Jeffrey L. Beck, Megan C. Milligan, Kurt T. Smith, Phillip A. Street, Aaron C. Pratt, Christopher P. Kirol, Caitlyn P. Wanner, Jacob D. Hennig, Jonathan B. Dinkins, J. Derek Scasta, Peter S. Coates
Since the passage of the Wild Free‐Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, federal agencies have been responsible for managing free‐roaming equids in the United States. Over the last 20 years, management has been hampered by direct opposition from advocacy groups, budget limitations, and a decline in the public's willingness to adopt free‐roaming horses (Equus caballus). As a result, free‐roaming equid numbers have increased to >3 times the targeted goal of 26,785 (horses and burros [E. asinus] combined), the cumulative sum of the appropriate management levels (AML) for all 177 designated herd management areas (HMA) managed by the Bureau of Land Management. This increase is one of the causes of greater sage‐grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) population declines, owing to habitat alteration from free‐roaming equids exacerbated by ongoing drought. To evaluate potential demographic mechanisms influencing these declines, we compiled survival data from 4 studies in central Wyoming, USA, including 995 adult female (first‐year breeders or older) sage‐grouse during the breeding season, 1,075 nests, 372 broods, and 136 juveniles (i.e., overwinter survival for fledged young), from 2008–2022. During this period, we also obtained population information for free‐roaming horses from 9 HMAs used by individual grouse in our sample. Population estimates of free‐roaming horses for these HMAs ranged from 59% to 7 times of the maximum appropriate management level (AMLmax). Sage‐grouse monitored outside of HMAs represented control populations and, because we assumed they were not exposed to populations of free‐roaming horses, we set values of AMLmax to zero for all grouse located outside of HMAs. To evaluate whether free‐roaming horses were negatively affecting sage‐grouse, we modeled daily survival of breeding age females, nest, broods, and juveniles. There was strong or moderate evidence that overabundant free‐roaming horses negatively affected nest, brood, and juvenile survival. When horse abundance increased from AMLmax to 3 times AMLmax, survival was reduced 8.1%, 18.3%, 18.2%, and 18.2% for nests, early broods (≤20 days after hatch), late broods (>20 days to 35 days after hatch), and juveniles, respectively. These results indicate increasing free‐roaming horse numbers affected vital rates for important life stages of sage‐grouse, and that maintaining free‐roaming horse numbers below AMLmax would reduce negative effects to sage‐grouse populations.
{"title":"Free‐roaming horses exceeding appropriate management levels affect multiple vital rates in greater sage‐grouse","authors":"Jeffrey L. Beck, Megan C. Milligan, Kurt T. Smith, Phillip A. Street, Aaron C. Pratt, Christopher P. Kirol, Caitlyn P. Wanner, Jacob D. Hennig, Jonathan B. Dinkins, J. Derek Scasta, Peter S. Coates","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.22669","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.22669","url":null,"abstract":"Since the passage of the Wild Free‐Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, federal agencies have been responsible for managing free‐roaming equids in the United States. Over the last 20 years, management has been hampered by direct opposition from advocacy groups, budget limitations, and a decline in the public's willingness to adopt free‐roaming horses (<jats:italic>Equus caballus</jats:italic>). As a result, free‐roaming equid numbers have increased to >3 times the targeted goal of 26,785 (horses and burros [<jats:italic>E</jats:italic>. <jats:italic>asinus</jats:italic>] combined), the cumulative sum of the appropriate management levels (AML) for all 177 designated herd management areas (HMA) managed by the Bureau of Land Management. This increase is one of the causes of greater sage‐grouse (<jats:italic>Centrocercus urophasianus</jats:italic>) population declines, owing to habitat