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ID: Using genetic diversity to inform conservation efforts for native Cutthroat Trout of the Southern Rocky Mountains
Using genetic diversity to inform conservation efforts for native Cutthroat Trout of the Southern Rocky Mountains
Type: Article
Subjects: Native Cutthroat Trout
<em>Oncorhynchus clarkii</em>
Southern Rocky Mountains
Genetics
Item
view first image of Using genetic diversity to inform conservation efforts for native Cutthroat Trout of the Southern Rocky Mountains
Using genetic diversity to inform conservation efforts for native Cutthroat Trout of the Southern Rocky Mountains
Type:Article
Subject:Native Cutthroat Trout
<em>Oncorhynchus clarkii</em>
Southern Rocky Mountains
Genetics
Description:Recent research on native Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii of the southern Rocky Mountains suggests a convoluted taxonomy confused by stocking in the early 1900s that obscured the native distributions of these fish.  DNA recovered from the few museum specimens collected 150 years ago shed light on the historical diversity and native ranges of lineages in Colorado. This study aims to characterize what remains of that diversity across the entire southern Rockies using a stratified random sampling design across the range of putative Colorado River Cutthroat Trout O. c. pleuriticus, Greenback Cutthroat Trout O. c. stomias, and Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout O. c. virginalis. Twenty-four biologists from four states collected 801 fish from 49 randomly selected conservation populations across Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Whole specimens were used to explore phenotypic differences in lineages suggested by molecular studies. Here, we used tissue samples collected prior to specimen preservation to describe mitochondrial haplotype diversity. These diversity patterns are critical to inform managers tasked with listing decisions for rare Cutthroat Trout lineages. Consistent with previous studies, four distinct lineages were recovered from sequence data on 648 base pairs of the ND2 mitochondrial gene. Substantial diversity was recovered in Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout (12 haplotypes), while only a single haplotype could be found in native Cutthroat Trout of the South Platte River basin. Within Colorado River Cutthroat Trout, nine haplotypes were recovered from 14 populations putatively native to the Upper Colorado, Gunnison, and Dolores basins (Green Lineage), but only six were found in 21 populations native to the Lower Colorado, Green, and Yampa basins (Blue Lineage). This was unexpected given the broad range of the Blue Lineage, and may suggest more recent ancestry of Green River basin fish. Rare haplotypes may indicate pockets of historical diversity. To avoid inadvertently “throwing away the pieces”, these conservation populations should be targeted for replication and protection to ensure their continued persistence. [show more]
ID: Using GPS satellite transmitters to estimate survival, detectability on leks, lek attendance, inter-lek movements, and breeding season habitat use of male greater sage-grouse in northwestern Colorado
Using GPS satellite transmitters to estimate survival, detectability on leks, lek attendance, inter-lek movements, and breeding season habitat use of male greater sage-grouse in northwestern Colorado
Type: Text
Subjects: Greater sage-grouse
<em>Centrocercus urophasianus</em>
Northwestern Colorado
Wildlife management
Item
view first image of Using GPS satellite transmitters to estimate survival, detectability on leks, lek attendance, inter-lek movements, and breeding season habitat use of male greater sage-grouse in northwestern Colorado
Using GPS satellite transmitters to estimate survival, detectability on leks, lek attendance, inter-lek movements, and breeding season habitat use of male greater sage-grouse in northwestern Colorado
Type:Text
Subject:Greater sage-grouse
<em>Centrocercus urophasianus</em>
Northwestern Colorado
Wildlife management
Description:Implementing effective monitoring and mitigation strategies is crucial for conserving populations of sensitive wildlife species. Concern over the status of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) populations has increased both range-wide and in Colorado due to historical population declines, range contraction, continued loss and degradation of sagebrush habitat, and recent federal listing of the species as warranted but precluded under the Endangered Species Act in 2010. Despite untested assumptions, lek-count data continue to be widely used as an index of abundance by state and federal agencies to monitor sage-grouse populations. Lek locations are also commonly used to identify and protect important sage-grouse habitat. However, the use of lek counts and lek locations to monitor and manage sage-grouse populations remains controversial because it is unknown how closely lek-count data track actual changes in male abundance from year to year, or if lek buffers are effective at reducing disturbance to male sage-grouse and their habitat during the breeding season. [show more]
ID: Using maternal mule deer movements to estimate timing of parturition and assist fawn captures
Using maternal mule deer movements to estimate timing of parturition and assist fawn captures
Type: Article
Subjects: Birth
Colorado
Global Positioning System (GPS)
Movement
Mule deer
<em>Odocoileus hemionus</em>
Vaginal implant transmitter
Item
view first image of Using maternal mule deer movements to estimate timing of parturition and assist fawn captures
Using maternal mule deer movements to estimate timing of parturition and assist fawn captures
Type:Article
Subject:Birth
Colorado
Global Positioning System (GPS)
Movement
Mule deer
<em>Odocoileus hemionus</em>
Vaginal implant transmitter
Description:Movement patterns of maternal ungulates have been used to determine parturition dates and aid in locating fawns, which may be important for understanding reproductive rates (e.g., pregnancy and fetal), but such methods have not been validated for mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). We first determined timing of parturition using vaginal implant transmitters (VITs) and then predicted timing of parturition using VITs in conjunction with Global Positioning System collar data in the Piceance Basin of northwestern Colorado, USA, during 2012–2014. We examined daily movement rate to determine differences in movement rate among days (7 days pre- and postpartum) and for movement patterns indicative of parturition. Mean daily movement rate (m/day) of 102 maternal deer decreased by 46% from 1 day preparturition ( = 1,253, SD = 1,091) to parturition date ( = 682, SD = 574), and remained at this low rate 1–7 days postpartum. We applied an independent data set to validate predicted parturition dates based on daily movement rate. We estimated day of parturition correctly (i.e., day 0), within 1–3 days postparturition, and ≥4 days postparturition of field-reported dates for 10 (29%), 21 (60%), and 4 (11%) maternal females, respectively. For novel data sets, we predict that a mule deer female whose daily movement rate decreases by ≥46% and remains low ≥3 days postparturition particularly when preceded by a sudden increase in movement—has given birth. However, we caution that disturbance of deer by field crews should be minimized, and if birth sites are not found, neonatal mortality will be underestimated. Our results can help determine timing and general location of parturition as an aid in capturing fawns when the use of VITs is not feasible, with the ultimate objective of estimating pregnancy, fetal, and fawn survival rates if birth sites are found. [show more]
ID: Using Non-Invasive Genetic Sampling to Estimate Mountain Lion and Bobcat Abundance, Age Structure and Diet
Using Non-Invasive Genetic Sampling to Estimate Mountain Lion and Bobcat Abundance, Age Structure and Diet
Type:
Subjects:
Item
view first image of Using Non-Invasive Genetic Sampling to Estimate Mountain Lion and Bobcat Abundance, Age Structure and Diet
Using Non-Invasive Genetic Sampling to Estimate Mountain Lion and Bobcat Abundance, Age Structure and Diet
Description:

Led ByMat Alldredge​

Study AreaBoulder, Jefferson, Gilpin and Larimer counties 

Project StatusCompletedResearch Objectives

  • To develop and test non-invasive genetic sampling techniques.
  • To collect population data on mountain lions and bobcats.

Project Description

​​​​​​Colorado Parks and Wildlife issues a limited number of mountain lion and bobcat licenses to hunters every year. Mountain lion populations, in particular, are sensitive to female harvest. Thus, it is critical that wildlife mangers have access to the most reliable population data available. However, collecting mountain lion population data can often times be difficult or expensive to obtain.

Therefore CPW initiated a long-term project to develop non-invasive genetic sampling techniques to provide better, less expensive data on mountain lion and bobcat populations across the state. This project builds off of work completed by graduate student, Kirstie Yeager, in another CPW-led mountain lion study.

Non-invasive sampling techniques, such as hair snares, do not require physically handling an animal, thus these techniques are often less expensive and less intrusive to the animal. However, for non-invasive techniques like hair snares to work, mountain lions need to be lured to a hair-snare mechanism. Yeager's work found promise in the use of animal calls as effective lures and barbed wire snags as effective hair-snare mechanisms. In this study, animal calls lured mountain lions into a cubby in which the animal had to pass under barbed wire. However, building these cubbies was extremely time consuming and mountain lions did not always enter the cubby. Thus, this project aims to further develop  hair snags and refine non-invasive genetic techniques for sampling mountain lions and bobcats.

Bobcats are also attracted to these hair snag sites so the opportunity exists to sample both species within the same survey. With the increasing pelt prices for bobcats, it is likely that harvest pressure will continue for bobcats. Bobcat population data can help managers better manage bobcats and justify harvest levels. Thus, bobcat data will also be collected ​during this study.

The hair collected from hair-snare mechanisms will be used to analyze mountain lion/bobcat genetic data. This genetic data will be useful not only in estimating population size, but also age structure and diet. 

