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28 Years of Upland Game Bird Habitat Enhancement in Northeast Montana
Get PDFIn 1989 Montana’s Upland Game Bird Enhancement Program (UGBEP) was authorized to develop, enhance, and conserve upland game bird habitat in Montana using funding from upland game bird license sales. A combination of high public interest, robust game bird populations, and an extensively cultivated landscape in the northeastern corner of Montana made it a natural focus area for the new program. Habitat enhancements completed under the program included establishing nesting cover, shelterbelts for winter cover, and food plots as well as implementing rest-rotation grazing systems. Over the ensuing 28 years, 431 habitat projects were completed in a five county area. Most projects were completed in cooperation with private landowners and nearly all of the habitat enhancements occurred on private lands. Many projects resulted from partnering with Farm Bill conservation programs. Good working relationships between FWP staff, landowners, and partnering agencies played a key role in the success of the program. A discussion of achievements, challenges, and lessons learned from the UGBEP in northeast Montana may provide insight for wildlife managers dealing with habitat conservation issues across the state
Nutritional and Demographic Consequences of Varying Elk Migratory Behaviors
Get PDFElk (Cervus elaphus) populations in the American West exhibit wide variation in migratory behavior. The traditional view of elk migration holds that migratory elk move from winter range in order to track growth of highly nutritious fresh vegetation into higher elevation areas. Non-migratory elk forego this seasonal movement, typically foraging in lower elevation winter range areas throughout the summer. Although the effect of summer nutrition on elk body condition and reproductive success is well known, the nutritional and demographic consequences of these differing migratory behaviors remain unclear. We developed a predictive model of summer forage quality to compare the nutrition available to migrants and non-migrants in a partially migratory population of elk in western Montana. Non-migratory elk had access to significantly higher forage quality than their migratory counterparts; the lower forage quality available to migrants is predicted to result in reduced reproductive success based on published studies linking nutrition with elk demographic rates. We therefore expect non-migrants to have higher fecundity rates and to comprise a higher proportion of the population relative to migrants. Harvest management actions that reduce survival rates of non-migrants or increase survival rates of migrants may be an effective tool for maintaining migratory behavior in partially migratory populations
Mule Deer Research and Management in the Bitterroot Valley, Western Montana
Get PDFMule deer in the Sapphire Mountains on the east side of the Bitterroot Valley exist across a variety of habitats, densities, and management strategies, including the most popular trophy buck management area in the state of Montana (Hunting District 270 in the south end of the Sapphires). As in many other western states, mule deer populations have declined over recent decades, despite relatively good fawn recruitment. Beginning in winter 2015-2016, we used ground-based darting to deploy GPS collars on 30 adult female deer in HD270 and HD204 (north end of the Sapphires) to evaluate seasonal movements and causes of mortality. These areas were chosen not only because they represent a spectrum of environmental and management conditions, but because extensive data on habitat and forage quality in this area was collected as part of preceding elk habitat research. To date, we have observed a wide variety of movement strategies, from resident deer maintaining a small home range year-round in areas of high private land ownership to migratory deer moving from summer to winter range. Causes of mortality consisted of coyote predation (n=2), human hunting (n=1), and unknown mortality (n=1) in HD204, and natural mortality (n=1) and mountain lion predation (n=2) in HD270. This is an ongoing study by which we hope to evaluate factors limiting deer populations to help inform future management
Wolverine Reproductive Den Habitat in Glacier National Park, Montana
Get PDFWolverine reproductive dens occur in habitat not easily accessible to humans during the denning period (Feb – May) and can be challenging to find. As such, few den sites have been precisely described. From 2003 – 2007 we located and documented 14 natal and maternal dens of 3 reproductive female wolverine in Glacier National Park. Two females were known to have produced young in multiple years, using different den sites each year. Reproductive dens occurred at an average elevation of 1890m (range: 1805-1999m), on 9° slopes (range: 5-22o), within a variable range of aspects ( =263°), and with an average snow depth of 2.6m (range: 2.4-3.4m). Den structures included downed trees, large boulders, and rock caves associated with alpine cirques, ridges, and cliff bands at, or below, existing tree line. Distance to occupied human development averaged 6.4km, and distance between denning areas of the same female in different years averaged 5.8 km. Various climate change models predict less persistent snowpack in many areas of the conterminous United States, with a resultant potential for increased isolation of island populations of wolverines
