Joshua K. Pickering, Michael S. W. Bradstreet, D. Ryan Norris
Although ecological impacts of overabundant white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are well documented in eastern North America, few studies have evaluated the long-term effects of adaptive deer population suppression after a period of overabundance. We examined vegetation community changes over a period of 30 years (1992–2021) on the Long Point Peninsula, Ontario, Canada following a >85% reduction of a previously overabundant white-tailed deer population. We documented a significant increase in species diversity and shifts in the species composition of understory plants and woody vegetation. We then evaluated several hypotheses to explain these patterns. Our results provide support for the all-you-can-browse hypothesis, in which the abundance of woody stems above the browse layer did not increase within the first 3 years of sampling but, consistent within an expected period of recruitment, increased by >1,500% from 1995–2021. We also found support for both the lawn maintenance hypothesis, with a significant decline in the proportional abundance of non-preferred species relative to preferred species, and for the seed bank hypothesis, with native species accounting for nearly 80% of new species observed over the sampling period. We conclude that the effective, long-term management and continued suppression of an previously overabundant white-tailed deer population can lead to increased vegetation community heterogeneity and diversity, which is likely one of the most important steps for the regeneration of woody stems and native vegetation communities.
{"title":"Less is more: vegetation changes coincide with white-tailed deer suppression over thirty years","authors":"Joshua K. Pickering, Michael S. W. Bradstreet, D. Ryan Norris","doi":"10.1002/wmon.1081","DOIUrl":"10.1002/wmon.1081","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Although ecological impacts of overabundant white-tailed deer (<i>Odocoileus virginianus</i>) are well documented in eastern North America, few studies have evaluated the long-term effects of adaptive deer population suppression after a period of overabundance. We examined vegetation community changes over a period of 30 years (1992–2021) on the Long Point Peninsula, Ontario, Canada following a >85% reduction of a previously overabundant white-tailed deer population. We documented a significant increase in species diversity and shifts in the species composition of understory plants and woody vegetation. We then evaluated several hypotheses to explain these patterns. Our results provide support for the all-you-can-browse hypothesis, in which the abundance of woody stems above the browse layer did not increase within the first 3 years of sampling but, consistent within an expected period of recruitment, increased by >1,500% from 1995–2021. We also found support for both the lawn maintenance hypothesis, with a significant decline in the proportional abundance of non-preferred species relative to preferred species, and for the seed bank hypothesis, with native species accounting for nearly 80% of new species observed over the sampling period. We conclude that the effective, long-term management and continued suppression of an previously overabundant white-tailed deer population can lead to increased vegetation community heterogeneity and diversity, which is likely one of the most important steps for the regeneration of woody stems and native vegetation communities.</p>","PeriodicalId":235,"journal":{"name":"Wildlife Monographs","volume":"214 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2024-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139582412","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Michael F. Proctor, Clayton. T. Lamb, John Boulanger, A. Grant MacHutchon, Wayne F. Kasworm, David Paetkau, Cori L. Lausen, Eric C. Palm, Mark S. Boyce, Christopher Servheen
<p>The influence of bottom-up food resources and top-down mortality risk underlies the demographic trajectory of wildlife populations. For species of conservation concern, understanding the factors driving population dynamics is crucial to effective management and, ultimately, conservation. In southeastern British Columbia, Canada, populations of the mostly omnivorous grizzly bear (<i>Ursus arctos</i>) are fragmented into a mosaic of small isolated or larger partially connected sub-populations. They obtain most of their energy from vegetative resources that are also influenced by human activities. Roads and associated motorized human access shape availability of food resources but also displace bears and facilitate human-caused mortality. Effective grizzly bear management requires an understanding of the relationship between habitat quality and mortality risk. We integrated analyses of bottom-up and top-down demographic parameters to understand and inform a comprehensive and efficient management paradigm across the region. Black huckleberry (<i>Vaccinium membranaceum</i>) is the key high-energy food for grizzly bears in much of southeastern British Columbia. Little is known about where and why huckleberries grow into patches that are useful for grizzly bears (i.e., densely clustered fruiting shrubs that provide efficient access to high energy food) and how forage supply and