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An Examination Of The Ways In Which Transdisciplinary Research Could Be Used To Incentivize Local Communities To Combat The Illegal Wildlife Trade, Jessica Rios

FIU Undergraduate Research Journal

The illegal wildlife trade (IWT) is currently one of the most critical conservation concerns, given its direct impact on biodiversity loss, endangering local ecosystems, and adding pressure to all species at a point when they face dangers like deforestation and mass extinctions. This industry also significantly impacts local communities, many of which are compelled to engage in it as a result of their precarious socioeconomic conditions. While effective countermeasures to this global issue have been identified, successful implementation of these countermeasures require diverse disciplines and collaborators. This paper argues that a transdisciplinary approach that converges knowledge and skills from social …

Comparison Of Ketamine-Xylazine, Butorphanol-Azaperone-Medetomidine, And Nalbuphine-Medetomidine-Azaperone For Raccoon (Procyon Lotor) Immobilization, Shylo R. Johnson, Christine K. Ellis, Chad Wickham, Molly R. Selleck, Amy T. Gilbert

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Raccoons (Procyon lotor) are frequently handled using chemical immobilization in North America for management and research. In a controlled environment, we compared three drug combinations: ketamine-xylazine (KX), butorphanol-azaperone-medetomidine (BAM), and nalbuphinemedetomidine- azaperone (NalMed-A) for raccoon immobilization. In crossover comparisons, raccoons received a mean of the following: 8.66 mg/kg ketamine and 1.74 mg/kg xylazine (0.104 mL/kg KX); 0.464 mg/kg butorphanol, 0.155 mg/kg azaperone, and 0.185 mg/kg medetomidine (0.017 mL/kg BAM); and 0.800 mg/kg nalbuphine, 0.200 mg/kg azaperone, and 0.200 mg/kg medetomidine (0.020 mL/kg NalMed-A). Induction time was shortest with KX (mean6SE, 10.060.7 min) and longest with NalMed-A (13.061.3 min). …

Human Dimensions Of Woody Encroachment Management In Nebraska, Emily Rowen

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Woody plant encroachment (WPE) is a social-ecological problem that will challenge conservation professionals and agricultural producers to adapt their management strategies. This research first examined WPE from the perspective of individual conservation professionals through an online survey. Conservation professionals’ attitudes about adaptation to vegetation transitions, such as WPE, were of interest because these attitudes are one measure of how prepared this group is to respond to WPE. Hypothesized predictors of adaptation attitude were tested through linear regression modeling. These predictors included ecological change, observation of WPE, or risk perception. It was found that risk perception was the strongest predictor of …

The Association Between Drought Exposure And Respiratory-Related Mortality In The United States From 2000 To 2018, Yeongjin Gwon, Yuanyuan Ji, Jesse E. Bell, Azar M. Abadi, Jesse D. Berman, Austin Rau, Ronald D. Leeper, Jared Rennie

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Climate change has brought increasing attention to the assessment of health risks associated with climate and extreme events. Drought is a complex climate phenomenon that has been increasing in frequency and severity both locally and globally due to climate change. However, the health risks of drought are often overlooked, especially in places such as the United States, as the pathways to health impacts are complex and indirect. This study aims to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the effects of monthly drought exposure on respiratory mortality for NOAA climate regions in the United States from 2000 to 2018. A two-stage model …

Development Of A Benchmark Eddy Flux Evapotranspiration Dataset For Evaluation Of Satellite-Driven Evapotranspiration Models Over The Conus, John M. Volk, Justin Huntington, Forrest S. Melton, Richard Allen, Martha C. Anderson, Joshua B. Fisher, Ayse Kilic, Gabriel Senay, Gregory Halverson, Kyla Knipper, Blake Minor, Christopher Pearson, Tianxin Wang, Yun Yang, Steven Evett, Andrew N. French, Richard Jasoni, William Kustas

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

A large sample of ground-based evapotranspiration (ET) measurements made in the United States, primarily from eddy covariance systems, were post-processed to produce a benchmark ET dataset. The dataset was produced primarily to support the intercomparison and evaluation of the OpenET satellite-based remote sensing ET (RSET) models and could also be used to evaluate ET data from other models and approaches. OpenET is a web-based service that makes field-delineated and pixel-level ET estimates from well-established RSET models readily available to water managers, agricultural producers, and the public. The benchmark dataset is composed of flux and meteorological data from a variety of …

Role Of Social Determinants Of Health In Differential Respiratory Exposure And Health Outcomes Among Children, Jagadeesh Puvvula, Jill A. Poole, Yeongjin Gwon, Eleanor G. Rogan, Jesse E. Bell

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Background Attributes defining the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) are associated with disproportionate exposures to environmental hazards and differential health outcomes among communities. The dynamics between SDoH, disproportionate environmental exposures, and differential health outcomes are often specific to micro-geographic areas.

