Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Influence Of Livestock And Electrified Fences On Livestock Depredation And Habitat Selection By Grizzly Bears In The Mission Valley, Montana, Kari Lynn Eneas

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Balancing protection between livestock and carnivores has been a long-standing challenge in conservation. When encounters between carnivores and livestock or humans result in conflict or livestock depredation, the safety of both wildlife and humans are at risk. Reducing livestock depredation by grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) will be important as populations continue to recover and expand beyond public lands in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem. We used GPS locations from 8 female grizzly bears spanning 5 years in the Mission Valley, Montana, to evaluate the effect of livestock on habitat selection of grizzly bears. The Mission Valley is located on …

Leaf Choice By Salmonfly Nymphs (Pteronarcys Californica) In Western Montana, Emily L. Hamant, Art Woods, James Frakes

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

No abstract provided.

The Evolution Of Dragons, Laura J. Mayfield

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Dragons have been depicted in human art as early as 4500 BCE. For centuries, these fantasy creatures have inspired countless folk and fantasy tales, as well as appearing in the art of different cultures around the world. Now there are thousands of different depictions of these huge, flying, fire-breathing lizards, but are any of them possible? In this study, I reference peer-reviewed scientific articles, phylogenetic analysis, and paleoart studies to create biologically-sound dragons. Basing the dragon lineage on a real branch of webbed-winged scansoriopterygids—an extinct family of climbing and gliding maniraptoran dinosaurs—I explored the possible wing-structure, fire-breathing abilities, and effects …

Finding Fishers: Determining The Distribution Of A Rare Forest Mesocarnivore In The Northern Rocky Mountains, Jessica M. Krohner

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The Northern Rocky Mountain fisher population (Pekania pennanti), is classified as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need and is of special concern to state, federal, and tribal entities. In this thesis, we present methods to effectively survey fishers across the northern Rockies of Idaho and Montana, and provide estimates of fisher distribution at a population range-wide scale through occupancy analyses. We also assess factors that influence fisher occurrence through covariate analyses and identify core fisher habitat in the northern Rockies through spatial occupancy modeling. By sampling broadly across the landscape, we provide baseline distributional data for comparison against …

Golden Eagle Resource Selection And Environmental Drivers Of Reproduction In The Northern Range Of Yellowstone National Park, David Brown Haines

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In the United States (US), National Parks are considered the “crown jewels” of protected lands. However, the importance of National Parks to wildlife populations and the species that inhabit them is not often quantified, thus, requiring a better understanding of National Parks as a conservation tool. Golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) are a North American species of conservation concern and territories in the northern range of Yellowstone National Park (YNP) are relatively dense. However, average reproductive rates over the past ten years (2011-2020) have been low (productivity = 0.34, nest success = 28%). The contrast of high density and …

Resource Selection And Calving Success Of Moose In Colorado, Forest P. Hayes

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Across much of North America, moose populations (Alces alces) are declining due to disease, predation, climate, and anthropogenic pressures. Despite this, populations of moose in Colorado have continued to grow. Studying successful (i.e., persistent or growing) populations of moose can facilitate the continued conservation of the species by identifying habitat features critical for moose persistence.

First, I evaluated calving success of moose in Colorado and the impact of willow habitat quality and nutrition. I then estimated the probability of female moose having a calf using repeated observations in a Bayesian occupancy model. I assigned values for dry matter …

Protecting Biodiversity On National Forests: The Evolution And Implementation Of Forest Planning Regulations, Anna Wearn

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In 2012, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) promulgated new forest planning regulations that significantly altered national forest management. One of the most controversial and important advancements was the inclusion of what were meant to be stronger biodiversity protections. An analysis of USFS’s rationale in revising the biodiversity regulations provides insights into how to interpret the substantively and procedurally new ecosystem and species protections. Examining this regulatory history reveals three key changes to the manner in which national forests are required to manage and monitor biodiversity: 1) a greater reliance on science to inform planning, 2) a new emphasis on ecological …

Food Web Effects Of Lake Trout (Salvelinus Namaycush) Invasion In Northwestern Montana, Charles Wainright

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Around the turn of the 20th century, lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) were widely introduced in several lakes and reservoirs outside their native range in western North America. Since then, lake trout have become problematic in many lakes where they were introduced, causing significant declines in popular sport fishes and native species, most notably federally protected bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus). Despite evidence that invasive fish can cause cascading trophic effects in aquatic communities, the impacts of lake trout introduction / invasion on aquatic food webs remain poorly understood. Moreover, native fish restoration programs tend to focus on suppression …

