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Wall J, Hahn N, Carroll S, Mwiu S, Goss M, Sairowua W, Tiedeman K, Kiambi S, Omondi P, Douglas-Hamilton I, Wittemyer G. Land use drives differential resource selection by African elephants in the Greater Mara Ecosystem, Kenya. Mov Ecol 2024; 12:11. [PMID: 38303081 PMCID: PMC10832223 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-023-00436-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 02/03/2024]
Abstract
Understanding drivers of space use by African elephants is critical to their conservation and management, particularly given their large home-ranges, extensive resource requirements, ecological role as ecosystem engineers, involvement in human-elephant conflict and as a target species for ivory poaching. In this study we investigated resource selection by elephants inhabiting the Greater Mara Ecosystem in Southwestern Kenya in relation to three distinct but spatially contiguous management zones: (i) the government protected Maasai Mara National Reserve (ii) community-owned wildlife conservancies, and (iii) elephant range outside any formal wildlife protected area. We combined GPS tracking data from 49 elephants with spatial covariate information to compare elephant selection across these management zones using a hierarchical Bayesian framework, providing insight regarding how human activities structure elephant spatial behavior. We also contrasted differences in selection by zone across several data strata: sex, season and time-of-day. Our results showed that the strongest selection by elephants was for closed-canopy forest and the strongest avoidance was for open-cover, but that selection behavior varied significantly by management zone and selection for cover was accentuated in human-dominated areas. When contrasting selection parameters according to strata, variability in selection parameter values reduced along a protection gradient whereby elephants tended to behave more similarly (limited plasticity) in the human dominated, unprotected zone and more variably (greater plasticity) in the protected reserve. However, avoidance of slope was consistent across all zones. Differences in selection behavior was greatest between sexes, followed by time-of-day, then management zone and finally season (where seasonal selection showed the least differentiation of the contrasts assessed). By contrasting selection coefficients across strata, our analysis quantifies behavioural switching related to human presence and impact displayed by a cognitively advanced megaherbivore. Our study broadens the knowledge base about the movement ecology of African elephants and builds our capacity for both management and conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jake Wall
- Mara Elephant Project, Nairobi, Kenya.
- Colorado State University, Fort Collins, USA.
| | - Nathan Hahn
- Colorado State University, Fort Collins, USA
| | | | - Stephen Mwiu
- Kenya Wildlife Research and Training Institute, Naivasha, Kenya
| | - Marc Goss
- Mara Elephant Project, Nairobi, Kenya
| | | | - Kate Tiedeman
- Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Constance, Germany
| | - Sospeter Kiambi
- Kenya Wildlife Research and Training Institute, Naivasha, Kenya
| | - Patrick Omondi
- Kenya Wildlife Research and Training Institute, Naivasha, Kenya
| | | | - George Wittemyer
- Colorado State University, Fort Collins, USA
- Save the Elephants, Nairobi, Kenya
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Wittemyer G, Ryan SJ. Introduction to the Wayne Getz Festschrift. Mov Ecol 2024; 12:9. [PMID: 38287406 PMCID: PMC10823688 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-023-00441-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/09/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, 80523, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
| | - Sadie J Ryan
- Quantitative Disease Ecology and Conservation (QDEC) Lab, Department of Geography and the Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, 32611, Gainesville, FL, USA
- School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
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3
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Yang A, Boughton R, Miller RS, Snow NP, Vercauteren KC, Pepin KM, Wittemyer G. Individual-level patterns of resource selection do not predict hotspots of contact. Mov Ecol 2023; 11:74. [PMID: 38037089 PMCID: PMC10687890 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-023-00435-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
Contact among animals is crucial for various ecological processes, including social behaviors, disease transmission, and predator-prey interactions. However, the distribution of contact events across time and space is heterogeneous, influenced by environmental factors and biological purposes. Previous studies have assumed that areas with abundant resources and preferred habitats attract more individuals and, therefore, lead to more contact. To examine the accuracy of this assumption, we used a use-available framework to compare landscape factors influencing the location of contacts between wild pigs (Sus scrofa) in two study areas in Florida and Texas (USA) from those influencing non-contact space use. We employed a contact-resource selection function (RSF) model, where contact locations were defined as used points and locations without contact as available points. By comparing outputs from this contact RSF with a general, population-level RSF, we assessed the factors driving both habitat selection and contact. We found that the landscape predictors (e.g., wetland, linear features, and food resources) played different roles in habitat selection from contact processes for wild pigs in both study areas. This indicated that pigs interacted with their landscapes differently when choosing habitats compared to when they encountered other individuals. Consequently, relying solely on the spatial overlap of individual or population-level RSF models may lead to a misleading understanding of contact-related ecology. Our findings challenge prevailing assumptions about contact and introduce innovative approaches to better understand the ecological drivers of spatially explicit contact. By accurately predicting the spatial distribution of contact events, we can enhance our understanding of contact based ecological processes and their spatial dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anni Yang
- Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA.
| | - Raoul Boughton
- Archbold Biological Station, Buck Island Ranch, Lake Placid, FL, 33852, USA
| | - Ryan S Miller
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Service, Center for Epidemiology and Animal Health, 2150 Centre Avenue, Fort Collins, CO, 80526, USA
| | - Nathan P Snow
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, National Wildlife Research Center, Wildlife Services, Fort Collins, CO, 80521, USA
| | - Kurt C Vercauteren
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, National Wildlife Research Center, Wildlife Services, Fort Collins, CO, 80521, USA
| | - Kim M Pepin
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, National Wildlife Research Center, Wildlife Services, Fort Collins, CO, 80521, USA
| | - George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
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Clontz LM, Yang A, Chinn SM, Pepin KM, VerCauteren KC, Wittemyer G, Miller RS, Beasley JC. Role of social structure in establishment of an invasive large mammal after translocation. Pest Manag Sci 2023; 79:3819-3829. [PMID: 37218996 DOI: 10.1002/ps.7567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2023] [Revised: 05/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Data on the movement behavior of translocated wild pigs is needed to develop appropriate response strategies for containing and eliminating new source populations following translocation events. We conducted experimental trials to compare the home range establishment and space-use metrics, including the number of days and distance traveled before becoming range residents, for wild pigs translocated with their social group and individually. RESULTS We found wild pigs translocated with their social group made less extensive movements away from the release location and established a stable home range ~5 days faster than those translocated individually. We also examined how habitat quality impacted the home range sizes of translocated wild pigs and found wild pigs maintained larger ranges in areas with higher proportion of low-quality habitat. CONCLUSION Collectively, our findings suggest translocations of invasive wild pigs have a greater probability of establishing a viable population near the release site when habitat quality is high and when released with members of their social unit compared to individuals moved independent of their social group or to low-quality habitat. However, all wild pigs translocated in our study made extensive movements from their release location, highlighting the potential for single translocation events of either individuals or groups to have far-reaching consequences within a much broader landscape beyond the location where they are released. These results highlight the challenges associated with containing populations in areas where illegal introduction of wild pigs occurs, and the need for rapid response once releases are identified. © 2023 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsay M Clontz
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Aiken, South Carolina, USA
| | - Anni Yang
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
- Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA
| | - Sarah M Chinn
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Aiken, South Carolina, USA
| | - Kim M Pepin
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Kurt C VerCauteren
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Ryan S Miller
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - James C Beasley
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Aiken, South Carolina, USA
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5
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Gill BA, Wittemyer G, Cerling TE, Musili PM, Kartzinel TR. Foraging history of individual elephants using DNA metabarcoding. R Soc Open Sci 2023; 10:230337. [PMID: 37416829 PMCID: PMC10320352 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.230337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2023] [Accepted: 06/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023]
Abstract
Individual animals should adjust diets according to food availability. We used DNA metabarcoding to construct individual-level dietary timeseries for elephants from two family groups in Kenya varying in habitat use, social position and reproductive status. We detected at least 367 dietary plant taxa, with up to 137 unique plant sequences in one fecal sample. Results matched well-established trends: elephants tended to eat more grass when it rained and other plants when dry. Nested within these switches from 'grazing' to 'browsing' strategies, dietary DNA revealed seasonal shifts in food richness, composition and overlap between individuals. Elephants of both families converged on relatively cohesive diets in dry seasons but varied in their maintenance of cohesion during wet seasons. Dietary cohesion throughout the timeseries of the subdominant 'Artists' family was stronger and more consistently positive compared to the dominant 'Royals' family. The greater degree of individuality within the dominant family's timeseries could reflect more divergent nutritional requirements associated with calf dependency and/or priority access to preferred habitats. Whereas theory predicts that individuals should specialize on different foods under resource scarcity, our data suggest family bonds may promote cohesion and foster the emergence of diverse feeding cultures reflecting links between social behaviour and nutrition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian A. Gill
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
- Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
- Save the Elephants, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Thure E. Cerling
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | - Paul M. Musili
- Botany Department, East African Herbarium, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Tyler R. Kartzinel
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
- Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
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6
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Tucker MA, Schipper AM, Adams TSF, Attias N, Avgar T, Babic NL, Barker KJ, Bastille-Rousseau G, Behr DM, Belant JL, Beyer DE, Blaum N, Blount JD, Bockmühl D, Pires Boulhosa RL, Brown MB, Buuveibaatar B, Cagnacci F, Calabrese JM, Černe R, Chamaillé-Jammes S, Chan AN, Chase MJ, Chaval Y, Chenaux-Ibrahim Y, Cherry SG, Ćirović D, Çoban E, Cole EK, Conlee L, Courtemanch A, Cozzi G, Davidson SC, DeBloois D, Dejid N, DeNicola V, Desbiez ALJ, Douglas-Hamilton I, Drake D, Egan M, Eikelboom JAJ, Fagan WF, Farmer MJ, Fennessy J, Finnegan SP, Fleming CH, Fournier B, Fowler NL, Gantchoff MG, Garnier A, Gehr B, Geremia C, Goheen JR, Hauptfleisch ML, Hebblewhite M, Heim M, Hertel AG, Heurich M, Hewison AJM, Hodson J, Hoffman N, Hopcraft JGC, Huber D, Isaac EJ, Janik K, Ježek M, Johansson Ö, Jordan NR, Kaczensky P, Kamaru DN, Kauffman MJ, Kautz TM, Kays R, Kelly AP, Kindberg J, Krofel M, Kusak J, Lamb CT, LaSharr TN, Leimgruber P, Leitner H, Lierz M, Linnell JDC, Lkhagvaja P, Long RA, López-Bao JV, Loretto MC, Marchand P, Martin H, Martinez LA, McBride RT, McLaren AAD, Meisingset E, Melzheimer J, Merrill EH, Middleton AD, Monteith KL, Moore SA, Van Moorter B, Morellet N, Morrison T, Müller R, Mysterud A, Noonan MJ, O'Connor D, Olson D, Olson KA, Ortega AC, Ossi F, Panzacchi M, Patchett R, Patterson BR, de Paula RC, Payne J, Peters W, Petroelje TR, Pitcher BJ, Pokorny B, Poole K, Potočnik H, Poulin MP, Pringle RM, Prins HHT, Ranc N, Reljić S, Robb B, Röder R, Rolandsen CM, Rutz C, Salemgareyev AR, Samelius G, Sayine-Crawford H, Schooler S, Şekercioğlu ÇH, Selva N, Semenzato P, Sergiel A, Sharma K, Shawler AL, Signer J, Silovský V, Silva JP, Simon R, Smiley RA, Smith DW, Solberg EJ, Ellis-Soto D, Spiegel O, Stabach J, Stacy-Dawes J, Stahler DR, Stephenson J, Stewart C, Strand O, Sunde P, Svoboda NJ, Swart J, Thompson JJ, Toal KL, Uiseb K, VanAcker MC, Velilla M, Verzuh TL, Wachter B, Wagler BL, Whittington J, Wikelski M, Wilmers CC, Wittemyer G, Young JK, Zięba F, Zwijacz-Kozica T, Huijbregts MAJ, Mueller T. Behavioral responses of terrestrial mammals to COVID-19 lockdowns. Science 2023; 380:1059-1064. [PMID: 37289888 DOI: 10.1126/science.abo6499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
COVID-19 lockdowns in early 2020 reduced human mobility, providing an opportunity to disentangle its effects on animals from those of landscape modifications. Using GPS data, we compared movements and road avoidance of 2300 terrestrial mammals (43 species) during the lockdowns to the same period in 2019. Individual responses were variable with no change in average movements or road avoidance behavior, likely due to variable lockdown conditions. However, under strict lockdowns 10-day 95th percentile displacements increased by 73%, suggesting increased landscape permeability. Animals' 1-hour 95th percentile displacements declined by 12% and animals were 36% closer to roads in areas of high human footprint, indicating reduced avoidance during lockdowns. Overall, lockdowns rapidly altered some spatial behaviors, highlighting variable but substantial impacts of human mobility on wildlife worldwide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marlee A Tucker