alteration from free‐roaming equids exacerbated by ongoing drought. To evaluate potential demographic mechanisms influencing these declines, we compiled survival data from 4 studies in central Wyoming, USA, including 995 adult female (first‐year breeders or older) sage‐grouse during the breeding season, 1,075 nests, 372 broods, and 136 juveniles (i.e., overwinter survival for fledged young), from 2008–2022. During this period, we also obtained population information for free‐roaming horses from 9 HMAs used by individual grouse in our sample. Population estimates of free‐roaming horses for these HMAs ranged from 59% to 7 times of the maximum appropriate management level (AML<jats:sub>max</jats:sub>). Sage‐grouse monitored outside of HMAs represented control populations and, because we assumed they were not exposed to populations of free‐roaming horses, we set values of AML<jats:sub>max</jats:sub> to zero for all grouse located outside of HMAs. To evaluate whether free‐roaming horses were negatively affecting sage‐grouse, we modeled daily survival of breeding age females, nest, broods, and juveniles. There was strong or moderate evidence that overabundant free‐roaming horses negatively affected nest, brood, and juvenile survival. When horse abundance increased from AML<jats:sub>max</jats:sub> to 3 times AML<jats:sub>max</jats:sub>, survival was reduced 8.1%, 18.3%, 18.2%, and 18.2% for nests, early broods (≤20 days after hatch), late broods (>20 days to 35 days after hatch), and juveniles, respectively. These results indicate increasing free‐roaming horse numbers affected vital rates for important life stages of sage‐grouse, and that maintaining free‐roaming horse numbers below AML<jats:sub>max</jats:sub> would reduce negative effects to sage‐grouse populations.","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142262203","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Sexual Segregation in Ungulates: Ecology, Behavior, and ConservationBy R. TerryBowyer, Baltimore, Maryland: John Hopkins University Press. 2022. pp. 200. $74.99 (hardcover). ISBN: 9781421445069","authors":"Levi J. Heffelfinger","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.22665","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.22665","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142262204","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Vincent A. Slabe, Ross H. Crandall, Todd Katzner, Adam E. Duerr, Tricia A. Miller
Golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) face many anthropogenic risks including illegal shooting, electrocution, collision with wind turbines and vehicles, and lead poisoning. Minimizing or offsetting eagle deaths resulting from human‐caused sources is often viewed as an important management objective. Despite understanding the leading anthropogenic sources of eagle fatalities, existing scientific research supports few practical solutions to mitigate these causes of death. We implemented a non‐lead ammunition distribution program in southeast Wyoming, USA, and evaluated its effectiveness as a compensatory mitigation action to offset incidental take (i.e., fatalities) of golden eagles at wind energy facilities. In 2020 and 2022, we distributed non‐lead ammunition to 699 hunters with big‐game tags specific to our >400,000‐ha study area. These hunters harvested 296 pronghorn (Antilocapra americana), 14 deer (Odocoileus spp.), and 33 elk (Cervus canadensis) in the study area, which accounted for 6.9% and 6.5% of the harvest in these hunt units in 2020 and 2022, respectively. We used road surveys in 2020 to estimate a density of 0.036 (95% CI = 0.018–0.058) golden eagles/km2 during the big game hunting season in our study area. Model output suggests that our non‐lead ammunition distribution program offset the fatality of 3.84 (95% CI = 1.06–23.72) eagles over the course of these 2 hunting seasons. Our work illustrates the potential usefulness of non‐lead ammunition distribution programs as an action to mitigate eagle fatalities caused by wind facilities or other anthropogenic causes of death.
