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Behavior-Specific Habitat Models as a Tool to Inform Ungulate Restoration
No full textGPS data is broadly used in wildlife research and management to construct habitat models and can help to inform translocation efforts. However, for species with both resident and migratory behaviors, a single population habitat model may not predict the varying selection patterns of residents and migrants as well as separate resident and migrant habitat models. Moreover, through developing behavior-specific habitat models managers can strategically target source populations with the behaviors that best match the landscape attributes of the areas being restored. Such targeted translocations may increase translocation success and help to build diverse migratory portfolios in restored populations. We used resource selection functions to develop an annual resident model as well as summer and winter migrant models using GPS locations from female bighorn sheep in eight (resident = 2, migrant = 6) populations that were broadly distributed across western Montana. We extrapolated each model with the purpose of generating broad spatial predictions of bighorn sheep habitat and informing future translocations. Terrain and landscape covariates most strongly influenced resource selection for both behaviors in all seasons. The habitat predictions from the annual resident and winter migrant model strongly overlapped on rugged and steep slopes at low to mid elevations across western Montana. The habitat predictions from the summer migrant model were largely nonoverlapping with residents and broadly distributed across high elevations. Our behavior-specific habitat extrapolations across western Montana serve as a tool to inform future translocations into new areas or expand the distribution and migratory portfolio of existing populations
Evaluating Habitat Suitability for Lesser Prairie-Chicken Reintroduction (Poster)
No full textLarge-scale patterns of land-use and habitat fragmentation have significantly reduced the range and numbers of Lesser prairie-chickens in the southern Great Plains. Because lesser prairie-chickens are generally a residential species with limited dispersal abilities, increasing the size and connectivity of sub-populations and restoring habitat in areas previously occupied is essential for species’ recovery. To guide future management practices for lesser prairie-chicken recovery, we will use locations of stable leks collected from lek survey data from 2010 -2019 to develop resource selection models for the species’ current distribution in the mixed-grass prairie ecoregion. We will extrapolate our best resource selection model to the historic range of lesser prairie-chickens to identify and quantify potential habitat patches for reintroduction, as well as to evaluate the relative connectivity of potential habitat patches to existing lesser prairie-chicken populations using a least-cost path analysis. We will then use our resource selection model with habitat-based ratio estimators to estimate population sizes at potential habitat patches. Habitat patches will be prioritized for lesser prairie-chicken reintroduction based on habitat patch size, total available lesser prairie-chicken habitat, and relative connectivity of potential habitat patches to existing populations. Finally, we will use our resource selection model to quantify the relative improvement in available lesser prairie-chicken habitat for areas that recently participated in restorative management actions by comparing current habitat conditions to habitat conditions prior to management actions. Our resource selection models will assist future reintroduction and habitat restoration plans by identifying habitat conditions that predict the presence of stable lesser prairie-chicken leks, and the highest quality, most connected habitat patches in the mixed-grass prairie ecoregio
Mechanisms Influencing Pack Size in Gray Wolves
No full textEstimates of the abundance of gray wolves (Canis lupus) are important to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Park’s (MFWP) Wolf Program. MFWP uses a Patch Occupancy Model (POM) to estimate area occupied, from which they estimate abundance based on average territory and pack size. Accordingly, abundance estimates depend on intensive field monitoring to estimate pack sizes. Pack size is driven by births, deaths, and the social decisions of group members, including if and when to disperse. Like many cooperatively breeding canids, gray wolves exhibit flexible and diverse dispersal behaviors. We aimed to better understand mechanisms influencing pack size and dispersal, and to develop a predictive tool for estimating pack size for wolves in Montana, absent data directly related to births and dispersals because these data will be unavailable to wildlife managers. We hypothesized that group sizes of cooperatively-breeding canids would be influenced by conditions related to prey, competition, and mortality risk. We found that wolf pack sizes in Montana were positively related to local densities of prey and packs, and negatively related to terrain ruggedness, local mortalities, and intensity of harvest management. A predictive model for pack sizes reliably estimated the mean annual pack sizes observed from 2005 - 2018 (adjusted R-squared = 0.58, P < 0.002) and illuminated possible underlying mechanisms influencing variation in pack sizes over space and time. Alongside a mechanistic territory model we developed for POM, our pack size model will help keep abundance estimates from POM calibrated into the future, absent intensive monitoring effort
