Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons^™

Plague Risk In The Western United States Over Seven Decades Of Environmental Change, Colin J. Carlson, Sarah N. Bevins, Boris V. Schmid

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

After several pandemics over the last two millennia, the wildlife reservoirs of plague (Yersinia pestis) now persist around the world, including in the western United States. Routine surveillance in this region has generated comprehensive records of human cases and animal seroprevalence, creating a unique opportunity to test how plague reservoirs are responding to environmental change. Here, we test whether animal and human data suggest that plague reservoirs and spillover risk have shifted since 1950. To do so, we develop a new method for detecting the impact of climate change on infectious disease distributions, capable of disentangling long-term trends (signal) and …

Wild Pig Removal Reduces Pathogenic Bacteria In Low-Order Streams, Sara A. Bolds, B. Graeme Lockaby, Latif Kalin, Stephen S. Ditchkoff, Mark D. Smith, Kurt Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Invasive wild pig populations have undergone enormous increases in the United States and particularly across the southern U.S. in recent years. High fecundity rates and abilities to adapt quickly to varied habitats have enabled pig populations to become entrenched and difficult to eliminate. The pigs cause many negative impacts on ecosystems including degradation of water quality through infusion of fecal contamination and other non-point source pollutants. Our goal was to determine the effects of pig removal on water quality in streams that were known to be significantly polluted by pig activity Bolds (J Environ Qual 50: 441–453, 2021). We compared …

A Model For Leveraging Animal Movement To Understand Spatio-Temporal Disease Dynamics, Mark Q. Wilber, Anni Yang, Raoul Boughton, Kezia R. Manlove, Ryan S. Miller, Kim M. Pepin, George Wittemyer

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The ongoing explosion of fine-resolution movement data in animal systems provides a unique opportunity to empirically quantify spatial, temporal and individual variation in transmission risk and improve our ability to forecast disease outbreaks. However, we lack a generalizable model that can leverage movement data to quantify transmission risk and how it affects pathogen invasion and persistence on heterogeneous landscapes. We developed a flexible model ‘Movement-driven modelling of spatio-temporal infection risk’ (MoveSTIR) that leverages diverse data on animal movement to derive metrics of direct and indirect contact by decomposing transmission into constituent processes of contact formation and duration and pathogen deposition …

Consultation Summary For Proposed Declared Pest Rates 2022/2023, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Biosecurity published reports

In accordance with the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management (Declared Pest Account) Regulations 2014, the Minister for Agriculture and Food carries out consultation on Declared Pest Rates, to be considered prior to the rates being determined and gazetted.

This document is the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development's response to the submissions received.

Mismatches In Scale Between Highly Mobile Marine Megafauna And Marine Protected Areas, Melinda G. Conners, Nicholas B. Sisson, Pierre D. Agamboue, Philip W. Atkinson, Alastair M.M. Baylis, Scott R. Benson, Barbara A. Block, Steven J. Bograd, Pablo Bordino, W. D. Bowen, Paul Brickle, Ignacio M. Bruno, Victoria González Carman, Cory D. Champagne, Daniel E. Crocker, Daniel P. Costa, Tiffany M. Dawson, Tomohiro Deguchi, Heidi Dewar, Philip D. Doherty, Tomo Eguchi, Angela Formia, Brendan J. Godley, Rachel T. Graham, Christian Gredzens, Kristen M. Hart, Lucy A. Hawkes, Suzanne Henderson, Robert William Henry Iii, Luis A. Hückstädt, Ladd M. Irvine, Sarah S. Kienle, Carey E. Kuhn, Damian Lidgard, Stephanie A. Loredo, Bruce R. Mate, Kristian Metcalfe, Jacob Nzegoue, Carmen K. Kouerey Oliwina, Rachel A. Orben, Kiyoaki Ozaki, Richard Parnell, Elizabeth P. Pike, Patrick W. Robinson, Howard C. Rosenbaum, Fumio Sato, Scott A. Shaffer, Donna J. Shaver, Samantha E. Simmons, Brian J. Smith, Guy-Philippe Sounguet, Robert M. Suryan, David R. Thompson, Megan Tierney, Dominic Tilley, Hillary S. Young, Victoria Warwick-Evans, Michael J. Weise, Randall S. Wells, Bradley P. Wilkinson, Matthew J. Witt, Sarah M. Maxwell

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Marine protected areas (MPAs), particularly large MPAs, are increasing in number and size around the globe in part to facilitate the conservation of marine megafauna under the assumption that large-scale MPAs better align with vagile life histories; however, this alignment is not well established. Using a global tracking dataset from 36 species across five taxa, chosen to reflect the span of home range size in highly mobile marine megafauna, we show most MPAs are too small to encompass complete home ranges of most species. Based on size alone, 40% of existing MPAs could encompass the home ranges of the smallest …

U.S. Public Opinion Of Reproductive Control Options For Free-Roaming Horses On Western Public Lands, S. Nicole Frey, Jeffrey L. Beck, John Derek Scasta, Loretta Singletary

