Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Animal Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 4 of 4

Full-Text Articles in Animal Sciences

Dispersal Movements Of Subadult Cougars From The Black Hills: The Notions Of Range Expansion And Recolonization, D. J. Thompson, J. A. Jenks Oct 2010

Dispersal Movements Of Subadult Cougars From The Black Hills: The Notions Of Range Expansion And Recolonization, D. J. Thompson, J. A. Jenks

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

Dispersal plays a vital role in cougar (Puma concolor) population ecology, creating genetic viability and maintaining gene flow between populations. The naturally recolonized cougar population in the Black Hills is at the edge of the species’ range in North America and completely surrounded by the grasslands of the Northern Great Plains. Our objective was to document dispersal movements and possible range expansion of subadult cougars captured within the Black Hills ecosystem of southwestern South Dakota and eastern Wyoming. Twenty-four (n ¼ 14 males, n ¼ 10 females) subadult cougars were captured in the Black Hills. Independence of cougars from females …


Prolonged Intensive Dominance Behavior Between Gray Wolves, Canis Lupus, L. David Mech, H. Dean Cluff Jan 2010

Prolonged Intensive Dominance Behavior Between Gray Wolves, Canis Lupus, L. David Mech, H. Dean Cluff

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Dominance is one of the most pervasive and important behaviors among wolves in a pack, yet its significance in free-ranging packs has been little studied. Insights into a behavior can often be gained by examining unusual examples of it. In the High Arctic near Eureka, Nunavut, Canada, we videotaped and described an unusually prolonged and intensive behavioral bout between an adult male Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) and a male member of his pack, thought to be a maturing son.With tail raised, the adult approached a male pack mate about 50 m from us and pinned and straddled this …


Ecology Of Eurasian Black Vultures (Aegypius Monachus) In Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, Mongolia, Richard P. Reading, David Kenny, John Azua, Travis Garrett, Mary Jo Willis, Tsolmonjav Purevsuren Jan 2010

Ecology Of Eurasian Black Vultures (Aegypius Monachus) In Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, Mongolia, Richard P. Reading, David Kenny, John Azua, Travis Garrett, Mary Jo Willis, Tsolmonjav Purevsuren

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

We studied the nesting ecology and movement patterns of Eurasian black vultures (Aegypius monachus) nesting in and near Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, Dornogobi Aimag, Mongolia. From 2003 till 2009, we monitored nesting pairs from incubation to fledging and compared nesting success for pairs nesting on rocks and trees. We captured chicks just prior to fledging to apply leg bands and wing tags. We also captured adults in June and attached solar-powered global positioning system (GPS)/satellite telemetry units, leg bands, and wing tags. We collected resighting data on marked birds opportunistically and telemetry data on tagged birds. We monitored …


Combining A Dispersal Model With Network Theory To Assess Habitat Connectivity, Todd R. Lookingbill, Robert H. Gardner, Joseph R. Ferrari, Cherry E. Keller Jan 2010

Combining A Dispersal Model With Network Theory To Assess Habitat Connectivity, Todd R. Lookingbill, Robert H. Gardner, Joseph R. Ferrari, Cherry E. Keller

Geography and the Environment Faculty Publications

Assessing the potential for threatened species to persist and spread within fragmented landscapes requires the identification of core areas that can sustain resident populations and dispersal corridors that can link these core areas with isolated patches of remnant habitat. We developed a set of GIS tools, simulation methods, and network analysis procedures to assess potential landscape connectivity for the Delmarva fox squirrel (DFS; Sciurus niger cinereus), an endangered species inhabiting forested areas on the Delmarva Peninsula, USA. Information on the DFS’s life history and dispersal characteristics, together with data on the composition and configuration of land cover on the peninsula, …