557 items found
Type: Article
Subjects: Mule deer
Spatial heterogeneity
Temporal heterogeneity
Western Colorado
Climate change
Spatial heterogeneity
Temporal heterogeneity
Western Colorado
Climate change
Type:Article
Subject:Mule deer
Spatial heterogeneity
Temporal heterogeneity
Western Colorado
Climate change
Spatial heterogeneity
Temporal heterogeneity
Western Colorado
Climate change
Description:Understanding how spatial and temporal heterogeneity influence ecological processes forms a central challenge in ecology. Individual responses to heterogeneity shape population dynamics, therefore understanding these responses is central to sustainable population management. Emerging evidence has shown that herbivores track heterogeneity in nutritional quality of vegetation by responding to phenological differences in plants. We quantified the benefits mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) accrue from accessing habitats with asynchronous plant phenology in northwest Colorado over 3 years. Our analysis examined both the direct physiological and indirect environmental effects of weather and vegetation phenology on mule deer winter body condition. We identified several important effects of annual weather patterns and topographical variables on vegetation phenology in the home ranges of mule deer. Crucially, temporal patterns of vegetation phenology were linked with differences in body condition, with deer tending to show poorer body condition in areas with less asynchronous vegetation green-up and later vegetation onset. The direct physiological effect of previous winter precipitation on mule deer body condition was much less important than the indirect effect mediated by vegetation phenology. Additionally, the influence of vegetation phenology on body fat was much stronger than that of overall vegetation productivity. In summary, changing annual weather patterns, particularly in relation to seasonal precipitation, have the potential to alter body condition of this important ungulate species during the critical winter period. This finding highlights the importance of maintaining large contiguous areas of spatially and temporally variable resources to allow animals to compensate behaviourally for changing climate-driven resource patterns. [show more]
Type:Fact Sheet
Subject:Waterfowl -- Diseases
Avian botulism
Birds
Avian botulism
Birds
Description:Fact sheet on species affected by avian botulism in Colorado.
Type: Text
Subjects: Ecology
Zoology
Biostatistics
Zoology
Biostatistics
Type:Text
Subject:Ecology
Zoology
Biostatistics
Zoology
Biostatistics
Description:Point count surveys of birds are commonly used to provide indices of abundance or, in some cases, estimates of true abundance. The most common use of point counts is to provide an index of population abundance or relative abundance. To make spatial or temporal comparisons valid using this type of count requires the very restrictive assumption of equal detection probability for the comparisons being made. We developed a multiple-independent observer approach to estimating abundance for point count surveys as a modification of the primary-secondary observer approach. This approach uses standard capture-recapture models, including models of inherent individual heterogeneity in detection probabilities and models using individual covariates to account for observable heterogeneity in detection probabilities. We also developed a time of detection approach for estimating avian abundance when birds are detected aurally, which is a modification of the time of removal approach. This approach requires collecting detection histories of individual birds in consecutive time intervals and modeling the detection process using a capture-recapture framework. This approach incorporates both the probability a bird is available for detection and the probability of detection given availability. We also present a multiple species modeling strategy since many point count surveys collect data on multiple species and present the approach for distance sampling, multiple observer, and time of detection approaches. The purpose of using a multiple species modeling approach is to obtain more parsimonious models by exploiting similarities in the detection process among species. We present a method for defining species groups which leads to an a priori set of species groups and associated candidate models. Finally, we present a method for estimating the availability probability of birds during a point count based on singing rate or detailed singing time data. This approach requires data collected in conjunction with point count surveys that describe the singing rates or singing time distribution of the bird population of interest. The singing rate approach requires the assumption that an individual bird sings following a random process but rates may vary between birds. Analyses presented throughout this thesis demonstrate the importance of accurately modeling the detection process to estimate abundance. The importance of accounting for individual heterogeneity in detection probabilities was evident in every chapter. Using a point count method that accounts for individual heterogeneity is crucial to estimating abundance effectively and making valid spatial, temporal and species comparisons. [show more]
Type: Article
Subjects: Bark beetle
<em>Dendroctonus</em> spp.