- Department of Environmental Science, Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9010, 6500, GL Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Aafke M Schipper
- Department of Environmental Science, Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9010, 6500, GL Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | | | - Nina Attias
- Instituto de Conservação de Animais Silvestres (ICAS), Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Tal Avgar
- Department of Wildland Resources and the Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322 USA
| | - Natarsha L Babic
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - Kristin J Barker
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | | | - Dominik M Behr
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH - 8057 Zürich
- Botswana Predator Conservation, Private Bag 13, Maun, Botswana
| | - Jerrold L Belant
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, 480 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Dean E Beyer
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, 480 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Niels Blaum
- University of Potsdam, Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation, Am Mühlenberg 3, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
| | - J David Blount
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, 257 S 1400 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | - Dirk Bockmühl
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Michael B Brown
- Giraffe Conservation Foundation, Eros, PO Box 86099, Windhoek, Namibia
- Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Conservation Ecology Center, 1500 Remount Rd, Front Royal, VA, 22630, USA
| | | | - Francesca Cagnacci
- Animal Ecology Unit, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via E. Mach 1, 38010 San Michele all'Adige, Italy
| | - Justin M Calabrese
- Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS), Goerlitz, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, 4094 Campus Dr, College Park, MA, USA
| | - Rok Černe
- Slovenia Forest service, Večna pot 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Simon Chamaillé-Jammes
- CEFE, CNRS, Univ Montpellier, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Aung Nyein Chan
- Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Conservation Ecology Center, 1500 Remount Rd, Front Royal, VA, 22630, USA
- Dept. Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80525, USA
| | | | - Yannick Chaval
- Université de Toulouse, INRAE, CEFS, F-31326 Castanet-Tolosan, France
- LTSER ZA PYRénées GARonne, F-31320 Auzeville-Tolosane, France
| | - Yvette Chenaux-Ibrahim
- Department of Biology and Environment, Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Grand Portage, MN 55605 USA
| | - Seth G Cherry
- Parks Canada Agency, Box 220, Radium Hot Springs, BC, V0A 1M0, Canada
| | - Duško Ćirović
- Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg 16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Emrah Çoban
- KuzeyDoğa Society, Ortakapı Mah. Şehit Yusuf Cad. 69, 36100 Kars, Turkey
| | - Eric K Cole
- U.S. Fish and Wildlfe Service, National Elk Refuge, PO Box 510, Jackson, WY 83001
| | - Laura Conlee
- Missouri Department of Conservation, Columbia, MO, 65201, USA
| | | | - Gabriele Cozzi
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH - 8057 Zürich
- Botswana Predator Conservation, Private Bag 13, Maun, Botswana
| | - Sarah C Davidson
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
- Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering, The Ohio State University, 43210 Columbus, OH, USA
| | | | - Nandintsetseg Dejid
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | | | - Arnaud L J Desbiez
- Instituto de Conservação de Animais Silvestres (ICAS), Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
- Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), Murrayfield, Edinburgh, UK
- Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (IPÊ), Nazaré Paulista, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Iain Douglas-Hamilton
- Save the Elephants, Marula Manor, Marula Lane, Karen, Nairobi 00200, Kenya
- Department of Zoology, Oxford University, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
| | - David Drake
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706 USA
| | - Michael Egan
- Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, 62901
- LTSER ZA PYRénées GARonne, F-31320 Auzeville-Tolosane, France
| | - Jasper A J Eikelboom
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Group, Wageningen University and Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 3a, 6708 PB, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - William F Fagan
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, 4094 Campus Dr, College Park, MA, USA
| | - Morgan J Farmer
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706 USA
| | - Julian Fennessy
- Giraffe Conservation Foundation, Eros, PO Box 86099, Windhoek, Namibia
| | - Shannon P Finnegan
- Global Wildlife Conservation Center, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
| | - Christen H Fleming
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, 4094 Campus Dr, College Park, MA, USA
- Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, 1500 Remount Rd, Front Royal, VA, USA
| | - Bonnie Fournier
- Wildlife and Fish Division, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, P.O. Box 1320, Yellowknife, NT, Canada
| | - Nicholas L Fowler
- Global Wildlife Conservation Center, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
- Alaska Department of Fish and Game, 43961 Kalifornsky Beach Road, Suite B, Soldotna, AK 99669, USA
| | - Mariela G Gantchoff
- State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
- Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH 45469 USA
| | - Alexandre Garnier
- Université de Toulouse, INRAE, CEFS, F-31326 Castanet-Tolosan, France
- Parc National des Pyrénées, 65000 Tarbes, France
| | - Benedikt Gehr
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Chris Geremia
- Yellowstone Center for Resources, PO Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190
| | - Jacob R Goheen
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071 USA
| | - Morgan L Hauptfleisch
- Biodiversity Research Centre, Namibia University of Science and Technnology Pvt bag 13388 Windhoek, Namibia
| | - Mark Hebblewhite
- Wildlife Biology Program, Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, 59801
| | - Morten Heim
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Terrestrial Ecology Department, P.O. Box 5685 Torgarden, 7485 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Anne G Hertel
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Großhaderner Str. 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Marco Heurich
- Department of Visitor Management and National Park Monitoring, Bavarian Forest National Park, Freyunger Straße 2, 94481 Grafenau, Germany
- Chair of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Biology, Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg, Tennenbacher Straße 4, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
- Institute for forest and wildlife management, Faculty of Applied Ecology, Agricultural Sciences and Biotechnology, Campus Evenstad, Inland Norway University of Applied Science, NO-2480 Koppang, Norway
| | - A J Mark Hewison
- Université de Toulouse, INRAE, CEFS, F-31326 Castanet-Tolosan, France
- LTSER ZA PYRénées GARonne, F-31320 Auzeville-Tolosane, France
| | - James Hodson
- Wildlife and Fish Division, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, P.O. Box 1320, Yellowknife, NT Canada X1A 2L9
| | - Nicholas Hoffman
- Ecological Program, Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, Fort Indiantown Gap National Guard Training Center, Annville, PA 17003, USA
| | - J Grant C Hopcraft
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow UK G12 8QQ
| | - Djuro Huber
- Veterinary Biology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Edmund J Isaac
- Department of Biology and Environment, Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Grand Portage, MN 55605 USA
| | - Karolina Janik
- City of New York Parks and Recreation, Wildlife Unit, 1234 5th Avenue, 5th Floor, NY 10029
| | - Miloš Ježek
- Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Örjan Johansson
- Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 739 93, Riddarhyttan, Sweden
- Snow Leopard Trust, 4649 Sunnyside Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98103, USA
| | - Neil R Jordan
- Botswana Predator Conservation, Private Bag 13, Maun, Botswana
- Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
- Taronga Institute of Science and Learning, Taronga Conservation Society, Sydney, NSW, 2088, Australia
| | - Petra Kaczensky
- Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, Norway
- University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, Austria
| | - Douglas N Kamaru
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071 USA
- Wildlife Department, Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Private Bag-10400, Nanyuki, Kenya
| | - Matthew J Kauffman
- U.S. Geological Survey, Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA
| | - Todd M Kautz
- Global Wildlife Conservation Center, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
| | - Roland Kays
- North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC, 27601, USA
- Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
| | - Allicia P Kelly
- Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, P.O. Box 2668, Yellowknife, NT Canada X1A 2P9
| | - Jonas Kindberg
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, NO-7484 Trondheim, Norway
- Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE- 901 83 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Miha Krofel
- Department of Forestry, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Jamnikarjeva 101, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred- Kowalke- Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany
| | - Josip Kusak
- Veterinary Biology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Clayton T Lamb
- Biological Sciences Centre, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E9 Canada
| | - Tayler N LaSharr
- Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, 804 East Fremont, Laramie, WY 82072
| | - Peter Leimgruber
- Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Conservation Ecology Center, 1500 Remount Rd, Front Royal, VA, 22630, USA
| | - Horst Leitner
- Büro für Wildökologie und Forstwirtschaft, Klagenfurth, Austria
| | - Michael Lierz
- Clinic for birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Germany
| | - John D C Linnell
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Terrestrial Ecology Department, P.O. Box 5685 Torgarden, 7485 Trondheim, Norway
- Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, Anne Evenstads vei 80, 2480 Koppang, Norway
| | | | - Ryan A Long
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844 USA
| | - José Vicente López-Bao
- Biodiversity Research Institute (CSIC - Oviedo University - Principality of Asturias), Oviedo University, E-33600 Mieres, Spain
| | - Matthias-Claudio Loretto
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Technical University of Munich, TUM School of Life Sciences, Ecosystem Dynamics and Forest Management Group, 85354 Freising, Germany
- Berchtesgaden National Park, 83471 Berchtesgaden, Germany
| | - Pascal Marchand
- Office Français de la Biodiversité, Direction de la Recherche et de l'Expertise, Unité Ongulés Sauvages, Juvignac, France
| | - Hans Martin
- Wildlife Biology Program, Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, 59801
| | - Lindsay A Martinez
- Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA
| | - Roy T McBride
- Faro Moro Eco Research, Estancia Faro Moro, Departmento de Boquerón, Paraguay
| | - Ashley A D McLaren
- Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Wildlife Research and Monitoring Section, Trent University, 2140 East Bank Drive, Peterborough, Ontario, K9J 7B8, Canada
- Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, Highway 5, PO Box 900, Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, X0E 0P0, Canada
| | - Erling Meisingset
- Department of Forestry and Forestry resources, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, Tingvoll gard, NO-6630 Tingvoll, Norway
| | - Joerg Melzheimer
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany
| | - Evelyn H Merrill
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E9, Canada
| | - Arthur D Middleton
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | - Kevin L Monteith
- Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, 804 East Fremont, Laramie, WY 82072
| | - Seth A Moore
- Department of Biology and Environment, Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Grand Portage, MN 55605 USA
| | - Bram Van Moorter
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Terrestrial Ecology Department, P.O. Box 5685 Torgarden, 7485 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Nicolas Morellet
- Université de Toulouse, INRAE, CEFS, F-31326 Castanet-Tolosan, France
- LTSER ZA PYRénées GARonne, F-31320 Auzeville-Tolosane, France
| | - Thomas Morrison
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow UK G12 8QQ
| | - Rebekka Müller
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany
| | - Atle Mysterud
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1066 Blindern, NO-0316 Oslo, Norway
| | - Michael J Noonan
- Department of Biology, University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
| | - David O'Connor
- Save Giraffe Now, 8333 Douglas Avenue, Suite 300, Dallas, Texas 75225
- The Faculty of Biological Sciences, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Str. 9, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- National Geographic Partners, 1145 17th Street NW, Washington DC 20036, USA
| | | | - Kirk A Olson
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Mongolia Program. Post 20A, Box 21, Ulaanbaatar 14200, Mongolia
| | - Anna C Ortega
- Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA
- Program in Ecology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071 USA
| | - Federico Ossi
- Animal Ecology Unit, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via E. Mach 1, 38010 San Michele all'Adige, Italy
| | - Manuela Panzacchi
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Terrestrial Ecology Department, P.O. Box 5685 Torgarden, 7485 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Robert Patchett
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Sir Harold Mitchell Building, St Andrews, KY16 9TH, UK
| | - Brent R Patterson
- Department of Environmental and Life Sciences, Trent University, 2140 East Bank Drive, Peterborough, Ontario K9J 7B8, Canada
- Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Wildlife Research and Monitoring Section, Trent University, 2140 East Bank Drive, Peterborough, Ontario K9J 7B8, Canada
