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Descriptive Report On Dietary Remains From Aztec And Salmon Ruins Coprolites, Karl J. Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

This report focuses only on dietary results from the Aztec Ruins and Salmon Ruins coprolites. The parasitological analysis was completed in 2018 and was the focus of several papers that were summarized by Camacho and Reinhard (2020). This did not include DNA analysis. The coprolites from these sites are not appropriate sources of DNA testing.

The main conclusion of the analysis are:

1) Two very distinct plant spectra are represented in Aztec Ruins West (ARW) room 219 and room 225.

2) The three contexts of ARW room 219 show interesting variation in food selection, however these are small samples.

3) …

Social Interactions And Spatial Structure Drive Community Assembly Of Bacterial Biofilm, Matthew C. Bond

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Despite the critical nature which microbial communities play in the natural world and human civilization, the breadth of understanding remains shallow. Challenged by scale, high variability between environments, and extensive diversity, microbial ecologists strive to understand connections between a community’s structure and function, as well as the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms underlying observed natural patterning of communities. Biofilms are the predominate mode of growth for microbial communities—characterized by cellular attachment to a surface via a self-produced matrix and heterogeneous structure, often resulting in a primary growth front along the biofilm surface due to differential access to bulk nutrients (cite). This …

Examining Genome Size And Nutrient Influence On Damage Patterns, And Plant-Invertebrate Community Dynamics, Hailee B. Petosky

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Genome size (GS) varies widely among angiosperms and has been shown to mediate plant responses to nutrients. Variations of GS drastically impact plant growth, fitness, and competitive responses, influencing plant functioning, nutrient requirements, and potentially, consumptive interactions. Specifically, plants with larger genomes vary in their cellular nutrient requirements, affecting tissue quality, nutrient constraints, and invertebrate interactions. Furthermore, environmental nutrient enrichments are a key driver affecting ecosystem functioning and species interactions. Plant communities are impacted by both top-down and bottom-up controls of herbivores and nutrients, respectively, and alterations to these interactions may cause cascading trophic level effects to influence damage patterns …

The Role Of Neighborhood Effects In Maintaining The Hardwood-Hemlock Mosaic, Adam Z. Milenkowic

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Neighborhood effects are processes mediated by canopy trees that influence the ability of a species to replace itself following canopy mortality. Sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) and eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr.) are the dominant trees in old-growth northern hardwood forests of Upper Michigan and have been observed to form monodominant patches in the region. Few studies have independently evaluated the demographic and ecological mechanisms that lead to the compositional stability of hemlock and sugar maple patch development. Tree demography data from eight long-term 0.5 ha old-growth plots in Upper Michigan indicate neighborhood effects are playing a …

Can Edna Be Used To Locate Shawnee Hills Cavefish Forbesichthys Papilliferus?, Megan Brandt, Timothy Spier Phd, Gary Zeruth Phd

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Traditional stream fish sampling methods, such as seining and electrofishing, are time consuming, expensive, and limited to short stretches of stream. However, the analysis of environmental DNA (eDNA) from water samples promises to be a quick, inexpensive method for detecting fish. The streams of the Land Between the Lakes Recreational Area (LBL) are unique, undisturbed streams which contain many interesting fish species for which little information exists. One such rare species is the Shawnee Hills Cavefish Forbesichthys papilliferus, which is known to exist in a few LBL streams. However, the complete distribution of the Shawnee Hills Cavefish in LBL …

Investigating Changing Macronutrient Dynamics At A Plant, Microbe And Plant-Microbe Interactions Scale, Emel Kangi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Nutrient limitation drives forest ecosystem processes by altering net primary production, belowground (C) investments, and microbial activity. As such, the availability of essential macronutrients, such as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), can severely impact plant growth, microbial decomposition, and the strength of plant-microbial interactions. However, our understanding of plant and microbe responses to changing nutrient availability, and the extent to which nutrient availability affects plant-microbe interactions, remains somewhat limited. Therefore, in this dissertation, I aimed to investigate nutrient limitation on a plant, microbe, and plant-microbe interaction level. First, to connect the phenotypic responses of nutrient-limited plants to key molecular mechanisms, …

Better Understanding The Barred Owl, Adam Lee Potts

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis research presents an analysis of barred owl nest site selection in an understudied region of their expanded range. The barred owl has dramatically expanded its range westwards over the last 150 years, prompting multiple conflicting reinterpretations of their species account. Hypotheses of range expansion are reviewed to provide context for this study’s research. This study gathers empirical data on nest site selection in the mixed conifer forests of Montana’s Seeley-Swan and Mission Valleys. Eight barred owl nests were located following extensive territory surveys. Field measurements of tree height and diameter using USFS Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) plot …

Table Of Contents

Human–Wildlife Interactions

This is the table of contents.