mortality risk influence population vital rates. By following 43 grizzly bears tracked with global positioning system (GPS) collars (57 bear years) in a 14,236-km<sup>2</sup> focal area spanning the Selkirk and Purcell mountain ranges, we developed a model to identify huckleberry patches from grizzly bear use data. Over 2 years we visited 512 sites used by bears, identifying more than 300 huckleberry patches. We used boosted regression tree modeling associating geophysical, ecological, soil, climate, and topographical variables with huckleberry patches. We integrated this modeled food layer depicting an important pre-hibernation resource, into broader bottom-up and top-down analyses. In addition to berries, we examined bottom-up variables indexing vegetative productivity that were previously found to be predictive of bear use (e.g., alpine, canopy cover, greenness, riparian). We also examined top-down variables including road presence, road density, distance-to-road, secure habitat (defined as 500 m away from a road open to vehicular access), highways, human development, and terrain ruggedness. We evaluated the relationship of these variables to female habitat selection, fitness, and population density, testing the predictability and interrelatedness of covariates relative to bottom-up and top-down influences. We estimated resource selection functions with 20,293 GPS telemetry locations collected over 10 years from 20 female grizzly bears. We modeled fitness using logistic regression of spatially explicit reproductive data derived from genetically identified family pedigrees c
{"title":"Berries and bullets: influence of food and mortality risk on grizzly bears in British Columbia\u0000 Bayas y balas: influencia de la alimentación y el riesgo de mortalidad en los osos grizzly en la Columbia Británica\u0000 Des baies et des balles: influence de l'alimentation et risques de mortalité chez les ours grizzlys de la Colombie-Britannique","authors":"Michael F. Proctor, Clayton. T. Lamb, John Boulanger, A. Grant MacHutchon, Wayne F. Kasworm, David Paetkau, Cori L. Lausen, Eric C. Palm, Mark S. Boyce, Christopher Servheen","doi":"10.1002/wmon.1078","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/wmon.1078","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The influence of bottom-up food resources and top-down mortality risk underlies the demographic trajectory of wildlife populations. For species of conservation concern, understanding the factors driving population dynamics is crucial to effective management and, ultimately, conservation. In southeastern British Columbia, Canada, populations of the mostly omnivorous grizzly bear (<i>Ursus arctos</i>) are fragmented into a mosaic of small isolated or larger partially connected sub-populations. They obtain most of their energy from vegetative resources that are also influenced by human activities. Roads and associated motorized human access shape availability of food resources but also displace bears and facilitate human-caused mortality. Effective grizzly bear management requires an understanding of the relationship between habitat quality and mortality risk. We integrated analyses of bottom-up and top-down demographic parameters to understand and inform a comprehensive and efficient management paradigm across the region. Black huckleberry (<i>Vaccinium membranaceum</i>) is the key high-energy food for grizzly bears in much of southeastern British Columbia. Little is known about where and why huckleberries grow into patches that are useful for grizzly bears (i.e., densely clustered fruiting shrubs that provide efficient access to high energy food) and how forage supply and mortality risk influence population vital rates. By following 43 grizzly bears tracked with global positioning system (GPS) collars (57 bear years) in a 14,236-km<sup>2</sup> focal area spanning the Selkirk and Purcell mountain ranges, we developed a model to identify huckleberry patches from grizzly bear use data. Over 2 years we visited 512 sites used by bears, identifying more than 300 huckleberry patches. We used boosted regression tree modeling associating geophysical, ecological, soil, climate, and topographical variables with huckleberry patches. We integrated this modeled food layer depicting an important pre-hibernation resource, into broader bottom-up and top-down analyses. In addition to berries, we examined bottom-up variables indexing vegetative productivity that were previously found to be predictive of bear use (e.g., alpine, canopy cover, greenness, riparian). We also examined top-down variables including road presence, road density, distance-to-road, secure habitat (defined as 500 m away from a road open to vehicular access), highways, human development, and terrain ruggedness. We evaluated the relationship of these variables to female habitat selection, fitness, and population density, testing the predictability and interrelatedness of covariates relative to bottom-up and top-down influences. We estimated resource selection functions with 20,293 GPS telemetry locations collected over 10 years from 20 female grizzly bears. We modeled fitness using logistic regression of spatially explicit reproductive data derived from genetically identified family pedigrees c","PeriodicalId":235,"journal":{"name":"Wildlife Monographs","volume":"213 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2023-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/wmon.1078","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41087849","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kurt T. Smith, Jason R. Levan, Anna D. Chalfoun, Thomas J. Christiansen, Stanley R. Harter, Sue Oberlie, Jeffrey L. Beck
