Population Biology Commons^™

The Distribution And Life Cycle Of Alliaria Petiolate In Lincoln, Nebraska, Caleb Pharris

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Alliaria petiolata (Garlic Mustard) is a biennial alien invasive plant species of the Brassicacea family. It is responsible for displacing native plant species throughout North America and its management has proven to be extremely difficult. Recently several populations of Alliaria petiolata have been discovered in southwestern Lincoln, Nebraska. The spread of Alliaria petiolata is a concern for natural resource managers and the general public. Due to the difficulty of its control, Alliaria petiolata is capable of creating monocultures which diminish the aesthetic value of an ecosystem. While most commonly found in the understory of hardwood forests, it is capable of …

A Mark–Recapture Technique For Monitoring Feral Swine Populations, Matthew M. Reidy, Tyler A. Campbell, David G. Hewitt

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Techniques to monitor populations of feral swine (Sus scrofa) relative to damage control activities are needed on rangelands. Our objectives were to describe and assess a mark–recapture technique using tetracycline hydrochloride (TH) for monitoring feral swine populations. We established bait stations at study sites in southern and central Texas. During 1 d, we replaced normal soured corn bait with bait containing TH and counted the number of feral swine that consumed bait with observers. We conducted feral swine removal using box-style traps and helicopters, at which time we collected teeth for TH analysis. In southern Texas, we estimated …

Factors Affecting Space Use Overlap By White-Tailed Deer In An Urban Landscape, W. David Walter, Jeff Beringer, Lonnie P. Hansen, Justin W. Fischer, Joshua J. Millspaugh, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Variation in the size and overlap of space use by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) has broad implications for managing deer–human conflicts and disease spread and transmission in urban landscapes. Understanding which factors affect overlap of home range by various segments (i.e., age, sex) of an urban deer population has implications to direct contact between deer on disease epidemiology. We assessed size of home range and overlap of space use using the volume of intersection index (VI) for deer in an urban landscape by sex, age, season, and time of day. We found mean space use was larger for …

Integrating Info-Gap Decision Theory With Robust Population Management: A Case Study Using The Mountain Plover, Max Post Van Der Burg, Andrew J. Tyre

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Wildlife managers often make decisions under considerable uncertainty. In the most extreme case, a complete lack of data leads to uncertainty that is unquantifiable.Information-gap decision theory deals with assessing management decisions under extreme uncertainty, but it is not widely used in wildlife management. So too, robust population management methods were developed to deal with uncertainties in multiple-model parameters.However, the two methods have not, as yet, been used in tandem to assess population management decisions. We provide a novel combination of the robust population management approach for matrix models with the information-gap decision theory framework for making conservation decisions under extreme …

Confronting Socially Generated Uncertainty In Adaptive Management, Andrew J. Tyre, Sarah Michaels

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

As more and more organizations with responsibility for natural resource management adopt adaptive management as the rubric in which they wish to operate, it becomes increasingly important to consider the sources of uncertainty inherent in their endeavors. Without recognizing that uncertainty originates both in the natural world and in human undertakings, efforts to manage adaptively at the least will prove frustrating and at the worst will prove damaging to the very natural resources that are the management targets. There will be more surprises and those surprises potentially may prove at the very least unwanted and at the worst devastating. We …

Evaluating The Efficacy Of Adaptive Management Approaches: Is There A Formula For Success?, Jamie E. Mcfadden, Tim L. Hiller, Andrew J. Tyre

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Within the field of natural-resources management, the application of adaptive management is appropriate for complex problems high in uncertainty. Adaptive management is becoming an increasingly popular management-decision tool within the scientific community and has developed into two primary schools of thought: the Resilience-Experimentalist School (with high emphasis on stakeholder involvement, resilience, and highly complex models) and the Decision-Theoretic School (which results in relatively simple models through emphasizing stakeholder involvement for identifying management objectives). Because of these differences, adaptive management plans implemented under each of these schools may yield varying levels of success. We evaluated peer-reviewed literature focused on incorporation of …

Temperature Increase Effects On Sagebrush Ecosystem Forbs: Exprimental Evidence And Range Manager Perspectives, Hilary Louise Whitcomb

Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah

No abstract provided.

