WILLIAM R. CLARK
Professor
Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology
Iowa State University
253 Bessey Hall
Ames, Iowa 50011
Phone: (515) 294-5176
Fax: (515) 294-1337
Email: wrclark@iastate.edu
Web: http://www.eeob.iastate.edu/faculty/ClarkW/homepage.html
Education
Utah State University, Ph.D. Ecology, 1979.
Utah State University, M.S. Wildlife Ecology, 1973.
Rutgers University, B.S. Environmental Science, 1971.
Research and Teaching Summary
I am an animal ecologist who studies how populations respond to large-scale landscape
changes, exploitation, and disease. I have studied vertebrates from mice to deer, but have
been especially focused on the interactions mammalian predators like raccoon, skunk and
red fox, and their prey, particularly species like pheasants and waterfowl. My current
projects include studying landscape ecology of bobcats (including genetics) in Iowa, a
detailed analysis of nest predation in relation to predator movements, modeling sampling
regimes for detecting CWD, and even a mark-recapture study of endangered snails. I
have worked in habitats from wetlands to agroecosystems and I am especially fond of the
landscapes of the Midwest. I teach an undergraduate course called Ecological Methods,
in which students learn to analyze population data, estimate harvest and viability, sample
habitat, and are introduced to landscape ecology and GIS. I also teach graduate courses
in population ecology. My former undergraduate and graduate students hold faculty
positions in animal ecology, work as research biologists, biometricians, and
administrators for state DNR’s, work for conservation organizations like Ducks
Unlimited and Pheasants Forever, and as private natural resource consultants.
Selected Publications
Horn, D. J., M. L. Phillips, R. R. Koford, W. R. Clark, M. A. Sovada, and R. J.
Greenwood. 2005. Landscape composition, patch size, and distance to edges:
interactions affecting nest success. Ecological Applications 15:1367-1376.
Nusser, S. M., W. R. Clark, J. Wang, and T. R. Bogenschutz. 2004. Combining data
from state and national monitoring surveys to assess large-scale ecological impacts
of agricultural policy. Journal of Agricultural, Biological, and Environmental
Statistics 9:1-17.
Clark, W. R. 2004. Book review of Quantitative conservation biology: theory and
practice of population viability analysis. Landscape Ecology 19:457-458.
Phillips, M. L., W. R. Clark, S. M. Nusser, M. A. Sovada, and R. J. Greenwood. 2004.
Analysis of predator movement in prairie landscapes with contrasting grassland
composition. Journal of Mammalogy 85:187-195.
Auckland, J. N., D. M. Debinski, and W. R. Clark. 2004. Demographics and movement
of the butterfly Parnassius clodius. Ecological Entomology 29:139-149.
Gehrt, S. D., and W. R. Clark. 2003. Raccoons, coyotes, and reflections on the
mesopredator release hypothesis. Wildlife Society Bulletin 31:836-842.
Pitt, J. A., W. R. Clark, R. D. Andrews, K. P. Schlarbaum, D. D. Hoffman, and S. W.
Pitt. 2003. Restoration and monitoring of the river otter population in Iowa. Journal
of the Iowa Academy of Science 110:7-12.
Phillips, M. L., W. R. Clark, M. A. Sovada, D. J. Horn, R. R. Koford, and R. J.
Greenwood. 2003. Predator selection of prairie landscape features and its relation to
duck nest success. Journal of Wildlife Management 67:104-114.
Kuehl, A. K., and W. R. Clark. 2002. Predator activity related to landscape features in
northern Iowa. Journal of Wildlife Management 66:1224-1234.
Clark, W.R., B. L. Falk, R. A. Schmitz, and B. A. Babcock. 2002. Projecting the wildlife
and economic impacts of United States agricultural policy using landscape-level
analyses. Pages 139-143 in R. Field, R. J. Warren, H. Okarma and P. R. Sievert,
editors. Wildlife, land, and people: priorities for the 21st century. Proceedings of the
Second International Wildlife Management Congress. The Wildlife Society,
Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Clark, W. R., and R. A. Schmitz. 2001. When modelers and field biologists interact:
progress in resource science. Pages 197-208 in T. M. Shenk and A. B. Franklin
editors. Modeling in natural resource management: development, interpretation, and
application. Island Press, Washington, D.C.
Clark, W. R. 2000. Ecology of muskrats in prairie wetlands. Pages 287-313 in H. R.
Murkin, A. G. van der Valk, and W. R. Clark (eds.) Prairie wetland ecology: the
contribution of the Marsh Ecology Research Program. Iowa State University Press,
Ames.
Clark, W. R., R. A. Schmitz, and T. R. Bogenschutz. 1999. Site selection and nest
success of ring-necked pheasants as a function of location in Iowa landscapes.
Journal of Wildlife Management 63: 976-989.
Clark, W. R. and D. W. Kroeker. 1993. Population dynamics of muskrats in
experimental marshes at Delta, Manitoba. Canadian Journal of Zoology 71:16201628.
Hill, R. E. Jr., G. W. Beran, and W. R. Clark. 1992. Demonstration of rabies virusspecific antibody in the sera of free-ranging Iowa raccoons (Procyon lotor). Journal
of Wildlife Diseases 28:377-385.
Clark, W. R., J. J. Hasbrouck, J. M. Kienzler, and T. M. Glueck. 1989. Vital
characteristics and harvest of an Iowa raccoon population. Journal of Wildlife
Management 53:982-990.
Frederick, R. B., W. R. Clark, and E. E. Klaas. 1987. Behavior, energetics, and
management of refuging waterfowl: a simulation model. Wildlife Monograph 96.
35pp.
Research Projects Currently Funded
a) Distribution and population dynamics of bobcats in Iowa. Sponsor—Iowa Department of
Natural Resources, $357,276, 2003-2006
b) Spatial analysis of waterfowl-predator interactions. Sponsor—Institute for Wetland and
Waterfowl Research, Ducks Unlimited, budget $65,700. 2003-2005
c) Development and evaluation of sampling designs for chronic wasting disease surveillance
programs. (with D. Otis) Sponsor--U.S.G.S. National Wildlife Health Center, $102,000.
2002-2005
d) Methods for monitoring populations of endangered Pleistocene snails in Iowa.
Sponsor--U.S. Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, $10,800, 20022006