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Free-roaming horses (Equus ferus caballus; horses) inhabit public rangelands located primarily in 10 western U.S. states. Recent horse population increases are impacting rangeland ecosystems, native wildlife species and their habitats, and exacerbating conflicts with domestic livestock grazing. While contraceptives and physical sterilization are promising options to manage horse herd levels, public opinion concerning the use of fertility control is not well understood. To better inform policymakers, we completed a rigorous study of a random sample of public land stakeholders across the United States (n = 3,500) in 2020 using a Likert scale online survey to assess their …

Re-Storying Grant Creek: A Case Study Of Relational Dynamics On A Degraded Montana Stream, Seamus Rucci Land

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration began in 2021, and after a history of contentious ethical debates, ecological restoration is increasingly portrayed as a viable framework for combating environmental degradation and supporting more healthy and stable social-ecological systems. The proposed ecological restoration of Grant Creek, a degraded stream near Missoula, Montana, offers an opportunity to connect a restoration site to the broader, rapidly growing field of restoration practice. It also allows the opportunity to forward the ‘relational turn’ proposed by many in the sustainability sciences as an ontological and methodological means to move beyond positivist portrayals of social-ecological systems, which …

Disentangling The Complex Evolutionary History Of Invasive Russian Thistle: Phylogenetic Relationships, The Role Of Hybridization, And Public Engagement, Deva Raj Khanal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Invasive species are forces of environmental, economic, and social change with detrimental impacts on ecosystems, commerce, agriculture, and human health. However, we still have a poor understanding of the processes that could be driving invasive potential. Hybridization may contribute to the establishment and spread of invasive lineages, as it may enhance genetic variation and facilitate rapid adaptation. Focusing on Russian thistle (Salsola tragus s.l., family Amaranthaceae) and closely related species, my thesis aims to clarify phylogenetic relationships and investigate how hybridization has shaped the invasion dynamics of these lineages. Known as one of the fastest plant invasions in the United …

A Post-Pneumonia Epizootic Evaluation Of The Rapid City, South Dakota Bighorn Sheep Herd, Amanda N. Ensrud

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pneumonia is a major factor affecting populations of free-ranging bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) across western North America. Pneumonia can occur in large-scale epizootics, during which greater than half of the population typically dies. After these epizootics, surviving ewes continue to conceive and bear lambs. However, lamb recruitment may remain low due to periodic or annual pneumonia outbreaks causing high lamb mortality rates, sometimes greater than 90%. Our study focused on the Rapid City, South Dakota bighorn sheep (BHS) herd that has recorded pneumonia-induced population decline since 2009. The first objective was to improve lamb health and survival by identifying and …

Post-Fledging Habitat Selection And Movements Of Juvenile Mallards In The Prairie Pothole Region, Cynthia E. Anchor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of North America provides critical habitat for waterfowl across life stages, but anthropogenic changes to the landscape have negatively impacted habitat quality for waterfowl. The mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) is abundant and socioeconomically valuable in the PPR, as it is a preferred target species of waterfowl hunters. Extensive research has evaluated breeding ecology of mallards in the PPR, but the period between juvenile mallards fledging and migrating has rarely been studied. The post-fledging ecology of juvenile mallards is a vital consideration for comprehensive waterfowl management. Further, juvenile mallards are a significant portion of hunter harvest at …

Voices Of The Often Unheard: The Environmental Impacts Of Catastrophic Wildfire Events On Individuals With Developmental Disabilities, Mary Madison Mckenzie

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The Thomas Fire for a time was the largest wildfire in California history, burning 281,893 acres and destroying 1,063 structures. Within three years, the August Complex Fire, at 1,032,649 acres, almost quadrupled that record. Climate related disasters such as these have impelled social science researchers to heed calls for a paradigm shift in understanding the risks climate change poses to the social world, in particular, disaster risks for vulnerable groups. Existing research tends to focus on disasters such as hurricanes, featuring risks for vulnerable populations by race, class, and/or individuals with disabilities in general, but not for individuals with developmental …

Re-Modeling The Interior: Spatial Methods And Policy Revisions To Improve Inventory And Designation Of Blm’S Areas Of Critical Environmental Concern, Amy H. Katz

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages a vast amount of public land in the western United States, most of which they currently manage for multiple uses. Specific conservation and management of these lands could mitigate climate change impacts and contribute to the global initiative to conserve 30 percent of lands and waters by 2030. Particularly, the agency can achieve this through more effective administration of Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), a designation that is prioritized under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA). To do so requires updated regulations that set clear parameters around inventory and designation, …

Causes And Consquences Of Fire In Forest Ecosystems Of The Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, Melissa Jaffe

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Protecting Public Trust Resources In America's Private Forests: Case Studies In The Diversity Of U.S. State-Level Forestry Policies, Brita Ann Goldstein

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Privately-owned forests in the U.S. provide ecological and socioeconomic benefits to Americans. At the same time, they challenge common law principles that govern the administration of public goods. There is long-standing tension between private property rights, which entitles forest landowners to make land management decisions about their properties, and the role of state governments in protecting public trust resources on behalf of the general public. Each state chooses to protect public trust resources on private lands in a different way, meaning the U.S. is a patchwork of diverse private forest policy approaches. Describing this range of approaches can help inform …