Pituophis Catenifer Deserticola (Great Basin Gophersnake) Predation, Steven J. Wamback, Richard M. Engeman

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

A variety of taxa have been observed to· prey upon Pituophis catenifer, including mammals, birds-of prey, and other snakes. Here, we describe an unusual two-day observation of predation on a mature Great Basin gophersnake by a brown trout (Salmo trutta).

The observation took place in Jones Canyon, Utah, USA, on the grounds of the Jones Hole National Fish Hatchery (JHNFH). Jones Creek' emanates from springs at the head of Jones Canyon on hatchery grounds, and flows north to south 6.4 km to the Green River, approximately paralleling the Utah-Colorado border. The stream runs for about 0.3 km …

The Need To Quantify Ecosystem Services Provided By Birds, Daniel G. Wenny, Travis L. Devault, Matthew D. Johnson, Dave Kelly, Cagan H. Sekercioglu, Diana F. Tomback, Christopher J. Whelan

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

What are the birds worth--what is their actual dollar value to human society? To most of us in the ornithological community, birds are invaluable. But in these times we need more specific rationales to convince policy makers and business leaders to include bird conservation in land-use and development decisions. Over the past two decades, awareness of our dependence on a variety of ecosystem services (natural ecological processes that benefit human society) and of their importance and prevalence has progressed toward the goal of making conservation a mainstream value. Building strategies for the protection of ecosystem services into conservation and land-use …

Rodents And Other Vertebrate Invaders In The United States, Michael W. Fall, Michael L. Avery, Tyler A. Campbell, Peter J. Egan, Richard M. Engeman, David Pimentel, William C. Pitt, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Gary W. Witmer

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Contents

Introduction

Assessing impacts of rodents and other vertebrate invaders

Accounts of some important vertebrate invaders
Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus)
Roof rat (Rattus rattus)
Polynesian rat (Rattus exulans)
House mouse (Mus Musculus)
Nutria (Myocastor coypus)
Gambian giant pouched rat (Cricetomys gambianus)
Feral swine (Sus scofa)
Small Indian Mongoose (Herpestes javanicus)
Rock pigeon (Columba livia)
House sparrow (Passer domesticus)
European starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Monk parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus)
Brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis)
Burmese python (Python …

Regulated Commercial Harvest To Manage Overabundant White-Tailed Deer: An Idea To Consider?, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Charles W. Anderson, Timothy R. Van Deelen, David Drake, W. David Walter, Stephen Vantassel, Scott E. Hygnstrom

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Declines in hunter recruitment coupled with dramatic growth in numbers of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) have challenged our ability to manage deer populations through regulated hunting. We review the efficacy of current regulated hunting methods and explain how they are unable to reduce deer numbers sufficiently in some environments. Regulated commercial harvest would provide an additional tool to help state wildlife agencies manage overabundant populations of white-tailed deer. We outline potential means to govern regulated commercial deer harvest and explain how it is compatible with the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. We identified several benefits, including reduced …

Match–Mismatch Regulation For Bluegill And Yellow Perch Larvae And Their Prey In Sandhill Lakes, Jeffrey C. Jolley, David W. Willis, Richard S. Holland

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: Staff Research Publications

Food availability may regulate fish recruitment, both directly and indirectly. The availability of zooplankton, especially to newly hatched larvae, is thought to be crucial to their early growth and survival. We examined stomach contents of larval bluegill Lepomis macrochirus and yellow perch Perca flavescens in Pelican Lake and Cameron Lake, Nebraska, in 2004 and 2005. We also determined zooplankton availability and calculated prey selection using Chesson’s a. In addition, we investigated potential match–mismatch regulation of recruitment from 2004 to 2008. Bluegill positively selected copepod nauplii and Bosmina spp., and yellow perch often selected copepods. Abundant zooplankton populations were available for …

