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Full-Text Articles in Population Biology

Improving Spatio-Temporal Benefit Transfers For Pest Control By Generalist Predators In Cotton In The Southwestern Us, Ruscena Wiederholt, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Gary F. Mccracken, Jay E. Diffendorfer, John B. Loomis, Darius J. Semmens, Amy L. Russell, Chris Sansone, Kelsie Lasharr, Paul Cryan, Claudia Reynoso, Rodrigo A. Medellin, Laura Lopez-Hoffman Oct 2016

Improving Spatio-Temporal Benefit Transfers For Pest Control By Generalist Predators In Cotton In The Southwestern Us, Ruscena Wiederholt, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Gary F. Mccracken, Jay E. Diffendorfer, John B. Loomis, Darius J. Semmens, Amy L. Russell, Chris Sansone, Kelsie Lasharr, Paul Cryan, Claudia Reynoso, Rodrigo A. Medellin, Laura Lopez-Hoffman

Amy L. Russell

Given rapid changes in agricultural practice, it is critical to understand how alterations in ecological, technological, and economic conditions over time and space impact ecosystem services in agroecosystems. Here, we present a benefit transfer approach to quantify cotton pest-control services provided by a generalist predator, the Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis mexicana), in the southwestern United States. We show that pest-control estimates derived using (1) a compound spatial-temporal model - which incorporates spatial and temporal variability in crop pest-control service values - are likely to exhibit less error than those derived using (2) a simple-spatial model (i.e., a model that …


Promoting Predators And Compassionate Conservation, Arian D. Wallach, Marc Bekoff, Michael Paul Nelson, David Ramp Sep 2016

Promoting Predators And Compassionate Conservation, Arian D. Wallach, Marc Bekoff, Michael Paul Nelson, David Ramp

Marc Bekoff, PhD

No abstract provided.


Canis Lupus Cosmopolis: Wolves In A Cosmopolitan Worldview, William S. Lynn Aug 2016

Canis Lupus Cosmopolis: Wolves In A Cosmopolitan Worldview, William S. Lynn

William S. Lynn, PhD

The subject of wolf recovery in North America sparks heated controversy, both for and against. This paper explores how this subject is informed by cosmopolitan worldviews. These worldviews pull nature and culture into a common orbit of ethical meaning, with implications for the normative relationships that ought to pertain in landscapes shared by people and wolves. This theoretical outlook is illustrated using the controversy over wolves in the northeastern region of the United States. I conclude with a set of reflections on theorizing the cosmopolis, the interpretation of cosmopolitan landscapes, and living with cosmopolitan wolves.


The Ethics Of Wildlife Control In Humanized Landscapes, John Hadidian, Camilla H. Fox, William S. Lynn Aug 2016

The Ethics Of Wildlife Control In Humanized Landscapes, John Hadidian, Camilla H. Fox, William S. Lynn

William S. Lynn, PhD

The 21st century is witness to an unprecedented and rapid growth of human settlements, from urban centers to wilderness vacation resorts. Concurrent with this has been the growing tolerance and acceptance of many wild animals and humans for one another. This has created an expanding ‘zone’ of human-animal contacts, some number of which invariably result in conflicts. While the vast majority of our interactions with wild animals are undoubtedly benign, it is the conflict between wildlife and people that draws particularly close attention from the public. Animals viewed as vertebrate “pests” range from the small to the large, the timid …


Short-Beaked Common Dolphin (Delphinus Delphis) Occurrence In The Moray Firth, North-East Scotland, Kevin P. Robinson, Sonja Eisfeld, Marina Costa, Mark P. Simmonds Jul 2016

Short-Beaked Common Dolphin (Delphinus Delphis) Occurrence In The Moray Firth, North-East Scotland, Kevin P. Robinson, Sonja Eisfeld, Marina Costa, Mark P. Simmonds

Mark P. Simmonds, OBE

The short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) is regarded as notably rare or absent from the northern North Sea, but recent evidence suggests a rising frequency of the species in these waters with increasing regional sea temperatures. The following paper documents the presence of D. delphis in the Moray Firth in north-east Scotland and provides the first evidence for the sustained occurrence of these delphinids in this region during the warmer summer months at least. Sightings were collated during systematic surveys of the outer Moray Firth between 2001 and 2009 by independent research teams from the CRRU and WDCS. A total …


Influence Of Rock-Pool Characteristics On The Distribution And Abundance Of Inter-Tidal Fishes, Gemma E. White, Grant C. Hose, Culum Brown May 2016

Influence Of Rock-Pool Characteristics On The Distribution And Abundance Of Inter-Tidal Fishes, Gemma E. White, Grant C. Hose, Culum Brown

Culum Brown, PhD

Rock pools can be found in inter-tidal marine environments worldwide; however, there have been few studies exploring what drives their, fish species composition, especially in Australia. The rock-pool environment is highly dynamic and offers a unique natural laboratory to study the habitat choices, physiological limitations and adaptations of inter-tidal fish species. In this study rock pools of the Sydney region were sampled to determine how the physical (volume, depth, rock cover and vertical position) and biological (algal cover and predator presence) parameters of pools influence fish distribution and abundance. A total of 27 fish species representing 14 families was observed …


Density And Abundance Of Secretive Marsh Birds In Iowa, Tyler Harms, Stephen Dinsmore Mar 2016

Density And Abundance Of Secretive Marsh Birds In Iowa, Tyler Harms, Stephen Dinsmore

Tyler Harms

A decrease in wetland habitats throughout North America has caused a decline in populations of marsh birds. The objective of this study was to estimate population densities and abundances of secretive marsh birds in Iowa. Call-broadcast surveys were conducted in conjunction with distance sampling for eight species of marsh birds at wetlands in three regions of Iowa during 2009 and 2010. Regions were defined by observed microhabitat characteristics which also corresponded to physiographic regions. Region-specific density estimates were obtained using Program Distance for four species of marsh birds for which sufficient detections existed (Pied-billed Grebe [Podilymbus podiceps], Least …


An Agent-Based Modeling Approach To Determine Winter Survival Rates Of American Robins And Eastern Bluebirds, Samuel Iselin, Shannon Segin, Alex Capaldi Dec 2015

An Agent-Based Modeling Approach To Determine Winter Survival Rates Of American Robins And Eastern Bluebirds, Samuel Iselin, Shannon Segin, Alex Capaldi

Alex Capaldi

American Robins (Turdus migratorius) and Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) are two species of migratory thrushes that breed in Northwest Indiana but historically are uncommon during the winter season. These trends have changed recently, and both species are seen more abundantly during the winter. Recently invaded non-native fruiting plants continue to provide nutrients for the birds throughout the winter and may contribute to the increased avian populations during that time. To measure the effect these food sources contribute to thrush wintering habits, we created an agent-based computer model to simulate the birds' movement in Northwest Indiana along …