Methods This study focused on children less than 20 years of age who lived in Douglas County, Nebraska, during 2016–2019. To assess the role of SDoH in differential exposures, we evaluated the association between SDoH metrics and criteria pollutant concentrations and the association between SDoH and pediatric asthma exacerbations to quantify the role of SDoH in differential pediatric asthma outcomes. …

Panarchy Theory For Convergence, Shana M. Sundstrom, David G. Angeler, Jesse Bell, Michael J. Hayes, Jennifer Hodbod, Babak Jalalzadeh‑Fard, Rezaul Mahmood, Elizabeth Vanwormer, Craig R. Allen

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Coping with surprise and uncertainty resulting from the emergence of undesired and unexpected novelty or the sudden reorganization of systems at multiple spatiotemporal scales requires both a scientific process that can incorporate diverse expertise and viewpoints, and a scientific framework that can account for the structure and dynamics of interacting social-ecological systems (SES) and the inherent uncertainty of what might emerge in the future. We argue that combining a convergence scientific process with a panarchy framework provides a pathway for improving our understanding of, and response to, emergence. Emergent phenomena are often unexpected (e.g., pandemics, regime shifts) and can be …

Drought Influences Annual Survival Of Painted Turtles In Western Nebraska, Allyson N. Beard, Larkin Powell

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Aquatic habitats in the Great Plains of North America have increased risk of droughts under climate forecasts. Droughts have the potential to influence the population dynamics of pond turtles, and long-term studies are useful to assess the impact of climatic variation on turtles. We compiled twelve years of mark-recapture data for painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) captured in a pond in Keith County, Nebraska during 2005–2016 that included two periods of drought. We used a robust design analysis to investigate influences on population size, annual survival, temporary immigration, and capture probability. Estimates of the annual population size ranged from 92 (CI: …

Role Of Social Determinants Of Health In Differential Respiratory Exposure And Health Outcomes Among Children, Jagadeesh Puvvula, Jill A. Poole, Yeongjin Gwon, Eleanor G. Rogan, Jesse E. Bell

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Background Attributes defining the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) are associated with disproportionate exposures to environmental hazards and differential health outcomes among communities. The dynamics between SDoH, disproportionate environmental exposures, and differential health outcomes are often specific to micro-geographic areas.

Methods This study focused on children less than 20 years of age who lived in Douglas County, Nebraska, during 2016–2019. To assess the role of SDoH in differential exposures, we evaluated the association between SDoH metrics and criteria pollutant concentrations and the association between SDoH and pediatric asthma exacerbations to quantify the role of SDoH in differential pediatric asthma outcomes. …

Changing Blow Fly (Diptera: Calliphoridae) Populations In Orlando, Florida, United States, Amanda Roe, Russell J. Barnes, Leon G. Higley, Neal H. Haskell

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) were collected from various carrion baits in Orlando, Florida over 2 periods: Jun 2009 to Sep 2009 and Apr 2010 to Oct 2010. In a previous study conducted from 2002 to 2004 the dominant blow fly in Orlando, Florida, was Lucilia coeruleiviridis Macquart (Gruner et al. 2007). This collection documents a shift to Chrysomya megacephala Fabricius, as the most dominant blow fly species found in Orlando, Florida in 2009 to 2010. These field results have potential forensic implications, particularly in the analysis of cold cases.

Integrating Robotics Into Wildlife Conservation: Testing Improvements To Predator Deterrents Through Movement, Stewart W. Breck, Jeffrey T. Schultz, David Prause, Cameron Krebs, Anthony J. Giordano, Byron Boots

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Background Agricultural and pastoral landscapes can provide important habitat for wildlife conservation, but sharing these landscapes with wildlife can create conflict that is costly and requires managing. Livestock predation is a good example of the challenges involving coexistence with wildlife across shared landscapes. Integrating new technology into agricultural practices could help minimize human-wildlife conflict. In this study, we used concepts from the fields of robotics (i.e., automated movement and adaptiveness) and agricultural practices (i.e., managing livestock risk to predation) to explore how integration of these concepts could aid the development of more effective predator deterrents.

