Montana State University Library Open Journal Systems
Not a member yet
2608 research outputs found
Sort by
Introduction Montana Chapter of the Wildlife Society 54th annual meetIng, 2016 Wildlife Restoration Celebrating Conservation Success and Facing Future Challenges
No full textThis year's theme was Wildlife Restoration: Celebrating Conservation Success and Facing Future Challenges. The subject is one of the most challenging aspects of wildlife management. The focus is intentionally broad, as the success of conservation and management of our wildlife species is dependent on the synergy of many political, ecological, biological and social components that play a role in species conservation. There are many future challenges facing Montana’s wildlife species such as a growing human population or a changing climate. To help build future solutions, we can keep an eye on past successes. We should do this not only to draw important lessons on science, management or policy from our peers or predecessors, but also to remind ourselves how much the future can benefit from the hard work of those that came before us.The perspective from the past is an important one. We get to celebrate the conservation success of the agency biologists, university researchers and leaders that worked together to incorporate sound scientific management of wildlife to restore Montana’s game populations in the early 1900s. Today we have a healthy population of wolves, compared to 30 years ago when managers questioned their presence at all. As we look to future challenges, our annual conference is a great forum to share experiences, collaborate and better define and learn how and where we can manage Montana’s wildlife for future generations. About 350 wildlifers attended this year's conference.The banquet speaker was Harold Picton, Emeritus Professor of Wildlife Management in the Department of Ecology at Montana State University. He is a charter member of the Chapter and served as its president in 1967. The title of his talk was, "The Pittman-Robertson Revolution: Skim Milk on the Hills, Drugs in the Swamp and Salting from the Air" It was received with a standing ovation
Application of Structured Decision Making to Wildlife Management in Montana
Get PDFGood decision-making is essential to conserving wildlife populations. Whereas there may be multiple ways to address a problem, perfect solutions rarely exist. Managers are therefore tasked with identifying optimal decisions that will best achieve desired outcomes. Structured decision making (SDM) is a method of decision analysis used to identify the most effective, efficient, and realistic optimal decisions while accounting for values and priorities of the decision maker. The stepwise process includes identifying the management problem, defining objectives for solving the problem, developing alternative approaches to achieve the objectives, and formally evaluating which alternative is most likely to accomplish the objectives. The SDM process can be more effective than informal decision-making because it provides a transparent way to quantitatively evaluate decisions for addressing multiple management objectives while incorporating science, uncertainty, and risk tolerance. We illustrate the application of this process to management needs, including an SDM-based decision tool developed to identify optimal decisions for proactively managing risk of pneumonia epizootics in bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis). Pneumonia epizootics are a major challenge for managers, including in terms of knowing how or when to manage risk. The decision tool facilitates analysis of alternative decisions for how to manage herds based on predictions from a risk model, herd-specific objectives, and predicted costs and benefits of each alternative. Managers can be confident resulting decisions are most effective, efficient, and realistic because they explicitly account for important considerations managers implicitly weigh when making decisions, including competing management objectives, uncertainty in potential outcomes and risk tolerance
Golden Eagle Migration Corridors along The Rocky Mountain Front and Intermountain Flyways
Get PDFGolden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) have been receiving increased attention in the western United States due to an increase in anthropogenic population threats, including wind and other industrial energy developments. Conservation of migratory Golden Eagles hinges on knowledge of threats within breeding ranges, migratory corridors, and over-wintering areas. Often, understanding threats along migration corridors can be difficult due to the short temporal use of migration paths and because pathways can often be dispersed across the landscape. We used satellite tracking data from three Golden Eagle studies across Montana to estimate key migration routes and bottlenecks for migratory Golden Eagles wintering or passing through Montana, with an emphasis on the Rocky Mountain Front. We gathered data from 35 individuals, including from 21 adult and 14 sub-adult Golden Eagles. We created individual dynamic Brownian Bridge Movement Models (dBBMM) for each migration event to estimate migratory pathways of individuals. We also created a population level migratory pathway estimate to determine key migration corridors and bottlenecks by summing the individual dBBMMs after accounting for age and study location. These models can be used for future risk assessments for developments and conservation measures for Golden Eagle migration routes
Common Poorwill Habitat Use and Breeding Ecology in Western Montana
Get PDFWe know relatively little about Common Poorwill (Phalaenoptilus nuttallii) natural history or habitat needs in Montana. Most published range maps do not show them occurring west of the Continental Divide in Montana. However, surveys targeting other birds led to numerous incidental detections of Common Poorwills on the MPG Ranch, a private conservation property in the Sapphire Mountains just south of Missoula. In 2015 we started a pilot project on the MPG Ranch to more closely examine poorwill distribution, habitat use, and breeding ecology. We also used Citizen Scientists from Bitterroot Audubon to survey for poorwills in other parts of the valley. On the MPG Ranch, we found poorwills widely distributed in habitats with a mixture of a shrubby overstory, steep terrain, and talus slopes. In some cases poorwills roosted and/or nested in areas with tree cover. We captured 11 individuals and tested radio telemetry techniques to approximate range size, roost use, and site fidelity. We monitored activity at six nests and deployed motion-sensing cameras when possible to observe nesting behavior. We also used acoustic monitors and roadside observations to document arrival and departure dates. We plan to expand this project in 2016
Mexican Spotted Owl Site Occupancy Trends and Small Mammal Abundance in the Canyonlands of Utah