The results of this study will help wildlife managers track population changes, set harvest quotas and implement management tools.Associated Publications: [show more]
ID: Using simulation to compare methods for estimating density from capture–recapture data
Using simulation to compare methods for estimating density from capture–recapture data
Type: Article
Subjects: Closure
Density
Geographic closure
Mean maximum distance moved
Simulation
Spatially explicit capture-recapture
Telemetry
Trapping grid
Item
view first image of Using simulation to compare methods for estimating density from capture–recapture data
Using simulation to compare methods for estimating density from capture–recapture data
Type:Article
Subject:Closure
Density
Geographic closure
Mean maximum distance moved
Simulation
Spatially explicit capture-recapture
Telemetry
Trapping grid
Description:Estimation of animal density is fundamental to wildlife research and management, but estimation via mark–recapture is often complicated by lack of geographic closure of study sites. Contemporary methods for estimating density using mark–recapture data include (1) approximating the effective area sampled by an array of detectors based on the mean maximum distance moved (MMDM) by animals during the sampling session, (2) spatially explicit capture–recapture (SECR) methods that formulate the problem hierarchically with a process model for animal density and an observation model in which detection probability declines with distance from a detector, and (3) a telemetry estimator (TELEM) that uses auxiliary telemetry information to estimate the proportion of animals on the study site. We used simulation to compare relative performance (percent error) of these methods under all combinations of three levels of detection probability (0.2, 0.4, 0.6), three levels of occasions (5, 7, 10), and three levels of abundance (10, 20, 40 animals). We also tested each estimator using five different models for animal home ranges. TELEM performed best across most combinations of capture probabilities, sampling occasions, true densities, and home range configurations, and performance was unaffected by home range shape. SECR outperformed MMDM estimators in nearly all comparisons and may be preferable to TELEM at low capture probabilities, but performance varied with home range configuration. MMDM estimators exhibited substantial positive bias for most simulations, but performance improved for elongated or infinite home ranges. [show more]
ID: Variation in ungulate body fat Individual versus temporal effects
Variation in ungulate body fat Individual versus temporal effects
Type: Article
Subjects: Body condition
Colorado
Ingesta-free body fat
Mule deer
<em>Odocoileus hemionus</em>
Variance components
Item
view first image of Variation in ungulate body fat Individual versus temporal effects
Variation in ungulate body fat Individual versus temporal effects
Type:Article
Subject:Body condition
Colorado
Ingesta-free body fat
Mule deer
<em>Odocoileus hemionus</em>
Variance components
Description:The use of ultrasonograhic measurements of muscle and body fat represent a relatively new data stream that can be used to address questions regarding ungulate condition. We have learned that measurements of body fat and presumably overall body condition among individual animals, even those taken from the same herd at that same time, are highly variable. Relatively little consideration has been given to the sources of variation in body fat and other physiological parameters in wildlife populations. We evaluated the components of variation in late-winter mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) body fat estimates: sampling variation (i.e., variation induced by the particular set of individuals that were sampled) and process variation (i.e., variation stemming from biological processes) with a long-term data set (2002–2015) from Colorado, USA. We collected our data from across Colorado as part of historical research, ongoing research, and periodic population monitoring programs. Mean percent ingesta-free body fat (%IFBF) for sampled mule deer was 7.201.20% (SD). Covariates related to individual deer explained approximately 4% of the total variation in %IFBF and annual effects explained an additional 13% of the variation. Substantial residual variation in %IFBF (83%) remained unexplained. The source of the 83% of unexplained variation is partially linked to fine-scale spatial dynamics but also additional individual metrics we were unable to capture, primarily the presence or absence of dependent young. We speculate that the primary factors influencing late-winter mule deer body fat and overall condition are individual in nature. These results present a cautionary check on herdlevel inference that can bemade from individual late-winter body fat estimates and we postulate that for mule deer, alternative and additional body condition metrics may offer added utility in management scenarios. However, an important next step to better understand wildlife population health is to evaluate the sources and magnitude of variation within other body condition metrics, with the goal of further refining data that can better allow biologists to incorporate herd health into population management recommendations. [show more]
ID: Viral sequences recovered from puma tooth DNA reconstruct statewide viral phylogenies
Viral sequences recovered from puma tooth DNA reconstruct statewide viral phylogenies
Type: Article
Subjects: Feline foamy virus
Feline immunodeficiency virus
Mountain lion
Cougar
Wildlife disease
Item
view first image of Viral sequences recovered from puma tooth DNA reconstruct statewide viral phylogenies
Viral sequences recovered from puma tooth DNA reconstruct statewide viral phylogenies
Type:Article
Subject:Feline foamy virus
Feline immunodeficiency virus
Mountain lion
Cougar
Wildlife disease
