Influence of camera model and alignment on the performance of paired camera stations
Bilateral images
Camera trapping
Sampling bias
Spatial alignment
Paired camera station
The probability of obtaining images of target species may vary across camera models or relative position of cameras at survey locations. Alignment of cameras within paired camera stations (hereafter, stations) could affect species detection due to issues with image exposure. We quantified effects of 3 camera models and alignment (staggered, offset by a perpendicular distance of 4.6 m, and aligned, directly facing one another) on camera performance in a station design. Mean exposure events (flash from one camera overexposes or underexposes pictures) at aligned stations was 3.93 (SE = 1.01; n = 40), whereas no exposure events were documented at staggered (n = 36) stations. Overall frequency of exposure events of mammal images at aligned cameras was 44% (68 exposure events/153 images). On average, 8% (range 0−35%) of mammal images from aligned stations were exposure events. We detected no difference (P = 0.88) in exposure events among paired camera models. Further, we detected no overall differences (P ≥ 0.07) in paired camera performance (i.e., number of mammal images over survey interval) between aligned or staggered stations, though reliability (i.e., percentage of camera stations that lasted entire survey interval) varied (P ≤ 0.001) between model types. Research deploying 2 cameras within a camera station framework can eliminate exposure events by using a staggered camera alignment without affecting the number of usable mammal photos. Rigorous field testing prior to deployment of stations is warranted to optimize reliability. One of our low-cost models performed as well as a more expensive model within our paired camera stations at collecting mammal images, and thus could be incorporated into study designs without compromising quality of camera photo data. We suggest a pilot study before large-scale deployment to evaluate reliability and performance of cameras, particularly when deploying multiple models.
Swearingen, Tim C.
Klaver, Robert W.
Anderson, Jr, Charles R.
Jacques, Christopher N.
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Host relatedness and landscape connectivity shape pathogen spread in the puma, a large secretive carnivore
Wildland urban interface
<em>Puma concolor</em>
Mountain lion
Viral spread
Host-pathogen interaction
Urban expansion can fundamentally alter wildlife movement and gene flow, but how urbanization alters pathogen spread is poorly understood. Here, we combine high resolution host and viral genomic data with landscape variables to examine the context of viral spread in puma (Puma concolor) from two contrasting regions: one bounded by the wildland urban interface (WUI) and one unbounded with minimal anthropogenic development (UB). We found landscape variables and host gene flow explained significant amounts of variation of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) spread in the WUI, but not in the unbounded region. The most important predictors of viral spread also differed; host spatial proximity, host relatedness, and mountain ranges played a role in FIV spread in the WUI, whereas roads might have facilitated viral spread in the unbounded region. Our research demonstrates how anthropogenic landscapes can alter pathogen spread, providing a more nuanced understanding of host-pathogen relationships to inform disease ecology in free-ranging species.
Fountain-Jones, Nicholas M.
Kraberger, Simona
Gagne, Roderick B.
Trumbo, Daryl R.
Alldredge, Mathew W.
Logan, Ken A.
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Chemical immobilization in American black bears using a combination of nalbuphine, medetomidine, and azaperone
Black bear
Atipamezole
Azaperone
Chemical immobilization
Medetomidine
Sedation
Tranquilizer
Safe and effective but unscheduled drug combinations are needed for wildlife immobilization in some jurisdictions. To this end, we evaluated a combination of nalbuphine HCl (40 mg/mL), medetomidine HCl (10 mg/mL), and azaperone tartrate (10 mg/mL)—referred to as NalMed-A (or NAM)—in 28 American black bears (Ursus americanus), captured during June to August 2014 as part of an ongoing study conducted in and around Durango, Colorado, USA. We effectively immobilized all bears; induction (mean ¡ SE) was 16.2 ¡ 0.9 minutes (n 5 25) and reversal was 19 ¡ 1.6 minutes (n 5 24). Advantages of NalMed-A included low delivery volume, good sedation quality, and effective reversal. Moreover, NalMed-A does not contain compounds regulated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, making it a useful unscheduled immobilization combination. Based on these and subsequent field experiences, our dosing recommendations are 0.5–1 mL NalMed-A/45.5 kg estimated body mass (0.44–0.88 mg nalbuphine HCl/kg, 0.11–0.22 mg azaperone tartrate/kg, and 0.11–0.22 mg medetomidine HCl/kg), and 5 mg atipamezole HCl/mg medetomidine for antagonism.