{"title":"Efficacy of non‐lead ammunition distribution programs to offset fatalities of golden eagles in southeast Wyoming","authors":"Vincent A. Slabe, Ross H. Crandall, Todd Katzner, Adam E. Duerr, Tricia A. Miller","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.22647","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.22647","url":null,"abstract":"Golden eagles (<jats:italic>Aquila chrysaetos</jats:italic>) face many anthropogenic risks including illegal shooting, electrocution, collision with wind turbines and vehicles, and lead poisoning. Minimizing or offsetting eagle deaths resulting from human‐caused sources is often viewed as an important management objective. Despite understanding the leading anthropogenic sources of eagle fatalities, existing scientific research supports few practical solutions to mitigate these causes of death. We implemented a non‐lead ammunition distribution program in southeast Wyoming, USA, and evaluated its effectiveness as a compensatory mitigation action to offset incidental take (i.e., fatalities) of golden eagles at wind energy facilities. In 2020 and 2022, we distributed non‐lead ammunition to 699 hunters with big‐game tags specific to our >400,000‐ha study area. These hunters harvested 296 pronghorn (<jats:italic>Antilocapra americana</jats:italic>), 14 deer (<jats:italic>Odocoileus</jats:italic> spp.), and 33 elk (<jats:italic>Cervus canadensis</jats:italic>) in the study area, which accounted for 6.9% and 6.5% of the harvest in these hunt units in 2020 and 2022, respectively. We used road surveys in 2020 to estimate a density of 0.036 (95% CI = 0.018–0.058) golden eagles/km<jats:sup>2</jats:sup> during the big game hunting season in our study area. Model output suggests that our non‐lead ammunition distribution program offset the fatality of 3.84 (95% CI = 1.06–23.72) eagles over the course of these 2 hunting seasons. Our work illustrates the potential usefulness of non‐lead ammunition distribution programs as an action to mitigate eagle fatalities caused by wind facilities or other anthropogenic causes of death.","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142189480","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Andrew D. Gilbert, Aaron P. Yetter, Christopher S. Hine, Joseph D. Lancaster, Joshua M. Osborn, Chelsea S. Kross, Auriel M. V. Fournier
The wood duck (Aix sponsa) consistently ranks within the top 5 harvested duck species for both Illinois and the Mississippi Flyway. While substantial research has been done on wood ducks, especially their breeding ecology, few studies have investigated the postbreeding ecology of the species. We captured and marked wood ducks with either a very high frequency (VHF) radio transmitter or a solar‐charged global system of mobile communication (GSM) transmitter during the postbreeding period from August through September 2018–2020. Capture locations were within the La Grange Pool of the Illinois River extending from near Pekin, Illinois to the La Grange Lock and Dam near Meredosia, Illinois, USA. We used conventional radio‐telemetry techniques to track wood ducks to determine cover type use, home range size, daily movement patterns, survival, and migration chronology. Home range size (95% minimum convex polygon) for wood ducks averaged 6,820 ± 572 ha (SE) and we did not find evidence for a difference by age, sex, or transmitter type. Daily movement distance in August (2,031 ± 51 m) was similar to daily movement distance in September (1,922 ± 44 m), but daily movement distances for August and September were less than daily movement distance for October (3,509 ± 53 m) and November (3,347 ± 106 m). Wood ducks primarily used wetlands with woody (45.0%) and emergent vegetation (40.4%), and the most commonly used wetland types by wood ducks were impounded wetlands (53.8%), lakes (17.6%), and ponds (10.7%). Model‐derived survival during the postbreeding period was 0.79 (95% CI = 0.74–0.84). Daily survival was positively related to increased river level and had a mean increase of 4.06 ± 0.67% for every 0.3‐m increase in the Illinois River level at low river levels (1.5–3.0 m) and a mean increase of 1.38 ± 0.32% for every 0.3‐m increase in the Illinois River level at high river levels (4.0–5.5 m). Average departure date of wood ducks leaving the Illinois River Valley was 27 October (range =13 August–15 December), and adult male wood ducks left the study area 11–16 days earlier than the other age and sex cohorts (H2 = 11.6, P = 0.01). Providing additional waterfowl sanctuaries that contain wooded wetlands, especially in years of low river levels, may increase survival for wood ducks during the postbreeding period.