The Invasive Species We Love And The Ones We Don't, S. Nicole Frey

Human–Wildlife Interactions

This is the letter from the editor-in-chief of Volume 18, Issue 1.

An Effective Method For Long-Term Control Of American Bullfrogs Syntopic With Special-Status Native Amphibians In California, Usa, Jeff A. Alvarez, Jeffery T. Wilcox

Human–Wildlife Interactions

American bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus) are invasive in western North America and are well established in California, USA, where they are widespread. This invasive species has been implicated in the decrease of native amphibian populations and is believed to have contributed to the decline of threatened and endangered amphibians regionally. We utilized air rifles, tin alloy pellets, and 2 shooters to systematically control L. catesbeianus in both lentic and lotic habitat types within 2 counties in California. We visited sites monthly (April through November) for approximately 8 and 14 years to lethally target and remove L. catesbeianus …

Cover, Editorial Staff, Journal Information

Human–Wildlife Interactions

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Special Topic: Pest And Beneficial Bird Management, Breanna Martinico, Shannon Skalos

Human–Wildlife Interactions

This is the call for papers for the special issue on Pest and Beneficial Bird Management.

Preparing For Publication: An Inside Look At Production Processes And Recommendations For Authors Of Human–Wildlife Interactions, Rosanna M. Vail

Human–Wildlife Interactions

This segment of The Back Page provides a transparent look at the journal's article production tasks, including pre-production, copyediting, layout, proofs, pre-publication, and publication, as well as recommendations for authors to reduce time to publication.

Forthcoming Hwi Monographs

Human–Wildlife Interactions

The HWI Monograph Series is publishing open access monographs on free-ranging domestic cats and coyotes.

Table Of Contents

Human–Wildlife Interactions

This is the table of contents.

Impacts Of Wildlife–Vehicle Collisions Create Cascade Effects, S. Nicole Frey

Human–Wildlife Interactions

This is the letter from the editor-in-chief of Volume 18, Issue 2.

Flashtags: Evaluating A Novel Deterrent To Reduce Livestock Depredation, C. Aaron Bott, Stewart W. Breck, Tom W. Murphy, Brad A. Freking, Carlos A. López González, David Prause, Corey Peavey, Albert Sommers, Coke Landers, Julie K. Young

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Social tolerance of carnivores can be improved by preventing conflicts through nonlethal predator deterrents (e.g., livestock protection dogs [Canis lupus familiaris] and human presence) that have been used for centuries. However, many livestock producers feel the existing preventative methods are inadequate for extensive production systems where livestock can be spread widely and have less human supervision. To address this issue, we developed and tested a new nonlethal tool called FlashTags to reduce livestock predation. FlashTags are ear tags worn by livestock that flash a random-light pattern at night when motion-triggered. In the first year, we tested the devices …

Multi-Year Effectiveness Of Pzp-22 In Free-Roaming Suburban White-Tailed Deer, Allen T. Rutberg, Kali M. Pereira, Kayla A. Grams, John W. Turner Jr.

Human–Wildlife Interactions

To address the challenge that is posed to the use of fertility control to mitigate human–deer (Cervidae) conflicts by the need to regularly re-inoculate free-roaming animals, we captured, ear-tagged, and hand-injected 68 individual adult female white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) with the PZP-22 immunocontraceptive vaccine from February through April, 2014 to 2017, in the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, USA. Approximately 2.5 years after initial treatments, we booster-darted 29 of the previously treated females with either PZP-22 or native PZP (ZonaStat-D). We observed fawn production between 2014 and 2021. The combination of initial PZP-22 hand-treatments followed by single dart-delivered PZP …

Spatial Predictors Of Human–Black Bear Interactions In Nova Scotia, Canada, Jason I. Airst, Tricia B. Fleming

Human–Wildlife Interactions

The increased global frequency of human–wildlife conflict with large, wild carnivores and omnivores negatively impacts human, wildlife, and ecosystem health. The goal of this study was to determine what landscape characteristics best predicted where human–black bear (Ursus americanus) interactions occurred in Nova Scotia, Canada, to support management efforts. We compared the location of 3,278 human–bear conflict reports and 867 non-conflict reports collected between 2017 and 2021 to 12,000 randomly generated locations. Data were analyzed using logistic additive mixed models. We found that interactions (conflict and non-conflict reports) occurred near roads and farther from forests and surface water features. …

Is Mitigation Translocation An Effective Method For Reducing Laysan Albatross–Military Aircraft Collisions?, Brian E. Washburn, Katherine D. Rubiano, William P. Bukoski

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Wildlife–aircraft collisions (wildlife strikes) pose a serious risk to civil and military aircraft. Each year, Laysan albatrosses (Phoebastria immutabilis) attempt to establish a breeding colony on the airfield at the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) located on the island of Kaua‘i, Hawai‘i, USA, resulting in a hazard to safe military aircraft operations at this facility. A long-term management program, with an emphasis on mitigation translocation (e.g., live-capture and translocation away from the area) of problematic individuals, has been conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Wildlife Services. However, the efficacy of mitigation translocation as a nonlethal …

Forthcoming Hwi Monographs

Human–Wildlife Interactions

The HWI Monograph Series is publishing an open access monograph on urban coyotes.

