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Silber KM, Mohankumar NM, Hefley TJ, Boyle WA. Emigration and survival correlate with different precipitation metrics throughout a grassland songbird's annual cycle. J Wildl Manage 2023. [DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.22371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/09/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Katy M. Silber
- Kansas State University, Division of Biology Manhattan KS 66506 USA
| | | | - Trevor J. Hefley
- Kansas State University, Department of Statistics Manhattan KS 66506 USA
| | - W. Alice Boyle
- Kansas State University, Division of Biology Manhattan KS 66506 USA
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Gonzalez Rojas JI, Cruz Nieto MA, Guzmán Velasco A, Ruvalcaba-Ortega I, Olalla-Kerstupp A, Ruiz-Ayma G. Winter diet of Burrowing Owls in the Llano La Soledad, Galeana, Nuevo León, México. PeerJ 2022; 10:e13324. [PMID: 35502207 PMCID: PMC9056000 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2020] [Accepted: 04/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The dietary niche breadth of the Burrowing Owl was determined (Athene cunicularia Molina, 1782) in Llano La Soledad, Galeana, Nuevo Leon in northern Mexico, by considering prey type, numerical percentage, weight, weight percentage, frequency of occurrence percentage, and IRI percentage. The study compared data from three winters (2002-2003, 2003-2004, 2004-2005) by analyzing 358 pellets, identifying 850 prey items. Invertebrates constituted 90% of prey items, which mostly included insects (85%); beetles were the most common insects found in pellets (70%). Vertebrates made up 84% of consumed weight, of which 83% were mammals. Most of the mammals were cricetid rodents (41%). Niche breadth based on the numerical and weight percentage confirmed the Burrowing Owl as a generalist species with mean values per year ranging between 0.65 and 0.82. Additionally, there was a strong association between the weight of rodent species in winter. This association was mainly driven by changes in composition and frequency of these prey species during the second winter, probably caused by high annual rainfall. The second season also showed a statistically significant narrower niche (Ro = 0.96) and the smallest overlap (0.45 vs. 0.76) among the three winters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose I. Gonzalez Rojas
- Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Facultad de Ciencias Biologicas, San Nicolas de los Garza, Nuevo Leon, México
| | | | - Antonio Guzmán Velasco
- Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Facultad de Ciencias Biologicas, San Nicolas de los Garza, Nuevo Leon, México
| | - Irene Ruvalcaba-Ortega
- Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Facultad de Ciencias Biologicas, San Nicolas de los Garza, Nuevo Leon, México
| | - Alina Olalla-Kerstupp
- Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Facultad de Ciencias Biologicas, San Nicolas de los Garza, Nuevo Leon, México
| | - Gabriel Ruiz-Ayma
- Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Facultad de Ciencias Biologicas, San Nicolas de los Garza, Nuevo Leon, México
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Estimating Sustainable Harvest Rates for European Hare (Lepus Europaeus) Populations. SUSTAINABILITY 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/su11102837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Hunting quotas are used to manage populations of game species in order to ensure sustainable exploitation. However, unpredictable climatic events may interact with hunting. We established a population model for European hares (Lepus europaeus) in Lower Austria. We compared the sustainability of voluntary quotas used by hunters—which are derived from hare-specific guidelines—with the actual numbers of hares shot and our recommended quotas for hares, which have been derived from climate and population modeling. We used population modeling based on vital rates and densities to adjust our recommended quotas in order to achieve sustainable harvest. The survival of age classes 1 and 3 had the highest impact on the population growth rate. Population viability analysis showed that a recommended quota with a harvest rate of 10% was sustainable for population densities of 45 hares/km2, and that the threshold for hunting should be raised from 10 hares/km2 so that hare populations with <15 hares/km2 are not hunted. The recommended quota outperformed the voluntary hunting quota, since more hares could be harvested sustainably. Age Class 1 survival was strongly linked with weather: a single year with unfavorable weather conditions (low precipitation) negatively affected population densities. Game species, including the European hare, face increasingly frequent weather extremes due to climate change, so hunting quotas need to be sensitive to frequent population fluctuations.
