Life Sciences Commons^™

Relevance Of Individual Data When Assessing The Gastrointestinal Nematode Infection Level, Nutritional And Productive Variables In A Tropical Farm Context: The Median Isn’T The Message, Gabriel Andrés Ortíz-Domínguez, Pedro Geraldo González-Pech, Juan Felipe De Jesús Torres-Acosta, Javier Ventura-Cordero, Juan Villalba, Carlos Alfredo Sandoval-Castro

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

We evaluated the relationship between individual and herd GIN infection level, nutrition, production performance and anemia parameters in a tropical farm context. Fifty-four female goats were monitored to assess their body condition score (BCS, nutritional status indicator), live weight (LW) and LW gain (LWG, both used as production level indicators), FAMACHA© and hematocrit (HT, both used as anemia indicators). Goats browsed for 4 h in a tropical forest and received balanced feed and chopped grass. The eggs per gram of feces (EPG) indicated the GIN burden, with fecal samples obtained at 7:00 (AM) and 15:00 h (PM.) from each goat …

Non-Random Sampling Measures The Occurrence But Not The Strength Of A Textbook Trophic Cascade, Daniel R. Macnulty, Elaine M. Brice, Eric J. Larsen

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Although sampling the five tallest young aspen in a stand is useful for detecting the occurrence of any aspen recruitment, this technique overestimates the population response of aspen to wolf reintroduction. Our original conclusion that random sampling described a trophic cascade that was weaker than the one described by non-random sampling is unchanged.

Changes In Fecal Glucocorticoid Metabolites In Captive Coyotes (Canis Latrans): Influence Of Gender, Time, And Reproductive Status, Eric M. Gese, Patricia A. Terletzky, Cole A. Bleke, Erika T. Stevenson, Susannah S. French

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Reproduction is considered an energetically and physiologically demanding time in the life of an animal. Changes in physiological stress are partly reflected in changes in glucocorticoid metabolites and can be measured from fecal samples. We examined levels of fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (fGCMs) in 24 captive coyotes (Canis latrans) to investigate responses to the demands of reproduction. Using 12 pairs of coyotes (five pairs produced pups, seven pairs did not), we analyzed 633 fecal samples covering 11 biological periods (e.g., breeding, gestation, and lactation). Levels of fGCMs showed high individual variability, with females having higher fGCM levels than males. …

Editorial: Mammalian Responses To Climate Change: From Organisms To Communities, Johan T. Du Toit, Robyn S. Hetem, M. Denise Dearing

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Mammals have displayed spectacular evolutionary success ever since an asteroid impact caused the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event ~66 million years ago, when the non-avian dinosaurs disappeared. Now another mass extinction event is underway because of another major planetary disturbance, but this time it is directly caused by just one over-achieving species among all those mammals: Homo sapiens.

Exploring Metapopulation-Scale Suppression Alternatives For A Global Invader In A River Network Experiencing Climate Change, Brian D. Healy, Phaedra Budy, Charles B. Yackulic, Brendan P. Murphy, Robert C. Schelly, Mark C. Mckinstry

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Invasive species can dramatically alter ecosystems, but eradication is difficult, and suppression is expensive once they are established. Uncertainties in the potential for expansion and impacts by an invader can lead to delayed and inadequate suppression, allowing for establishment. Metapopulation viability models can aid in planning strategies to improve responses to invaders and lessen invasive species’ impacts, which may be particularly important under climate change. We used a spatially-explicit metapopulation viability model to explore suppression strategies for ecologically-damaging invasive brown trout (Salmo trutta), established in the Colorado River and a tributary within Grand Canyon National Park. Our goals …

Range-Wide Sources Of Variation In Reproductive Rates Of Northern Spotted Owls, Jeremy T. Rockweit, Julianna M. Jenkins, James E. Hines, James D. Nichols, Katie M. Dugger, Alan B. Franklin, Peter C. Carlson, William L. Kendall, Damon B. Lesmeister, Christopher Mccafferty, Steven H. Ackers, L. Steven Andrews, Larissa L. Bailey, Jesse Burgher, Kenneth P. Burnham, Tara Chestnut, Mary M. Conner, Raymond J. Davis, Krista E. Dilione, Eric D. Forsman, Elizabeth M. Glenn, Scott A. Gremel, Keith A. Hamm, Dale R. Herter, J. Mark Higley, Rob B. Horn, David W. Lamphear, Trent L. Mcdonald, Janice A. Reid, Carl J. Schwarz, David C. Simon, Stan G. Sovern, James K. Swingle, J. David Wiens, Heather Wise, Charles B. Yackulic

