Digital Commons Network^™

Assessing The Impact Of Urban Coyote On People And Pets In Austin, Travis County, Texas, Randy O. Farrar

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

The City of Austin acquires citizen reports of coyote (Canis latrans) observations or complaints through a toll-free non-emergency 311 telephone call system. The observed coyote behavior or activity reported by constituents is categorized into one of eight behavioral categories that correlate with observed changes in coyote behavior indicating an increasing risk to human safety. The categorical data is used to formulate indices of coyote behavior for accessing and monitoring the relative risk of urban coyotes to human safety over time. Behavioral indices with respect to established management zones are used to prioritize and target areas for preventing or …

Controlling Coyotes In An Urban Environment – Effective Evaluation Of Requests By The General Public For Control Services, Tim J. Julien

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

(Canis latrans) in urban/suburban environments continues to increase countrywide. These incidents have created a need for a systematic means of evaluating the perceived need for control to determine first if control is necessary and would it be effective in solving the problem. Generally we have found the public is uninformed and surprised by their first sighting or encounter with coyotes. We have taken an approach that allows us to evaluate the clients concerns and enable us to make recommendations to them on possible control methods that might be effective, practical, and economically feasible for any given situation. Most …

Operational Challenges Of Solving Urban Coyote Problems In Southern California, Dennis L. Orthmeyer, Terrance A. Cox, John W. Turman, Joe R. Bennett

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

We present challenges, methodologies, and solutions related to mitigating urban coyote (Canis latrans) problems in southern California. The physical environment, the diverse urban structure (green belts and parks) with its abundant food resources which support high coyote densities, combined with the human component (behavior, urbanization, politics) create operational challenges. The increasing disconnect between humans and wildlife, coyote emigration/immigration into the increasing rural/urban interface, and coyote life cycles that occur exclusively in urban environments, all contribute to the increase in coyote-human conflicts. California’s southern counties’ human population has expanded 13% over the period from 1990-2000 and is projected to …

Bad Dogs: Why Do Coyotes And Other Canids Become Unruly?, Robert H. Schmidt, Robert M. Timm

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

We summarize the behavior of several species of canids (coyotes, dingoes, and gray wolves) in relation to their habituation to humans and to human food sources. Striking parallels exist between coyotes and other wild canids in terms of the inclination of individual animals to act aggressively toward humans and even attack, once they have come to associate humans with food. We describe the stages of coyotes’ behavioral adaptation to suburban ecosystems, listing 7 steps toward increasing habituation, which can be used as action thresholds for invoking active coyote management or removal efforts. We consider the hypothesis that coyotes may regard …

A History Of Urban Coyote Problems, Robert M. Timm, Rex O. Baker

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

We summarize previously published information on coyote attacks on humans in North America. This problem has developed primarily in urban and suburban areas of southern California since the early 1970s, and the frequency of attacks and other human safety incidents is increasing. Similar attacks are now known from at least 18 states in addition to California and from 4 Canadian provinces, with the majority of attacks occurring since the early 1990s. We review early explorers’ and settlers’ accounts of coyotes in the Los Angeles area, as well as development of coyote control programs during the 20th century. We also describe …

Missing Cats, Stray Coyotes: One Citizen’S Perspective, Judith C. Webster

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

The author explores the issue of urban coyotes and coyote management from a cat owner’s perspective, with specific examples from Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Following a personal encounter with two coyotes in July 2005 that led to the death of a cat, the author has delved into the history of Vancouver’s “Co-existing with Coyotes”, a government-funded program run by a nonprofit ecological society. The policy’s roots in conservation biology, the environmental movement, and the human dimensions branch of wildlife management are documented. The author contends that “Co-existing with Coyotes” puts people and pets at greater risk of attack by its inadequate …

Complexities Of Urban Coyote Management: Reaching The Unreachable, Teaching The Unteachable, And Touching The Untouchable, Robert H. Schmidt

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

Urban coyote (Canis latrans) management is often complicated, but the technical portion of any management program is only one part of the equation. The use of lethal (traps, snares, shooting, toxicants) and non-lethal (exclusion, guard animals, husbandry practices, harassment) coyote management strategies can be successful, less than successful, or not successful depending on the appropriate match of technical skill and technology available in a particular situation. However, technical sophistication is only a portion of the management dilemma. Issues of policy, law, politics, and economics, as well as human values, attitudes, and ethics play an obvious and profound role …