Conserving Migratory Land Birds In The New World: Do We Know Enough?, John Faaborg, Richard T. Holmes, Angela D. Anders, Keith L. Bildstein

Dartmouth Scholarship

Migratory bird needs must be met during four phases of the year: breeding season, fall migration, wintering, and spring migration; thus, management may be needed during all four phases. The bulk of research and management has focused on the breeding season, although several issues remain unsettled, including the spatial extent of habitat influences on fitness and the importance of habitat on the breeding grounds used after breeding. Although detailed investigations have shed light on the ecology and population dynamics of a few avian species, knowledge is sketchy for most species. Replication of comprehensive studies is needed for multiple species across …

Promiscuous Mating In Feral Pigs (Sus Scrofa) From Texas, Usa, Johanna Delgado-Acevedo, Angeline Zamorano, Randy W. Deyoung, Tyler A. Campbell, David G. Hewitt, David B. Long

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Context. Feral pigs represent a significant threat to agriculture and ecosystems and are disease reservoirs for pathogens affecting humans, livestock and other wildlife. Information on the behavioural ecology of feral pigs might increase the efficiency and effectiveness of management strategies.

Aims. We assessed the frequency of promiscuous mating in relation to oestrous synchrony in feral pigs from southern Texas, USA, an agroecosystem with a widespread and well established population of feral pigs. An association between multiple paternity of single litters and synchrony of oestrous may indicate alternative mating strategies, such as mateguarding.

Methods. We collected gravid sows at …

Effects Of Olfactory And Visual Predators On Nest Success And Nest-Site Selection Of Waterfowl In North Dakota, Jennifer Borgo

Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah

No abstract provided.

Lifestyle Of Shellmound Builders In Brazil (Galley Proofs), Sabine Eggers, C. C. Petronilho, K. Brandt, J. Filippini, Karl J. Reinhard

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The contact of inland and coastal prehistoric groups in Brazil is believed to have been restricted to regions with no geographical barrier, as is the case in the Ribeira de Iguape valley. The inland osteological collection from the riverine shellmound Moraes (5800–4500 BP) represents a unique opportunity to test this assumption for this region. Despite cultural similarities between riverine and coastal shellmounds, important ecological and site distribution differences are expected to impact on lifestyle. The purpose of this study is thus to document and interpret health and lifestyle indicators in Moraes in comparison to coastal shellmound groups. Specifically we test …

Phylogeographical Structure And Evolutionary History Of Two Buggy Creek Virus Lineages In The Western Great Plains Of North America, Abinash Padhi, Amy T. Moore, Mary Bomberger Brown, Jerome E. Foster, Martin Pfeffer, Kathryn P. Gaines, Valerie A. O'Brien, Stephanie A. Strickler, Allison E. Johnson, Charles R. Brown

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Buggy Creek virus (BCRV) is an unusual arbovirus within the western equine encephalitis complex of alphaviruses. Associated with cimicid swallow bugs (Oeciacus vicarius) as its vector and the cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) and house sparrow (Passer domesticus) as its amplifying hosts, this virus is found primarily in the western Great Plains of North America at spatially discrete swallow nesting colonies. For 342 isolates collected in Oklahoma, Nebraska, Colorado, and North Dakota, from 1974 to 2007, we sequenced a 2076 bp region of the 26S subgenomic RNA structural glycoprotein coding region, and analyzed phylogenetic relationships, …

Plan Of Management For The Kalbarri Blue Holes Fish Habitat Protection Area, Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries Management Papers

The FHPA has been declared to protect and conserve an example of a near-shore reef community. In order to achieve this aim, and encourage the appreciation and conservation of fish, a number of management strategies have been identified which restrict recreational and commercial fishing. The FHPA is approximately 420 metres long and approximately 130 metres wide at the southern end and 140 metres wide at the northern end.

