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Jeffrey S. Gleason

Publications and source records attributed to Jeffrey S. Gleason.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2026

Co-producing coastal bird research on the Gulf Coast through structured decision making (SDM) and constructed value of information (CVoI)

Conservation practitioners face the complex challenge of addressing global biodiversity threats within social-ecological systems with multiple jurisdictions, numerous interest groups, and changing environmental conditions. Bridging the research-to-implementation gap between scientists and managers, which integrates diverse perspectives that represent the variety of considerations impacting management outcomes can help to inform efficient and effective conservation. Avian conservation programs along the U.S. Gulf Coast exemplify these challenges, as management decisions must address diverse threats to declining coastal bird populations across large breeding, wintering, and migratory ranges while facing uncertainty surrounding the efficacy of large-scale strategies. This provides opportunities for improving management through co-produced research with structured decision making (SDM). We present a case study that demonstrates the application of co-production principles and SDM to collaboratively develop high-priority research questions informing effective avian conservation and management. Additionally, we applied a constructed value of information (CVoI) framework to identify and prioritize which uncertainties to reduce and better understand how research questions impact management actions. The integration of SDM’s five-step decision making framework ensured key principles of co-production were met, while co-production enhanced SDM outcomes by incorporating diverse perspectives and knowledge bases. CVoI further allowed participants to collectively determine final high-priority research questions in the face of complexity and uncertainty. Together, these approaches supported co-produced knowledge-generation, strategic hypothesis prioritization, and identification of research questions most likely to improve conservation decisions. This case study from the U.S. Gulf Coast demonstrates how co-produced research through SDM offers a broadly applicable approach for navigating ecological complexity and bridging the research-to-implementation gap in avian conservation.

Gulf Coast↗
USGS2026

Vessel surveys for marine birds in the Gulf of America (Gulf of Mexico): Protocol manual (2017–2025)

This manual provides contextual background and detailed instructions for survey procedures that were used to collect, enter, archive, and analyze digitally-entered field data collected for marine birds during three large-vessel survey projects in the northern Gulf of America (also Gulf of Mexico, hereafter “Gulf”). Projects using this protocol included the Gulf of Mexico Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (GoMMAPPS: 2017-2018), the Vessel Surveys for Abundance and Distribution of Marine Mammals and Seabirds (VSAD: 2023-2024), and certain repositioning legs of the Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS: 2021, 2023). Based substantially on Ballance and Force (2011), the protocol used in the Gulf is based on a standardized 300 m wide strip transect using software architecture available in program SeeBird (v.4.3.7), a data collection program developed by Robert Holland at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Southwest Fisheries Science Center, La Jolla, CA. Survey protocols relied on the digital entering of standardized metadata linked to sightings of seabirds (e.g., species, number, location, distance bin, association[s], behavior, flight direction, flight height, angle from ship, age, sex, plumage, and optional comments) as well as other protected species. SeeBird has additional modules that may be used to input data on mixed-species seabird flocks and flying fish (only the latter was used in the Gulf). SeeBird includes “user-driven” commands issued through the keyboard, touch screen, and/or mouse, many of which are aided by drop-down menus that prompt the user options that are available for input. In addition, the program features “event–driven” inputs updated at intervals selected by the user, and that also record exact time and location of such edits. We describe how SeeBird was adapted in the Gulf both to run directly via serial connections from the ship’s navigation system and to operate independently from the ship through a satellite-derived GPS feed. This user manual also gives information about: procedures used to document flying fish abundance on Gulf surveys; how to use the Beaufort scale for standardizing wind force and sea state environmental conditions; how to make and use a hand-held rangefinder for delimiting strip transect bin distances; additional functionalities in SeeBird for which user guides are not available; file-naming, file-archiving, and file location conventions used on Gulf marine bird surveys; protocols used in the Gulf for describing relative abundance of the macro-alga Sargassum as an environmental covariate; the standardized four-letter taxa codes (summarized in a SpeciesCode.txt file) used in the Gulf for denoting species, other taxonomic, and event categories as inputs to SeeBird; an Excel example spreadsheet that has successfully imported SeeBird’s ASCII text file; procedural steps to import, edit, and archive into Excel ASCII text files from SeeBird; initialization instructions for starting up program SeeBird on a Panasonic ToughBook™ that relies on integrated, satellite-derived GPS, and for writing “S” (seabirds + other taxa) and “E” (flying fish) ASCII files to a folder or subfolder other than the default root location on the laptop that contains program SeeBird; how to trouble-shoot miscellaneous start-up problems with program SeeBird; how to add new four-letter codes (into a SpeciesCode.txt file) when additional taxa or objects of interest are encountered. The primary objective of this manual is to archive a permanent, replicable history of survey methodology to facilitate continuity with comparable future projects that may be conducted in the Gulf. A secondary objective is to describe why and how program SeeBird was applied and adapted specifically for operating in Gulf survey conditions. As of late 2025, user guides for software program SeeBird were no longer readily accessible, so this manual serves also to address that gap.