<p>Vegetation treatments have been widely implemented in efforts to enhance conditions for wildlife populations. Yet the effectiveness of such efforts often lack rigorous evaluations to determine whether these practices are effective for targeted species. This is particularly important when manipulating wildlife habitats in ecosystems that are faced with multiple stressors. The sagebrush (<i>Artemisia</i> spp.) ecosystem has been altered extensively over the last century leading to declines of many associated species. Wyoming big sagebrush (<i>A. tridentata wyomingensis</i>) is the most widely distributed subspecies, providing important habitats for sagebrush-obligate and associated wildlife. Sagebrush often has been treated with chemicals, mechanical treatments, and prescribed burning to increase herbaceous forage species released from competition with sagebrush overstory. Despite many studies documenting negative effects of sagebrush control on greater sage-grouse (<i>Centrocercus urophasianus</i>) habitat, treatments are still proposed as a means of improving habitat for sage-grouse and other sagebrush-dependent species. Furthermore, most studies have focused on vegetation response and none have rigorously evaluated the direct influence of these treatments on sage-grouse. We initiated a 9-year (2011–2019) experimental study in central Wyoming, USA, to better understand how greater sage-grouse respond to sagebrush reduction treatments in Wyoming big sagebrush communities. We evaluated the influence of 2 common sagebrush treatments on greater sage-grouse demography and resource selection. We implemented mowing and tebuthiuron application in winter and spring 2014 and evaluated the pre- (2011–2013) and post-treatment (2014–2019) responses of sage-grouse relative to these management actions. We evaluated responses to treatments using demographic and behavioral data collected from 620 radio-marked female greater sage-grouse. Our specific objectives were to evaluate how treatments influenced 1) sage-grouse reproductive success and female survival; 2) sage-grouse nesting, brood-rearing, and female resource selection; 3) vegetation responses; and 4) forbs and invertebrates. Our results generally suggested neutral demographic responses and slight avoidance by greater sage-grouse in response to Wyoming big sagebrush treated by mowing and tebuthiuron. Neither mowing nor tebuthiuron treatments influenced nest survival, brood survival, or female survival. Selection for nest and brood-rearing sites did not differ before and after treatments. Females selected habitats near treatments before and after they were implemented; however, the strength of selection was lower after treatments compared with pre-treatment periods, which may be explained by a lack of response in vegetation and invertebrates following treatments. Perennial grass cover and height varied temporally yet did not vary systematically between treatment and control plots. Forb cover and species
{"title":"Response of greater sage-grouse to sagebrush reduction treatments in Wyoming big sagebrush\u0000 Respuesta del urogallo mayor a los tratamientos de control de la artemisa de Wyoming","authors":"Kurt T. Smith, Jason R. Levan, Anna D. Chalfoun, Thomas J. Christiansen, Stanley R. Harter, Sue Oberlie, Jeffrey L. Beck","doi":"10.1002/wmon.1075","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/wmon.1075","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Vegetation treatments have been widely implemented in efforts to enhance conditions for wildlife populations. Yet the effectiveness of such efforts often lack rigorous evaluations to determine whether these practices are effective for targeted species. This is particularly important when manipulating wildlife habitats in ecosystems that are faced with multiple stressors. The sagebrush (<i>Artemisia</i> spp.) ecosystem has been altered extensively over the last century leading to declines of many associated species. Wyoming big sagebrush (<i>A. tridentata wyomingensis</i>) is the most widely distributed subspecies, providing important habitats for sagebrush-obligate and associated wildlife. Sagebrush often has been treated with chemicals, mechanical treatments, and prescribed burning to increase herbaceous forage species released from competition with sagebrush overstory. Despite many studies documenting negative effects of sagebrush control on greater sage-grouse (<i>Centrocercus urophasianus</i>) habitat, treatments are still proposed as a means of improving habitat for sage-grouse and other sagebrush-dependent species. Furthermore, most studies have focused on vegetation response and none have rigorously evaluated the direct influence of these treatments on sage-grouse. We initiated a 9-year (2011–2019) experimental study in central Wyoming, USA, to better understand how greater sage-grouse respond to sagebrush reduction treatments in Wyoming big sagebrush communities. We evaluated the influence