Wolfe, Lisa L.
Johnson, Heather E.
Fisher, Mark C.
Lance, William R.
Smith, David K.
Miller, Michael W.
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Human development and climate affect hibernation in a large carnivore with implications for human–carnivore conflicts
Black bear
Denning chronology
Hibernation
Human-bear conflict
Residential development
<ol>
<li>Expanding human development and climate change are dramatically altering habi-tat conditions for wildlife. While the initial response of wildlife to changing environ-mental conditions is typically a shift in behaviour, little is known about the effects of these stressors on hibernation behaviour, an important life- history trait that can subsequently affect animal physiology, demography, interspecific interactions and human-wildlife interactions. Given future trajectories of land use and climate change, it is important that wildlife professionals understand how animals that hi-bernate are adapting to altered landscape conditions so that management activities can be appropriately tailored.</li>
<li>We investigated the influence of human development and weather on hibernation in black bears (Ursus americanus), a species of high management concern, whose behaviour is strongly tied to natural food availability, anthropogenic foods around development and variation in annual weather conditions. Using GPS collar data from 131 den events of adult female bears (n= 51), we employed fine- scale, animal- specific habitat information to evaluate the relative and cumulative influence of natural food availability, anthropogenic food and weather on the start, duration and end of hibernation.</li>
<li>We found that weather and food availability (both natural and human) additively shaped black bear hibernation behaviour. Of the habitat variables we examined, warmer temperatures were most strongly associated with denning chronology, re-ducing the duration of hibernation and expediting emergence in the spring. Bears appeared to respond to natural and anthropogenic foods similarly, as more natural foods, and greater use of human foods around development, both postponed hi-bernation in the fall and decreased its duration.</li>
<li>Synthesis and applications. Warmer temperatures and use of anthropogenic food subsides additively reduced black bear hibernation, suggesting that future changes in climate and land use may further alter bear behaviour and increase the length of their active season. We speculate that longer active periods for bears will result in subsequent increases in human–bear conflicts and human-caused bear mortalities. These metrics are commonly used by wildlife agencies to index trends in bear pop-ulations, but have the potential to be misleading when bear behaviour dynamically adapts to changing environmental conditions, and should be substituted with relia-ble demographic methods.</li>
</ol>
Johnson, Heather E.
Lewis, David L.
Verzuh, Tana L.
Wallace, Cody F.
Much, Rebecca M.
Willmarth, Lyle K.
Breck, Stewart W.