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Stewart ND, Reilly A, Gilman C, Mastromonaco GF, Burness G. Evidence of degradation of hair corticosterone in museum specimens. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2018; 268:128-133. [PMID: 30099031 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2018.08.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2018] [Revised: 07/09/2018] [Accepted: 08/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Researchers increasingly rely on non-invasive physiological indices, such as glucocorticoid (GC) levels, to interpret how vertebrates respond to changes in their environment. Recently, hair GCs have been of particular interest, because they are presumed stable over long periods of storage, which may facilitate the study of large-scale spatial and temporal patterns of stress in mammals. In the current study, we evaluated the stability of hair corticosterone levels in museum specimens, and the potential effects of different museum curation treatments. Using deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) specimens collected from Vancouver Island (11 sites, 82 individuals) over 76 years, we found that specimens collected earlier in the 20th century had lower hair corticosterone than more recently collected specimens. These results suggest that hair hormone levels may not be stable over decades of storage time. We then subjected hair samples collected from white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus, n = 36) to 3 different museum curation treatments, and found that borax lowered hair corticosterone levels relative to control samples, but air drying samples, or treating them with turpentine had no effect. Our results present a source of concern for the use of museum specimens for hair hormone analysis, and for studying long term trends in glucocorticoid levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- N D Stewart
- Environmental and Life Sciences Graduate Program, Trent University, Peterborough, Canada
| | - A Reilly
- Department of Biology, Trent University, Peterborough, Canada
| | - C Gilman
- Reproductive Physiology, Toronto Zoo, Toronto, Canada
| | | | - G Burness
- Department of Biology, Trent University, Peterborough, Canada.
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Bobretsov AV, Lukyanova LE, Bykhovets NM, Petrov AN. Impact of climate change on population dynamics of forest voles (Myodes) in northern Pre-Urals: The role of landscape effects. CONTEMP PROBL ECOL+ 2017. [DOI: 10.1134/s1995425517030039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Earl JE, Fuhlendorf SD. Relative Importance of Climate Variables to Population Vital Rates: A Quantitative Synthesis for the Lesser Prairie-Chicken. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0163585. [PMID: 27684075 PMCID: PMC5042413 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0163585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2016] [Accepted: 09/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Climate change is expected to affect temperature and precipitation means and extremes, which can affect population vital rates. With the added complexity of accounting for both means and extremes, it is important to understand whether one aspect is sufficient to predict a particular vital rate or if both are necessary. To compare the predictive ability of climate means and extremes with geographic, individual, and habitat variables, we performed a quantitative synthesis on the vital rates of lesser prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus pallidictinus) across their geographic range. We used an information theoretic approach to rank models predicting vital rates. We were able to rank climate models for three vital rates: clutch size, nest success, and subadult/adult seasonal survival. Of these three vital rates, a climate model was never the best predictor even when accounting for potentially different relationships between climate variables and vital rates between different ecoregions. Clutch size and nest success were both influenced by nesting attempt with larger clutches and greater success for first nesting attempts than second nesting attempts. Clutch size also increased with latitude for first nesting attempts but decreased with latitude for second nesting attempts. This resulted in similar clutch sizes for first and second nest attempts at southern latitudes but larger clutches for first nest attempts than second nest attempts at northern latitudes. Survival was greater for subadults than adults, but there were few estimates of subadult survival for comparison. Our results show that individual characteristics and geographic variables are better for predicting vital rates than climate variables. This may due to low samples sizes, which restricted our statistical power, or lack of precision in climate estimates relative to microclimates actually experienced by individuals. Alternatively, relationships between climate variables and vital rates may be constrained by time lags or local adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia E. Earl
- Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Samuel D. Fuhlendorf
- Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States of America
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Ricketts AM, Sandercock BK. Patch‐burn grazing increases habitat heterogeneity and biodiversity of small mammals in managed rangelands. Ecosphere 2016. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.1431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
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Melville HI, Conway WC, Morrison ML, Comer CE, Hardin JB. Prey Selection by Three Mesopredators that are Thought to Prey on Eastern Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo sylvestris) in the Pineywoods of East Texas. SOUTHEAST NAT 2015. [DOI: 10.1656/058.014.0306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Maher S, Timm R. Patterns of host and flea communities along an elevational gradient in Colorado. CAN J ZOOL 2014. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2013-0254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Patterns in community composition across a landscape are the result of mechanistic responses and species interactions. Interactions between hosts and parasites have additional complexity because of the contingency of host presence and interactions among parasites. To assess the role of environmental changes within host and parasite communities, we surveyed small mammals and their fleas over a dynamic elevational gradient in the Front Range in Colorado, USA. Communities were characterized using several richness and diversity metrics and these were compared using a suite of frequentist and randomization approaches. We found that flea species richness was related to the number of host species based upon rarefaction, but no patterns in richness with elevation were evident. Values of diversity measures increased with elevation, representing that small-mammal and flea communities were more even upslope, yet turnover in composition was not related to examined variables. The results suggest there are strong local effects that drive these small-mammal and flea communities, although the breadth of flea species is tied to host availability.