{"title":"Postbreeding ecology of wood ducks in the Illinois River Valley","authors":"Andrew D. Gilbert, Aaron P. Yetter, Christopher S. Hine, Joseph D. Lancaster, Joshua M. Osborn, Chelsea S. Kross, Auriel M. V. Fournier","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.22670","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.22670","url":null,"abstract":"The wood duck (<jats:italic>Aix sponsa</jats:italic>) consistently ranks within the top 5 harvested duck species for both Illinois and the Mississippi Flyway. While substantial research has been done on wood ducks, especially their breeding ecology, few studies have investigated the postbreeding ecology of the species. We captured and marked wood ducks with either a very high frequency (VHF) radio transmitter or a solar‐charged global system of mobile communication (GSM) transmitter during the postbreeding period from August through September 2018–2020. Capture locations were within the La Grange Pool of the Illinois River extending from near Pekin, Illinois to the La Grange Lock and Dam near Meredosia, Illinois, USA. We used conventional radio‐telemetry techniques to track wood ducks to determine cover type use, home range size, daily movement patterns, survival, and migration chronology. Home range size (95% minimum convex polygon) for wood ducks averaged 6,820 ± 572 ha (SE) and we did not find evidence for a difference by age, sex, or transmitter type. Daily movement distance in August (2,031 ± 51 m) was similar to daily movement distance in September (1,922 ± 44 m), but daily movement distances for August and September were less than daily movement distance for October (3,509 ± 53 m) and November (3,347 ± 106 m). Wood ducks primarily used wetlands with woody (45.0%) and emergent vegetation (40.4%), and the most commonly used wetland types by wood ducks were impounded wetlands (53.8%), lakes (17.6%), and ponds (10.7%). Model‐derived survival during the postbreeding period was 0.79 (95% CI = 0.74–0.84). Daily survival was positively related to increased river level and had a mean increase of 4.06 ± 0.67% for every 0.3‐m increase in the Illinois River level at low river levels (1.5–3.0 m) and a mean increase of 1.38 ± 0.32% for every 0.3‐m increase in the Illinois River level at high river levels (4.0–5.5 m). Average departure date of wood ducks leaving the Illinois River Valley was 27 October (range =13 August–15 December), and adult male wood ducks left the study area 11–16 days earlier than the other age and sex cohorts (<jats:italic>H</jats:italic><jats:sub>2</jats:sub> = 11.6, <jats:italic>P</jats:italic> = 0.01). Providing additional waterfowl sanctuaries that contain wooded wetlands, especially in years of low river levels, may increase survival for wood ducks during the postbreeding period.","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142189555","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Matthew P. Gruntorad, Jeffery J. Lusk, Christopher J. Chizinski
To sustain recreational hunting participation, we need to identify what makes a hunting experience satisfying. Merely identifying which factors are important to hunter satisfaction may be insufficient, however, as factor importance could vary across consecutive hunting seasons. Using online surveys, completed by individuals who hunted upland game in Nebraska, USA, from 2018 to 2022, we applied importance grid analysis (IGA) and penalty–reward contrast analysis (PRCA) to examine how activity‐specific factors influenced satisfaction across 5 consecutive hunting seasons. Results suggested consistent differences between the explicit (perceived importance) and implicit (performance) importance of factors for each hunting season. Factors related to seeing birds and harvest held greater implicit importance than expected based on explicit importance ratings (τ > 0.55, P < 0.05), whereas factors relating to access and other hunters held relatively lower implicit importance (τ < 0.31, P < 0.05). The PRCA method consistently identified seeing game birds as a minimum requirement to upland game hunting (penalty β < −0.26, P < 0.01). However, factors relating to harvest, access, and other hunters emerged as important only within certain seasons. Using IGA and PRCA provided valuable insights about the importance of hunters seeing game birds, and how aspects of different hunting seasons may improve satisfaction for hunters.
{"title":"Annual variation in attribute importance to upland game hunter satisfaction in Nebraska","authors":"Matthew P. Gruntorad, Jeffery J. Lusk, Christopher J. Chizinski","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.22666","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.22666","url":null,"abstract":"To sustain recreational hunting participation, we need to identify what makes a hunting experience satisfying. Merely identifying which factors are important to hunter satisfaction may be insufficient, however, as factor importance could vary across consecutive hunting seasons. Using online surveys, completed by individuals who hunted upland game in Nebraska, USA, from 2018 to 2022, we applied importance grid analysis (IGA) and penalty–reward contrast analysis (PRCA) to examine how activity‐specific factors influenced satisfaction across 5 consecutive hunting seasons. Results suggested consistent differences between the explicit (perceived importance) and implicit (performance) importance of factors for each hunting season. Factors related to seeing birds and harvest held greater implicit importance than expected based on explicit importance ratings (τ > 0.55, <jats:italic>P</jats:italic> < 0.05), whereas factors relating to access and other hunters held relatively lower implicit importance (τ < 0.31, <jats:italic>P</jats:italic> < 0.05). The PRCA method consistently identified seeing game birds as a minimum requirement to upland game hunting (penalty <jats:italic>β</jats:italic> < −0.26, <jats:italic>P</jats:italic> < 0.01). However, factors relating to harvest, access, and other hunters emerged as important only within certain seasons. Using IGA and PRCA provided valuable insights about the importance of hunters seeing game birds, and how aspects of different hunting seasons may improve satisfaction for hunters.","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142189483","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Edd Hammill, Lorelle Berkeley, Sarah Lindsey, Mindy Wheeler, Paul Thompson