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

We conducted a range-wide investigation of the dynamics of site-level reproductive rate of northern spotted owls using survey data from 11 study areas across the subspecies geographic range collected during 1993–2018. Our analytical approach accounted for imperfect detection of owl pairs and misclassification of successful reproduction (i.e., at least one young fledged) and contributed further insights into northern spotted owl population ecology and dynamics. Both nondetection and state misclassification were important, especially because factors affecting these sources of error also affected focal ecological parameters. Annual probabilities of site occupancy were greatest at sites with successful reproduction in the previous year …

Planttracker: An R Package To Translate Maps Of Plant Occurrence Into Demographic Data, Alice E. Stears, Peter B. Adler, Shannon E. Albeke, David H. Atkins, Jared Studyvin, Daniel C. Laughlin

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

1. Long-term demographic data are rare yet invaluable for conservation, management, and basic research on the underlying mechanisms of population and community dynamics. Historical and contemporary mapped datasets of plant location and basal area present a relatively untapped source of demographic records that, in some cases, span over 20 years of sequential data collection. However, these maps do not uniquely mark individual plants, making the process of collecting growth, survival, and recruitment data difficult.
2. Recent efforts to translate historical maps of plant occurrence into shapefiles make it possible to use computer algorithms to track individuals through time and determine individual growth …

Survival Of The Fattest: How Body Fat And Migration Influence Survival In Highly Seasonal Environments, Kristin Denryter, Mary M. Conner, Thomas R. Stephenson, David W. German, Kevin L. Monteith

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

1. Energy stores and migration are important adaptations for animals in seasonal environments, but their roles may vary relative to an animal's endogenous and exogenous environment. In partially migratory populations, migrants and residents experience different seasonal environments; thus, the influence of energy stores on survival may differ relative to migratory tactic, with potential consequences to survival and fitness.

2. Using data from Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis sierrae; hereafter, Sierra bighorn), we tested the hypothesis that body fat (energy stores) buffers animals against their environment, but that buffering capacity differs across environments experienced by high-elevation residents (using …

Water Availability Dictates How Plant Traits Predict Demographic Rates, Alice E. Stears, Peter B. Adler, Dana M. Blumenthal, Julie A. Kray, Kevin E. Mueller, Troy W. Ocheltree, Kevin R. Wilcox, Daniel C. Laughlin

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

A major goal in ecology is to make generalizable predictions of organism responses to environmental variation based on their traits. However, straightforward relationships between traits and fitness are rare and likely to vary with environmental context. Characterizing how traits mediate demographic responses to the environment may enhance the predictions of organism responses to global change. We synthesized 15 years of demographic data and species-level traits in a shortgrass steppe to determine whether the effects of leaf and root traits on growth and survival depended on seasonal water availability. We predicted that (1) species with drought-tolerant traits, such as lower leaf …

Nitrogen Increases Early-Stage And Slows Late-Stage Decomposition Across Diverse Grasslands, Allison L. Gill, Peter B. Adler, Elizabeth T. Borer, Christopher R. Buyarski, Elsa E. Cleland, Carla M. D'Antonio, Kendi F. Davies, Daniel S. Gruner, W. Stanley Harpole, Kirsten S. Hofmockel, Andrew S. Macdougall, Rebecca L. Mcculley, Brett A. Melbourne, Joslin L. Moore, John W. Morgan, Anita C. Risch, Martin Schütz, Eric W. Seabloom, Justin P. Wright, Louie H. Yang, Sarah E. Hobbie

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

1. To evaluate how increased anthropogenic nutrient inputs alter carbon cycling in grasslands, we conducted a litter decomposition study across 20 temperate grasslands on three continents within the Nutrient Network, a globally distributed nutrient enrichment experiment
2. We determined the effects of addition of experimental nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium plus micronutrient (K_μ) on decomposition of a common tree leaf litter in a long-term study (maximum of 7 years; exact deployment period varied across sites). The use of higher order decomposition models allowed us to distinguish between the effects of nutrients on early- versus late-stage decomposition.
3. Across continents, the …