Cover, Editorial Staff, Journal Information

Human–Wildlife Interactions

This includes the cover caption, editorial staff, and journal information.

New Associate Editors, S. Nicole Frey

Human–Wildlife Interactions

New associate editors include Neil Jordan and Allen Rutberg.

Waterbird-Perceived Damage, Control Measures, And Economic Implications For Rice Production In The Brazilian Cerrado, Demetrio Luis Guadagnin, Alexandre Afonso Meyer, João Augusto Rossi Borges, Fernanda Maia Justo

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Waterbirds have the potential to inflict economic damage to crops. However, is rice (Oryza sativa) production in the Brazilian Cerrado significantly affected by waterbirds? This study aimed to assess the extent of waterbird damage on irrigated rice production in Central Brazil. We conducted surveys of waterbird populations in rice agroecosystem habitats throughout the cultivation cycle and analyzed the expenses associated with waterbird-induced yield losses and the control measures employed by farmers. The 2 most prevalent waterbird species observed were Dendrocygna viduatta and D. autumnalis, comprising 68.6% of all recorded waterbirds. These species were more frequently encountered and …

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Open Access Is Only The Beginning: Extending The Readership Of Human–Wildlife Interactions Research Through Inclusive Communication Design, Rosanna M. Vail

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Readers must be able to access, understand, and engage with published work, especially in an area like human–wildlife interactions, where viral coverage of altercations with wildlife sparks widespread interest in species or management issues. What should authors be doing to make their writing more inclusive and effective for as many readers as possible? In this article, the managing editor of Human-Wildlife Interactions integrates updated guidelines from the Council of Science Editors with communication frameworks to prioritize a reader-focused approach that extends the reach of article publication.

Monograph Available: Toolkit To Address Free-Ranging Domestic Cats On Agency Lands Managed For Native Wildlife And Ecosystem Health

Human–Wildlife Interactions

This is an announcement about the published monograph titled "Toolkit to Address Free-ranging Domestic Cats on Agency Lands Managed for Native Wildlife and Ecosystem Health." This publication, part of the HWI Monograph Series, is online and open access.

The Spatial Ecology Of Plains Spotted Skunks In South Dakota: Insights From Species Distribution, Resource Selection, And Co-Occurrence Models, Kara M. White

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The plains spotted skunk (Spilogale interrupta) is a data-deficient small carnivore native to the central plains of North America that has experienced significant population declines. My dissertation investigates the species’ distribution, habitat associations, and interspecific interactions in South Dakota, providing crucial information for conservation actions. In Chapter 1, I developed ensemble distribution models on a broad scale, incorporating species location data from 1985–2020, environmental factors, and six predictive modeling algorithms. I identified key predictors including mean temperature diurnal range and proportion of area as pasture, and estimated ~31,300 km2 of potential habitat, predominately in eastern South Dakota. In Chapter 2, …

Soil Responses To Eastern Redcedar (Juniperus Virginiana L.) Afforestation And Prescribed Fire In South-Central South Dakota, Robert Schaefer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research was conducted in 2019 and 2020 on rangelands located in south-central South Dakota assessing a number of physical, chemical, and biological properties of mineral ustepts and ustents soils associated with eastern redcedar (ERC) (Juniperus virginiana) afforestation and prescribed fire. ERC afforestation appeared to be associated with significantly higher field-condition soil aggregate stability, cation exchange capacity (CEC), soil pH, and fungi:bacteria (F:B) as well as significantly lower soil moisture, nitrate-N, phosphorus, bacteria biomass, and Gram-positive:Gram-negative (GP:GN) bacteria compared to native grassland conditions, while other mineral soil properties appeared relatively unaffected. Compared to soil conditions under dense, living ERC canopies, prescribed …

Methods For Optimizing Detection And Evaluating Habitat Use Of North American River Otters In South Dakota, Jessica Speiser

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

North American river otters (Lontra canadensis) play a critical role as an apex predator in riverine ecosystems. A challenging species to survey using traditional methods, they remain understudied in non-forested regions, such as the Northern Great Plains, where habitat degradation and landscape fragmentation may reduce habitat quality and availability and disrupt landscape connectivity. This thesis aims to improve detectability and investigates the habitat use of river otters in South Dakota to better understand habitat needs of otters and improve their continued recovery and management. My first chapter provides a brief overview of river otters and their ecological roles in freshwater …