Download or read book Mule Deer Habitat Use and Movements on Piceance Basin Winter Range as Estimated by Radiotelemetry written by John Edwards Lee and published by . This book was released on 1984 with total page 118 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Winter Habitat Use by Mule Deer in Idaho and Montana written by Sonja M. Smith and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 51 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winter survival for species such as Rocky Mountain mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus) depends on an energy conservation strategy where they use habitats at lower elevations and on south facing slopes with adequate thermal or canopy cover. However, not all mule deer habitats are equivalent in components or weather conditions, which contribute to differences in habitat use patterns and behavior among wintering populations. We examined winter habitat use by mule deer on the East Front of the Rocky Mountains, Montana and Warm Springs and Sink Creek, east-central Idaho to determine how weather and vegetation affect habitat use in different winter ranges. We used radiotelemetry to locate adult female mule deer and estimated microsite habitat conditions including wind speed, snow depth, percent cover of individual plant species, hiding cover, and canopy cover during winter 2010--2011. We compared data at deer locations to random locations across each study area using logistic regression, developing models based on pooled data for each study area, times of snow accumulation, and times of high wind speeds (for the East Front). We evaluated model fit using a Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC). Our final models indicated that deer use different habitat components on different winter ranges. On the East Front, a combination of landscape and weather variables predicted probability of deer use of areas. These included percent cover of trees, creeping juniper (Juniperus horizontalis), buffaloberry (Shepherdia canadensis), curly sedge (Carex rupestris), prairie sagewort (Artemisia frigida), whitemargin phlox (Phlox albomarginata), percent slope, snow depth, wind speed, and exposure to wind. These and additional covariates changed in magnitude depending upon weather conditions. Model covariates also changed depending on deer behavior. In Idaho, tall threetip sagebrush (A. tripartita tripartita) and phlox (Phlox spp.) were important predictors of mule deer habitat use, while tall threetip sagebrush and cumulative forbs predicted use of areas under snow conditions. Mule deer habitat use differed between Idaho study areas. In the Warm Springs study area, covariates related to foraging predicted habitat use whereas in Sink Creek, covariates related to thermal or hiding cover predicted habitat use. Differences among all 3 study areas indicate that deer use different habitat components under different winter conditions. Discrepancies among winter ranges are important considerations for habitat requirements of mule deer.

Download or read book Yearlong Movements and Habitat Use of Mule Deer Associated with the Willow Creek Winter Range in Southeastern Idaho written by Terry Ross Thomas and published by . This book was released on 1987 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Wildlife Research Report written by and published by . This book was released on 1983 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Habitat Use and Migration Ecology of Mule Deer in Developing Gas Fields of Western Wyoming written by Hall Sawyer and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Increased levels of energy development across the intermountain West have created a variety of wildlife and habitat management concerns. Because many of the energy resources in the region occur in shrub-dominated basins (e.g., Powder River, Piceance, Great Divide, and Green River basins), management concerns have focused on native shrub communities and associated species, including mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). Two of the more pressing concerns are how mule deer respond when critical habitats (e.g., winter range) are impacted by development and how their migration routes can be identified and prioritized for conservation. To address the first, I examined how three types of natural gas well pads with varying levels of vehicle traffic influenced the winter habitat selection patterns of mule deer in western Wyoming. My results showed that mule deer avoided all types of well pads and selected areas further from well pads that received high levels of traffic. Accordingly, impacts to mule deer could likely be reduced through technology and planning that minimizes the number of well pads and amount of human activity associated with them. To address the migration concerns, I developed a quantitative framework that uses global positioning system (GPS) data and the Brownian bridge movement model (BBMM) to: (1) provide a probabilistic estimate of the migration routes of a sampled population, (2) distinguish between route segments that function as stopover sites versus those used primarily as movement corridors, and (3) prioritize routes for conservation based upon the proportion of the sampled population that uses them. Mule deer migration routes were characterized by a series of stopover sites where deer spent most of their time, connected by movement corridors through which deer moved quickly. These findings suggest management strategies that differentiate between stopover sites and movement corridors may be warranted. Because some migration routes were used by more mule deer than others, proportional level of use may provide a reasonable metric by which routes can be prioritized for conservation. Although stopovers appeared to be a prominent feature of mule deer migration routes, the explicit study of stopovers (i.e., stopover ecology) has been limited to avian species. To assess whether stopover ecology was relevant to mule deer, I again used fine-scale GPS data and BBMMs to quantify a suite of stopover characteristics and examine the ecological role of stopovers in the seasonal migrations of mule deer. Mule deer utilized a series of stopover sites in both spring and fall migrations, across a range of migration distances (18-144 km). Overall, mule deer used 1.9 and 1.5 stopovers for every 10 km increase in migration distance during spring and fall migrations, respectively. Stopovers had higher quality forage compared to movement corridors, and forage quality increased with elevation, presumably because of delayed phenology along the altitudinal migration route. Stopovers likely play a key role in the migration strategy of mule deer by allowing them to migrate in concert with vegetative phenology and optimize their foraging during migration. My results suggest stopovers were a critical component in the altitudinal migrations of mule deer and that conservation of stopover sites may improve efforts aimed at sustaining migratory mule deer populations.

