Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Spatial Ecology Of Mule Deer Migrations From Grand Teton National Park And The Teton Range, Justin K. Schwabedissen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem hosts several of the longest, fully intact ungulate migrations remaining in the continental United States. However, expanding development and an increasing human footprint continue to truncate migratory routes. While the endpoints are often a seasonal range on protected lands, these migration corridors frequently cross other jurisdictional boundaries, including large tracts of private or multiple-use lands, with varying levels of protection. Thus, it is critical resource managers understand the dynamics of migratory movements to define population-level corridors and prioritize appropriate conservation strategies. Mule deer in Wyoming have been documented traveling long distances between summer and winter ranges; …

Reconstructing Bison And Mammoth Migration During The Late Pleistocene And Early Holocene Of Central Texas Using Strontium Isotopes, Joshua John Porter

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

During the Late Pleistocene (LP; past 130,000 years), over two-thirds of large mammal (>45kg) species went extinct globally. While the role of humans is hotly debated, the effect of these extinctions is growing clearer; the extinctions resulted in widespread and lasting faunal community reorganization. However, the impact of these extinctions on dietary and migratory behavior within faunal communities is unknown. Our study examines the impact of the megafaunal extinctions on the dietary and migratory behavior of surviving Bison individuals in Texas using carbon, oxygen, and strontium isotopes. Strontium isotopes are incorporated into mammalian enamel during their tooth development and …

Population And Migratory Ecology Of Canada Warblers (Cardellina Canadensis) In The Central Appalachian Mountains, West Virginia, Usa, Stephanie H. Augustine

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Nearctic-Neotropical migrant birds experience a wide range of environmental conditions throughout their annual cycle; thus, it is particularly challenging to evaluate the spatial factors that may influence population growth. The Canada Warbler (Cardellina canadensis) faces substantial range-wide population declines, but little study has been conducted regarding elements occurring across the entire year that drive demographic rates. The aims of this research are (1) determine the relationship between Canada Warbler population demographic rates and environmental conditions along an elevation gradient in the central Appalachian Mountains and (2) ascertain the nonbreeding season location and migratory routes used by the central …

Comparing Fence Modeling And Mapping Approaches To Support Wildlife Management And Research In Southwest Montana, Simon Albert Buzzard

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Fences pose significant challenges to wildlife movement, but their effects are difficult to quantify because fence location and fence type data are lacking on a global scale. We developed a fence location and density model in southwest Montana, USA to provide data to researchers and managers, and test whether previous models could be applied to a new region and retain suitable levels of statistical accuracy. Our model used local expert opinion to inform how road, land cover, and ownership spatial layers interacted to predict fence locations. We validated the model against fence data collected on random 3.2 km road transects …

Seasonal Offshore/Inshore Migration Of Round Gobies, Erik Carlson

Theses and Dissertations

Since the invasion of round gobies (Neogobius melanostomus) in Lake Michigan, they have become integrated into both the nearshore and offshore food webs. Round gobies can be found in shallower water (<20 m) during the summer, but they disappear from these depths in early fall. They have been collected, occasionally, offshore in depths greater than 70 m during fall and early spring. These observations and other anecdotal evidence indicate that round goby migrate offshore during the fall and return in the spring. To study this, a large remotely operated vehicle (ROV) was used to conduct video transects offshore at various depths. The offshore sampling showed that round gobies migrated away from nearshore habitat in early October and were almost exclusively found deeper than 20 m by November. The round gobies remained offshore (>30 m) until mid-May, when they began the return to nearshore habitat. The cues to start the offshore and return migrations were not the focus of this project, but the fall offshore migrations coincided with decreasing temperatures nearshore in the fall, and in spring, the offshore movement of the thermal bar. The offshore migration in fall provide an increase in forage opportunity for deep, cold-water predators such as …

Nesting Success Of Dickcissel (Spiza Americana) And Non-Breeding Grassland Bird Use Of Northwest Arkansas’ Remnant And Restored Tallgrass Prairies, Alyssa L. Derubeis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Dwindling populations of North American grassland birds are linked to habitat loss. Tallgrass prairie only covers 3% of its pre-settlement-era range. Small-scale restoration projects attempt to increase acreage for prairie avifauna, and while some breeding grassland species are present at these sites, nesting success and non-breeding use are still largely unknown. Both life history aspects are required for effective grassland bird conservation. My first objective was to access nest success of the Dickcissel (Spiza americana) at two remnant and two restored tallgrass prairies in Northwest Arkansas. From May-August 2017 and 2018, I found 114 nests that I monitored to determine …

Constructing A Data-Based Mortality Profile For Avian Tower Kills At Telecommunication Towers In Illinois, Rachel Dipietro