Selection Of Forage And Avoidance Of Predation Risk By Partially Migratory Mule Deer, Collin Jeffrey Peterson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Migration by ungulates has traditionally been thought of as a strategy that increases access to forage quality or reduces exposure to risk of predation, but the benefits of migration may be waning globally. In partially migratory populations, the persistence of both migrant and resident strategies is an intriguing ecological phenomenon, because migrants and residents often face contrasting fitness consequences. Partial migration is common in mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), a species that has experienced widespread declines across the western United States during recent decades. Mule deer seldom switch between migratory strategies throughout their lifetime, which may make them less resilient to …

Comparing Fence Modeling And Mapping Approaches To Support Wildlife Management And Research In Southwest Montana, Simon Albert Buzzard

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Fences pose significant challenges to wildlife movement, but their effects are difficult to quantify because fence location and fence type data are lacking on a global scale. We developed a fence location and density model in southwest Montana, USA to provide data to researchers and managers, and test whether previous models could be applied to a new region and retain suitable levels of statistical accuracy. Our model used local expert opinion to inform how road, land cover, and ownership spatial layers interacted to predict fence locations. We validated the model against fence data collected on random 3.2 km road transects …

Decoupled Diel Solutes: Linking Primary Production And Nitrate Uptake In A Montane Stream, Kimberly Bray

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Tight coupling of surface water diel dissolved oxygen (DO) and nitrate-N (NO₃-N) signals reflects stoichiometric demand of carbon and nitrogen in stream ecosystems. However, DO and NO₃-N can become decoupled due to alternative drivers of diel solutes, resulting in conflicting estimates of stoichiometric and modeled NO₃-N uptake. In this study, I measured benthic biomass, hydrology, and dissolved solutes in a montane stream located in western MT over a growing season (June-October 2019). Daily stream metabolism and NO₃-N uptake were modeled using a single-station open-channel approach. Timing and amplitude of key diel signals …

Heat For The Masses: Thermal Ecology Of The Western Tent Caterpillar, Victoria Dahlhoff

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

A unique feature of some gregarious, colonial insects is their ability to create external structures that alter environmental conditions for the entire (often family) group. A combination of physical alteration of local microhabitats and behavioral thermoregulation allows many of these animals to actively control their body temperatures, which allows them to regulate energy use and metabolism in variable thermal environments. Here I describe mechanisms of microhabitat modification and thermal regulation in the western tent caterpillar, Malacosoma californicum pluviale. Tent caterpillars build communal silk tents, whose temperatures can rise substantially above ambient air temperature. I experimentally manipulated colony sizes and examined …

Estimating Juvenile Recruitment Of Elk In An Occupancy Modeling Framework, Mateen A. Hessami

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Juvenile recruitment is a key parameter in understanding ungulate population dynamics. Traditional methods in population composition surveys, such as estimating young: adult-female ratio’s, can be precluded by cost, safety, and feasibility. The use of remote cameras provides a potentially cutting-edge tool to apply to wildlife population estimation techniques. While the prevalence of remote cameras in ungulate studies has increased, few studies have used cameras to estimate vital rates, such as recruitment or survival. Here, we tested the potential of remote cameras to estimate calf: cow ratios and calf survival of elk (Cervus elaphus) using the Royle-Nichols (2003) occupancy …

Longevity In Snowshoe Hares, Katrina L. Theisen, Alexander V. Kumar, L. Scott Mills

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

For small mammals subject to predation, individual longevity, or lifespan, is typically unknown. Snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) are used as the focal species of this study to examine the assumption that small prey species do not typically live past one or two years of age. To test this assumption, we analyzed a 20-year capture-mark-recapture database to first index the lifespan of hares. We analyzed this database to determine which factors increased the odds of longevity in hares. Body condition and capture location were significant in increasing the odds of a hare being long lived, whereas sex of the …

The Effects Of Forest Gaps On Animal Communication Networks, Cedar Arran Mathers-Winn

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

To avoid predation, many animals have evolved complex systems of anti-predator communication. Alarm calls are a key component of anti-predator behavior in many birds, and can provide detailed information about predators. Additionally, many birds and mammals produce and respond to each other’s alarm calls, creating a complex communication network. Furthermore, individuals may give alarm calls in response to the alarm calls of others nearby, without actually seeing a predator. This makes possible the spatial spread of alarm information, which can result in complex communication networks extending over a large area. However, this requires suitable habitat in which birds will be …

