Natural Resources and Conservation Commons^™

The Consequences Of Predators Without Prey, Mitchell A. Parsons, Thomas M. Newsome, Julie K. Young

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Rapid and ongoing environmental change is leading to scenarios where marine and terrestrial predators are persisting without prey, either by scavenging or using anthropogenic foods. Despite investigations into the effects of predator presence or absence on prey behavior and ecology, little research has assessed the effect of prey absence on predators. Here, we synthesize research on scavenging and the use of anthropogenic resources by marine and terrestrial predators; hypothesize how the use of these resources may change predator behavior with respect to their social structure, space use, life history, and individual behavioral traits; and illustrate how these changes are likely …

Improving Evaluation Of Nonlethal Tools For Carnivore Management And Conservation: Evaluating Fladry To Protect An Endangered Species From A Generalist Mesocarnivore, R. M. Windell, L. L. Bailey, J. K. Young, T. M. Livieri, D. A. Eads, S. W. Breck

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Carnivore conservation and management are global research priorities focused on reversing population declines of imperiled species and identifying more effective and humane management of generalist carnivores with thriving populations. Nonlethal methods to mitigate conflict are increasingly used to advance conservation objectives; however, there is limited knowledge about the effectiveness of many nonlethal methods. We tested a nonlethal tool (fladry), that serves as a barrier to deter wolves Canis lupus and coyotes Canis latrans, for its efficacy at preventing coyotes from using prairie dog Cynomys ludovicianus colonies, the primary prey for critically endangered black-footed ferrets Mustela nigripes. We used …

Social Media As A Window Into Human-Wildlife Interactions And Zoonotic Disease Risk: An Examination Of Wild Pig Hunting Videos On Youtube, Hailey E. Mclean, Lauren M. Jaebker, Aaron M. Anderson, Tara L. Teel, Alan D. Bright, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Keith M. Carlisle

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) damage agriculture and the environment, as well as transmit diseases to animals and people. Hunters are particularly vulnerable to zoonotic disease risks when harvesting wild pigs. Management agencies have endeavored to inform the public about disease risks associated with wild pigs and best practices for mitigating such risks. However, the extent that this guidance has reached hunters and influenced their practices is unclear. We approached this topic through an analysis of wild pig hunting videos on YouTube. We found evidence of relatively few behaviors and communications regarding disease risks and best practices for personal …

Relative Acceptance Of Brodifacoum Pellets And Soft Bait Sachets By Polynesian Rats (Rattus Exulans) On Wake Atoll, Peter J. Kappes, Shane R. Siers

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Removing invasive rats from island ecosystems using rodenticides has proven conservation benefits and is an important management tool for conserving and restoring island ecosystems. However, rodenticide-based eradications can fail if not all rats consume enough bait to result in lethal toxicosis. A recent post-operational review of a failed attempt to eradicate rats from Wake Atoll suggested that some individuals may not have ingested a lethal dose of rodenticide due to potential dietary and/or sensory preferences developed via regular access to anthropogenic food sources. These food sources may be higher in fats and oils, possessing different sensory properties (e.g., softer, chewier, …

Welfare Performance Of Three Foothold Traps For Capturing North American River Otters Lontra Canadensis, Matthew J. Lovallo, H. B. White, J. D. Erb, M. S. Peek, Thomas J. Deliberto

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Foothold traps are effective tools for the live capture and restraint of wildlife for management and research. Successful river otter Lontra canadensis restoration programs throughout North America used them extensively. Restoration programs used a variety of methods and models of foothold traps, but comprehensive efforts to describe and quantify injuries associated with river otter captures have been limited. We evaluated injuries of river otters caught in three commercially available models of foothold traps including the number 11 double long-spring with standard jaws, the number 11 double long-spring with double jaws, and the number 2 coil-spring trap. Based on examinations of …

Scaup Depredation On Arkansas Baitfish And Sportfish Aquaculture, Stephen A. Clements, Brian S. Dorr, J. Brian Davis, Luke A. Roy, Carole R. Engle, Katie C. Hanson-Dorr, Anita M. Kelly

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) and greater scaup (A. marila), hereafter scaup, consume a variety of aquatic invertebrates, plants, and occasionally small fish. Scaup have foraged on commercial aquaculture farms in the southern United States for decades. However, the types, abundance, and rate of fish exploitation by scaup on baitfish and sportfish farms are not well documented. Thus, information is needed to understand how fish and other foods influence scaup use of aquatic resources, and any potential economic effects of depredation of fish. From November–March in winters 2016–2017 and 2017–2018, we conducted 1,458 pond surveys to estimate …

Impact Of Covid-19 On The Us And Texas Economy: A General Equilibrium Approach, Lirong Liu, Steven S. Shwiff, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Maryfrances Miller

