Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Summer Habitat Use And Movements Of Invasive Wild Pigs (Sus Scrofa) In Canadian Agro-Ecosystems, Corey J. Kramer, Melanie R. Boudreau, Ryan S. Miller, Ryan Powers, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Ryan K. Brook

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Resource selection informs understanding of a species’ ecology and is especially pertinent for invasive species. Since introduced to Canada, wild pigs (Sus scrofa Linnaeus, 1978) remain understudied despite recognized negative impacts on native and agricultural systems globally. Elsewhere in North America, pigs typically use forests and forage in agricultural crops. We hypothesized Canadian wild pigs would behave similarly, and using GPS locations from 15 individuals, we examined diel and seasonal resource selection and movement in the Canadian prairie region. Forests were predominately selected during the day, while corn (Zea mays L.), oilseeds, and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) …

Conflict, Coexistence, Or Both? Cougar Habitat Selection, Prey Composition, And Mortality In A Multiple-Use Landscape, David C. Stoner, Mark A. Ditmer, Dustin L. Mitchell, Julie K. Young, Michael L. Wolfe

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Western North America is experiencing remarkable human population growth and land-use change. Irrigation and associated cultivation have led to colonization of urban-wildland interface (UWI) environments by mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and consequently, cougars (Puma concolor). In the wake of these changes, human-wildlife conflicts have increased in tandem with questions about long-term species conservation. To address these concerns, we fit 79 cougars with radio-telemetry collars in the Oquirrh Mountains near Salt Lake City, Utah (2002–2010). Our goal was to evaluate variation in cougar habitat selection, diet, and cause-specific mortality in a landscape dominated by urban, military, and industrial activities. We used …

Relationships Between Survival And Habitat Suitability Of Semi- Aquatic Mammals, Isidro Barela, Leslie M. Burger, Jimmy Taylor, Kristine O. Evans, Ryo Ogawa, Lance Mcclintic, Guiming Wang

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Spatial distribution and habitat selection are integral to the study of animal ecology. Habitat selection may optimize the fitness of individuals. Hutchinsonian niche theory posits the fundamental niche of species would support the persistence or growth of populations. Although niche-based species distribution models (SDMs) and habitat suitability models (HSMs) such as maximum entropy (Maxent) have demonstrated fair to excellent predictive power, few studies have linked the prediction of HSMs to demographic rates. We aimed to test the prediction of Hutchinsonian niche theory that habitat suitability (i.e., likelihood of occurrence) would be positively related to survival of American beaver (Castor canadensis), …

Habitat Use And Prey Selection By Mountain Lions In An Altered Sagebrush Steppe Environment, Jonathan Ewanyk

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Throughout the American West there is an increasing trend of encroachment of woody vegetation on previously open sagebrush steppe habitat. The Modoc Plateau in northeastern California has not been excluded from this encroachment trend and has seen an increase in western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) densities, likely as a result of long-term fire suppression. Mountain lions (Puma concolor) have not previously been studied on the Modoc Plateau, and there is potential for an increase in cover due to juniper encroachment to benefit the hunting behavior of lions. To better understand if the presence of cover is being …

An Investigation Into The Spatial Distribution, Habitat Selection And Resource Usage Of The Red Fox (Vulpes Vulpes) Inhabiting Urban Reserves Within Perth, Western Australia, Michael Thomas Main

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

I attempted to track a population of urban foxes in Kings Park, but due to collar failure, only one collar was retrieved. The GPS telemetry data from this fox produced home range estimates for minimum convex polygon (MCP) and kernel density (KD) of 0.302 km² and 0.331 km², respectively. The fox was predominantly active at night, with a ten-fold increase in movement during nocturnal periods when compared to daytime movements. Roads and man-made tracks were important for facilitating movement of the fox through its home range, with almost 97% of location fixes recorded within 100m of these features. The fox …

A Multi-Scale Analysis Of Jaguar (Panthera Onca) And Puma (Puma Concolor) Habitat Selection And Conservation In The Narrowest Section Of Panama., Kimberly A. Craighead