of 2 common sagebrush treatments on greater sage-grouse demography and resource selection. We implemented mowing and tebuthiuron application in winter and spring 2014 and evaluated the pre- (2011–2013) and post-treatment (2014–2019) responses of sage-grouse relative to these management actions. We evaluated responses to treatments using demographic and behavioral data collected from 620 radio-marked female greater sage-grouse. Our specific objectives were to evaluate how treatments influenced 1) sage-grouse reproductive success and female survival; 2) sage-grouse nesting, brood-rearing, and female resource selection; 3) vegetation responses; and 4) forbs and invertebrates. Our results generally suggested neutral demographic responses and slight avoidance by greater sage-grouse in response to Wyoming big sagebrush treated by mowing and tebuthiuron. Neither mowing nor tebuthiuron treatments influenced nest survival, brood survival, or female survival. Selection for nest and brood-rearing sites did not differ before and after treatments. Females selected habitats near treatments before and after they were implemented; however, the strength of selection was lower after treatments compared with pre-treatment periods, which may be explained by a lack of response in vegetation and invertebrates following treatments. Perennial grass cover and height varied temporally yet did not vary systematically between treatment and control plots. Forb cover and species ","PeriodicalId":235,"journal":{"name":"Wildlife Monographs","volume":"212 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2023-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"6040091","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
James H. Devries, Llwellyn M. Armstrong, David W. Howerter, Robert B. Emery
<p>Species conservation requires an understanding of the factors and interactions affecting species distribution and behavior, habitat availability and use, and corresponding vital rates at multiple temporal and spatial scales. Opportunities to investigate these relationships across broad geographic regions are rare. We combined long-term waterfowl population surveys, and studies of habitat use and breeding success, to develop models that identify and incorporate these interactions for upland-nesting waterfowl in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of Canada. Specifically, we used data from the annual Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey (1961–2009) at the survey segment level and associated habitat covariates to model and map the long-term average duck density across the Canadian PPR. We analyzed nest location and fate data from approximately 25,000 duck nests found during 3 multi-year nesting studies (1994–2011) to model factors associated with nest survival and habitat selection through the nesting season for the 5 most common upland nesting duck species: mallard (<i>Anas platyrhynchos</i>), gadwall (<i>Mareca strepera</i>), blue-winged teal (<i>Spatula discors</i>), northern shoveler (<i>Spatula clypeata</i>), and northern pintail (<i>Anas acuta</i>). Duck density was highly variable across the Canadian PPR, reflecting positive responses to local wetland area and count, and amounts of cropland and grassland, a regional positive response to latitude, and a negative response to local amounts of tree cover. Nest survival was affected by temporal and spatial variables at multiple scales. Specifically, nest survival demonstrated interactive effects among species, nest initiation date, and nesting cover type and was influenced by relative annual wetness, population density, and surrounding landscape composition at landscape scales, and broad geographic gradients (east-west and north-south). Likewise, species-specific probability of nest habitat selection was influenced by timing of nest initiation, population density, relative annual wetness, herbaceous cover, and tree cover in the surrounding landscape, and location within the Canadian PPR. We combined these models, with estimates of breeding effort (nesting, renesting, and nest attempts) from existing literature, in a stochastic conservation planning model that estimates nest distribution and success given spatiotemporal variation in duck density, habitat availability, and influential covariates. We demonstrate the use of this model by examining various conservation planning scenarios. These models allow estimation of local, landscape, and regional influence of conservation investments and other landscape changes on the productivity of breeding duck populations across the PPR of Canada. These models lay the groundwork for the incorporation of conservation delivery costs for full return-on-investment analyses and scenario analyses of climate, habitat, and land use change in regional and c
