Academic

Oral Presentations

Running a university lab in Japan as a foreigner, and other things I’m still learning how to do. Researcher Appreciation Month 2024 Theoretical Science Visiting Program Talk, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST). 17 October, 2024. Invited

Biodiversity modeling for Essential Biodiversity Variables in the Asia-Pacific region: opportunities and challenges. Presentation in session “From data to EBVs: Preliminary assessment of data gaps and mismatches of EBVs from Asia-Pacific perspectives”. Asia-Oceania Group on Earth Observations 16th Annual Meeting. Tokyo, Japan. 4 September, 2024. Invited

My journey from JSPS summer program to faculty in Japan. JSPS Summer Fellowship Orientation at SOKENDAI. 26 April, 2024. Invited

Predicting and mapping ecosystem services using biodiversity models and remote sensing data. Ecological Society of Japan 71st Annual Meeting. Symposium: Advancing Terrestrial Ecosystem Assessment with Essential Biodiversity Variables: Insight into Achieving the Global Biodiversity Framework. Yokohama National University. 20 March, 2024. Invited

生き物のニッチを推定することで、未来の自然を予測する (Estimating species’ niches and predicting the future of nature). Tohoku University Institute of Arts and Science (ILAS) Colloquium 2023. On-demand video presentation (in Japanese) for first-year undergraduates from October - November 2023, public Q&A session 14 November, 2023. Invited

Predicting the future of biodiversity and ecosystem services with species distribution models. Ecological Society of Japan, Tohoku Regional Meeting (日本生態学会東北地区会大会). Special lecture (特別公演). Fukushima University. 11 November, 2023. Invited

生物多様性の現在を調査し、将来を予測する (Predicting present biodiversity and predicting the future). 福島県立岩瀬農業高校・理学講演会 (Iwase Agricultural High School, Science Lecture Meeting). 07 October, 2023. Invited

Predicting future biodiversity with species distribution models: current applications, persistent issues, and where to go from here. RIKEN iTHEMS Seminar. 19 September, 2023 (Online). Invited

Advances in species distribution modeling and applications for predicting ecosystem functions and services. 18th Asia-Pacific BON Webinar. 08 September, 2023. Kass, J. M., Fukaya, K., Thuiller, W., Mori, A.

What is biodiversity, why is it important, and how do we predict it? 38th Life Science Seminar, Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University. 24 July, 2023. Invited

Predicting ecosystem functions and services in space and time with biodiversity models. The 10th East Asia Federation of Ecological Societies (EAFES) International Congress. Jeju, Korea. 17–20 July, 2023. Kass, J. M., Fukaya, K., Thuiller, W., Mori, A.

Predicting future ecosystem service potential with biodiversity models. 9th DOIS Research Seminar, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo. 01 June, 2023. Invited

Using high-frequency ant activity data from an extensive island monitoring network to show the loss of seasonal patterns with land-cover change. Ecological Approaches to Anthropogenic Environment, from Basic to Applied Joint Seminar: Hirosaki University - Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, OIST - Tokushima University. 31 October, 2022. Invited

Ant biodiversity across the globe and here in Okinawa. OIST Research Appreciation Month 2022, Research Blitz Talks. 31 October, 2022.

Breakdown of ant community seasonal patterns with land-cover change across an island-wide monitoring network in Okinawa. Tohoku University – OIST 3rd Joint Workshop on Biodiversity: From Genes and Species to Ecosystem Services and Resilience. 25 October, 2022.

Urbanization breaks down insect seasonal patterns across an island-wide observation network. North American Congress for Conservation Biology 2022. 16 – 21 July 2022 (virtual). Kass, J. M., Yoshida, T., Ogasawara, M., Suwabe, M., Yoshimura, M., Hita Garcia, F., Fischer, G., Dudley, K. L., Donohue, I., Economo, E. P.

Mapping known and undiscovered ant biodiversity across the globe and assessing agreement and mismatch with vertebrates. International Biogeography Society 10th Biennial Conference. 2 – 6 June 2022. Kass, J. M., Guénard, B., Jenkins, C., Dudley, K. L., Azuma, F., Fisher, B., Parr, C., Gibb, H., Longino, J. T., Ward, P. S., Chao, A., Shattuck, S., Lubertazzi, D., Weiser, M., Jetz, W., Guralnick, R., Sanders, N., Dunn, R., Economo, E. P.

