Digital Commons Network^™

Characterizing Nontarget Species Use At Bait Sites For White-Tailed Deer, Brent Bowman, Jerrold L. Belant, Dean E. Beyer Jr., Deborah Martel

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Baiting white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) has evolved into a controversial issue of wildlife management. During August–September 2012, we established a grid of 64 cameras in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan at sites baited with corn that simulated legal bait sites for white-tailed deer to characterize presence, diversity, and frequency of species use. We detected >20 species of wildlife that visited bait sites. We categorized 3,177 of 11,194 images as independent detections (i.e., species detected >1 hour apart). White-tailed deer had the greatest detection rate (47%), but overall detections of nontarget species was slightly greater (53%). Most frequent nontarget …

Soap Box Reprioritizing Avian Conservation Efforts, Travis L. Devault

Human–Wildlife Interactions

No abstract provided.

Human Diseases From Wildlife: A Review, Joe N. Caudell

Human–Wildlife Interactions

No abstract provided.

Brown Bear And Human Recreational Use Of Trails In Anchorage, Alaska, Jessica A. Coltrane, Rick Sinnott

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Anchorage, Alaska, has 301,000 human residents and hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Anchorage also supports a viable population of brown bears (Ursus arctos). As a result, human–bear encounters are common. We used camera traps to monitor recreational trails near salmon spawning streams at 3 study sites during the summers of 2009 to 2012 to better understand daily and seasonal activity patterns of bears and humans on these trails. The more remote study sites had the least human activity and the most bear activity. Human–bear encounters were most likely to occur from July through early September due …

Spatial And Temporal Analysis Of Factors Associated With Urban Deer–Vehicle Collisions, Erin C. Mccance, Richard K. Baydack, David J. Walker, Derek N. Leask

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Increasing populations of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in urban areas have resulted in an increase in deer–vehicle collisions (DVCs). Deer–vehicle collisions represent a human–wildlife conflict of serious concern, given that they result, most notably, in significant risk to human safety, deer mortality, and costly vehicle damage. Although many communities have developed databases that track the frequency and location of DVCs, there is a need for analysis of the factors that affect DVC locations in urban areas. Data on deer movement patterns across roads in urban areas are valuable to reduce the occurrence of DVCs on existing roads and …

In The News, Jason Matthews, Joe N. Caudell

Human–Wildlife Interactions

No abstract provided.

Parallel Universes? Increasing Connections Between Ipm And Wdm, Lynn Braband

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Managing damage by wild vertebrates often is important, and wildlife damage management (WDM) has incorporated important tenets of integrated pest management (IPM). However, largely separate academic backgrounds have nurtured the IPM and WDM communities. The controversial “hot button” topics have tended to differ. While WDM research and outreach have received some IPM funding, and wildlife studies occasionally appear in IPM journals, attendance at infrequent wildlife sessions during IPM meetings has been sparse. The objectives of this paper are to review important examples of collaboration, and evaluate possibilities for future synergy between these related disciplines.

Wildlife Damage Management In The Digital Age: Collaborating With Others, L. C. "Fudd" Graham, Janet Hurley, Kathy Flanders

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Three seemingly disparate Communities of Practice (CoPs)—Urban Integrated Pest Management (Urban IPM), Wildlife Damage Management (WDM), and Imported Fire Ants—came together to promote IPM and WDM by sharing information on websites and through webinars. Originally, each CoP on the eXtension web site was set up to be a unique information source. It became clear very early in eXtension’s development that many of these unique, single-topic sites had information that could be used by others. These 3 CoPs had the foresight to work together and link information, rather than creating new material.

