P.J. Pietz (editors). Video surveillance of nesting birds. Studies in Avian Biology (no. 43), University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.

Proceedings Publications

Carroll, J.P., S.N. Ellis-Felege, and W.E. Palmer. 2007. Impacts of predators on northern bobwhite in the Southeast. Pages 246-257 in Transactions of the 71st North American Wildlife and Natural Resource Conference.

Ellis-Felege, S.N., M.J. Conroy, D.C. Sission, W.E. Palmer, and J.P. Carroll. 2010. Influence of meso-mammal predator control on predator landscape-level spatial occupancy in northern Florida and southern Georgia, USA. Pages 273-277 in 24th Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings (eds. R. M. Timm and K. A. Fagerstone).

Grants

National Science Foundation (NSF) - Integrating Crowd Sourcing, Volunteer Computing and Expert Observation to Robustly Classify Massive Quantities of Avian Nesting Video. Co-PI with Dr. Travis Desell, UND Computer Science. August 2013 - July 2016.
USGS - Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Collaborative Project - Refined Monitoring Techniques for Interior Least Tern (Sterna antillarum) and Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) Nests: Validating Fate Determinations and Estimating Research Visitation Effects. July 2013 - June 2017.
North Dakota Game and Fish Collaborative Research Project - Nesting Ecology and Nest Predation of Sharp-tailed Grouse. January 2012 - June 2014.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Collaborative Research Project - Evaluation of Big Game Management on the Songbird Community and Vegetation at Sully's Hill National Game Preserve. January 2012 - December 2014.
North Dakota Game and Fish Collaborative Research Project - Incidental Take of Water Birds in Muskrat Floating Sets. June 2012 - December 2014.

Interests

I love the outdoors, particularly hunting, fishing, camping, and hiking.