About

Jaime Collazo is a Professor and Assistant Unit Leader at the NC Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit within the Department of Applied Ecology at NC State University. He earned his Ph.D. in Animal Ecology from Iowa State University in 1985. His research focuses on population dynamics across various taxonomic groups, with particular emphasis on avian species and endangered species research and management. Collazo's work includes studying species-habitat relationships, range dynamics, and the implications of climate and landcover change on species persistence, as well as developing adaptation strategies. His lab programs are associated with the Biodiversity and Spatial Information Center, and he collaborates with several research organizations including the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, US Geological Survey, and the Wildlife Management Institute.

Research topics

• Ecology
• Biology
• Meteorology
• Climatology
• Oceanography
• Agroforestry
• Agronomy
• Environmental science
• Botany
• Geology
• Geography

Selected publications

• E. antillensis response to variations in temperature and relative humidity at high and low elevations in Puerto Rico from 2024 to 2025

  USGS DOI Tool Production Environment · 2026-03-25

  datasetOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Coqui frogs in the genus Eleutherodactylus in Puerto Rico are threatened by projected warming and drying trends. This study isolates relative humidity as a performance variable affecting desiccation tolerance in Eleutherodactylus antillensis, a species that spans both high elevation (cool, moist) and low elevation (hot, dry) environments across the island. Specimens from Maricao (high elevation) and Arecibo (low elevation) were exposed to a factorial combination of two temperature treatments (20 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius) and three relative humidity levels (60%, 80%, and 95%) in controlled laboratory conditions. Body mass loss was measured as a proxy for evaporative water loss. Results quantify desiccation rates under varying hydrothermal conditions and provide baseline data to assess vulnerability of Eleutherodactylus species to climate change, identify potential climate refugia, and inform decisions regarding in-situ management or managed translocations.

  PublisherDOI

• Factors influencing occupancy and patch dynamics of an endangered frog, the coquí llanero (Eleutherodactylus juanariveroi) in a coastal freshwater wetland

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2026-01-01

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Genomic data reveal historical introgression and genetic erosion across an imperiled radiation of Caribbean Spondylurus skinks

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026-02-12

  otherOpen access

  Please see the ReadMe file for folder structure and description of contents.

  PublisherDOI

• In memoriam: Professor Raúl A. Pérez-Rivera, 1948–2025

  Journal of Caribbean Ornithology · 2026-04-15

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Design, construction and application of an automated thermal chamber to determine critical thermal maxima in small anurans

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2026-01-01

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Genomic data reveal historical introgression and genetic erosion across an imperiled radiation of Caribbean Spondylurus skinks

  Open MIND · 2026-02-12

  other

  Please see the ReadMe file for folder structure and description of contents.

  DOI

• Being Loud to Find a Quiet Bird: Surveying a Secretive Tropical Avian Species

  Caribbean Journal of Science · 2025-03-17 · 1 citations

  articleSenior author

  Secretive birds are hard to detect, and thus, likely underestimated when surveyed, potentially preventing measures to protect them. We identified a sampling period and method that would yield the most reliable estimates of population numbers of the secretive Puerto Rican Lizard-Cuckoo (Coccyzus vieilloti). We addressed these objectives by comparing point counts (passive) and playback broadcast (active) survey methods from January to December, 2022 at Cambalache State Forest, Puerto Rico. We surveyed 20 stations (radius = 50 m each) between sunrise and 10 am, employing the time-of-detection method. We recorded strong responses from C. vieilloti after birds had been stimulated by playback broadcasts (recapture probabilities), corresponding to a behavioral response (Mb). For example, average capture (p) and recapture (c) probabilities within the peak breeding season for active surveys were 0.23 ± 0.10 and 0.49 ±0.08, respectively. Active surveys yielded higher estimates of C. vieilloti compared to passive surveys. For example, active survey expected population numbers (15.6 ha or area sampled) during peak breeding season were 42.87 ± 12.08 compared to 19.60 ± 2.08 individuals from passive surveys. Coefficients of variation population estimates of active surveys ranged between 10 and 16%, with one exception (28%), well within acceptable levels for wildlife studies. We show that secretive species like C. vieilloti can be reliably surveyed using playback broadcasts. Surveys should be conducted during the peak breeding season when estimates are higher and have better precision. Conducting similar tests on other secretive species could ensure that their status is not mischaracterized and that they receive the benefits of appropriate conservation measures, if warranted.

