Download or read book The Ecology and Behaviour of Pumas puma Concolor in Northern California U S A written by Maximilian L. Allen and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Impacts of Rural Development on Puma Ecology in California s Sierra Nevada written by Anne M. Orlando and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In Western North America, many rural areas are being converted to ranchette-style residential development (2-16+-ha plots), potentially degrading habitat for large carnivores including pumas (Puma concolor, also known as cougars or mountain lions), and impacting ecosystem integrity. In a rapidly developing rural region of California's Western Sierra Nevada, I studied the impacts of low-density development on puma habitat utility, behavioral ecology, mortality, and viability. I characterized properties experiencing puma depredation, a major puma mortality cause in the study region, and compared attributes of properties that had, and had not, experienced depredation. Most depredations (67%) occurred on ranchette-sized parcels and hobby farms, while 3 professional ranches (2.9% of properties experiencing puma depredations) accounted for a disproportionate share (17%) of depredations and pumas killed (23%). Numbers and densities of goats and sheep most strongly predicted puma depredation on a property, followed by geographic features including high slope and elevation, brushy cover, and proximity to rivers and national forests. I then investigated whether rural development reduced puma habitat utility by examining habitat use and movement parameters from GPS-collared pumas in undeveloped and developed rural areas of the same ecosystem. Development appeared to limit habitat utility, with pumas in the developed zone occupying smaller, less round home ranges than undeveloped zone animals. Unlike undeveloped zone pumas, developed zone animals avoided roads and appeared to use riparian areas as movement corridors, and steep-sided canyons bordering residential areas for rest and feeding cover. Finally, I examined whether rural development functionally fragmented puma habitat at the population, landscape, and individual scales. Dispersal and survival parameters, including a high developed zone mortality rate (42.9%), suggested a "source-sink" population structure. Pumas crossed highways 7.9 times less and housing developments 3.7 times less than expected, and these obstacles threatened to disrupt landscape connectivity. Within their home ranges, pumas avoided developed areas (d"0-acre parcels) and preferentially used less developed areas (>40-acre parcels), especially during the day. Low-density rural development exacerbated puma depredation and mortality, constrained habitat utility, and fragmented habitat. Conserving pumas and associated wildlife communities will require efforts to reduce human-caused mortality, protect corridors, retain open spaces, preserve source populations, and limit anthropogenic obstacles to landscape connectivity."--Abstract
Download or read book Desert Puma written by Kenneth A. Logan and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2001-08-01 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scientists and conservationists are beginning to understand the importance of top carnivores to the health and integrity of fully functioning ecosystems. As burgeoning human populations continue to impinge on natural landscapes, the need for understanding carnivore populations and how we affect them is becoming increasingly acute.Desert Puma represents one of the most detailed assessments ever produced of the biology and ecology of a top carnivore. The husband-and-wife team of Kenneth Logan and Linda Sweanor set forth extensive data gathered from their ten-year field study of pumas in the Chihuahua Desert of New Mexico, also drawing on other reliable scientific data gathered throughout the puma's geographic range. Chapters examine: the evolutionary and modern history of pumas, their taxonomy, and physical description a detailed description and history of the study area in the Chihuahua Desert field techniques that were used in the research puma population dynamics and life history strategies the implications of puma behavior and social organization the relationships of pumas and their preyThe authors provide important new information about both the biology of pumas and their evolutionary ecology -- not only what pumas do, but why they do it. Logan and Sweanor explain how an understanding of puma evolutionary ecology can, and must, inform long-term conservation strategies. They end the book with their ideas regarding strategies for puma management and conservation, along with a consideration of the future of pumas and humans. Desert Puma makes a significant and original contribution to the science not only of pumas in desert ecosystems but of the role of top predators in all environments. It is an essential contribution to the bookshelf of any wildlife biologist or conservationist involved in large-scale land management or wildlife management.
Download or read book Population Ecology of Roosevelt Elk written by Butch Weckerly and published by University of Nevada Press. This book was released on 2017-09-27 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Roosevelt elk populate the parks along California’s north coast and comprise the largest land mammals in the parks, some weighing up to 1,200 pounds. They are a stable terrestrial land mammal population, a fixture in the parks, but still require ongoing stewardship and management. In a study spanning more than twenty years, Weckerly made key observations and conducted various investigations under a multitude of ecological conditions. Few authors have dedicated this much time and effort into a single research area. It is a testament to perseverance that his groundbreaking study of the Roosevelt elk was so successful. He was able to document the independent dynamics of several herds of female elk, experience the extinction of one of their subpopulations, and record scientific conclusions in the context of resiliency and redundancy of the elk population. This book will be of considerable interest to those who investigate the ecology of big game animals, including naturalists, hunters, and individuals with particular interest in Redwood State and National Parks. It is an important book that contributes substantially to the persistence and viability of Roosevelt elk in the parks and the surrounding area.