Methods …

Population Density Of The Small Indian Mongoose (Urva Auropunctata) Across Multiple Habitat Types And Seasons In Puerto Rico, Are R. Berentsen, Caroline C. Sauvé, Mel J. Rivera-Rodriguez, Fabiola B. Torres-Toledo, Richard B. Chipman, Amy T. Gilbert

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The small Indian mongoose (Urva auropunctata) is a rabies reservoir on several Caribbean Islands including Puerto Rico. In the continental United States, oral rabies vaccination (ORV) has been used to control and locally eliminate rabies viruses targeting meso-carnivores including raccoons (Procyon lotor), grey foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), and coyotes (Canis latrans), and has more recently been proposed to mitigate and control mongoose rabies in Puerto Rico. A fundamental understanding of the population density of the target species is an important factor in planning bait application rates prior to ORV operations. In Puerto Rico, …

Comparison Of Daily Activity Patterns Across Seasons Using Gps Telemetry And Camera Trap Data For A Widespread Mammal, David W. Wolfson, Peter E. Schlichting, Raoul K. Boughton, Ryan S. Miller, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Jesse S. Lewis

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Daily activity patterns of animals can be dynamic across seasons in response to changing environmental conditions. Daily activity, though, has rarely been evaluated in relation to multiple factors (for example, seasons, demographics, and data collection methods), which could be important for understanding what drives activity patterns. Here, we evaluated the daily activity patterns of a widespread invasive species, wild pigs (Sus scrofa), across two ecologically different study areas at Buck Island Ranch, Florida, and Tejon Ranch, California (United States), from 2015 to 2018. Using GPS telemetry data (62 individuals in Florida, 21 individuals in California) and detections from …

Effects Of Agricultural Chemicals On Native Plants Of The Northern Great Plains, Gabrielle Bolwerk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Agricultural chemicals are ubiquitous on the Northern Great Plains landscape and have negative impacts on non-target plant communities, even at small doses. Northern Great Plains grassland plant communities may experience herbicide drift from agricultural fields or be subject to livestock pharmaceuticals in grazing lands. My research objective was to evaluate if and how native plants are affected by agricultural chemical presence at different concentrations. In Chapter 2, I studied the effect of different concentrations of three common agricultural herbicides (2,4-D, atrazine, and trifluralin) on the germination, emergence, and growth of native plant species of the Northern Great Plains. I performed …

Changing Blowfly (Diptera: Calliphoridae) Populations In Orlando, Florida, United States, A. Roe, R. J. Barnes, Leon G. Higley, N. H. Haskell

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Montezuma Quail In The Edwards Plateau Of Texas: Detection, Occurrence, And Habitat, Zachary J. Pearson, Eric D. Grahmann, Fidel Hernández, Robert Perez, Leonard A. Brennan, Humberto L. Perotto-Baldivieso

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Montezuma quail (Cyrtonyx montezumae) were historically found throughout nearly every county in the Edwards Plateau region of Texas, USA. Over the last century, shifting land use, reduction of fire on the landscape, and the subsequent encroachment of woody vegetation have constricted the distribution of Montezuma quail to a few counties in the southern portion of the Edwards Plateau. A renewed interest in management for Montezuma quail over the last decade has been met with a lack of information regarding their habitat requirements in this region. This lack of general information and increased sightings of this elusive species in …

Effect Of Food Distribution On Northern Bobwhite Resource Selection, Rachel R. Gardner, John Maerz, Theron M. Terhune Ii, Ira B. Parnell, James A. Martin

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Supplemental feeding is a common management tactic used to increase survival and reproduction of northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus; hereafter, bobwhite). Different supplemental feeding methods alter the distribution of resources across a landscape in unique ways and may influence the space use and resource selection of target species differently. Predators may concentrate their movements near fed sites, and different distributions of supplemental feed may encourage bobwhite to concentrate their movements closer to feed than other areas, thereby altering the potential for predator-prey interactions near feed. We used radio-tracked locations and movements in areas with stationary feeders (“feeder fed”) and …

Amplification Of Black Vulture (Coragyps Atratus) Dna From Regurgitated Food Pellets, Daniel R. Taylor, Bryan M. Kluever, John S. Humphrey, Iona M. Hennessy, Amber Sutton, William E. Bruce, Antoinette J. Piaggio

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Studies that rely on noninvasive collection of DNA for birds often use feces or feathers. Some birds, such as vultures, regurgitate undigested matter in the form of pellets that are commonly found under roost sites. Our research demonstrates that regurgitated pellets are a viable, noninvasive source of DNA for molecular ecology studies of vultures. Our objectives were to amplify 5 microsatellite loci designed for distinguishing Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) and Black Vultures (Coragyps atratus) in a single, multiplexed PCR, and to determine how long the target nuclear DNA persists after a vulture pellet is regurgitated and …