Northern Gulf of America↗
USGS2025

Flying fish habitat and co-occurrence with seabirds in the northern Gulf of Mexico

Flying fish (family Exocoetidae ) play an important role in marine food webs, linking sub-surface and aerial predators. The association of seabirds with sub-surface predators in subtropical and tropical regions through facilitated foraging events is a well-known phenomenon and is sometimes used to identify fishing grounds for flying fish, flying fish roe, and tunas. In the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGoM), few studies have assessed flying fish distribution, and none have directly evaluated flying fish–seabird co-occurrence. Using vessel-based observations of surfacing flying fish flights, we characterized the distribution of flying fish and their co-occurrence patterns with seabirds in the nGoM. We modeled the distribution and relative density of flying fish flights using Generalized Additive Models. We then assessed co-occurrence patterns of flying fish with all seabird species seen in the area, encompassing the footprint of flying fish detections. Flying fish were detected across the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, with flight densities greater on the mid-continental shelf and into pelagic waters south of Louisiana, and greater flight densities were associated with regionally low chlorophyll- a and warm water. Flying fish flights were greatest in spring months through early fall months. Sooty terns ( Onychoprion fuscatus ), considered near-obligate commensals with tuna, contributed a much higher percent of the cumulative density of the seabirds co-occurring with versus without flying fish. Flying fish could be an ecological attractant for high abundances of visually conspicuous sooty terns, the presence of which may lead to the formation of ephemeral facilitated foraging events consisting of mixed-species seabird flocks.

Fisheries Oceanography↗
USGS2024

Black Terns (Chlidonias niger) beyond the breeding grounds: Occurrence, relative density, and habitat associations in the northern Gulf of Mexico

North American Black Terns ( Chlidonias niger ) breed primarily in the Prairie Pothole region of southern Canada and the northern United States, winter in Central and South American waters, and often migrate through the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGoM). This species has exhibited long-term population declines and is exposed to a myriad of anthropogenic threats in the nGoM, including oil spills, with an estimated 800–1,000 injured during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, yet historical studies of Black Terns' use of the nGoM are sparse, with inconsistent spatial and temporal coverage. Using vessel-based observations collected from 2017 to 2019, we characterize Black Tern spatial and temporal occurrence in marine waters of the nGoM. We develop 2 separate habitat models: one describing spatial and temporal aspects of Black Terns occurrence and the other describing the relative density when present. In 10 months of survey effort, January–October, we observed Black Terns in 7 (Mar–May and Jul–Oct), predominantly on the continental shelf at <200 m depth. Relative densities were greatest in the fall, coinciding with Black Terns' southward migration. Spatial distribution and habitat models suggest an association with river mouths or ports, as well as cool, productive waters, frequently associated near the outflow of the Mississippi River and just off the coast from Corpus Christi, Texas. The enhanced understanding of Black Terns in the nGoM could inform the preparation for, and response to, future oiling events or provide insight into potential interactions with the installation of offshore wind farms and aquaculture.