Download or read book Distribution Movements and Habitat Use of Mule Deer Associated with the Bracket Creek Winter Range Bridger Mountains Montana written by Harvey Evan Nyberg and published by . This book was released on 1980 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Mule Deer Habitat Use of the Buckskin Mountain Winter Range written by Curtis William Hendricks and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Mule Deer Habitat Guides written by Richard M. Kerr and published by . This book was released on 1979 with total page 70 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Habitats Habitat Use Food Habits and Population Characteristics of Mule Deer Inhabiting a Mountain Foothill Winter Range in Northeastern Oregon written by Timothy S. Bodurtha and published by . This book was released on 1987 with total page 612 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Population Ecology and Habitat Relationships of Mule Deer in Bridger Mountains Montana written by Harvey E. Nyberg and published by . This book was released on 1980 with total page 106 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Distribution Movements and Habitat Use During Spring Summer and Fall by Mule Deer Associated with the Armstrong Winter Range Bridger Mountains Montana written by David Frank Pac and published by . This book was released on 1976 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Radiotelemetry to Estimate Mule Deer Locations in Piceance Basin Colorado written by J. E. Lee and published by . This book was released on 1984 with total page 6 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Near and Deer written by Eli Wildey and published by . This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Outdoor recreation extends human influence on landscapes beyond built environments but is often thought to be compatible with wildlife conservation. Human capability as a highly efficient predator creates a strong selective force on wildlife, analogous to natural predation risk, regardless of trophic level. Behavioral responses have been observed across taxa but linking these changes in behavior to changes at the population-level represents an important step in understanding and mitigating the impact of our everyday presence on ecosystems. Here we present results of the habitat selection exhibited by ten mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) in response to habitat and human factors and the possible influences on density. Mule deer abundance is generally declining throughout their range and disturbance on winter range presents a possible limiting factor. Winter range is geographically constrained, has increased movement costs associated with snow, and reduced forage quality. Pinyon-juniper forest on winter range has been managed to provide better habitat for ungulates. Disturbance associated with human activity could further limit deer winter habitat. Mule deer on our study area show differential habitat use and movement characteristics with time of day, and intensity of human disturbance. Habitat selection for mule deer was modelled using integrated step selection analysis (iSSA). Mule deer increasingly selected for forest land cover as human presence increased. Deer showed different movement responses with increasing human presence depending on the time of day. Changes to habitat selection, and movement patterns have important implications for habitat management of winter range and potential costs to deer populations. Pairing our movement data with camera data, we found evidence for a low density of mule deer on our winter range compared to winter ranges across Colorado possibly caused by human recreation. Low densities of mule deer has implications for the role density-dependent effects play in modifying the impact of recreation. Our study provides critical information on the role human recreation plays in modifying the effectiveness of habitat management on deer winter ranges and possible scenarios this may scale up to impact mule deer populations.