Movement Patterns Of Resident And Translocated Beavers At Multiple Spatiotemporal Scales In Desert Rivers, Emma Doden, Phaedra Budy, Tal Avgar, Julie Young

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Wildlife translocations alter animal movement behavior, so identifying common movement patterns post-translocation will help set expectations about animal behavior in subsequent efforts. American and Eurasian beavers (Castor canadensis; Castor fiber) are frequently translocated for reintroductions, to mitigate human-wildlife conflict, and as an ecosystem restoration tool. However, little is known about movement behavior of translocated beavers post-release, especially in desert rivers with patchy and dynamic resources. We identified space-use patterns of beaver movement behavior after translocation. We translocated and monitored nuisance American beavers in desert river restoration sites on the Price and San Rafael Rivers, Utah, USA, and compared …

Sex-Related Differences In Aging Rate Are Associated With Sex Chromosome System In Amphibians, Hugo Cayuela, Jean-François Lemaître, Jean-Paul Léna, Victor Ronget, Iñigo Martínez-Solano, Erin Muths, David S. Pilliod, Benedikt R. Schmidt, Gregorio Sánchez-Montes, Jorge Gutiérrez-Rodríguez, Graham Pyke, Kurt Grossenbacher, Omar Lenzi, Jaime Bosch, Karen H. Beard, Lawrence L. Woolbright, Brad A. Lambert, David M. Green, Nathalie Jreidini, Justin M. Garwood, Robert N. Fisher, Kathleen Matthews, David Dudgeon, Anthony Lau, Jeroen Speybroeck, Rebecca Homan, Robert Jehle, Eyup Başkale, Emiliano Mori, Jan W. Arntzen, Pierre Joly, Rochelle M. Stiles, Michael J. Lannoo, John C. Maerz, Winsor H. Lowe, Andrés Valenzuela-Sánchez, Ditte G. Christiansen, Claudio Angelini, Jean-Marc Thirion, Juha Merilä, Guarino R. Colli, Mariana M. Vasconcellos, Taissa C.V. Boas, Ísis Da C. Arantes, Pauline Levionnois, Beth A. Reinke, Cristina Vieira, Gabriel A.B. Marais, Jean-Michel Gaillard, David A.W. Miller

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Sex‐related differences in mortality are widespread in the animal kingdom. Although studies have shown that sex determination systems might drive lifespan evolution, sex chromosome influence on aging rates have not been investigated so far, likely due to an apparent lack of demographic data from clades including both XY (with heterogametic males) and ZW (heterogametic females) systems. Taking advantage of a unique collection of capture–recapture datasets in amphibians, a vertebrate group where XY and ZW systems have repeatedly evolved over the past 200 million years, we examined whether sex heterogamy can predict sex differences in aging rates and lifespans. We showed …

Landscape Dynamics (Landdx) An Open-Access Spatial-Temporal Database For The Kenya-Tanzania Borderlands, Peter Tyrrell, Irene Amoke, Koen Betjes, Femke Broekhuis, Robert Buitenwerf, Sarah Carroll, Nathan Hahn, Daniel Haywood, Britt Klaassen, Mette Løvschal, David Macdonald, Karen Maiyo, Hellen Mbithi, Nelson Mwangi, Churchil Ochola, Erick Odire, Victoria Ondrusek, Junior Ratemo, Frank Pope, Samantha Russell, Wilson Sairowua, Kiptoo Sigilai, Jared A. Stabach, Jens-Christian Svenning, Elizabeth Stone, Johan T. Du Toit, Guy Western, George Wittemyer, Jake Wall

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

The savannas of the Kenya-Tanzania borderland cover >100,000 km² and is one of the most important regions globally for biodiversity conservation, particularly large mammals. The region also supports >1 million pastoralists and their livestock. In these systems, resources for both large mammals and pastoralists are highly variable in space and time and thus require connected landscapes. However, ongoing fragmentation of (semi-)natural vegetation by smallholder fencing and expansion of agriculture threatens this social-ecological system. Spatial data on fences and agricultural expansion are localized and dispersed among data owners and databases. Here, we synthesized data from several research groups and conservation …