{"title":"Waterfowl distribution and productivity in the Prairie Pothole Region of Canada: tools for conservation planning\u0000 Distribution et productivité de la sauvagine dans la Région des Fondrières des Prairies au Canada: Outils pour la planification de la conservation","authors":"James H. Devries, Llwellyn M. Armstrong, David W. Howerter, Robert B. Emery","doi":"10.1002/wmon.1074","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/wmon.1074","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Species conservation requires an understanding of the factors and interactions affecting species distribution and behavior, habitat availability and use, and corresponding vital rates at multiple temporal and spatial scales. Opportunities to investigate these relationships across broad geographic regions are rare. We combined long-term waterfowl population surveys, and studies of habitat use and breeding success, to develop models that identify and incorporate these interactions for upland-nesting waterfowl in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of Canada. Specifically, we used data from the annual Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey (1961–2009) at the survey segment level and associated habitat covariates to model and map the long-term average duck density across the Canadian PPR. We analyzed nest location and fate data from approximately 25,000 duck nests found during 3 multi-year nesting studies (1994–2011) to model factors associated with nest survival and habitat selection through the nesting season for the 5 most common upland nesting duck species: mallard (<i>Anas platyrhynchos</i>), gadwall (<i>Mareca strepera</i>), blue-winged teal (<i>Spatula discors</i>), northern shoveler (<i>Spatula clypeata</i>), and northern pintail (<i>Anas acuta</i>). Duck density was highly variable across the Canadian PPR, reflecting positive responses to local wetland area and count, and amounts of cropland and grassland, a regional positive response to latitude, and a negative response to local amounts of tree cover. Nest survival was affected by temporal and spatial variables at multiple scales. Specifically, nest survival demonstrated interactive effects among species, nest initiation date, and nesting cover type and was influenced by relative annual wetness, population density, and surrounding landscape composition at landscape scales, and broad geographic gradients (east-west and north-south). Likewise, species-specific probability of nest habitat selection was influenced by timing of nest initiation, population density, relative annual wetness, herbaceous cover, and tree cover in the surrounding landscape, and location within the Canadian PPR. We combined these models, with estimates of breeding effort (nesting, renesting, and nest attempts) from existing literature, in a stochastic conservation planning model that estimates nest distribution and success given spatiotemporal variation in duck density, habitat availability, and influential covariates. We demonstrate the use of this model by examining various conservation planning scenarios. These models allow estimation of local, landscape, and regional influence of conservation investments and other landscape changes on the productivity of breeding duck populations across the PPR of Canada. These models lay the groundwork for the incorporation of conservation delivery costs for full return-on-investment analyses and scenario analyses of climate, habitat, and land use change in regional and c","PeriodicalId":235,"journal":{"name":"Wildlife Monographs","volume":"211 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"6037679","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Joshua H. Schmidt, William L. Thompson, Tammy L. Wilson, Joel H. Reynolds
Wildlife population estimators often require formal adjustment for imperfect detection of individuals during surveys. Conventional distance sampling (CDS) and its extensions (mark-recapture distance sampling [MRDS], temporary emigration distance sampling [TEDS]) are popular approaches for producing unbiased estimators of wildlife abundance. However, despite extensive discussion and development of distance sampling theory in the literature, deciding which of these alternatives is most appropriate for a particular scenario can be confusing. Some of this confusion may stem from an incomplete understanding of how each approach addresses the components of the detection process. Here we describe the proper application of CDS, MRDS, and TEDS approaches and use applied examples to help clarify their differing assumptions with respect to the components of the detection process. To further aid the practitioner, we summarize the differences in a decision tree that can be used to identify cases where a more complex alternative (e.g., MRDS or TEDS) may be appropriate for a given survey application. Although the more complex approaches can account for additional sources of bias, in practical applications one also must consider estimator precision. Therefore, we also review the concept of total estimator error in the context of comparing competing methods for a given application to aid in the selection of the most appropriate distance sampling approach. Finally, we detail how the use of more advanced techniques (i.e., informed priors, open-population distance sampling models, and integrated modeling approaches) can further reduce total estimator error by leveraging information from existing and ongoing data collection. By synthesizing the existing literature on CDS, MRDS, TEDS and their extensions, in conjunction with the concepts of total estimator error and the components of the detection process, we provide a comprehensive guide that can be used by the practitioner to more efficiently, effectively, and appropriately apply distance sampling in a variety of settings.