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

This paper examines the impact of COVID-19 on the US and Texas economy using a computable general equilibrium model, REMI PI+. We consider three scenarios based on economic forecasts from various sources, including the University of Michigan’s RSQE (Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics), IMF, and the Wi orld Bank. We report a GDP loss of $106 million (a 6% decline) with 1.2 million jobs lost (6.6%) in Texas in 2020. At the national level, GDP loss is $996 billion (a 5% decline) with 11.5 million jobs lost (5.5%) in the same year. By 2026, the aggregate total GDP loss in …

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

United States Department of Agriculture 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 …

Elucidating Peatland Disturbance Ecology And Carbon Dynamics Through The Lens Of Soil Using Infrared Spectrometry, Dominic Uhelski

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

We sought to quantify the fire regimes of peatlands in the hemi-boreal zone of North America, and to understand the qualities of their peat. We used infrared spectrometry to accomplish both goals by gathering spectral information about the organic matter in each sample. We used a series of mixtures of natural peat and natural peat charcoal to isolate the spectral components associated with charcoal concentration. We built a multiple linear regression model which predicts the charcoal concentration in peat samples. We validated our data using nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry. As a result, we can accurately predict the charcoal concentration of …

Regional Impacts Of Invasive Species And Climate Change On Black Ash Wetlands, Joseph Shannon

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

For more than a decade intensive research on the ecohydrology of black ash wetland ecosystems has been performed to understand these systems before they are drastically altered by the invasive species, emerald ash borer (EAB). In that time there has been little research aimed at the scale and persistence of the alterations. Three distinct but related research articles will be presented to demonstrate a method for moderate resolution mapping of black ash across its entire range, understand the relative impacts of EAB and climate change on probable future wetland conditions, and develop an experimental and modeling approach to quantify and …

The Great Plains Irrigation Experiment (Grainex), Eric Rappin, Rezaul Mahmood, Udaysankar S. Nair, Roger A. Pielke Sr., William Brown, Steven Oncley, Joshua Wurman, Karen Kosiba, Aaron Kaulfus, Chris Phillips, Emilee Lachenmeier, Joseph A. Santanello Jr., Edward Kim, Patricia Lawston-Parker

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Extensive expansion in irrigated agriculture has taken place over the last half century. Due to increased irrigation and resultant land use land cover change, the central United States has seen a decrease in temperature and changes in precipitation during the second half of 20th century. To investigate the impacts of widespread commencement of irrigation at the beginning of the growing season and continued irrigation throughout the summer on local and regional weather, the Great Plains Irrigation Experiment (GRAINEX) was conducted in the spring and summer of 2018 in southeastern Nebraska. GRAINEX consisted of two, 15-day intensive observation periods. Observational platforms …

Challenges Of Brush Management Treatment Effectiveness In Southern Great Plains, United States, Rheinhardt Scholtz, Samuel D. Fuhlendorf, Daniel R. Uden, Brady W. Allred, Matthew O. Jones, David E. Naugle, Dirac Twidwell

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Woodland expansion is a global challenge documented under varying degrees of disturbance, climate, and land ownership patterns. In North American rangelands, mechanical and chemical brush management practices and prescribed fire are frequently promoted by agencies and used by private landowners to reduce woody plant cover. We assess the distribution of agency-supported cost sharing of brush management (2000−2017) in the southern Great Plains, United States, and evaluate the longevity of treatment application. We test the general expectation that the current brush management paradigm in the southern Great Plains reduces woody plants and conserves rangeland resources at broad scales. This study represents …

Spatial Transferability Of Expert Opinion Models For American Beaver Habitat, Isidro Barela, Leslie M. Burger, Guiming Wang, Kristine O. Evans, Qingmin Meng, Jimmy D. Taylor

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Species distribution models and habitat suitability models (HSMs) have become a popular tool in the conservation of biodiversity. However, the ability to predict species spatial distributions at sites beyond the data source sites (i.e., spatial transferability) is critical for the applications of HSMs in the management and conservation of rare or endangered species. The main objective of our study was to assess the predictive performance and spatial transferability of expert opinion models (EOMs). To build EOMs, we identified through extensive literature reviews 17 key landscape variables to characterize habitat use by American beaver (Castor canadensis). We developed 31 pairwise opinion …

Evidence For Continental-Scale Dispersal Of Antimicrobial Resistant Bacteria By Landfill-Foraging Gulls, Christina A. Ahlstrom, Mariëlle L. Van Toor, Hanna Woksepp, Jeffrey C. Chandler, John A. Reed, Andrew B. Reeves, Jonas Waldenström, Alan B. Franklin, David C. Douglas, Jonas Bonnedahl, Andrew M. Ramey

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Anthropogenic inputs into the environment may serve as sources of antimicrobial resistant bacteria and alter the ecology and population dynamics of synanthropic wild animals by providing supplemental forage. In this study, we used a combination of phenotypic and genomic approaches to characterize antimicrobial resistant indicator bacteria, animal telemetry to describe host movement patterns, and a novel modeling approach to combine information fromthese diverse data streams to investigate the acquisition and long-distance dispersal of antimicrobial resistant bacteria by landfill-foraging gulls. Our results provide evidence that gulls acquire antimicrobial resistant bacteria from anthropogenic sources, which they may subsequently disperse across and between …