Challenges with Sampling Sage Grouse Leks and Interpreting Population Trends in Central Montana
Get PDFEstimating population size and monitoring trends over time is a fundamental task for management biologists. For species of conservation concern like the Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), using robust methods to monitor populations is imperative. Biologists usually monitor sage-grouse by surveying males at breeding leks each spring. Over 1700 sage-grouse leks exist in Montana, presenting a formidable logistical challenge to census given their accessibility, timing of activity, and other constraints. Thus, not all leks get surveyed each year. In 2005, Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks designated 88 Adaptive Harvest Management (AHM) leks to prioritize survey efforts and undergo a more rigorous, consistent sampling protocol; these counts are considered the best indicator of sage-grouse population trends in Montana. However, AHM leks do not provide a random sample required for strong statistical inference, and may not be representative of the remaining leks in an area. I compared count data between AHM and non-AHM leks near Lewistown, Montana, finding mean males/lek is significantly higher on AHM leks than non-AHM leks. Additionally, these larger AHM leks appear to persist longer than smaller leks, which may indicate a minimum size (or potential Alee effect of sorts) at which a lek is more likely to fail. A Cox proportional hazards model indicates differences in survivability across lek size classes (i.e., the hazard of a lek failing is 11.48 times greater for the smaller leks than the larger leks). Given these observations, sampling only AHM leks may predispose us to incorrectly interpreting sagegrouse population status across the state
Introduction
Get PDFThis year's theme was Habitat: The Science, Art, and Politics of Conserving It. The idea for this came about when I thought about all the factors that have to be navigated to develop and implement a successful habitat project. From the science perspective, you need to understand the habitat that you’re working in, its ecological state, function and disturbance ecology and apply appropriate science. Then there’s the matter of scale. To be more effective, many projects are applied at the “landscape-level”, which means you’re often working across landownerships and therefore have to navigate the different side boards and mandates that each agency must work within. While agency folks trip their way through the bureaucratic hurdles to get their projects done, private landowners maintain 70% of the land base in Montana, including valuable habitat for wildlife. Habitat can be enhanced or reduced depending on the land use practices. Land trust organizations, non-governmental organizations, private landowners, and state and federal agencies must work cooperatively to conserve and enhance wildlife and fish habitat. And all of this can become that much more complicated depending on the political winds that are blowing at the time. This year’s plenary session and banquet presentation were designed to explore some of these influences affecting habitat conservation and management. At the plenary panel we heard from Jeff Laszlo, a private landowner engaged in large-scale habitat work on his ranch in the Madison Valley; Jeff Herbert, a retired FWP biologist speaking to the active influence that sportsmen and women have had on habitat conservation in Montana; Bok Sowell, an Montana State University professor of range ecology challenging our interpretation of scientific studies; Martin Nie, a University of Montana professor specializing in natural resource policy on western public lands and the need to improve forest plans rather than dispose of federal lands; and Jennifer Fielder, a state senator who supports the transfer of federal lands to the state so they can be better managed. Greg Neudecker was our banquet speaker. He is the state coordinator for the Montana Partners for the Fish and Wildlife Program with the USFWS. He’s worked with well over 500 landowners on projects ranging from conservation easements, fee acquisition, instream restoration, wetland restoration, grazing management and grizzly bear conflict abatement. His presentation addressed how science, art and politics shaped the successful collaborative habitat conservation program that has come to be known as the Blackfoot Challenge in the Blackfoot Valley of western MT. Over 300 wildlife professionals attended this year’s conference
Analysis of BH31-1 Derivative's Effect on Candida Species
