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Ausband DE, Rebholz PF, Petrillo L. The effects of human-caused mortality on mammalian cooperative breeders: a synthesis. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2024. [PMID: 39219435 DOI: 10.1111/brv.13133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2024] [Revised: 08/13/2024] [Accepted: 08/15/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
Human-caused mortality can be pervasive and even highly selective for individuals in groups of cooperative breeders. Many studies of cooperative breeders, however, do not address human-caused mortality. Similarly, studies focused on the effects of human-caused mortality on wildlife populations often do not consider the ecology of cooperative breeders. We searched the literature and identified 58 studies where human-caused mortality affected a group characteristic, vital rate, or population state of a cooperative breeder. Of studies reporting population growth or decline, 80% reported a link between human-caused mortality and population declines in cooperative breeders. Such studies often did not identify the mechanism behind population declines, but 28% identified concurrent declines in adult survival and another 21% reported concurrent declines in recruitment or reproduction. There was little overlap between the cooperative breeding and human-caused mortality literatures, limiting our ability to accrue knowledge. Future work would be beneficial if it (i) identified the vital rate(s) causing population declines, (ii) leveraged management actions such as lethal removal to ask questions about the ecology of group-living in cooperative breeders, and (iii) used insights from cooperative breeding theory to inform management actions and conservation of group-living species.
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Affiliation(s)
- David E Ausband
- U.S. Geological Survey, Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Idaho, 875 Perimeter Drive, MS 1141, Moscow, 83844, Idaho, USA
| | - Peter F Rebholz
- U.S. Geological Survey, Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Idaho, 875 Perimeter Drive, MS 1141, Moscow, 83844, Idaho, USA
- Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Idaho, 875 Perimeter Drive, MS 1141, Moscow, 83844, Idaho, USA
| | - Lindsay Petrillo
- U.S. Geological Survey, Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Idaho, 875 Perimeter Drive, MS 1141, Moscow, 83844, Idaho, USA
- Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Idaho, 875 Perimeter Drive, MS 1141, Moscow, 83844, Idaho, USA
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2
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Hinton JW, Chamberlain MJ. Evidence of reduced abundance, density, and survival of coyotes under federal management for red wolf recovery. Ecosphere 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Michael J. Chamberlain
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources University of Georgia Athens Georgia USA
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3
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Hinton JW, West KM, Sullivan DJ, Frair JL, Chamberlain MJ. The natural history and ecology of melanism in red wolf and coyote populations of the southeastern United States – evidence for Gloger’s rule. BMC ZOOL 2022; 7:33. [PMID: 37170305 PMCID: PMC10127370 DOI: 10.1186/s40850-022-00138-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Gloger’s rule postulates that animals should be darker colored in warm and humid regions where dense vegetation and dark environments are common. Although rare in Canis populations, melanism in wolves is more common in North America than other regions globally and is believed to follow Gloger’s rule. In the temperate forests of the southeastern United States, historical records of red wolf (Canis rufus) and coyote (Canis latrans) populations document a consistent presence of melanism. Today, the melanistic phenotype is extinct in red wolves while occurring in coyotes and red wolf-coyote hybrids who occupy the red wolf's historical range. To assess if Gloger’s rule could explain the occurrence and maintenance of melanistic phenotypes in Canis taxa, we investigated differences in morphology, habitat selection, and survival associated with pelage color using body measurements, GPS tracking data, and long-term capture-mark-recapture and radio-telemetry data collected on coyotes and hybrids across the southeastern United States.
Results
We found no correlation between morphometrics and pelage color for Canis taxa. However, we observed that melanistic coyotes and hybrids experienced greater annual survival than did their gray conspecifics. Furthermore, we observed that melanistic coyotes maintained larger home ranges and exhibited greater selection for areas with dense canopy cover and wetlands than did gray coyotes.
Conclusions
In the southeastern United States, pelage color influenced habitat selection by coyotes and annual survival of coyotes and hybrids providing evidence that Gloger’s rule is applicable to canids inhabiting regions with dense canopy cover and wetlands. Greater annual survival rates observed in melanistic Canis may be attributed to better concealment in areas with dense canopy cover such as coastal bottomland forests. We suggest that the larger home range sizes of melanistic coyotes may reflect the trade-off of reduced foraging efficiency in lower quality wetland habitat for improved survival. Larger home ranges and differential use of land cover by melanistic coyotes may facilitate weak assortative mating in eastern coyote populations, in which melanistic animals may have lower success of finding compatible mates in comparison to gray conspecifics. We offer that our observations provide a partial explanation for why melanism is relatively low (< 10%) but consistent within coyote populations throughout southeastern parts of their range.
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Santiago-Ávila FJ, Agan S, Hinton JW, Treves A. Evaluating how management policies affect red wolf mortality and disappearance. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:210400. [PMID: 35620012 PMCID: PMC9128856 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.210400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2022] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Poaching is the major cause of death for large carnivores in several regions, contributing to their global endangerment. The traditional hypothesis used in wildlife management (killing for tolerance) suggests reducing protections for a species will decrease poaching. However, recent studies suggest reducing protections will instead increase poaching (facilitated illegal killing) and its concealment (facilitated cryptic poaching). Here, we build survival and competing risk models for mortality and disappearances of adult collared red wolves (Canis rufus) released in North Carolina, USA from 1987 to 2020 (n = 526). We evaluated how changes in federal and state policies protecting red wolves influenced the hazard and incidence of mortality and disappearance. We observed substantial increases in the hazard and incidence of red wolf reported poaching, and smaller increases in disappearances, during periods of reduced federal and state protections (including liberalizing hunting of coyotes, C. latrans); white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and American black bear (Ursus americanus) hunting seasons; and management phases. Observed increases in hazard (85-256%) and incidence of reported poaching (56-243%) support the 'facilitated illegal killing' hypothesis. We suggest improving protective policies intended to conserve endangered species generally and large carnivores in particular, to mitigate environmental crimes and generally improve the protection of wild animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco J. Santiago-Ávila
- Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
- Project Coyote, Larkspur, CA, USA
- The Rewilding Institute, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Suzanne Agan
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA, USA
| | | | - Adrian Treves
- Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
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5
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Santiago-Ávila FJ, Agan S, Hinton JW, Treves A. Evaluating how management policies affect red wolf mortality and disappearance. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022. [PMID: 35620012 DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5980322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Poaching is the major cause of death for large carnivores in several regions, contributing to their global endangerment. The traditional hypothesis used in wildlife management (killing for tolerance) suggests reducing protections for a species will decrease poaching. However, recent studies suggest reducing protections will instead increase poaching (facilitated illegal killing) and its concealment (facilitated cryptic poaching). Here, we build survival and competing risk models for mortality and disappearances of adult collared red wolves (Canis rufus) released in North Carolina, USA from 1987 to 2020 (n = 526). We evaluated how changes in federal and state policies protecting red wolves influenced the hazard and incidence of mortality and disappearance. We observed substantial increases in the hazard and incidence of red wolf reported poaching, and smaller increases in disappearances, during periods of reduced federal and state protections (including liberalizing hunting of coyotes, C. latrans); white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and American black bear (Ursus americanus) hunting seasons; and management phases. Observed increases in hazard (85-256%) and incidence of reported poaching (56-243%) support the 'facilitated illegal killing' hypothesis. We suggest improving protective policies intended to conserve endangered species generally and large carnivores in particular, to mitigate environmental crimes and generally improve the protection of wild animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco J Santiago-Ávila
- Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
- Project Coyote, Larkspur, CA, USA
- The Rewilding Institute, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Suzanne Agan
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA, USA
| | | | - Adrian Treves
- Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
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6
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Santiago-Ávila FJ, Agan S, Hinton JW, Treves A. Evaluating how management policies affect red wolf mortality and disappearance. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022. [PMID: 35620012 DOI: 10.5061/dryad.8cz8w9gsr] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Poaching is the major cause of death for large carnivores in several regions, contributing to their global endangerment. The traditional hypothesis used in wildlife management (killing for tolerance) suggests reducing protections for a species will decrease poaching. However, recent studies suggest reducing protections will instead increase poaching (facilitated illegal killing) and its concealment (facilitated cryptic poaching). Here, we build survival and competing risk models for mortality and disappearances of adult collared red wolves (Canis rufus) released in North Carolina, USA from 1987 to 2020 (n = 526). We evaluated how changes in federal and state policies protecting red wolves influenced the hazard and incidence of mortality and disappearance. We observed substantial increases in the hazard and incidence of red wolf reported poaching, and smaller increases in disappearances, during periods of reduced federal and state protections (including liberalizing hunting of coyotes, C. latrans); white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and American black bear (Ursus americanus) hunting seasons; and management phases. Observed increases in hazard (85-256%) and incidence of reported poaching (56-243%) support the 'facilitated illegal killing' hypothesis. We suggest improving protective policies intended to conserve endangered species generally and large carnivores in particular, to mitigate environmental crimes and generally improve the protection of wild animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco J Santiago-Ávila
- Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
- Project Coyote, Larkspur, CA, USA
- The Rewilding Institute, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Suzanne Agan
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA, USA
| | | | - Adrian Treves
- Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
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7
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Santiago-Ávila FJ, Treves A. Poaching of protected wolves fluctuated seasonally and with non-wolf hunting. Sci Rep 2022; 12:1738. [PMID: 35110599 PMCID: PMC8810790 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-05679-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Poaching is the main cause of mortality for many large carnivores, and mitigating it is imperative for the persistence of their populations. For Wisconsin gray wolves (Canis lupus), periods of increased risk in overall mortality and poaching seem to overlap temporally with legal hunting seasons for other large mammals (hunting wolves was prohibited). We analyzed monitoring data from adult, collared wolves in Wisconsin, USA (1979-2012, n = 495) using a competing-risk approach to test explicitly if seasons during which it was legal to train hunting hounds (hounding) or hunt other large mammals (hunting) affected wolves' hazard of cause-specific mortality and disappearance. We found increases in hazard for disappearances and documented ('reported') poaching during seasons with hunting, hounding or snow cover relative to a season without these factors. The 'reported poached' hazard increased > 650% during seasons with hunting and snow cover, which may be due to a seasonal surge in numbers of potential poachers or to some poachers augmenting their activities. Snow cover was a major environmental factor contributing to poaching, presumably through increased detection of wolves. Our study suggests poaching is by far the highest mortality hazard for wolves and reinforces the need for protections and policies targeting poaching of protected populations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Adrian Treves
- Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, USA
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8
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Urban habitat use and home ranges of fishing cats in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Mamm Biol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s42991-021-00198-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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9
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Murphy SM, Adams JR, Cox JJ, Waits LP. Substantial red wolf genetic ancestry persists in wild canids of southwestern Louisiana. Conserv Lett 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/conl.12621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Sean M. Murphy
- Large Carnivore Program Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Lafayette Louisiana
- Department of Forestry and Natural Resources University of Kentucky Lexington Kentucky
| | - Jennifer R. Adams
- Laboratory for Ecological, Evolutionary and Conservation Genetics, Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences University of Idaho Moscow Idaho
| | - John J. Cox
- Department of Forestry and Natural Resources University of Kentucky Lexington Kentucky
