Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Integrating Robotics Into Wildlife Conservation: Testing Improvements To Predator Deterrents Through Movement, Stewart W. Breck, Jeffrey T. Schultz, David Prause, Cameron Krebs, Anthony J. Giordano, Byron Boots

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Background Agricultural and pastoral landscapes can provide important habitat for wildlife conservation, but sharing these landscapes with wildlife can create conflict that is costly and requires managing. Livestock predation is a good example of the challenges involving coexistence with wildlife across shared landscapes. Integrating new technology into agricultural practices could help minimize human-wildlife conflict. In this study, we used concepts from the fields of robotics (i.e., automated movement and adaptiveness) and agricultural practices (i.e., managing livestock risk to predation) to explore how integration of these concepts could aid the development of more effective predator deterrents.

Methods …

Ecology And Evolution Of Social Information Use, Clare T. M. Doherty

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Sociality is a strategy many animals employ to cope with their environments, enabling them to survive and reproduce more successfully than would otherwise be possible. When navigating their environments and making decisions, social individuals often use information provided by conspecifics (in the form of social cues and signals), thereby increasing the scope and reliability of the information they can gather. However, social information use may be influenced by many factors, including key differences in context across the physical and social environment. My thesis asks and answers a series of questions regarding the trade-offs in social information use across different contexts, …

Behavioral States In Space And Time: Understanding Landscape Use By An Invasive Mammal, Steven M. Gray, John M. Humphreys, Robert A. Montgomery, Dwayne R. Etter, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Daniel B. Kramer, Gary J. Roloff

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Animal movement models can be used to understand species behavior and assist with implementation of management activities. We explored behavioral states of an invasive wild pig (Sus scrofa) population that recently colonized central Michigan, USA, 2014–2018. To quantify environmental factors related to wild pig movement ecology and spatio‐temporal landscape use, we predicted wild pig behavioral states relative to land cover type, landscape structure (i.e., edge and patch cohesion), and weather conditions. We used global positioning system (GPS)‐collars and monitored 8 wild pigs from 2014–2018. We fit local convex hulls and calculated movement metrics revealing 3 wild pig behavioral states (resting, …

Activity Patterns Of The Del Norte Salamander (Plethodon Elongatus): Monitoring Plethodontid Behavior Using Pit Tag Surveys, Sabrina Horrack

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Semi-fossorial plethodontid salamanders exhibit behavioral plasticity to avoid desiccation, retreating underground to shelter from adverse conditions such as low precipitation and high temperatures. In this study, I used passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag surveys to monitor this behavior in the Del Norte salamander (Plethodon elongatus), a small plethodontid native to northwestern California and southwestern Oregon. Within its range, a climatic gradient exists in which coastal areas experience milder temperatures and high precipitation, while inland areas tend to have colder winters, hotter summers, and lower precipitation. By monitoring the activity patterns of this species in inland and coastal areas, …

Spatial Ecology Observations From Feral Horses Equipped With Global Positioning System Transmitters, Jacob D. Hennig, Jeffrey L. Beck, J. Derek Scasta

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Our understanding of the spatial ecology of feral horses (Equus ferus caballus ) and burros (E . asinus ) in the United States is limited. Robust location data are needed to better understand the permeability of Bureau of Land Management Herd Management Area boundaries, relative to feral horse movement patterns and home ranges. To increase our understanding of feral horse movement, in February to March 2017, we deployed global positioning system (GPS) collars on 14 females ≥5 years old that were captured in the Adobe Town Herd Management Area (ATHMA) of southcentral Wyoming, USA. Herein, we report initial results from …

Botswana’S Elephant-Back Safari Industry – Stress-Response In Working African Elephants And Analysis Of Their Post-Release Movements, Tanya Lama

Masters Theses

Understanding how African elephants (Loxodonta africana) respond to human interactions in ecotourism operations is critical to safeguarding animal and human welfare and sustaining wildlife ecotourism activities. We investigated the stress response of elephants to a variety of tourist activities over a 15-month period at Abu Camp in northern Botswana. We compared fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) concentrations across three elephant groups, including: eight elephants in an elephant-tourism operation (Abu herd), three elephants previously reintroduced back into the wild from the Abu herd, and wild elephants. There were no differences in FGM concentrations between the three groups of elephants. The highest observed …

Examining Movement And Habitat Selection Of Everglades Fishes In Response To Seasonal Water Levels, Gregory J. Hill

