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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
The Influence Of Visitors, Habitat, And Methodology On Mexican Spotted Owl (Strik Occidentalis Lucida) Occupancy And Detection In A Remote Canyon Environment, Kirsten Fuller
Boise State University Theses and Dissertations
National Parks across America play an important role in protecting natural resources and providing access to recreation for visitors. However, these goals may come into conflict as visitation rates rise. Grand Canyon National Park in Northern Arizona is one of the most highly visited parks in the United States, with over 6 million visitors a year. Backcountry hiking and camping are popular activities in the park, and many highly visited hiking trails and campgrounds overlap with known breeding areas of a threatened species, Mexican Spotted Owl. In this thesis, I explore the intersection of recreation and wildlife conservation at this …
Quantifying Mammalian Interactions And Distributions To Inform Conservation Planning In Mozambique, Tara Easter
Quantifying Mammalian Interactions And Distributions To Inform Conservation Planning In Mozambique, Tara Easter
Boise State University Theses and Dissertations
Protected areas are a staple in conservation, but human activities outside of protected areas drive species interactions, compositions, and distributions. Research is especially needed in these multi-use landscapes to maintain habitat connectivity for entire wildlife communities between protected areas. Yet, such research is lacking in areas it is needed most, such as in sub-Saharan Africa, where human populations are expected to double by 2050. My objectives were to quantify mammal distributions, interactions, community compositions, and their relationships with human and natural factors within a sustainable-use forestry concession outside of Gorongosa National Park. I used recently developed multispecies occupancy models to …
Barn Owls (Tyto Alba) Crossing The Road - Examining The Interplay Among Occupancy, Behavior, Habitat Selection, And Roadway Mortality In Southern Idaho, Tempe Regan
Boise State University Theses and Dissertations
Barn Owls (Tyto alba) are killed by vehicle collisions in greater numbers than any other North American bird of prey. Interstate-84 (I-84) in southern Idaho, USA has among the world’s highest known rates of Barn Owl-vehicle collisions. Little is known about Barn Owl occupancy in this region, so it is unclear if owls are killed in proportion to their abundance, or if they are equally abundant in segments with lower mortality and somehow escape collisions. Furthermore, studies of Barn Owl movements and behavior are limited. I was interested in understanding (1) factors that affect Barn Owl occupancy in …
Impacts Of Wind Energy Development On Breeding Buteo Hawks In The Columbia Plateau Ecoregion, Patrick Shea Kolar
Impacts Of Wind Energy Development On Breeding Buteo Hawks In The Columbia Plateau Ecoregion, Patrick Shea Kolar
Boise State University Theses and Dissertations
Post-construction raptor fatality and nest monitoring is typically conducted at wind energy projects nationwide. However, pre- and post-construction surveys may fail to locate all breeding pairs and most studies at individual wind projects lack the necessary sample size or survey design to assess the effects of turbines on nesting raptors after construction. To address these potential issues, I used an information-theoretic approach to examine the influence of multiple spatial and temporal variables on reproductive success, post-fledging survival, and the distribution of breeding pairs from three sympatric Buteo species in the Columbia Plateau Ecoregion (CPE). Although the probability of detecting breeding …
Land Cover And Topographic Effects On Cavity-Nesting Owl Occurrence And The Role Of Species Interactions In Structuring Cavity-Nesting Owl Communities, Micah Noel Scholer
Land Cover And Topographic Effects On Cavity-Nesting Owl Occurrence And The Role Of Species Interactions In Structuring Cavity-Nesting Owl Communities, Micah Noel Scholer
Boise State University Theses and Dissertations
Relatively little is known about the distribution, abundance, and population trends of many species of owls. Frequently, studies that describe owl distributions are accomplished by modeling characteristics of the habitat such as land cover and topographic features. However, the potential to model owl distributions as a function of species interactions has been largely unexplored. I investigated how habitat characteristics as well as species interactions shape owl distributions in the Western United States. Using occurrence data collected between 2009 and 2010 in the Boise National Forest, Idaho, I developed species distribution models for Flammulated Owls (Otus flammeolus) and Northern …