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Affiliation(s)
- S.P. Maher
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
| | - R.M. Timm
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
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Heisler LM, Somers CM, Poulin RG. Rodent populations on the northern Great Plains respond to weather variation at a landscape scale. J Mammal 2014. [DOI: 10.1644/13-mamm-a-115.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
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Wilson S, Martin K. Influence of life history strategies on sensitivity, population growth and response to climate for sympatric alpine birds. BMC Ecol 2012; 12:9. [PMID: 22747571 PMCID: PMC3441206 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6785-12-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2012] [Accepted: 06/25/2012] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The life history strategy of a species can influence how populations of that species respond to environmental variation. In this study, we used a matrix modeling approach to examine how life history differences among sympatric rock and white-tailed ptarmigan affect the influence of demographic rates on population growth (λ) and the potential response to a changing climate. Rock ptarmigan have a slower life history strategy than white-tailed ptarmigan in the study region with lower annual reproductive effort but higher adult survival. Results Based on data from a 5-year field study, deterministic estimates of λ indicated that populations were stable for rock ptarmigan (λ = 1.01), but declining for white-tailed ptarmigan (λ = 0.96). The demographic rates with the highest elasticity for rock ptarmigan were the survival of after-second year females, followed by juvenile survival and success of the first nest. For white-tailed ptarmigan, juvenile survival had the highest elasticity followed by success of the first nest and survival of second-year females. Incorporating stochasticity into the demographic rates led to a 2 and 4% drop in λ for rock and white-tailed ptarmigan respectively. Using data from the first three years we also found that population growth rates of both species were depressed following an increased frequency of severe years, but less so for rock ptarmigan which showed greater resilience under these conditions. Conclusions Our results provide evidence that populations of closely related species can vary in their response to environmental change as a consequence of life history differences. Rock ptarmigan, with a slower life history, are more responsive to demographic rates that influence survival and older life stages but this response is tempered by the extent of variability in each of the rates. Thus, predictions need to consider both aspects in modeling population response to a varying climate. Juvenile survival was a highly influential rate for both species, but the period from independence to first breeding is a poorly understood stage for many bird species. Additional study on juvenile survival, the influence of density dependence and the effects of predators as the mechanism driving survival-reproduction tradeoffs are all areas requiring further study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott Wilson
- Department of Forest Sciences, University of British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada.
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Previtali MA, Lehmer EM, Pearce-Duvet JMC, Jones JD, Clay CA, Wood BA, Ely PW, Laverty SM, Dearing MD. Roles of human disturbance, precipitation, and a pathogen on the survival and reproductive probabilities of deer mice. Ecology 2010; 91:582-92. [PMID: 20392022 DOI: 10.1890/08-2308.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Climate change, human disturbance, and disease can have large impacts on the dynamics of a species by affecting the likelihood of survival and reproduction of individuals. We investigated the roles of precipitation, off-road vehicle (ORV) alteration of habitat, and infection with Sin Nombre virus on the survival and reproductive probabilities of deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus). We used generalized linear mixed models to estimate the effects of these factors and their interactions by fitting capture-recapture data collected seasonally from 2002 to 2007 at 17 sites in the Great Basin Desert of central Utah, USA. During periods with high precipitation, we found no difference in survival and reproductive probabilities between seasons, but during drier periods, we found a reduction of overwinter survival and fall reproductive activity. Precipitation also interacted with disturbance to affect survival probabilities and female reproduction; in periods with low precipitation, deer mice on highly disturbed sites had extremely low survival probabilities and low reproductive probabilities of females compared to those of individuals from low-disturbance sites. However, high precipitation ameliorated the effect of disturbance on both parameters. Deer mice from sites with high impact of ORV disturbance also had low survival over summer. Additionally, male reproductive probabilities were diminished on highly disturbed sites in both seasons; in contrast, they were reduced only in the fall on low-disturbance sites. Density had an overall negative effect on survival and reproductive probabilities of deer mice. For females, the negative effect on reproductive activity was amplified in highly disturbed sites. We found no effect of hantavirus infection on survival probabilities of deer mice. Overall, this study revealed complexity in the determinants of deer mouse survival and reproduction given by the effects of a number of significant interactions among explanatory variables. Thus, factors that may not appear to have a strong effect when investigated alone can still be influential by modulating the effect of a different factor.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Andrea Previtali
- Department of Biology, 257 S 1400 E, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA.
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