Passive Acoustic Monitoring And Automatic Detection Of Diel Patterns And Acoustic Structure Of Howler Monkey Roars, Leandro A. Do Nascimento, Cristian Pérez-Granados, Karen H. Beard

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Nighttime studies are underrepresented in ecological research. Even well-known behaviors, such as the loud call of howler monkeys, are rarely studied at night. Our goal was to help fill this knowledge gap by studying the 24 h vocal behavior of the Guianan red howler monkey (Alouatta macconnelli) and to compare the acoustic structures of howling bouts made during the day to those made at night. We used passive acoustic monitoring coupled with automatic acoustic detection to study three groups of howlers over three months in the Viruá National Park, Roraima, Brazil. The automatic classifier we built detected 171 …

Nutrient Enrichment Increases Invertebrate Herbivory And Pathogen Damage In Grasslands, Anne Ebeling, Alex T. Strauss, Peter B. Adler, Carlos A. Arnillas, Isabel C. Barrio, Lori A. Biederman, Elizabeth T. Borer, Miguel N. Bugalho, Maria C. Caldeira, Marc W. Cadotte, Pedro Daleo, Nico Eisenhauer, Anu Eskelinen, Philip A. Fay, Jennifer Firn, Pamela Graff, Nicole Hagenah, Sylvia Haider, Kimberly J. Komatsu, Rebecca L. Mcculley, Charles E. Mitchell, Joslin L. Moore, Jesus Pascual, Pablo L. Peri, Sally A. Power, Suzanne M. Prober, Anita C. Risch, Christiane Roscher, Mahesh Sankaran, Eric W. Seabloom, Holger Schielzeth, Martin Schütz, Karina L. Speziale, Michelle Tedder, Risto Virtanen, Dana M. Blumenthal

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

1. Plant damage by invertebrate herbivores and pathogens influences the dynamics of grassland ecosystems, but anthropogenic changes in nitrogen and phosphorus availability can modify these relationships.
2. Using a globally distributed experiment, we describe leaf damage on 153 plant taxa from 27 grasslands worldwide, under ambient conditions and with experimentally elevated nitrogen and phosphorus.
3. Invertebrate damage significantly increased with nitrogen addition, especially in grasses and non-leguminous forbs. Pathogen damage increased with nitrogen in grasses and legumes but not forbs. Effects of phosphorus were generally weaker. Damage was higher in grasslands with more precipitation, but climatic conditions did not change effects of nutrients …

New Forces Influencing Savanna Conservation: Increasing Land Prices Driven By Gentrification And Speculation At The Landscape Scale, Peter Tyrrell, Robin Naidoo, David W. Macdonald, Johan T. Du Toit

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Land transformation reduces biodiversity and regional sustainability, with land price being an indicator of the opportunity cost to a landowner of resisting land conversion. However, reliable spatially explicit databases of current land prices are generally lacking in developing countries. We used tools from data science to scrape 1,487 georeferenced land prices in southern Kenya from the internet. Prices were higher for land near cities and in areas of high agricultural productivity, but also around the Maasai Mara National Reserve. Predicted land prices ranged from US$662 to US$4,618,805 per acre. Land speculation associated with expanding urbanization increases the opportunity and acquisition …

Decision-Making For Rewilding: An Adaptive Governance Framework For Social-Ecological Complexity, James R. A. Butler, Mariella Marzano, Nathalie Pettorelli, Sarah M. Durant, Johan T. Du Toit, Juliette C. Young

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Rewilding can be defined as the reorganisation or regeneration of wildness in an ecologically degraded landscape with minimal ongoing intervention. While proposals for rewilding are increasingly common, they are frequently controversial and divisive amongst stakeholders. If implemented, rewilding initiatives may alter the social-ecological systems within which they are situated and thus generate sudden and unforeseen outcomes. So far, however, much of the discourse on the planning and implementation of rewilding has focused on identifying and mitigating ecological risks. There has been little consideration of how rewilding could alter the human components of the social-ecological systems concerned, nor governance arrangements that …

A Practical Guide To Selecting Models For Exploration, Inference, And Prediction In Ecology, Andrew T. Trednnick, Giles Hooker, Stephen P. Ellner, Peter B. Adler

