Department of Environmental Conservation

Assistant Research Professor
Ecological modeling; conservation biology; sustainability and climate change; watershed systems
(413)545-3154
218 Holdsworth Hall
Email: craigncraign(at)eco.umass.edu

Primary interests

My research focuses on the sustainability of natural resources important to people (e.g. large mammals and indigenous communities in Alaska, Canada and Mongolia, or clean drinking water from New England forests). I am particularly interested in understanding factors that affect these ‘ecosystem services’, including climate change, oil and gas extraction, and residential development. I work with teams of scientists and stakeholders to develop holistic understandings of complex system dynamics that include wildlife populations, the habitats in which they live, and the humans who depend on them. I build computer simulation models using rule-based approaches and/or quantitative ecological analyses, and am particularly interested in applied issues with high societal relevance that bring together scientists from both the natural and social sciences.

Current Projects

Population dynamics and spatial ecology of caribou in Alaska and Canada
Large-scale movements of Mongolian gazelles in the Eastern Steppe of Mongolia
Bowhead whale management and conservation in the Arctic Ocean
Prioritization of land conservation for water resources and biodiversity

Student Committees

• Archana Bali (Ph.D., co-advised with Gary Kofinas at Univ of Alaska Fairbanks). Cumulative effects of climate, oil development and harvest on caribou population dynamics.

• Meagan Mazzarino (Ph.D., co-advised with Paul Barten). Effects of climate change on glaciers and alpaca herding communities in the Andes.

• Jeff Legos (M.S., co-advised with Kevin McGarigal). A GIS-based evaluation of instream habitat quality for rivers of the north-eastern United States.

• Ailea Omotosho (M.S., co-advised with Mark Hamin in Landscape Architecture). Decision-support tools for evaluating adaptability of human-ecological systems.
 

Post-docs

Kirk Olson (Ph.D., 2008, Univ. Massachusetts, Amherst)

Recent Publications and Submitted Manuscripts

Dollar, E.S., C.R. Nicolson, C.A. Brown, J.K. Turpie, A.R. Joubert, A.R. Turton, D.F. Grobler, H.H. Pienaar (in press). The development of the South African Water Resource Classification System (WRCS): a tool towards the sustainable, equitable and efficient use of water resources in a developing country. Water Policy, 10:000-000.

Nicolson, C.R., W Koski, S Drobot, and JC George. 2008. Relating bowhead whale body condition and reproduction to Beaufort Sea ice conditions. Marine Mammal Commission Special Report Series, Bethesda, MD. 59 pages.

Huntington, H., L. Hamilton, C.R. Nicolson, A. Ogilvie and A. Voinov 2007. Human dimensions of the Arctic System: approaches, insights and synthesis from the HARC Program. Regional Environmental Change 7:173-186

Huntington H.P., M. Boyle, G.E. Flowers, J.W. Weatherly, L.C. Hamilton, L. Hinzman, C. Gerlach, R. Zulueta, C.R. Nicolson and J.T. Overpeck, 2007. The influence of human activity in the Arctic on climate and climate impacts. Climatic Change 82:77-92.

Nicolson C.R., M. Berman, C.T. West, G.P. Kofinas, D.E. Russell and D. Dugan. Submitted. Modeling the seasonal migration of the caribou in response to climatic drivers. American Naturalist.

Olson, K. A., T. Mueller, P. Leimgruber, C.R. Nicolson, T. K. Fuller, S. Bolortsetseg, A. Fine, B. Lhagavasuren, and W. F. Fagan. Submitted. Fences impede long-distance gazelle movements in drought-stricken landscapes. Mongolian Journal of Biological Sciences.

Olson, K. A., T. K. Fuller, T. Mueller, M.G. Murray, C.R. Nicolson, D. Odonkhuu, S. Bolortsetseg, and G.B. Schaller. Submitted. Annual movements of Mongolian gazelles: nomads in the Eastern Steppe. Journal of Arid Environments

Courses Taught

Technology, Service and Society (HON 499)

This project-based Capstone course for the UMass IT Minor program has as its primary goal the development of real-world experience, working in teams for an actual organization. The course was initially supported by a award-winning Fellowship from the Office of Community Service Learning.

Ecological Sustainability and Conservation Wisdom (NRC 597E)

In this seminar course we spend the first six weeks reviewing case studies in which a variety of damaged ecosystems were successfully restored. After examining the case studies, we reviewed a set of principles (‘Conservation Wisdom’) for successful and sustainable restoration.
 

Ecological Modeling (WFCON 697)

In both the academic field of ecology and the practical discipline of conservation, computer models are widely used. This course introduces the topics and philosophy of ecological modeling. The course is designed to teach the process of developing a conceptual model, formalizing the model, formulating, parameterizing, and running the model as well as analyzing the results.