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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 Jan 2023

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

United States Department of Agriculture 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 Jan 2023

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

United States Department of Agriculture 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 …


Livestock Depredation By Leopards, Associated Economic Losses, And Financial Compensation To Communities In Chhota Udepur District Of Central Gujarat, India, Shalu Mesaria, Pratik Desai, Shruti Patel, Dhaval Gadhavi, Anthony J. Giordano, Nishith Dharaiya Jan 2023

Livestock Depredation By Leopards, Associated Economic Losses, And Financial Compensation To Communities In Chhota Udepur District Of Central Gujarat, India, Shalu Mesaria, Pratik Desai, Shruti Patel, Dhaval Gadhavi, Anthony J. Giordano, Nishith Dharaiya

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Livestock depredation by large carnivores has been documented across the entire Indian subcontinent. The failure of managers to mitigate livestock losses in landscapes dependent on subsistence agriculture poses a threat to the conservation of carnivores. For much of Gujarat, a western Indian state characterized by extensive semi-arid habitats, the Indian leopard (Panthera pardus fusca) is considered an apex predator. Increasing regional leopard populations in response to protection efforts has led to more attacks on humans, along with an increase in rates of livestock depredation. In many cases, the regional forest department financially compensates livestock owners for depredation caused …


An Automatic System To Evaluate Bait Station Visitation By Brown Treesnakes And Mongooses, Robert T. Sugihara, William C. Pitt, Are R. Berentsen, Francis L. Benevides Jr. Jan 2023

An Automatic System To Evaluate Bait Station Visitation By Brown Treesnakes And Mongooses, Robert T. Sugihara, William C. Pitt, Are R. Berentsen, Francis L. Benevides Jr.

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Understanding the temporal, spatial, and behavioral patterns of the free-ranging target species in response to candidate baits and baiting strategies is important to ensure control success. This information can also assist in the development and deployment of feeding stations and can exclude non-target species while constituting effective bait delivery and control strategies for certain invasive animals, especially at environmentally sensitive sites. We used passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags in conjunction with very-high frequency radio-telemetry to remotely record bait station visitations and evaluate bait attractiveness in separate field research studies of brown treesnakes (Boiga irregularis) on Andersen Air Force …


Variation In Carapace Damage Within And Among Loggerhead Musk Turtle (Sternotherus Minor) Populations In Florida Spring-Fed Ecosystems, Joseph J. Pignatelli Iii, Katrina Campbell, Brian P. Butterfield, Gerald R. Johnston, Joseph C. Mitchell, Grover J. Brown, J. Brian Hauge, Andrew D. Walde, Eric C. Munscher Jan 2023

Variation In Carapace Damage Within And Among Loggerhead Musk Turtle (Sternotherus Minor) Populations In Florida Spring-Fed Ecosystems, Joseph J. Pignatelli Iii, Katrina Campbell, Brian P. Butterfield, Gerald R. Johnston, Joseph C. Mitchell, Grover J. Brown, J. Brian Hauge, Andrew D. Walde, Eric C. Munscher

Research, Publications & Creative Work

Damage to a turtle’s shell can provide evidence of past events such as vehicle collisions, disease, predator encounters, or even a behavioural interaction between members of the same species. Documenting shell damage as part of long-term mark and recapture studies enables researchers to determine population trends, intraspecific interactions and identify potential issues within turtle populations. This paper analyses shell damage in populations of the Loggerhead Musk Turtle (Sternotherus minor) (Agassiz, 1857). We examined carapace shell damage frequency and severity in 2701 individual S. minor (1468 males and 1233 females) captured in spring-fed habitats in one state preserve and five state …


Carnivore And Ungulate Occurrence In A Fire-Prone Region, Sara J. Moriarty-Graves Jan 2023

Carnivore And Ungulate Occurrence In A Fire-Prone Region, Sara J. Moriarty-Graves