Get PDFCandida species are the most common and arguably the most important causative agents of human fungal infections. Oropharyngeal, esophageal, vulvovaginal, and cutaneous candidiasis leads to significant morbidity while systemic infections in immunocompromised patients (patients with AIDS, tissue transplants, central venous catheters, or those undergoing chemotherapy) has a 35% mortality rate. During infection, it is essential that the dimorphic Candida species switch between different morphological states including transitions between budded or yeast-like cells and hyphal forms. The small molecule BH3I-1 has shown promising results at inhibiting hyphal formation in several Candida species. The goal of this study is to find a BH3I-1 derivative that inhibits hyphal formation in several Candida species at a lower minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) than BH3I-1. A derivative with a low MIC that affects several Candida species may have a potential to be a broad-spectrum antifungal drug. The Candida species being tested against the BH3I-1 derivatives are: C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. rugosa, C. krusei, C. tropicalis, C. lusitaniae, C. dubliniesis, and C. parapsilosis. Currently, 36 BH3I-1 derivatives have been tested. Molecule 25 has an MIC about 4 times lower than BH3I-1 in Candida albicans and has also been shown to work in other Candida species at inhibiting hyphal formation. Other derivatives such as molecule #10 did not inhibit many of the tested Candida species, but showed a much lower MIC than molecule #25 in C. rugosa. Out of the 36 tested derivatives, molecule #25 has shown the promise for a broad-ranged antifungal drug
Riverine Carbon Cycling as a Function of Seasonality
Get PDFMontana has one of the most dynamic climate regimes in all of the United States, with seasonal changes spanning a large range of temperatures. In Montana, we depend on water originating from snow and glacial melt. These freshwater ecosystems are considered to be some of the most vulnerable to climate change on Earth. Glacially fed ecosystems are unique habitats for a vast array of life and geochemical processes, including carbon cycling. In order to study carbon cycling in environments vulnerable to change, an interdisciplinary approach including biogeochemical analyses of river DOM production and external allochthonous inputs is necessary to evaluate the impacts of climate change. The overarching hypothesis for this work is: Seasonal changes in Montana rivers will cause shifts in carbon cycling as ecosystems respond to changes in temperature. Unlike our initial hypothesis that the amount of sunlight and temperature would play a bigger role in what was happening, the time of the year was much more significant. In Big Sky OC levels in June for the sunny and canopy covered reaches were similar, 1.24 and 1.23 mg C/L, respectively; whereas at the end of July OC in the sunny reach was 0.42 mg C/Land the canopy cover reach was 0.955 mg C/L. The same trend is seen for the urban location in Bozeman. Cell abundance in the reaches followed similar trends, which were not solely based on temperature
How AQP3B Influences Convergent Extension Through Noncanonical WNT Signaling
Get PDFAquaporin-3b, Aqp3b, is an aquaglyceroporin, a membrane water channel that is present during gastrulation and various other stages of development. Gastrulation organizes cells, via convergent extension, into germ layers, which will later form different body tissues. During gastrulation, cells fold into the embryo, then merge by convergent extension to form the long body axis. These cell movements are regulated by noncanonical Wnt signaling, an intercellular signaling pathway that controls the migration and polarity of tissues. When Aqp3b is inhibited using a morpholino oligonucleotide (MO), convergent extension does not occur properly, suggesting a link between Aqp3b and noncanonical Wnt signaling. To assay these defects, we use the Keller tissue explanting method to observe convergent extension. Our goal is to determine which parts of the Wnt signaling pathway are influenced by Aqp3b. We conducted rescue experiments by inhibiting Aqp3b and injecting an RNA or DNA construct of several proteins involved in Wnt signaling. Successful rescue with Dvl1?Dix and Dvl2?Dix constructs indicated that Aqp3b is involved in noncanonical Wnt signaling, since Dvl?Dix acts in all noncanonical Wnt signaling. Further, Aqp3b acts through the Wnt/Ca2+ subpathway, indicated by rescue by PKC, and through a branch of the Wnt/PCP pathway, indicated by successful rescue with RhoA but not with Rac1. Aqp3b does not directly affect the Wnt/Ror2 pathway. In conclusion, I have demonstrated that the ability of Aqp3b to influence convergent extension is dependent on noncanonical Wnt signaling, specifically the Wnt/Ca2+ pathway and the RhoA branch of Wnt/PCP pathway. I am collecting additional data to ensure statistical significance
Modeling the Distribution of Pollutants for a Mine
Get PDFThe institution of new mining facilities is a constant threat to environmental persistence and abundance. This issue can be minimalized with greater insight into how pollutants spread. Understanding the dispersal of pollutants allows cleanup efforts to be directed in an extremely efficient manner. To determine the spread of pollutants, the Belt Creek Drainage which has several mining facilities was chosen to be tested for specifically Arsenic, Selenium, and Lead. Using ICP (Inductively Coupled Plasma) the concentrations of each pollutant was determined at various points along the drainage system. The data retrieved was then synthesized in GIS (Geographic Information Systems) to create a gradient showing the concentration changes across distance within the river system. This type of analysis is extremely applicable to understanding how and where pollutants can be predicted to accumulate and can enhance the effectiveness of pollutant cleanup effort