Lisette Waits

Sévêque A, RC Lonsinger, LP Waits, KE Brzeski, LM Komoroske, C Ott-Conn, SL Mayhew, CD Norton, TR Petroelje, JD Swenson, DJ Morin (2024) Sources of bias in applying close-kin mark–recapture to terrestrial game species with different demography and life history. Ecology 105(3), p.e4244.

Jensen A, M Muthersbaugh, M Ruth, CR Butfiloski, J Cantrell, J., J Adams, LP Waits, JC Kilgo, DS Jachowski (2024) Resource pulses shape seasonal and individual variation in the diet of an omnivorous carnivore. Ecology and Evolution 14(7): e11632.

Garrett M, S Nerkowski, S Kieran, N Campbell, S Barbosa, C Conway, P Hohenlohe, LP Waits (2024) Development and validation of a GT-seq panel for genetic monitoring in a threatened species using minimally invasive sampling. Ecology and Evolution 14(5): e11321.

Helmstetter NA, CJ Conway, S Roberts, JR Adams, PD Makela, LP Waits (2024). Predator‐specific mortality of sage‐grouse nests based on predator DNA on eggshells. Ecology and Evolution 14(10): e70213.

Paprocki N., S Blair, CJ Conway, J Adams, S Nerkowski, S., J Kidd, LP Waits (2024).Comparison of Seven DNA Metabarcoding Sampling Methods to Assess Diet in a Large Avian Predator. Environmental DNA 6(4): e70000.

Helmstetter N. A., Conway, C. J., Roberts, S., Makela, P. D., & Waits, L. P. (2024). The Influence of Grazing on the Spatiotemporal Activity Patterns of a Primary Sage-Grouse Nest Predator. Rangeland Ecology & Management.

Rebholdtz P, LP Waits, D Ausband (in press) Cooperative breeding behavior of gray wolves makes them more vulnerable to harvest. Wildlife Society Bulletin

Fetherston SC, RC Lonsinger, LB Perkins, CP Lehman, JR Adams, LP Waits (2024). Genetic analysis of harvest samples reveals population structure in a highly mobile generalist carnivore. Ecology and Evolution 14(5): e11411.

Williams* A, LP Waits, JR Adams, DS Jachowski (2023). Dietary overlap of sympatric terrestrial mammalian carnivores within coastal impoundments of South Carolina. Southeastern Naturalist, 22, 481-497.

Von Duyke, AL, JA Crawford, L Quakenbush, JR Adams, LP Waits (2023). Determination of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) individual genotype and sex based on DNA extracted from paw-prints in snow. Frontiers in Conservation Science, 4, 1166279.

Grossfurthner LP, ER Milano, PA Hohenlohe, LP Waits, BA Richardson (2023). Population structure and hybridization under contemporary and future climates in a heteroploid foundational shrub species (Artemisia tridentata). Frontiers in Plant Science, 14, 1155868.

Tumendemberel O, SA Hendricks, PA Hohenlohe, J Sullivan, A Zedrosser, M Sæbø, MF Proctor, JL Koprowski, LP Waits (2023) Range-wide evolutionary relationships and historical demography of brown bears (Ursus arctos) revealed by whole-genome sequencing of isolated central Asian populations. Molecular Ecology 32: 5156-5169.

Barnes TM, Karlin, M., Adams, J.R., Waits, L.P., Hinton, J.W., Henderson, J. and Brzeski, K.E. (in 2023) Significant amounts of red wolf ancestry detected in a population of coyotes on Galveston Island, Texas. Ecology and Evolution

Andrews KR, T Seaborn, JP Egan, MW Fagnan, DD New, Z Chen, PA Hohenlohe, LP Waits, CC Caudill, SR Narum (2023) Whole genome resequencing identifies local adaptation associated with environmental variation for redband trout. Molecular Ecology 32:800-818.

2001 Best Paper/Oral Presentation International Bear Association Meeting (with 3 co-authors)
2002 Best Poster – International Bear Association Meeting (with 3 co-authors)
2003 Outstanding Research Award, College of Natural Resources
2004 Outstanding Research Award, College of Natural Resources
2005 Teaching Excellence Award, University of Idaho
2005 Publication of the year for USGS National Wildlife Research Center (with 3 coauthors)
2005 Best Oral Presentation International Bear Association Meeting, Italy
2006 Alumni Award for Excellence in Mentoring, University of Idaho
2006 Research Excellence Award, University of Idaho
2006 Publication of the year for USGS National Wildlife Research Center (with 3 coauthors).
2007 Environmental Science Faculty Excellence Award
2009 Best professional presentation, Idaho Chapter of the Wildlife Society
2009 Alumni Award for Excellence in Mentoring, University of Idaho
2010 Donald Crawford, Graduate Mentoring Award, University of Idaho
2010 Alumni Award for Excellence in Mentoring, University of Idaho
2011 Excellence in Interdisciplinary Research Team Award, University of Idaho
2012 Mid Career Excellence Award, University of Idaho
2014 Alumni Award for Excellence in Mentoring, University of Idaho
2015 Distinguished Professor, University of Idaho
2015 Arthur S. Einarsen award outstanding professional service, NW Chapter of Wildlife Society
2015 Alumni Award for Excellence in Mentoring, University of Idaho
2017 Alumni Award for Excellent in Mentoring (2 students), University of Idaho
2017 Elected Fellow of The Wildlife Society
2017 Elected Fellow of AAAS
2017 Jeanne Shreeve NSF EPSCoR Research Excellence Award
2018 Alumni Award for Excellence in Mentoring, University of Idaho
2019 Excellence in Postdoctoral Mentoring Award, University of Idaho
2020 Alumni Award for Excellence in Mentoring (2 students), University of Idaho
2021 Alumni Award for Excellence in Mentoring (2 students), University of Idaho
2022, Alumni Award for Excellence in Mentoring (2 students), University of Idaho
2023, Alumni Award for Excellence in Mentoring (3 students), University of Idaho
2023, Caesar Kleberg Excellence in Applied Wildlife Science – The Wildlife Society
2024, Alumni Award for Excellence in Mentoring (3 students), University of Idaho

Research

My research in conservation genetics and molecular ecology spans four continents and includes collaborators from North America, Europe, Asia, Central and South America. A few examples are listed below:

• Non-invasive genetic monitoring of gray wolves in Idaho, kit fox and coyotes in Utah, Sonoran pronghorn and coyotes in Arizona, pygmy rabbits in Washington, jaguars and other felids in Belize, Andean bears in Ecuador, brown bears in Italy, tigers in Nepal, 
• Environmental DNA analysis of amphibians, invertebrates, and fish from water systems
• Landscape genetic studies of bats and understory trees in a biological corridor in Costa Rica; wolverines in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, cougars in Idaho and Montana, amphibians in Idaho, rattlesnakes in Wyoming, bees in the Palouse prairie fragments of Moscow, Idaho
• Red Wolf Hybridization; Manteo, North Carolina.
• Genetic monitoring of the predators of caribou in Newfoundland, Canada.

Outreach

The Waits lab focuses on developing and implementing molecular genetic methods for monitoring wildlife populations and for addressing behavioral and ecological questions. I have presented multiple workshops on conservation and landscape genetics in the US, Canada, Ecuador, Nepal and Europe to provide technical training to managers and students. Also, in the Laboratory for Ecological, Evolutionary and Conservation Genetics we provide a variety of genetic testing and analysis services and have hosted students from Armenia, Canada, Ecuador, Italy, Mongolia, Nepal, and Slovenia for technical training.