Download or read book Cougar written by Maurice Hornocker and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2009-12-15 with total page 331 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The cougar is one of the most beautiful, enigmatic, and majestic animals in the Americas. Eliciting reverence for its grace and independent nature, it also triggers fear when it comes into contact with people, pets, and livestock or competes for hunters’ game. Mystery, myth, and misunderstanding surround this remarkable creature. The cougar’s range once extended from northern Canada to the tip of South America, and from the Pacific to the Atlantic, making it the most widespread animal in the western hemisphere. But overhunting and loss of habitat vastly reduced cougar numbers by the early twentieth century across much of its historical range, and today the cougar faces numerous threats as burgeoning human development encroaches on its remaining habitat. When Maurice Hornocker began the first long-term study of cougars in the Idaho wilderness in 1964, little was known about this large cat. Its secretive nature and rarity in the landscape made it difficult to study. But his groundbreaking research yielded major insights and was the prelude to further research on this controversial species. The capstone to Hornocker’s long career studying big cats, Cougar is a powerful and practical resource for scientists, conservationists, and anyone with an interest in large carnivores. He and conservationist Sharon Negri bring together the diverse perspectives of twenty-two distinguished scientists to provide the fullest account of the cougar’s ecology, behavior, and genetics, its role as a top predator, and its conservation needs. This compilation of recent findings, stunning photographs, and firsthand accounts of field research unravels the mysteries of this magnificent animal and emphasizes its importance in healthy ecosystem processes and in our lives.
Download or read book Pumas of the Peninsular Ranges written by Sean Clemenza and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By the early 2000s, desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) populations in the southern California had declined significantly. These declines progressed to the point that bighorn sheep in the Peninsular Ranges population were listed as federally endangered in 1998 and these sheep became a California “Fully Protected Mammal” species (US Fish and Wildlife Service 1998, California Fish and Game 2016). Initially, high lamb mortality and low recruitment were thought to be responsible for the declines, however the most frequent cause of sheep mortality turned out to be predation by pumas (Puma concolor). In a local study, pumas were found to be the cause of death for 69% of all mortalities (Hayes et al. 2000). Predation at these levels could potentially impact population viability and persistence of bighorn sheep (Festa-Bianchet et al. 2006). Additionally as many bighorn sheep had been marked (e.g. collars and ear tags) for study and conservation, concerns were expressed over whether or not the marking made sheep more “conspicuous” and thus susceptible to predation (Rominger and Weisenberger 2000). During the course of investigating the possible impacts of marking bighorn sheep, I observed a unique regionally variable behavior of pumas, which is little studied and poorly understood. The behavior was that of pumas apparently abandoning kills temporarily to use remote day beds >2 km away. After remaining at day beds, pumas returned to feed at kill sites before repeating a similar process the next day. In order to better study the unique behavior, a new method was developed to detect remote day bed use. The new method is more widely applicable than to just puma behavior and has implications for central-place foraging analyses. Given utility of the new method in optimal foraging approaches, I examined optimality of puma foraging in a manner not done before. I compared my observations to predictions of the Marginal Value Theorem (Charnov 1976). My primary research objectives were to (1) test for differential selection in pumas preying on radio-collared versus uncollared bighorn sheep, (2) examine puma movement and behavior at and around kill sites, (3) develop a method to identify and examine puma kills in a way that allows central-place behaviors and specifically day bed use to be considered, (4) test predictions of the Marginal Value Theorem (MVT) for pumas and prey. As I described in chapter 1 (formatted for BioMed Central Research Notes) during biennial helicopter surveys from 2000-2004 in southern California, the total number of bighorn sheep in 5 of 8 recognized subpopulations of the Peninsular Ranges (Rubin et al. 1998) were estimated. The number of marked (radio-collared) bighorn sheep was subtracted from the total population to determine the number unmarked (uncollared). I used Global Positioning System (GPS) locations from pumas radio-collared between 2002-2004 to identify kills of pumas preying upon these bighorn sheep. Three pumas killed 23 bighorn sheep (19 uncollared and 4 radio-collared) over the course of the study. Pumas did not preferentially prey on marked versus unmarked bighorn sheep. Predation occurred primarily during crepuscular and nighttime hours, and 22 kill sites were identified by the occurrence of 2 or more consecutive puma GPS locations (a cluster) within 200 m of each other at 1900, 0000, and 0600 h. I tested the "conspicuous individual hypothesis" and found that there was no difference in puma predation upon radio- collared or uncollared bighorn sheep. Pumas tended to move long distances before and after kills, but their movement patterns immediately post-kill were much more restricted. Researchers can exploit this behavior to identify puma kill sites and investigate prey selection by designing studies, which detect puma locations spatially clustered between dusk and dawn. I developed a new method discussed in chapter 2 (formatted for the Journal of Wildlife Management), the first to account for day bed use behavior