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Historic Distribution and Abundance of Bison in the Rocky Mountains of the United States
Get PDFScant public awareness of the early distribution and abundance of bison (Bison bison) in the Rocky Mountains of the United States inhibits discussion of possible restoration of wild bison. A review of written evidence, largely from 1805-1845, indicates bison were widely distributed in intermountain valleys, with a major regional concentration spanning parts of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. However, several interacting factors caused large spatial and temporal variation in bison abundance. Native American predation was likely a major influence on bison distribution and abundance during and shortly before 1805-1845. The area where bison were observed by early explorers underestimates the area where restoring productive herds of wild bison is possible
Estimating Migratory—Resident Elk Populations and Juvenile Recruitment Using Remote Cameras in the Canadian Rockies
Get PDFThe use of remote cameras has been at the forefront of debate in the sphere of wildlife population estimates. There is research suggesting camera surveys underestimate ungulate populations, however, with a second component of estimation, such as years of GPS points from collared elk, modeling a population and estimating resident elk calf recruitment and juvenile survival can become quantifiable. During the summer of 2016 I initiated an undergraduate research project under Dr. Mark Hebblewhite’s ungulate ecology lab. Over the span of the summer, I deployed 28 remote cameras in a previously sampled large carnivore occupancy grid. The study area is the Ya Ha Tinda Ranch, adjacent to Banff National Park, Alberta. The purpose of my project is to estimate migratory—resident elk populations and juvenile recruitment utilizing remote cameras. Estimating ungulate populations is technical, expensive, and often a dangerous (helicopter surveys) task. As the ecology community evolves into safer, less invasive and more cost effective methods for population estimates, it is up to the wildlife research community to produce evidence that such methods are effective. My research is attempting to do just that with 88 collared individuals inhabiting the study area, spatially explicit mark re-sight models can be quantifiable in measuring non-uniquely identifiable ungulate populations across a landscape. The potential scientific impacts and applications resulting from my research project would be significant. A publication detailing how an elk population— with collared and uncollared individuals can be estimated strictly with remote wildlife cameras and would be a contribution in the desired direction of population ecology for less invasive, yet highly accurate and efficient population studies
A Message from the President
Get PDFLast August over 100 librarians from across the Pacific Northwest traveled to Calgary, Alberta for the annual PNLA conference
Preservation and the Future in the Northwest: A Conversation with Archivists and Librarians
Get PDFThe theme for this current issue of PNLA Quarterly is Preservation and the Future. This article ad-dresses that topic in the form of a conversation with professionals in archives and libraries in Idaho and Washington that have a stake in the preservation, access, and future of library collections and historical materials in the Northwest. These perspectives offer points-of-view from an academic library, county historical society, and university special collections
Zebrafish Stress Synapse
Get PDFStress is a behavior characterized by uneasiness, nervousness, and fear that all organisms are faced with every day. Both environmental and chemical factors can trigger stress responses within the body. In this experiment, zebrafish (Danio species) will be stressed with environmental and chemical factors. Their cortisol levels, which is produced when stressed, will be tested by performing cortisol assays. The environmental factors that will be tested with light/dark apparatus that will investigate how environmental conditions stress the zebrafish. A beaker stressor will be used to investigate how the size of the environment effects stress on the zebrafish. Caffeine will be the chemical factor tested because it is addictive. Different concentrations of caffeine will be administered and the effects of these concentrations will use the cortisol assays. An ANOVA test will be done to quantify the data
Illuminating the Nocturnal Soundscape in the Bitterroot Valley, Montana
Get PDFDarkness hides species on the landscape, but vocalizations illuminate their presence. In a nocturnal soundscape, owls hoot, nighthawks boom, bats echolocate, and insects buzz. Birds that migrate at night emit calls we can record and use for species identification. In 2012, we began to record nocturnal flight calls of migratory birds at three monitoring sites, and by 2016 expanded to eight sites. We have collected and processed over five terabytes of recordings from spring and fall migration. To help us analyze the audio, we customized the open-source software called Vesper. Our archive now includes thousands of detections of species like Wilson’s Warbler. In the Bitterroot Valley, this species occurs in low numbers during the breeding season, and are rarely detected during migration by passive observation on the ground. In this presentation, we will share this finding and others from our analysis. We will also discuss efforts to share this acoustic monitoring technique and the Vesper software with local students. Lastly, we will explore some of the ways we can use the recordings to study other acoustic phenomena. A longer-term goal of this project is to develop a network of acoustic monitoring stations across Montana, building a collaboration between interested individuals, non-profits, and managing agencies. We will provide information on how you can participate in this project and attend a training workshop taking place this summer
Surveillance Strategy for Detecting Pseudogymnoascus Destructans (PD) and White-Nose Syndrome in Montana 2016-2017
