Shane Frank, Wildlife Research Scientist

Current or Recent Research Projects

Bobcat Ecology and Management

• Bobcat ecology
  • Where do bobcats occur?
    • Determining where bobcats select habitats and resources
  • What do bobcats eat?
    • Spatial and temporal variation in prey availability
    • Determining dietary composition and prey use/selection
  • Bobcat monitoring and management
    • How many bobcats are out there?
      • Evaluating statistical methods for estimating bobcat abundance/density
    • What are causes of bobcat mortality?
      • Estimating the relative magnitude of mortality sources
    • Bobcat reproduction
      • Spatial and temporal variation in bobcat family group occurrence
    • Understanding changes in bobcat population size
      • Determining potential important factors affecting bobcat population density and dynamics (e.g. habitat, prey availability, and harvest rate)
    • Improving bobcat data collection methods and population inference
      • Enhancing age classification through dentition and teeth measurements
      • Exploring cutting-edge methods in population size/density estimation

Areas of Interest and Expertise​

My background is in terrestrial wildlife ecology with a focus on carnivores (primarily bears and bobcats) and harvest, though my interests vary widely. I have interest in exploring both the lives and deaths of wildlife and how individual contexts scale up to have population level effects. This encapsulates both the contextual decisions of individual animals and how we manage and conserve their populations. I have researched several themes, including animal movement, connectivity, sociality, carcass ecology, and the effects of harvest. Moreover, I have utilized a multitude of data collection methods (e.g. location data, genetics, isotopes) and statistical approaches to answer research questions under these themes. My overarching aim is help provide pragmatic answers to (1) applied questions and (2) contribute to the ever-advancing suite of data collection and analytical tools available to practitioners. Moreover, I hope to (3) help bridge the knowledge gap between wildlife science, research findings, and people.