Tiger Monitoring In Bhutan Using Non-Invasive Genetic Tools, Tashi Dhendup

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Large carnivores are one of the most threatened group of animals in the world. They suffer from prey depletion, persecution by humans, and habitat loss and fragmentation which are extensively driven by anthropogenic activities. One such species is the tiger Panthera tigris. Tigers are found in thirteen countries in Asia and are protected across the range; however, tiger numbers have declined as an after effect of habitat loss, prey depletion and poaching. Human-induced changes have reduced the tiger's historical range to about 7% in which a little more than 3900 tigers are found. Most of these individuals currently exist …

Population And Breeding Ecology Of Sagebrush Steppe Songbirds, Kayla Ann Ruth

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Sagebrush steppe is one of the most threatened ecosystems in North America. Domestic livestock grazing is the dominant land use of sagebrush steppe across the west. Rest-rotation grazing systems can be a conservation management tool, most recently, by the Natural Resource Conservation Service - Sage Grouse Initiative (SGI). The goal of SGI is to encourage private landowners to use a livestock grazing regime that maintains or improves habitat for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), as well as improve rangeland productivity. Songbirds are biological indicators that can assess the health of sagebrush steppe. Avian adult density estimates are often used …

Shaping The Tools Of Battle : Sexual Selection, Contest Dynamics, And Weapon Divergence In The Asian Rhinoceros Beetle Trypoxylus Dichotomus, Jillian F. Del Sol

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Exaggerated weapons of sexual selection often diverge more rapidly and dramatically than other body parts, suggesting that relevant agents of selection may be discernible in contemporary populations. I examined the ecology, reproductive behavior, and strength of sexual selection on horn length in five recently diverged beetle populations that differ in relative horn size. I show that mating system ecology differs between these locations and corresponds with the local strength of contemporary selection on horn length. Comparisons of ecological conditions and selection strength across populations offer a critical first step towards meaningfully linking mating system dynamics, selection patterns, and diversity in …

Quantifying Coat Color Phenology Of Sympatric Snowshoe Hares And Weasels, Brandon Murray Davis

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Adaptation To A Geothermal Soil Mosaic Shapes Genome-Wide Patterns Of Diversity And Differentiation In Yellowstone Monkeyflowers (M. Guttatus), Kory M. Kolis

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Local adaptation across habitat mosaics can generate phenotypic divergence in the face of gene flow; however, adaptive divergence in reproductive traits may also create barriers to genetic exchange within and among distinct habitats. In plants, life-history, phenology, and mating system traits may lead to divergent selection over short (microgeographic) spatial scales. Changes to these traits are likely to directly affect patterns of gene flow and genomic diversity. In this study, we combined field, common garden, and population genomic approaches to investigate phenotypic and genetic variation in Mimulus guttatus (yellow monkeyflowers) adapted to a complex geothermal soil mosaic in Yellowstone National …

Colloidal And Truly Dissolved Metal(Loid)S In Wastewater Lagoons And Their Removal With Floating Treatment Wetlands, Lauren Sullivan

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Climate change is predicted to cause continuing declines in late-season streamflow, thus increasing the relative contribution of wastewater effluent to surface water flows. Wastewater effluent represents a critical point source of metal and metalloid contamination to aquatic ecosystems and wastewater lagoons are the most common wastewater treatment system in the rural United States. Although the fraction of total wastewater metals and metalloids in "dissolved" forms (defined here asnm) likely drives the potential for negative effects on receiving waters, this broad operational definition lumps truly dissolved solutes (nm) with small colloids and nanomaterials (1-450 nm; hereafter colloids). This size distinction may …

Assessing The Robustness Of Time-To-Event Abundance Estimation, Kenneth E. Loonam

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Abundance estimates can inform management policies and are used to address a variety of wildlife research questions, but reliable estimates of abundance can be difficult and expensive to obtain. For low-density, difficult to detect species, such as cougars (Puma concolor), the costs and intensive field effort required to estimate abundance can make working at broad spatial and temporal scales impractical. Remote cameras have proven effective in detecting these species, but the widely applied methods of estimating abundance from remote cameras rely on some portion of the population being marked or uniquely identifiable, limiting their utility to populations with naturally occurring …

