Download or read book Neonatal Mortality of Elk in Wyoming written by Bruce L. Smith and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Neonatal Mortality of Elk in Wyoming written by Bruce L. Smith and published by Createspace Independent Pub. This book was released on 2012-08-16 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Public concerns over large losses of wild ungulates to predators arise when restoring large carnivore species to former locations or population densities. During the 1990s, mountain lion (Felis concolor) and grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) numbers increased in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and gray wolves (Canis lupus) were reintroduced to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. We investigated effects of these predators, as well as black bears (Ursus americanus) and coyotes (Canis latrans), on mortality of an abundant and increasing prey species, elk (Cervus elaphus). We captured, radio-instrumented, and monitored survival of 145 elk neonates from 3 cohorts during 1990 - 1992, and 153 neonates from 3 cohorts during 1997 - 1999 when grizzly bears and lions were likely more common than during the earlier period of study. Neonatal (birth through 31 July) mortality of elk due to predation, disease, and accidents increased from 15.2 % to 27.5% (P = 0.01). Sixty-eight percent of all mortality during 1990 - 1992 resulted from predation by black bears and coyotes, compared to 76% during 1997-1999 by black bears, coyotes, grizzly bears, and mountain lions, a non-significant difference (P = 0.49). Weight gains of calves during the first week, but not birth weights, declined from 1990 - 1992 to 1997 - 1999. April temperatures were cooler, delaying spring green-up, and elk numbers were larger during 1997 - 1999 when weight gains and survival of calves declined. Calves that died were more likely to be male, below average birth weight, and had inferior serum nutritional indices. The change in neonatal calf survival reduced the annual growth rate of the Jackson elk herd from 1.26 to 1.23, yielding a decline in the annual increment of approximately 500 animals in a preparturition herd of 11,000 elk. Changes in mid-summer calf: 100 cow ratios indicated a 39 - 45% greater decline in neonatal survival than measured among the radioed calves. We suggest increasing predation during the study was partially compensatory, given predator selection of inferior calves and increased mortality of cohorts with reduced first week growth rates. Reduced rate of first week weight gains of elk calves extended the duration of neonatal mortality by one month during 1997 - 1999, and may be as important in predisposing calves to predation and other mortality as low birth weights. Consequently, we conclude that increased predation was a proximate not an ultimate cause of declining neonatal survival during the 1990s. We recommend careful evaluation and hypothesis testing of predator effects on elk as restoration of large carnivores continues.
Download or read book Where Elk Roam written by Bruce Smith and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2011-11-08 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An inside look at working with the majestic elk—and the controversies surrounding their conservation.
Download or read book Yellowstone s Wildlife in Transition written by P. J. White and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2013-04-15 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world's first national park, Yellowstone is a symbol of nature's enduring majesty and the paradigm of protected areas across the globe. But Yellowstone is constantly changing. How we understand and respond to events that are putting species under stress, say the authors of Yellowstone's Wildlife in Transition, will determine the future of ecosystems that were millions of years in the making. With a foreword by the renowned naturalist E. O. Wilson, this is the most comprehensive survey of research on North America's flagship national park available today. Marshaling the expertise of over thirty contributors, Yellowstone's Wildlife in Transition examines the diverse changes to the park's ecology in recent decades. Since its creation in the 1870s, the priorities governing Yellowstone have evolved, from intensive management designed to protect and propagate depleted large-bodied mammals to an approach focused on restoration and preservation of ecological processes. Recognizing the importance of natural occurrences such as fires and predation, this more ecologically informed oversight has achieved notable successes, including the recovery of threatened native species of wolves, bald eagles, and grizzly bears. Nevertheless, these experts detect worrying signs of a system under strain. They identify three overriding stressors: invasive species, private-sector development of unprotected lands, and a warming climate. Their concluding recommendations will shape the twenty-first-century discussion over how to confront these challenges, not only in American parks but for conservation areas worldwide. Highly readable and fully illustrated, Yellowstone's Wildlife in Transition will be welcomed by ecologists and nature enthusiasts alike.
Download or read book Grand Teton National Park N P Bison and Elk Management Plan written by and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 636 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Elk Calf Mortality Following Wolf Restoration to Yellowstone National Park written by Shannon Michelle Barber-Meyer and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 454 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A three-year study of the mortality in northern Yellowstone elk calves. Compares results to those of the Singer et al. study conducted from 1987-1990.