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Assessing ecological and social outcomes of a bear-proofing experiment
Black bear
Human-bear conflict
Bear-resistant containers
Public perception
Human-black bear conflicts within urban environments have been increasing throughout North America, becoming a high priority management issue. The main factor influencing these conflicts is black bears foraging on anthropogenic foods within areas of human development, primarily on residential garbage. Wildlife professionals have advocated for increased bear-proofing measures to decrease the accessibility of garbage to bears, but little research has been conducted to empirically test the effectiveness of this approach for reducing conflicts. Between 2011 and 2016, we conducted a before-after-control-impact experiment in Durango, Colorado where we distributed 1,110 bear-resistant trash containers, enhanced education, and increased enforcement to residents in 2 treatment areas, and monitored 2 paired control areas. We examined the ecological and social outcomes of this experiment, assessing whether bear-resistant containers were effective at reducing conflicts; the level of public compliance (i.e., properly locking away garbage) needed to reduce conflicts; whether the effectiveness of bear-resistant containers increased over time; and if the distribution of bear-resistant containers changed residents’ attitudes about bear management, support for ordinances that require bear-proofing, or perceptions of their future risk of garbage-related conflicts. After the bear-resistant containers were deployed, trash-related conflicts (i.e., observations of strewn trash) were 60% lower in treatment areas than control areas, resident compliance with local wildlife ordinances (properly locking away trash) was 39% higher in treatment areas than control areas, and the effectiveness of the new containers was immediate. Conflicts declined as resident compliance with wildlife ordinances increased to approximately 60% (by using a bear-resistant container or locking trash in a secure location), with minor additional declines in conflicts at higher levels of compliance. In addition to these ecological benefits, public mail surveys demonstrated that the deployment of bear-resistant containers was associated with increases in the perceived quality of bear management and support for ordinances that require bear-proofing, and declines in the perceived risk of future trash-related conflicts. Our results validate efforts by wildlife professionals and municipalities to reduce black bear access to human foods, and should encourage other entities of the merits of bear-proofing efforts for reducing human-bear conflicts and improving public attitudes about bears and their management. © 2018 The Wildlife Society.
Johnson, Heather E.
Lewis, David L.
Lischka, Stacy A.
Breck, Stewart W.
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Compounding effects of human development and a natural food shortage on a black bear population along a human development-wildland interface
Black bear
Human-bear conflict
Integrated population model
Spatial capture-recapture
Human development and climate change are two stressors that threaten numerous wildlife populations, and their combined effects are likely to be most pronounced along the human development-wildland interface where changes in both natural and anthropogenic conditions interact to affect wildlife. To better understand the compounding influence of these stressors, we investigated the effects of a climate-induced natural food shortage on the dynamics of a black bear population in the vicinity of Durango, Colorado. We integrated 4 years of DNA-based capture-mark-recapture data with GPS-based telemetry data to evaluate the combined effects of human development and the food shortage on the abundance, population growth rate, and spatial distribution of female black bears. We documented a 57% decline in female bear abundance immediately following the natural food shortage coinciding with an increase in human-caused bear mortality (e.g., vehicle collisions, harvest and lethal removals) primarily in developed areas. We also detected a change in the spatial distribution of female bears with fewer bears occurring near human development in years immediately following the food shortage, likely as a consequence of high mortality near human infrastructure during the food shortage. Given expected future increases in human development and climate-induced food shortages, we expect that bear dynamics may be increasingly influenced by human-caused mortality, which will be difficult to detect with current management practices. To ensure long-term sustainability of bear populations, we recommend that wildlife agencies invest in monitoring programs that can accurately track bear populations, incorporate non-harvest human-caused mortality into management models, and work to reduce human-caused mortality, particularly in years with natural food shortages.
Laufenberg, Jared S.
Johnson, Heather E.
Doherty, Jr, Paul F.
Breck, Stewart W.
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Understanding and managing human tolerance for a large carnivore in a residential system
Human tolerance
Human-bear conflict
Black bear
Human tolerance for interactions with large carnivores is an important determinant of their persistence on the landscape, yet the relative importance of factors affecting tolerance is not fully understood. Further, the impact of management efforts to alter tolerance has not been adequately assessed. We developed a model containing a comprehensive set of predictors drawn from prior studies and tested it through a longitudinal survey measuring tolerance for black bears (Ursus americanus) in the vicinity of Durango, Colorado, USA. Predictors included human-bear conflicts, outcomes of interactions with bears, perceptions of benefits and risks from bears, trust in managers, perceived similarity with the goals of managers, personal control over risks, value orientations toward wildlife, and demographic factors. In addition, we monitored changes in tolerance resulting from a bear-proofing experiment designed to reduced garbage-related conflicts in the community. Residents who perceived greater benefits associated with bears and more positive impacts from bear-related interactions had higher tolerance. Residents who perceived greater risks and more negative impacts and who had greater trust in managers, domination wildlife value orientations, and older age were less tolerant. Conflicts with bears were not an important predictor, supported by our finding that changes in conflicts resulting from our bear-proofing experiment did not affect tolerance. In contrast to conservation approaches that focus primarily on decreasing human-wildlife conflicts, our findings suggest that communication approaches aimed at increasing public tolerance for carnivores could be improved by emphasizing the benefits and positive impacts of living with these species.
