| Evaluating noninvasive methods for estimating cestode prevalence in a wild carnivore population | Evaluating noninvasive methods for estimating cestode prevalence in a wild carnivore population | Article | Wolf
Genotyping
Cestode infection |
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Type:Article Subject:Wolf
Genotyping
Cestode infection |
Description:Helminth infections are cryptic and can be difficult to study in wildlife species. Helminth research in wildlife hosts has historically required invasive animal handling and necropsy, while results from noninvasive parasite research, like scat analysis, may not be possible at the helminth species or individual host levels. To increase the utility of noninvasive sampling, individual hosts can be identified by applying molecular methods. This allows for longitudinal sampling of known hosts and can be paired with individual-level covariates. Here we evaluate a combination of methods and existing long-term monitoring data to identify patterns of cestode infections in gray wolves in Yellowstone National Park. Our goals were: (1) Identify the species and apparent prevalence of cestodes infecting Yellowstone wolves; (2) Assess the relationships between wolf biological and social characteristics and cestode infections; (3) Examine how wolf samples were affected by environmental conditions with respect to the success of individual genotyping. We collected over 200 wolf scats from 2018–2020 and conducted laboratory analyses including individual wolf genotyping, sex identification, cestode identification, and fecal glucocorticoid measurements. Wolf genotyping success rate was 45%, which was higher in the winter but decreased with higher precipitation and as more time elapsed between scat deposit and collection. One cestode species was detected in 28% of all fecal samples, and 38% of known individuals. The most common infection was Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato (primarily E. canadensis). Adult wolves had 4x greater odds of having a cestode infection than pups, as well as wolves sampled in the winter. Our methods provide an alternative approach to estimate cestode prevalence and to linking parasites to known individuals in a wild host system, but may be most useful when employed in existing study systems and when field collections are designed to minimize the time between fecal deposition and collection. [show more]
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| Density dependence in mule deer: A review of evidence | Density dependence in mule deer: A review of evidence | Article | Wildlife managers
Density dependence
<em>Odocoileus hemionus</em>
Colorado
Mule deer
Winter range habitat |
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Type:Article Subject:Wildlife managers
Density dependence
<em>Odocoileus hemionus</em>
Colorado
Mule deer
Winter range habitat |
Description:Wildlife managers often need tangible evidence of density dependence in populations to support decision making. Field experimentation to identify density dependent effects is often cost and time prohibitive. Thus, assimilation of existing knowledge into a balance of probabilities can serve as a surrogate for experimental research. A case study of such a process is found in the mule deer Odocoileus hemionus herds of Colorado. Wildlife managers and hunters expressed concern over a recent decline in western Colorado mule deer herds, yet the underlying cause of this decline is yet to be determined. In response to this management concern, we conducted a review of scientific evidence on Colorado's mule deer population dynamics. This review was done in the context of a conceptual model that portrays population growth as a function of population size, per capita growth rate and population carrying capacity. Similar declines that occurred during the 1960s and early 1990s resulted in similar reviews that identified research and management topics that would benefit mule deer. These topics included: harvest, predation, intraspecific competition, disease, interspecific competition, and habitat loss and degradation. Between the late 1990s and present time, many of these topics were addressed by research. The conventional working hypothesis in Colorado is that mule deer herds are limited by winter range habitat. We identify new gaps in knowledge and suggest potential, future research topics, as well as potential management strategies. We suggest a focus on integrated studies of multiple herbivores with density reduction experiments to address intra- and inter- specific competition. In addition, we suggest focused experiments that address the roles of mountain lion predation, black bear predation, and disease in mule deer population dynamics. [show more]
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| Development of landscape scale resource selection models using interpolated layers from micro-scale vegetation measurements in North Park, Colorado | Development of landscape scale resource selection models using interpolated layers from micro-scale vegetation measurements in North Park, Colorado | Text | Wildlife management