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Selecting among competing statistical models is a core challenge in science. However, the many possible approaches and techniques for model selection, and the conflicting recommendations for their use, can be confusing. We contend that much confusion surrounding statistical model selection results from failing to first clearly specify the purpose of the analysis. We argue that there are three distinct goals for statistical modeling in ecology: data exploration, inference, and prediction. Once the modeling goal is clearly articulated, an appropriate model selection procedure is easier to identify. We review model selection approaches and highlight their strengths and weaknesses relative to each …

Range-Wide Declines Of Northern Spotted Owl Populations In The Pacific Northwest: A Meta-Analysis, Alan B. Franklin, Katie M. Dugger, Damon B. Lesmeister, Raymond J. Davis, J. David Wiens, Gary C. White, James D. Nichols, James E. Hines, Charles B. Yackulic, Carl J. Schwarz, Steven H. Ackers, L. Steven Andrews, Larissa L. Bailey, Robin Bown, Mary M. Conner, Et Al.

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

The northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) inhabits older coniferous forests in the Pacific Northwest and has been at the center of forest management issues in this region. The immediate threats to this federally listed species include habitat loss and competition with barred owls (Strix varia), which invaded from eastern North America. We conducted a prospective meta-analysis to assess population trends and factors affecting those trends in northern spotted owls using 26 years of survey and capture-recapture data from 11 study areas across the owls' geographic range to analyze demographic traits, rates of population change, and …

Winter Wheat Resistant To Increases In Rain And Snow Intensity In A Semi-Arid System, Martin C. Holdrege, Karen H. Beard, Andrew Kulmatiski

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

As the atmosphere warms, precipitation events have been predicted and observed to become fewer and larger. Changes in precipitation patterns can have large effects on dryland agricultural production, but experimental tests on the effects of changing precipitation intensity are limited. Over 3 years, we tested the effects of increased precipitation intensity on winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.; Promontory variety) in a temperate dryland agricultural system that was on a rotation of crop and fallow years. We used 11 (2.1 × 2.5 m) shelters to collect and redeposit rain and snow as larger, more intense events. Total precipitation was the …

Investigating The Morphological And Genetic Divergence Of Arctic Char (Salvelinus Alpinus) Populations In Lakes Of Arctic Alaska, Stephen L. Klobucar, Jessica A. Rick, Elizabeth G. Mandeville, Catherine E. Wagner, Phaedra Budy

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Polymorphism facilitates coexistence of divergent morphs (e.g., phenotypes) of the same species by minimizing intraspecific competition, especially when resources are limiting. Arctic char (Salvelinus sp.) are a Holarctic fish often forming morphologically, and sometimes genetically, divergent morphs. In this study, we assessed the morphological and genetic diversity and divergence of 263 individuals from seven populations of arctic char with varying length-frequency distributions across two distinct groups of lakes in northern Alaska. Despite close geographic proximity, each lake group occurs on landscapes with different glacial ages and surface water connectivity, and thus was likely colonized by fishes at different times. …

A ‘How To’ Guide For Interpreting Parameters In Habitat-Selection Analyses, John Fieberg, Johannes Signer, Brian Smith, Tal Avgar

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

1. Habitat-selection analyses allow researchers to link animals to their environment via habitat-selection or step-selection functions, and are commonly used to address questions related to wildlife management and conservation efforts. Habitat-selection analyses that incorporate movement characteristics, referred to as integrated step-selection analyses, are particularly appealing because they allow modelling of both movement and habitat-selection processes.
2. Despite their popularity, many users struggle with interpreting parameters in habitat-selection and step-selection functions. Integrated step-selection analyses also require several additional steps to translate model parameters into a full-fledged movement model, and the mathematics supporting this approach can be challenging for many to understand.
3. Using …