Understanding where on landscapes to make investments, such as designating protected areas, is a critical component of biodiversity management. Locations for management actions should achieve current management objectives while also having the best chance of continued success in the future. Climate change has the potential to undermine biodiversity management, as it may lead to substantial changes in environmental conditions that are outside local managers' control. Following changes in environmental conditions, areas on the landscape may become unsuitable for the species or habitats that the initial actions were intended to benefit. The potential for local actions to be undermined by global‐scale threats makes it essential to account for and minimize exposure to temperature change. We present a series of analyses identifying priority areas for wildlife and habitat management. We conducted our analyses using a systematic landscape planning approach that identifies areas within species' ranges or current distributions of key habitats that are predicted to be less affected by future temperature change. We used the ranges of 142 animal and 149 plant species identified as species of greatest conservation need (SGCN) together with the distributions of 14 terrestrial and 19 aquatic key habitats in Utah, USA. We measured temperature change in 2 ways: as changes in mean annual temperature between 2020 and the year 2100 (temperature difference) and by quantifying how far a species range or habitat would have to shift to maintain its current temperature envelope (climate velocity). We identified the sub‐watersheds with hydrologic unit code 12 (HUC 12) that collectively encompassed the ranges of our SGCNs and key habitats while minimizing overall exposure to temperature change. These high priority HUC 12s represented areas that were not only hotspots for SGCNs and key habitats but also acted as temperature refugia, where management actions are likely to be robust to temperature change. We hope that our identification of high‐priority HUC 12s will help inform and guide future management actions to improve their long‐term outcomes.
{"title":"Identifying temperature refuges in Utah using temperature, biota, and habitat data","authors":"Edd Hammill, Lorelle Berkeley, Sarah Lindsey, Mindy Wheeler, Paul Thompson","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.22667","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.22667","url":null,"abstract":"Understanding where on landscapes to make investments, such as designating protected areas, is a critical component of biodiversity management. Locations for management actions should achieve current management objectives while also having the best chance of continued success in the future. Climate change has the potential to undermine biodiversity management, as it may lead to substantial changes in environmental conditions that are outside local managers' control. Following changes in environmental conditions, areas on the landscape may become unsuitable for the species or habitats that the initial actions were intended to benefit. The potential for local actions to be undermined by global‐scale threats makes it essential to account for and minimize exposure to temperature change. We present a series of analyses identifying priority areas for wildlife and habitat management. We conducted our analyses using a systematic landscape planning approach that identifies areas within species' ranges or current distributions of key habitats that are predicted to be less affected by future temperature change. We used the ranges of 142 animal and 149 plant species identified as species of greatest conservation need (SGCN) together with the distributions of 14 terrestrial and 19 aquatic key habitats in Utah, USA. We measured temperature change in 2 ways: as changes in mean annual temperature between 2020 and the year 2100 (temperature difference) and by quantifying how far a species range or habitat would have to shift to maintain its current temperature envelope (climate velocity). We identified the sub‐watersheds with hydrologic unit code 12 (HUC 12) that collectively encompassed the ranges of our SGCNs and key habitats while minimizing overall exposure to temperature change. These high priority HUC 12s represented areas that were not only hotspots for SGCNs and key habitats but also acted as temperature refugia, where management actions are likely to be robust to temperature change. We hope that our identification of high‐priority HUC 12s will help inform and guide future management actions to improve their long‐term outcomes.","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142189481","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nature‐based tourism nets roughly 8 billion annual travelers globally to all regions of Earth, with many visiting around 200,000 formally protected areas. Financially well‐off tourists pay for playful activities and effects on wildlife are potentially large and relatively uncertain. Our commentary makes 3 points. First, variation in resource privileges and associated benefits characterizes not only humans but other species. Among animals, well‐nurtured populations engage in more playful and leisurely activities than do those nutritionally impoverished. Privilege depends partially on birth sites, parents, and local conditions, but for humans recreation expands with monetary advantage. Second, nature‐based tourism has 2 generalizable effects on wildlife, each involving degree of habituation. Among non‐habituated populations, local site abandonment is frequent and modulated by seasonality, individuals' physiological states, and whether recreation is motorized or not. For habituated populations, tolerance emerges to increasing recreational exposure with some populations of species learning to rely on humans to shield as a buffer against possible predation. Third, desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) offer a robust example of the issues surrounding the effects of tourism on wildlife because of the geographically complicated relationship between recreational pursuit and wildlife on public lands of the western United States. While protected for decades, females have failed to habituate to different forms of recreation at certain sites. The result has been flight or site abandonment. Biodiversity protection at numerous scales has made strong gains but is still needed where progress is stymied by income disparities, privilege, and increasing recreation ventures.
