Download or read book Efficacy of DNA Sampling to Monitor Population Abundance of Black Bears in the Southern Appalachians written by and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The American black bear (Ursus americanus) in the southern Appalachians has been the subject of intensive research. In particular, the focus has been on population monitoring using livecapture [sic], bait stations, harvest records, and radio-active [sic] feces tagging. Genetic (DNA) sampling for mark-recapture is an emerging technique for estimating population abundance, but the efficacy of various sampling regimes for estimating populations of different densities has not been established. I conducted a pilot study to determine whether genetic sampling for population estimation is feasible to monitor black bear abundance in the southern Appalachians and to develop appropriate sampling regimes to obtain desired levels of precision. Specifically, I investigated how the density of sampling sites, number of samples analyzed, and sampling duration affect the accuracy and precision of population estimates. Research was conducted for 10 weeks from 9 June to 15 August 2003 on 2 study areas: a high-density black bear population in a portion of Great Smoky Mountains National Park (the national park study area), and a lower-density black bear population on national forest lands in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia (the national forest study area). DNA was extracted from hair collected from baited barbed-wire enclosures. The average number of hair-capture sites within a typical female home range was 2.71 and 2.48 for the national park and national forest study areas, respectively. Twenty-five hair samples/week were randomly chosen for DNA analysis. Individuals were identified by their unique genetic profile obtained from 9 to10 microsatellite loci. I identified 129 and 60 individual bears in the national park and national forest study area, respectively. Reductions in site density, subsample intensity, or sampling duration tended to produce low, heterogeneous capture probabilities, resulting in unreliable population estimates. Sample sizes and capture probabilities were smaller and population estimates decreased as the 3 factors were reduced. Those trends were particularly apparent for the national park study area, where capture probabilities were particularly low. The combination of small sample sizes and heterogeneous capture probabilities likely were a result of an insufficient number of hair-capture sites and number of analyzed hair samples relative to the size of the sampled population. Increasing these 2 factors likely would increase sample sizes and capture probabilities and reduce heterogeneity of capture probabilities present in the data. However, increasing the number of analyzed samples also would increase costs. Because pooled sampling periods increased capture probabilities, I selected a pooled configuration for population estimation that yielded relatively high capture probabilities (3 periods comprised of 3 weeks each). I used the heterogeneity model M[subscript h] Chao, which produced an estimate of 292 bears (95% CI = 214-435) for the national park study area and 98 bears (95% CI = 76-149) for the national forest study area (density = 1.83 bears/km2 and 0.30 bears/km2, respectively). My results indicate that effective implementation for black bear population estimation requires careful consideration of study design. Capture probabilities of [greater than or equal to] 20% are required to minimize bias, and this would be best achieved by analyzing more subsamples from a greater density of hair-capture sites, particularly in high-density populations. I recommend [greater than or equal to] 4 hair-capture sites/female home range to reduce heterogeneity and a sampling duration of 6-8 weeks to reduce violation of geographic closure. In the national forest study area reasonably unbiased population estimates were achieved with 20-hair samples/week, but as many as 40-hair samples/week may be required to produce reliable estimates for the national park study area.

Download or read book Noninvasive Genetic Sampling Revelas Black Bear Population Dynamics Driven by Changes in Food Productivity written by Barbara McCall and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I conducted research on the demography of a harvested north Idaho black bear (Ursus americanus) population to determine the underlying dynamics of changes in population abundance, to determine how much these dynamics were driven by variation in food productivity, and to evaluate how these processes could influence inferences based on mark-recapture analysis. In cooperation with Idaho Department of Fish and Game and the USDA Forest Service, I used barb-wire corrals to collect black bear DNA during 2003-2006 in the Purcell Mountains of Idaho. We analyzed these DNA samples to determine the number of uniquely identified individuals in each year, Nu. I used a combination of both genetic and mark-recapture analyses to evaluate the sources of variation in Nu over the four years and to what extent this variation was driven by changes in productivity of foods on the landscape. Specifically, I investigated deviations of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and genetic substructure in relation to changes in abundance, and whether variation in vital rates were a function of changing berry productivity in the study area. I found a heterozygote deficiency and detected genetic substructure indicating I sampled> 4 subpopulations within the same area over the four years (a Wahlund Effect). My mark-recapture analyses suggest this pattern was probably in response to landscape changes in summer berry abundance. My results suggest important variation in population dynamics driven by changes in food productivity, which should be considered when using mark-recapture analyses to monitor population trends for black bears.