Challenges for predicting the future of biodiversity (生物多様性の未来予測への挑戦). Suzuki Award Talk, Ecological Society of Japan 69th Annual Meeting. 15 March, 2022. Invited

「森林・撹乱地」勾配に沿った沖縄アリ群集の季節性の減少 (Loss of seasonality in Okinawa ant communities across a gradient of forest to human disturbance). Ecological Society of Japan 69th Annual Meeting. 14 – 18 March 2022 (virtual). Kass, J. M., Yoshida, T., Ogasawara, M., Suwabe, M., Yoshimura, M., Hita Garcia, F., Fischer, G., Dudley, K. L., Donohue, I., Economo, E. P.

A global map of ant biodiversity, comparisons with vertebrates, and predictions of unknown hotspots. Early Career Biogeography Conference Amsterdam (Online). International Biogeography Society. 22 – 24 October 2021. Kass, J. M., Guénard, B., Jenkins, C., Dudley, K. L., Azuma, F., Fisher, B., Parr, C., Gibb, H., Longino, J. T., Ward, P. S., Chao, A., Shattuck, S., Lubertazzi, D., Weiser, M., Jetz, W., Guralnick, R., Sanders, N., Dunn, R., Economo, E. P.

Loss of seasonality across a forest-urban gradient for ant communities in Okinawa. Ecological Society of Japan, Kanto Regional Meeting. Symposium: Human-nature systems in ecological studies and ecosystem/resource management (virtual). 26 July, 2021. Organized by Nao Takashina. Kass, J. M., Yoshida, T., Ogasawara, M., Suwabe, M., Yoshimura, M., Hita Garcia, F., Fischer, G., Dudley, K. L., Donohue, I., Economo, E. P. Invited

沖縄アリ群集の時間変動/種の相互作用を種の分布モデルに配慮する方法 (Temporal variability of Okinawan ant communities / Methods to consider biotic interactions in species distribution models). 横浜国立大学大学院環境情報研究院森章研究室公開セミナー (Yokohama National University Graduate School of Environment and Information Sciences, Akira Mori Research Lab Public Seminar). 20 July, 2021. Invited

Wallace: 再現可能な種の分布モデリングのためのフレキシブルなプラットフォーム (Wallace: a flexible platform for reproducible species distribution modeling). 8 July, 2021. In Japanese. Kass, J. M., Ishihama, F., Koide, D. URL: https://youtu.be/eT2VEXaraf8 Webinar

Introduction to SDMs: theory and practice in R: Model evaluation. Sapienza University, Rome, Italy (virtual). 10 June, 2021. Organized by Robert Muscarella. Invited

土地被覆と季節性が特徴づける沖縄アリ群集の時間変動 (Characterizing the temporal variability of Okinawan ant communities using land cover and seasonality). Ecological Society of Japan 68th Annual Meeting. 17 – 21 March 2021 (virtual). Kass J. M., Donohue, I., Economo, E. P.

Global patterns of ant diversity and congruence with other taxa. Section: Big Data in Ecology – New Ecological Insights 8. 2020 ESA Annual Meeting (virtual). 3 – 6 August, 2020. Kass, J. M., Guenard, B., Jenkins, C. N., Dudley, K., Azuma, F., Chao, A., Dunn, R. R., Fisher, B. L., Gibb, H., Parr, C., Sanders, N. J., Weiser, M. D., Economo, E. P.

土地利用と外来種が沖縄アリ群集の時間的変動に与える影響 (The effects of land use and invasive species on the temporal variability of Okinawan ant communities). Ecological Society of Japan 67th Annual Meeting. 4 – 7 March 2020 (cancelled due to COVID-19). Kass, J. M., Donohue, I., Economo, E. P.

