Martin Liermann, Ph.D.

Background

Martin graduated from the University of Washington in 1999 with a Ph.D. in Quantitative Ecology and Resource Management. In his thesis research he combined information from many fish populations to investigate the prevalence of depensation (reduced per-capita growth at low density) in different taxonomic groups.

Current Research

Martin is interested in the interface between ecological questions and the analytical tools used to answer them. In particular, how can statistical models be used to convey uncertainty in the common situation where very little is known but a decision needs to be made. Applied problems that he is currently working on include predicting juvenile salmon abundance in mainstem rivers, and characterizing floodplain dynamics using aerial photographs. The statistical projects that he has been focusing on are the analysis of ratio data and the analysis of data with many zeros.