Western North American conifer forests
Lodgepole pine forests
Spruce-fir forests
Colorado
<em>Dendroctonus</em> spp.
Western North American conifer forests
Lodgepole pine forests
Spruce-fir forests
Colorado
Type:Article
Subject:Bark beetle
<em>Dendroctonus</em> spp.
Western North American conifer forests
Lodgepole pine forests
Spruce-fir forests
Colorado
<em>Dendroctonus</em> spp.
Western North American conifer forests
Lodgepole pine forests
Spruce-fir forests
Colorado
Description:Bark beetle (Dendroctonus spp.) outbreaks have historically shaped the structure and function of western North American conifer forests by contributing to heterogeneous conditions needed to support various wildlife species. Previous studies of beetle impacts have primarily focused on pine-dominated systems within 1–6 years of outbreak, limiting our knowledge for informing wildlife habitat management to a relatively short timeframe and narrow range of forest types. Increases in extent and severity of outbreaks since 1900, caused in part by anthropogenic climate warming and forest management, elevates the value of understanding how bark beetle outbreaks impact wildlife populations. Our objectives were (1) to evaluate species and community relationships with outbreak severity (percent conifer mortality) and years since outbreak, (2) to evaluate potential environmental mechanisms underlying these relationships, and (3) to compare patterns across the two forest types for improved general knowledge. We studied avian species occupancy and richness in relation to outbreak conditions using two 18-year chronosequence datasets collected in 2013 and 2014 representing lodgepole forests (predominantly Pinus contorta) and spruce-fir forests (co-dominated by Picea engelmannii and Abies lasiocarpa) throughout Colorado. We employed hierarchical models to account for imperfect detection and spatial dependencies when analyzing population and community patterns apparent in data representing 73 bird species. We found various relationships and potential underlying mechanisms largely but not entirely consistent with a priori hypotheses based on species life histories and previous study. As expected, understory-associated birds related positively with outbreak conditions apparently following understory vegetative release. Consistent with our hypotheses, aerial insectivores and snag-associated species also related positively with outbreak conditions, although our data highlighted understory vegetation more so than canopy structure or snags as potential mechanistic factors. Contrary to our overall hypothesis for canopy-associated species, we did not observe many negative outbreak relationships for this group. Overall, bird species richness increased with years since outbreak, with clear increases in lodgepole forest. In contrast, the data from spruce-fir forest provided statistical support for fewer patterns (i.e., fewer with 90% credible intervals excluding zero), and they supported primarily negative relationships with outbreak severity. Our results suggest potential differences in ecological significance of bark beetle outbreaks in different forest types. At least in lodgepole forest, however, observed patterns were apparently consistent with the purported historical value of bark beetle outbreaks for promoting biodiversity (represented here by birds) despite recent increases in extent and severity. [show more]
Type: Text
Subjects: Prairie dog
<em>Yersinia pestis</em>
Black-footed ferret
Plague
Avian species
<em>Yersinia pestis</em>
Black-footed ferret
Plague
Avian species
Type:Text
Subject:Prairie dog
<em>Yersinia pestis</em>
Black-footed ferret
Plague
Avian species
<em>Yersinia pestis</em>
Black-footed ferret
Plague
Avian species
Description:Range-wide declines in prairie dog (Cynomys sp.) populations have occurred, and the largest limiting factor in recent decades appears to be the high mortality and colony extirpation associated with plague (Antolin et al. 2002), caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Prairie dog colonies support a diverse community of associated species, many of which are not susceptible to plague but may be indirectly affected. [show more]
Type: Fact Sheet
Subjects: Bacterial kidney disease research
Fact sheet
Fact sheet
Type:Fact Sheet
Subject:Bacterial kidney disease research
Fact sheet
Fact sheet
Description:Native and sport fish populations across Colorado are impacted by many factors including habitat alterations associated with changes in stream flows, temperature, and water quality, and a host of less obvious biological threats from diseases and parasites. While the prevalence of many fish diseases have declined in recent years due to good management practices, cases of bacterial kidney disease (BKD) seem to increasing. [show more]
Type:Image
Subject:Colorado Division of Wildlife
Description:Be bear aware magnet
Description:Join Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials and a wildlife officer from the region for a virtual meeting as we present information tailored to Evergreen residents on living with bears.
