Sarah Mayhew

Education       Background       Research       Publications

MAYHEW_photoPh.D. Student
Office Location: Off Campus
E-mail: mayhews@michigan.gov
Area of Expertise/Interest: Wildlife population monitoring, especially at large scales

 

Education

  • M.S. - Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, 2001
  • B.A. - Biology, Hamilton College, 1999

 

Background

I grew up in upstate New York, but I moved to Michigan in 1999 to attend graduate school and have lived here ever since.  I am currently a Research Specialist with the Wildlife Division of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.  I specialize in population monitoring (through surveys and modeling) and provide support to the Division for data analysis, data management, survey design, and research into new data collection and analysis techniques.  I work with species as diverse as butterflies, deer, bear, bobcat, and waterfowl, although the animals I handle are rarely anything more substantive than a record in a database.   I don’t know a walleye from a salmon (except on my dinner plate), so I’m grateful to the QFC for accepting a wildlifer into their ranks as I explore the application of common fisheries population analysis techniques to wildlife populations.

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Research

My research project is an application of statistical catch-at-age assessment (SCAA) techniques to data collected from bears harvested in Michigan since 1989.  The Michigan Department of Natural Resources relies on estimates of bear population size as a factor in setting hunting quotas.  The quota system is designed to help achieve the primary bear management goal of maximizing recreational opportunities for hunters while maintaining a stable population.  A SCAA may provide an alternative to the labor-intensive capture-mark-recapture techniques currently used to monitor bear populations.  It will also provide insight into other demographic parameters such as natural mortality rates, harvest rates, and recruitment.

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Publications

  • Belant, J. L., D. R. Etter, S. L. Mayhew, L. G. Visser, and P. D. Freidrich. 2011. Improving large scale mark-recapture population estimates for American black bear. Ursus. 22: 9-23.
  • Mayhew, S. L., and D. R. Luukkonen. 2010. Survival and recovery of woodcock banded in Michigan, 1981-2004. Proceedings of the American Woodcock Symposium 10:169-174.
  • Etter, D. R. and S. L. Mayhew. 2008. 2005 Northern Lower Peninsula bear genetic capture-recapture survey. Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Division Report 3490.
  • Mayhew, S. L. and D. R. Etter. 2008. An evaluation of the black bear tetracycline survey for estimating Michigan’s Upper Peninsula bear population. Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Division Report 3489.
  • Donovan, M. L., S. L. Mayhew, B. E. Warren, and V. E. Stephens. 2007. An evaluation of chemical treatment and burning on the control of autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellate). Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Division Report 3471.
  • O’Brien, D., P. Bernardi, S. Dubay, S. Mayhew, W. Moritz, and D. Purol. 2005. A risk-based audit of the captive/privately-owned cervid industry in Michigan. Michigan Department of Natural Resources Report Series, Issue Report Number 1.

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