Coyotebytes.Org: A New Educational Web Site, Robert M. Timm

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

A web site, www.CoyoteBytes.org, has been developed as a tool to provide sciencebased management recommendations to homeowners and municipal officials on methods to reduce conflicts with coyotes (Canis latrans) in urban and suburban areas. Such conflicts include aggression toward or attacks on children and adults; attacks on pet dogs and cats; attacks on hobby animals, such as poultry, sheep, and goats; and damage to drip irrigation systems, garden crops, and to other resources. In addition to providing information, the website allows individuals to upload photos or video clips of urban and suburban coyotes, and to submit firsthand reports …

The Current Regulatory Environment Of Urban Coyote Control - A Private Wco Perspective, Claude Oleyar

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

Social, political, and legal considerations have contributed to an unfavorable regulatory environment for lethal control of urban coyotes (Canis latrans). I analyze and break adown that environment from a Wildlife Control Operator (WCO) perspective. Currently 3 significant factors frame the issue but a 4th could be emerging. First, our hands are tied: I use the situation in Colorado to illustrate the point. Compounding factors include the need for a paradigm shift in how rules are derived, the lag-time factor in agency response to issues, and the tendency toward bureaucracy/over-regulation. Second, human dimensions rule: I critique the downside of …

A Broad Perspective On Current And Future Research On Urban Coyotes, John A. Shivik, Kathleen A. Fagerstone

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

A change in wildlife management appears to be occurring. Previous efforts needed to be focused on producing more game species or endangered animals; now, however, tools and training must resolve issues of overabundance and conflict with predators, especially species such as coyotes (Canis latrans) in urban areas. Urban conflicts with coyotes may be growing because of urban development of land and human intrusion, but alteration of habitats that attract coyotes is also a likely factor. Research that will describe basic coyote biology in urban areas will be needed, but managers will also need applied research and development of …

Urban Coyotes: A States’ Perspective, Scott Smith

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

The author summarizes the information presented and discussed during the Urban Coyote Symposium from a state wildlife agency’s perspective. He notes the need to consider such management challenges not only from a biological, but also from a human dimensions perspective.

Comparison Of 2 Vegetation-Height Management Practices For Wildlife Control At Airports, Thomas W. Seamans, Scott C. Barras, Glen E. Bernhardt, Bradley F. Blackwell, Jonathon D. Cepek

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Vegetation-height management is a potential method to reduce bird numbers at airports. Based on studies in Europe, researchers recommended vegetation heights around 25 cm; however, preliminary studies in the United States produced conflicting results regarding the effect of tall (18 to >25 cm) vegetation on bird numbers at airports. From 1999 to 2002, we compared birds and other wildlife use of 4 short-vegetation plots (mean maximum height of 15.6 cm ± 5.1 SE and visual obstruction reading of 4.6 ± 3.0 cm) and 4 tall-vegetation plots (mean maximum height of 26.9 ± 8.4 cm and visual obstruction reading of 10.0 …

Systems Ideas And Sustainability, Martin Zwick

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

Slides from a presentation that provides an outline of ideas to understand how systems science and systems theory is related to, and can work for, sustainability. It illustrates how sustainability requires input from many disciplines, including graph theory, game theory, and thermodynamics, and is dependent on theories from ecology, sociology, and history.

Unlv Magazine, Grace Russell, Gian Galassi, Shane Bevell, Karyn S. Hollingsworth, Jennifer Lawson, Lori Bachand, Cate Weeks, Erin O'Donnell, Peter Starkweather

UNLV Magazine

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Industrial And Traditional Fishing In Sustainable Resource Management, Aime Schwartz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

For decades, the notion of ‘sustainable development’ has been a source of international contention and debate. While the meanings and implications of sustainable development are widely disputed, it is interpreted by many as an ideal that encompasses social, environmental and economic spheres while promoting the value of human rights in development. Theoretically, this approach allows for the quality of life of current and future generations to be considered in environmental decision-making and formally recognized by national and international standards, dictated primarily by wealthy industrialized governments (Adebowale et al 138). Policy-makers in developing nations continuously face the struggle to balance the …

Potentiality Of Biogas And The Role Of Substrates In Biogas Formation Potential, Scott Shealy

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Biogas infrastructure development, particularly in countries such as Vietnam, has the potential to provide great benefits to people living agrarian lifestyles in rural areas. Decentralized wastewater treatment facilities that utilize anaerobic technologies to digest organic waste for the purpose of collecting methane provide a number of benefits to centralized use as well. In both cases, users benefit from the production of methane gas, wastewater treatment, nutrient recycling, and organic fertilizers. In the case of decentralized use, as is most prevalent in Vietnam, integrated farming methods, such as the VACB model, allow farmers to reap the benefits of a wide array …