| | - Rogerio Cunha de Paula
- Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Mamíferos Carnívoros, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade, Atibaia, SP, 12952011 Brazil
| | - John Payne
- Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria
| | - Wibke Peters
- Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Wildlife Management, Bavarian State Institute for Forestry, Hans-Carl-von Carlowitz Platz 1, 85354 Freising
| | - Tyler R Petroelje
- Global Wildlife Conservation Center, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
| | - Benjamin J Pitcher
- Taronga Institute of Science and Learning, Taronga Conservation Society, Sydney, NSW, 2088, Australia
- School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, NSW, 2109, Australia
| | - Boštjan Pokorny
- Faculty of Environmental Protection, Trg mladosti 7, 3320 Velenje, Slovenia
- Slovenian Forestry Institute, Večna pot 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Department of Biodiversity, Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies, University of Primorska, Glagoljaška 8, 6000 Koper, Slovenia
| | - Kim Poole
- Aurora Wildlife Research, 1918 Shannon Point Rd., Nelson, BC, V1L 6K1 Canada
| | - Hubert Potočnik
- Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Jamnikarjeva 101, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Marie-Pier Poulin
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, 82071 USA
| | - Robert M Pringle
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 USA
| | - Herbert H T Prins
- Department of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University and Research, De Elst 1, 6708 WD, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Nathan Ranc
- Animal Ecology Unit, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via E. Mach 1, 38010 San Michele all'Adige, Italy
- Université de Toulouse, INRAE, CEFS, F-31326 Castanet-Tolosan, France
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge MA 02138, USA
| | - Slaven Reljić
- Veterinary Biology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia
- Oikon Ltd, Institute of Applied Ecology, Trg Senjskih uskoka 1-2, HR-10020 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Benjamin Robb
- Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA
| | - Ralf Röder
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany
| | - Christer M Rolandsen
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Terrestrial Ecology Department, P.O. Box 5685 Torgarden, 7485 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Christian Rutz
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Sir Harold Mitchell Building, St Andrews, KY16 9TH, UK
| | - Albert R Salemgareyev
- Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (ACBK), Nur-Sultan, 010000, Kazakhstan
| | - Gustaf Samelius
- Snow Leopard Trust, 4649 Sunnyside Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98103, USA
- Nordens Ark, 456 93 Hunnebostrand, Sweden
| | - Heather Sayine-Crawford
- Wildlife and Fish Division, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, P.O. Box 1320, Yellowknife, NT Canada X1A 2L9
| | - Sarah Schooler
- Global Wildlife Conservation Center, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
| | - Çağan H Şekercioğlu
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, 257 S 1400 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
- KuzeyDoğa Society, Ortakapı Mah. Şehit Yusuf Cad. 69, 36100 Kars, Turkey
- Koç University Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Sciences, Rumelifeneri, Istanbul, Sarıyer, Turkey
| | - Nuria Selva
- Institute of Nature Conservation Polish Academy of Sciences, Adama Mickiewicza 33, 31-120 Kraków, Poland
- Departamento de Ciencias Integradas, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Física, Matemáticas y Computación, Universidad de Huelva, 21071 Huelva, Spain
| | - Paola Semenzato
- Animal Ecology Unit, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via E. Mach 1, 38010 San Michele all'Adige, Italy
- Dimension Research, Ecology and Environment (D.R.E.Am. Italia), Via Garibaldi, 3, 52015 Pratovecchio Stia (AR), Italy
| | - Agnieszka Sergiel
- Institute of Nature Conservation Polish Academy of Sciences, Adama Mickiewicza 33, 31-120 Kraków, Poland
| | - Koustubh Sharma
- Snow Leopard Trust, Seattle, WA 98103, USA
- Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
- Snow Leopard Foundation, Kyrgyzstan Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
- Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysore 570002, India
| | - Avery L Shawler
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | - Johannes Signer
- Wildlife Sciences, Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology, University of Goettingen, Göttingen Germany
| | - Václav Silovský
- Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czech Republic
| | - João Paulo Silva
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Universidade do Porto, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
| | - Richard Simon
- City of New York Parks and Recreation, Wildlife Unit, 1234 5th Avenue, 5th Floor, NY, NY, 10029
| | - Rachel A Smiley
- Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, 804 East Fremont, Laramie, WY 82072
| | - Douglas W Smith
- Yellowstone Center for Resources, PO Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190
| | - Erling J Solberg
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Terrestrial Ecology Department, P.O. Box 5685 Torgarden, 7485 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Diego Ellis-Soto
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT
- Center for Biodiversity and Global Change, Yale University, New Haven, CT
- Max Planck - Yale Center for Biodiversity Movement and Global Change, Yale University
| | - Orr Spiegel
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Jared Stabach
- Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Conservation Ecology Center, 1500 Remount Rd, Front Royal, VA, 22630, USA
| | - Jenna Stacy-Dawes
- San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, 15600 San Pasqual Valley Road, Escondido, CA, 92027 USA
| | - Daniel R Stahler
- Yellowstone Center for Resources, PO Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190
| | - John Stephenson
- Grand Teton National Park, PO Drawer 170, Moose, Wyoming 83012 USA
| | - Cheyenne Stewart
- Wyoming Game and Fish Department, 700 Valley View Dr. Sheridan, WY 82801
| | - Olav Strand
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Terrestrial Ecology Department, P.O. Box 5685 Torgarden, 7485 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Peter Sunde
- Aarhus University, Department of Ecoscience - Wildlife Ecology, C.F. Møllers Allé 4-8, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | | | - Jonathan Swart
- Welgevonden Game Reserve, P.O. Box 433, Vaalwater, South Africa
| | - Jeffrey J Thompson
- Guyra Paraguay - CONACYT, Asunción, Paraguay
- Instituto Saite, Asunción, Paraguay
| | - Katrina L Toal
- City of New York Parks and Recreation, Wildlife Unit, 1234 5th Avenue, 5th Floor, NY, NY, 10029
| | - Kenneth Uiseb
- Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Windhoek, Namibia
| | - Meredith C VanAcker
- Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Conservation Ecology Center, 1500 Remount Rd, Front Royal, VA, 22630, USA
- Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, NY, NY 10027
| | - Marianela Velilla
- Guyra Paraguay - CONACYT, Asunción, Paraguay
- Instituto Saite, Asunción, Paraguay
- School of Natural Resources, University of Arizona, 1064 E Lowell St, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
| | - Tana L Verzuh
- Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, 804 East Fremont, Laramie, WY 82072
| | - Bettina Wachter
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany
| | - Brittany L Wagler
- Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, 804 East Fremont, Laramie, WY 82072
| | - Jesse Whittington
- Park Canada, Banff National Park Resource Conservation. PO Box 900, Banff, Alberta, Canada. T1L 1K2
| | - Martin Wikelski
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Christopher C Wilmers
- Center for Integrated Spatial Research, Environmental Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz CA, 95064 USA
| | - George Wittemyer
- Save the Elephants, Marula Manor, Marula Lane, Karen, Nairobi 00200, Kenya
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
| | - Julie K Young
- USDA National Wildlife Research Center, Predator Research Facility, Millville, UT 84326 USA
- Department of Wildland Resources, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322 USA
| | - Filip Zięba
- Tatra National Park, Kuźnice 1, 34-500, Zakopane, Poland
| | | | - Mark A J Huijbregts
- Department of Environmental Science, Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9010, 6500, GL Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Thomas Mueller
- Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Conservation Ecology Center, 1500 Remount Rd, Front Royal, VA, 22630, USA
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Department of Biological Sciences, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 9, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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7
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Yang A, Wilber MQ, Manlove KR, Miller RS, Boughton R, Beasley J, Northrup J, VerCauteren KC, Wittemyer G, Pepin K. Deriving spatially explicit direct and indirect interaction networks from animal movement data. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e9774. [PMID: 36993145 PMCID: PMC10040956 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Quantifying spatiotemporally explicit interactions within animal populations facilitates the understanding of social structure and its relationship with ecological processes. Data from animal tracking technologies (Global Positioning Systems [“GPS”]) can circumvent longstanding challenges in the estimation of spatiotemporally explicit interactions, but the discrete nature and coarse temporal resolution of data mean that ephemeral interactions that occur between consecutive GPS locations go undetected. Here, we developed a method to quantify individual and spatial patterns of interaction using continuous‐time movement models (CTMMs) fit to GPS tracking data. We first applied CTMMs to infer the full movement trajectories at an arbitrarily fine temporal scale before estimating interactions, thus allowing inference of interactions occurring between observed GPS locations. Our framework then infers indirect interactions—individuals occurring at the same location, but at different times—while allowing the identification of indirect interactions to vary with ecological context based on CTMM outputs. We assessed the performance of our new method using simulations and illustrated its implementation by deriving disease‐relevant interaction networks for two behaviorally differentiated species, wild pigs (Sus scrofa) that can host African Swine Fever and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) that can host chronic wasting disease. Simulations showed that interactions derived from observed GPS data can be substantially underestimated when temporal resolution of movement data exceeds 30‐min intervals. Empirical application suggested that underestimation occurred in both interaction rates and their spatial distributions. CTMM‐Interaction method, which can introduce uncertainties, recovered majority of true interactions. Our method leverages advances in movement ecology to quantify fine‐scale spatiotemporal interactions between individuals from lower temporal resolution GPS data. It can be leveraged to infer dynamic social networks, transmission potential in disease systems, consumer–resource interactions, information sharing, and beyond. The method also sets the stage for future predictive models linking observed spatiotemporal interaction patterns to environmental drivers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anni Yang
- Department of Geography and Environmental SustainabilityUniversity of OklahomaOklahomaNormanUSA
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation BiologyColorado State UniversityColoradoFort CollinsUSA
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife ServicesNational Wildlife Research CenterColoradoFort CollinsUSA
| | - Mark Q. Wilber
- Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries, Institute of AgricultureUniversity of TennesseeTennesseeKnoxvilleUSA
| | - Kezia R. Manlove
- Department of Wildland Resources and Ecology CenterUtah State UniversityUtahLoganUSA
| | - Ryan S. Miller
- Center for Epidemiology and Animal HealthUnited States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary ServiceColoradoFort CollinsUSA
| | - Raoul Boughton
- Archbold Biological StationBuck Island RanchFloridaLake PlacidUSA
| | - James Beasley
- Savannah River Ecology LaboratoryWarnell School of Forestry and Natural ResourcesUniversity of GeorgiaSouth CarolinaAikenUSA
| | - Joseph Northrup
- Wildlife Research and Monitoring SectionOntario Ministry of Natural Resources and ForestryOntarioPeterboroughCanada
| | - Kurt C. VerCauteren
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife ServicesNational Wildlife Research CenterColoradoFort CollinsUSA
| | - George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation BiologyColorado State UniversityColoradoFort CollinsUSA
| | - Kim Pepin
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife ServicesNational Wildlife Research CenterColoradoFort CollinsUSA
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8
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Kellner A, Atwood TC, Douglas DC, Breck SW, Wittemyer G. High winds and melting sea ice trigger landward movement in a polar bear population of concern. Ecosphere 2023. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/12/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Annie Kellner
- Graduate Degree Program in Ecology Colorado State University Fort Collins Colorado USA
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology Colorado State University Fort Collins Colorado USA
| | - Todd C. Atwood
- U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center Anchorage Alaska USA
| | | | - Stewart W. Breck
- USDA‐WS‐National Wildlife Research Center Fort Collins Colorado USA
| | - George Wittemyer
- Graduate Degree Program in Ecology Colorado State University Fort Collins Colorado USA
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology Colorado State University Fort Collins Colorado USA
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9