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Increasing fire size and severity in the western United States causes changes to ecosystems, species’ habitat use, and interspecific interactions. Wide-ranging carnivore and ungulate mammalian species and their interactions may be influenced by an increase in fire activity in northern California. Depending on the fire characteristics, ungulates may benefit from burned habitat due to an increase in forage availability, while carnivore species may be differentially impacted, but ultimately driven by bottom-up processes from a shift in prey availability. I used a three-step approach to estimate the single-species occupancy of four large mammal species: mountain lion (Puma concolor), coyote …


Phytoplankton Community Of Boalia Khal Tributary Of The Halda River, Chattogram, Bangladesh, Md. Shafiqul Islam, M.A. Azadi, Munira Nasiruddin Dec 2022

Phytoplankton Community Of Boalia Khal Tributary Of The Halda River, Chattogram, Bangladesh, Md. Shafiqul Islam, M.A. Azadi, Munira Nasiruddin

Journal of Bioresource Management

Boalia Khal is one of the important tributaries of the River Halda. The productivity of the Boalia Khal tributary of the Halda River mainly depends on the phytoplankton diversity. A study was conducted for two years period from January 2017 to December 2018 to identify the phytoplankton community of the Boalia Khal tributary. A total of 61 species of phytoplankton under 37 genera belonging to 8 classes were recorded. The dominant group of phytoplankton was 25 species of Diatoms (40.98 %) followed by 18 species of Green Algae (29.5 %), 9 species of Euglenophytes (14.75 %), 7 species of Blue …


Application Of Stable Isotopes To Study Movement Ecology And Diet Variation In A Migratory Songbird, Andrea Contina, Allison K. Pierce, Scott W. Yanco, Eli S. Bridge, Jeffrey F. Kelly, Michael B. Wunder Dec 2022

Application Of Stable Isotopes To Study Movement Ecology And Diet Variation In A Migratory Songbird, Andrea Contina, Allison K. Pierce, Scott W. Yanco, Eli S. Bridge, Jeffrey F. Kelly, Michael B. Wunder

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences Faculty Publications

Whether and how migratory organisms exhibit interindividual behavioral and/or physiological variation across movement strategies remains an open question. The Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) is a migratory songbird known for its intraspecies variation displayed in relation to morphology, song repertoires, and migration. Thus, studies focusing on juncos can reveal how migratory strategy may covary with other individual-scale factors and, therefore, identify the selective forces driving intraspecies variations throughout its distribution. We used Dark-eyed Junco hydrogen stable isotope feather values (δ²H) and implemented a Bayesian framework to infer the breeding and molting origin of migratory juncos captured on their winter grounds in …


Importance And Winter Ornithological Value Of Lake El-Golea (Ghardaïa, Algerian Sahara, Biad Radhia, Bounab Choayb, Guergueb El Yamine, Biad Mohamed Fetheddine, Houhamdi Moussa Sep 2022

Importance And Winter Ornithological Value Of Lake El-Golea (Ghardaïa, Algerian Sahara, Biad Radhia, Bounab Choayb, Guergueb El Yamine, Biad Mohamed Fetheddine, Houhamdi Moussa

Journal of Bioresource Management

This study is carried out on two winter period (2018-2019 and 2019-2020) in Lake El-Golea (Ghardaïa, northern Sahara of Algeria). Its objective is to determine the ornithological value of this lake and to in ferits importance in maintaining aquatic avifauna during the winter season. This inventory shows a diversity equivalent to forty-one species belonging to thirteen families and nine orders of which eighteen are protected by various Algerian and international laws. The most represented family is that of the Anatidae with twelve species while the family with the highest number is that of the Phenicopteridae represented only by one species, …


Intestinal Microbiota Analysis Of Broiler Chickens Under Necrotic Enteritis Challenge And Tributyrin Supplementation, Taylor Nicole Mckinney Aug 2022

Intestinal Microbiota Analysis Of Broiler Chickens Under Necrotic Enteritis Challenge And Tributyrin Supplementation, Taylor Nicole Mckinney