Get PDFThe Mexican Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis lucida) is widely distributed in forest habitat from the central highlands of Mexico north to the four-corners region of the southwest U.S. However, in southern Utah, Mexican Spotted Owls are only found in arid rocky canyonlands, e.g., ~30 owl pairs occupy narrow canyons within Zion National Park, and up to 10 territories occur in Capitol Reef National Park. We studied the owl’s territorial occupancy and primary prey species in Capitol Reef and adjacent environs during 2000-2015. We recorded Spotted Owl territorial occupancy states, including absence, single, or owl pair (and we searched for young). At a sample of territories, we measured relative abundance of primary prey species (Neotoma and Peromyscus spp.) using mark-recapture techniques. We were specifically interested in Woodrats and White-footed Mice because they have been identified as the primary prey of Spotted Owls in rocky canyon habitat using pellet analysis. We successfully captured, marked, and released over 6000 small mammals of various species at five owl territories in Capitol Reef and three territories in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM). We also recorded various habitat measurements at each small mammal trap location. Spotted Owl territorial occupancy varied strongly during 2000-2007 in GSENM, and during 2013-2015 in Capitol Reef. We observed that low site occupancy in GSENM was correlated with low relative abundance of prey species, and associated with a severe drought throughout the region. During 2013 and 2014 in Capitol Reef, we observed low owl occupancy, with only one occupied territory. During 2015, six extinct territories were re-colonized by Spotted Owls, however, small mammal abundance declined during 2013 to 2015. We will continue to measure long-term patterns among owl occupancy, prey relative abundance, vegetation changes and variation in climate
Stormwater in Silver Bow and Blacktail Creeks: Implications for the Microbial Community
Get PDFSilver Bow and Blacktail Creeks are the headwaters of the Clark Fork River and are impacted by historic mining activities in the area. Although metal concentrations of runoff into the creeks are monitored and reported in previous studies, the composition and diversity of microbial communities are unknown. We seek to identify the microbial communities present and investigate changes in community structure due to stormwater impact, thereby determining and monitoring the overall environmental health of the system. We sampled five sites in Silver Bow and Blacktail Creeks in Butte, MT for chemical and biological analyses during high stormwater flow events. Water samples were collected for analysis of major anions and cations, metal concentrations, dissolved inorganic and organic carbon and carbon isotopes and hydrogen and oxygen isotopes in water. In situ measurements of pH, temperature and dissolved oxygen were taken at the time of sampling. Redox sensitive species - total dissolved sulfide, dissolved silica and ferrous iron - were measured using wet chemical tests and field spectrophotometry. Concurrent biological samples were collected for microbial identification and diversity (DNA), activity (protein), quantity (cell counts) and culturing. Overall microbial results are in progress, but water chemistry data provide clues about microbial habitats available in the creeks. Results upstream in Butte will be compared to downstream areas such as Durant Canyon and the Warm Springs Settling Ponds. The relationship between water chemistry, microbes, and overall ecosystem health can be characterized by deciphering how water chemistry affects microbial activity and vice versa
INTRODUCTION
Get PDFThe Montana Academy of Sciences (MAS) was incorporated on the 20th day of March, 1961, as a non-profit, educational organization. The objectives of the Montana Academy of Sciences are to encourage interest and participation in the sciences and to promote public understanding of science and its contribution to society. The Academy accomplishes its objectives by conducting meetings of those interested in sciences and the education of scientists, by publishing contributions to scientific knowledge, by supporting research, by making awards to recognize accomplishments in science, by administering gifts and contributions to accomplish these aims, by assigning and cooperating with affiliated and other organizations with similar objectives and by engaging in such other activities as deemed necessary to accomplish its objectives.We held our 2016 Annual Meeting at Montana Tech in Butte, MT. on April 8 and 9. Over 100 registrants participated, viewing 13 contributed oral presentations and 13 poster presentations over the day and a half meeting. We present the abstracts from our meeting here so that the readers of the Intermountain Journal of Sciences can see the quality and types of science supported by MAS. Please mark your calendars for our next meeting, April 7 and 8, 2017 in Butte. Finally, the Board of Directors of MAS would like to thank the sponsors of our 2016 Annual Meeting: Dr. Doug Coe, Dean, College of Letters, Sciences & Professional Studies, Montana Tech; Dr. Beverly Hartline, Vice Chancellor for Research, Montana Tech; Dr. Renee Reijo Pera, VP for Research, Montana State University - Bozeman; Dr. Beth Weatherby, Chancellor, University of Montana – Dillon; Dr. Tim Laurent, VP for Academic Affairs, University of Great Falls; Department of Biological and Physical Sciences, Montana State University – Billings
Characterization of the Effects of Exogenous Camp Combined on C. Albicans Morphogenesis in Strains Lacking NRG1P, RFG1P, or TUP1P (Poster)
Get PDFThe opportunistic human pathogen Candida albicans causes both superficial and lifethreatening systemic infections and is a leading cause of fungal disease in immunocompromised individuals. C. albicans can grow in different cell shapes, or morphologies, including yeast-like cells and a variety of filamentous forms, such as true hyphae and pseudohyphae. Yeast, hyphae and pseudohyphae have been observed at the sites of Candida infection and there is strong evidence that morphogenesis, the transition between yeast and filamentous growth forms, is essential for virulence. Many studies have implicated cAMP in the regulation of morphogenesis. cAMP acts to activate filamentation. Our lab and others have previously characterized the impact of the negative regulators, Nrg1, Rfg1, and Tup1 on the expression of HWP1, a hyphal specific gene. The goal of this project is to characterize whether the addition of exogenous cAMP will increase the expression oHWP1 in the absence of each of the negative regulators. This will help us better understand the signal transduction cascade that controls morphogenesis in C. albicans
The Luddite Librarian and the Technophile
No full text“I fear the day technology will surpassour human interaction. The world willhave a generation of idiots.” AlbertEinstei