Mark Ditmer's Avatar

Mark Ditmer

@mditmer.bsky.social

Research ecologist, USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station | studying animal movement, human disturbance, and ecophysiology.

366 Followers  |  140 Following  |  1 Posts  |  Joined: 15.11.2024  |  1.8428

Latest posts by mditmer.bsky.social on Bluesky

Preview
Public Land Sales Blocked From Inclusion in Trump’s Tax Bill A Senate proposal to sell millions of acres of public land to help pay for President Donald Trump’s massive package of tax cuts and spending has been blocked by the Senate’s rule keeper.

‘NOT FOR SALE’
It turns out that not many Americans wanted to see our country’s public land sold — with polls showing 75-80% opposed — even 65% of Republicans

Late Monday, that proposal got the axe 🪓
news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-...

24.06.2025 12:28 — 👍 383    🔁 133    💬 10    📌 21
Preview
Projected Increases in Climate Extremes Across Global Vertebrate Diversity Hotspots We identified overlap between areas of high vertebrate diversity and regions predicted to be exposed to increases in extreme drought, heat, and precipitation. Tropical regions, which host the highest...

Vertebrate hotspots are expected to see increased climate extremes in the coming decades; often in places where animals may be most naive to such events. New research out of my lab led by Dr. van den Bosch in @globalchangebio.bsky.social 🧪🌐🌏

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

10.06.2025 18:56 — 👍 46    🔁 23    💬 0    📌 0

Very excited to be a part of this work led by @mditmer.bsky.social and Heather Abernathy

06.06.2025 12:08 — 👍 3    🔁 2    💬 0    📌 0
Post image

New research demonstrates how anonymised mobile phone location data can transform our understanding of human recreation behavior, human wildlife interactions, & wildlife habitat 📲🧪

It also offers pathways to improve habitat connectivity mapping 📍🌍

🔗 doi.org/10.1111/1365...

02.06.2025 07:55 — 👍 10    🔁 2    💬 0    📌 1

Let's dive into this a bit. A short and very incomplete thread on US Forest Service research. 1/

31.05.2025 21:05 — 👍 185    🔁 132    💬 8    📌 15
Preview
A well-connected Earth: The science and conservation of organismal movement Global biodiversity targets focus on landscape and seascape connectivity as a foundational component of biodiversity conservation, including networks of connected protected areas. Recent advances allo...

A well-connected Earth: The science and conservation of organismal movement www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
I never thought I'd see my name in Science and I'm over the moon! Many thanks to Jedediah Brodie @fletcherecology.bsky.social and team. It is an honor to be a part of this!

24.04.2025 23:57 — 👍 8    🔁 4    💬 2    📌 0

Super excited to share this new pub led by @wilsonsherm.bsky.social! We used Nextdoor posts to explore human-carnivore interactions in Los Angeles. Nextdoor offers a useful data source for understanding urban human-wildlife interactions, if human biases are accounted for. Check it out! 🧪🌎

14.04.2025 18:41 — 👍 19    🔁 9    💬 0    📌 1

We made the cover of TREE!

03.04.2025 13:49 — 👍 20    🔁 9    💬 0    📌 1
A fire-killed forest in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Recently after fire with only snags remaining

A fire-killed forest in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Recently after fire with only snags remaining

We are recruiting a postdoctoral ORISE fellow to join an interdisciplinary team focused on issues of ecosystem type conversion, directional biodiversity change, and what to do about it. Please spread the word! 🌎🌐🧪

Details here:

www.zintellect.com/Opportunity/...

07.02.2025 23:10 — 👍 44    🔁 23    💬 2    📌 1
Time series in R and Stan using the mvgam package: hierarchical GAMs
YouTube video by Nicholas Clark Time series in R and Stan using the mvgam package: hierarchical GAMs

Another video in my series on applied time series and forecasting with the {mvgam} #rstats 📦. This one introduces State Space hierarchical GAMs and GPs for tackling multivariate series youtu.be/2POK_FVwCHk?...

04.02.2025 08:09 — 👍 79    🔁 25    💬 3    📌 1
Post image

Grizzly bears & wolves avoid busy hiking trails more than previously thought 🏞️

Explains how, combining camera traps & modelling, researchers found that the strongest disturbance effects take place within 300m for Grizzly Bears & 600m for Grey Wolves 🐺🌎🧪

🔗 appliedecologistsblog.com/2025/01/23/g...

