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Dusky Grouse Population Ecology And Thermal Landscape Ecology In The Great Basin Ecosystem, Stephanie M. Landry
Dusky Grouse Population Ecology And Thermal Landscape Ecology In The Great Basin Ecosystem, Stephanie M. Landry
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present
Dusky Grouse are a mountainous forest grouse found throughout the western, inland mountain ranges of the United States and Canada. While a few studies have looked at Dusky Grouse in the Rocky Mountain Ecosystem of their range, there have been no prior studies of the Dusky Grouse in the Great Basin Ecosystem aside from a brief survey by Zwickel and Bendell in 2004 in the Duck Creek Range of Nevada. With the available habitats differing in both species diversity and availability on the landscape between the two Ecosystems, I wanted to assess characteristics about the Dusky Grouse populations at the …
Local And Regional Landscape Characteristics Driving Habitat Selection By Greater Sage-Grouse Along A Fragmented Range Margin, Aidan T. Beers
Local And Regional Landscape Characteristics Driving Habitat Selection By Greater Sage-Grouse Along A Fragmented Range Margin, Aidan T. Beers
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
In response to ongoing landscape change, wildlife species are likely to respond in varied ways. By studying habitat specialists, we are able to better understand the most likely ways in which the denizens of threatened ecosystems will react to those changes. Among the most threatened ecosystem types in North America are sagebrush ecosystems of the Intermountain West, where one of its most well-known residents, greater sage grouse (hereafter, “sage-grouse), have lost more than 50% of their habitat due to fire, invasive species, climate change, encroachment by coniferous forests and avian predators using it, and human-caused landscape conversion. Sage-grouse rely on …
Habitat Selection By Desert Carnivores: How Water, Intraguild Predation, And Prey Impact Animal Space Use, Nadine A. Pershyn
Habitat Selection By Desert Carnivores: How Water, Intraguild Predation, And Prey Impact Animal Space Use, Nadine A. Pershyn
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
Across North America large carnivores have lost nearly half of their historic range, creating openings for smaller (< 15 kg) carnivores to take over their ecological roles. Coyotes (Canis latrans) have seen a significant range expansion, including into arid deserts. It was believed that the addition of artificial water sources by humans allowed coyotes to expand into desert ecosystems where they were previously unable to survive. The kit fox (Vulpes macrotis) is a small, desert-adapted carnivore with declining populations that faces threats from coyotes of intraguild predation. This is when carnivores compete over the same prey, and the larger carnivore (intraguild predator) kills the smaller carnivore (intraguild …