Matthew Betts

Assistant Professor
Forest Wildlife Landscape Ecology

216 Richardson Hall
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR 97331

Forest Landscape Ecology Lab

• Office: 216 Richardson Hall
• Phone: 541-737-3841
• Fax: 541-737-1393

• B.A., 1992, Queen’s University
• B.Sc., 1999, University of New Brunswick
• M.S., 1995, University of Waterloo
• Ph.D., 2005, University of New Brunswick
• Post-Doctoral Fellow, 2006, Dartmouth College

• Landscape Ecology
• Ecosystem Informatics

(1) Influences of landscape structure on demography of animal populations, (2) Animal movement (particularly dispersal), (3) Population viability modeling, (4) Ecological thresholds, (5) Trophic cascades in forest ecosystems, (6) Species distribution modeling, (7) Socio-political mechanisms to affect sustainable forestry (8) Measuring landscape change.

Website: Atlantic Co-Operative Wildlife Ecology Research Network (ACWERN)

1. Betts, M.G., Wilson, D., Rivers, J., Fitzgerald, S., Maguire, D., Rose, R., Johnson, J. “Quantifying trade-offs between biodiversity conservation and timber production in intensively managed forests”. 2009-2011. Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI; United States Department of Agriculture): $497,677.
2. Wong, W.K., Betts, M.G., Jones, J. “Novel machine learning models for predicting species distributions in response to climate change”. 2009-2011. National Science Foundation (NSF):$609,505.
3. Betts, M.G. and G.J. Forbes “Population viability analysis of northern flying squirrel”. 2005-2008. Parks Canada Ecological Integrity Fund. $150,000, N.B. Wildlife Trust Fund: $11,500, Fundy Model Forest: $5,000.
4. Betts, M.G., J. Loo, and R. Wissink. “A molecular genetic approach to determining dispersal in migrant songbirds”. 2005-2008. Parks Canada Ecological Integrity Fund: $100,000.
5. Betts, M.G. and J. Hagar. “Thresholds in hardwood-associated songbirds in relation to stand structure, patch size and landscape cover”. 2006-2007. Fish and Wildlife Habitat in Managed Forests Research Fund: $17,234.
6. Roloff, G., M.G. Betts, and L. Irwin. “Influence of intensive forest management on biodiversity in Pacific Northwest commercial forests”. 2007-2009. Fish and Wildlife Habitat in Managed Forests Research Fund: $112,000.