Download or read book Effect of Subsampling Genotyped Hair Samples on Model Averaging to Estimate Black Bear Population Abundance and Density written by Jared Scott Laufenberg and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: DNA-based capture-mark-recapture techniques are commonly used to monitor wildlife populations. Analyzing all collected samples can be cost prohibitive for studies of high-density populations; therefore, subsampling is frequently used to offset genetic analysis costs yet obtain reliable population abundance estimates. Because model selection and parameter estimation depend on sample size, choosing an appropriate subsampling procedure is a critical part of study design. Monitoring high-density populations at large scales can be logistically challenging and may require estimating population density at small scales and extrapolating to larger areas. Density estimates must be precise and robust to closure violations common to small-scale studies. I used DNA-based capture data for an American black bear (Ursus americanus) population in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee to investigate the effects of subsampling on model selection by incrementally reducing the number of samples selected for DNA analysis, and subsequently comparing model selection results and model-averaged estimates to results based on the full dataset. I also evaluated a spatially explicit mark-recapture method for estimating density for a study area located in contiguous black bear habitat. I assessed population closure and compared density estimates from a conventional abundance conversion method with estimates from the spatially explicit method. My results indicated high subsampling intensities (e.g., 1 sample/site/week) can achieve adequate capture probabilities and reliable population abundance estimates (i.e., [less than or equal to]CV 20%) given the sample site density and number of sampling periods in this study. However, capture probabilities associated with lower subsampling intensities were inadequate for reliable model selection and produced substantially biased estimates of abundance. Population closure was violated in my study and likely caused positively biased density estimates compared with estimates obtained from the spatially explicit method. Based on the full dataset, reliable and cost-effective density estimates needed to monitor populations at larger scales are possible using spatially explicit methods to estimate population density.

Download or read book Managing Abundant Black Bears written by and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Population Abundance and Genetic Structure of Black Bears in Coastal South Carolina written by John Michael Drewry and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 113 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Because of increasing frequency of bear sightings, vehicle collisions, and nuisance incidents in coastal South Carolina, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources is developing a comprehensive black bear management plan. However, no reliable estimates of population abundance or density are available. I used genotypes of black bears determined from hair samples collected in Lewis Ocean Bay and Carvers Bay to estimate population abundance and density. I obtained hair samples from snares during 8 weekly sampling periods in 2008 and 2009. I used Huggins closed population models to estimate abundance and spatially explicit capture- recapture models to estimate density. Based on model averaging, black bear abundance was 30 (SE = 9.3) on Carvers Bay and 42 (SE = 5.4) on Lewis Ocean Bay. Model-averaged density was 0.037 bears/km2 (SE = 0.003) for Carvers Bay. For Lewis Ocean Bay, population densities were much higher: 0.307 bears/km2 (SE = 0.025). I extrapolated the density estimates to the upper coastal region of South Carolina, using logistic regression to weight density based on similarity of the regional landscape with the 2 study areas. Predicted bear densities were low throughout the coastal region but several areas centered on more productive habitats (e.g., Carolina Bays, pocosin) and public lands (e.g., Francis Marion National Forest, Lewis Ocean Bay) had high densities. I also sampled an area in North Carolina and assessed genetic structure among the 3 areas. Based on heterozygosity, genetic distance, and genetic assignment, I found no evidence of historic or recent barriers to gene exchange among the 3 sampled populations. However, demographic connectivity may be a concern for areas such as Lewis Ocean Bay, which is surrounded by highways and development. If the goal is to maintain current black bear densities in those areas, maintaining connectivity with other habitat areas and mitigating impacts of highways would be important. The regional map of potential black bear density may be useful to identify areas that should be surveyed for occupancy or where additional studies may be conducted (e.g., Francis Marion National Forest).