Theses and Dissertations

During spring and fall seasons, Neotropical migratory passerines travel nocturnally across the Western Hemisphere between their wintering and breeding grounds, often encountering man-made threats. One hazard that has gained considerable publicity in recent decades is the communication tower. While there have been many tower kill studies recorded, there has been no attempt at predicting the risk of towers based on their different attributes (e.g., height, type of light, landscape placement) spatially on a regional scale. The objective of this study was to create seasonal mortality profile maps in GIS for Illinois, based on tower attributes combined with key factors such …

Modelling Bird Migration With Motus Data And Bayesian State-Space Models, Justin Baldwin

Masters Theses

Bird migration is a poorly-known yet important phenomenon, as understanding movement patterns of birds can inform conservation strategies and public health policy for animal-borne diseases. Recent advances in wildlife tracking technology, in particular the Motus system, have allowed researchers to track even small flying birds and insects with radio transmitters that weigh fractions of a gram. This system relies on a community-based distributed sensor network that detects tagged animals as they move through the detection nodes on journeys that range from small local movements to intercontinental migrations. The quantity of data generated by the Motus system is unprecedented, is on …

Evidence Of Intermittent Residency In The Northern Fur Seal (Callorhinus Ursinus)., Megan Foley

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

This study found evidence of intermittent, multi-year residency periods in northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) using stable isotope ratios in vibrissae and canine teeth. Northern fur seals migrate from the Bering Sea during summer months to lower latitudes and slightly warmer waters of the northeastern Pacific Ocean and California Current in the winter. To determine the length of time spent away from the Bering Sea, growth rate was estimated using the covarying oscillations δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N, estimated to be 0.09 mm/day. The δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N in vibrissae from 30 male …

An Analysis Of Juvenile Chinook Salmon Outmigration Speed And Survival In Response To Habitat Features: Sacramento River From Knights Landing To Sacramento, California, Natalie N. Mcnair

Master's Theses

Outmigration is an important life stage for Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) survival in the Sacramento River, and yet our understanding of their behavior and needs during this time is limited. To gain a better understanding of their survival and movement rates during outmigration, late fall run Chinook salmon smolts were tracked using acoustic telemetry techniques. Habitat features were measured and quantified throughout the study area to evaluate how Chinook salmon respond to key levee features including shade, instream woody material, and aquatic vegetation. The overall average movement speed through the entire study area was 0.77 m/s with an …

Using Migration Monitoring Data To Assess Bird Population Status And Behavior In A Changing Environment, Evan M. Adams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Across the world, researchers use migration banding stations to document bird migration and study the phenomenon. In this dissertation, I focus on ways of analyzing bird migration banding data and the utility migrating birds as indicators of ecosystem health that make these monitoring efforts more useful to answering ecological questions and managing migratory species. In Chapter 1, we provide background on hierarchical modeling and an overview of our findings. In Chapter 2, we developed and validated new methods to estimate daily changes in migratory population size while controlling for changes in detectability due to environmental conditions. In Chapter 3, this …

Robinson Point, Belize: An Important Foraging Ground For Endangered Sea Turtles In The Western Caribbean Sea, Linda Searle

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Anecdotal reports, flipper tag returns, satellite migration paths, and above-water and net surveys have identified an important foraging area for sea turtles in the Robinson Point area, 12 kilometers southwest of Belize City. Visual observations confirmed that sea turtles were actively foraging at Robinson Point. Sixteen 30 minute visual observations from stationary and drifting boats made 132 sea turtle sightings from October 2007 through January 2008, with a maximum of 40 sightings made in one survey. In-water capture methodology tested the traditional turtle net, which captured 14 turtles in 63 sets for a success rate of only 22%. There were …

Factors Affecting The Harvest Vulnerability Of Trumpeter Swans, Heidi L. Tangermann

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Two species of swan are regularly found in Utah, tundra swans (Cygnus columbianus) and trumpeter swans (Cygnus buccinator). Tundra swans migrate through Utah. During the fall migration period they are hunted in the state under guidelines established by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Trumpeter swans are occasional visitors to Utah during the same migration period. Because trumpeter swans are difficult to distinguish from tundra swans in flight, they 11 are at risk of being harvested during the swan hunt. In my thesis, I examine the factors that may influence trumpeter swan vulnerability to …

An Examination Of The Variability Of Migratory Timing Statistics Estimated From Catch And Effort Observations, Arthur J. Butt

OES Theses and Dissertations

The estimate of the mean arrival time based on catch or CPUE of fishes migrating into a fixed harvest area is a function of the number of days fished. Simulation studies using chinook salmon catch and effort data from the Yukon River delta, Alaska indicate that fishing effort concentrated at the tails of the migratory distribution which would tend to erroneously weigh the estimated mean arrival time in the direction of the sample, away from the true mean, is only a significant problem when the number of days open to fishing is small, covering less than 12% of the total …

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 …