{"title":"Distance sampling surveys: using components of detection and total error to select among approaches","authors":"Joshua H. Schmidt, William L. Thompson, Tammy L. Wilson, Joel H. Reynolds","doi":"10.1002/wmon.1070","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/wmon.1070","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Wildlife population estimators often require formal adjustment for imperfect detection of individuals during surveys. Conventional distance sampling (CDS) and its extensions (mark-recapture distance sampling [MRDS], temporary emigration distance sampling [TEDS]) are popular approaches for producing unbiased estimators of wildlife abundance. However, despite extensive discussion and development of distance sampling theory in the literature, deciding which of these alternatives is most appropriate for a particular scenario can be confusing. Some of this confusion may stem from an incomplete understanding of how each approach addresses the components of the detection process. Here we describe the proper application of CDS, MRDS, and TEDS approaches and use applied examples to help clarify their differing assumptions with respect to the components of the detection process. To further aid the practitioner, we summarize the differences in a decision tree that can be used to identify cases where a more complex alternative (e.g., MRDS or TEDS) may be appropriate for a given survey application. Although the more complex approaches can account for additional sources of bias, in practical applications one also must consider estimator precision. Therefore, we also review the concept of total estimator error in the context of comparing competing methods for a given application to aid in the selection of the most appropriate distance sampling approach. Finally, we detail how the use of more advanced techniques (i.e., informed priors, open-population distance sampling models, and integrated modeling approaches) can further reduce total estimator error by leveraging information from existing and ongoing data collection. By synthesizing the existing literature on CDS, MRDS, TEDS and their extensions, in conjunction with the concepts of total estimator error and the components of the detection process, we provide a comprehensive guide that can be used by the practitioner to more efficiently, effectively, and appropriately apply distance sampling in a variety of settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":235,"journal":{"name":"Wildlife Monographs","volume":"210 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2022-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"5687939","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
<div> <p>We investigated effects of regulated hunting on a puma (<i>Puma concolor</i>) population on the Uncompahgre Plateau (UPSA) in southwestern Colorado, USA. We examined the hypothesis that an annual harvest rate averaging 15% of the estimated number of independent individuals using the study area would result in a stable or increasing abundance of independent pumas. We predicted hunting mortality would be compensated by 1) a reduction in other causes of mortality, thus overall survival would stay the same or increase; 2) increased reproduction rates; or 3) increased recruitment of young animals. The study occurred over 10 years (2004–2014) and was designed with a reference period (years 1–5; i.e., RY1–RY5) without puma hunting and a treatment period (years 6–10; i.e., TY1–TY5) with hunting. We captured and marked pumas on the UPSA and monitored them year-round to examine their demographics, reproduction, and movements. We estimated abundance of independent animals using the UPSA each winter during the Colorado hunting season from reference year 2 (RY2) to treatment year 5 (TY5) using the Lincoln-Petersen method. In addition, we surveyed hunters to investigate how their behavior influenced harvest and the population. We captured and marked 110 and 116 unique pumas in the reference and treatment periods, respectively, during 440 total capture events. Those animals produced known-fate data for 75 adults, 75 subadults, and 118 cubs, which we used to estimate sex- and life stage-specific survival rates. In the reference period, independent pumas more than doubled in abundance and exhibited high survival. Natural mortality was the major cause of death to independent individuals, followed by other human causes (e.g., vehicle strikes, depredation control). In the treatment period, hunters killed 35 independent pumas and captured and released 30 others on the UPSA. Abundance of independent pumas using the UPSA declined 35% after 4 years of hunting with harvest rates averaging 15% annually. Harvest rates at the population scale, including marked independent pumas with home ranges