生物的相互作用と多様性情報を用いた種の分布と個体群変動の予測 (Using biotic interactions and diversity to predict species’ ranges and examine community change). 国立環境研究所にて第19回『つくばE3セミナー』(National Institute of Environmental Studies 19th Tsukuba E3 Seminar). 29 November, 2019. National Institute of Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Japan. Invited

Using multispecies occupancy models to examine how co-occurrence patterns change over environmental gradients: invasive raccoons in a carnivoran assemblage in Japan. Symposium on Asian Biodiversity Data and Research. 28 January, 2019. City College of New York, New York, New York, USA. Kass, J. M.

Co-occurrence with two carnivorans results in differential occupancy for invasive raccoons in Japan. 98th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists. 25 – 29 June, 2018. Manhattan, Kansas, USA. Kass, J. M., Tingley, M. W., Tetsuya, T., Koike, F.

Exploring interactions between invasive raccoons and co-occurring carnivores in Japan using a multispecies dynamic occupancy model. 65th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of Japan. 14 – 18 March, 2018. Sapporo, Japan. Kass, J. M., Tingley, M. W., Tetsuya, T., Koike, F.

Biotic predictors improve range estimates for migrating monarch butterflies in Mexico. 8th Annual Meeting, Student Conference on Conservation Science – New York, American Museum of Natural History. 11 – 13 October, 2017. New York, New York, USA. Kass, J. M., Espinosa-Lucas, A., Botello, F., Martínez-Salas, E., Juárez-Jaimes, V., Tavera, G., Flores-Martínez, J. J., Sánchez-Cordero, V., Anderson, R. P.

Correlative Distribution Models for Marten and Fisher in the Northern Forest: Abiotic, Biotic, and Climate Change Drivers. Vth International Wildlife Management Congress. 26 – 30 July, 2015. Sapporo, Japan. Kass, J. M., Jensen, P. G, Anderson, R. P.

Species interactions and their role in niche models: A study on two sympatric mustelids in the Northeast U.S. 100th Annual Meeting, Ecological Society of America. 9 – 14 August, 2015. Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Kass, J. M., Jensen, P. G, Anderson, R. P.

Organized Workshops, Symposia, Chaired Sessions

International Symposium: Past, Present, and Future of the Marine Environment and Ecosystems. TOKYO ELECTRON House of Creativity, Tohoku University. 18-19 October, 2023.

Japan Eco-Evo English Seminar 2023. Organized by Kass, J. M., Mizumoto, N., Fujioka, H. 9-10 December, 2023. Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University. Attended by 9 mentors and >30 early-career participants.

Japan Eco-Evo English Seminar. 9 early-career researchers presented their work from September, 2021 to May, 2022. Organized with Nobuaki Mizumoto. URL: https://sites.google.com/view/jee-english-seminar

Symposium on Asian Biodiversity Data and Research. City College Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI). New York, New York, USA. 28 January, 2019. Organized by Kass, J. M. Speakers: Anderson, R. P., Bertola, L., Carnaval, A., Galante, P. J., Giakoumis, M., Hickerson, M., Hirata, K., Fujinuma, J., Kass, J. M., Kusumoto, B., Liu, C., Lohman, D., McDonald, K., Paz, A., Shiono, T., Takashina, N., Ueda, M., Kubota, Y.

Poster

COI-NEXT Nature Positive Sustainable Development Hub・Research Topic 4・Development of biodiversity modeling methods. (COI-NEXTネイチャーポジティブ発展社会実現拠点・研究開発課題4・生物多様性モデリング手法の開発). Tohoku University COI-NEXT Joint Symposium 2024: Thinking of possibilities for the sustainability of well-being for humans and the planet (東北大学COI-NEXT合同シンポジウム2024：人と地球のウェルビーイング持続可能性を考える). Tohoku University. 10 October, 2024.

Mapping ecosystem service potential and predicting the effects of climate change with biodiversity models. WPI-AIMEC Program Director and Program Officer Site Visit. Tohoku University. 9 October, 2024.

How will climate change affect provisions of ecosystem services to people? Biodiversity models can help. (気候変動が生態系サービスに及ぼす影響と生物多様性モデルの有用性). Nature Positive Sustainable Development Hub Kick-off Meeting Symposium (ネイチャーポジティブ発展社会実現拠点キックオフシンピジウム). Muromachi Mitsui Hall & Conference Center, Tokyo. 12 June, 2024.