23.01.2025 12:04 — 👍 81    🔁 18    💬 1    📌 0

Integrating human trail use in montane landscapes reveals larger zones of human influence for wary carnivores 🐻

👉Shows how human activity can alter wildlife detection rates 🌏
👉Results identify target buffer distances for protected areas near trails 🧪

🔗

20.01.2025 10:00 — 👍 19    🔁 7    💬 0    📌 0
Figure from the publication, a chart and map illustrating range of tradeoffs across different fuel break locations

Figure from the publication, a chart and map illustrating range of tradeoffs across different fuel break locations

Fuel breaks –strips of land managed for reduced flammability– are designed to aid wildfire suppression and management. 🔥However, fuel break construction may reduce wildlife habitat & introduce invasive species. New study investigating these potential trade-offs: www.usgs.gov/centers/fort... 🌎

17.01.2025 13:43 — 👍 11    🔁 3    💬 1    📌 0

A nice summary of this recent research about that other ecological disturbance in the west and its rising impact on wildlife

phys.org/news/2024-12...

11.01.2025 04:01 — 👍 13    🔁 6    💬 2    📌 0
Predicting fine-scale distributions and emergent spatiotemporal patterns from temporally dynamic step selection simulations https://nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ecog.07421 #Buffalo #Movement #Management

Predicting fine-scale distributions and emergent spatiotemporal patterns from temporally dynamic step selection simulations https://nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ecog.07421 #Buffalo #Movement #Management

Predicting fine-scale distributions and emergent spatiotemporal patterns from temporally dynamic step selection simulations https://nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ecog.07421 #Buffalo #Movement #Management

23.12.2024 09:26 — 👍 10    🔁 6    💬 1    📌 0
Post image

Absolutely incredible headline/image pairing from the NYT. No notes.

19.12.2024 17:03 — 👍 63    🔁 10    💬 10    📌 2
Post image

📣Another paper out📣

This one is a fun collaboration with @emanzo.bsky.social and the Fondazione Ethoikos team. Using #cameratraps, we explored whether European pine marten’s occurrence and activity were associated with the presence of humans and domestic cats on Elba Island. 🏃🚵🐈‍⬛

02.12.2024 15:57 — 👍 8    🔁 1    💬 2    📌 0
Camera trap image of 3 baby feral pigs, all are brown and foraging.

Camera trap image of 3 baby feral pigs, all are brown and foraging.

Our new paper was just published on the survival of feral pigs 🐖in the presence of cougars 🦁. Juvenile mortality was mostly due to predation & road kill, not so for adults.

This is part of Mitch's PhD work with CDFW, NWRC, & DoD. We should have more soon! 🧪
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

27.11.2024 16:42 — 👍 38    🔁 8    💬 1    📌 1

I’d love an add, please. I work with physiological biologgers and audio playback systems. Thanks!

27.11.2024 16:22 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
Post image

Please share widely! Apply to come join us at South Dakota State University!

22.11.2024 22:58 — 👍 10    🔁 8    💬 0    📌 1
Preview
Module 1: Getting started with LiDAR processing for forestry and natural resources - The Jones Center at Ichauway Research Labs If you are interested in learning to use LiDAR for forestry and natural resources, this tutorial can help you get started. You will learn to view large datasets, create raster products, map trees, and...

Ready to learn how to use LiDAR for research in #forestry and natural resources using #R? This week I am releasing a 7-part series to help you get started! Share with anyone you know who wants to get started. Part 1 covers acquiring, & viewing LiDAR data! bit.ly/lidR-module1

21.11.2024 01:57 — 👍 101    🔁 36    💬 5    📌 1
Preview
A ‘how‐to’ guide for estimating animal diel activity using hierarchical models We illustrate how hierarchical models can be used to estimate animal diel activity whilst accounting for variability in activity levels and sampling effort. These models also allow researchers to mor....

Interested in quantifying animal diel activity with hierarchical models? Check out this amazing how-to guide from @fa-bio-la.bsky.social , @science-action.bsky.social , and John Fieberg! 🧪

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

19.11.2024 17:00 — 👍 38    🔁 16    💬 2    📌 0

New paper out on climate change, drought and consequences for wildlife! 🌎 🧪

Led by the tenacious Dr. van den Bosch (new to blue sky; give him a follow)

16.11.2024 00:48 — 👍 72    🔁 13    💬 5    📌 0

@mditmer is following 19 prominent accounts