exclusively on the UPSA, overlapping the UPSA, and on adjacent management units were higher, averaging 22% annually in the same 4 years leading to the population decline. Adult females comprised 21% of the total harvest. The top-ranked model explaining variation in adult survival () indicated a period effect interacting with sex. Annual adult male survival was higher in the reference period ( = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.75–0.99) than in the treatment period ( = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.22–0.57). Annual adult female survival was 0.86 (95% CI = 0.72–0.94) in the reference period and 0.74 (95% CI = 0.63–0.82) in the treatment period. The top subadult model showed that female subadult survival was constant across the reference and treatment periods ( = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.43–0.84), whereas survival of subadult males exhibited the same trend as that of adult males: higher in the r
{"title":"Effects of Hunting on a Puma Population in Colorado\u0000 Efectos de la Cacería en una Población de Pumas en Colorado\u0000 Effets de la Chasse sur une Population de Puma au Colorado","authors":"Kenneth A. Logan, Jonathan P. Runge","doi":"10.1002/wmon.1061","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/wmon.1061","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>We investigated effects of regulated hunting on a puma (<i>Puma concolor</i>) population on the Uncompahgre Plateau (UPSA) in southwestern Colorado, USA. We examined the hypothesis that an annual harvest rate averaging 15% of the estimated number of independent individuals using the study area would result in a stable or increasing abundance of independent pumas. We predicted hunting mortality would be compensated by 1) a reduction in other causes of mortality, thus overall survival would stay the same or increase; 2) increased reproduction rates; or 3) increased recruitment of young animals. The study occurred over 10 years (2004–2014) and was designed with a reference period (years 1–5; i.e., RY1–RY5) without puma hunting and a treatment period (years 6–10; i.e., TY1–TY5) with hunting. We captured and marked pumas on the UPSA and monitored them year-round to examine their demographics, reproduction, and movements. We estimated abundance of independent animals using the UPSA each winter during the Colorado hunting season from reference year 2 (RY2) to treatment year 5 (TY5) using the Lincoln-Petersen method. In addition, we surveyed hunters to investigate how their behavior influenced harvest and the population. We captured and marked 110 and 116 unique pumas in the reference and treatment periods, respectively, during 440 total capture events. Those animals produced known-fate data for 75 adults, 75 subadults, and 118 cubs, which we used to estimate sex- and life stage-specific survival rates. In the reference period, independent pumas more than doubled in abundance and exhibited high survival. Natural mortality was the major cause of death to independent individuals, followed by other human causes (e.g., vehicle strikes, depredation control). In the treatment period, hunters killed 35 independent pumas and captured and released 30 others on the UPSA. Abundance of independent pumas using the UPSA declined 35% after 4 years of hunting with harvest rates averaging 15% annually. Harvest rates at the population scale, including marked independent pumas with home ranges exclusively on the UPSA, overlapping the UPSA, and on adjacent management units were higher, averaging 22% annually in the same 4 years leading to the population decline. Adult females comprised 21% of the total harvest. The top-ranked model explaining variation in adult survival () indicated a period effect interacting with sex. Annual adult male survival was higher in the reference period ( = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.75–0.99) than in the treatment period ( = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.22–0.57). Annual adult female survival was 0.86 (95% CI = 0.72–0.94) in the reference period and 0.74 (95% CI = 0.63–0.82) in the treatment period. The top subadult model showed that female subadult survival was constant across the reference and treatment periods ( = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.43–0.84), whereas survival of subadult males exhibited the same trend as that of adult males: higher in the r","PeriodicalId":235,"journal":{"name":"Wildlife Monographs","volume":"209 1","pages":"1-35"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2021-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1002/wmon.1061","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"6134208","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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