Download or read book Masters Theses in the Pure and Applied Sciences written by Wade H. Shafer and published by Springer. This book was released on 1986 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Masters Theses in the Pure and Applied Sciences was first conceived, published, and disseminated by the Center for Information and Numerical Data Analysis and Synthesis (CINDAS) * at Purdue University in 1 957, starting its coverage of theses with the academic year 1955. Beginning with Volume 13, the printing and dissemination phases of the activity were transferred to University Microfilms/Xerox of Ann Arbor, Michigan, with the thought that such an arrangement would be more beneficial to the academic and general scientific and technical community. After five years of this joint undertaking we had concluded that it was in the interest of all con cerned if the printing and distribution of the volumes were handled by an interna tional publishing house to assure improved service and broader dissemination. Hence, starting with Volume 18, Masters Theses in the Pure and Applied Sciences has been disseminated on a worldwide basis by Plenum Publishing Cor poration of New York, and in the same year the coverage was broadened to include Canadian universities. All back issues can also be ordered from Plenum. We have reported in Volume 29 (thesis year 1984) a total of 12,637 theses titles from 23 Canadian and 202 United States universities. We are sure that this broader base for these titles reported will greatly enhance the value of this important annual reference work. While Volume 29 reports theses submitted in 1984, on occasion, certain univer sities do report theses submitted in previous years but not reported at the time.

Download or read book Forestry Theses Accepted by Colleges and Universities in the United States written by and published by . This book was released on 1981 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Social and Scientific Factors Impacting Mule Deer Habitat Conservation in the Intermountain West written by Nicholas F. Trulove and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus ) in the Intermountain West, alterations to habitat are outpacing strategies to mitigate human disturbance on critical seasonal ranges and migration routes. Conserving mule deer habitat requires cooperation between a diverse group of stakeholders, state wildlife agencies, and federal land management agencies. The first chapter of this thesis explores the current and historical relationship between state wildlife agencies, citizen stakeholders, and federal agencies in order to highlight opportunities to improve cooperative habitat conservation in the United States. Conservation is a result of social, political, and economic action, but relies upon science to inform policy. The second chapter explores the seasonal habitat use of mule deer in southwestern Wyoming. In response to low fawn recruitment, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department deployed 15 GPS collars on adult female mule deer in an effort to enhance knowledge of mule deer population dynamics, migrations, and habitat use. The study captured two winter climate regimes, with greater winter severity during the 2010-11 winter compared to the winter of 2011-12. Deer migrated an average of 23.9 km (SE = 2.2) between seasonal ranges, and completed spring migrations nearly one month earlier following the milder winter of 2011-12 ( t 19 = 5.53, df = 19, P ? 0.001). Pooled, the average area of winter ranges (1057 ha, SE = 103, n = 26) was larger than summer ranges (423 ha, SE = 51 ha, n = 25) (t = -5.44, df = 49, P ≤ 0.001), with no increase or decrease in size of seasonal ranges detected between years (P = 0.243) according to a post-hoc Tukey HSD test. Between years, deer were observed to shift the geographic center of winter ranges (2.9 km, SE = 1.1, n = 12) to a larger degree than summer ranges (0.4 km, SE = 0.1, n = 12) (t = -2.20, df = 22, P = 0.040). Survival and pregnancy rates (86% and 96%, respectively) correlated closely with other mule deer studies, and neither factor appears to negatively impact population growth. Identifying seasonal ranges and migration routes, and quantifying seasonal habitat use, will assist Wyoming Game and Fish Department efforts to protect mule deer seasonal habitats and migration routes, and direct vegetation manipulations intended to improve the nutritional quality of habitats. On average, winter ranges included a later percentage of shrub-dominated habitat (83.8%, SE = 0.3, n = 26) than summer ranges (57.5%, SE = 2.0, n = 25) (t = -4.42, df = 49, P ? 0.001). Summer ranges averaged a greater proportion of agricultural lands (2.8%, SE = 1.1, n = 25) and aspen (Populus tremuloides ) habitats (9.0%, SE = 2.2, n = 25) than winter ranges (0.1%, SE = 0.1, n = 26 and 0.2%, SE = 0.0, n = 26, respectively) (t = 3.03, df = 49, P = 0.004 and t = 3.86, df = 49, P ? 0.001, respectively). Mule deer ranges are primarily located on Bureau of Land Management (73%, SE = 2.8, n = 51) and privately owned (17.3%, SE = 2.9, n = 51) lands, highlighting opportunities for cooperative partnerships for mule deer habitat conservation.