Winter Habitat Associations Of Blackbirds And Starlings Wintering In The South-Central United States, Matthew Strassburg, Shawn M. Crimmins, Patrick C. Mckann, Wayne E. Thogmartin

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Birds can cause extensive crop damage in the United States. In some regions, depredating species comprise a substantial portion of the total avian population, emphasizing their importance both economically and ecologically. We used the National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count data from the south-central United States and mixed-effects models to identify habitat factors associated with population trend and abundance for 5 species: red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus), common grackle (Quiscalus quiscula), rusty blackbird (Euphagus carolinus), Brewer’s blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus), and European starling (Sturnus vulgaris). Overall, we found positive associations between bird …

Assessing Gull Abundance And Food Availability In Urban Parking Lots, Dan Clark, Jillian J. Whitney, Kenneth G. Mackenzie, Kiana K. G. Koenen, Stephen Destefano

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Feeding birds is a common activity throughout the world; yet, little is known about the extent of feeding gulls in urban areas. We monitored 8 parking lots in central Massachusetts, USA, during the fall and winter of 2011 to 2013 in 4 monitoring sessions to document the number of gulls present, the frequency of human–gull feeding interactions, and the effectiveness of signage and direct interaction in reducing human-provisioned food. Parking lots were divided between “education” and “no-education” lots. In education lots, we erected signs about problems caused when people feed birds and also asked people to stop feeding birds. We …

Does Body Condition Affect Immediate Post-Capture Survival Of Ungulates?, Louis C. Bender

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Many factors are known or are thought to increase vulnerability to capture-related mortality in ungulates. I compared body condition of Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelson), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) to assess whether those that survived capture differed from those that did not. Fate of ungulates was generally not related to condition (F_1,646 = 1.6; P = 0.21), and this relationship was similar among species (species × fate interaction: F_4,646 = 1.3; P = 0.29), season of capture (species × season × fate interaction: F_6,646 = …

Relationship Between Spatial Distribution Of Sika Deer–Train Collisions And Sika Deer Movement In Japan, Akinao Soga, Shin-Ichiro Hamasaki, Noriko Yokoyama, Toshiyuki Sakai, Koichi Kaji

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Collisions between trains and sika deer (Cervus nippon) cause various problems involving animal and humans safety, as well as economic cost. A better understanding of deer crossing railway lines and deer–train accidents is necessary to develop effective mitigation measures. We investigated the collisions among habitat selection, railway-line crossing movement, and deer–train collisions. We predicted that the risk of deer–train collisions would increase with increasing probability of deer crossing railway lines, which is related to habitat selection surrounding in those areas. Deer stayed in forests to rest during the day and moved to grasslands or rice paddy fields to …

Microhabitat Selection By Greater Sage-Grouse Hens During Brood Rearing, Scott T. Mabray, Michael R. Conover

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) populations have declined throughout the western United States over the past century. Loss of large stands of sagebrush is a major factor leading to the decline of sage-grouse populations. We captured, marked, and tracked hen sage-grouse in Wyoming during the summer of 2012 to study where sage-grouse hens keep their chicks given the dual needs to provide them with food and to keep them safe from avian predators. Vegetation surveys and avian point counts were performed at early season brood locations, late-season brood locations, and random locations. We conducted multinomial models to determine which …

Distance-Dependent Effectiveness Of Diversionary Bear Bait Sites, Stephen F. Stringham, Ann Bryant

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Baiting black bears (Ursus americanus) to sites outside a community can alleviate famine-induced spikes in human–bear conflicts. But little is known about effects of distance between baits and communities. Bears were lured out of towns in California’s Tahoe Basin to baits in adjacent forests. Delay between onsets of baiting and decline in bear–human conflict was directly related to each community’s distance from the nearest bait. The amount and rate that conflicts declined were inversely related to distance. In 7 communities about 1 km from a bait, conflicts declined 41% after 1 month and 93% after 3 months; mean …

Evaluating Competing Preferences Of Hunters And Landowners For Management Of Deer Populations, Gino J. D'Angelo, Marrett D. Grund

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Most state wildlife agencies consider public input in the management of whitetailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations. In 2013, we surveyed deer hunters (n = 3,600) and landowners (n = 4,604) in southwest Minnesota to gauge their preferences for managing deer. We hypothesized a priori that, irrespective of their perceived impacts of deer, hunters would prefer deer populations to be increased and landowners would prefer deer populations to be decreased. Our findings suggest that defining stakeholder groups according to primary associations with deer (i.e., farming and hunting) accurately categorized differences in tolerance levels for deer populations in …