Wallace: a flexible platform for reproducible modeling of species niches and distributions built for community expansion. Celebrating Sciences: Orientation Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry & Physics. 24 August, 2017. CUNY Graduate Center, New York, New York, USA. Kass, J. M., Vilela, B., Aiello-Lammens, M. E, Muscarella, R., Anderson, R. P.

Investigating the drivers of invasive raccoon spread with dynamic occupancy models in Kanagawa, Japan. 8th Biennial Conference of the International Biogeography Society. 9 – 13 January, 2017. Tucson, Arizona, USA. Kass, J. M., Koike F.

Wallace: a user-friendly web app for advanced modeling of niches and distributions. 7th Annual Meeting, Student Conference on Conservation Science – New York, American Museum of Natural History. 20 – 22 October, 2016. New York, New York, USA. Kass, J. M., Aiello-Lammens, M. E, Vilela, B., Muscarella, R., Anderson, R. P.

A new conservation assessment for the Ecuadorian spiny pocket mouse informed by optimized ecological niche models and updated land cover and protected area data. 99th Annual Meeting, Ecological Society of America. 10 – 15 August, 2014. Sacramento, California, USA. Kass, J. M. & Anderson, R. P.

Student presentations

ニホンウナギの潜在的な分布予測モデル（A predictive model for the potential distribution of the Japanese eel). 日本生態学会東北地区第69回大会（69th Annual Tohoku Regional Meeting of the Ecological Society of Japan). 9 – 10 November, 2024. Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan. Yamaguchi, T., Kass, J. M.

種分布モデルを用いたコクチバスの定着リスク評価（An evaluation of establishment risk for the small-mouthed bass using species distribution models). 日本生態学会東北地区第69回大会（69th Annual Tohoku Regional Meeting of the Ecological Society of Japan). 9 – 10 November, 2024. Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan. Kaneko, S., Kass, J. M.

種分布モデル（SDMs）によるニホンカモシカの生息域予測と気候変動の影響評価（Prediction of habitat extent and effects of climate change for the Japanese serow). 日本生態学会東北地区第69回大会（69th Annual Tohoku Regional Meeting of the Ecological Society of Japan). 9 – 10 November, 2024. Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan. Matsumoto, K., Kass, J. M.

Lab seminars, working groups

Mapping known and undiscovered ant biodiversity across the globe and assessing agreement and mismatch with vertebrates. Guénard Lab, Hong Kong University. 28 July, 2022.

Integrating the effects of biotic interactions into models of species distributions. University of the Ryukyus and OIST Joint Lab Seminar. 29 July, 2019. University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan.

Integrating biotic information into species distribution models. NY-SDM Discussion Group at the American Museum of Natural History. 21 September, 2018. New York, New York, USA.

Wallace introduction and walkthrough. NASA Working Group meeting at Colombia Humboldt Institute. 13 April, 2018. Bogotá, Colombia. Kass, J. M., Pinilla-Buitrago, G. E.

Wallace: a platform for modeling species niches and distributions, built for community expansion. GC Digital Initiatives End-of-Year Showcase. 17 May, 2017. New York, New York, USA.

Wallace: an expandable, interactive, and instructive web application for spatial ecological modeling. New York Regional Species Distribution Modeling Discussion Group, American Museum of Natural History. 13 May, 2016. New York, New York, USA.

Non-academic

Complex Tool Dev in Arcpy: ‘retooling’ from VBA. CalGIS Conference. 15 – 17 April, 2013. Long Beach, California, USA. Kass, J. M. & Cayce, K.

An Aquatic Resource Inventory for CA. Society for Conservation Biology Conference. 15 – 18 July, 2012. Oakland, California, USA. Kass, J. M., Cayce K, Klatt, M., Collins, J.

Bay Area Aquatic Resource Inventory – Methods, QC, Local Stewardship. Society for Conservation GIS Conference. 16 – 19 July, 2011. Big Bear Lake, California, USA. Kass, J. M., Cayce K, Klatt, M., Collins, J.

Bay Area Aquatic Resource Inventory – Riparian Model Development, Future Applications. CalGIS Conference. 28 – 31 March, 2011. Fresno, California, USA. Kass, J. M., Klatt, M., Cayce, K.