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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Population And Spatial Dynamics Of Resident Canada Geese In Southeastern Nebraska, Scott R. Groepper, P. Joseph Gabig, Mark P. Vrtiska, Jason M. Gilsdorf, Scott E. Hygnstrom, Larkin A. Powell Jan 2008

Population And Spatial Dynamics Of Resident Canada Geese In Southeastern Nebraska, Scott R. Groepper, P. Joseph Gabig, Mark P. Vrtiska, Jason M. Gilsdorf, Scott E. Hygnstrom, Larkin A. Powell

Human–Wildlife Interactions

In response to increasing populations, damage complaints, and a desire to understand population and spatial dynamics, we studied population size, survival rates, home ranges, movements, and site fidelity of female resident Canada geese (Branta canadensis) at 18 study sites within 23 km of Lincoln, Nebraska, during 1991–1994. Based on mean flock size (&#;x = 93) and number of collared geese in flocks (x&#; = 13), the estimated population of resident Canada geese was nearly 4,000. Estimated monthly survival for female Canada geese was 0.94, mean home range was 25 km2, and mean maximum distance moved between …


Misconceptions Hamper Protection Of Bears, Bruce D. Leopold Jan 2008

Misconceptions Hamper Protection Of Bears, Bruce D. Leopold

Human–Wildlife Interactions

When Dr. Conover notified me of the special topic for this issue of Human–Wildlife Conflicts, I was excited. Dr. Conover has a talent for selecting relevant topics that reflect pressing issues in our field! The last issue of HWC focused on deer–human conflicts, a topic that is very important to Mississippi and the eastern United States.


Impacts Of The Black Bear Supplemental Feeding Program On Ecology In Western Washington, Georg J. Ziegltrum Jan 2008

Impacts Of The Black Bear Supplemental Feeding Program On Ecology In Western Washington, Georg J. Ziegltrum

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Black bears (Ursus americanus) are opportunistic omnivores (Simpson 1945) that feed on grasses, grubs, insects, berries, human garbage, and they scavenge from animal carcasses (Cotton 2008, Thiemann et al. 2008). During the spring, they also girdle trees to feed on the newly forming phloem (Poelker and Hartwell 1973, Noble and Meslow 1998, Partridge et al. 2001). Extensive black bear damage to conifers coincided with the beginning of intensive forest management on industrial and smaller private lands in western Washington during the early 1940s; high-yield tree plantations (i.e., tree farms) required protection to reduce tree girdling by black bears. …


Keeping Up With All Those Deer, Bruce D. Leopold Jan 2008

Keeping Up With All Those Deer, Bruce D. Leopold

Human–Wildlife Interactions

This issue of Human–Wildlife Conflicts deals with an important topic: deer–human conflicts. Wildlife biologists face a dilemma over managing deer populations. On the one hand, deer are the foundation of our state agencies concerning hunting and license revenues. On the other hand, however, deer populations in many states have increased to the point that hunting is not serving as the regulatory tool that it has been in the past. Changes in habitat, urban sprawl, and hunting pressure have contributed to large populations of deer. Excessive deer populations have serious ramifications, including impacts on agriculture, private landowners, and, most tragically, on …


Safe Driving Suggestions For Deer Country, Michael R. Conover Jan 2008

Safe Driving Suggestions For Deer Country, Michael R. Conover

Human–Wildlife Interactions

This issue of Human–Wildlife Conflicts is dedicated to the topic of deer–vehicle collisions (DVCs). Within these pages, you will find numerous peer-reviewed articles and columns that provide valuable information about where, when, and why DVCs occur (Bissonette et al. 2008), their economic impact (Bissonette and Kasser 2008), their relationship to deer densities, and methods to reduce their frequency (Mastro et al. 2008). While we can never totally prevent DVCs from occurring, the information contained herein can help reduce their frequency (Curtis et al. 2008, DeNicola and Williams 2008, Miller et al. 2008, Rutberg and Naugle 2008).