Select Publications

• Lucas, P. M., Thuiller, W., Talluto, L., Polaina, E., Albrecht, J., Selva, N., De Barba, M., Penteriani, V., Gueguen, M., Balkenhol, N., Dutta, T., Fedorca, A., Frank, S. C., Zedrosser, A., Afonso-Jordana, I., Ambarli, H., Ballesteros, F., Bashta, A. T., Bilgin, C. C., . . . Pollock, L. J. (2025). Trophic Interactions Are Key to Understanding the Effects of Global Change on the Distribution and Functional Role of the Brown Bear. Glob Chang Biol, 31(6), e70252. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70252
• Hertel, A. G., Parres, A., Frank, S. C., Renaud, J., Selva, N., Zedrosser, A., Balkenhol, N., Maiorano, L., Fedorca, A., Dutta, T., Bogdanovic, N., Bragalanti, N., Chiriac, S., Cirovic, D., Ciucci, P., Domokos, C., Fedorca, M., Filacorda, S., Findo, S., . . . De Barba, M. (2025). Human Footprint and Forest Disturbance Reduce Space Use of Brown Bears (Ursus arctos) Across Europe. Glob Chang Biol, 31(1), e70011. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70011
• Heeres, R. W., Leclerc, M., Frank, S., Kopatz, A., Pelletier, F., & Zedrosser, A. (2025). Flexibility in female spatiotemporal behavioral tactics to counter infanticide risk during the mating season. Mov Ecol, 13(1), 35. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-025-00561-6
• Hertel, A. G., Albrecht, J., Selva, N., Sergiel, A., Hobson, K. A., Janz, D. M., Mulch, A., Kindberg, J., Hansen, J. E., Frank, S. C., Zedrosser, A., & Mueller, T. (2024). Ontogeny shapes individual dietary specialization in female European brown bears (Ursus arctos). Nat Commun, 15(1), 10406. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54722-z
• Heeres, R. W., Leclerc, M., Frank, S., Kopatz, A., Pelletier, F., & Zedrosser, A. (2024). Are nonsocial species more social than we think? Seasonal patterns in sociality in a solitary terrestrial carnivore. Animal Behaviour, 216, 107-130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2024.07.022
• Zedrosser, A., Frank, S. C., Hansen, J. E., Steyaert, S. M. J. G., & Swenson, J. E. (2023). The social system of a "nonsocial" species, the brown bear. In Bear and Human (Vol. 3, pp. 121-128). Brepols Publishers. https://doi.org/doi:10.1484/M.TANE-EB.5.134329
• Hansen, J. E., Hertel, A. G., Frank, S. C., Kindberg, J., & Zedrosser, A. (2023). The role of familial conflict in home range settlement and fitness of a solitary mammal. Animal Behaviour, 202, 39-50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2023.05.006
• Dutta, T., De Barba, M., Selva, N., Fedorca, A. C., Maiorano, L., Thuiller, W., Zedrosser, A., Signer, J., Pflüger, F., Frank, S., Lucas, P. M., & Balkenhol, N. (2023). An objective approach to select surrogate species for connectivity conservation. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2023.1078649
• Thorsen, N. H., Hansen, J. E., Stoen, O. G., Kindberg, J., Zedrosser, A., & Frank, S. C. (2022). Movement and habitat selection of a large carnivore in response to human infrastructure differs by life stage. Mov Ecol, 10(1), 52. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-022-00349-y
• Hansen, J. E., Hertel, A. G., Frank, S. C., Kindberg, J., & Zedrosser, A. (2022). Social environment shapes female settlement decisions in a solitary carnivore. Behav Ecol, 33(1), 137-146. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arab118
• Arnberg, M. P., Frank, S. C., Blaalid, R., Davey, M. L., Eycott, A. E., & Steyaert, S. (2022). Directed endozoochorous dispersal by scavengers facilitate sexual reproduction in otherwise clonal plants at cadaver sites. Ecol Evol, 12(1), e8503. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8503
• Frank, S. C., Pelletier, F., Kopatz, A., Bourret, A., Garant, D., Swenson, J. E., Eiken, H. G., Hagen, S. B., & Zedrosser, A. (2021). Harvest is associated with the disruption of social and fine-scale genetic structure among matrilines of a solitary large carnivore. Evol Appl, 14(4), 1023-1035. https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.13178
• Frank, S. C., Blaalid, R., Mayer, M., Zedrosser, A., & Steyaert, S. (2020). Fear the reaper: ungulate carcasses may generate an ephemeral landscape of fear for rodents. R Soc Open Sci, 7(6), 191644. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.191644
• Rivrud, I. M., Frank, S. C., Bischof, R., Mysterud, A., Steyaert, S., Hertel, A. G., Hagen, S. B., Eiken, H. G., Swenson, J. E., & Zedrosser, A. (2019). Heritability of head size in a hunted large carnivore, the brown bear (Ursus arctos). Evol Appl, 12(6), 1124-1135. https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.12786
• Badia, R., Blaalid, R., Puliti, S., Steyaert, S. M. J. G., & Frank, S. C. (2019). Reindeer carcasses provide foraging habitat for insectivorous birds of the alpine tundra. Ornis Norvegica, 42, 36-40. https://doi.org/10.15845/on.v42i0.2639
• Steyaert, S., Frank, S. C., Puliti, S., Badia, R., Arnberg, M. P., Beardsley, J., Okelsrud, A., & Blaalid, R. (2018). Special delivery: scavengers direct seed dispersal towards ungulate carcasses. Biol Lett, 14(8). https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0388
• Frank, S. C., Leclerc, M., Pelletier, F., Rosell, F., Swenson, J. E., Bischof, R., Kindberg, J., Eiken, H. G., Hagen, S. B., & Zedrosser, A. (2018). Sociodemographic factors modulate the spatial response of brown bears to vacancies created by hunting. J Anim Ecol, 87(1), 247-258. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.12767
• Leclerc, M., Frank, S. C., Zedrosser, A., Swenson, J. E., & Pelletier, F. (2017). Hunting promotes spatial reorganization and sexually selected infanticide. Sci Rep, 7, 45222. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep45222
• Frank, S. C., Ordiz, A., Gosselin, J., Hertel, A., Kindberg, J., Leclerc, M., Pelletier, F., Steyaert, S. M. J. G., Støen, O.-G., Van de Walle, J., Zedrosser, A., & Swenson, J. E. (2017). Indirect effects of bear hunting: a review from Scandinavia. Ursus, 28(2), 150-164. https://doi.org/10.2192/ursu-d-16-00028.1
• Steyaert, S. M. J. G., Zedrosser, A., Elfström, M., Ordiz, A., Leclerc, M., Frank, S. C., Kindberg, J., St⊘en, O. G., Brunberg, S., & Swenson, J. E. (2016). Ecological implications from spatial patterns in human‐caused brown bear mortality. Wildlife Biology, 22(4), 144-152. https://doi.org/10.2981/wlb.00165
• Frank, S. C., Steyaert, S. M., Swenson, J. E., Storch, I., Kindberg, J., Barck, H., & Zedrosser, A. (2015). A "clearcut" case? Brown bear selection of coarse woody debris and carpenter ants on clearcuts. For Ecol Manage, 348, 164-173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2015.03.051

Education

• Ph.D., Ecology – University of South-Eastern Norway (formerly Telemark University College), 2017
• M.S., Forest Ecology and Management – University of Freiburg, 2011
• B.S., Wildlife Biology –​ Colorado State University, 2003

Current or Recent Positions

• Wildlife Research Scientist – Colorado Parks and Wildlife, State of Colorado, 2022-Present
• Statistical Analyst / Quality Specialist Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, 2020-2022, State of Colorado
• Postdoctoral Associate –​ “BearConnect”, Department of Nature, Health, and Environment, University of South-Eastern Norway, 2017-2020

Contact Information

346 Co Rd 362
Hot Sulphur Springs, CO 80451

Email: shane.frank@state.co.us

Phone: ​970-646-2961