{"title":"Play is a privilege in both humans and animals: how our recreation influences wildlife","authors":"Joel Berger, Kira A. Cassidy","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.22664","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.22664","url":null,"abstract":"Nature‐based tourism nets roughly 8 billion annual travelers globally to all regions of Earth, with many visiting around 200,000 formally protected areas. Financially well‐off tourists pay for playful activities and effects on wildlife are potentially large and relatively uncertain. Our commentary makes 3 points. First, variation in resource privileges and associated benefits characterizes not only humans but other species. Among animals, well‐nurtured populations engage in more playful and leisurely activities than do those nutritionally impoverished. Privilege depends partially on birth sites, parents, and local conditions, but for humans recreation expands with monetary advantage. Second, nature‐based tourism has 2 generalizable effects on wildlife, each involving degree of habituation. Among non‐habituated populations, local site abandonment is frequent and modulated by seasonality, individuals' physiological states, and whether recreation is motorized or not. For habituated populations, tolerance emerges to increasing recreational exposure with some populations of species learning to rely on humans to shield as a buffer against possible predation. Third, desert bighorn sheep (<jats:italic>Ovis canadensis nelsoni</jats:italic>) offer a robust example of the issues surrounding the effects of tourism on wildlife because of the geographically complicated relationship between recreational pursuit and wildlife on public lands of the western United States. While protected for decades, females have failed to habituate to different forms of recreation at certain sites. The result has been flight or site abandonment. Biodiversity protection at numerous scales has made strong gains but is still needed where progress is stymied by income disparities, privilege, and increasing recreation ventures.","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142189491","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
D. A. Villar, Paola Velásquez‐Noriega, Edwin R. Gutiérrez Tito, Anahi Cosky Paca‐Condori, Edmundo G. Moreno Terrazas, Ronald Hinojosa Cárdenas, Alfredo Balcón Cuno, Carmen Villanueva, Patrick Chapman, Jhazel Quispe, Jorgelina Marino, Andrew G. Gosler
The Titicaca grebe (Rollandia microptera) is a poorly studied endangered species, only found in the Lake Titicaca watershed of Peru and Bolivia. Population surveys undertaken in the early twenty‐first century suggested that the species had declined in number by >70%. We conducted a population survey of the grebe between March and August 2022 in Peru and Bolivia, using both maximum entropy and Bayesian occupancy models to estimate factors affecting habitat suitability for the grebe. We conducted surveys between March and August 2022 in Peru and Bolivia. Contrary to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) population estimates of <1,000 individuals, there are likely tens of thousands of individual grebes. The population estimation was sensitive to the type of model used. Distance from shore and fishing intensity were the most significant factors influencing grebe populations. The Reserva Nacional del Titicaca, the only protected area in the lake, covers some of the most suitable Titicaca grebe habitat across its entire range. The population of the Titicaca grebe is significantly higher than previous estimates, but we do not recommend a change to its conservation status because of the lack of conservation efforts for this species, and the long‐term risks associated with global warming and fisheries bycatch.