Sharpshooting Suburban White-Tailed Deer Reduces Deer–Vehicle Collisions, Anthony J. Denicola, Scott C. Williams Jan 2008

Sharpshooting Suburban White-Tailed Deer Reduces Deer–Vehicle Collisions, Anthony J. Denicola, Scott C. Williams

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Too many deer–vehicle collisions (DVCs) are one of the primary reasons local governments implement lethal deer management programs. However, there are limited data to demonstrate that a reduction in deer (Odocoileus spp.) densities will result in a decline in DVCs. We conducted sharpshooting programs in 3 suburban communities to reduce deer numbers and to address rising DVCs. Annual or periodic population estimates were conducted using both helicopter snow counts and aerial infrared counts to assess population trends. Management efforts were conducted from 3 to 7 years. Local deer herds were reduced by 54%, 72%, and 76%, with resulting reductions …


Gnrh Immunocontraception Of Male And Female White-Tailed Deer Fawns, Lowell A. Miller, James P. Gionfriddo, Jack C. Rhyan, Kathleen A. Fagerstone, Donald C. Wagner, Gary J. Killian Jan 2008

Gnrh Immunocontraception Of Male And Female White-Tailed Deer Fawns, Lowell A. Miller, James P. Gionfriddo, Jack C. Rhyan, Kathleen A. Fagerstone, Donald C. Wagner, Gary J. Killian

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Immunocontraceptive vaccines based on gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) have been tested in adult white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), but their effects on fawns are unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine if early immunization against GnRH would induce a long-lasting immune response in fawns, and if it would delay or prevent sexual development. We gave primary and subsequent booster injections of a KLH-GnRH/Freund’s vaccine to 6 male and 6 female fawns. This vaccine contained the same active ingredients as GonaCon™ vaccine, but it contained Freund’s adjuvant instead of AdjuVac™ adjuvant. Two 450-μg injections were given 1 month apart …


Book Review: Urban Wildlife Management, Jennifer Lynch Jan 2008

Book Review: Urban Wildlife Management, Jennifer Lynch

Human–Wildlife Interactions

The ever-growing field of human–wildlife conflicts has lacked a comprehensive textbook that addresses wildlife management in the urban landscape. Professors teaching urban wildlife classes have drawn on peer-reviewed and popular articles to support the subject matter. Enter wildlife professors Clark Adams, Sara Ash, and Kieran Lindsey. Together, they have brought to us the first comprehensive book on urban wildlife management, titled (you guessed it) Urban Wildlife Management.


Evaluation Of An Oral Vaccination Program To Control Raccoon Rabies In A Suburbanized Landscape, Jason R. Boulanger, Laura L. Bigler, Paul D. Curtis, Donald H. Lein, Arthur J. Lembo Jr. Jan 2008

Evaluation Of An Oral Vaccination Program To Control Raccoon Rabies In A Suburbanized Landscape, Jason R. Boulanger, Laura L. Bigler, Paul D. Curtis, Donald H. Lein, Arthur J. Lembo Jr.

Human–Wildlife Interactions

We evaluated the efficacy of an oral rabies vaccination (ORV) program conducted in Erie County, New York, from July through September, 2002–2005. Ingress of the raccoon (Procyon lotor) rabies variant first occurred along the southern border of Erie County, New York, during 1992 and began to spread northward at a velocity of 31 km/year. Fixed-wing aircraft dropped ORV baits in rural landscapes; helicopters, hand baiting, and bait stations distributed baits in suburban landscapes (&#;x bait densities ranged 59–118 baits/km2). Our study objectives were to quantify rabies case densities, evaluate efficacy of intervention efforts, and determine biological, …


In The News, Joe N. Caudell Jan 2008

In The News, Joe N. Caudell

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Marc Johnson, a jogger in Kenai, Alaska, survived a bear attack after he disturbed a brown bear sow and her cubs, the Anchorage Daily News reported in April 2008. Johnson tried to outrun the bear but was overtaken by the animal, which knocked him down and bit his back. After the attack, the victim managed to get up and run home.