  PublisherDOI

• The thermodynamics and kinetics of AlGaN growth

  Elsevier eBooks · 2024-10-25

  book-chapter
  PublisherDOI

• High-Quality, Chromosome-Level Reference Genomes of the Viviparous Caribbean Skinks <i>Spondylurus nitidus</i> and <i>S. culebrae</i>

  Genome Biology and Evolution · 2024-04-11 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  New World mabuyine skinks are a diverse radiation of morphologically cryptic lizards with unique reproductive biologies. Recent studies examining population-level data (morphological, ecological, and genomic) have uncovered novel biodiversity and phenotypes, including the description of dozens of new species and insights into the evolution of their highly complex placental structures. Beyond the potential for this diverse group to serve as a model for the evolution of viviparity in lizards, much of the taxonomic diversity is concentrated in regions experiencing increasing environmental instability from climate and anthropogenic change. Consequently, a better understanding of genome structure and diversity will be an important tool in the adaptive management and conservation of this group. Skinks endemic to Caribbean islands are particularly vulnerable to global change with several species already considered likely extinct and several remaining species either endangered or threatened. Combining PacBio long-read sequencing, Hi-C, and RNAseq data, here we present the first genomic resources for this group by describing new chromosome-level reference genomes for the Puerto Rican Skink Spondylurus nitidus and the Culebra Skink S. culebrae. Results indicate two high quality genomes, both ∼1.4 Gb, assembled nearly telomere to telomere with complete mitochondrion assembly and annotation.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A spatiotemporal optimization engine for prescribed burning in the Southeast US

  Ecological Informatics · 2024-12-23 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Many ecosystems in the Southeast US are dependent upon frequent low-intensity surface fires to sustain native biodiversity, ecosystem services, and endangered species populations. Today, landscape-scale prescribed fire is required to manage these systems for conservation objectives and to mitigate wildland fire risk. Successful application of prescribed fire in this region requires careful planning and assessment of the risks and tradeoffs involved when deciding whether or not to conduct a burn. Many of these risks are closely tied to ambient environmental conditions and are reflected in sets of 'prescription' parameters that define safe and effective operating conditions to meet objectives or regulatory requirements. To facilitate effective decision making and acknowledge growing uncertainties related to climate change effects on wildland fire operations, we developed a spatiotemporal optimization engine to identify near-term optimal burning opportunities for prescribed fire implementation. By mining historical 3-day numerical weather forecasts and observation-based weather data for 2015-2021, we have developed a Bayesian hierarchical model for forecast verification that provides calibrated daily weather forecasts and joint uncertainty estimates on meteorological variables of interest, with the latter serving as a measure of risk associated with prescribed fire activities. Burn allocation decisions are then optimized by considering this risk jointly with the utility of burning a particular habitat parcel. The initial iteration of the optimization engine is demonstrated through a case study of short-term meteorological conditions for the Eglin Air Force Base, located in Florida, USA. Results indicate agreement between the optimization engine and the observed past decision-making, with the largest divergences likely arising primarily from differences between utility functions presumed important and used to develop the optimization engine versus the true utility functions driving management behavior in practice.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Adam Terando

  United States Geological Survey

  58 shared

• Alexa J. McKerrow

  24 shared

• Krishna Pacifici

  North Carolina State University

  24 shared

• Thomas H. White

  United States Fish and Wildlife Service

  18 shared

• Theodore R. Simons

  North Carolina State University

  18 shared

• Francisco J. Vilella

  United States Geological Survey

  17 shared

• Martha J. Groom

  University of Washington Bothell

  16 shared

• Brian J. Reich

  15 shared

Labs

• Applied EcologyPI

  Not provided