Chris Ray

Research Associate •
• Animal ecology • Pikas

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Bio

Chris Ray studies and models the dynamics of plant and animal populations, focusing especially on threatened species with fragmented populations. Recent projects include hierarchical modeling of point count data on birds in western national parks, analyzing the role of metacommunity dynamics in the assembly of vernal pool plant communities, and modeling the spatial and temporal dynamics of plague in prairie ecosystems. Her long-term project involves research on the American pika, aimed at understanding climatic influences on pre-historic and recent local extinctions of this species throughout western North America.

Awards

Denver Zoological Conservation Award, Denver Zoo, 2018

Research

My work centers on population biology, with applications in conservation. I like data analysis and modeling but I also like fieldwork, especially at high elevations. In support of long-term research and student mentoring, I have maintained an annual study of pika demography since 1988.

Publications

For additional publications, see Chris's Google Scholar profile.

Disease Ecology

CU Boulder Authors: Ray, Chris

All Authors: Collinge SK; Ray C

Publication Date: 2006-01-26
Type: Book

Potential effects of a keystone species on the dynamics of sylvatic plague

CU Boulder Authors: Ray, Chris

All Authors: Ray C; Collinge SK

Publication Date: 2006-01-26
Type: Chapter

Disease Ecology Community Structure and Pathogen Dynamics

CU Boulder Authors: Ray, Chris

All Authors: Collinge SK; Ray C

Publication Date: 2006-01-26
Type: Book

Landscape structure and plague occurrence in black-tailed prairie dogs on grasslands of the western USA

CU Boulder Authors: Martin, Andrew; Ray, Chris

All Authors:

Collinge SK; Johnson WC; Ray C; Matchett R; Grensten J; Cully JF; Gage KL; Kosoy MY; Loye JE; Martin AP...

Collinge SK
Johnson WC
Ray C
Matchett R
Grensten J
Cully JF
Gage KL
Kosoy MY
Loye JE
Martin AP

Published in: Landscape Ecology
Publication Date: 2005-12-01
Type: Journal Article

Testing the Generality of a Trophic-cascade Model for Plague

CU Boulder Authors: Ray, Chris

All Authors:

Collinge SK; Johnson WC; Ray C; Matchett R; Grensten J; Cully JF; Gage KL; Kosoy MY; Loye JE; Martin AP...

Collinge SK
Johnson WC
Ray C
Matchett R
Grensten J
Cully JF
Gage KL
Kosoy MY
Loye JE
Martin AP

Published in: Ecohealth
Publication Date: 2005-06-01
Type: Journal Article

Characterization of 14 polymorphic microsatellite markers for the black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus)

CU Boulder Authors: Ray, Chris; Martin, Andrew

All Authors: Jones RT; Martin AP; Mitchell AJ; Collinge SK; Ray C

Published in: Molecular Ecology Resources
Publication Date: 2005-03-01
Type: Journal Article

Assessing the roles of patch quality, area, and isolation in predicting metapopulation dynamics

CU Boulder Authors: Ray, Chris

All Authors: Fleishman E; Ray C; Sjogren-Gulve P; Boggs CL; Murphy DD

Published in: Conservation Biology
Publication Date: 2002-06-01
Type: Journal Article

Plant population viability and metapopulation-level processes

CU Boulder Authors: Ray, Chris

All Authors: Harrison S; Ray C

Publication Date: 2002-01-01
Type: Chapter

Maintaining genetic diversity despite local extinctions: effects of population scale

CU Boulder Authors: Ray, Chris

All Authors: Ray C

Published in: Biological Conservation
Publication Date: 2001-07-01
Type: Journal Article

Species diversity and the scale of the landscape mosaic: do scales of movement and patch size affect diversity?

CU Boulder Authors: Ray, Chris

All Authors: Debinski DM; Ray C; Saveraid EH

Published in: Biological Conservation
Publication Date: 2001-04-01
Type: Journal Article

Dispersal in Pikas (Ochotona princeps): combining genetic and demographic approaches to reveal spatial and temporal patterns

CU Boulder Authors: Ray, Chris

All Authors: Peacock M; Ray C

Publication Date: 2001-01-01
Type: Chapter

A roadmap for metapopulation research

CU Boulder Authors: Ray, Chris

All Authors: Holyoak M; Ray C

Published in: Ecology Letters
Publication Date: 1999-09-01
Type: Journal Article

Density dependence: Are we searching at the wrong spatial scale?

CU Boulder Authors: Ray, Chris

All Authors: Ray C; Hastings A

Published in: Journal of Animal Ecology
Publication Date: 1996-09-01
Type: Journal Article

Using logistic regression to model metapopulation dynamics: large-scale forestry extirpates the pool frog

CU Boulder Authors: Ray, Chris

All Authors: Sjogren-Gulve P; Ray C

Publication Date: 1996-01-01
Type: Chapter

THE EFFECT OF CONSPECIFIC ATTRACTION ON METAPOPULATION DYNAMICS

CU Boulder Authors: Ray, Chris

All Authors: RAY C; GILPIN M; SMITH AT

Published in: Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
Publication Date: 1991-01-01
Type: Journal Article

FLAT ELECTRODE MEASUREMENT OF PH IN PRINTING PAPERS

CU Boulder Authors: Ray, Chris

All Authors: RAY CT

Published in: Tappi
Publication Date: 1972-01-01
Type: Journal Article

Teaching

Current course

EBIO 3990: Introduction to EBIO Honors
- Course for undergraduates in independent studies moving toward the goal of graduating with Honors in EBIO. Projects focus on collection and analysis of data on the ecology of a microhabitat specialist, the American pika, including field studies and a literature review complimented by statistical analyses.

Outreach

Citizen science

I am involved in two citizen science projects observing pika in Colorado:

The Front Range Pika Project is a citizen science effort in conservation research on the American pika. You can find more information about the project on the CU Outreach & Engagement web site.

PikaNet monitors pikas in the San Juan Mountains through citizen involvement.

Field courses for local nonprofits

I teach courses to benefit local conservation efforts. Examples include courses for the Rocky Mountain Conservancy, the Boulder County Nature Association, and Rocky Mountain Wild.

News

Pika on a talus slope, by Derek Ryder via Unsplash

CU Boulder study finds climate change impacts in mountain microclimates (Broomfield Leader)

Sept. 7, 2022

Some effects of climate change are dramatic and visible, like wildfires and extreme weather, but a new study led by Chris Ray found that climate change can impact even hidden places and some of the state’s smallest residents: pikas.

Pika enthusiasts unite under a common theme (LTER Network)

Oct. 30, 2021

Harnessing the power of community science partnered with LTER research to understand human climate effects on pika distributions.

This adorable rabbit relative sounds an alarm for global warming (National Geographic)

Aug. 27, 2021

Each summer, the volunteer Pika Patrol is roaming the Rockies in service to the tiny, climate-threatened pika. You may need to enter your email address to read the article.

More Ray news >

Search

Breadcrumb

Chris Ray

Bio

Awards

Research

Publications

Disease Ecology Community Structure and Pathogen Dynamics

Plant population viability and metapopulation-level processes

Dispersal in Pikas (Ochotona princeps): combining genetic and demographic approaches to reveal spatial and temporal patterns

Using logistic regression to model metapopulation dynamics: large-scale forestry extirpates the pool frog

FLAT ELECTRODE MEASUREMENT OF PH IN PRINTING PAPERS

Pages

Teaching

Current course

Outreach

Citizen science

Field courses for local nonprofits

News