Individual Trophic Niche Specialization In American Beaver (Castor Canadensis), Jimmy Taylor, Robert Francis, Scott Rush, Bronson Strickland, Guiming Wang

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The American beaver (Castor canadensis) has been described as a choosy generalist at the species/population scale, yet observational studies have shown little variation in diet among individuals. We compared isotopic values of δ¹³C or δ¹⁵N taken from hair of 32 beaver, representing seven colonies in northern Alabama, USA to determine 1) if colonies of beaver show overlap in isotopic niche width as a result of the similar use of food resources and 2) if individual trophic niche specialization occurs within colonies. Total Trophic Niche Width varied across the wetland with the widest being twice …

Optimizing Management Of Invasions In An Uncertain World Using Dynamic Spatial Models, Kim M. Pepin, Amy J. Davis, Rebecca S. Epanchin-Niell, Andrew M. Gormley, Joslin L. Moore, Timothy J. Smyser, H. Bradley Shaffer, William L. Kendall, Katriona Shea, Michael C. Runge, Sophie Mckee

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Dispersal drives invasion dynamics of nonnative species and pathogens. Applying knowledge of dispersal to optimize the management of invasions can mean the difference between a failed and a successful control program and dramatically improve the return on investment of control efforts. A common approach to identifying optimal management solutions for invasions is to optimize dynamic spatial models that incorporate dispersal. Optimizing these spatial models can be very challenging because the interaction of time, space, and uncertainty rapidly amplifies the number of dimensions being considered. Addressing such problems requires advances in and the integration of techniques from multiple fields, including ecology, …

Remotely Detected Aboveground Plant Function Predicts Belowground Processes In Two Prairie Diversity Experiments, Jeannine Cavender-Bares, Anna K. Schweiger, John Gamon, Hamed Gholizadeh, Kimberly Helzer, Cathleen Lapadat, Michael D. Madritch, Philip A. Townsend, Zhihui Wang, Sarah E. Hobbie

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Imaging spectroscopy provides the opportunity to incorporate leaf and canopy optical data into ecological studies, but the extent to which remote sensing of vegetation can enhance the study of belowground processes is not well understood. In terrestrial systems, aboveground and belowground vegetation quantity and quality are coupled, and both influence belowground microbial processes and nutrient cycling. We hypothesized that ecosystem productivity, and the chemical, structural and phylogenetic-functional composition of plant communities would be detectable with remote sensing and could be used to predict belowground plant and soil processes in two grassland biodiversity experiments: the BioDIV experiment at Cedar Creek Ecosystem …

The Role Of Rare Avian Species For Spatial Resilience Of Shifting Biomes In The Great Plains Of North America, D. Angeler, C. Roberts, D. Twidwell Jr., C. Allen

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Natural Resource Management Newsletter, January 2022, Department Of Natural Resource Management

NRM Newsletter

CAFES Awards: Teacher of the Year & Student Club Honorable Mention 2021
NRM Affiliate Professor Receives Fulbright to Norway
Service Awards
Elisha YT Summer Internship
Deva Raj Khanal 2021 ASPT Research Award
Gary Larson Memorial Burr Oak at Dakota Nature Park in Brookings
Oak Lake Field Station Jon Haertel Undergraduate Research Award
Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity Day (URSCAD)
Seven Wokini Challenge Grants Awarded for FY 2022 - Lan Xu
Fire School at Oak Lake Field Station
USDA project to produce wildflower seeds, improve soil health
Pollinators in an Agricultural Context
Welcome new faculty members: Alison, Chris, Amanda & …

An Examination Of Ethical Attitudes Towards Wild Pig (Sus Scrofa) Toxicants In The United States, Keith Carlisle, Erin E. Harper, Stephanie A. Shwiff

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

This research aims to understand ethical attitudes of the U.S. public towards the use of a toxicant to control wild pigs (Sus scrofa), a destructive invasive species whose population growth is proving difficult to control through conventional management methods. Using a nationwide self-administered survey with 2,186 completed and returned questionnaires, we found that among six different lethal control methods, toxicant usage was the only method that a majority of respondents (51%) found to be unethical, with no significant differences between rural and urban respondents or between respondents from counties with wild pigs and counties where the species is absent. The …

Industrial Hemp As A Resource For Birds In Agroecosystems: Human-Wildlife Conflict Or Conservation Opportunity?, Emily A. Kotten, Iona Hennessy, Bryan M. Kluever, Bradley F. Blackwell, Lee A. Humberg, Page E. Klug