in pumas, which is widely applicable and can be used to identify central-place uses and behaviors away from central-places for a broad spectrum of taxa using location data. I developed the method to detect central-place use via GPS location clusters. Specifically, the method was designed to detect behaviors at clusters, such as remote day bed use. The method was validated and tested for puma kill/cache detection. This study is the first to account for the observed behavior during puma feeding of departing from and returning to caches. In the course of this study, I also documented the first long-term reuse of caches by pumas; and detected sex-based effects in foraging behavior. Overall, this study provided a unique approach to examine GPS location clusters in a way, which allows for analysis of central-place behaviors like day bed use. My results demonstrate that investing in new approaches to analysis can yield insight into regionally variable and difficult to observe behaviors, which is valuable to wildlife management. As described in chapter 3 (formatted for the Journal of Wildlife Management), optimal foraging is a key tenet of ecology and fundamental to our understanding of predator-prey interactions. The classical marginal value theorem (MVT) uses travel time between patches and patch quality to determine optimal patch residence time. While the MVT has been successfully tested in controlled laboratory environments, it has been insufficiently evaluated under natural conditions such as terrestrial predator and multi-prey systems. Using novel analytical techniques and data from long-term studies of pumas (Puma concolor), I found qualitative support for 2 of 3 MVT predictions tested. I found time spent at caches increased with increasing average foodivvalue (habitat quality) of caches. Time spent at caches also increased significantly for higher food value (quality) caches than lower food value caches. During my examination, I also detected sex-based effects in patch quality on foraging behavior. Overall, this study provided a unique approach to examine the MVT in the context of a complex natural predator-prey system. It also improved our understanding of behavior and highlighted some important new differences between sexes in pumas, which could convey both impacts to prey and benefits to scavengers. My results demonstrate that leveraging technological advances, such as in puma cache detection, with novel theoretical applications of field observations drives new understanding of cryptic behaviors such as those of ambush predators like pumas and is valuable to long-term and large- scale management.
Download or read book Environmental DNA Innovations for Conservation written by Matthew A. Barnes and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2022-01-06 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Ecology of the Puma in the Diablo Range California written by Rickey Alan Hopkins and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 558 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Movement Ecology of Neotropical Forest Mammals written by Rafael Reyna-Hurtado and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-01-08 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book brings a unique perspective to animal movement studies because all cases came from tropical environments where the great diversity, either biological and structurally (trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes), presents the animal with several options to fulfill its live requirements. These conditions have forced the evolution of unique movement patterns and ecological strategies. Movement is an essential process in the life of all organisms. Animals move because they are hungry, thirsty, to avoid being eaten, or because they want to find mates. Understanding the causes and consequences of animal movement is not an easy task for behavioural ecologists. Many animals are shy, move in secretive ways and are very sensible to human presence, therefore, studying the movements of mammals in tropical environments present logistical and methodological challenges that have recently started to be solved by ecologist around the world. In this book we are compiling a set of extraordinary cases where researchers have used some of the modern technology and the strongest methodological approaches to understand movement patterns in wild tropical mammals. We hope this book will inspire and encourage young researchers to investigate wild mammal ́s movements in some of the amazing tropical environments of the world.
Download or read book Canadian Journal of Zoology written by and published by . This book was released on 2014-05 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Camera Traps in Animal Ecology written by Allan F. O'Connell and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2010-10-05 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Remote photography and infrared sensors are widely used in the sampling of wildlife populations worldwide, especially for cryptic or elusive species. Guiding the practitioner through the entire process of using camera traps, this book is the first to compile state-of-the-art sampling techniques for the purpose of conducting high-quality science or effective management. Chapters on the evaluation of equipment, field sampling designs, and data analysis methods provide a coherent framework for making inferences about the abundance, species richness, and occupancy of sampled animals. The volume introduces new models that will revolutionize use of camera data to estimate population density, such as the newly developed spatial capture–recapture models. It also includes richly detailed case studies of camera trap work on some of the world’s most charismatic, elusive, and endangered wildlife species. Indispensible to wildlife conservationists, ecologists, biologists, and conservation agencies around the world, the text provides a thorough review of the subject as well as a forecast for the use of remote photography in natural resource conservation over the next few decades.
