PeerJ Editor, Author & Reviewer

1,210 Points

Contributions by role

Contributions by subject area

Richard Schuster

PeerJ Editor, Author & Reviewer

Summary

I am an interdisciplinary conservation biologist and Research Scientist at Carleton University, studying the ecological impacts of human activities and develop novel techniques to prioritize conservation areas and strategies. I have a theoretical and applied background in quantitative ecology and statistics and spatial big data analysis. I develop novel analytical tools for researchers and other practitioners to explore and use in the conservation planning and management.

Biodiversity Biogeography Conservation Biology Data Science Ecology Ecosystem Science Environmental Sciences Spatial & Geographic Information Science Statistics

Editing Journals

PeerJ - the Journal of Life & Environmental Sciences

Past or current institution affiliations

Carleton University

University of British Columbia

University of Northern British Columbia

Work details

Research Scientist and Conservation Prioritization Consultant

Carleton University

January 2020

Biology

Our current project is on modernizing the Nature Conservancy of Canada's (NCC) conservation prioritization methods. The primary focus of this work is to help NCC optimally allocate sparse conservation funds, pinpointing actions such as land acquisition and management that can provide the maximum biodiversity benefits within limited budgets. We propose to implement two sets of tools into the platform we will develop: Systematic Reserve Acquisition Prioritization tools and Tools aimed at optimizing stewardship decisions.

PhD student

University of British Columbia

May 2010 - July 2014

For my PhD I investigated systematic conservation planning in human-dominated landscapes and developed novel techniques to maximize efficiency in biodiversity conservation via carbon sequestration and land management. This work provided guidelines to successfully fund conservation investments and highlighted their potential benefits and shortfalls.

Post-doctoral researcher (10h/week)

University of British Columbia

July 2014 - June 2015

Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences

Web application development for the Marxan conservation planning software Application and extension of PhD thesis methods to regional and local government levels

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

The Nature Trust of British Columbia

June 2015 - March 2016

Cross-boundary Planning for Resilience and Restoration of Endangered Oak Savannah and Coastal Douglas-fir Forest Ecosystems Tax shifting as an option for funding conservation initiatives Species distribution model performance using multiple modelling techniques and variable types Relative Ecological Assessment Tool updates for TNTBC

Liber Ero Postdoctoral Fellow

Carleton University

November 2016 - December 2019

department of biology

Project: Combining full annual cycle population models and conservation optimization to address population declines of migratory birds in Canada. Primary mentor institutions: Carleton University (Dr. Joseph Bennett), Cornell Lab of Ornithology (Dr. Amanda Rodewald), Environment Canada (Dr. Scott Wilson), Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (Dr. Peter Marra), Boreal Songbird Initiative (Dr. Jeff Wells)

Websites

PeerJ Contributions

May 27, 2020

Exact integer linear programming solvers outperform simulated annealing for solving conservation planning problems

Richard Schuster, Jeffrey O. Hanson, Matthew Strimas-Mackey, Joseph R. Bennett

https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.9258 PubMed 32518737

August 13, 2015

Effects of disputes and easement violations on the cost-effectiveness of land conservation

Richard Schuster, Peter Arcese

https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1185 PubMed 26413430

October 24, 2013

Using multi-scale distribution and movement effects along a montane highway to identify optimal crossing locations for a large-bodied mammal community

Richard Schuster, Heinrich Römer, Ryan R. Germain

https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.189 PubMed 24244912

May 4, 2015 - Version: 1

Efficient routes to land conservation given risk of covenant failure

Richard Schuster, Peter Arcese

https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.1033v1

Academic Editor on

May 3, 2021

Ecosystem services show variable responses to future climate conditions in the Colombian páramos

Mauricio Diazgranados, Carolina Tovar, Thomas R. Etherington, Paula A. Rodríguez-Zorro, Carolina Castellanos-Castro, Manuel Galvis Rueda, Suzette G.A. Flantua

https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.11370

April 20, 2021

An integrated model of seasonal changes in stock composition and abundance with an application to Chinook salmon

Cameron Freshwater, Sean C. Anderson, Terry D. Beacham, Wilf Luedke, Catarina Wor, Jackie King

https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.11163

April 16, 2021

Predicting migration routes for three species of migratory bats using species distribution models

Jamin G. Wieringa, Bryan C. Carstens, H Lisle Gibbs

https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.11177 PubMed 33959415

March 9, 2021

Fall supplemental feeding increases population growth rate of an endangered caribou herd

Douglas C. Heard, Kathryn L. Zimmerman