Download or read book Population and Genetic Impacts of a 4 lane Highway on Black Bears in Eastern North Carolina written by Jeremy Michael Nicholson and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 95 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A 19.3-km section of U.S. Highway 64 in Washington County, North Carolina was rerouted to a 4-lane, divided highway with 3 wildlife underpasses during 2001-2005. I determined the short-term population and genetic impacts of the new highway on American black bears (Ursus americanus). I used DNA from hair samples collected during 7 weekly sampling periods within the project area of the new highway and a nearby control area during 2000 (pre-construction phase) and 2006 (post-construction phase; n = 70 sites for each study area). DNA from the hair samples was used to obtain genotypes of sampled bears using 10 microsatellite markers. I created capture histories of all identified individuals and used closed mark-recapture models in Program MARK to estimate abundance. Population abundance decreased on the treatment area from 68 (CI = 53-82) before construction to 20 (CI = 14-26) after completion of the highway. On the control area, population abundance decreased from 144 to 101. Using permutation procedures, I determined that the decrease in population abundance on the treatment area was greater compared with the control area (P = 0.0012). Additionally, I used bear visits to the sampling sites with multi-season occupancy models in Program MARK to determine if site occupancy decreased following the construction of the highway and if any decrease was a function of distance from the highway. Following highway construction, site occupancy decreased more on the treatment area than the control area but was not a function of distance from the highway. Finally, I used the microsatellite data to compare gene flow, isolation by distance, heterozygosity, allelic diversity, population assignment, and genetic structure (F[subscript st]) before and after completion of the highway. I did not observe any treatment effects for these genetic measures. I speculate that displacement during the construction of the highway and mortality due to bear-vehicle collisions contributed to the population decline and decrease in site occupancy. Although the wildlife underpasses facilitated genetic and demographic connectivity, my study indicates that the potential impact of new highways on black bear population abundance is an important consideration for transportation infrastructure planning.

Download or read book Monitoring Animal Populations and Their Habitats written by Brenda McComb and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2010-03-11 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the face of so many unprecedented changes in our environment, the pressure is on scientists to lead the way toward a more sustainable future. Written by a team of ecologists, Monitoring Animal Populations and Their Habitats: A Practitioner’s Guide provides a framework that natural resource managers and researchers can use to design monitoring programs that will benefit future generations by distilling the information needed to make informed decisions. In addition, this text is valuable for undergraduate- and graduate-level courses that are focused on monitoring animal populations. With the aid of more than 90 illustrations and a four-page color insert, this book offers practical guidance for the entire monitoring process, from incorporating stakeholder input and data collection, to data management, analysis, and reporting. It establishes the basis for why, what, how, where, and when monitoring should be conducted; describes how to analyze and interpret the data; explains how to budget for monitoring efforts; and discusses how to assemble reports of use in decision-making. The book takes a multi-scaled and multi-taxa approach, focusing on monitoring vertebrate populations and upland habitats, but the recommendations and suggestions presented are applicable to a variety of monitoring programs. Lastly, the book explores the future of monitoring techniques, enabling researchers to better plan for the future of wildlife populations and their habitats. Monitoring Animal Populations and Their Habitats: A Practitioner’s Guide furthers the goal of achieving a world in which biodiversity is allowed to evolve and flourish in the face of such uncertainties as climate change, invasive species proliferation, land use expansion, and population growth.

Download or read book Red cockaded Woodpecker written by and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 2 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Ecology written by Charles J. Krebs and published by Benjamin-Cummings Publishing Company. This book was released on 2001 with total page 695 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This best-selling majors ecology book continues to present ecology as a series of problems for readers to critically analyze. No other text presents analytical, quantitative, and statistical ecological information in an equally accessible style. Reflecting the way ecologists actually practice, the book emphasizes the role of experiments in testing ecological ideas and discusses many contemporary and controversial problems related to distribution and abundance. Throughout the book, Krebs thoroughly explains the application of mathematical concepts in ecology while reinforcing these concepts with research references, examples, and interesting end-of-chapter review questions. Thoroughly updated with new examples and references, the book now features a new full-color design and is accompanied by an art CD-ROM for instructors. The field package also includes The Ecology Action Guide, a guide that encourages readers to be environmentally responsible citizens, and a subscription to The Ecology Place (www.ecologyplace.com), a web site and CD-ROM that enables users to become virtual field ecologists by performing experiments such as estimating the number of mice on an imaginary island or restoring prairie land in Iowa. For college instructors and students.