General Destabilizing Effects Of Eutrophication On Grassland Productivity At Multiple Spatial Scales, Yann Hautier, Pengfei Zhang, Michel Loreau, Kevin R. Wilcox, Eric W. Seabloom, Elizabeth T. Borer, Jarrett E.K. Byrnes, Sally E. Koerner, Kimberly J. Komatsu, Jonathan S. Lefcheck, Andy Hector, Peter B. Adler, Juan Alberti, Carlos A. Arnillas, Jonathan D. Bakker, Lars A. Brudvig, Miguel N. Bugalho, Marc Cadotte, Maria C. Caldeira, Oliver Carroll, Mick Crawley, Scott L. Collins, Pedro Daleo, Laura E. Dee, Nico Eisenhauer, Anu Eskelinen, Philip A. Fay, Benjamin Gilbert, Amandine Hansar, Forest Isbell, Johannes M.H. Knops, Andrew S. Macdougall, Rebecca L. Mcculley, Joslin L. Moore, John W. Morgan, Akira S. Mori, Pablo L. Peri, Edwin T. Pos, Sally A. Power, Jodi N. Price, Peter B. Reich, Anita C. Risch, Christiane Roscher, Mahesh Sankaran, Martin Schütz, Melinda Smith, Carly Stevens, Pedro M. Tognetti, Risto Virtanen, Glenda M. Wardle, Peter A. Wilfahrt, Shaopeng Wang

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Eutrophication is a widespread environmental change that usually reduces the stabilizing effect of plant diversity on productivity in local communities. Whether this effect is scale dependent remains to be elucidated. Here, we determine the relationship between plant diversity and temporal stability of productivity for 243 plant communities from 42 grasslands across the globe and quantify the effect of chronic fertilization on these relationships. Unfertilized local communities with more plant species exhibit greater asynchronous dynamics among species in response to natural environmental fluctuations, resulting in greater local stability (alpha stability). Moreover, neighborhood communities that have greater spatial variation in plant species …

General Destabilizing Effects Of Eutrophication On Grassland Productivity At Multiple Spatial Scales, Yann Hautier, Pengfei Zhang, Michel Loreau, Kevin R. Wilcox, Eric W. Seabloom, Elizabeth T. Borer, Jarrett E. K. Byrnes, Sally E. Koerner, Kimberly J. Komatsu, Jonathan S. Lefcheck, Andy Hector, Peter B. Adler, Juan Alberti, Carlos A. Arnillas, Jonathan D. Bakker, Et Al.

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Eutrophication is a widespread environmental change that usually reduces the stabilizing effect of plant diversity on productivity in local communities. Whether this effect is scale dependent remains to be elucidated. Here, we determine the relationship between plant diversity and temporal stability of productivity for 243 plant communities from 42 grasslands across the globe and quantify the effect of chronic fertilization on these relationships. Unfertilized local communities with more plant species exhibit greater asynchronous dynamics among species in response to natural environmental fluctuations, resulting in greater local stability (alpha stability). Moreover, neighborhood communities that have greater spatial variation in plant species …

Large-Diameter Trees Dominate Snag And Surface Biomass Following Reintroduced Fire, James A. Lutz, Soren Struckman, Tucker J. Furniss, C. Alina Cansler, Sara J. Germain, Larissa L. Yocom Kent, Darren Mcavoy, Crystal A. Kolden, Alistair M. S. Smith, Mark E. Swanson, Andrew J. Larson

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

The reintroduction of fire to landscapes where it was once common is considered a priority to restore historical forest dynamics, including reducing tree density and decreasing levels of woody biomass on the forest floor. However, reintroducing fire causes tree mortality that can have unintended ecological outcomes related to woody biomass, with potential impacts to fuel accumulation, carbon sequestration, subsequent fire severity, and forest management. In this study, we examine the interplay between fire and carbon dynamics by asking how reintroduced fire impacts fuel accumulation, carbon sequestration, and subsequent fire severity potential. Beginning pre-fire, and continuing 6 years post-fire, we tracked …

Investigating The Dynamics Of Elk Population Size And Body Mass In A Seasonal Environment Using A Mechanistic Integral Projection Model, Shelly Lachish, Ellen E. Brandell, Meggan E. Craft, Andrew P. Dobson, Peter J. Hudson, Daniel R. Macnulty, Tim Coulson

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Environmentally mediated changes in body size often underlie population responses to environmental change, yet this is not a universal phenomenon. Understanding when phenotypic change underlies population responses to environmental change is important for obtaining insights and robust predictions of population dynamics in a changing world. We develop a dynamic integral projection model that mechanistically links environmental conditions to demographic rates and phenotypic traits (body size) via changes in resource availability and individual energetics. We apply the model to the northern Yellowstone elk population and explore population responses to changing patterns of seasonality, incorporating the interdependence of growth, demography, and density-dependent …

