Copyright Lauren M. Lyon, 2024. No part of this site may be reproduced in whole or in part in any manner without permission of the copyright owner.
Lauren M. Lyon
PhD (May 2024),
2023 USFWS Directorate Fellow
2022 USGS Science to Action Fellow
GIS Portfolio and Data Management Projects
United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Directorate Fellowship Program 2023
Funded by the USFWS as part of a national training program, the Directorate Fellowship Program focuses on increasing diversity of traditionally underrepresented groups in the service. Upon completion of a rigors 11-week paid internship, candidates will receive Direct Hire Authority status upon conferral of their degree for up to 2 years post-graduation. Lauren is expected to be eligible for DHA May 2024 upon PhD conferral.
Lauren's work was through the Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture (supervisor Steven "Keith" McKnight) creating a conceptual model with rationale for modeling wetland complexes for wintering waterfowl in the lower part of the Mississippi Flyway. She continues to work with the LMVJV to realize this concept by producing the accompanying maps, rasters, and products to be used by practitioners. To learn about this project in detail, watch the presentation to the LMVJV Board here (or contact Keith McKnight).
United States Geological Survey: Science to Action Fellowship 2022
Funded through the USGS Climate Adaptation Science Centers, the Science to Action Fellowship program focuses on graduate students creating a product that applies research into an actionable product related to climate change impacts on wildlife and ecosystems.
As one of two fellows for the 2022-2023 academic year, Lauren's project was titled Climate Change Refugia for Appalachian Mammals of Conservation Concern: Identifying High Priority Areas and Creating an Open Access Dashboard for the Management and Integration of Private Land into the Protected Area Network. This involved collaborating with a variety of stakeholders in the southeast and northeast ranging from non-profit organizations to federal agencies, culminating in a workshop and interactive story map. This data was incorporated into the Refugia Research Coalition website as part of the newly developed "Southeast USA" focal area. This site is geared towards those familiar with refugia and research, whereas Lauren also created a product in the form of the story map for a more "general audience" of practitioners and the public less familiar with this area of science. A legacy site can also be found here.
2025 State Wildlife Action Plan Climate Support Tool
An ongoing project through the Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center led by University of Tennessee's Dr. Paul Armsworth to consolidate big datasets focusing on climate change impacts on species of conservation concern into manageable, easy-to use products for practitioners. Lauren was part of a team that coalited large datasets from a variety of sources focused on SWAP listed species in the southeastern USA and created indices as well as summarized these data into a quickly searchable and easy-to-use format for practitioners that may not be as familiar with species vulnerability to climate change.
To learn more about these efforts, watch the video below of the discussion with the southeastern SWAP working group (Lauren's presentation begins at 8:05). If interested in these products, please contact the Principal Investigator.
2025 State Wildlife Action Plan Climate Support Tool
An ongoing project through the Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center led by University of Tennessee's Dr. Paul Armsworth to consolidate big datasets focusing on climate change impacts on species of conservation concern into manageable, easy-to use products for practitioners. Lauren was part of a team that coalited large datasets from a variety of sources focused on SWAP listed species in the southeastern USA and created indices as well as summarized these data into a quickly searchable and easy-to-use format for practitioners that may not be as familiar with species vulnerability to climate change.
To learn more about these efforts, watch the video below of the discussion with the southeastern SWAP working group (Lauren's presentation begins at 8:05). If interested in these products, please contact the Principal Investigator.
Container Gardening Ecoregion Maps
An ongoing project with Doug Tallamy's non-profit organization Homegrown National Park. Lauren is responsible for collaborating to create easy to read maps for consumers to help plant native keystone species. Her work involves the creation of both static and interactive maps for their webpage.
Impacts of Climate Change on Extant Ailurids (Red Pandas)
Lauren was invited to contribute a book chapter to the second edition of Red Panda, the "go-to" resource for red panda researchers, zookeepers, and practitioners globally; sponsored by the Red Panda Network. Lauren contributed to two chapters: one describing
a new species of fossil red panda from North America (Chapter 3) and one discussing the differences in climatic niche for the recently proposed elevation of the two red panda subspecies into separate species (Chapter 20). These maps also predict the impact climate change is likely to have on both the Himalayan Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens fulgens) and the Chinese Red Panda (A.f. styani) in the next 50 years.