1. Rota, C., Fletcher, R., Dorazio, R. and Betts, M.G. In Press. Occupancy estimation and the closure assumption. Journal of Applied Ecology.
2. Betts, M.G., Hadley, A.S., and Nocera, J.J. In Press. Settlement in novel habitats induced by social information may disrupt niche dynamics. Condor.
3. Ahlering, M.A., Arlt, D., Betts, M.G., Fletcher, Jr., R.J. Nocera, J.J., and Ward, M.P. In Press. Research needs for conservation and management of migratory birds using conspecific attraction. Condor.
4. Wuest, L, and Betts, M.G. In Press. Quantitative tracking of the vegetative integrity and distinctness of forested ecological communities: A case study of plantation impacts. Canadian Journal of Forest Research.
5. Hadley, A.S. and Betts, M.G. 2009. Tropical deforestation alters hummingbird movement patterns. Biology Letters. 5:207-210.
6. Ritchie, L., Betts, M.G., Forbes, G.J., and Vernes, K. 2009. Independent effects of landscape composition and configuration on northern flying squirrels in a forest mosaic. Forest Ecology and Management 257:1920-1929.
7. Wilson, D., Stoddard, M.A., Betts, M.G., and Puettmann, K.J. 2009. Bayesian small-area models for assessing wildlife conservation risk in patchy populations. Conservation Biology. Online early: DOI: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2008.01160.x
8. Betts, M.G., and M.-A. Villard. 2009. Landscape thresholds in species occurrence as quantitative targets for forest management: generality in space and time? In Setting Conservation Targets for Managed Forest Landscapes. Villard, M.-A. (Ed.) Cambridge University Press.
9. Betts, M.G., Ganio, L., Huso, M., Som, N., Bowman, J., Huettman, F. and Wintle, B. 2009. Comment on ‘‘Methods to account for spatial autocorrelation in the analysis of species distributional data: a review’’ . Ecography Online early: DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0587.2008.05562.x
10. Betts, M.G., Hadley, A.S., Rodenhouse, N.L. and Nocera, J.J. 2008. Social information trumps vegetation structure in breeding site selection by a migrant songbird. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London-Ser. B.
11. Betts, M.G., Rodenhouse, N.L., Sillett, T.S. Doran, P.D. & Holmes, R.T. 2008. Dynamic occupancy models reveal within-breeding season movement up a habitat quality gradient by a migrant songbird. Ecography.
12. Betts, M.G., and M.-A. Villard. 2008. Landscape thresholds in species occurrence as quantitative targets for forest management: generality in space and time? In Setting Conservation Targets for Managed Forest Landscapes. Villard, M.-A. (Ed.) Cambridge University Press.
13. Betts, M.G., Forbes, G.J. and Diamond, A.W. 2007. Thresholds in songbird occurrence in relation to landscape structure. Conservation Biology 21: 1046-1058.
14. Betts, M.G., Mitchell, D., Diamond, A.W., Bêty, J. 2007. Uneven rates of landscape change as a source of bias in roadside wildlife surveys. Journal of Wildlife Management 71: 2266-2273.
15. Linke, J., M.G. Betts, M. Lavigne, and S.E. Franklin. 2007. Introduction: Structure, function and change in forest landscapes. In Forest Disturbance and Spatial Pattern: Remote Sensing and GIS Approaches. Wulder, M. and S.E. Franklin (eds). Taylor and Francis Group Publishing.
16. Betts, M.G., B.P. Zitske, A.S. Hadley, and A.W. Diamond. 2006. Migrant forest songbirds undertake breeding dispersal following timber harvest. Northeastern Naturalist 13: 531-536.
17. Betts, M.G., G.J. Forbes, A.W. Diamond, and P.D. Taylor. 2006. Independent effects of fragmentation on forest songbirds: an organism-based approach. Ecological Applications 16: 1076–1089.
18. Betts, M.G., A.W. Diamond, G.J. Forbes, M.-A. Villard, and J. Gunn. 2006. The importance of spatial autocorrelation, extent and resolution in predicting forest bird occurrence. Ecological Modelling 191: 197–224.
19. Young, L., M.G. Betts, and A.W. Diamond. 2005. Do Blackburnian Warblers select mixed forest? The importance of spatial resolution in defining habitat. Forest Ecology and Management 214: 358-372.
20. Warren, T., M.G. Betts, A.W. Diamond, and G.J. Forbes. 2005. The influence of local habitat and landscape composition on cavity-nesting birds in a forested mosaic. Forest Ecology and Management 214: 331–343.
21. Doran, P.J., P.Z. Gulezian, and M.G. Betts. 2005. A test of the mobbing playback method as a means to estimate bird reproductive success. Journal of Field Ornithology 76: 227-233.
22. Betts, M.G., A.S. Hadley, and P.J. Doran. 2005. Avian mobbing response is restricted by territory boundaries: experimental evidence from two species of forest warblers. Ethology 111: 821-835.
23. Betts, M.G., A.W. Diamond, G.J. Forbes, K. Frego, J. Loo, B. Matson, M. Roberts, M.-A. Villard, R. Wissink, L. Wuest, and V. Zelazny. 2005. Plantations and biodiversity: a comment on the debate in New Brunswick. Forestry Chronicle 81: 265-269.
24. Betts, M.G., N.P.P. Simon, and J. Nocera. 2005. Point count data summary metrics differentially predict reproductive activity in forest and grassland birds. Journal of Ornithology 146: 151-159.
25. Betts, M.G., S.E. Franklin, and R.G. Taylor. 2003. Interpretation of landscape pattern and habitat change for local indicator species using satellite imagery and geographic information system data in New Brunswick, Canada. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 33: 1821–1831.
26. Betts, M.G., J. Knox, and G.J. Forbes. 2002. A landscape ecological approach to private woodlot planning in New Brunswick. Natural Areas Journal 22: 311–317.
27. Betts, M.G., J. Loo. 2002. A comparison of pre-European settlement forest characterization methodologies. Forestry Chronicle 18(3): 123-129.
28. Betts, M.G. 1997. Community forestry in New Brunswick. International Journal of Ecological Forestry 12(3): 247-254.