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Over the past two centuries, large terrestrial carnivores have suffered extreme population declines and range contractions resulting from the synergistic anthropogenic threats of land-use change and indirect effects of climate change. In Panama, rapid land use conversion coupled with climate change is predicted to negatively impact jaguar (Panthera onca) and puma (Puma concolor). This dissertation examined the environmental variables and scales influencing jaguar and puma habitat selection by season (annual, wet, and dry), using multi-scale optimized habitat suitability models and a machine-learning algorithm (Random Forests), in the narrowest section of Panama. The models derived from the data of an intensive …

Mapping The Ecology Of Information: Hierarchical Habitat Selection By Nebraska Pheasant Hunters, Lyndsie Wszola

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Hunting regulations are assumed to moderate the effects of hunting consistently across a game population. A growing body of evidence suggests that hunter effort varies temporally and spatially, and that variation in effort at multiple spatial scales can affect game populations in unexpected ways. We set out to determine the causes of variation in hunting effort among ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) hunters at four spatial scales: among regions within the state of Nebraska, among sites within a given region, among access points at a given site, and among habitat patches within a site. At each scale, pheasant hunters used direct …

Cows And Plows: Science-Based Conservation For Grassland Songbirds In Agricultural Landscapes, Marisa K. Lipsey

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Temperate grasslands are among earth’s most imperiled ecosystems. In North America, steep declines of endemic songbird populations indicate that grassland loss and degradation may be approaching critical levels. Grasslands are agricultural landscapes largely (~85%) under private ownership with little formal protection status. Remaining bird populations depend on grazing lands that have not been converted to cropland. We combine regional data from a hotspot for grassland bird diversity (northeast Montana, USA; 26,500-km2) with continental data spanning the northern Great Plains (1,000,000-km2) to evaluate how land use and management influence bird distribution and abundance. Regionally, habitat used by seven grassland specialists spanned …

Persistence Of A Vulnerable Semi-Aquatic Turtle In An Intensively-Managed Forest Landscape, Christopher O'Bryan

All Theses

Understanding spatial and population ecology of organisms allows land managers to predict how changes in distribution and composition of landscape features influence persistence. Our goal was to investigate body size, sex ratios, survival, individual movements, and habitat selection of a vulnerable freshwater turtle species, the spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata), in an intensively-managed forest landscape in eastern North Carolina, USA. Spotted turtles naturally occur in wetland-dominated landscapes, but this system is heavily-altered, with >222,000 hectares of pine plantations and >10,000 km of ditches managed by Weyerhaeuser Company. During 2012-2013, we captured and individually marked 280 turtles, and used radio-telemetry (n = …

Habitat Selection By Female Swift Foxes (Vulpes Velox) During The Pup- Rearing Season, Indrani Sasmal, Jonathan A. Jenks, Troy W. Grovenburg, Shubham Datta, Greg. M. Schroeder, Robert W. Klaver, Kevin M. Honness

The Prairie Naturalist

The swift fox (Vulpes velox) was historically distributed in western South Dakota including the region surrounding Badlands National Park (BNP). The species declined during the mid-1800s, largely due to habitat loss and poisoning targeted at wolves (Canis lupis) and coyotes (C. latrans). Only a small population of swift foxes near Ardmore, South Dakota persisted. In 2003, an introduction program was initiated at BNP with swift foxes translocated from Colorado and Wyoming. We report on habitat use by female swift foxes during the pup-rearing season (May–July) in 2009. Analyses of location data from 13 radiomarked female foxes indicated disproportional use (P < 0.001) of some habitats relative to their availability within swift fox home ranges. Swift foxes used grassland (ŵ = 1.01), sparse vegetation (ŵ = 1.43) and prairie dog towns (ŵ = 1.18) in proportion to their availability, whereas they were less likely to use woodland (ŵ = 0.00), shrubland (ŵ = 0.14), pasture/agricultural-land (ŵ = 0.25) and development (ŵ = 0.16) relative to availability. Swift foxes typically are located in habitats that provide greater visibility, such as shortgrass prairie and areas with sparse vegetation; which allow detection of approaching coyotes (e.g., primary predator of swift foxes).