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fish distribution patterns and seasonal habitat use play a key role in the food web dynamics of aquatic ecosystems, including the Florida Everglades. In this study I examined the fine scale habitat shifts and movements of spotted sunfish, Lepomis punctatus across varying seasons and hydrologic conditions using in-situ field enclosures and Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) systems. Data on fish use of three dominant Everglades marsh habitats and activity level were recorded continuously from January to August, 2015. Fish were more active and had the highest use of higher elevation habitats when water levels rose during an experimental reversal in mid-April. …

Effects Of Roads And Trails On Peaks Of Otter Salamander (Plethodon Hubrichti) And Eastern Red-Backed Salamander (Plethodon Cinereus) Movement Behavior, Cory Benjamin Goff

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Habitat fragmentation negatively affects movement and dispersal of wildlife by altering useable space and creating barriers. The objective of this study was to assess impacts of fragmentation by roads and trails on the movement behavior of two terrestrial, woodland salamander species. I evaluated whether proximity to roads and trails affected the movement behavior of two species: the Peaks of Otter Salamander (Plethodon hubrichti), a species of special concern, and the Eastern Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus). I examined movement behavior in three treatments: paved roads, gravel roads and hiking trails. I compared treatments to controls located at least 200m from treatment …

Spatial Ecology Of White-Tailed Deer Fawns In The Northern Great Plains: Implications Of Loss Of Conservation Reserve Program Grasslands, Troy W. Grovenburg, Robert W. Klaver, Jonathan A. Jenks

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

Few studies have evaluated how wildlife, and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in particular, respond to Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) grasslands. We conducted a 3-year study (2007– 2009) to determine the influence of CRP on fawn ecology during a time of declining CRP enrollment. We captured and radiocollared 81 fawn white-tailed deer during 15 May to 15 June 2007–2009 in north-central South Dakota, collected 6,505 locations, and documented 70 summer home ranges. Mean summer home ranges increased temporally during 2007–2009 (P < 0.001) and corresponded to a 41% loss of CRP grasslands in the area (2.3% loss in land cover and approx. 21% loss in cover habitat in the study area) over the duration of the study. Additionally, mean movement between daily locations increased (P < 0.001) from 2007 to 2009. Analysis of covariance models indicated that change in CRP influenced home-range size, and change in CRP and wheat influenced daily movement. Smaller home ranges and reduced movements were associated with greater quantity of CRP available to fawns, and increased movements were associated with more acreage of wheat available to fawns. Fawns shifted resource selection during the summer at a mean age ranging from 48.8 days to 58.6 days, and this shift was associated with height of corn (83–87 cm). During early summer, fawns consistently selected for CRP; selection of wheat progressed temporally from avoidance in 2007 to selection in 2009. During late summer, fawns consistently selected for corn habitat and used CRP at least in proportion to its availability. Reduction in CRP-grasslands seemed to increase fawn home-range size and daily movements and, influenced change in resource selection to wheat. Current legislation mandates continued decrease in CRP enrollment and concomitant increase in the planting of corn for ethanol production. Management of habitat throughout the grasslands of the Northern Great Plains that maximizes cover habitats would provide neonates with adequate cover for protection from predators.

Simulation Of Spatial Movement That Potentially Maximizes Assessment, Presence, And Defence In Territorial And Home-Ranging Animals, With Special Reference To Territorial Sex-Changing Fishes, Thomas R. Brown, Joshua Jowers, Marvin M.F. Lutnesky

Biology Faculty Publications

Question: Are there territory sizes, shapes, and movement rules that animals can use to maximize their presence for territorial and reproductive purposes? Features of the model: Individual-oriented simulation model of a focal male, a female (his mate), and six other males in adjacent territories. Simulation variables were territory size and aspect (length-to-width ratio), velocity, step size, and potential movement angle. Each simulation represented 10,000 s of real time, and simulations were repeated until convergence on maximum mean encounter rates (MER) of a focal male with the female and other males was reached. Ranges of variables: Simulations consisted of three velocities …

Habitat Selection And Movement Of A Stream-Resident Salmonid In A Regulated River And Tests Of Four Bioenergetic Optimization Models, Mark D. Bowen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A bioenergetics model was constructed for stream-resident drift-feeding salmonids. Model predictions of surplus power (energy available per unit time for growth and reproduction) were not statistically distinguishable from observations of surplus power in three laboratory studies. Of 40 experimental trials in these three studies, the model correctly predicted surplus power in 39 cases (p < 0.05).

I collected observations of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) focal velocity and physical habitat availability in the Green River of northeastern Utah, USA (1988-1990). In the winter of 1988, Flaming Gorge Dam generated hydropower and delivered an lJDStable discharge regime with a higher mean discharge …