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Bonar M, Anderson SJ, Anderson CR, Wittemyer G, Northrup JM, Shafer ABA. Genomic correlates for migratory direction in a free-ranging cervid. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20221969. [PMID: 36475444 PMCID: PMC9727677 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal migrations are some of the most ubiquitous and one of the most threatened ecological processes globally. A wide range of migratory behaviours occur in nature, and this behaviour is not uniform among and within species, where even individuals in the same population can exhibit differences. While the environment largely drives migratory behaviour, it is necessary to understand the genetic mechanisms influencing migration to elucidate the potential of migratory species to cope with novel conditions and adapt to environmental change. In this study, we identified genes associated with a migratory trait by undertaking pooled genome-wide scans on a natural population of migrating mule deer. We identified genomic regions associated with variation in migratory direction, including FITM1, a gene linked to the formation of lipids, and DPPA3, a gene linked to epigenetic modifications of the maternal line. Such a genetic basis for a migratory trait contributes to the adaptive potential of the species and might affect the flexibility of individuals to change their behaviour in the face of changes in their environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maegwin Bonar
- Environmental & Life Sciences Graduate Program, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada K9L 0G2
| | - Spencer J. Anderson
- Environmental & Life Sciences Graduate Program, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada K9L 0G2
| | - Charles R. Anderson
- Mammals Research Section, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Joseph M. Northrup
- Environmental & Life Sciences Graduate Program, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada K9L 0G2,Wildlife Research and Monitoring Section, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources & Forestry, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada K9J 3C7
| | - Aaron B. A. Shafer
- Environmental & Life Sciences Graduate Program, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada K9L 0G2
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Koskei M, Kolowski J, Wittemyer G, Lala F, Douglas-Hamilton I, Okita-Ouma B. The role of environmental, structural and anthropogenic variables on underpass use by African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) in the Tsavo Conservation Area. Glob Ecol Conserv 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022] Open
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11
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Turner WC, Périquet S, Goelst CE, Vera KB, Cameron EZ, Alexander KA, Belant JL, Cloete CC, du Preez P, Getz WM, Hetem RS, Kamath PL, Kasaona MK, Mackenzie M, Mendelsohn J, Mfune JK, Muntifering JR, Portas R, Scott HA, Strauss WM, Versfeld W, Wachter B, Wittemyer G, Kilian JW. Africa’s drylands in a changing world: Challenges for wildlife conservation under climate and land-use changes in the Greater Etosha Landscape. Glob Ecol Conserv 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
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12
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Ditmer MA, Wittemyer G, Breck SW, Crooks KR. Defining ecological and socially suitable habitat for the reintroduction of an apex predator. Glob Ecol Conserv 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
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13
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Goldenberg SZ, Chege SM, Mwangi N, Craig I, Daballen D, Douglas-Hamilton I, Lamberski N, Lenaipa M, Lendira R, Lesowapir C, Lokooria LP, Mutinda M, Omengo F, Rowe K, Stacy-Dawes J, Wittemyer G, Owen MA. Social integration of translocated wildlife: a case study of rehabilitated and released elephant calves in northern Kenya. Mamm Biol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s42991-022-00285-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
AbstractConservation translocations have the potential to strengthen populations of threatened and endangered species, but facilitating integration of translocated individuals with resident populations remains a substantial challenge. Developing functional social relationships like cooperative partnerships or establishing clear dominance hierarchies may be critical to integration of released individuals. Developing such relationships has not received much attention in translocation research, especially for long-lived, socially complex animals for which establishment and navigation of social environments is often a lengthy process that requires sustained monitoring to understand. Here, we present a case study of the social associations of African savannah elephant (Loxodonta africana) calves that have been rehabilitated and released into a fenced wildlife sanctuary in northern Kenya with a resident population of elephants. We use focal follows of interactions pre-release and GPS tracking post-release to quantify social associations of calves with each other and with resident elephants at the release site. We demonstrate how this approach supports translocation monitoring by capturing temporal trends in social patterns within and between release cohorts and among released elephants and wild elephants already resident at the site during a transitional soft release period. Our results show that initial post-release social behavior of rehabilitated calves is related to histories of interaction with familiar individuals and cohort membership and that released calves increased their associations with residents over time. This information provides new behavioral insights for guiding elephant release projects, like the strength of relationships within and among release cohorts, the time to integration with the resident population, and the occurrence and increased incidence of societal fission–fusion. Further, this study provides an example of the utility of animal behavior research to achieve and assess progress towards conservation objectives, and to develop monitoring tools for conservation managers.
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Benitez L, Kilian JW, Wittemyer G, Hughey LF, Fleming CH, Leimgruber P, du Preez P, Stabach JA. Precipitation, vegetation productivity, and human impacts control home range size of elephants in dryland systems in northern Namibia. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9288. [PMID: 36177134 PMCID: PMC9471278 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Revised: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Climatic variability, resource availability, and anthropogenic impacts heavily influence an animal's home range. This makes home range size an effective metric for understanding how variation in environmental factors alter the behavior and spatial distribution of animals. In this study, we estimated home range size of African elephants (Loxodonta africana) across four sites in Namibia, along a gradient of precipitation and human impact, and investigated how these gradients influence the home range size on regional and site scales. Additionally, we estimated the time individuals spent within protected area boundaries. The mean 50% autocorrelated kernel density estimate for home range was 2200 km2 [95% CI:1500–3100 km2]. Regionally, precipitation and vegetation were the strongest predictors of home range size, accounting for a combined 53% of observed variation. However, different environmental covariates explained home range variation at each site. Precipitation predicted most variation (up to 74%) in home range sizes (n = 66) in the drier western sites, while human impacts explained 71% of the variation in home range sizes (n = 10) in Namibia's portion of the Kavango‐Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area. Elephants in all study areas maintained high fidelity to protected areas, spending an average of 85% of time tracked on protected lands. These results suggest that while most elephant space use in Namibia is driven by natural dynamics, some elephants are experiencing changes in space use due to human modification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorena Benitez
- Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute Front Royal Virginia USA
| | - J Werner Kilian
- Etosha Ecological Institute, Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism Okaukuejo Namibia
| | - George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology Colorado State University Fort Collins Colorado USA.,Save the Elephants Nairobi Kenya
| | - Lacey F Hughey
- Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute Front Royal Virginia USA
| | - Chris H Fleming
- Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute Front Royal Virginia USA.,Department of Biology University of Maryland Maryland USA
| | - Peter Leimgruber
- Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute Front Royal Virginia USA
| | | | - Jared A Stabach
- Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute Front Royal Virginia USA
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15
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Goldenberg SZ, Parker JM, Chege SM, Greggor AL, Hunt M, Lamberski N, Leigh KA, Nollens HH, Ruppert KA, Thouless C, Wittemyer G, Owen MA. Revisiting the 4 R’s: Improving post-release outcomes for rescued mammalian wildlife by fostering behavioral competence during rehabilitation. Front Conserv Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fcosc.2022.910358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Rescue, rehabilitation, and release (‘rescue-rehab-release’) of wildlife is an increasingly widespread practice across ecosystems, largely driven by habitat loss, wildlife exploitation and a changing climate. Despite this, its conservation value has not been realized, in part due to the scarcity of what has been termed “the 4th R”, research. Similar to conservation breeding and headstarting, rescue and rehabilitation entails close association of humans and the wildlife in their care over impressionable and extended periods. However, unlike these interventions, rescue and rehabilitation require an initial, and sometimes sustained, focus on crisis management and veterinary needs which can impede the development of natural behaviors and promote habituation to humans, both of which can compromise post-release survival and recruitment. In this perspective, we discuss the pathways toward, and implications of, behavioral incompetence and highlight opportunities for testable interventions to curtail negative outcomes post-release, without compromising the health or welfare of rescued individuals. We propose that practitioners ‘switch gears’ from triage to fostering behavioral competence as early in the rehabilitation process as is possible, and that research be implemented in order to develop an evidence-base for best practices that can be shared amongst practitioners. We focus on four mammalian species to illustrate specific contexts and considerations for fostering behavioral competence by building on research in the conservation translocation literature. Finally, we discuss a way forward that calls for greater cross-pollination among translocation scenarios involving extended time under human care during developmentally sensitive periods.
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16
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Parker JM, Wittemyer G. Orphaning stunts growth in wild African elephants. Conserv Physiol 2022; 10:coac053. [PMID: 35919453 PMCID: PMC9341231 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/coac053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2022] [Revised: 06/23/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Orphans of several species suffer social and physiological consequences such as receiving more aggression from conspecifics and lower survival. One physiological consequence of orphaning, stunted growth, has been identified in both humans and chimpanzees, but has not been assessed in a non-primate species. Here, we tested whether wild African elephant orphans show evidence of stunted growth. We measured individually known female elephants in the Samburu and Buffalo Springs National Reserves of Kenya, with a rangefinder capable of calculating height, to estimate a von Bertalanffy growth curve for female elephants of the study population. We then compared measurements of known orphans and non-orphans of various ages, using a Bayesian analysis to assess variation around the derived growth curve. We found that orphans are shorter for their age than non-orphans. However, results suggest orphans may partially compensate for stunting through later growth, as orphans who had spent a longer time without their mother had heights more similar to non-orphans. More age mates in an individual's family were associated with taller height, suggesting social support from peers may contribute to increased growth. Conversely, more adult females in an individual's family were associated with shorter height, suggesting within-group competition for resources with older individuals may reduce juvenile growth. Finally, we found a counterintuitive result that less rainfall in the first 6 years of life was correlated with taller height, potentially reflecting the unavoidable bias of measuring individuals who were fit enough to survive conditions of low rainfall as young calves. Reduced growth of individuals has been shown to reduce survival and reproduction in other species. As such, stunting in wildlife orphans may negatively affect fitness and represents an indirect effect of ivory poaching on African elephants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenna M Parker
- Corresponding author: San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, 15600 San Pasqual Valley Road, Escondido, CA 92027, USA.
| | - George Wittemyer
- Save the Elephants, Marula Manor, Marula Lane, Karen, Nairobi 00200, Kenya
- Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, 102 Johnson Hall, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, 1474 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
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17
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Parker JM, Brown JL, Hobbs NT, Boisseau NP, Letitiya D, Douglas-Hamilton I, Wittemyer G. Social support correlates with glucocorticoid concentrations in wild African elephant orphans. Commun Biol 2022; 5:630. [PMID: 35835816 PMCID: PMC9283395 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-03574-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2021] [Accepted: 06/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Social relationships have physiological impacts. Here, we investigate whether loss of the mother/offspring relationship has lasting effects on fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGCM) concentrations in wild African elephant orphans several years following their mothers’ deaths. We find no difference in fGCM concentrations between orphans and nonorphans, but find lower fGCM concentrations in elephants with more age mates in their family. We also unexpectedly identify lower concentrations in orphans without their natal family versus nonorphans and natal orphans, which we speculate may be due to the development of hypocortisolism following a prolonged period without familial support. An index of plant productivity (i.e. food) shows the largest correlation with fGCM concentrations. Our findings indicate no lasting differences in glucocorticoid concentrations of surviving orphan elephants who are with their family, suggest the presence of age mates may reduce glucocorticoid concentrations in elephants, and emphasize that basic survival needs are the primary regulators of the stress response. Remaining with the family group may reduce long-term stress effects in orphaned African elephants.