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Poultry is a staple protein source for most of the planet. Until recently, antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) were used to prevent illnesses in commercial chicken production. Currently, this is not possible due to regulations and consumer concern, but without such a preventative, diseases like necrotic enteritis (NE) have reemerged, posing a threat to bird health, and ultimately, our food source. Necrotic enteritis is a severe gastrointestinal disease caused by the gram-positive pathogen, Clostridium perfringens. Clinical features of this disease are diarrhea, intestinal lesions, and death, with a high transmission rate. In a subclinical form, growth performance is diminished and is …


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 Jul 2022

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

United States Department of Agriculture 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 …


A Review Of Current Methods In Avian Dietary Analysis And Their Integrated Application To Characterize The Trophic Niche Of Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia Motacilla)., Brandon Hoenig May 2022

A Review Of Current Methods In Avian Dietary Analysis And Their Integrated Application To Characterize The Trophic Niche Of Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia Motacilla)., Brandon Hoenig

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Characterizing a species’ dietary composition presents an avenue to understand many facets of its ecological niche and can provide essential information for the species’ long-term conservation. To date, the vast majority of diet studies have relied on direct identification of prey during foraging observations or from diet samples to characterize the dietary habits of birds. However, advancements in laboratory-based approaches have revolutionized the field of trophic ecology by allowing researchers to indirectly infer dietary habits with higher resolution across greater time scales. Here, I apply two of these laboratory-based techniques, namely DNA metabarcoding and stable isotope analysis, to characterize the …


Detection, Occupancy, Abundance, And Mercury Accumulation Of The Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys Temminckii) In Texas, David Rosenbaum May 2022

Detection, Occupancy, Abundance, And Mercury Accumulation Of The Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys Temminckii) In Texas, David Rosenbaum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Land use practices and physical alterations of ecosystems result in habitat loss and fragmentation, while chemical alterations, such as pollutant input, reduce habitat quality and health of exposed organisms. Here, I investigated the effects of watershed- and local-scale environmental variables on the occupancy, abundance, and mercury accumulation of a threatened aquatic species (Macrochelys temminckii, i.e., alligator snapping turtle) within the southwestern periphery of its distribution. Hierarchical modeling suggested the distribution of the species is more affected by watershed-scale land-cover than local habitat, and provided a baseline estimate of average species abundance across its range in eastern Texas. Abundance …


Individual Trophic Niche Specialization In American Beaver (Castor Canadensis), Jimmy Taylor, Robert Francis, Scott Rush, Bronson Strickland, Guiming Wang Apr 2022

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

United States Department of Agriculture 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 …


Ecological Studies Of Wolves On Isle Royale Annual Report 2021-2022, Sarah R. Hoy, Rolf O. Peterson, John A. Vucetich Apr 2022

Ecological Studies Of Wolves On Isle Royale Annual Report 2021-2022, Sarah R. Hoy, Rolf O. Peterson, John A. Vucetich

Ecological Studies of Wolves on Isle Royale

Annual Report 2021-2022


Sacred Scavengers: Vulture Conservation In Nepal, Hans Nedde Apr 2022

Sacred Scavengers: Vulture Conservation In Nepal, Hans Nedde

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In the 1990s, a veterinary drug used to treat pain and disease in cattle nearly brought the nine vulture species of Nepal to extinction. In a span of 15 years, over 97% of vultures in Nepal perished. For the past 20 years, governments, organizations, and communities have been working together to save these vital scavengers from vanishing. From the lowlands to the Himalayas, vultures have been interacting with the environment and humans for millennia. This study explores the role that vultures play both ecologically and culturally in Nepal. It investigates vultures as a crucial ecological influence and how human action …


Effects Of Temperature And Plant And Animal Diets On Metabolic Rate In The Juvenile Red Eared Slider (Trachemys Scripta Elegans), Taylor Macdonald, Sarah Bouchard Apr 2022