Downstream Pathway Activation In Cultured Hepatocytes Following Treatment With Francisella Tularensis, Nicole Wakefield

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Francisella tularensis, the intracellular pathogen that causes tularemia, was investigated to determine how it infects and replicates within mammalian hepatocytes. To date, it has been shown that hepatocytes can be infected by F. tularensis and that this causes considerable change in the protein phosphorylation state of several vital signaling molecules within the host cell. Protein kinase pathways can be mapped as signatures of infection. Hepatocytes tend to be susceptible to infection by F. tularensis, thus stimulating internal signaling. The Francisella strains used were selected with the goal of producing a model that can be used to elucidate the cell signaling …

Impact Of Minimum Winter Temperatures On The Population Dynamics Of Dendroctonus Frontalis, J. KhảI TrầN, Tiina Ylioja, Ronald F. Billings, Jacques Régnière, Matthew P. Ayres

Dartmouth Scholarship

Predicting population dynamics is a fundamental problem in applied ecology. Temperature is a potential driver of short-term population dynamics, and temperature data are widely available, but we generally lack validated models to predict dynamics based upon temperatures. A generalized approach involves estimating the temperatures experienced by a population, characterizing the demographic consequences of physiological responses to temperature, and testing for predicted effects on abundance. We employed this approach to test whether minimum winter temperatures are a meaningful driver of pestilence from Dendroctonus frontalis (the southern pine beetle) across the southeastern United States. A distance-weighted interpolation model provided good, spatially explicit, …

Interagency Science And Research: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending March 31, 2007, Margaret N. Rees

Interagency Science and Research Strategy

• Completed a beta-test of a science proposal review process with the assistance of four external reviewers.
• Participated in workshop entitled “Biological Soil Crusts: Ecology and Management.
• Completed review of the interagency Chesapeake Bay Program science strategy and added this information to the Science Strategy Database.
• Completed a preliminary review of agency science delivery capabilities.

Lake Mead National Recreation Area Vegetation Monitoring And Analysis: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending March 31, 2007, Margaret N. Rees

Vegetation Monitoring

Executive Summary

• Weed Sentry staff surveyed for exotic species on 208 miles of roads on NPS land and on 61 miles of BLM land. Due to sparse precipitation this winter, exotic species are much less abundant this year compared to last year at this time.
• Other exotic species projects initiated this quarter included an assessment of invasion patterns below native shrubs for early detection of potential invasion “hotspots,” and a community invasibility experiment established near the NPS nursery with substantial involvement from NPS ATR Ms. Alice Newton.
• A manuscript detailing several experiments with the invasive species Sahara mustard was submitted …

Lake Mead National Recreation Area Monitoring And Evaluation Of Sensitive Wildlife: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending March 31, 2007, Margaret N. Rees

Wildlife Monitoring

Project 1. Relict Leopard Frog Monitoring, Management, and Research

• Spring-time diurnal surveys for relict leopard frogs were conducted at all sites.
• Relict leopard frog annual translocation effort was initiated. Currently, 2,153 tadpoles are being reared at the Hill Top and Willow Beach Fish Hatchery facilities. Quagga mussels found at the hatchery might not be as problematic for this program as originally thought. Current prophylactic protocols for disease treatment in tadpoles and frogs are being evaluated for their ability to kill quagga mussel larvae.
• Coordination and monitoring was provided to EPMT crews conducting tamarisk control at relict leopard frog sites in …

Frequency Of Sublethal Injury In A Deepwater Ophiuroid, Ophiacantha Bidentata, An Important Component Of Western Atlantic Lophelia Reef Communities, R. Allen Brooks, Martha S. Nizinski, Steve W. Ross, Kenneth J. Sulak

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The occurrence and relative abundance of tissue (arm) regeneration in the ophiuroid, Ophiacantha bidentata (Retzius), was examined in individuals collected primarily among colonies of the deep-water coral Lophelia pertusa off the southeastern United States. Seven deep-water coral sites (384–756 m), located between Cape Lookout, NC, and Cape Canaveral, FL, were sampled in June 2004 using a manned submersible. The presence of regenerative tissue was evaluated by visual inspection of each individual ophiuroid, and the proportion of regenerating arms per individual was examined relative to size of individual, geographic location, and depth of collection. Ophiacantha bidentata, the dominant brittle star collected, …