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Affiliation(s)
- J M Parker
- Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, 102 Johnson Hall, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA. .,Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, 1474 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA. .,Save the Elephants, Marula Manor, Marula Lane, Karen, Nairobi, 00200, Kenya.
| | - J L Brown
- Center for Species Survival, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, 1500 Remount Road, Front Royal, VA, 22630, USA
| | - N T Hobbs
- Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, 102 Johnson Hall, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA.,Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
| | - N P Boisseau
- Center for Species Survival, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, 1500 Remount Road, Front Royal, VA, 22630, USA
| | - D Letitiya
- Save the Elephants, Marula Manor, Marula Lane, Karen, Nairobi, 00200, Kenya
| | - I Douglas-Hamilton
- Save the Elephants, Marula Manor, Marula Lane, Karen, Nairobi, 00200, Kenya.,Department of Zoology, Oxford University, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK
| | - G Wittemyer
- Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, 102 Johnson Hall, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA.,Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, 1474 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA.,Save the Elephants, Marula Manor, Marula Lane, Karen, Nairobi, 00200, Kenya
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18
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Manlove K, Wilber M, White L, Bastille‐Rousseau G, Yang A, Gilbertson MLJ, Craft ME, Cross PC, Wittemyer G, Pepin KM. Defining an epidemiological landscape that connects movement ecology to pathogen transmission and pace‐of‐life. Ecol Lett 2022; 25:1760-1782. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.14032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2021] [Revised: 04/21/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kezia Manlove
- Department of Wildland Resources and Ecology Center Utah State University Logan Utah USA
| | - Mark Wilber
- Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture Knoxville Tennessee USA
| | - Lauren White
- National Socio‐Environmental Synthesis Center University of Maryland Annapolis Maryland USA
| | | | - Anni Yang
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology Colorado State University Fort Collins Colorado USA
- National Wildlife Research Center, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services National Wildlife Research Center Fort Collins Colorado USA
- Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability University of Oklahoma Norman Oklahoma USA
| | - Marie L. J. Gilbertson
- Department of Veterinary Population Medicine University of Minnesota St. Paul Minnesota USA
- Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology University of Wisconsin–Madison Madison Wisconsin USA
| | - Meggan E. Craft
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior University of Minnesota St. Paul Minnesota USA
| | - Paul C. Cross
- U.S. Geological Survey Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center Bozeman Montana USA
| | - George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology Colorado State University Fort Collins Colorado USA
| | - Kim M. Pepin
- National Wildlife Research Center, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services National Wildlife Research Center Fort Collins Colorado USA
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19
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Speaker T, O'Donnell S, Wittemyer G, Bruyere B, Loucks C, Dancer A, Carter M, Fegraus E, Palmer J, Warren E, Solomon J. A global community-sourced assessment of the state of conservation technology. Conserv Biol 2022; 36:e13871. [PMID: 34904294 PMCID: PMC9303432 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2021] [Revised: 10/13/2021] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Conservation technology holds the potential to vastly increase conservationists' ability to understand and address critical environmental challenges, but systemic constraints appear to hamper its development and adoption. Understanding of these constraints and opportunities for advancement remains limited. We conducted a global online survey of 248 conservation technology users and developers to identify perceptions of existing tools' current performance and potential impact, user and developer constraints, and key opportunities for growth. We also conducted focus groups with 45 leading experts to triangulate findings. The technologies with the highest perceived potential were machine learning and computer vision, eDNA and genomics, and networked sensors. A total of 95%, 94%, and 92% respondents, respectively, rated them as very helpful or game changers. The most pressing challenges affecting the field as a whole were competition for limited funding, duplication of efforts, and inadequate capacity building. A total of 76%, 67%, and 55% respondents, respectively, identified these as primary concerns. The key opportunities for growth identified in focus groups were increasing collaboration and information sharing, improving the interoperability of tools, and enhancing capacity for data analyses at scale. Some constraints appeared to disproportionately affect marginalized groups. Respondents in countries with developing economies were more likely to report being constrained by upfront costs, maintenance costs, and development funding (p = 0.048, odds ratio [OR] = 2.78; p = 0.005, OR = 4.23; p = 0.024, OR = 4.26), and female respondents were more likely to report being constrained by development funding and perceived technical skills (p = 0.027, OR = 3.98; p = 0.048, OR = 2.33). To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to formally capture the perspectives and needs of the global conservation technology community, providing foundational data that can serve as a benchmark to measure progress. We see tremendous potential for this community to further the vision they define, in which collaboration trumps competition; solutions are open, accessible, and interoperable; and user-friendly processing tools empower the rapid translation of data into conservation action. Article impact statement: Addressing financing, coordination, and capacity-building constraints is critical to the development and adoption of conservation technology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Talia Speaker
- Human Dimensions of Natural ResourcesColorado State UniversityFort CollinsColoradoUSA
- World Wildlife FundWashingtonD.C.USA
| | | | - George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation BiologyColorado State UniversityFort CollinsColoradoUSA
| | - Brett Bruyere
- Human Dimensions of Natural ResourcesColorado State UniversityFort CollinsColoradoUSA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Jennifer Solomon
- Human Dimensions of Natural ResourcesColorado State UniversityFort CollinsColoradoUSA
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20
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McClure KM, Bastille‐Rousseau G, Davis AJ, Stengel CA, Nelson KM, Chipman RB, Wittemyer G, Abdo Z, Gilbert AT, Pepin KM. Accounting for animal movement improves vaccination strategies against wildlife disease in heterogeneous landscapes. Ecol Appl 2022; 32:e2568. [PMID: 35138667 PMCID: PMC9285612 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2021] [Revised: 08/28/2021] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Oral baiting is used to deliver vaccines to wildlife to prevent, control, and eliminate infectious diseases. A central challenge is how to spatially distribute baits to maximize encounters by target animal populations, particularly in urban and suburban areas where wildlife such as raccoons (Procyon lotor) are abundant and baits are delivered along roads. Methods from movement ecology that quantify movement and habitat selection could help to optimize baiting strategies by more effectively targeting wildlife populations across space. We developed a spatially explicit, individual-based model of raccoon movement and oral rabies vaccine seroconversion to examine whether and when baiting strategies that match raccoon movement patterns perform better than currently used baiting strategies in an oral rabies vaccination zone in greater Burlington, Vermont, USA. Habitat selection patterns estimated from locally radio-collared raccoons were used to parameterize movement simulations. We then used our simulations to estimate raccoon population rabies seroprevalence under currently used baiting strategies (actual baiting) relative to habitat selection-based baiting strategies (habitat baiting). We conducted simulations on the Burlington landscape and artificial landscapes that varied in heterogeneity relative to Burlington in the proportion and patch size of preferred habitats. We found that the benefits of habitat baiting strongly depended on the magnitude and variability of raccoon habitat selection and the degree of landscape heterogeneity within the baiting area. Habitat baiting improved seroprevalence over actual baiting for raccoons characterized as habitat specialists but not for raccoons that displayed weak habitat selection similar to radiocollared individuals, except when baits were delivered off roads where preferred habitat coverage and complexity was more pronounced. In contrast, in artificial landscapes with either more strongly juxtaposed favored habitats and/or higher proportions of favored habitats, habitat baiting performed better than actual baiting, even when raccoons displayed weak habitat preferences and where baiting was constrained to roads. Our results suggest that habitat selection-based baiting could increase raccoon population seroprevalence in urban-suburban areas, where practical, given the heterogeneity and availability of preferred habitat types in those areas. Our novel simulation approach provides a flexible framework to test alternative baiting strategies in multiclass landscapes to optimize bait-distribution strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine M. McClure
- National Wildlife Research Center, Wildlife Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection ServiceUnited States Department of AgricultureFort CollinsColoradoUSA
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and PathologyColorado State UniversityFort CollinsColoradoUSA
- Present address:
Hawai‘i Cooperative Studies UnitUniversity of Hawai‘i at HiloHiloHawai‘iUSA
| | - Guillaume Bastille‐Rousseau
- National Wildlife Research Center, Wildlife Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection ServiceUnited States Department of AgricultureFort CollinsColoradoUSA
- Cooperative Wildlife Research LaboratorySouthern Illinois UniversityCarbondaleIllinoisUSA
| | - Amy J. Davis
- National Wildlife Research Center, Wildlife Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection ServiceUnited States Department of AgricultureFort CollinsColoradoUSA
| | - Carolyn A. Stengel
- Wildlife Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection ServiceUnited States Department of AgricultureConcordNew HampshireUSA
| | - Kathleen M. Nelson
- National Rabies Management Program, Wildlife Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection ServiceUnited States Department of AgricultureConcordNew HampshireUSA
| | - Richard B. Chipman
- National Rabies Management Program, Wildlife Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection ServiceUnited States Department of AgricultureConcordNew HampshireUSA
| | - George Wittemyer
- Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation BiologyColorado State UniversityFort CollinsColoradoUSA
| | - Zaid Abdo
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and PathologyColorado State UniversityFort CollinsColoradoUSA
| | - Amy T. Gilbert
- National Wildlife Research Center, Wildlife Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection ServiceUnited States Department of AgricultureFort CollinsColoradoUSA
| | - Kim M. Pepin
- National Wildlife Research Center, Wildlife Services, Animal and Plant Health Inspection ServiceUnited States Department of AgricultureFort CollinsColoradoUSA
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21
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Bastille-Rousseau G, Wittemyer G. Simple metrics to characterize inter-individual and temporal variation in habitat selection behaviour. J Anim Ecol 2022; 91:1693-1706. [PMID: 35535017 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Individual variation in habitat selection and movement behavior is receiving growing attention, but primarily with respect to characterizing behaviors in different contexts as opposed to decomposing structure in behavior within populations. This focus may be limiting advances in understanding the diversity of individual behavior and its influence on population organization. We propose a framework for characterizing variation in space-use behavior with the aim of advancing interpretation of its form and function. Using outputs from integrated Step Selection Analyses of 20 years of telemetry data from African elephants (Loxodonta Africana), we developed four metrics characterizing differentiation in resource selection behavior within a population [specialization (magnitude of the response independent of direction), heterogeneity (inter-individual variation), consistency (temporal shift in response) and reversal (frequency of directional changes in the response)]. We contrast insight from the developed metrics relative to the mean population response using an example focused on two covariates. We then expanded this contrast by evaluating if the metrics identify structurally important information on seasonal shifts in resource selection behaviors in addition to that provided by mean selection coefficients through Principal Component Analyses (PCAs) and a random forest classification. The simplified example highlighted that for some covariates focusing on the population average failed to capture complex individual variation in behaviors. The PCAs revealed that the developed metrics provided additional information in explaining the patterns in elephant selection beyond that offered by population average covariate values. For elephants, specialization and heterogeneity were informative, with specialization often being a better descriptor of differences in seasonal resource selection behavior than population average responses. Summarizing these metrics spatially and temporally, we illustrate how these metrics can provide insights on overlooked aspects of animal behavior. Our work offers a new approach in how we conceptualize variation in space-use behavior (i.e., habitat selection and movement) by providing ways of encapsulating variation that enables diagnoses of the drivers of individual level variability in a population. The developed metrics explicitly distill how variation in a behavior is structured among individuals and over time which could facilitate comparative work across time, populations, or strata within populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau
- Southern Illinois University, Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory, Carbondale, IL, USA.,Southern Illinois University, School of Biological Sciences, Carbondale, IL, USA.,Save the Elephants, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - George Wittemyer
- Save the Elephants, Nairobi, Kenya.,Colorado State University, Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Fort Collins, CO, USA
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22
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Taylor LA, Wittemyer G, Lambert B, Douglas-Hamilton I, Vollrath F. Movement behaviour after birth demonstrates precocial abilities of African savannah elephant, Loxodonta africana, calves. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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23
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Marsh CJ, Sica YV, Burgin CJ, Dorman WA, Anderson RC, del Toro Mijares I, Vigneron JG, Barve V, Dombrowik VL, Duong M, Guralnick R, Hart JA, Maypole JK, McCall K, Ranipeta A, Schuerkmann A, Torselli MA, Lacher T, Mittermeier RA, Rylands AB, Sechrest W, Wilson DE, Abba AM, Aguirre LF, Arroyo‐Cabrales J, Astúa D, Baker AM, Braulik G, Braun JK, Brito J, Busher PE, Burneo SF, Camacho MA, Cavallini P, de Almeida Chiquito E, Cook JA, Cserkész T, Csorba G, Cuéllar Soto E, da Cunha Tavares V, Davenport TRB, Deméré T, Denys C, Dickman CR, Eldridge MDB, Fernandez‐Duque E, Francis CM, Frankham G, Franklin WL, Freitas T, Friend JA, Gadsby EL, Garbino GST, Gaubert P, Giannini N, Giarla T, Gilchrist JS, Gongora J, Goodman SM, Gursky‐Doyen S, Hackländer K, Hafner MS, Hawkins M, Helgen KM, Heritage S, Hinckley A, Hintsche S, Holden M, Holekamp KE, Honeycutt RL, Huffman BA, Humle T, Hutterer R, Ibáñez Ulargui C, Jackson SM, Janecka J, Janecka M, Jenkins P, Juškaitis R, Juste J, Kays R, Kilpatrick CW, Kingston T, Koprowski JL, Kryštufek B, Lavery T, Lee TE, Leite YLR, Novaes RLM, Lim BK, Lissovsky A, López‐Antoñanzas R, López‐Baucells A, MacLeod CD, Maisels FG, Mares MA, Marsh H, Mattioli S, Meijaard E, Monadjem A, Morton FB, Musser G, Nadler T, Norris RW, Ojeda A, Ordóñez‐Garza N, Pardiñas UFJ, Patterson BD, Pavan A, Pennay M, Pereira C, Prado J, Queiroz HL, Richardson M, Riley EP, Rossiter SJ, Rubenstein DI, Ruelas D, Salazar‐Bravo J, Schai‐Braun S, Schank CJ, Schwitzer C, Sheeran LK, Shekelle M, Shenbrot G, Soisook P, Solari S, Southgate R, Superina M, Taber AB, Talebi M, Taylor P, Vu Dinh T, Ting N, Tirira DG, Tsang S, Turvey ST, Valdez R, Van Cakenberghe V, Veron G, Wallis J, Wells R, Whittaker D, Williamson EA, Wittemyer G, Woinarski J, Zinner D, Upham NS, Jetz W. Expert range maps of global mammal distributions harmonised to three taxonomic authorities. J Biogeogr 2022; 49:979-992. [PMID: 35506011 PMCID: PMC9060555 DOI: 10.1111/jbi.14330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2021] [Revised: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
AIM Comprehensive, global information on species' occurrences is an essential biodiversity variable and central to a range of applications in ecology, evolution, biogeography and conservation. Expert range maps often represent a species' only available distributional information and play an increasing role in conservation assessments and macroecology. We provide global range maps for the native ranges of all extant mammal species harmonised to the taxonomy of the Mammal Diversity Database (MDD) mobilised from two sources, the Handbook of the Mammals of the World (HMW) and the Illustrated Checklist of the Mammals of the World (CMW). LOCATION Global. TAXON All extant mammal species. METHODS Range maps were digitally interpreted, georeferenced, error-checked and subsequently taxonomically aligned between the HMW (6253 species), the CMW (6431 species) and the MDD taxonomies (6362 species). RESULTS Range maps can be evaluated and visualised in an online map browser at Map of Life (mol.org) and accessed for individual or batch download for non-commercial use. MAIN CONCLUSION Expert maps of species' global distributions are limited in their spatial detail and temporal specificity, but form a useful basis for broad-scale characterizations and model-based integration with other data. We provide georeferenced range maps for the native ranges of all extant mammal species as shapefiles, with species-level metadata and source information packaged together in geodatabase format. Across the three taxonomic sources our maps entail, there are 1784 taxonomic name differences compared to the maps currently available on the IUCN Red List website. The expert maps provided here are harmonised to the MDD taxonomic authority and linked to a community of online tools that will enable transparent future updates and version control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles J. Marsh
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- Center for Biodiversity and Global ChangeYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
| | - Yanina V. Sica
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- Center for Biodiversity and Global ChangeYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
| | - Connor J. Burgin
- Department of BiologyUniversity of New MexicoAlbuquerqueNew MexicoUSA
| | - Wendy A. Dorman
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- Center for Biodiversity and Global ChangeYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
| | - Robert C. Anderson
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- Center for Biodiversity and Global ChangeYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
| | - Isabel del Toro Mijares
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- Center for Biodiversity and Global ChangeYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
| | - Jessica G. Vigneron
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- Center for Biodiversity and Global ChangeYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
| | - Vijay Barve
- Florida Museum of Natural HistoryUniversity of FloridaGainesvilleFloridaUSA
| | - Victoria L. Dombrowik
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- Center for Biodiversity and Global ChangeYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
| | - Michelle Duong
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- Center for Biodiversity and Global ChangeYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
| | - Robert Guralnick
- Florida Museum of Natural HistoryUniversity of FloridaGainesvilleFloridaUSA
| | - Julie A. Hart
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- Center for Biodiversity and Global ChangeYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- New York Natural Heritage ProgramState University of New York College of Environmental Science and ForestryAlbanyNew YorkUSA
| | - J. Krish Maypole
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- Center for Biodiversity and Global ChangeYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
| | - Kira McCall
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- Center for Biodiversity and Global ChangeYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
| | - Ajay Ranipeta
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- Center for Biodiversity and Global ChangeYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
| | - Anna Schuerkmann
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- Center for Biodiversity and Global ChangeYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
| | - Michael A. Torselli
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- Center for Biodiversity and Global ChangeYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
| | - Thomas Lacher
- Department of Ecology and Conservation BiologyTexas A&M UniversityCollege StationTexasUSA
- Re:wildAustinTexasUSA
| | | | | | | | - Don E. Wilson
- National Museum of Natural HistorySmithsonian InstitutionWashingtonDistrict of ColumbiaUSA
| | - Agustín M. Abba
- Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores (CEPAVE‐UNLP‐CONICET)La Plata, Buenos AiresArgentina
| | - Luis F. Aguirre
- Centro de Biodiversidad y GenéticaUniversidad Mayor de San SimónCochabambaBolivia
| | | | - Diego Astúa
- Departamento de ZoologiaUniversidade Federal de PernambucoRecifePernambucoBrazil
| | - Andrew M. Baker
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of ScienceQueensland University of TechnologyBrisbaneQueenslandAustralia
- Biodiversity and Geosciences ProgramQueensland MuseumBrisbaneQueenslandAustralia
| | - Gill Braulik
- School of BiologyUniversity of St. AndrewsSt. Andrews, FifeUK
| | | | - Jorge Brito
- Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INABIO)QuitoEcuador
| | - Peter E. Busher
- College of General StudiesBoston UniversityBostonMassachusettsUSA
| | - Santiago F. Burneo
- Sección Mastozoología, Museo de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y NaturalesPontificia Universidad Católica del EcuadorQuitoEcuador
| | - M. Alejandra Camacho
- Sección Mastozoología, Museo de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y NaturalesPontificia Universidad Católica del EcuadorQuitoEcuador
| | | | | | - Joseph A. Cook
- Museum of Southwestern Biology and Department of BiologyUniversity of New MexicoAlbuquerqueNew MexicoUSA
| | - Tamás Cserkész
- Department of ZoologyHungarian Natural History MuseumBudapestHungary
| | - Gábor Csorba
- Department of ZoologyHungarian Natural History MuseumBudapestHungary
| | | | - Valeria da Cunha Tavares
- Vale Technological InstituteBelémParáBrazil
- Laboratório de Mamíferos, Departamento de Sistemática e Ecologia, CCEN/DSEUniversidade Federal da ParaíbaJoão PessoaPBBrazil
| | - Tim R. B. Davenport
- Species Conservation & Science (Africa)Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)ArushaTanzania
| | | | - Christiane Denys
- Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB)Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (CNRS)ParisFrance
| | - Christopher R. Dickman
- Desert Ecology Research Group, School of Life and Environmental SciencesThe University of SydneySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Mark D. B. Eldridge
- Australian Museum Research InstituteAustralian MuseumSydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Eduardo Fernandez‐Duque
- Department of Anthropology and School of the EnvironmentYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
| | - Charles M. Francis
- Canadian Wildlife ServiceEnvironment and Climate Change CanadaOttawaOntarioCanada
| | - Greta Frankham
- Australian Museum Research InstituteAustralian MuseumSydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - William L. Franklin
- Deparment of Natural Resource Ecology and EnvironmentIowa State UniversityAmesIowaUSA
| | - Thales Freitas
- Departamento de GenéticaUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do SulPorto AlegreRio Grande do SulBrazil
| | - J. Anthony Friend
- Department of BiodiversityConservation and AttractionsAlbanyWestern AustraliaAustralia
| | | | | | - Philippe Gaubert
- Laboratoire Évolution & Diversité BiologiqueUniversité Toulouse III Paul SabatierToulouseFrance
| | - Norberto Giannini
- Unidad Ejecutora LilloCONICET ‐ Fundación Miguel LilloSan Miguel de Tucumán, TucumánArgentina
| | - Thomas Giarla
- Department of BiologySiena CollegeLoudonvilleNew YorkUSA
| | | | - Jaime Gongora
- Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of ScienceThe University of SydneySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Steven M. Goodman
- Negaunee Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural HistoryChicagoIllinoisUSA
| | | | - Klaus Hackländer
- Institute of Wildlife Biology and Game ManagementUniversity of Natural Resources and Life SciencesWienAustria
| | - Mark S. Hafner
- Museum of Natural ScienceLouisiana State UniversityBaton RougeLouisianaUSA
| | - Melissa Hawkins
- National Museum of Natural HistorySmithsonian InstitutionWashingtonDistrict of ColumbiaUSA
| | - Kristofer M. Helgen
- Australian Museum Research InstituteAustralian MuseumSydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Steven Heritage
- Duke Lemur Center, Museum of Natural HistoryDuke UniversityDurhamNorth CarolinaUSA
| | | | | | - Mary Holden
- Department of MammalogyAmerican Museum of Natural HistoryNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Kay E. Holekamp
- Department of Integrative BiologyMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMichiganUSA
| | | | | | - Tatyana Humle
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and EcologySchool of Anthropology and Conservation, University of KentCanterburyUK
| | | | | | | | - Jan Janecka
- Department of Biological SciencesDuquesne UniversityPittsburghPennsylvaniaUSA
| | - Mary Janecka
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of PittsburghPittsburghPennsylvaniaUSA