Effects Of Temperature And Plant And Animal Diets On Metabolic Rate In The Juvenile Red Eared Slider (Trachemys Scripta Elegans), Taylor Macdonald, Sarah Bouchard

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Specific dynamic action (SDA) is the energy expended during ingestion, digestion, absorption, and assimilation of a meal, and is influenced by meal (type, size, composition, and temperature) and environmental temperature. Understanding the effect of meal type and environmental temperature on SDA in turtles is important in describing how T. s. elegans may acclimate with changing environmental temperatures. In this study, we conducted feeding trials in which we fed juvenile T. s. elegans duckweed and mealworm diets at 25°C and 30°C. We measured the rate of oxygen consumption as a proxy for metabolic rate after feeding for four 30 minute consecutive …


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 Feb 2022

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

United States Department of Agriculture 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, …


The Effect Of Ontogenetic Diet Shifts On Sagittal Otolith Shape Of European Perch, Perca Fluviatilis (Actinopterygii: Percidae) From Lake Ladik, Turkey, Oğuz Çöl, Savaş Yilmaz Jan 2022

The Effect Of Ontogenetic Diet Shifts On Sagittal Otolith Shape Of European Perch, Perca Fluviatilis (Actinopterygii: Percidae) From Lake Ladik, Turkey, Oğuz Çöl, Savaş Yilmaz

Turkish Journal of Zoology

European perch undergoes several ontogenetic dietary shifts during its lifetime. The present study focused on the variability in otolith shape caused by ontogenetic dietary changes in this species. A total of 172 specimens (7.5 to 27.5 cm TL) were caught by local fishermen in Lake Ladik from April to November 2019. Shape indices (SIs) and elliptic Fourier coefficients (EFCs) were calculated for each otolith. To detect ontogenetic changes in otolith shape, SIs and EFCs were compared among the three defined size classes (I, II, and III). Size-related groups were distinguished by both SIs and EFCs. Otolith shape analysis was more …


Ecological Risk Assessment For The Western Rock Lobster Resource : Workshop Procedure And Outcomes, R Stoklosa Jan 2022

Ecological Risk Assessment For The Western Rock Lobster Resource : Workshop Procedure And Outcomes, R Stoklosa

Fisheries Occasional Publications

No abstract provided.


Kinorhynch Diversity In The Southern Gulf Of Mexico And A Description Of Dracoderes Chaac Sp. Nov., Stephen C. Landers, Kellan Hoffman, Nuria Sanchez, Martin Sorensen Jan 2022

Kinorhynch Diversity In The Southern Gulf Of Mexico And A Description Of Dracoderes Chaac Sp. Nov., Stephen C. Landers, Kellan Hoffman, Nuria Sanchez, Martin Sorensen

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Sediment collections from the southern Gulf of Mexico between the Texas—Mexico border and the Yucatán Peninsula have resulted in many new kinorhynch species distribution records and the finding and taxonomic description of a new species, Dracoderes chaac sp. nov. This study focused on the non—echinoderid members of the Phylum Kinorhyncha, many of which are rare or restricted to only a few locations. A total of 136 specimens were identified from 24 sediment stations, distributed among the following species: Antygomonas gwenae, Campyloderes vanhoeffeni, Centroderes readae, Condyloderes flosfimbriatus, Co. rohalorum, Cristaphyes panamensis, Dracoderes chaac sp. nov., …


Industrial Hemp As A Resource For Birds In Agroecosystems: Human–Wildlife Conflict Or Conservation Opportunity?, Emily A. Kotten, Iona Hennessy, Bryan M. Kluever, Zachary T. Brym, Bradley F. Blackwell, Lee A. Humberg, Page E. Klug Jan 2022

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

Human–Wildlife Interactions

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 …


Turkey's Largest Cinereous Vulture Population In A Recently Discovered Breeding Area Innorth-West Anatolia, Şafak Arslan, Ci̇hangi̇r Ki̇razli Jan 2022