Methods For Estimating Mountain Goat Occupancy And Abundance, Molly Mcdevitt

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Abundance and occupancy are two parameters of central interest to the field of ecology. Furthermore, accurate (both precise and unbiased) estimates are key pieces to the puzzle of effective wildlife management decision-making. While there exist a variety of sampling techniques and statistical models for effectively estimating population parameters for frequently encountered and large mammals, methods for sampling unmarked and rare species are few and far between. The first step to acquiring usable parameter estimates is through the use of sampling theory and incorporation of probabilistic sampling designs to collect count-data and occurrence-data. Often, it is assumed that probabilistic sampling designs …

Hawai'i Wildlife Fund V. County Of Maui, Lowell J. Chandler

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Hawai’i Wildlife Fund v. County of Maui, the Ninth Circuit held that the plain language of the Clean Water Act provides jurisdiction over indirect discharges of pollutants from a point source into groundwater that is shown to be connected to navigable waters. The court found that studies confirmed pollutants entering the Pacific Ocean were fairly traceable to the County of Maui’s sewage disposal wells. In affirming the district court’s ruling, the Ninth Circuit held that Maui County violated the Clean Water Act by discharging pollutants into a navigable water without the required permit. The court also concluded the …

Camera Traps In Wildlife Research: Through My Lens, Bryson P. Allen

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Wildlife species can be difficult to study because they can have very large ranges and can be wary of observers. Researchers have been using camera traps in recent decades as a way to study wildlife behavior and population metrics. Here I explore the history of these tools in wildlife biology, their possible applications, and limitations.

Spatial Patterns Of Winter Roadside Gray Wolf Sightability In Yellowstone National Park, Jeremy Sunderraj

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Imperfect detection is ubiquitous among wildlife research and can affect research conclusions and management. Detection probability is often included in observation-based models. We leveraged research of gray wolves (Canis lupus) in northern Yellowstone National Park (YNP) to evaluate how the probability of sighting radio collared wolf packs from ground-based observation locations was affected by the characteristics of each spatial location (i.e., distance from the road, visibility (from a viewshed analysis), habitat openness, carcass presence, and wolf group size). We used two complementary approaches focusing on sightings during early (mid-November to mid-December) and late (March) winter periods between 1995 and 2017. …

Quantifying False Positives In Avian Survey Data, Kaitlyn M. Strickfaden

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Imperfect detection is a known issue when conducting count-based surveys in wildlife studies. False positive detections, observed occurrences of individuals that truly are not present, are often assumed to not occur. This assumption can bias detection rates and create misleading results when calculating population estimates. Survey methods such as the dependent double-observer method are suggested to reduce the occurrence of false positives (Nichols et al. 2000). My study quantified and compared rates of false positives in a single-observer method and a dependent double-observer method using computer-generated auditory surveys. I categorized volunteer observers as either inexperienced or experienced and asked them …

Polar Gigantism And Sea Spiders: A Study Of Respiratory Scaling, Steven Joseph Lane

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

All animals must breathe to survive. The types of primary respiratory structures vary across the metazoa, and the overall size and components of these structures scale with body size. The scaling of respiratory structures has been well studied in vertebrate lungs and gills, but very few, if any studies, have looked at it in terms of cutaneous gas exchange, the process where oxygen moves across the outer integument via diffusion. My dissertation has sought to fill this gap in knowledge by studying animals that use cutaneous respiration, and my work has determined both how the components of their respiratory surfaces …

Lewis’S Woodpecker Nest Success And Habitat Selection In Cottonwood Floodplain Versus Burned Conifer Forests, William M. Blake

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Breeding habitat selection influences reproductive outcomes. Habitat selection may be adaptive and benefit populations, but it can also be maladaptive with negative consequences for populations. Understanding habitat selection and its influence on reproductive success, especially in species of concern, is critical for effective management. Lewis’s Woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis) is a Species of Concern that has experienced national population declines. We studied its abundance and reproductive success in two commonly selected breeding forest types (i.e., cottonwood floodplain and mixed-conifer burned), and nest-site characteristics (nest availability, food availability, and vegetation attributes) that have the potential to yield strong differences in …

Survival, Movements, And Resource Selection Of Female White-Tailed Deer In Missouri, Chloe A. Wright

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Missouri are a socially and economically important game species generating annual revenue in excess of $1 billion. The last comprehensive deer study in Missouri was conducted in the 1980s – 1990s when deer populations were rapidly expanding. Since this time there has been a reduction in deer population size, declining growth rates, changes in harvest strategies, and the emergence and spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD). These changes have rendered prior survival estimates outdated, and the presence of CWD requires a deeper understanding of movement patterns and space use. We were interested in …