Familiarity With Breeding Habitat Improves Daily Survival In Colonial Cliff Swallows, Charles R. Brown, Mary Bomberger Brown, Kathleen R. Brazeal

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

One probable cost of dispersing to a new breeding habitat is unfamiliarity with local conditions such as the whereabouts of food or the habits of local predators, and consequently immigrants may have lower probabilities of survival than more experienced residents. Within a breeding season, estimated daily survival probabilities of cliff swallows, Petrochelidon pyrrhonota, at colonies in southwestern Nebraska, USA, were highest for birds that had always nested at the same site, followed by those for birds that had nested there in some (but not all) past years. Daily survival probabilities were lowest for birds that were naive immigrants to …

Non-Blackbird Avian Occurrence And Abundance In North Dakota Sunflower Fields, Dionn A. Schaaf, George M. Linz, Curt Doetkott, Mark W. Lutman, William J. Bleier

The Prairie Naturalist

Sunflower fields are well-documented as foraging habitat for fallmigrating blackbirds (Family Icteridae). There is, however, a paucity of information on the use of sunflower fields by non-blackbirds. We assessed non-blackbird use of 12 ripening sunflower fields in the Prairie Pothole Region of central North Dakota. From mid-August to mid-October 2000, we counted 4,129 individual birds, consisting of 22 families and 61 species, in the sample fields and within 5 m of the field edges. We saw the largest number of birds from 18 September to 27 September. The Family Emberizidae (sparrows) accounted for 26% of the species and 20% of …

Oviposition Behavior Partitions Aquatic Landscapes Along Predation And Nutrient Gradients, C. A. Binckley, W. J. Resetarits Jr.

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

That individuals attempt to minimize the ratio of mortality risk/growth rate (μ/g) when foraging within individual habitat patches is well established. Do species partition among spatially discrete communities embedded in complex landscapes in a similar manner? We investigated how 3 ovipositing species (2 Hyla treefrogs and a hydrophilid beetle, Tropisternus lateralis) responded to simultaneous gradients of nutrients and predation risk. Species partitioned our experimental metacommunity primarily by reducing oviposition with fish. Tropisternus positively responded to increased nutrients, but the effect decreased with increasing risk, as predicted by μ/g theory. Use of fish habitats by Tropisternus was unrelated to breeding …

A Comparison Of Population Sizes And Number Of Captures For The Desert Woodrat (Neotoma Lepida) In Two Microhabitats In The Las Vegas Wash, Nevada, Jayson Barangan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Planned removal and eradication of saltcedar in the Las Vegas Wash, Nevada could potentially generate adverse impacts on present desert woodrat (Neotoma lepida) populations inhabiting the area. Consequently, research was conducted investigating population sizes of N. lepida in two distinct microhabitat types, saltcedar (Tamarix sp.) and mesquite/quailbush (Prosopis sp./Atriplex lentiformis). The results of this study will aid in gauging the effects of the changes in vegetation once restoration work is completed and assist with logistical scheduling for implementation of control measures. Mark-recapture field techniques were utilized for data collection from July 2002 to June 2003. Population estimates were calculated using …

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 …

Behavioral Characteristics Affect Habitat Selection Of Domestic Ruminants, Cody B. Scott

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

I evaluated some of the factors affecting livestock distribution by conducting experimental (Chapters II and III) and observational (Chapter IV) studies. In Chapter II, I described the effect of locations of familiar foods and social interactions on choice of feeding location by lambs. Lambs were exposed to a pasture as subgroups of strangers and companions with different dietary habits (i.e., three lambs that preferred milo with three lambs that preferred wheat). Milo was placed on one end and wheat on the other, about 100 m apart. Strangers typically fed in different locations, reflecting dietary preferences. Conversely, companions fed in both …

Habitat Selection By Large Wild Ungulates And Some Aspects Of The Energy Flow In A Sub-Tropical African Savanna Woodland Ecosystem, Stanley M. Hirst

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A study of habitat selection by large wild ungulates was carried out on a 50 cm² area in the sub-tropical Lowveld region of eastern Transvaal province, South Africa. Estimations were made of herbaceous forage net productivity and ungulate secondary productivity on the same area.

Fourteen vegetation types, varying in composition and structure from open savanna to dense woodland, were delineated by association analysis. Structural and vegetational characteristics which were considered to influence ungulate distribution were measured within each vegetation type.

The study area supported resident populations of seven ungulate species during the wet season; drv season densities were higher …