Network Structure Of Vertebrate Scavenger Assemblages At The Global Scale: Drivers And Ecosystem Functioning Implications, Esther Sebastián-González, Zebensui Morales-Reyes, Francisco Botella, Lara Naves-Alegre, Juan M. Pérez-García, Patricia Mateo-Tomás, Pedro P. Olea, Marcos Moleón, Jomar M. Barbosa, Fernando Hiraldo, Eneko Arrondo, José A. Donázar, Ainara Cortés‐Avizanda, Nuria Selva, Sergio A. Lambertucci, Aishwarya Bhattacharjee, Alexis L. Brewer, Erin F. Abernethy, Kelsey L. Turner, James C. Beasley, Travis L. Devault, Hannah C. Gerke, Olin E. Rhodes Jr., Andrés Ordiz, Camilla Wikenros, Barbara Zimmermann, Petter Wabakken, Christopher C. Wilmers, Justine A. Smith, Corinne J. Kendall, Darcy Ogada, Ethan Frehner, Maximilian L. Allen, Heiko U. Wittmer, James R. A. Butler, Johan T. Du Toit, Et Al.

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

The organization of ecological assemblages has important implications for ecosystem functioning, but little is known about how scavenger communities organize at the global scale. Here, we test four hypotheses on the factors affecting the network structure of terrestrial vertebrate scavenger assemblages and its implications on ecosystem functioning. We expect scavenger assemblages to be more nested (i.e. structured): 1) in species‐rich and productive regions, as nestedness has been linked to high competition for carrion resources, and 2) regions with low human impact, because the most efficient carrion consumers that promote nestedness are large vertebrate scavengers, which are especially sensitive to human …

Predictors Of Puma Occupancy Indicate Prey Vulnerability Is More Important Than Prey Availability In A Highly Fragmented Landscape, Courtney A. C. Coon, Peter J. Mahoney, Emilie Edelblutte, Zara Mcdonald, David C. Stoner

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Habitat fragmentation represents the single greatest conservation challenge of the 21st century. This problem is particularly acute for large, obligate carnivores like pumas Puma concolor which have persisted in North and South America in the face of habitat fragmentation and other anthropogenic disturbances. Shrinking habitat and reduced connectivity mean that mapping habitat is increasingly important for species conservation in multiple-use landscapes. Previous work suggests that pumas occupy habitats where sufficient stalking cover and preferred prey are present, yet the intersection of these factors has rarely been assessed. Here we used data from 68 299 camera trap nights collected from 181 …

The First Record Of Raccoon Dog (Nyctereutes Procyonoides) In Turkey, Morteza Naderi, Emrah Çoban, Josip Kusak, Mübeccel Çisel Kemahli Aytekin, Mark William Chynoweth, İsmail Kayahan Ağirkaya, Neslihan Güven, Ayşegül Çoban, Çağan Hakkı Şekercioğlu

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

The raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) was recorded for the first time in Turkey on May 10, 2019, and June 5, 2019, in the same location after 4668 nights of camera trapping in the forests of the Sarıkamış region and Allahuekber Mountains in eastern Turkey. It was recorded in a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) forest at 2340 m above sea level with extensive snow cover. Given that the nearest known population is in the forests of Georgia approximately 105 km away, there may already be a viable population in Turkey. As an omnivorous species with a high …

Anthropogenic Disturbance And Population Viability Of Woodland Caribou In Ontario, John M. Fryxell, Tal Avgar, Boyan Liu, James A. Baker, Arthur R. Rodgers, Jennifer Shuter, Ian D. Thompson, Douglas E. B. Reid, Andrew M. Kittle, Anna Mosser, Steven G. Newmaster, Tom D. Nudds, Garrett M. Street, Glen S. Brown, Brent Patterson

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

One of the most challenging tasks in wildlife conservation and management is to clarify how spatial variation in land cover due to anthropogenic disturbance influences wildlife demography and long‐term viability. To evaluate this, we compared rates of survival and population growth by woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) from 2 study sites in northern Ontario, Canada that differed in the degree of anthropogenic disturbance because of commercial logging and road development, resulting in differences in predation risk due to gray wolves (Canis lupus). We used an individual‐based model for population viability analysis (PVA) that incorporated adaptive patterns …