Performance and Trend of Remotely Sensed Forage Phenology and Productivity Metrics Across the Western United States
No full textForage drives many important wildlife habitat, movement, and demographic processes, yet few studies assess the best remote sensing datasets for use in wildlife research and management. We compare phenology and productivity metrics from 10 leading remote sensing datasets against a network of PhenoCam near-surface cameras throughout the Western United States from 2002-2014 to guide users in dataset selection. Overall correlations and mean bias varied substantially by dataset, metric, and land cover. The best performing phenology metrics calculated a date rather than a duration (length of season, duration of spring greenup) with R2 ranging from 0.04–0.69. Datasets performed best in shrubland, grassland, and deciduous/broadleaf forest land cover types, and weakest in evergreen forests. Productivity metrics performed worse overall than phenology metrics, though some datasets showed strong results in deciduous/broadleaf forests. Using the two best performing datasets with a long historical record, we analyzed changes to growing seasons from 1982-2016 and compared results of the competing datasets. The direction of trend generally agreed but the strength of the trends differed. This study provides the first comprehensive comparison of remote sensing datasets across many important phenology and productivity metrics. We discuss considerations for users to make informed decisions about their data choices
Polygyny, Parturition, and Calf Survival in a Translocated Eastern Elk (Cervus Canadensis) Population
No full textTranslocated populations may undergo exceptional changes in physiology, behavior, genetics, and demography following release into their new environment. Understanding implications of translocation on population processes remains increasingly relevant as number and type of conservation translocation activities increase worldwide. We reintroduced a population of elk (Cervus canadensis) to the Missouri Ozarks over the years 2011-2013 by translocating 106 individuals from Kentucky. Following translocation efforts we investigated changes in sire structure and consequences on male reproductive success and calf survival. All translocated individuals were fitted with GPS-radiocollars and tissue-sampled for DNA analysis. Subsequently, we captured and processed Missouri-born calves, took calf tissue samples for paternity analysis, and monitored calf survival. Results indicated increasing levels of polygeny in the face of advancing sire age structure across years following translocation. We found a positive effect of sire age on male reproductive success, but observed a significant year interaction signifying a decreasing effect of age across years following translocation as the population both aged and expanded. While we found increased calf mortality associated with later birth dates, we found limited evidence for increased calf mortality hazard associated with younger aged sires. Change in breeding structure is a little considered aspect of wildlife translocation that holds potential population genetic and demographic ramifications. Understanding how wildlife populations respond to translocation events across varied ecological metrics is crucial for increasing project success, improving subsequent management, and, ultimately, ensuring persistence of translocation populations
Quantifying Elk Aggregation from Gps, Satellite, and UAS Data on The National Elk Refuge
No full textThe transmission and prevalence of CWD and other wildlife diseases likely depend on the density of animals on the landscape, which can have important implications for the frequency of animal contacts and the potential for environmental transmission. Amid increasing concern regarding the spread of CWD, new tools are needed to characterize the degree to which animals are aggregated on the landscape so that managers can assess the effectiveness of actions intended to reduce aggregation and disease transmission. Ideally, the type of data used to measure aggregation would a) provide precise and accurate information on how aggregation changes through time, b) yield additional information on the number and distribution of animals, and c) be inexpensive. We evaluated 7 aggregation metrics calculated using elk locations on the National Elk Refuge derived from GPS collars, satellite, and UAS imagery. We assessed 1) the accuracy of these methods relative to traditional aerial and ground counts, 2) which approaches adequately identify changes in aggregation across time periods relevant for disease management action, and 3) whether aggregation metrics from different data sources can be compared directly to enable comparisons across multiple populations. We discuss potential pitfalls and benefits presented by new approaches to quantifying elk aggregations. We found that satellite and GPS data were most valuable for comparing elk aggregations across time and in relation to feeding activities. Inter-elk distance distributions and kernel density estimates represent easily interpretable metrics that are sensitive to changes in elk aggregation
To Beaver or Not to Beaver, Strategies for Beaver Management on Private Lands