Get PDFThe devastating bat disease, White-Nose Syndrome (WNS), caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), was detected in western Washington state in March of 2016. This detection was 1,300 miles from the previous westernmost detection and highlighted the urgency for surveillance in other western states like Montana. Early detection of the disease may provide valuable insights into the statewide status of WNS, research opportunities, mitigation options and cave management. The goals of Montana’s surveillance plan include 1) surveying for WNS/Pd in new geographic areas outside the WNS-affected zone and/or biologically important sites and 2) surveying for WNS infection in bat species that are not currently known to be susceptible. In the absence of information or a risk assessment to help Montana focus on priority surveillance areas other than winter hibernacula, the 2017 strategy focuses on sampling at six hibernacula representing all regions where aggregations of bats overwinter. Both active and passive sampling of bats and hibernacula environments will be conducted. Active sampling can detect Pd from swabs of bats or in hibernacula soils. Passive sampling will be conducted into the early summer specifically targeting bats found dead outside of hibernacula, bats showing clear signs of WNS infection, and bats found dead as part of a large mortality event. Bats submitted for rabies testing may also be sampled when circumstances or characteristics of the carcass indicate WNS may be the cause of mortality. While surveillance efforts can be costly it may provide information with enough time to better inform decision making
Automating the Process of Fitting New Planetary Transit Data with Python
Get PDFThe study of exoplanets has aided astronomers in understanding the behaviors of solar systems and continued the search for extraterrestrial life. Photometry, the measurement of light flux caused by a planetary object transiting a star, is one of the main methods to detecting exoplanets. Because of atmospheric variations and experimental uncertainty, the photometric data is modeled with a line of best fit. To create the fit for the data, a person must input values for seven parameters iteratively until the accuracy of the fit is satisfactory. This process is time-consuming and limits the accuracy of the model. This project presents a new program coded in Python that will automate the process for new transit data by allowing a user to input one set of estimated parameters. The program alters the inputted parameters repeatedly to create multiple fits, and then presents the parameters for the fit with the lowest residual data. Planets with high chances of transiting their parent star were chosen for observation. Two planets with previously confirmed transits and thirteen planets without confirmed transits were observed using four, 0.7meter telescopes. Data were analyzed using the current method of data analysis and with the program developed in this project. This program could serve as a practical application for astronomers that provide more accurate and efficient results. The purpose of the experiment is to see how environmental and chemical factors, such as caffeine, induce different stress responses based off of zebrafish behavior and cortisol assay results
Comparing Bird Population Trends in the Badlands and Prairies Using BBS and IMBCR Data
Get PDFWe compared the direction and precision of trend estimates of bird species in the Badlands and Prairie Bird Conservation Region (BCR 17) from 2009-2015 using Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) and Integrated Monitoring in Bird Conservation Regions (IMBCR) data. We used Bayesian modeling estimates provided by the BBS and newly developed Bayesian estimates of IMBCR data. Trend estimates often differed between the two data sets and estimates of precision were generally smaller for IMBCR than for BBS data. In addition, because the BBS estimates do not correct for detection probability, the BBS estimates measure the trend on an index rather than the detection corrected abundance. If the relationship between the BBS index and true abundance is not linear and 1:1, the interpretation of the BBS trend is unclear. Finally, because BBS counts are conducted along roads, species that are attracted to or avoid roads may be over or under counted, respectively. BBS trends can be helpful for examining long-term trends (greater than 20 years) in bird abundance across large regions but only IMBCR trends provide sufficient precision to examine trends at shorter time intervals. IMBCR trends, therefore, are more useful for identifying current factors influencing bird population trends
Confronting the Challenge of Whale Detection from Large Vessels
Get PDFAs a result of a moratorium on commercial whaling, most populations of large whales are increasing across the globe. However, concurrent growth in shipping means that lethal ship-whale collisions constitute a significant threat to whale conservation efforts. This study investigates the ability of ship operators to detect and avoid whales by quantifying the predictability of whale surfacing behaviors, which are the cues used to determine whale presence. Whale avoidance is challenging because whales spend most of their time underwater and thus unavailable to be detected (the “availability process”), but must be detected at sufficiently large distances (the “detection process”) to enact an effective avoidance maneuver. We quantified one of the main characteristics of whale behavior that governs detectability – time breaking the surface – to create a novel model of whale surfacing patterns around ships while accounting for the detection process. We then estimated the frequency with which cues go undetected (i.e. whales break the surface but ship operators are unaware of them), as well as the frequency with which whales are present but unavailable for detection (i.e. below the surface of the water). This work will enable the prediction of close ship-whale encounters given different combinations of detected and/or missed cues at varying ship speeds. It will support ship operators’ avoidance efforts by quantifying the availability and detection processes in a way that facilitates the development of whale avoidance protocols