Description:Monitoring pathogens in wildlife populations is imperative for effective management, and for identifying locations for pathogen spillover among wildlife, domestic species and humans. Wildlife pathogen surveillance is challenging, however, as sampling often requires the capture of a significant proportion of the population to understand host pathogen dynamics. To address this challenge, we assessed the ability to use huntercollected teeth from puma across Colorado to recover genetic data of two feline retroviruses, feline foamy virus (FFV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIVpco) and show they can be utilized for this purpose. Comparative phylogenetic analyses of FIVpco and FFV from tooth and blood samples to previous analyses conducted with blood samples collected over a nine-year period from two distinct areas was undertaken highlighting the value of tooth derived samples. We found less FIVpco phylogeographic structuring than observed from sampling only two regions and that FFV data confirmed previous findings of endemic infection, minimal geographic structuring, and supported frequent cross-species transmission from domestic cats to pumas. Viral analysis conducted using intentionally collected blood samples required extensive financial, capture and sampling efforts. This analysis illustrates that viral genomic data can be cost effectively obtained using tooth samples incidentally-collected from hunter harvested pumas, taking advantage of samples collected for morphological age identification. This technique should be considered as an opportunistic method to provide broad geographic sampling to define viral dynamics more accurately in wildlife [show more]
ID: Virtual Volunteer Orientation
Virtual Volunteer Orientation
Type:
Subjects:
Item
view first image of Virtual Volunteer Orientation
Virtual Volunteer Orientation
Description:CPW Main Website: https://cpw.state.co.us/ CPW Volunteer Website: https://cpw.state.co.us/aboutus/Volunteers/Pages/default.aspx Volunteer Handbook: https://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/Volunteer/Handbook/CPW-Volunteer-Handbook.pdf Manual para Voluntarios: https://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/Volunteer/Handbook/CPW-Manual-para-Voluntarios.pdf [show more]
ID: Vocational Heavy Construction Technology program: a comprehensive plan including program needs and future directions
Vocational Heavy Construction Technology program: a comprehensive plan including program needs and future directions
Type: Text
Subjects: Habitat restoration
Colorado Department of Corrections
Item
view first image of Vocational Heavy Construction Technology program: a comprehensive plan including program needs and future directions
Vocational Heavy Construction Technology program: a comprehensive plan including program needs and future directions
Type:Text
Subject:Habitat restoration
Colorado Department of Corrections
Description:In 1997 Warren Diesslin, former Warden of the Buena Vista Correctional Facility, and Eddie Kochman, former Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) Aquatic Section Manager, met and discussed a joint venture to rehabilitate degraded stream habitats while providing heavy construction training for inmates sincere about changing the direction of their lives. These men conceived and supported the vision of what is now known as the Vocational Heavy Construction Technology (VHCT) program. Tom Bowen, once a prison guard and later a Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) vocational educational instructor with years of practical heavy construction experience, developed and coordinated this program with the support and approval of Warden Diesslin. Tom contacted the Colorado Contractors Association (CCA) and they agreed to serve as a program sponsor. The CCA has since become an integral part of the program, serving as the advisory board and assisting student inmates with job placement once they have successfully completed the program. Through the VHCT program, two state agencies (CDOW and CDOC) and private industry have formed a rare partnership with different missions: to help redirect human lives while restoring river natural processes and aquatic habitats within driving distance of the Buena Vista Correctional Facility. [show more]
ID: Warm places, warm years, and warm seasons increase parasitizing of moose by winter ticks
Warm places, warm years, and warm seasons increase parasitizing of moose by winter ticks
Type: Text
Subjects: Alces alces
Dermacentor albipictus
Moose
Climate change
Parasite
Winter tick
Item
view first image of Warm places, warm years, and warm seasons increase parasitizing of moose by winter ticks
Warm places, warm years, and warm seasons increase parasitizing of moose by winter ticks
Type:Text
Subject:Alces alces
Dermacentor albipictus
Moose
Climate change
Parasite
Winter tick
Description:Abstract:Observed links between parasites, such as ticks, and climate change havearoused concern for human health, wildlife population dynamics, and broaderecosystem effects. The one-host life history of the winter tick (Dermacentoralbipictus) links each annual cohort to environmental conditions during threespecific time periods when they are predictably vulnerable: spring detachmentfrom hosts, summer larval stage, and fall questing for hosts. We usedmixed-effects generalized linear models to investigate the drivers of tick loadscarried by moose (Alces alces) relative to these time periods and across750 moose, 10 years, and 16 study areas in the western United States. We testedfor the effects of biotic factors (moose density, shared winter range, vegetation,migratory behavior) and weather conditions (temperature, snow, humidity) duringeach seasonal period when ticks are vulnerable and off-host. We found thatwarm climatic regions, warm seasonal periods across multiple partitions of theannual tick life cycle, and warm years relative to long-term averages each contributedto increased tick loads. We also found important effects of snow andother biotic factors such as host density and vegetation. Tick loads in the westernUnited States were, on average, lower than those where tick-related die-offsin moose populations have occurred recently, but loads carried by some individualsmay be sufficient to cause mortality. Lastly, we found interannual variationin tick loads to be most correlated with spring snowpack, suggesting this environmentalcomponent may have the highest potential to induce change in tickload dynamics in the immediate future of this region. [show more]