No full textThe activity of beavers on streams in the western United States can lead to landscapescale benefits for natural water storage and fish and wildlife habitat. There is increasing interest in using beavers and beaver mimicry as stream and riparian habitat restoration tools, and to mitigate the impacts of drought and rapidly changing annual water regimes on rangelands. Private landowners may benefit from beaver activity through increased water availability and greater production of green vegetation in floodplains during dry portions of the year. However, beavers can also cause rapid and significant damage to human infrastructure and desired streamside vegetation when they settle down in an inappropriate area. The purpose of this presentation is to outline strategies for evaluating situations where landowners want beavers tocolonize their property, as well as situations where landowners want to thwart or preclude beaver-related property damage. Strategies for encouraging colonization include GIS and fieldbased habitat evaluations, habitat modification to encourage settlement, evaluating the local beaver population for dispersal potential, and communicating realistic expectations of colonization potential and expected benefits based on stream conditions. Strategies for discouraging beavers include tree fencing and painting, culvert fencing, pond levelers, dam destruction, translocation, and lethal trapping. Beaver management on private lands will be a key issue in the coming decades as private landowners are faced with challenges related to long-term environmental changes, and biologists, land managers, and other entities are uniquely situated to help private landowners navigate the complexities of beaver colonization and associated impacts
Avian Response to Old-growth Maintenance Logging in the Swan River State Forest, Montana
Get PDFOld-growth maintenance silvicultural treatment is a tool implemented to retain old-growth forest attributes, remove shade-intolerant trees, and create canopy gaps. Our objectives were to examine how these treatments affect avian diversity and density. We used a Before-After/Control-Impact Pairs study design by pairing old-growth stands proposed for harvest with nearby untreated stands, based on their pre-treatment forest structure and composition similarity. Logging reduced basal area by 40 percent (P < 0.05), overstory canopy cover by 31 percent (P < 0.05), and the density of trees >42 cm dbh (P < 0.05). No major changes in bird species composition or diversity were detected. Only the relative densities of evening grosbeaks changed (58% reduction in density, P < 0.05), likely due to the removal of insect-infested trees. All old-growth associated bird species continued to occupy treatment stands under the landscape conditions we observed. We did not evaluate avian survival or reproductive success, which would provide beneficial metrics for further interpretation of the potential effects of old-growth maintenance treatments
Snowshoe Hare use of Silviculturally Altered Conifer Forests in The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
Get PDFInformation about snowshoe hare habitat use in key Canada lynx recovery areas, such as the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, is critical for the conservation of lynx. Although research conclusions differ in regard to the types and ages of forests preferred by snowshoe hares, restrictions on silvicultural practice have been implemented by forest managers to protect snowshoe hares in this area. However, some research suggests that regenerating lodgepole pine stands associated with silvicultural treatments benefit snowshoe hares. We evaluated three indices of snowshoe hare use within a timber management area in southwest Montana, inside the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (1999–2012) to assess the relative use of forest types. We analyzed: 1) 11 years of data collected from 280 pellet plots using linear mixed models and AICc model selection, 2) 13 years of track counts from 2,202 km of roadway travel using Chi-squared goodness-of-fit tests of proportional segment lengths and the associated cover types, and 3) 76 nights over one winter of live-trapping using a hare/night index. Overall, we observed the greatest use within the youngest two classes of regenerating lodgepole pine stands that were associated with clear cutting and pre-commercial thinning. These results suggest snowshoe hares prefer silviculturally influenced 30–60 years old lodgepole pine forests
Private Lands Conservation: Where it has gone and where it is going - 2020 Annual Meeting
No full textOur theme for this year’s conference takes a look at what is going on across the state on private lands and how landowners are working with different agencies, NGOs, developing grass root programs, and utilizing other avenues to improve and conserve the resources right here in our backyard. Approximately two thirds of Montana is privately owned, and without private lands conservation, many of the flora and fauna species that call this place home would not be as abundant as they are now. For the most part, wildlife does not understand anthropogenic lines drawn on a map, but the mosaic of landownership across the state requires everyone to do their part to conserve not only the wildlife, but also the way of life and traditions that have been associated with these lands for centuries