Turkey's Largest Cinereous Vulture Population In A Recently Discovered Breeding Area Innorth-West Anatolia, Şafak Arslan, Ci̇hangi̇r Ki̇razli

Turkish Journal of Zoology

Studies regarding the cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus), classified globally as near threatened, have recently accelerated in Turkey. Comprehensive studies particularly about the northwestern Anatolian population, have been conducted. Also, the genetic studies carried out, have revealed that the cinereous vulture population in Turkey is panmictic and that it has recently suffered a bottleneck. The main aim of this study conducted across the Köroğlu Mountains in Bolu was to determine the population size and the breeding success of the species. A total of 37 field surveys in 2018 and 2019 have revealed Turkey's largest breeding cinereous vulture colony and have detected …


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 Jan 2022

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

United States Department of Agriculture 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 …


Differentiating The Effects Of Two Non-Native Fish In The Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, Sarah Richardson Jan 2022

Differentiating The Effects Of Two Non-Native Fish In The Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, Sarah Richardson

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

This study seeks to determine the individual effects of two non-native fish, the brook stickleback, Culaea inconstans, and pumpkinseed, Lepomis gibbosus, on the aquatic invertebrates and food webs of Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge (TNWR). Ten ponds were analyzed and compared with stable isotope analysis and invertebrate abundance data. Three ponds were chosen to represent each of the following categories: fishless, brook stickleback invaded (BS), and coinvaded, along with a single pumpkinseed (PS) pond. Overall, δ[superscript]13C and δ[superscript]15N values increased in invaded ponds, indicating shifts in the zooplankton community structure and the carbon source of predatory invertebrates. Mean δ[superscript]13C was the …


An Examination Of Ethical Attitudes Towards Wild Pig (Sus Scrofa) Toxicants In The United States, Keith Carlisle, Erin E. Harper, Stephanie A. Shwiff Jan 2022

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

United States Department of Agriculture 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 …


A Systematic Map Of Human-Carnivore Coexistence, Cassandre C. Venumière-Lefebvre, Stewart W. Breck, Kevin R. Crooks Jan 2022

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

United States Department of Agriculture 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 …


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 Jan 2022

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

United States Department of Agriculture 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 …


Earthworm Community Structure Along Altitudinal Gradients On The Western Slopes Ofkopaonik Mountain In Serbia, Filip Popovic, Mirjana Stojanovic, Slobodanka Radosavljevic, Tanja Trakic, Jovana Sekulic Jan 2022

Earthworm Community Structure Along Altitudinal Gradients On The Western Slopes Ofkopaonik Mountain In Serbia, Filip Popovic, Mirjana Stojanovic, Slobodanka Radosavljevic, Tanja Trakic, Jovana Sekulic

Turkish Journal of Zoology

The aim of this study is to examine the altitudinal patterns of earthworm community structure at different habitat types on the western slopes of Kopaonik Mountain. In total, 30 plots between 420 and 1950 m a.s.l. were sampled within two years' fieldwork. Overall, 27 earthworm taxa belonging to 11 genera were found at the study sites. A combination of Pearson's correlation, polynomial regression, and cluster analysis (UPGMA) was used for determining the effects of altitude on the earthworm community structure. The earthworm abundance and species richness monotonically decreased with the increase in altitude, showing a significant negative correlation. Cluster analysis …


Quantifying Genomic Diversity And Growth In Iowa Bluegill, Jeremy Raymond Abels Jan 2022

Quantifying Genomic Diversity And Growth In Iowa Bluegill, Jeremy Raymond Abels

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) is one of the most fished species in Iowa. However, after an initial stocking event, lakes rarely receive additional stockings owing to a high rate of natural reproduction. For this reason, the genetic diversity of Bluegill populations remains understudied in the context of fisheries and natural resource management. Additionally, the extent to which genetics influences the growth rate of Bluegill on a population level has not yet been extensively examined. The goal of this study was to understand the diversity of Iowa’s Bluegill population and to determine if there is a genetic association with growth …