| | - Paula Jenkins
- Mammal Group, Vertebrates DivisionDepartment of Life Sciences, The Natural History MuseumLondonUK
| | | | | | - Roland Kays
- North Carolina Museum of Natural SciencesRaleighNorth CarolinaUSA
| | | | - Tigga Kingston
- Department of Biological SciencesTexas Tech UniversityLubbockTexasUSA
| | | | | | - Tyrone Lavery
- Fenner School of Environment and SocietyThe Australian National UniversityActonAustralian Capital TerritoryAustralia
| | - Thomas E. Lee
- Department of BiologyAbilene Christian UniversityAbileneTexasUSA
| | - Yuri L. R. Leite
- Departamento de Ciências BiológicasUniversidade Federal do Espírito SantoVitóriaEspiríto SantoBrazil
| | | | - Burton K. Lim
- Department of Natural HistoryRoyal Ontario MuseumTorontoOntarioCanada
| | | | - Raquel López‐Antoñanzas
- Institut des Sciences de l'Évolution de Montpellier (ISE‐M, UMR 5554, UM/CNRS/IRD/EPHE)MontpellierFrance
| | | | | | - Fiona G. Maisels
- Wildlife Conservation SocietyGlobal Conservation ProgramNew YorkNew YorkUSA
- Faculty of Natural SciencesUniversity of StirlingStirlingUK
| | | | - Helene Marsh
- Division of Tropical Environments and SocietiesCentre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research, James Cook UniversityTownsvilleQueenslandAustralia
| | - Stefano Mattioli
- Research Unit of Behavioural Ecology, Ethology and Wildlife Management, Department of Life SciencesUniversity of SienaSienaItaly
| | - Erik Meijaard
- Borneo FuturesBandar Seri BegawanBABrunei Darussalam
| | - Ara Monadjem
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of EswatiniKwaluseniEswatini
- Department of Zoology & Entomology, Mammal Research InstituteUniversity of PretoriaPretoriaSouth Africa
| | | | - Grace Musser
- Jackson School of GeosciencesUniversity of Texas at AustinAustinTexasUSA
| | - Tilo Nadler
- Cuc Phuong CommuneNho Quan DistrictNinh BInh, ProvinceVietnam
| | - Ryan W. Norris
- Evolution, Ecology and Organismal BiologyThe Ohio State UniversityLimaOhioUSA
| | - Agustina Ojeda
- Instituto Argentino de Zonas Áridas (IADIZA)‐CCT Mendoza‐CONICETMendozaArgentina
| | | | | | - Bruce D. Patterson
- Negaunee Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural HistoryChicagoIllinoisUSA
| | - Ana Pavan
- Universidade de São PauloSão PauloBrazil
| | - Michael Pennay
- NSW National Parks and Wildlife ServiceQueanbeyanNew South WalesAustralia
| | | | | | - Helder L. Queiroz
- Instituto de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Mamirauá – IDSMTeféAmazonasBrazil
| | | | - Erin P. Riley
- Department of AnthropologySan Diego State UniversitySan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Stephen J. Rossiter
- School of Biological and Chemical SciencesQueen Mary University of LondonLondonUK
| | - Daniel I. Rubenstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyPrinceton UniversityPrincetonNew JerseyUSA
| | - Dennisse Ruelas
- Museo de Historia NaturalUniversidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, LimaLimaPeru
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution (ISEM, UMR 5554 CNRS‐IRD‐UM)Université de MontpellierMontpellier Cedex 5France
| | | | - Stéphanie Schai‐Braun
- Institute of Wildlife Biology and Game ManagementUniversity of Natural Resources and Life SciencesViennaAustria
| | - Cody J. Schank
- Re:wildAustinTexasUSA
- Department of Geography and the EnvironmentThe University of Texas at AustinAustinTexasUSA
| | | | - Lori K. Sheeran
- Department of Anthropology and Museum StudiesCentral Washington UniversityEllensburgWAUSA
| | - Myron Shekelle
- Department of AnthropologyWestern Washington UniversityBellinghamWAUSA
| | - Georgy Shenbrot
- Mitrani Department of Desert EcologyJacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert ResearchBen‐Gurion University of the NegevMidreshet Ben‐GurionIsrael
| | - Pipat Soisook
- Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Natural History MuseumPrince of Songkhla UniversityHatyai, SongkhlaThailand
| | - Sergio Solari
- Instituto de BiologíaUniversidad de AntioquiaMedellínColombia
| | | | - Mariella Superina
- IMBECU, CCT CONICET Mendoza – UNCuyoParque Gral. San MartínMendozaArgentina
| | - Andrew B. Taber
- Forestry DivisionFood and Agriculture Organization of the United NationsRomeItaly
| | - Maurício Talebi
- Laboratório de Ecologia e Conservação da NaturezaDeptartamento de Ciências AmbientaisUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) ‐ Campus Diadema, DiademaSão PauloBrazil
| | | | - Thong Vu Dinh
- Institute of Ecology and Biological ResourcesVietnam Academy of Science and TechnologyHanoiVietnam
| | - Nelson Ting
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of OregonEugeneOregonUSA
| | | | - Susan Tsang
- Department of MammalogyAmerican Museum of Natural HistoryNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | | | - Raul Valdez
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation EcologyNew Mexico State UniversityLas CrucesNew MexicoUSA
| | - Victor Van Cakenberghe
- Laboratory for Functional Morphology, Biology DepartmentUniversity of Antwerp, Campus Drie EikenAntwerpen (Wilrijk)Belgium
| | - Geraldine Veron
- Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, CNRSSorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des AntillesParisFrance
| | | | - Rod Wells
- Biological Sciences, College of Science and EngineeringFlinders UniversityAdelaideSouth AustraliaAustralia
| | - Danielle Whittaker
- BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in ActionMichigan State UniversityEast LansingMichiganUSA
| | | | - George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation BiologyColorado State UniversityFort CollinsColoradoUSA
| | - John Woinarski
- Research Institute for the Environment and LivelihoodsCharles Darwin UniversityCasuarinaNorthern TerritoryAustralia
| | - Dietmar Zinner
- German Primate Center (DPZ)Leibniz Institute for Primate ResearchGöttingenGermany
| | - Nathan S. Upham
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- Center for Biodiversity and Global ChangeYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- School of Life SciencesArizona State UniversityTempeArizonaUSA
| | - Walter Jetz
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
- Center for Biodiversity and Global ChangeYale UniversityNew HavenConnecticutUSA
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24
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Ditmer MA, Niemiec RM, Wittemyer G, Crooks KR. Socio-ecological drivers of public conservation voting: Restoring gray wolves to Colorado, USA. Ecol Appl 2022; 32:e2532. [PMID: 35044025 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2021] [Revised: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Understanding factors that influence real-world public conservation behaviors is critical for developing successful conservation policies and management actions. Citizens of Colorado, USA recently passed a ballot initiative to restore the gray wolf to its former range within the state. The >3 million votes offer an unprecedented opportunity to test factors that influenced decisions to support or oppose this conservation action. We created spatial linear regression models to assess the relationship between support for wolf restoration and (1) the presidential vote, (2) distance to conservation intervention (i.e., proposed wolf reintroduction and existing wolves), and measures of (3) livelihood and (4) demographics using precinct-level data. Our results demonstrate the strong relationship between support for wolf restoration and political support for the Democratic candidate for president in the 2020 election, and highlight how other factors, including increased age, participation in elk hunting, and proximity to the reintroduction region were associated with less support. Our findings underscore the critical role of politicization on public conservation action and the need to develop outreach and engagement strategies to mitigate polarization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark A Ditmer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
- USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Ogden, Utah, USA
| | - Rebecca M Niemiec
- Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Fort Collins, USA
| | - George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Kevin R Crooks
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
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25
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Wilber MQ, Yang A, Boughton R, Manlove KR, Miller RS, Pepin KM, Wittemyer G. A model for leveraging animal movement to understand spatio-temporal disease dynamics. Ecol Lett 2022; 25:1290-1304. [PMID: 35257466 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Revised: 12/27/2021] [Accepted: 02/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The ongoing explosion of fine-resolution movement data in animal systems provides a unique opportunity to empirically quantify spatial, temporal and individual variation in transmission risk and improve our ability to forecast disease outbreaks. However, we lack a generalizable model that can leverage movement data to quantify transmission risk and how it affects pathogen invasion and persistence on heterogeneous landscapes. We developed a flexible model 'Movement-driven modelling of spatio-temporal infection risk' (MoveSTIR) that leverages diverse data on animal movement to derive metrics of direct and indirect contact by decomposing transmission into constituent processes of contact formation and duration and pathogen deposition and acquisition. We use MoveSTIR to demonstrate that ignoring fine-scale animal movements on actual landscapes can mis-characterize transmission risk and epidemiological dynamics. MoveSTIR unifies previous work on epidemiological contact networks and can address applied and theoretical questions at the nexus of movement and disease ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Q Wilber
- Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries, Institute of Agriculture, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Anni Yang
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.,Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.,Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA
| | - Raoul Boughton
- Archbold Biological Station, Buck Island Ranch, Lake Placid, Florida, USA
| | - Kezia R Manlove
- Department of Wildland Resources and Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA
| | - Ryan S Miller
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Service, Center for Epidemiology and Animal Health, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Kim M Pepin
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
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26
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Chan AN, Wittemyer G, McEvoy J, Williams AC, Cox N, Soe P, Grindley M, Shwe NM, Chit AM, Oo ZM, Leimgruber P. Landscape characteristics influence ranging behavior of Asian elephants at the human-wildlands interface in Myanmar. Mov Ecol 2022; 10:6. [PMID: 35123584 PMCID: PMC8818246 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-022-00304-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
CONTEXT Asian elephant numbers are declining across much of their range driven largely by serious threats from land use change resulting in habitat loss and fragmentation. Myanmar, holding critical range for the species, is undergoing major developments due to recent sociopolitical changes. To effectively manage and conserve the remaining populations of endangered elephants in the country, it is crucial to understand their ranging behavior. OBJECTIVES Our objectives were to (1) estimate the sizes of dry, wet, and annual ranges of wild elephants in Myanmar; and quantify the relationship between dry season (the period when human-elephant interactions are the most likely to occur) range size and configurations of agriculture and natural vegetation within the range, and (2) evaluate how percentage of agriculture within dry core range (50% AKDE range) of elephants relates to their daily distance traveled. METHODS We used autocorrelated kernel density estimator (AKDE) based on a continuous-time movement modeling (ctmm) framework to estimate dry season (26 ranges from 22 different individuals), wet season (12 ranges from 10 different individuals), and annual range sizes (8 individuals), and reported the 95%, 50% AKDE, and 95% Minimum Convex Polygon (MCP) range sizes. We assessed how landscape characteristics influenced range size based on a broad array of 48 landscape metrics characterizing aspects of vegetation, water, and human features and their juxtaposition in the study areas. To identify the most relevant landscape metrics and simplify our candidate set of informative metrics, we relied on exploratory factor analysis and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. Based on this analysis we adopted a final set of metrics into our regression analysis. In a multiple regression framework, we developed candidate models to explain the variation in AKDE dry season range sizes based on the previously identified, salient metrics of landscape composition. RESULTS Elephant dry season ranges were highly variable averaging 792.0 km2 and 184.2 km2 for the 95% and 50% AKDE home ranges, respectively. We found both the shape and spatial configuration of agriculture and natural vegetation patches within an individual elephant's range play a significant role in determining the size of its range. We also found that elephants are moving more (larger energy expenditure) in ranges with higher percentages of agricultural area. CONCLUSION Our results provide baseline information on elephant spatial requirements and the factors affecting them in Myanmar. This information is important for advancing future land use planning that takes into account space-use requirements for elephants. Failing to do so may further endanger already declining elephant populations in Myanmar and across the species' range.