{"title":"Global population size and conservation priority areas for the endangered Titicaca grebe","authors":"D. A. Villar, Paola Velásquez‐Noriega, Edwin R. Gutiérrez Tito, Anahi Cosky Paca‐Condori, Edmundo G. Moreno Terrazas, Ronald Hinojosa Cárdenas, Alfredo Balcón Cuno, Carmen Villanueva, Patrick Chapman, Jhazel Quispe, Jorgelina Marino, Andrew G. Gosler","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.22659","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.22659","url":null,"abstract":"The Titicaca grebe (<jats:italic>Rollandia microptera</jats:italic>) is a poorly studied endangered species, only found in the Lake Titicaca watershed of Peru and Bolivia. Population surveys undertaken in the early twenty‐first century suggested that the species had declined in number by >70%. We conducted a population survey of the grebe between March and August 2022 in Peru and Bolivia, using both maximum entropy and Bayesian occupancy models to estimate factors affecting habitat suitability for the grebe. We conducted surveys between March and August 2022 in Peru and Bolivia. Contrary to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) population estimates of <1,000 individuals, there are likely tens of thousands of individual grebes. The population estimation was sensitive to the type of model used. Distance from shore and fishing intensity were the most significant factors influencing grebe populations. The Reserva Nacional del Titicaca, the only protected area in the lake, covers some of the most suitable Titicaca grebe habitat across its entire range. The population of the Titicaca grebe is significantly higher than previous estimates, but we do not recommend a change to its conservation status because of the lack of conservation efforts for this species, and the long‐term risks associated with global warming and fisheries bycatch.","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142189556","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Madeline C. Aberg, Stephanie E. Coates, Lucian J. Davis, Benjamin W. Wright, Richard L. Mervin, Jay D. Carlisle
Outdoor recreational use is growing rapidly in the western United States, which increases the pressure on multiple‐use public lands. Balancing recreational use with conservation goals requires considering the spatial and temporal intensity of recreational use and examining its effects on multiple species within an ecosystem. In 2019–2021, we assessed the relationship between recreational intensity and the abundance of a dominant prey species (Piute ground squirrel [Urocitellus mollis]), the abundance of avian and mammalian facultative scavengers that rely on ground squirrels, and the abundance and nesting success of ground‐nesting birds at a national conservation area in southwestern Idaho, USA, where recreational shooting and off‐highway vehicle use are the primary recreational activities. Recreational intensity varied across the study site. The abundance of ground squirrels was not related to recreational intensity. The abundance of common ravens (Corvus corax) and the abundance of American badgers (Taxidea taxus), 2 common facultative scavengers, were both positively associated with recreational intensity, while the abundance of other avian facultative scavengers was not related to recreational intensity. The abundance of horned larks (Eremophila alpestris) and nesting success of long‐billed curlews (Numenius americanus), a more sensitive species, were negatively related to recreational intensity. Together, our results highlight the importance of considering variation in recreational intensity and the effect of recreation on multiple guilds within the ecosystem. An improved understanding of these relationships can be used with public land management to protect wildlife while providing opportunities for outdoor recreation.
{"title":"Effects of outdoor recreation on multiple vertebrate guilds in a fragmented sagebrush‐steppe ecosystem","authors":"Madeline C. Aberg, Stephanie E. Coates, Lucian J. Davis, Benjamin W. Wright, Richard L. Mervin, Jay D. Carlisle","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.22663","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.22663","url":null,"abstract":"Outdoor recreational use is growing rapidly in the western United States, which increases the pressure on multiple‐use public lands. Balancing recreational use with conservation goals requires considering the spatial and temporal intensity of recreational use and examining its effects on multiple species within an ecosystem. In 2019–2021, we assessed the relationship between recreational intensity and the abundance of a dominant prey species (Piute ground squirrel [<jats:italic>Urocitellus mollis</jats:italic>]), the abundance of avian and mammalian facultative scavengers that rely on ground squirrels, and the abundance and nesting success of ground‐nesting birds at a national conservation area in southwestern Idaho, USA, where recreational shooting and off‐highway vehicle use are the primary recreational activities. Recreational intensity varied across the study site. The abundance of ground squirrels was not related to recreational intensity. The abundance of common ravens (<jats:italic>Corvus corax</jats:italic>) and the abundance of American badgers (<jats:italic>Taxidea taxus</jats:italic>), 2 common facultative scavengers, were both positively associated with recreational intensity, while the abundance of other avian facultative scavengers was not related to recreational intensity. The abundance of horned larks (<jats:italic>Eremophila alpestris</jats:italic>) and nesting success of long‐billed curlews (<jats:italic>Numenius americanus</jats:italic>), a more sensitive species, were negatively related to recreational intensity. Together, our results highlight the importance of considering variation in recreational intensity and the effect of recreation on multiple guilds within the ecosystem. An improved understanding of these relationships can be used with public land management to protect wildlife while providing opportunities for outdoor recreation.","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142189557","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Erin E. Conlisk, Gregory H. Golet, Mark Reynolds, Nathan Elliott, Matthew E. Reiter