northern Gulf of Mexico↗
USGS2023

Structured decision making to prioritize regional bird monitoring needs

Conservation planning for large ecosystems has multiple benefits but is often challenging to implement because of the multiple jurisdictions, species, and habitats involved. In addition, decision making at large spatial scales can be hampered because many approaches do not explicitly incorporate potentially competing values and concerns of stakeholders. After the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, establishing baselines was challenging because of (1) variation in study designs, (2) inconsistent use of explicit objectives and hypotheses, (3) inconsistent use of standardized monitoring protocols, and (4) variation in spatial and temporal scope associated with avian monitoring projects before the spill. Herein, we show how the Gulf of Mexico Avian Monitoring Network members used structured decision making to identify bird monitoring priorities. We used multiple tools and techniques to clearly define the problem and stakeholder objectives and to identify bird monitoring priorities at the scale of the entire northern Gulf of Mexico region. Although our example is specific to the northern Gulf of Mexico, this approach provides an example of how stakeholder values can be incorporated into the coordination process of broad-scale monitoring programs to address management, restoration, and scientific questions in other ecosystems and for other taxa.

INFORMS Journal on Applied Analytics↗
USGS2021

Structured decision making and optimal bird monitoring in the northern Gulf of Mexico

The avian conservation community struggles to design and implement large scale, long-term coordinated bird monitoring programs within the northern Gulf of Mexico due to the complexity of the conservation enterprise in the region; this complexity arises from the diverse stakeholders, multiple jurisdictions, complex ecological processes, myriad habitats, and over 500 species of birds using the region for at least some part of their annual cycle. In addition, long-term monitoring over large spatial scales is difficult because of the need for monitoring data to both (1) evaluate management and restoration outcomes, and (2) provide reliable information about the status and trends of bird populations over time. To address these challenges, the Gulf of Mexico Avian Monitoring Network developed a problem statement: “How can a cost-effective monitoring strategy for the Gulf Coast bird community and ecosystem be developed that evaluates ongoing conservation activities and chronic and acute threats; maximizes learning; and is flexible and holistic enough to detect novel ecological threats and evaluate new and emerging conservation activities?” A structured decision-making framework was then used to articulate and quantify stakeholder values related to the problem statement. One use of the stakeholder values was to develop a regional, strategic plan for bird monitoring, which is presented elsewhere. A formal and complete decision support tool for conservation investments in monitoring and research guided by the stakeholder values is presented in this report. The technical aspects of the stakeholder value model and a portfolio analysis that could be used to guide decision making when allocating resources for monitoring activities is described. Whereas the decision analysis presented here could be useful to any decision maker faced with difficult choices about resource allocation, it is designed for decision makers who request monitoring study proposals and then determine which combination of proposals to fund. The portfolio decision support tool is designed to help funding agencies and organizations identify resource allocation strategies to maximize stated objectives. To begin the decision analysis, an objectives hierarchy and quantitative performance metrics from the values of the Gulf of Mexico bird conservation community were created by a panel of regional stakeholders. Each fundamental objective and sub-objective in the hierarchy is composed of several performance metrics. To test the decision support tool, the authors evaluated a combination of monitoring study proposals written for the region and simulated proposals. Each proposal was scored against the performance metrics and used multi-attribute utility theory to combine the multiple objectives into a measure of total monitoring benefit. The total monitoring benefit and costs of each proposal were then used in a constrained optimization routine to identify optimal monitoring portfolios, that is, a combination of activities that maximizes monitoring benefits while meeting cost and other constraints of interest to stakeholders. A graphical solution based on the concept of Pareto efficiency, which is useful in situations when cost constraints and exact budgets are not known, is also provided. Finally, an evaluation of the sensitivity of the decision-making framework to the weights assigned to objectives by stakeholders is included. This decision support tool allows decision makers to identify an optimal suite of monitoring proposals with a transparent portfolio analysis that includes user-defined constraints (such as costs).

Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas↗
USGS2019

Seabirds

No abstract available.

Gulf of Mexico↗