Chlorophacinone Baiting For Belding’S Ground Squirrels, Craig A. Ramey, George H. Matschke, Richard M. Engeman

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The efficacy of using 0.01% chlorophacinone on steam-rolled oat (SRO) groats applied in CA alfalfa by spot-baiting/hand baiting around burrow entrances (~11.5 g) to control free-ranging Belding's ground squirrels (Spermophilus beldingi) were compared in 6 randomly assigned square treatment units (TUs). Four TUs were given the rodenticide and 2 treated with placebo bait. Each TU was a 0.4 ha square surrounded by a similarly treated 5.5 ha square buffer zone. Baits were applied on May 13 and re-applied, on May 20 and May 22, after 7 days of un-forecasted cool wet weather greatly reduced their above ground activity. Pesticide (EPA …

Estimates Of Breeding Bird Populations In The Sheyenne National Grassland, North Dakota, Mary Ann Cunningham, Douglas Johnson, Daniel N. Svingen

The Prairie Naturalist

We conducted a two-year survey of breeding birds in the Sheyenne National Grassland, North Dakota, to estimate total populations of breeding birds. The Grassland is of interest because it provides wildlife habitat and recreational birding opportunities. Indicated breeding pairs were counted on 100-m wide belt transects during morning surveys from late May to early July in 2002 and 2003. We surveyed approximately 6 to 7% of the Grassland each year. The most abundant species in both years were grasshopper sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum), red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus), claycolored sparrow (Spizella pallida), Savannah sparrow (Passerculus …

Terpenes And Carbohydrate Source Influence Rumen Fermentation, Digestibility, Intake, And Preference In Sheep, J. J. Villalba, F. D. Provenza, K. C. Olson

Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah

We hypothesized that toxins and nutrients in foods interact to influence foraging behavior by herbivores. Based on this hypothesis we predicted that 1) terpenes in big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) influence intake and preference in sheep for diets varying in sources of nonstructural (barley grain) and structural (sugar beet pulp) carbohydrates, and 2) these effects are due to the differential effects of terpenes on fermentation products and apparent digestibility of each class of carbohydrates. Lambs were fed 2 isoenergetic and isonitrogenous diets with varying proportions of the same ingredients (beet pulp- and barley grain-based diet) or offered a choice between the …

Proposals For Community Discussion : A Quality Future For The Recreational Marron Fishery : A Five-Year Draft Strategy To Ensure The Long-Term Sustainability Of The Marron Fishery, Recreational Freshwater Fisheries Stakeholder Sub-Committee

Fisheries Management Papers

While some of the factors threatening the future of the marron fishery can be managed via traditional fisheries controls, many fall outside of the Department of Fisheries’ jurisdiction and require a ‘whole of Government’ approach to management. To help ensure a quality future for the recreational marron fishery, the Recreational Freshwater Fisheries Stakeholder Sub-committee (RFFSS) has now developed a set of draft management proposals designed to form the basis of a five-year management plan for the fishery.

Fisheries Occasional Paper No. 20 - Management Of Western Rock Lobster Fishery - Advice To Stakeholders - Assessment Of Southern Zone Resource Sustainability Options, Department Of Fisheries, Western Australia

Fisheries Occasional Publications

The management options presented in this paper have been developed in close cooperation with the rock lobster industry to address the short-term sustainability and economic concerns regarding the level of exploitation and its impact on the breeding stock in the southern region. The main focus in the short-term is to consider options that reduce fishing effort during periods that may be economically inefficient to fish and at the same time reduce the level of exploitation.