Food Habits Of Wintering Double-Crested Cormorants In The Mississippi Delta, Terrel W. Christie, Brian S. Dorr, J. Brian Davis, Luke A. Roy, Carole R. Engle, Katie Hanson-Dorr, Anita M. Kelly

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Given its ubiquity, it is not surprising that agriculture, including fin fish aquaculture, contributes to food webs worldwide and is used by numerous wildlife for foraging and meeting other needs. Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) impact United States commercial aquaculture and are considered the primary avian predator in catfish (Ictalurus spp.) aquaculture facilities in the Mississippi Delta. Recent changes in aquaculture practices, regulatory policies, and decreased overall hectares in production prompted this study that assessed cormorant consumption of catfish in relation to their night roosts through surveys and diet analysis. Cormorants were collected from night roosts from October …

Environmental Correlates Of Genetic Variation In The Invasive European Starling In North America, Natalie R. Hofmeister, Scott J. Werner, Irby J. Lovette

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Populations of invasive species that colonize and spread in novel environments may differentiate both through demographic processes and local selection. European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) were introduced to New York in 1890 and subsequently spread throughout North America, becoming one of the most widespread and numerous bird species on the continent. Genome-wide comparisons across starling individuals and populations can identify demographic and/or selective factors that facilitated this rapid and successful expansion. We investigated patterns of genomic diversity and differentiation using reduced-representation genome sequencing of 17 winter-season sampling sites. Consistent with this species' high dispersal rate and rapid expansion history, …

Population Genomic Transformations Induced By Isolation Of Wild Bird Avian Influenza Viruses (Orthomyxoviridae) In Embryonated Chicken Eggs, Matthew W. Hopken, Antoinette J. Piaggio, K. L. Pabilonia, James Pierce, Theodore Anderson, Courtney Pierce, Zaid Abdo

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Isolation and cultivation of wild-type viruses in model organism cells or tissues is standard practice in virology. Oftentimes, the virus host species is distantly related to the species from which the culture system was developed. Thus, virus culture in these tissues and cells basically constitutes a host jump, which can lead to genomic changes through genetic drift and/or adaptation to the culture system. We directly sequenced 70 avian influenza virus (Orthomyxoviridae) genomes from oropharyngeal/cloacal swabs collected from wild bird species and paired virus isolates propagated from the same samples following isolation in specific-pathogen-free embryonated chicken eggs. The data were analyzed …

Estimation Of Wildlife Damage From Federal Crop Insurance Data, Sophie Mckee, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Aaron M. Anderson

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

BACKGROUND: Wildlife damage to crops is a persistent and costly problem for many farmers in the USA. Most existing estimates of crop damage have relied on direct assessment methods such as field studies conducted by trained biologists or surveys distributed to farmers. In this paper, we describe a new method of estimating wildlife damage that exploits federal crop insurance data. We focused our study on four crops: corn, soybean, wheat, and cotton, chosen because of their economic importance and their vulnerability to wildlife damage.

RESULTS: We determined crop-raiding hot spots across the USA over the 2015–2019 period and identified the …

Inefficiency Of Anthraquinone-Based Avian Repellents When Applied To Sunflower: The Importance Of Crop Vegetative And Floral Characteristics In Field Applications, Brandon Kaiser, Burton L. Johnson, Mike Ostlie, Scott J. Werner, Page E. Klug

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

BACKGROUND: Blackbirds (Icteridae) cause significant damage to sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) prompting the need for effective management tools. Anthraquinone-based repellents can reduce feeding by > 80% in laboratory settings, but require birds to learn the negative association through repellent ingestion. We evaluated an anthraquinone-based repellent applied directly to mature sunflower plants for its ability to reduce bird damage. We used captive male red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) to evaluate efficacy of two anthraquinone-based formulations in varying concentrations and applied in a manner attainable by sunflower producers. We also assessed field application methods for repellent coverage and anthraquinone residues when …

Anthraquinone Repellent Seed Treatment On Corn Reduces Feeding By Wild Pigs, Nathan P. Snow, Joseph M. Halseth, Scott J. Werner, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are a destructive invasive species that cause extensive damage to agriculture throughout many regions of the world. In particular wild pigs damage corn more than any other crop, and most of that damage occurs immediately after planting when wild pigs excavate and consume planted seeds. We evaluated whether anthraquinone (AQ), a repellent, could be useful for protecting seed corn from consumption by wild pigs. Specifically, we conducted cafeteria-style tests at 16 bait sites for 6 nights using concentrations of: untreated, 0.5, 1.5, and 3.0% AQ by weight sprayed on whole-kernel corn in AL and …