Wildlife habitat improvement |
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Type:Text Subject:Wildlife management
Wildlife habitat improvement |
Description:State agencies have long used micro-scale vegetation measurements to assess relationships between species and how they chose their habitat. Often species select small scale habitat based on vegetation structure, the height and density of certain vegetation, and the availability of forage species. With the onset of remote sensing and the ability to predict species’ distributions based on relatively easy and inexpensive methods, micro-scale measurements have had reduced value when describing a species’ habitat selection. There is also the problem of how to translate micro-scale measurements at a small scale to landscape level resource selection models. There is a long history of using interpolation methods to predict vegetation characteristics across space, but these predictive surfaces have rarely been applied to spatial models of species habitat. [show more]
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| Columbian sharp-tailed grouse reproductive ecology and chick survival in restored grasslands of Northwest Colorado | Columbian sharp-tailed grouse reproductive ecology and chick survival in restored grasslands of Northwest Colorado | Text
| Wildlife Ecology
Columbian sharp-tailed grouse
<em>Tympanuchus phasianellus columbianus</em>
Populations |
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Type:Text
Subject:Wildlife Ecology
Columbian sharp-tailed grouse
<em>Tympanuchus phasianellus columbianus</em>
Populations |
Description:Columbian sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus columbianus) populations have declined across their range and now occupy <10% of their historic range. Habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation are key factors contributing to their range contraction. The start of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and establishment of mineland reclamation habitat requirements have contributed to the stabilization of some subpopulations by creating more available habitat, particularly for the breeding, nesting, and brood-rearing seasons. In Colorado these 2 restored habitats, largely on private lands, are important for sustaining sharp-tailed grouse stability in the local population. There is concern about loss of these habitats as CRP plantings age and contracts expire, mineland reclamation is released from bond, and landowners or land use priorities change. [show more]
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| Abdominal | Abdominal | Fact Sheet | Wildlife diseases
Worms -- Parasites |
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Type:Fact Sheet Subject:Wildlife diseases
Worms -- Parasites |
Description:Fact sheet about abdominal worms. Abdominal worms live in the abdomen of Colorado deer. These worms do not cause disease and are not a concern for human health.
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| Acidosis | Acidosis | Fact Sheet | Wildlife diseases
Acidosis |
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Type:Fact Sheet Subject:Wildlife diseases
Acidosis |
Description:Fact sheet on acidosis in Colorado. Acidosis is a severe and often fatal disease in deer, elk, and other wild hoofed stock species that consume an excess of high-carbohydrate feed.
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| Canine Distemper | Canine Distemper | Fact Sheet | Wildlife diseases
Canine distemper |
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Type:Fact Sheet Subject:Wildlife diseases
Canine distemper |
Description:Fact sheet covering species affected in Colorado, what to look for, cause and transmission, and public health considerations.
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| Cysticercosis | Cysticercosis | Fact Sheet | Wildlife diseases
Cysticercosis |
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Type:Fact Sheet Subject:Wildlife diseases
Cysticercosis |
Description:Fact sheet: Cysticercosis is common in most big game species in Colorado and is of low concern when few parasite cysts are present.
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| Deer Adenovirus | Deer Adenovirus | Fact Sheet | Wildlife Diseases
Pronghorn
Elk
Deer
Adenovirus |
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Type:Fact Sheet Subject:Wildlife Diseases
Pronghorn
Elk
Deer
Adenovirus |
Description:Fact sheet: “Deer adenovirus” causes death by damaging blood vessels in the lungs, intestines, and/or other organs in deer, elk, and pronghorn in Colorado.
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| Fibromas in Deer | Fibromas in Deer | Fact Sheet | Wildlife diseases
Soft tissue tumors |
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Type:Fact Sheet Subject:Wildlife diseases
Soft tissue tumors |
Description:Fact sheet covering species affected in Colorado, what to look for, causes and transmission, and public health considerations.
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