Modeling Wildlife Damage To Crops In Northern Indiana, Mónica I. Retamosa, Lee A. Humberg, James C. Beasley, Olin E. Rhodes Jr. Jan 2008

Modeling Wildlife Damage To Crops In Northern Indiana, Mónica I. Retamosa, Lee A. Humberg, James C. Beasley, Olin E. Rhodes Jr.

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Comprehensive information on crop damage by wildlife species is critical if effective strategies for controlling wildlife damage are to be formulated. Discriminating how landscape composition and configuration attributes influence crop damage is important for implementing landscape management techniques to resolve human–wildlife conflicts. We analyzed crop damage data from 100 corn fields and 60 soybean fields located in the Upper Wabash River Basin of northern Indiana during 2003 and 2004. We used negative binomial regression to model the rate of damage to corn and soybean crops in response to local and landscape variables. Rate of crop damage was best predicted by …


Standardizing The Data On Wildlife–Vehicle Collisions, Johan T. Du Toit Jan 2008

Standardizing The Data On Wildlife–Vehicle Collisions, Johan T. Du Toit

Human–Wildlife Interactions

There are few more dramatic manifestations of human– wildlife conflict than squealing brakes, a sickening crunch, flying gravel, and then silence except for the weakly spasmodic scrabbling of a semipulverized deer as it lies dying on the side of a highway. The scientific analysis of wildlife–vehicle collisions is an applied science of increasing importance throughout the industrialized world, but it is yet woefully deficient in theoretical underpinnings and standardized methodology. The overarching discipline of road ecology has only recently gained formal recognition through the publication of the first definitive book on this topic by Forman et al. (2003). And until …


Factors Affecting Road Mortality Of Whitetailed Deer In Eastern South Dakota, Troy W. Grovenburg, Jonathan A. Jenks, Robert W. Klaver, Kevin L. Monteith, Dwight H. Galster, Ron J. Shauer, Wilbert W. Morlock, Joshua A. Delger Jan 2008

Factors Affecting Road Mortality Of Whitetailed Deer In Eastern South Dakota, Troy W. Grovenburg, Jonathan A. Jenks, Robert W. Klaver, Kevin L. Monteith, Dwight H. Galster, Ron J. Shauer, Wilbert W. Morlock, Joshua A. Delger

Human–Wildlife Interactions

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) mortalities (n = 4,433) caused by collisions with automobiles during 2003 were modeled in 35 counties in eastern South Dakota. Seventeen independent variables and 5 independent variable interactions were evaluated to explain deer mortalities.


Deer–Vehicle Collision Statistics And Mitigation Information: Online Sources, Terry A. Messmer, Destiny R. Messmer Jan 2008

Deer–Vehicle Collision Statistics And Mitigation Information: Online Sources, Terry A. Messmer, Destiny R. Messmer

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Although good data are lacking, published estimates suggest that >1.5 million deer– vehicle collisions (DVCs) occur annually in the United States. The estimated losses exceed 1 billion dollars. In some states, DVCs are a major cause of reportable accidents. Federal, state, and private partners have cooperated in monitoring trends in DVCs and implementing mitigation measures. Most of this information about such measures is readily available via the Internet. The purpose of this paper is to provide the reader with a broad overview of and a guide to the information currently available online to mitigate DVCs.


Factors Affecting Autumn Deer–Vehicle Collisions In A Rural Virginia County, William J. Mcshea, Chad M. Stewart, Laura J. Kearns, Stefano Liccioli, David Kocka Jan 2008

Factors Affecting Autumn Deer–Vehicle Collisions In A Rural Virginia County, William J. Mcshea, Chad M. Stewart, Laura J. Kearns, Stefano Liccioli, David Kocka