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.; hemp) is an emerging crop in the United States with little known about bird use or the potential for birds to become an agricultural pest. We identified birds associated with hemp fields, using repeated visits to oilseed plots in North Dakota, USA (n = 6) and cannabinoid (CBD) plots in Florida, USA (n = 4) from August to November 2020. We did not control for plot area or density; our observations were descriptive only. We observed 10 species in hemp, 12 species flying over hemp, and 11 species both foraging in and …

Predicting Consistent Foraging Ecologies Of Migrating Waterbirds: Using Stable Isotope And Parasite Measurements As Indicators Of Landscape Use, Kate L. Sheehan, Brian S. Dorr, Stephen A. Clements, Terrel W. Christie, Katie Hanson-Dorr, Scott A. Rush, J. Brian Davis

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The emergence of novel human pathogens is frequently linked with zoonotic events and human-wildlife interactions that promote disease transmission. Consequently, surveillance of wildlife populations for candidate diseases that could spread to humans is beneficial, but requires widespread collections of numerous samples. A legitimate means to acquire large sample sizes of waterfowl is through cooperation between researchers and hunters, who also work in concert with natural resource managers, landowners, and agricultural entities -e.g., aquaculture facilities. In addition to understanding the occurrence and spread of parasites and pathogens by birds, these samples can be used to answer questions about the ecology of …

A Systematic Map Of Human-Carnivore Coexistence, Cassandre C. Venumière-Lefebvre, Stewart W. Breck, Kevin R. Crooks

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Carnivore populations globally have largely declined, and coexistence, where humans and carnivores share landscapes, plays a crucial role in carnivore conservation. However, the term “coexistence” is often used in scientific and popular literature without being clearly defined. Herein, we provide a global perspective on what coexistence is and how it is studied. We conducted a systematic map of 366 articles published between 1987 and 2020 to characterize human-carnivore coexistence literature according to coexistence definitions, temporal trends, geographic and taxonomic focus, and four thematic aspects of coexistence: carnivore ecology, human endeavors, social conflict and human-carnivore conflict. We used chi-squared tests and …

Deterring Non-Target Birds From Toxic Bait Sites For Wild Pigs, Nathan P. Snow, Joseph M. Halseth, Justin A. Foster, Michael J. Lavelle, Justin W. Fischer, Michael P. Glow, Ingrid A. Messer, Seth M. Cook, Kurt C. Vercauteren

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Toxic baiting of wild pigs (Sus scrofa) is a potential new tool for population control and damage reduction in the US. Field trials testing a prototype toxic bait (HOGGONE 2 containing 5% sodium nitrite [SN]), though, revealed that wild pigs spilled small particles of toxic bait outside of bait stations which subsequently created hazards for non-target species that consumed those particles, primarily passerine birds. To deter non-target birds from consuming particles of spilled bait, we tested four deterrents at mock bait sites (i.e., baited with bird seed) in north-central Colorado, USA during April–May 2020. We found a programable, inflatable deterrent …

Exploring Linkages Between Landscape Patterns And Freshwater And Estuarine Bivalves In The Coast Range Of Oregon, Kaegan Michael Scully-Engelmeyer

Dissertations and Theses

Spatial configurations of landscape variables (biotic, abiotic, and socio-ecological) affect and are affected by ecological processes and species in watersheds. This dissertation explores relationships among landscape patterns, ecosystem processes and bivalve species dynamics in coastal watersheds in Oregon, USA. I approached this broad topic through two primary avenues of research: investigating cross-ecosystem threats from pesticide use in forestland management to downstream aquatic environments, and the landscape ecology of an at-risk freshwater mussel species.

Terrestrial land use activities present cross-ecosystem threats to riverine and marine species and processes. Specifically, pesticide runoff can disrupt hormonal, reproductive, and developmental processes in aquatic organisms, …

Mapping Heat Vulnerability Index Based On Different Urbanization Levels In Nebraska, Usa, Babak J. Fard, Rezaul Mahmood, Michael Hayes, Clinton M. Rowe, Azar M Abadi, Martha Shulski, Sharon Medcalf, Rachel Lookadoo, Jesse E. Bell

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Despite similar incidence rates, Heat Vulnerability Index (HVI) in rural areas is under- studied in comparison to urban areas. • The environmental vulnerability variables in rural areas are dissimilar to urban areas, so we applied different variables to calculate them. • We found different organization of socioeconomic variables in calculated HVIs, suggesting separate heat strategies for urbanization levels.

Heatwaves cause excess mortality and physiological impacts on humans throughout the world, and climate change will intensify and increase the frequency of heat events. Many adaptation and mitigation studies use spatial distribution of highly vulnerable local populations to inform heat reduction and …