Lischka, Stacy A.
Teel, Tara L.
Johnson, Heather E.
Crooks, Kevin R.
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Individual and population fitness consequences associated with large carnivore use of residential development
Behavioral plasticity
Black bear
Ecological trap
Human-caused mortality
Large carnivores are negotiating increasingly developed landscapes, but little is known about how such behavioral plasticity influences their demographic rates and population trends. Some investigators have suggested that the ability of carnivores to behaviorally adapt to human development will enable their persistence, and yet, others have suggested that such landscapes are likely to serve as population sinks or ecological traps. To understand how plasticity in black bear (Ursus americanus) use of residential development influences their population dynamics, we conducted a 6-yr study near Durango, Colorado, USA. Using space-use data on individual bears, we examined the influence of use of residential development on annual measures of bear body fat, cub productivity, cub survival, and adult female survival, after accounting for variation in natural food availability and individual attributes (e.g., age). We then used our field-based vital rate estimates to parameterize a matrix model that simulated asymptotic population growth for bears using residential development to different degrees. We found that bear use of residential development was highly variable within and across years, with bears increasing their foraging within development when natural foods were scarce. Increased bear use of development was associated with increased body fat and cub productivity, but reduced cub and adult survival. When these effects were simultaneously incorporated into a matrix model, we found that the population was projected to decline as bear use of development increased, given that the costs of reduced survival outweighed the benefits of enhanced productivity. Our results provide a mechanistic understanding of how black bear use of residential development exerts opposing effects on different bear fitness traits and a negative effect on population growth, with the magnitude of those effects mediated by variation in environmental conditions. They also highlight the importance of monitoring bear population dynamics, particularly as shifts in bear behavior are likely to drive increases in human–bear conflicts and the perception of growing bear populations. Finally, our work emphasizes the need to consider the demographic viability of large carnivore populations when promoting the coexistence of people and carnivores on shared landscapes.
Johnson, Heather E.
Lewis, David L.
Breck, Stewart W.
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Viral sequences recovered from puma tooth DNA reconstruct statewide viral phylogenies
Feline foamy virus
Feline immunodeficiency virus
Mountain lion
Cougar
Wildlife disease
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
Gagne, Roderick B.
Kraberger, Simona
McMinn, Rebekah
Trumbo, Daryl R.
Anderson, Jr, Charles R.
Logan, Ken A.
Alldredge, Mathew W.
Griffin, Karen
VandeWoude, Sue
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Community confounding in joint species distribution models
Colorado bark beetle
Joint species distribution model
Community confounding
Joint species distribution models have become ubiquitous for studying species-environment relationships and dependence among species. Accounting for community structure often improves predictive power, but can also affect inference on species-environment relationships. Specifically, some parameterizations of joint species distribution models allow interspecies dependence and environmental effects to explain the same sources of variability in species distributions, a phenomenon we call community confounding. We present a method for measuring community confounding and show how to orthogonalize the environmental and random species effects in suite of joint species distribution models. In a simulation study, we show that community confounding can lead to computational difficulties and that orthogonalizing the environmental and random species effects can alleviate these difficulties. We also discuss the inferential implications of community confounding and orthogonalizing the environmental and random species effects in a case study of mammalian responses to the Colorado bark beetle epidemic in the subalpine forest by comparing the outputs from occupancy models that treat species independently or account for interspecies dependence. We illustrate how joint species distribution models that restrict the random species effects to be orthogonal to the fixed effects can have computational benefits and still recover the inference provided by an unrestricted joint species distribution model.
Van Ee, Justin J.
Ivan, Jacob S.
Hooten, Mevin B.
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