Cost-Effective Approach To Reducing Collisions With Elk By Fencing Between Existing Highway Structures, Jeffrey W. Gagnon, Chad D. Loberger, Scott C. Sprague, Kari S. Ogren, Susan L. Boe, Raymond E. Schweinsburg

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Collisions with large ungulates cause serious human and animal injuries and significant property damage. Therefore, wildlife crossing structures are increasingly included in new road construction to reduce wildlife–vehicle collisions, while still allowing wildlife to safely cross roads. Recently, state and federal transportation budgets have declined, concomitantly reducing the construction of wildlife crossing structures, which are generally tied to large-scale reconstruction projects that are delayed for decades into the future. Nevertheless, even during times of fiscal constraint or temporal delay, it is still necessary to reduce collisions with wildlife and maintain habitat connectivity. Therefore, it is important to find cost-effective and …

Administering GonaconTm To White-Tailed Deer Via Hand-Injection Versus Syringe-Dart, Charles S. Evans, Anthony J. Denicola, John D. Eisemann, Robert J. Warren

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Immunocontraceptive vaccines have shown some promise for fertility control of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in urban and suburban habitats where traditional methods of population control may not be applicable. Currently, the only contraceptive vaccine approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for use in white-tailed deer is GonaCon^TM Immunocontraceptive Vaccine, but it is registered for use via hand-injection only. It has been suggested that remote-delivery of immunocontraceptives would be more cost-effective than hand-injection, but there is the potential for incomplete injection from a syringe-dart. Therefore, the purpose of our research was to: (1) conduct a dart configuration …

Bioaccumulation Of Mercury In Wilson’S Snipe From Alabama, Lindsay J. Brooks, Joshua W. Campbell, Julia W. Murphy

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Mercury is a persistent, toxic heavy metal that can bioaccumulate in organisms, causing diseases and other health problems. Wilson’s snipe (Gallinago delicata) feed primarily on aquatic invertebrates, which makes them prone to mercury bioaccumulation. In this study, we measured total mercury in Wilson’s snipe. Total mercury was measured in the feathers and muscle tissue. Mean concentration (ppm ± SE) of mercury was 1.33 (± 0.22) and 0.087 (± 0.03) in the feathers and muscle tissue, respectively. Mercury concentration was significantly higher in feathers than muscle. Our data indicate that Wilson’s snipe, an aquatic-invertebrate predator that bioaccumulates mercury from …

Arresting Contagion: Science, Policy, And Conflicts Over Animal Disease Control, David D. Vail

Human–Wildlife Interactions

No abstract provided.

3d Persistence Of Vision Display, Austin Jensen, Mark Elliott, Michael Reimer

Electrical and Computer Engineering

By rapidly sweeping a varying 2D image, a 3D image appears to the human eye. We have developed a 3D Persistence of Vision Display by rotating a 2D grid of LED’s. Our display has multiple operating modes and could be expanded to many other applications.

Fish Tracker: A Software Defined Radio Application, Cody Herndon, Serena Makin

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Flying a software defined radio allows us to reduce hardware to create a time saving and modular method to track tagged fish for the purpose of learning how rivers change from year to year.

Introduction Effort, Climate Matching And Species Traits As Predictors Of Global Establishment Success In Non-Native Reptiles, Peter J. Mahoney, Karen H. Beard, Andrew M. Durso, Aimee G. Tallian, Arin Lexine Long, Ryan J. Kindermann, Nicole E. Nolan, Daniel Kinka, Harrison E. Mohn

Biology Faculty Publications

Non-native reptiles are often detrimental to native communities and ecosystems and can be extremely difficult to manage once established. Thus, there is considerable interest in predicting the likelihood of establishment of nonnative reptiles. We assessed three hypotheses describing possible factors contributing to the successful establishment of introduced reptiles in an effort to better identify potential invaders.