Download or read book Seasonal Responses of Mule Deer and Pronghorn to Energy Development written by Mallory Sandoval Lambert and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Human-induced rapid environmental change (HIREC) underlies the Anthropocene. One principal difference between present-day and historical environmental change is the pace and scale. Just 300 years ago, 95% of Earth’s ice-free land was considered wildlands or semi-natural. Today, almost ~55% of ice-free land has been converted for human uses. This poses a challenge for animals, who must move through landscapes to eat, mate, and escape from predators. Indeed, this rapid rate of landscape change has likely not been experienced by animals in their evolutionary past. Further, animals that rely on long-term memory of past environmental conditions are struggling to track environmental change. In this thesis, I examined two key gaps in knowledge in how animals respond to HIREC. First, I assessed how the movement mechanism (oriented versus memory-based) an animal employs influences its response to HIREC (Chapter 1). Second, I assessed how responses develop over time while HIREC is occurring (Chapter 2). I used long-term datasets from 183 collared mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and 89 pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) that migrate through and winter on a natural gas field in western Wyoming to carry out this work. Mule deer and pronghorn rely on memory-based movements during their up to 200 km migrations and on oriented movements while on their smaller and constrained winter ranges. Mule deer use strong spatial memory during migration and have extremely high fidelity to their migration routes. Pronghorn, in contrast, are more plastic and tend to change whether and where they migrate from year to year. We evaluated responses to surface disturbance (native habitat converted to roads and well pads) using habitat use and selection analyses across three spatial scales during winter and migration periods. While using memory-based movements during migration, both species were reluctant to abandon traditional migratory routes until a disturbance threshold was surpassed, after which they avoided HIREC. For pronghorn, thresholds ranged from 1-9% surface disturbance, whereas mule deer thresholds were consistently ~3%. In contrast to the migratory responses, both species avoided HIREC across a gradient of low-high amounts of HIREC while using oriented movements on winter range. Once these overall responses were established, I then assessed whether they changed or remained constant over time (Chapter 2). Animal populations may have immediate responses to HIREC or they may develop a response over time, resulting in a time-lag between the onset of HIREC and a population’s response. With immediate responses, it is likely that individual behavioral plasticity is the underlying mechanism of a population’s response to HIREC. For time lags, it is likely that natural selection acts on personalities within a given population. Using the mule deer dataset only, I fit resource selection functions (RSF) using a Generalized Additive Mixed Model (GAMM) to evaluate temporal trends in the behavioral response to the natural gas development during both migration and while on winter range. At the population level for both migration and winter range, mule deer exhibited a time-lag response to HIREC (i.e., natural gas development). During migration, during the first 8 years of this study, mule deer avoided development only after a threshold of development was surpassed and this threshold varied from year to year. Following the 8-year lag, mule deer consistently avoided development year to year once development surpassed a ~2% threshold. For winter range, during the first 9 years, mule deer responses to development varied year to year, although they mainly avoided development. Following the 9-year lag, the avoidance of development became stronger and more consistent. At the individual level for both migration and winter range, mule deer collared for > 1 year avoided development and their response to development did not change over subsequent years, suggesting little behavioral plasticity in this population. Overall, my work demonstrates that responses to HIREC by moving animals can be non-linear, are mediated by the movement mechanism animals are primarily relying on, and may not be consistent and strong until years after the onset of landscape change. Additionally, the disturbance thresholds identified herein for mule deer and pronghorn provide land and wildlife managers in western Wyoming with specific, actionable targets that can help to maintain the ecological function of migration routes and winter ranges. Energy development is, and will continue to be, a major source of disturbance for migratory ungulates, and other sagebrush obligate species, in western North America. An estimated 800,000 km2 of land is projected to be converted for energy extraction by the year 2040. Because this and other forms of land development will continue, it is increasingly important to understand how, when, to what degree, and over what time-scale animals respond to human disturbance so that potential impacts can be minimized.