Scott Crosbie
PhD Candidate
Graduate Student Researcher
Education
Ph.D. in Animal Biology, expected 2010, University of California, Davis, CA
M.S. in Biological Conservation, 2005, California State University, Sacramento, CA
B.S. in Biological Conservation, 2002, California State University, Sacramento, CA
Current Project
The Yellow-billed Magpie’s range is limited to the Central Valley and Southern Coast Ranges of California. This California endemic (meaning found only in California) bird species has suffered dramatic mortality from West Nile virus (WNV); since 2004 over 12,000 dead magpies have been reported to the California Department of Health Services WNV Dead Bird Surveillance Program. The Yellow-billed Magpie has consistently had the highest proportion of WNV-positive carcasses of all California native bird species.
Through collaborations with members of the Yellow-billed Magpie Working Group, the public through Magpie Monitors (www.magpiemonitor.org), CDFG, PRBO Conservation Science, The Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy, and other agencies, organizations and ornithologists, we are implementing studies to estimate and track population abundance and seasonal habitat-use patterns in 2007 and 2008, and examine loss of genetic diversity post-WNV establishment.
Research Experience:
Ph.D. research on Yellow-billed Magpies, Wildlife and Ecology Unit, Veterinary Genetics Laboratory, University of California, Davis. April 2006 to present. Current Project: Status of the Yellow-billed Magpie
Wildlife Biologist, Devine Tarbell & Associates, Inc. 2004-2006. Conduct surveys for special-status species; habitat assessments; author technical reports and environmental assessments; research.
The Nature Conservancy. 2002-present. Operate Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship stations at University of California, Berkeley’s Sagehen Creek Field Station.
Graduate Teaching Associate, California State University, Sacramento. 2003-2004. Taught laboratory sections of General Biology.
United States Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch, Sacramento District. 2001-2003. Evaluated CWA and RHA permit applications; verified wetland delineations; conducted mitigation compliance inspections.
Research Interests
- Current status and viability of the Yellow-billed Magpie
- Conservation of special-status species (particularly birds)
- Habitat loss/conversion; urban/wildlife interface
- Behavioral ecology
Publications
Crosbie, S. P., W. D. Koenig, W. Reisen, V. L. Kramer, L. Marcus, R. Carney, E. Pandolfino, G. M. Bolen, L. R. Crosbie, D. A. Bell, and H. B. Ernest. 2008. Early impacts of West Nile virus on the yellow-billed magpie, a California endemic. The Auk. 2008.
Crosbie, S. P., D. A. Bell, and G. B. Bolen. 2006. Vegetative and thermal aspects of roost-site selection in urban Yellow-billed Magpies. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 118:532-536
Presentations
The Yellow-billed Magpie, a California Specialty. 2006. Sanhill Crane Festival.
Decline of Sacramento Magpies. 2005. The Yellow-billed Magpie Working Group.
Decline of Sacramento Magpies. 2006. The Western Section of the Wildlife Society Annual Conference.
The Communal Roosting Behavior of Urban Yellow-billed Magpies. 2005. The Western Section of the Wildlife Society Annual Conference.