Learning To Love Leftovers: Using By-Catch To Expand Our Knowledge In Entomology, John M. Stark, Ricardo A. Ramirez

Biology Faculty Publications

Each year, federal and state agencies, including universities, conduct field surveys for invasive species in an attempt to detect new introductions early in the invasion process. National surveys for invasive insects are administered and coordinated by the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service-Plant Protection and Quarantine (USDA-APHIS-PPQ) and the Forest Service through Farm Bill § 10007 ( www.aphis.usda.gov ), the Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS) (caps.ceris.purdue.edu), and Early Detection Rapid Response (EDRR) ( www.fs.fed.us/invasivespecies ) programs. Thousands of traps are placed annually and monitored usually every one to two weeks throughout the U.S., mostly during …

Fortifying Farms And Ranches Against Weed Invasion, Utah State University

All Current Publications

The traditional approach to weed management on most farms or ranches is similar to a person running on a treadmill. A treadmill allows a person to run or walk while staying in one place. As the exercise deck cycles around and around, the user exerts energy to maintain the set pace, but never really goes anywhere.

Agricultural producers spend a great deal of resources (time and money) on what can be thought of as a weed management treadmill. The weed treadmill is always in motion. Treadmill speed is controlled by how well or how poorly the weeds were managed in …

Intermountain Tree Fruit Production Guide, Marion Murray

All Current Publications

Integrated pest management (IPM) involves collecting information about a pest and crop to ensure that you administer the most economical, effective, and environmentally and socially sound pest management decision

Registration Of ‘Newell’ Smooth Bromegrass, K P. Vogel, R B. Mitchell, B L. Waldron, M R. Haferkamp, J D. Berdahl, D D. Baltensperger, Galen Erickson, T J. Klopfenstein

Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah

No abstract provided.

Developing, Implementing, And Evaluating A No-Child-Left-Inside Pilot Program, Claudia Radel, Jamie C. Brand, Roslynn Brain

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

We describe experience with a pilot week-long, No-Child-Left-Inside (NCLI), outdoor program implemented in Cache Valley, Utah, in 2012. Through response analysis of a “pre-then-post” children's survey and a parent-completed demographic survey, we assess program effectiveness in raising children's enthusiasm for nature-related behaviors and in reaching a target audience of all local families. The program reached many families with low participation in other conservation programs but failed to reach families from the growing Latino population. Participating children experienced increased excitement to spend more time outdoors exploring and learning, accomplishing NCLI goals of laying a groundwork for children's enhanced environmental literacy.

Antifungal Amphiphilic Aminoglycoside K20: Bioactivities And Mechanism Of Action, Sanjib K. Shrestha, Cheng-Wei Tom Chang, Nicole Meissner, John Oblad, Jaya P. Shrestha, Kevin N. Sorensen, Michelle M. Grilley, Jon Y. Takemoto

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

K20 is a novel amphiphilic antifungal aminoglycoside that is synthetically derived from the antibiotic kanamycin A. Reported here are investigations of K20′s antimicrobial activities, cytotoxicity, and fungicidal mechanism of action. In vitro growth inhibitory activities against a variety of human and plant pathogenic yeasts, filamentous fungi, and bacteria were determined using microbroth dilution assays and time-kill curve analyses, and hemolytic and animal cell cytotoxic activities were determined. Effects on Cryptococcus neoformans H-99 infectivity were determined with a preventive murine lung infection model. The antifungal mechanism of action was studied using intact fungal cells, yeast lipid mutants, and small unilamellar lipid …

The Utah Statesman, December 4, 2014, Utah State University

The Utah Statesman

Weekly student newspaper of Utah State University in Logan.

Curriculum Subcommittee Agenda, December 4, 2014, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

Department of Art and Design

• Prerequisite Change
• Prerequisite Change, Remove Repeatable for Credit
• Remove Repeatable for Credit
• Course Number Change, Course Description Change, Prerequisite Change

School of Applied Sciences, Technology and Education

• Prerequisite Change
• Change to Standard Letter Grade

Biological Engineering

• Course No. Change
• Prerequisite Change

Civil and Environmental Engineering

• Prerequisite Change

Electrical and Computer Engineering

• Prerequisite Change

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering

• Prerequisite Change

History

• Inactivate Course
• Add Multiple List
• New Course
• Title Change
• Remove DHA

Language, Philosophy and Communication Studies

• New Course
• Prerequisite Change

Military Science

• Prerequisite Change

Political Science

• Course Description (there was not one)

Communicative Disorders and …