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Vehicular collisions with white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are a safety and economic hazard to motorists. Many efforts to reduce deer–vehicle collisions (DVCs) have proven unsuccessful, but deer reduction has been a primary management tool in several states. The Virginia Department of Transportation geo-located all known DVCs in Clarke County, Virginia, from August through December 2005 (n = 246) and 2006 (n = 259). We estimated harvest intensity, deer population density, amount of forest and housing development, presence of row crops, and traffic volume and speed for 228 road segments (each 500 m in length) within the county to …


Hunting Helps Maintain Deer As A Valued Public Resource, Robert Southwick Jan 2008

Hunting Helps Maintain Deer As A Valued Public Resource, Robert Southwick

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Deer are a precious natural resource. They spellbind us with their grace. Their freedom to roam wild without boundaries reaches into our soul. But deer can spring without warning into the paths of oncoming vehicles, causing accidents that result in >1 billion dollars in damages annually. They extend their grazing into suburban yards, garden nurseries, orchards, and farms. They harbor the ticks that transmit pathogens that cause illnesses such as Lyme disease. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 23,763 cases of Lyme disease during 2002. Deer will even overeat their own food supply, causing them to face …


Help Me, I Need To Know, Roger D. Applegate Jan 2008

Help Me, I Need To Know, Roger D. Applegate

Human–Wildlife Interactions

I work in an urban area. Well, my job really is not in urban wildlife management, but my job office is in an urban area. Because part of my work involves being a wildlife disease specialist, many calls from the public get transferred to me.


Relationship Between Raccoon Abundance And Crop Damage, James C. Beasley, Olin E. Rhodes Jr. Jan 2008

Relationship Between Raccoon Abundance And Crop Damage, James C. Beasley, Olin E. Rhodes Jr.

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Wildlife damage to crops is a widespread concern among agricultural producers and wildlife professionals. In the United States, raccoon (Procyon lotor) damage to field corn (Zea maize) has become a serious concern, as raccoon depredation to corn has increased significantly in recent years. However, little information is available to suggest the underlying factors responsible for recent increases in raccoon depredation on agricultural crops because there is a limited understanding of the ecological factors influencing wildlife damage to crops at local scales. During 2004, we initiated a study to elucidate the ecological factors influencing depredation to field …


Carnivores, Urban Landscapes, And Longitudinal Studies: A Case History Of Black Bears, Jon P. Beckmann, Cael W. Lackey Jan 2008

Carnivores, Urban Landscapes, And Longitudinal Studies: A Case History Of Black Bears, Jon P. Beckmann, Cael W. Lackey

Human–Wildlife Interactions

As urban landscapes expand across the globe, it becomes imperative to understand how these landscapes affect large carnivore populations. We examined the effects of human-altered landscapes on age-specific fecundity and life history parameters for female black bears (Ursus americanus) in urban and wildland regions in the northern Sierra Nevada Mountains of Nevada, including the Lake Tahoe Basin. We followed 12 marked female bears in an urban environment and 10 females in wildland habitats from 1997–2006. Our results show that female bears in urban areas have higher age-specific fecundity rates than did wildland female bears. Despite this difference, female …


How People Should Respond When Encountering A Large Carnivore: Opinions Of Wildlife Professionals, Dylan E. Brown, Michael R. Conover Jan 2008

How People Should Respond When Encountering A Large Carnivore: Opinions Of Wildlife Professionals, Dylan E. Brown, Michael R. Conover

Human–Wildlife Interactions

We conducted telephone surveys of wildlife professionals who work with large carnivores to ask their opinions about how people should respond to avoid being injured when confronted by a black bear (Ursus americana), grizzly bear (Ursus arctos), mountain lion (Puma concolor), or gray wolf (Canis lupus). The respondents agreed that the most appropriate response was to try to increase the distance between a person and the carnivore. In the event of an attack by a black bear, mountain lion, or wolf, most respondents said to fight back. Opinion was divided over the …


Resolving Conflicts Between Humans And The Threatened Louisiana Black Bear, Walter Cotton Jan 2008

Resolving Conflicts Between Humans And The Threatened Louisiana Black Bear, Walter Cotton