The management package does not address the serious long-term sustainability or socioeconomic issues (e.g. cost pressures and related fleet capacity) facing the industry. If the …

Monitoring Temporal Change In Riparian Vegetation Of Great Basin National Park, E. A. Beever, D. A. Pyke, J. C. Chambers, F. Landau, S. D. Smith, K. Murray

Life Sciences Faculty Research

Disturbance in riparian areas of semiarid ecosystems involves complex interactions of pulsed hydrologic flows, herbivory, fire, climatic effects, and anthropogenic influences. We resampled riparian vegetation within ten 10-m × 100-m plots that were initially sampled in 1992 in 4 watersheds of the Snake Range, east central Nevada. Our finding of significantly lower coverage of grasses, forbs, and shrubs within plots in 2001 compared with 1992 was not consistent with the management decision to remove livestock grazing from the watersheds in 1999. Change over time in cover of life-forms or bare ground was not predicted by scat counts within plots in …

Access And Allocation Arrangements For The Commercial 'Wetline' Fisheries. Proposals For Discussion., Commercial Access Panel

Fisheries Management Papers

The Minister for Fisheries established this review of open access (wetline) commercial fishery arrangements to provide a more effective management framework for wetline fishing and to complement the recreational initiatives. This must involve the removal of excess fishing capacity, including latent effort, from the fishery and the establishment of a dedicated commercial fishery with clear entry criteria and an appropriate limit on catch in each bioregion. However it must be made clear that the ‘wetline review’ is not a sectoral resource sharing exercise. Following the implementation of new management arrangements for the ‘wetline’ fisheries, the appropriateness of the existing levels …

Proposed Management Arrangements For The Gascoyne Commercial 'Wetland' Fishery. A Discussion Paper., West Coast And Gascoye Wetline Review Management Planning Panel.

Fisheries Management Papers

The ‘Wetline Review’ was established to implement an effective management framework for the commercial sector to complement the recreational initiatives. It must be stressed at the outset that this review is focussed on the take of scalefish by the commercial sector. The existing levels of use between the various user groups in the Gascoyne will be examined under the new integrated fisheries initiative following the implementation of new management arrangements for scalefish taken by the commercial sector.

Draft Aquaculure Plan For Exmouth Gulf, Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries Management Papers

The Plan’s objective is to provide a sound strategy for developing future aquaculture activities in Exmouth Gulf, while at the same time conserving the unique environment of Exmouth Gulf for present and future generations, and minimising conflict with existing and future users of Exmouth Gulf.

Draft Plan Of Management For The Kalbarri Blue Holes Fish Habitat Protection Area., Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries Management Papers

The overall objective of the proposed FHPA and the associated Plan of Management is to conserve and protect a portion of the near-shore reef ecosystem in the vicinity of the Blue Holes, and to manage activities within the area, to promote the observation and protection of fish living within the area. Strong community commitment has already been demonstrated, and this is crucial in the implementation of the proposed management plan

Fish Stock And Fishery Enhancement In Western Australia. A Summary Report., Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries Management Papers

This summary paper provides an overview of the key proposals set out in the full policy discussion paper, Fisheries Management Paper No 175. It does not discuss the theoretical background for the framework presented and therefore readers interested in such discussion are directed to Fisheries Management Paper No 175.

Both papers have been prepared to encourage public involvement in the development of policy for stock enhancement within Western Australian waters. Stock enhancement can involve an existing fishery or creation of a new fishery through the translocation of fish. It affects both public and private waters.

Inventory Of The Land Conservation Values Of The Houtman Abrolhos Islands., Department Of Fisheries. Western Australia

Fisheries Management Papers

There is growing pressure for increased development on the Houtman Abrolhos Islands (Abrolhos Islands). Much work on the natural, historical and cultural values of the islands has been undertaken. This document is a review of this work, which provides an overview of the conservation values of the islands, and should prove useful in considering the selection, design and evaluation of proposed developments at the Abrolhos Islands. Based on existing information, the purpose of the Review of the Land Conservation Values of the Houtman Abrolhos Islands is to: • identify and map areas of conservation value (natural, historical and cultural); and …