Download or read book Biology and Management of White tailed Deer written by David G. Hewitt and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2011-06-24 with total page 668 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the Wildlife Society Outstanding Edited Book Award for 2013! Winner of the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society Outstanding Book Award for 2011! Winner of a CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Award for 2011! Biology and Management of White-tailed Deer organizes and presents information on the most studied large mammal species in the world. The book covers the evolutionary history of the species, its anatomy, physiology, and nutrition, population dynamics, and ecology across its vast range (from central Canada through northern South America). The book then discusses the history of management of white-tailed deer, beginning with early Native Americans and progressing through management by Europeans and examining population lows in the early 1900s, restocking efforts through the mid 1900s, and recent, overabundant populations that are becoming difficult to manage in many areas. Features: Co-published with the Quality Deer Management Association Compiles valuable information for white-tailed deer enthusiasts, managers, and biologists Written by an authoritative author team from diverse backgrounds Integrates white-tailed deer biology and management into a single volume Provides a thorough treatment of white-tailed deer antler biology Includes downloadable resources with color images The backbone of many state wildlife management agencies' policies and a featured hunting species through much of their range, white-tailed deer are an important species ecologically, socially, and scientifically in most areas of North America. Highly adaptable and now living in close proximity to humans in many areas, white-tailed deer are both the face of nature and the source of conflict with motorists, home-owners, and agricultural producers. Capturing the diverse aspects of white-tailed deer research, Biology and Management of White-tailed Deer is a reflection of the resources invested in the study of the species’ effects on ecosystems, predator-prey dynamics, population regulation, foraging behavior, and browser physiology.

Download or read book Hidden Markov Models for Time Series written by Walter Zucchini and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2017-12-19 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hidden Markov Models for Time Series: An Introduction Using R, Second Edition illustrates the great flexibility of hidden Markov models (HMMs) as general-purpose models for time series data. The book provides a broad understanding of the models and their uses. After presenting the basic model formulation, the book covers estimation, forecasting, decoding, prediction, model selection, and Bayesian inference for HMMs. Through examples and applications, the authors describe how to extend and generalize the basic model so that it can be applied in a rich variety of situations. The book demonstrates how HMMs can be applied to a wide range of types of time series: continuous-valued, circular, multivariate, binary, bounded and unbounded counts, and categorical observations. It also discusses how to employ the freely available computing environment R to carry out the computations. Features Presents an accessible overview of HMMs Explores a variety of applications in ecology, finance, epidemiology, climatology, and sociology Includes numerous theoretical and programming exercises Provides most of the analysed data sets online New to the second edition A total of five chapters on extensions, including HMMs for longitudinal data, hidden semi-Markov models and models with continuous-valued state process New case studies on animal movement, rainfall occurrence and capture-recapture data

