Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Range-Wide Migratory Connectivity Of Painted Buntings, Andrew J. Sharp

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Painted Bunting (Passerina cirus) is a small (~16g), short/medium-distance migratory songbird that is listed as a species of conservation concern by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Painted Buntings breed in two distinct populations, one eastern population and one interior population, separated by a 500 km gap that stretches from Mississippi to Georgia. I analyzed tracking data from 112 Painted Buntings from 11 different breeding sites to explore how individuals from different breeding sites differ in wintering location (chapter 2) and migratory timing (chapter 3). Additionally, I examined differences in migratory behavior between male and females in …

An Eulerian Perspective On Spring Migration In Mule Deer, Tatum Del Bosco

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Many herbivores travel between low-elevation winter ranges and high-elevation summer sites. These seasonal movements allow them to avoid deep snow cover, ensure access to favorable habitat, and maximize food intake throughout the year. During the spring season, plants at lower elevations green up earlier at lower elevations than at higher elevations. It has been shown that individual animals will track this vegetation growth during their spring migration, which allows them to maximize forage intake coming out of the nutrient scarce winter. This phenomena has previously been studied by monitoring individual movement trajectories, but it is unknown how this pattern scales …

Evaluation Of Molting Areas Of Great Basin Canada Geese, Paul D. Arneson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Environmental factors at Neponset and Woodruff Narrows reservoirs were evaluated to determine their effects on molting Canada geese. More geese utilized Woodruff Narrows. Geese apparently favored the larger expanse of open water and adequate food supply.

Most of the molting geese were from the Bear River drainage. Some geese came from scattered areas in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. After molting, the geese flew to migration staging areas in southeastern Idaho before migrating to wintering areas in southern California and Arizona.

Females outnumbered males by 6 percent. The mean annual mortality rate for adult geese was 42 percent. Recovery rates …