Mitchell Eaton
USGS Research Ecologist
Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center
Bio
Mitchell Eaton is a Research Ecologist with the USGS Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center and an adjunct faculty member in Applied Ecology at NC State University. His research focuses on wildlife ecology and management, emphasizing quantitative modeling to understand resource dynamics and use of decision-theoretic methods to guide management decisions under uncertainty.
Peer reviewed publications: https://www.usgs.gov/staff-profiles/mitchell-j-eaton#publications
Area(s) of Expertise
Mitch earned a M.S. in Conservation Biology at the University of Minnesota (2002; use of harvest data to assess sustainability of tropical vertebrates) and his Ph.D in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology from the University of Colorado (2009; population demographics, genetics and harvest management of African crocodiles). An interest in how policy makers actually use science to make decisions led him to a postdoc at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (USGS), where he worked with some of the top researchers in the field of decision theory to develop and apply quantitative decision-analytic tools for addressing resource management issues in the U.S. and globally. Mitch currently integrates his background and interests in population ecology with decision science to help managers and decision makers frame management problems, formulate approaches to predict outcomes and evaluate trade-offs, test hypotheses and improve decision making via adaptive management, and optimally allocate resources under uncertainty. Mitch is interested in bridging the science-management gap by working with decision makers early in their formulation of management issues and considering how science can most effectively support decision-making. He also has an ongoing interest in tropical ecology, crocodilian conservation and wildlife harvest dynamics.