Human–Wildlife Interactions

The Louisiana black bear (Ursus americanus luteolus) is one of 16 subspecies of American black bear. At the time of English settlement, this subspecies was abundant throughout Louisiana, the southern two-thirds of Mississippi, eastern Texas, and extreme southern Arkansas. By the 1950s, Louisiana black bears had been extirpated from most of their original range due to habitat destruction and fragmentation and over-harvest by hunters (Leigh and Chamberlain 2008). It is believed that only about 100 black bears remained; existing in isolated, extremely rural areas of eastern Louisiana. Bears became so scarce during the 1960s that the Louisiana Department …


Why Are So Many People Attacked By Predators?, Michael R. Conover Jan 2008

Why Are So Many People Attacked By Predators?, Michael R. Conover

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Predator attacks on humans have proliferated during the last few decades. This is especially true for attacks by large species of predators, including black bears, grizzly bears, polar bears, cougars, wolves, alligators, and sharks (Conover 2002). What is causing so many different predators to sink their teeth into people these days?


It’S A Bear Market For Research, Johan T. Du Toit Jan 2008

It’S A Bear Market For Research, Johan T. Du Toit

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Human–wildlife interactions are not a series of random events. They are characterized by patterns of causal factors, and the scientific study of those patterns enables management plans to be developed, conflicts reduced, and the net benefits of wildlife, thus, enhanced. Unfortunately, however, there are some wildlife species that get caught up in human‒wildlife conflicts that are particularly difficult to resolve, even though the causal factors are well-known. Such conflicts commonly occur with wildlife species that use the same main food types as humans. In North America and Europe, the problem is exemplified by brown and black bears (Ursus arctos …


Use Of A Population Viability Analysis To Evaluate Human-Induced Impacts And Mitigation For The Endangered Lower Keys Marsh Rabbit, David H. Lafever, Paige M. Schmidt, Neil D. Perry, Craig A. Faulhaber, Roel R. Lopez, Nova J. Silvy, Elizabeth A. Forys Jan 2008

Use Of A Population Viability Analysis To Evaluate Human-Induced Impacts And Mitigation For The Endangered Lower Keys Marsh Rabbit, David H. Lafever, Paige M. Schmidt, Neil D. Perry, Craig A. Faulhaber, Roel R. Lopez, Nova J. Silvy, Elizabeth A. Forys

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Rapid development and urbanization of the lower Florida Keys in the last 30 years has fragmented the habitat of the Lower Keys marsh rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris hefneri), hereafter called marsh rabbit, and threatened it with extinction. On the Naval Air Station–Key West (NAS), Boca Chica Key, marsh rabbits exist as a meta-population of discrete habitat patches in a matrix of wetlands and airfield facilities. Airfield safety regulations require NAS to maintain vegetation below a minimum height on runway peripheries (clear zones). We developed a spatially-explicit, stage-structured, stochastic matrix model using the programs RAMAS-Metapop and ArcGIS. Model parameters were …


Effects Of Aversive Conditioning On Behavior Of Nuisance Louisiana Black Bears, Jennifer Leigh, Michael J. Chamberlain Jan 2008

Effects Of Aversive Conditioning On Behavior Of Nuisance Louisiana Black Bears, Jennifer Leigh, Michael J. Chamberlain

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Complaints associated with nuisance activity by Louisiana black bears (Ursus americanus luteolus) in south Louisiana have steadily increased since 2000, demanding intervention by state and federal agencies. As a federally threatened species, Louisiana black bears that are a nuisance require nonlethal management, referred to as aversive conditioning. We used rubber buckshot and dogs to test the effectiveness of management techniques used by the state of Louisiana to deter nuisance bear activity. We captured 11 bears in residential and industrial areas where nuisance bear activity was reported. We fitted bears with radio-transmitting collars and released them within 2 km …


Mammalian Hazards At Small Airports In Indiana: Impact Of Perimeter Fencing, Travis L. Devault, Jacob E. Kubel, David J. Glista, Olin E. Rhodes Jr. Jan 2008

Mammalian Hazards At Small Airports In Indiana: Impact Of Perimeter Fencing, Travis L. Devault, Jacob E. Kubel, David J. Glista, Olin E. Rhodes Jr.