Download or read book The Ecology of the Cougar Puma Concolor in the Northern Yellowstone Ecosystem written by Kerry M. Murphy and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 147 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Carnivore Behavior Ecology and Evolution written by John L. Gittleman and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2019-05-15 with total page 639 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The mammalian order Carnivora is characterized by an incredible range of morphological, ecological, and behavioral variation. Carnivores can be as small as the 100-gram least weasel or as large as the 800-kilogram polar bear. Their reproductive rate can vary from one offspring every five years, as with some black bears, to three litters a year, as with the dwarf mongoose. Group sizes can be traced along a wide continuum, from the solitary ermine to the monogamous golden jackal to the large extended packs of as many as 80 spotted hyenas. Until recently the general habits of most wild carnivore species were inadequately understood. In the last decade, however, improved technologies, including the use of radiotelemetry and night-vision scopes, have led to many important discoveries. This book is at once a critical summary and an evaluation of current research on carnivores. A worthy successor to R.F. Ewer's monumental volume, The Carnivores (Cornell University Press), it is the work of 30 leading carnivore biologists, who here assemble comparative data on the basic anatomical, behavioral, ecological, physiological, reproductive, and evolutionary characteristics of this group. After a general introduction to the Carnivora, the volume is divided in three parts, each of which begins with a brief introduction outlining its main themes. Part I, Behavior, covers acoustic and olfactory communication, behavioral development, behavioral ecology of canids and hyaenids, modes of solitary living, and group living. In Part II, Ecology, topics include feeding ecology of the giant panda and Asiatic black bear, adatpations for aquatic living, ecological constraints on predation in felids, consequences of small size in mustelids, rate of basal metabolism and food habits, and reproductive output. Part III, Evolution, deals with the morphological approaches to phylogeny, and the fossil record. An appendix presents a complete classification of the Carnivora, including topics of continuing controversy. Highlighting recent developments in the study of the Carnivora and areas for further research, this broad synthesis will be of great value of students and researchers in animal behavior, behavioral ecology, wildlife ecology, mammalogy, paleontology, systematics, and evolution theory. It will also encourage realistic conservation programs to manage rapidly diminishing populations and will elucidate particular features of the carnivores for nonspecialist readers.
Download or read book The Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids written by David Macdonald and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2010-06-03 with total page 782 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The editors utilize their 50 years of combined experience in professional engagement with the behaviour and ecology of wild felids to draw together a unique network of the world's most respected and knowledgeable experts. For the first time, this inter-disciplinary research programme is brought together within a single volume. Beginning with a complete account of all 36 felid species, there follow 8 comprehensive review chapters that span all the topics most relevant to felid conservation science, including evolution and systematics, felid form and function, genetic applications, behavioural ecology, management of species that come into conflict with people and control of international trade in felid species, conservation tools/techniques, ex situ management, and felid diseases. 19 detailed case studies then delve deeply into syntheses of the very best species investigations worldwide, written by all the leading figures in the field. These chapters portray the unique attributes of the wild felids, describe their fascinating (and conflicting) relationship with humans, and create an unparalleled platform for future research and conservation measures. A final chapter analyses the requirements of, and inter-disciplinary approaches to, practical conservation with cutting-edge examples of conservation science and action that go far beyond the cat family.
Download or read book The Path of the Puma written by Jim Williams and published by . This book was released on 2018-10-09 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An Expert's View of the Big Cat's Fight to Find Its Wild
Download or read book Yellowstone Cougars written by Toni K. Ruth and published by University Press of Colorado. This book was released on 2019-09-23 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Yellowstone Cougars examines the effect of wolf restoration on the cougar population in Yellowstone National Park—one of the largest national parks in the American West. No other study has ever specifically addressed the theoretical and practical aspects of competition between large carnivores in North America. The authors provide a thorough analysis of cougar ecology, how they interact with and are influenced by wolves—their main competitor—and how this knowledge informs management and conservation of both species across the West. Of practical importance, Yellowstone Cougars addresses the management and conservation of multiple carnivores in increasingly human-dominated landscapes. The authors move beyond a single-species approach to cougar management and conservation to one that considers multiple species, which was impossible to untangle before wolf reestablishment in the Yellowstone area provided biologists with this research opportunity. Yellowstone Cougars provides objective scientific data at the forefront of understanding cougars and large carnivore community structure and management issues in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, as well as in other areas where wolves and cougars are reestablishing. Intended for an audience of scientists, wildlife managers, conservationists, and academics, the book also sets a theoretical precedent for writing about competition between carnivorous mammals.
Download or read book Yellowstone Cougars written by Toni Karen Ruth and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Examines the effect of wolf restoration on cougar population in Yellowstone National Park. No other study has addressed theoretical and practical aspects of competition between large carnivores. A thorough examination of cougar ecology, how they interact and [are] influenced by wolves, how this knowledge informs management and conservation"--Provided by publisher.