Download or read book Analysis of Vertebrate Populations written by Graeme Caughley and published by . This book was released on 2004-06 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book was first published in 1977 and is widely recognized as a classic in the field. It is the "bible" for wildlife managers everywhere. It is an introduction to the methods and analysis of vertebrate populations for ecologists and wildlife managers as well as students of these subjects. A wide range of examples drawn from mammals and birds in different parts of the world is used to illustrate these methods. The book shows how population analysis can be applied to practical problems of wildlife management such as reducing a population, stimulating it to increase or taking from it a sustained yield. In order to make this complex subject as simple as possible, the methods for analysis described in this book are those which use elementary algebra and statistics rather than complex mathematics. Graeme Caughley studied the interactions between large mammalian herbivores and the environments they occupy. The pattern of population growth that can be predicted theoretically from such a relationship is both complex and variable. The animals will either erupt, crash, and then converge to a more stable density, or the population may oscillate indefinitely, the densities of plants and animals being locked into a stable limit cycle. He argued that the dynamics of mammalian herbivore populations are comprehensible only in terms of an interactive relationship between the herbivores and vegetation. He further argued that efficient management of such systems requires an understanding of the underlying mechanisms whereby the animals react to the plants and in turn the plants react dynamically to the effects of grazing. He was best known for his contributions to the understanding of herbivore-vegetation dynamics in the New Zealand high country, the Himalayas, southern Africa and the semi-arid rangelands of Australia. His research was distinguished by rigorous design, execution and analysis, so that the conclusions had generality beyond the particular species studied. Since he chose topics that combined theoretical interest and practical application, he also influenced important management policies - deer populations in New Zealand, kangaroos in Australia and the conservation of large mammals in Africa and North America. He had a major influence on thinking and practice in the field of vertebrate ecology and wildlife management throughout the world.

Download or read book Effective Ecological Monitoring written by Gene Likens and published by CSIRO PUBLISHING. This book was released on 2018-05-01 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Long-term monitoring programs are fundamental to understanding the natural environment and managing major environmental problems. Yet they are often done very poorly and ineffectively. This second edition of the highly acclaimed Effective Ecological Monitoring describes what makes monitoring programs successful and how to ensure that long-term monitoring studies persist. The book has been fully revised and updated but remains concise, illustrating key aspects of effective monitoring with case studies and examples. It includes new sections comparing surveillance-based and question-based monitoring, analysing environmental observation networks, and provides examples of adaptive monitoring. Based on the authors’ 80 years of collective experience in running long-term research and monitoring programs, Effective Ecological Monitoring is a valuable resource for the natural resource management, ecological and environmental science and policy communities.

Download or read book Backpacker written by and published by . This book was released on 2007-09 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Backpacker brings the outdoors straight to the reader's doorstep, inspiring and enabling them to go more places and enjoy nature more often. The authority on active adventure, Backpacker is the world's first GPS-enabled magazine, and the only magazine whose editors personally test the hiking trails, camping gear, and survival tips they publish. Backpacker's Editors' Choice Awards, an industry honor recognizing design, feature and product innovation, has become the gold standard against which all other outdoor-industry awards are measured.

Download or read book Quality Whitetails written by Karl V. Miller and published by Stackpole Books. This book was released on 2007 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Top deer biologists and deer hunting authors discuss how and when hunters should harvest bucks and antlerless deer, and how to ensure a better chance of getting that trophy buck.

Download or read book Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Management Options written by James M. Vose and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2013-12-05 with total page 494 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Forest land managers face the challenges of preparing their forests for the impacts of climate change. However, climate change adds a new dimension to the task of developing and testing science-based management options to deal with the effects of stressors on forest ecosystems in the southern United States. The large spatial scale and complex interactions make traditional experimental approaches difficult. Yet, the current progression of climate change science offers new insights from recent syntheses, models, and experiments, providing enough information to start planning now for a future that will likely include an increase in disturbances and rapid changes in forest conditions. Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Management Options: A Guide for Natural Resource Managers in Southern Forest Ecosystems provides a comprehensive analysis of forest management options to guide natural resource management in the face of future climate change. Topics include potential climate change impacts on wildfire, insects, diseases, and invasives, and how these in turn might affect the values of southern forests that include timber, fiber, and carbon; water quality and quantity; species and habitats; and recreation. The book also considers southern forest carbon sequestration, vulnerability to biological threats, and migration of native tree populations due to climate change. This book utilizes the most relevant science and brings together science experts and land managers from various disciplines and regions throughout the south to combine science, models, and on-the-ground experience to develop management options. Providing a link between current management actions and future management options that would anticipate a changing climate, the authors hope to ensure a broader range of options for managing southern forests and protecting their values in the future.

Download or read book Yellowstone Bison written by Patrick James White and published by . This book was released on 2015-05 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: