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Puri M, Srivathsa A, Karanth KK, Patel I, Kumar NS. Safe space in the woods: Mechanistic spatial models for predicting risks of human–bear conflicts in India. Biotropica 2023. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.13204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/13/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Mahi Puri
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation University of Florida Gainesville Florida USA
- Centre for Wildlife Studies Bengaluru India
| | - Arjun Srivathsa
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation University of Florida Gainesville Florida USA
- Wildlife Conservation Society–India Bengaluru India
- School of Natural Resources and Environment University of Florida Gainesville Florida USA
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, TIFR Bengaluru India
| | - Krithi K. Karanth
- Centre for Wildlife Studies Bengaluru India
- Environmental Science and Policy, Nicholas School of the Environment Duke University Durham North Carolina USA
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Kiffner C, Uthes S, Ostermann-Miyashita EF, Harms V, König HJ. Patterns of livestock loss associated with a recolonizing wolf population in Germany. FRONTIERS IN CONSERVATION SCIENCE 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fcosc.2022.989368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Predation on livestock presents a daunting challenge for human–carnivore coexistence in agricultural landscapes. In Germany, the recolonization of wolves is ongoing and its consequences are insufficiently understood. Knowledge about which livestock species are susceptible to wolf predation, which farm types are predisposed to attacks by wolves, and when predation on livestock occurs is valuable for mitigating stakeholder conflicts. To this end, we analyzed 14 years of monitoring data and assessed the livestock prey spectrum, identified correlates between predation on livestock, farm type and livestock category, and described temporal patterns of livestock loss caused by a recolonizing wolf population in the state of Brandenburg (Germany). Among a total of 1387 recorded cases, 42% were unequivocally attributed to wolves (SCALP criteria C1 and C2) and 12% of cases were not caused by wolves. The number of head of livestock killed during a single wolf attack was mediated by farm type and livestock species; losses per event were greater in full-time farms vs. other farm types and greater in sheep, farmed deer and other livestock species, compared to cattle. While sheep were the most commonly killed livestock species, the increase in wolf territories over the investigation period was associated with a widening of the domestic prey species spectrum. Count regression models provided evidence for the increasing frequency of predation events over the 14-year period, along with an exponential increase in wolf territories. Predation on livestock occurred throughout the year, yet seasonality of events was evident and differed across livestock categories. Predation on sheep peaked in the fall, coinciding with the post-weaning period of wolf offspring. Predation on cattle peaked in the spring, coinciding with the cattle calving period. These results call for renewed investment in the implementation of prevention methods for all susceptible domestic species, particularly during times of elevated predation risk.
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Quinby BM, Kluever BM, Burcham GN, Humberg LA, Jones LR, Wahl ML, Zollner PA. Spatial risk modeling of cattle depredation by black vultures in the midwestern United States. J Wildl Manage 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.22231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Brandon M. Quinby
- Department of Forestry and Natural Resources Purdue University 195 Marsteller Street West Lafayette IN 47906 USA
| | - Bryan M. Kluever
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center Florida Field Station 2820 East University Avenue Gainesville FL 32641 USA
| | - Grant N. Burcham
- Heeke Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory Dubois IN 47527 USA
- Department of Comparative Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine Purdue University West Lafayette IN 47907 USA
| | - Lee A. Humberg
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Wildlife Services 901 W. State Street West Lafayette IN 47907 USA
| | - Landon R. Jones
- Department of Forestry and Natural Resources Purdue University 195 Marsteller Street West Lafayette IN 47906 USA
| | - Marian L. Wahl
- Department of Forestry and Natural Resources Purdue University 195 Marsteller Street West Lafayette IN 47906 USA
| | - Patrick A. Zollner
- Department of Forestry and Natural Resources Purdue University 195 Marsteller Street West Lafayette IN 47906 USA
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Hagani JS, Kross SM, Clark M, Wynn-Grant R, Blair M. Mapping and modeling human-black bear interactions in the Catskills region of New York using resource selection probability functions. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0257716. [PMID: 34551021 PMCID: PMC8457482 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Black bears (Ursus americanus) are an iconic and common species throughout much of the United States and people regularly interact with these large predators without conflict. However, negative interactions between people and bears can manifest in conflicts that can hinder conservation efforts. Black bears are highly attracted to anthropogenic sources of food, and negative interactions with people are primarily a product of trash mismanagement. In the Catskills region of New York State, home to a large population of black bears, over 400 such conflicts are reported each year. While the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has seen progress recently in educating residents of the region on how to reduce unwanted interactions with bears, they have had less success educating the 12 million tourists that visit the Catskills each year. Understanding where conflict may occur in the future, and the environmental and anthropogenic factors that precede it, may help guide management strategies to reduce these unwanted interactions. Therefore, we designed resource selection probability functions (RSPFs) to examine the relationship between human-black bear conflicts in the Catskills with a suite of landscape and anthropogenic data, using conflicts reported to the DEC across the state of New York in 2018-2019. We found that human-black bear conflicts were more likely to occur in the residential areas of the Catskills on the urban-wildland interface; areas with relatively higher human population densities, away from dense forest, and further from heavily urbanized areas. While future work is needed to continuously validate our model predictions, our results will provide the DEC and other conservation managers in the Catskills the ability to create more targeted plans for mitigating unwanted human-black bear interactions, and provide a better understanding of the mechanisms driving human-carnivore interactions at an urban-wildland interface more generally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason S. Hagani
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Sara M. Kross
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Michael Clark
- New York Department of Environmental Conservation Region 4, Schenectady, New York, United States of America
| | - Rae Wynn-Grant
- Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States of America
| | - Mary Blair
- Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, United States of America
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Wolves make roadways safer, generating large economic returns to predator conservation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2023251118. [PMID: 34031245 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2023251118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies uncover cascading ecological effects resulting from removing and reintroducing predators into a landscape, but little is known about effects on human lives and property. We quantify the effects of restoring wolf populations by evaluating their influence on deer-vehicle collisions (DVCs) in Wisconsin. We show that, for the average county, wolf entry reduced DVCs by 24%, yielding an economic benefit that is 63 times greater than the costs of verified wolf predation on livestock. Most of the reduction is due to a behavioral response of deer to wolves rather than through a deer population decline from wolf predation. This finding supports ecological research emphasizing the role of predators in creating a "landscape of fear." It suggests wolves control economic damages from overabundant deer in ways that human deer hunters cannot.
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Balbuena‐Serrano Á, Zarco‐González MM, Monroy‐Vilchis O, Morato R, De Paula R. Hotspots of livestock depredation by pumas and jaguars in Brazil: a biome‐scale analysis. Anim Conserv 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/acv.12619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Á. Balbuena‐Serrano
- Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Biológicas Aplicadas Universidad Autónoma del Estado de MéxicoInstituto Literario 100 Toluca Estado de México México
| | - M. M. Zarco‐González
- Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Biológicas Aplicadas Universidad Autónoma del Estado de MéxicoInstituto Literario 100 Toluca Estado de México México
| | - O. Monroy‐Vilchis
- Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Biológicas Aplicadas Universidad Autónoma del Estado de MéxicoInstituto Literario 100 Toluca Estado de México México
| | - R. Morato
- Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Mamíferos CarnívorosInstituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade Atibaia SP Brazil
- Instituto Pro‐Carnívoros Atibaia SP Brazil
| | - R. De Paula
- Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Mamíferos CarnívorosInstituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade Atibaia SP Brazil
- Instituto Pro‐Carnívoros Atibaia SP Brazil
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Olson ER, Van Deelen TR, Wydeven AP, Ruid DB, MacFarland DM, Ventura SJ. A landscape of overlapping risks for wolf-human conflict in Wisconsin, USA. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2019; 248:109307. [PMID: 31466178 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2018] [Revised: 07/17/2019] [Accepted: 07/22/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Managing risk requires an adequate understanding of risk-factors that influence the likelihood of a particular event occurring in time and space. Risk maps can be valuable tools for natural resource managers, allowing them to better understand spatial characteristics of risk. Risk maps can also support risk-avoidance efforts by identifying which areas are relatively riskier than others. However, risks, such as human-carnivore conflict, can be diverse, multi-faceted, and overlapping in space. Yet, efforts to describe risk typically focus on only one aspect of risk. We examined wolf complaints investigated in Wisconsin, USA for the period of 1999-2011. We described the spatial patterns of four types of wolf-human conflict: livestock depredation, depredation on hunting hounds, depredation on non-hound dogs, and human health and safety concerns (HHSC). Using predictive landscape models and discriminant functions analysis, we visualized the landscape of risk as a continuous surface of overlapping risks. Each type of conflict had its own unique landscape signature; however, the probability of any type of conflict increased closer to the center of wolf pack territories and with increased forest cover. Hunting hound depredations tended to occur in areas considered to be highly suitable wolf habitat, while livestock depredations occurred more regularly in marginal wolf habitat. HHSC and non-hound dog depredations were less predictable spatially but tended to occur in areas with low housing density adjacent to large wildland areas. Similar to other research evaluating the risk of human-carnivore conflict, our data suggests that human-carnivore conflict is most likely to occur where humans or human property and large carnivores co-occur. However, identifying areas of co-occurrence is only marginally valuable from a conservation standpoint and could be described using spatially-explicit human and carnivore data without complex analytical approaches. These results challenge our traditional understanding of risk and the standard approach used in describing risk. We suggest that a more comprehensive understanding of the risk of human-carnivore conflict can be achieved by examining the spatial and non-spatial factors influencing risk within areas of co-occurrence and by describing the landscape of risk as a continuous surface of multiple overlapping risks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik R Olson
- University of Wisconsin - Madison, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, Madison, WI, 53706, USA; Northland College, Department of Natural Resources, Ashland, WI, 54806, USA.
| | - Timothy R Van Deelen
- University of Wisconsin - Madison, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, Madison, WI, 53706, USA; University of Wisconsin - Madison, Department of Forest & Wildlife Ecology, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Adrian P Wydeven
- Northland College, Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute, Timber Wolf Alliance, Ashland, WI, 54806, USA
| | - David B Ruid
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, Rhinelander, WI, 54501, USA
| | | | - Stephen J Ventura
- University of Wisconsin - Madison, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
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Haswell PM, Shepherd EA, Stone SA, Purcell B, Hayward MW. Foraging theory provides a useful framework for livestock predation management. J Nat Conserv 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jnc.2019.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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