Cultivation Of Industrial Hemp On And Near Airports: Implications For Wildlife Use And Risk To Aviation Safety, Bradley F. Blackwell, Page E. Klug, Lee A. Humberg, Zachary T. Brym, Bryan M. Kluever, Jenna Edwards

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.; hemp) is an emerging crop in the United States with little known about bird use or the potential for birds to become an agricultural pest. We identified birds associated with hemp fields, using repeated visits to oilseed plots in North Dakota, USA (n = 6) and cannabinoid (CBD) plots in Florida, USA (n = 4) from August to November 2020. We did not control for plot area or density; our observations were descriptive only. We observed 10 species in hemp, 12 species flying over hemp, and 11 species both foraging in and …

Industrial Hemp As A Resource For Birds In Agroecosystems: Human-Wildlife Conflict Or Conservation Opportunity?, Emily A. Kotten, Iona Hennessy, Bryan M. Kluever, Bradley F. Blackwell, Lee A. Humberg, Page E. Klug

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.; hemp) is an emerging crop in the United States with little known about bird use or the potential for birds to become an agricultural pest. We identified birds associated with hemp fields, using repeated visits to oilseed plots in North Dakota, USA (n = 6) and cannabinoid (CBD) plots in Florida, USA (n = 4) from August to November 2020. We did not control for plot area or density; our observations were descriptive only. We observed 10 species in hemp, 12 species flying over hemp, and 11 species both foraging in and …

Longevity Of An Immunocontraceptive Vaccine Effect On Fecundity In Rats, Rebecca Pinkham, Douglas C. Eckery, Richard E. Mauldin, M. Gomm, F. Hill, F. Vial, G. Massei

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Increases in human-wildlife conflicts alongside cultural shifts against lethal control methods are driving the need for alternative wildlife management tools such as fertility control. Contraceptive formulations suitable for oral delivery would permit broader remote application in wildlife species.

This study evaluated the contraceptive effect and immune response to two novel injectable immunocontraceptive formulations targeting the Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone (GnRH): MAF-IMX294 and MAF-IMX294P conjugates, both identified as having potential as oral contraceptives. The study also explored whether in multiparous species immunocontraceptives may either totally prevent reproduction or also affect litter size.

Female rats, chosen as a model species, were given three …

Foot Injuries In Michigan, Usa, Gray Wolves (Canis Lupus), 1992–2014, Daniel J. O'Brien, Dean E. Beyer Jr., Erin Largent, Julie R. Melotti, Caitlin N. Ott-Conn, Donald H. Lonsway, Thomas M. Cooley, Robert Atkinson, Michelle Clayson, Kelly A. Straka

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The range of gray wolves (Canis lupus) in the contiguous US is expanding. Research and monitoring to support population recovery and management often involves capture via foothold traps. A population-level epidemiologic assessment of the effect of trap injuries on wolf survival remains needed to inform management. We describe the baseline rate, type, and severity of foot injuries of wolves born 1992–2013 in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, evaluate the reliability of field-scoring trap-related injuries, and the effect of injuries on wolf survival. We assessed foot injuries by physical and radiographic exam at postmortem and/or time of capture for 351 wolves using the …

Olfactory Lures In Predator Control Do Not Increase Predation Risk To Birds In Areas Of Conservation Concern, Page Klug, Amy A. Yackel Adams, Robert N. Reed

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Context. Lethal control of predators is often undertaken to protect species of conservation concern. Traps are frequently baited to increase capture efficacy, but baited traps can potentially increase predation risk by attracting predators to protected areas. This is especially important if targeted predators can escape capture due to low trap success. Snake traps using live mouse lures may be beneficial if traps effectively remove snakes in the presence of birds and do not attract additional snakes to the area.

Aims. The present study evaluated whether mouse-lure traps in areas occupied by birds (simulated by deploying birdlure traps) could influence predation …

Experimental Elucidation Of The Life Cycle Of Drepanocephalus Spathans (Digenea: Echinostomatidae) With Notes On The Morphological Plasticity Of D. Spathans In The United States, Neely R. Alberson, Thomas G. Rosser, Tommy King, Ethan T. Woodyard, Lester Khoo, Wes A. Baumgartner, Daviod J. Wise, Linda M. Pote, Fred L. Cunningham, Matt J. Griffin

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The echinostomatid Drepanocephalus spathans (syn. Drepanocephalus auritus) parasitizes the doublecrested cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus. In North America, the marsh rams-horn snail Planorbella trivolvis and ghost rams-horn snail Biomphalaria havanensis serve as snail intermediate hosts, both of which inhabit catfish aquaculture ponds in the southeastern United States. Studies have demonstrated D. spathans exposure can be lethal to juvenile channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus. Two studies were undertaken to elucidate the life cycle of D. spathans to establish a developmental time line. In both studies, D. spathans cercariae collected from naturally infected P. trivolvis individuals were used to infect channel catfish …