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Fences are used at many airports and small airfields to exclude wildlife from entering critical areas. However, not all fences exclude hazardous mammals reliably, and effective fences can be too expensive for small airports to purchase and maintain. In this study, we evaluated fencing at 10 small airports in Indiana and documented the presence and relative abundance of wildlife within airport boundaries using remote cameras and spotlight surveys. Only 4 airports were completely fenced, and four were Odocoileus virginianus) or coyotes (Canis latrans) at nine of the airports with remote cameras and during spotlight surveys. There were fewer …


Impacts Of The Cancellation Of The Spring Bear Hunt In Ontario, Canada, Raynald Harvey Lemelin Jan 2008

Impacts Of The Cancellation Of The Spring Bear Hunt In Ontario, Canada, Raynald Harvey Lemelin

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Approximately 10 million people and 100,000 black bears (Ursus americanus) live in Ontario, Canada. The highest concentration of black bears (0.4–0.6 bears/100 km2) is in northern Ontario (Bear Wise 2004). While this area is sparsely populated by humans, it is the site where human–bear conflicts are common for several reasons. These include people spending time in formerly inaccessible areas via forestry roads and off-road vehicle trails, changing recreational patterns, and a growing black bear population (Conover 2008, Madison 2008). Among residents of northern Ontario (hereafter referred to as northerners), no other wildlife management issue has dominated …


Yosemite National Park: The Continuous Evolution Of Human–Black Bear Conflict Management, Joseph S. Madison Jan 2008

Yosemite National Park: The Continuous Evolution Of Human–Black Bear Conflict Management, Joseph S. Madison

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Human–bear conflicts are all too common throughout much of the United States (Ziegltrum 2008) and the world (Lemelin 2008, Worthy and Foggin 2008). Typically, they are a result of the availability of human food and garbage to bears (Beckmann and Lackey 2008, Thiemann et al. 2008). As people continue to build homes farther into the wildland–urban interface, the level of conflicts with bears can be expected only to increase (Conover 2008). Despite the widespread range of human–bear conflict, there is no place with quite the same problem as the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, particularly in Yosemite National Park.


In Memory: Paul Eugene Bucklin, Kraig L. Glazier Jan 2008

In Memory: Paul Eugene Bucklin, Kraig L. Glazier

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Paul Eugene “Gene” Bucklin (1942–2008), a wildlife specialist with USDA/APHIS/Wildlife Services, was killed in a fatal car accident near his home in Chinook, Montana, on February 16, 2008. Born in Billings, Montana, he was raised on a sheep and cattle ranch in Redstone, Montana, where he learned to trap and hunt. Gene spent his life on the prairies of the “Highline,” the northern part of Montana that stretches from the Rocky Mountains of Glacier National Park to the North Dakota border. In 1979 he began a lifelong career with USDA/APHIS/ Wildlife Services in Chinook.


Trans Fatty Acids Provide Evidence Of Anthropogenic Feeding By Black Bears, Gregory W. Thiemann, Randal S. Stahl, Sharon Baruch-Mordo, Stewart W. Breck Jan 2008

Trans Fatty Acids Provide Evidence Of Anthropogenic Feeding By Black Bears, Gregory W. Thiemann, Randal S. Stahl, Sharon Baruch-Mordo, Stewart W. Breck

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Bears (Ursus spp.) that become conditioned to anthropogenic food sources pose a risk to human safety and generally need to be relocated, rehabilitated, or destroyed. Identifying food-conditioned bears may be difficult if the animal is not captured or killed while immediately engaged in the nuisance behavior. Fatty acid signature analysis has been used to examine the dietary habits of bears and other carnivores and is based on the predictable incorporation of ingested fatty acids into the consumer’s fat stores. Unusual fatty acids that are available in only a few food types may be particularly useful dietary markers. In this …