20,25-Diazacholesterol As An Oral Contraceptive For Black-Tailed Prairie Dog Population Management, Paul Nash, Carol A. Furcolow, Kimberly S. Bynum, Christi A. Yoder, Lowell A. Miller, John J. Johnston

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicionus) colonies can become overcrowded, and the colonies, landscape, and people affected by them may benefit from controlled populations. Contraception is a method that may be useful, particularly where lethal control is inappropriate or illegal. We investigated if oral administration of 20,25-diazacholesterol (DiazaCon®)n, inhibitor of cholesterol and reproductive steroid hormone production, could reduce reproductive success of treated black-tailed prairie dogs in a field trial. Ten treatments of approximately 45-mg DiazaCon per black-tailed prairie dog yielded a 47% reduction of young:adult ratios compared to control sites. Over a 3-month period, desmosterol, a cholesterol precursor used …

Food Webs And Intraguild Predation: Community Interactions Of A Native Mesocarnivore, Craig . M. Thompson, Eric M. Gese

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Trophic level interactions between predators create complex relationships such as intraguild predation. Theoretical research has predicted two possible paths to stability in intraguild systems: intermediate predators either out compete higher-order predators for shared resources or select habitat based on security. The effects of intraguild predation on intermediate mammalian predators such as swift foxes (Vulpes velox) are not well understood. We examined the relationships between swift foxes and both their predators and prey, as well the effect of vegetation structure on swift fox–coyote (Canis latrans) interactions, between August 2001 and August 2004. In a natural experiment created …

The Effects Of Orthophosphate As A Copper Corrosion Control Inhibitor In High Alkalinity Drinking Water Systems, Stephen Grace

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to investigate orthophosphate as a corrosion inhibitor for copper pipe in a high-alkalinity drinking water system. Specifically, this thesis sought to answer three research questions regarding the impact of orthophosphate treatment, the nature of the mechanism by which orthophosphate controls copper corrosion, and the value of equilibrium modeling in predicting orthophosphate’s effects. The research questions were answered through a comprehensive literature review and experimental methodology integrating laboratory jar tests, water sampling and analysis from a field investigation, qualitative solids analysis, and equilibrium model application. This study analyzed field data obtained over the course of …

Scoping Report For The Glen Canyon Dam Long-Term Experimental Plan Environmental Impact Statement, U.S. Department Of The Interior, Bureau Of Reclamation

All U.S. Government Documents (Utah Regional Depository)

This report summarizes the issues raised during the initial scoping process for the Bureau of Reclamation's Long-term Experimental Plan for Glen Canyon Dam Operations and Other Management Actions Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). This report describes the initial scoping process and presents the schedule, describes the scoping meetings, summarizes comments submitted by the public, and provides an overview of the relevant issues that Reclamation anticipates will be analyzed in the EIS.

Scoping is defined by the regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as the process whereby lead agencies solicit input from the public on what the issues and alternatives …

Plan Of Management For The Kalbarri Blue Holes Fish Habitat Protection Area, Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries Management Papers

The FHPA has been declared to protect and conserve an example of a near-shore reef community. In order to achieve this aim, and encourage the appreciation and conservation of fish, a number of management strategies have been identified which restrict recreational and commercial fishing. The FHPA is approximately 420 metres long and approximately 130 metres wide at the southern end and 140 metres wide at the northern end.

Wmi Outdoor News Bulletin * March 2007, Volume 61, No. 3

Wildlife Management Institute Outdoor News Bulletin

Contents:

• Chronic Wasting Disease update

• Conservationists irked by USDA promotion of amber waves of gas at CRP expense

• Tennessee provides leadership for native grass restoration in the Southeast

• National Wildlife Refuges to suffer large cutbacks in staff

• Rio Grande Bosque legislation introduced

• Worth reading: Fly-fishing for Sharks: An American Journey

Refuge Update – March/April 2007, Volume 4, Number 2

RefugeUpdate (USFWS-NWRS)

Table of Contents:
What’s Melting: Togiak Refuge Sizes Up Its Glaciers, page 3
Focus on Fish Conservation, pages 10-15
Whatever happened to…, pages 16-17
Wildlife Cooperatives, page 20

Refuge Update – March/April 2010, Volume 7, Number 2

RefugeUpdate (USFWS-NWRS)

Table of Contents:

First, We Inventory by Bill O’Brian
The Legacy We Carry On By Greg Siekaniec
Straight from the Secretary
FOCUS: Maintenance
CMS Is Coming to a Web Site Near You
Protecting Wildlife, Producing Energy