Download or read book Rocky Mountain National Park N P Elk and Vegetation Management Plan written by and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 630 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
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 Annual Report written by University of Wyoming-National Park Service Research Center and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Animal Behavior and Wildlife Conservation written by Marco Festa-Bianchet and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2013-04-09 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Efforts to conserve wildlife populations and preserve biological diversity are often hampered by an inadequate understanding of animal behavior. How do animals react to gaps in forested lands, or to sport hunters? Do individual differences—in age, sex, size, past experience—affect how an animal reacts to a given situation? Differences in individual behavior may determine the success or failure of a conservation initiative, yet they are rarely considered when strategies and policies are developed. Animal Behavior and Wildlife Conservation explores how knowledge of animal behavior may help increase the effectiveness of conservation programs. The book brings together conservation biologists, wildlife managers, and academics from around the world to examine the importance of general principles, the role played by specific characteristics of different species, and the importance of considering the behavior of individuals and the strategies they adopt to maximize fitness. Each chapter begins by looking at the theoretical foundations of a topic, and follows with an exploration of its practical implications. A concluding chapter considers possible future contributions of research in animal behavior to wildlife conservation.
Download or read book Mammal Community Dynamics written by Cynthia J. Zabel and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2003-09-18 with total page 740 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Table of contents
Download or read book Canadian Journal of Zoology written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 732 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Biology of Deer written by Robert D. Brown and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 604 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first International Conference on the Biology of Deer Production was held at Dunedin, New Zealand in 1983. That meeting provided, for the first time, a forum for those with interests in either wild deer management or farmed deer production to come together. Scientists, wild deer managers, domestic deer farmers, veterinarians, venison and antler product producers, and others were able to discuss common problems and to share their knowledge and experience. The relationships formed at that meeting, and the information amassed in the resulting Proceedings, sparked new endeavors in cervid research, management, and production. A great deal has taken place in the world of deer biology since 1983. Wild deer populations, although ever increasing in many areas of the world, face new hazards of habitat loss, environmental contamination, and overexploitation. Some species are closer to extinction than ever. Game managers often face political as well as biological challenges. Many more deer are now on farms, leading to greater concerns about disease control and increased needs for husbandry information. Researchers have accumulated considerable new in formation, some of it in areas such as biochemical genetics, not discussed in 1983.
Download or read book Awakening Spirits written by Richard Reading and published by Fulcrum Publishing. This book was released on 2010-06-01 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This illustrated collection offers fascinating insight on restoring the wolf population to the Southern Rockies. Detailed reports by wildlife biologists, geographers, legal and policy experts, and conservationists provide a comprehensive look at not only the ecological imperatives, but also the history, legal framework, and public attitudes affecting the future of wolves.
Download or read book The Ecology of Large Mammals in Central Yellowstone written by Robert A. Garrott and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2008-11-25 with total page 712 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is an authoritative work on the ecology of some of America's most iconic large mammals in a natural environment - and of the interplay between climate, landscape, and animals in the interior of the world's first and most famous national park.Central Yellowstone includes the range of one of the largest migratory populations of bison in North America as well as a unique elk herd that remains in the park year round. These populations live in a varied landscape with seasonal and often extreme patterns of climate and food abundance. The reintroduction of wolves into the park a decade ago resulted in scientific and public controversy about the effect of large predators on their prey, a debate closely examined in the book. Introductory chapters describe the geography, geology and vegetation of the ecosystem. The elk and bison are then introduced and their population ecology described both pre- and post– wolf introduction, enabling valuable insights into the demographic and behavioral consequences for their ungulate prey. Subsequent chapters describe the wildlife-human interactions and show how scientific research can inform the debate and policy issues surrounding winter recreation in Yellowstone. The book closes with a discussion of how this ecological knowledge can be used to educate the public, both about Yellowstone itself and about science, ecology and the environment in general. Yellowstone National Park exemplifies some of the currently most hotly debated and high-profile ecological, wildlife management, and environmental policy issues and this book will have broad appeal not only to academic ecologists, but also to natural resource students, managers, biologists, policy makers, administrators and the general public. - Unrivalled descriptions of ecological processes in a world famous ecosystem, based on information from 16 years of painstaking field work and collaborations among 66 scientists and technical experts and 15 graduate studies - Detailed studies of two charismatic North American herbivore species – elk and bison - Description of the restoration of wolves into central Yellowstone and their ecological interactions with their elk and bison prey - Illustrated with numerous evocative colour photographs and stunning maps
Download or read book The Prairie Naturalist written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 590 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Lochsa Elk Herd written by James M. Peek and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2020-04-23 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Northern hemisphere ungulates occupy a variety of habitats of varying degrees of permanency. Populations that occupy drier areas must contend with different moisture patterns between years, but vegetation is relatively permanent, pending large-scale disturbances such as fires or heavy grazing. However, populations that occupy boreal forests and the moist inland coniferous forests often benefit from the major vegetation change that typically follows fire or logging. This volume records the history of an elk population that occupies these types of forests. Major fires in the 1910-1934 period created millions of acres of highly palatable shrubs that created a habitat for a burgeoning elk population. Coupled with the reduction of major predators, hunting, and other human activities in the 1930s and 1940s, the elk herd expanded to levels that are unlikely to be reached again and may never have occurred before. This pattern has occurred in many forests across the Holarctic hemisphere. Efforts to retain elk and other species including moose in these forests will have to be coordinated with other activities including logging and fire. Elk must be recognized as being products of forest disturbance.