| | - Lisette P. Waits
- Laboratory for Ecological, Evolutionary and Conservation Genetics, Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences University of Idaho Moscow Idaho
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10
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Murphy SM, Augustine BC, Adams JR, Waits LP, Cox JJ. Integrating multiple genetic detection methods to estimate population density of social and territorial carnivores. Ecosphere 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.2479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Sean M. Murphy
- Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries; Large Carnivore Program; Lafayette Louisiana 70506 USA
| | - Ben C. Augustine
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation; Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Blacksburg Virginia 24061 USA
| | - Jennifer R. Adams
- Laboratory for Ecological, Evolutionary and Conservation Genetics; Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences; University of Idaho; Moscow Idaho 83844 USA
| | - Lisette P. Waits
- Laboratory for Ecological, Evolutionary and Conservation Genetics; Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences; University of Idaho; Moscow Idaho 83844 USA
| | - John J. Cox
- Department of Forestry and Natural Resources; University of Kentucky; Lexington Kentucky 40546 USA
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11
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Hinton JW, Gittleman JL, van Manen FT, Chamberlain MJ. Size-assortative choice and mate availability influences hybridization between red wolves ( Canis rufus) and coyotes ( Canis latrans). Ecol Evol 2018; 8:3927-3940. [PMID: 29721269 PMCID: PMC5916303 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2017] [Revised: 01/09/2018] [Accepted: 01/27/2018] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Anthropogenic hybridization of historically isolated taxa has become a primary conservation challenge for many imperiled species. Indeed, hybridization between red wolves (Canis rufus) and coyotes (Canis latrans) poses a significant challenge to red wolf recovery. We considered seven hypotheses to assess factors influencing hybridization between red wolves and coyotes via pair‐bonding between the two species. Because long‐term monogamy and defense of all‐purpose territories are core characteristics of both species, mate choice has long‐term consequences. Therefore, red wolves may choose similar‐sized mates to acquire partners that behave similarly to themselves in the use of space and diet. We observed multiple factors influencing breeding pair formation by red wolves and found that most wolves paired with similar‐sized conspecifics and wolves that formed congeneric pairs with nonwolves (coyotes and hybrids) were mostly female wolves, the smaller of the two sexes. Additionally, we observed that lower red wolf abundance relative to nonwolves and the absence of helpers increased the probability that wolves consorted with nonwolves. However, successful pairings between red wolves and nonwolves were associated with wolves that maintained small home ranges. Behaviors associated with territoriality are energetically demanding and behaviors (e.g., aggressive interactions, foraging, and space use) involved in maintaining territories are influenced by body size. Consequently, we propose the hypothesis that size disparities between consorting red wolves and coyotes influence positive assortative mating and may represent a reproductive barrier between the two species. We offer that it may be possible to maintain wild populations of red wolves in the presence of coyotes if management strategies increase red wolf abundance on the landscape by mitigating key threats, such as human‐caused mortality and hybridization with coyotes. Increasing red wolf abundance would likely restore selection pressures that increase mean body and home‐range sizes of red wolves and decrease hybridization rates via reduced occurrence of congeneric pairs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph W Hinton
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources University of Georgia Athens GA USA
| | | | - Frank T van Manen
- U.S. Geological Survey Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team Bozeman MT USA
| | - Michael J Chamberlain
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources University of Georgia Athens GA USA
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12
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Simonis JL, Harrison RB, Long ST, Rabon DR, Waddell WT, Faust LJ. Managed movement increases metapopulation viability of the endangered red wolf. J Wildl Manage 2017. [DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.21397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Juniper L. Simonis
- Alexander Center for Applied Population Biology; Lincoln Park Zoo; 2001 N. Clark Street Chicago IL 60614 USA
| | | | - Sarah T. Long
- Population Management Center; Lincoln Park Zoo; 2001 N. Clark Street Chicago IL 60614 USA
| | - David R. Rabon
- Endangered Wolf Center; 6750 Tyson Valley Road Eureka MO 63025 USA
| | - William T. Waddell
- Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium; 5400 N Pearl Street; Tacoma WA 98407 USA
| | - Lisa J. Faust
- Alexander Center for Applied Population Biology; Lincoln Park Zoo; 2001 N. Clark Street Chicago IL 60614 USA
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