Type: Article
Subjects: Bayesian hierarchical model
Colorado
Global positioning system radio‐collar
Mark‐resight
Natural gas development
Odocoileus hemionus
Population demography
Resource selection function
Risk‐disturbance hypothesis
Spatial ecology
Survival
Colorado
Global positioning system radio‐collar
Mark‐resight
Natural gas development
Odocoileus hemionus
Population demography
Resource selection function
Risk‐disturbance hypothesis
Spatial ecology
Survival
Type:Article
Subject:Bayesian hierarchical model
Colorado
Global positioning system radio‐collar
Mark‐resight
Natural gas development
Odocoileus hemionus
Population demography
Resource selection function
Risk‐disturbance hypothesis
Spatial ecology
Survival
Colorado
Global positioning system radio‐collar
Mark‐resight
Natural gas development
Odocoileus hemionus
Population demography
Resource selection function
Risk‐disturbance hypothesis
Spatial ecology
Survival
Description:Anthropogenic habitat modification is a major driver of global biodiversity loss. In North America, one of the primary sources of habitat modification over the last 2 decades has been exploration for and production of oil and natural gas (hydrocarbon development), which has led to demographic and behavioral impacts to numerous wildlife species. Developing effective measures to mitigate these impacts has become a critical task for wildlife managers and conservation practitioners. However, this task has been hindered by the difficulties involved in identifying and isolating factors driving population responses. Current research on responses of wildlife to development predominantly quantifies behavior, but it is not always clear how these responses scale to demography and population dynamics. Concomitant assessments of behavior and population‐level processes are needed to gain the mechanistic understanding required to develop effective mitigation approaches. We simultaneously assessed the demographic and behavioral responses of a mule deer population to natural gas development on winter range in the Piceance Basin of Colorado, USA, from 2008 to 2015. Notably, this was the period when development declined from high levels of active drilling to only production phase activity (i.e., no drilling). We focused our data collection on 2 contiguous mule deer winter range study areas that experienced starkly different levels of hydrocarbon development within the Piceance Basin. [show more]
Type:
Subjects:
Description:
Benjamin WassersteinResearch & Species Conservation Database Analyst / Manager
Responsibilities
Provide data management, database development, and technical/analytical support for the Mammals Research, Avian Research, Wildlife Health, and Species Conservation Teams within the Terrestrial Section at Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
Areas of Interest and Expertise
My interests lie in bridging the gap between technology and on-the-ground work within wildlife science and the greater natural resources community, bringing data-related ideas to life and working through the technical challenges to do so. I enjoy building custom database solutions from the ground up, tailoring front-end applications and back-end databases to the specific needs of researchers and biologists. I am also dedicated to implementing data management strategies that ensure long-term preservation and maximize future usability of data. My areas of expertise lie in database development and management, application development, data analysis, data quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC), and geographic information systems.
Education
- Graduate Certificate, Business Information Systems — Colorado State University, 2018
- B.S., Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology — Colorado State University, 2014
Current or Recent Positions
- Research & Species Conservation Database Analyst / Manager — Colorado Parks and Wildlife, 2023-Present
- Environmental GIS Analyst | Database Specialist — Colorado State University Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands, 2017-2023
- Aquatic Database Technician — Colorado Parks and Wildlife, 2011-2016