Because of the importance of the Central Valley of California, USA, to shorebirds along the Pacific Flyway, conservation investments have been made in the area's agricultural fields and managed wetlands. Increasingly, landowner incentive programs are being used to deliver shorebird habitat, presenting opportunities to answer remaining questions about which implementation strategies and field management practices are most effective at attracting birds. To provide management guidance for these investments, we collected and analyzed 5 years of data (2014–2018) on shorebird abundance in flooded rice fields enrolled in a dynamic habitat incentive program. The program incentivized flooding in fallow and post‐harvest rice fields in seasons when habitat is relatively sparse, specifically the early fall and late spring. Across nearly 9,000 field observations over 5 years, we explored the relationship between abundance and density (birds/ha) of shorebirds and vegetation cover, soil clay, landscape‐level flooding, and local flood timing, duration, and depth. We observed more shorebirds in fields that were approximately 50% flooded, had water depths of 5–10 cm, and had minimal rice straw or stubble cover, with strong or very strong evidence for each of these relationships. We found that the timing of habitat provisioning was important, with moderate evidence that earlier fall flooding and strong evidence that the duration of fall flooding was associated with higher shorebird density. We observed lower shorebird densities in locations with ample flooded rice habitat in surrounding areas, potentially because shorebirds spread out across the landscape. We found very strong evidence that flooding consistency, either at a site that was continually flooded over many months or a site that had been flooded in previous years, was associated with higher shorebird density. Soil clay content was associated with decreased observed shorebird density, potentially through its influence on the ability of shorebirds to forage for invertebrate prey. These results suggest best practices for shorebird habitat creation in agricultural landscapes, providing important information for conservation and population recovery.
{"title":"Factors influencing shorebird use of post‐harvest flooded rice fields in California's Sacramento Valley","authors":"Erin E. Conlisk, Gregory H. Golet, Mark Reynolds, Nathan Elliott, Matthew E. Reiter","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.22661","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.22661","url":null,"abstract":"Because of the importance of the Central Valley of California, USA, to shorebirds along the Pacific Flyway, conservation investments have been made in the area's agricultural fields and managed wetlands. Increasingly, landowner incentive programs are being used to deliver shorebird habitat, presenting opportunities to answer remaining questions about which implementation strategies and field management practices are most effective at attracting birds. To provide management guidance for these investments, we collected and analyzed 5 years of data (2014–2018) on shorebird abundance in flooded rice fields enrolled in a dynamic habitat incentive program. The program incentivized flooding in fallow and post‐harvest rice fields in seasons when habitat is relatively sparse, specifically the early fall and late spring. Across nearly 9,000 field observations over 5 years, we explored the relationship between abundance and density (birds/ha) of shorebirds and vegetation cover, soil clay, landscape‐level flooding, and local flood timing, duration, and depth. We observed more shorebirds in fields that were approximately 50% flooded, had water depths of 5–10 cm, and had minimal rice straw or stubble cover, with strong or very strong evidence for each of these relationships. We found that the timing of habitat provisioning was important, with moderate evidence that earlier fall flooding and strong evidence that the duration of fall flooding was associated with higher shorebird density. We observed lower shorebird densities in locations with ample flooded rice habitat in surrounding areas, potentially because shorebirds spread out across the landscape. We found very strong evidence that flooding consistency, either at a site that was continually flooded over many months or a site that had been flooded in previous years, was associated with higher shorebird density. Soil clay content was associated with decreased observed shorebird density, potentially through its influence on the ability of shorebirds to forage for invertebrate prey. These results suggest best practices for shorebird habitat creation in agricultural landscapes, providing important information for conservation and population recovery.","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142189558","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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