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Affiliation(s)
- A N Chan
- Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA, 22630, USA.
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA.
- WWF-Myanmar, Yangon, Myanmar.
- Fauna and Flora International, Yangon, Myanmar.
| | - G Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
| | - J McEvoy
- Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA, 22630, USA
| | | | - N Cox
- WWF-Myanmar, Yangon, Myanmar
| | - P Soe
- WWF-Myanmar, Yangon, Myanmar
| | - M Grindley
- Fauna and Flora International, Yangon, Myanmar
| | - N M Shwe
- Fauna and Flora International, Yangon, Myanmar
| | - A M Chit
- Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA, 22630, USA
| | - Z M Oo
- Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, Myanma Timber Enterprise, Alone, Yangon, Myanmar
| | - P Leimgruber
- Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA, 22630, USA
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27
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Tyrrell P, Amoke I, Betjes K, Broekhuis F, Buitenwerf R, Carroll S, Hahn N, Haywood D, Klaassen B, Løvschal M, Macdonald D, Maiyo K, Mbithi H, Mwangi N, Ochola C, Odire E, Ondrusek V, Ratemo J, Pope F, Russell S, Sairowua W, Sigilai K, Stabach JA, Svenning JC, Stone E, du Toit JT, Western G, Wittemyer G, Wall J. Landscape Dynamics (landDX) an open-access spatial-temporal database for the Kenya-Tanzania borderlands. Sci Data 2022; 9:8. [PMID: 35042854 PMCID: PMC8766582 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-021-01100-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2020] [Accepted: 11/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The savannas of the Kenya-Tanzania borderland cover >100,000 km2 and is one of the most important regions globally for biodiversity conservation, particularly large mammals. The region also supports >1 million pastoralists and their livestock. In these systems, resources for both large mammals and pastoralists are highly variable in space and time and thus require connected landscapes. However, ongoing fragmentation of (semi-)natural vegetation by smallholder fencing and expansion of agriculture threatens this social-ecological system. Spatial data on fences and agricultural expansion are localized and dispersed among data owners and databases. Here, we synthesized data from several research groups and conservation NGOs and present the first release of the Landscape Dynamics (landDX) spatial-temporal database, covering ~30,000 km2 of southern Kenya. The data includes 31,000 livestock enclosures, nearly 40,000 kilometres of fencing, and 1,500 km2 of agricultural land. We provide caveats and interpretation of the different methodologies used. These data are useful to answer fundamental ecological questions, to quantify the rate of change of ecosystem function and wildlife populations, for conservation and livestock management, and for local and governmental spatial planning. Measurement(s) | livestock enclosures • agriculture • fence | Technology Type(s) | digital curation | Sample Characteristic - Environment | savanna | Sample Characteristic - Location | East Africa |
Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data: 10.6084/m9.figshare.16828204
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Tyrrell
- South Rift Association of Land Owners, Nairobi, Kenya. .,University of Oxford Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Oxford, UK. .,University of Nairobi, Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Nairobi, Kenya.
| | - Irene Amoke
- Kenya Wildlife Trust, P.O. Box 86-00502 Karen, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Koen Betjes
- South Rift Association of Land Owners, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Femke Broekhuis
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Group, Wageningen University and Research, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Robert Buitenwerf
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.,Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Sarah Carroll
- Colorado State University, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Fort Collins, USA
| | - Nathan Hahn
- Colorado State University, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Fort Collins, USA.,Colorado State University, Dept. of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Fort Collins, USA
| | | | - Britt Klaassen
- Independent (Rijperweg 91, 1462 MD, Middenbeemster, The Netherlands
| | - Mette Løvschal
- Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies & IMC, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - David Macdonald
- University of Oxford Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Oxford, UK
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Jared A Stabach
- Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute, Conservation Ecology Center, Washington, USA
| | - Jens-Christian Svenning
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.,Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | | | - Johan T du Toit
- Mammal Research Institute and Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.,Department of Wildland Resources, Utah State University, Logan, USA
| | - Guy Western
- South Rift Association of Land Owners, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - George Wittemyer
- Colorado State University, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Fort Collins, USA.,Save the Elephants, Nairobi, Kenya.,Colorado State University, Dept. of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Fort Collins, USA
| | - Jake Wall
- Mara Elephant Project, Nairobi, Kenya
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28
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Hahn NR, Wall J, Denninger-Snyder K, Goss M, Sairowua W, Mbise N, Estes AB, Ndambuki S, Mjingo EE, Douglas-Hamiliton I, Wittemyer G. Risk perception and tolerance shape variation in agricultural use for a transboundary elephant population. J Anim Ecol 2021; 91:112-123. [PMID: 34726278 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 09/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
To conserve wide-ranging species in human-modified landscapes, it is essential to understand how animals selectively use or avoid cultivated areas. Use of agriculture leads to human-wildlife conflict, but evidence suggests that individuals may differ in their tendency to be involved in conflict. This is particularly relevant to wild elephant populations. We analysed GPS data of 66 free-ranging elephants in the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem to quantify their use of agriculture. We then examined factors influencing the level of agricultural use, individual change in use across years and differences in activity budgets associated with use. Using clustering methods, our data grouped into four agricultural use tactics: rare (<0.6% time in agriculture; 26% of population), sporadic (0.6%-3.8%; 34%), seasonal (3.9%-12.8%; 31%) and habitual (>12.8%; 9%). Sporadic and seasonal individuals represented two-thirds (67%) of recorded GPS fixes in agriculture, compared to 32% from habitual individuals. Increased agricultural use was associated with higher daily distance travelled and larger home range size, but not with age or sex. Individual tactic change was prevalent and the habitual tactic was maintained in consecutive years by only five elephants. Across tactics, individuals switched from diurnal to nocturnal activity during agricultural use, interpreted as representing similar risk perception of cultivated areas. Conversely, tactic choice appeared to be associated with differences in risk tolerance between individuals. Together, our results suggest that elephants are balancing the costs and benefits of crop usage at both fine (e.g. crop raid events) and long (e.g. yearly tactic change) temporal scales. The high proportion of sporadic and seasonal tactics also highlights the importance of mitigation strategies that address conflict arising from many animals, rather than targeted management of habitual crop raiders. Our approach can be applied to other species and systems to characterize individual variation in human resource use and inform mitigations for human-wildlife coexistence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan R Hahn
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.,Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Jake Wall
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.,Mara Elephant Project, Narok, Kenya
| | - Kristen Denninger-Snyder
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.,Grumeti Fund, Mugumu-Serengeti, Tanzania
| | | | | | - Noel Mbise
- Grumeti Fund, Mugumu-Serengeti, Tanzania
| | - Anna Bond Estes
- Department of Environmental Studies, Carleton College, Northfield, MN, USA.,School of Life Sciences and Bioengineering, The Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, Arusha, Tanzania
| | - Stephen Ndambuki
- Biodiversity Research and Monitoring, Kenya Wildlife Service, Nairobi, Kenya
| | | | - Iain Douglas-Hamiliton
- Save the Elephants, Nairobi, Kenya.,Department of Zoology, Oxford University, Oxford, UK
| | - George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.,Save the Elephants, Nairobi, Kenya
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Tucker C, Fagre A, Wittemyer G, Webb T, Abworo EO, VandeWoude S. Parallel Pandemics Illustrate the Need for One Health Solutions. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:718546. [PMID: 34690964 PMCID: PMC8532541 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.718546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
African Swine Fever (ASF) was reported in domestic pigs in China in 2018. This highly contagious viral infection with no effective vaccine reached pandemic proportions by 2019, substantially impacting protein availability in the same region where the COVID-19 pandemic subsequently emerged. We discuss the genesis, spread, and wide-reaching impacts of this epidemic in a vital livestock species, noting parallels and potential contributions to ignition of COVID-19. We speculate about impacts of these pandemics on global public health infrastructure and suggest intervention strategies using a cost: benefit approach for low-risk, massive-impact events. We note that substantive changes in how the world reacts to potential threats will be required to overcome catastrophes driven by climate change, food insecurity, lack of surveillance infrastructure, and other gaps. A One Health approach creating collaborative processes connecting expertise in human, animal, and environmental health is essential for combating future global health crises.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Tucker
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States
| | - Anna Fagre
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States
| | - George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Warner College of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States
| | - Tracy Webb
- Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States
| | - Edward Okoth Abworo
- Department of Animal and Human Health, International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Sue VandeWoude
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States
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Goldenberg SZ, Hahn N, Stacy-Dawes J, Chege SM, Daballen D, Douglas-Hamilton I, Lendira RR, Lengees MJ, Loidialo LS, Omengo F, Pope F, Thouless C, Wittemyer G, Owen MA. Movement of Rehabilitated African Elephant Calves Following Soft Release Into a Wildlife Sanctuary. Front Conserv Sci 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fcosc.2021.720202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to locate essential resources is a critical step for wildlife translocated into novel environments. Understanding this process of exploration is highly desirable for management that seeks to resettle wildlife, particularly as translocation projects tend to be expensive and have a high potential for failure. African savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana) are very mobile and rely on large areas especially in arid environments, and are translocated for differing management and conservation objectives. Thus, research into how translocated elephants use the landscape when released may both guide elephant managers and be useful for translocations of other species that adjust their movement to social and ecological conditions. In this study, we investigated the movement of eight GPS tracked calves (translocated in three cohorts) following their soft release into a 107 km2 fenced wildlife sanctuary in northern Kenya and compared their movement with that of five tracked wild elephants in the sanctuary. We describe their exploration of the sanctuary, discovery of water points, and activity budgets during the first seven, 14, and 20 months after release. We explored how patterns are affected by time since release, ecological conditions, and social factors. We found that calves visited new areas of the sanctuary and water points during greener periods and earlier post-release. Social context was associated with exploration, with later release and association with wild elephants predictive of visits to new areas. Wild elephants tended to use a greater number of sites per 14-day period than the released calves. Activity budgets determined from hidden Markov models (including the states directed walk, encamped, and meandering) suggested that released calves differed from wild elephants. The first two cohorts of calves spent a significantly greater proportion of time in the directed walk state and a significantly lower proportion of time in the encamped state relative to the wild elephants. Our results represent a step forward in describing the movements of elephant orphan calves released to the wild following a period of profound social disruption when they lost their natal family and were rehabilitated with other orphan calves under human care. We discuss the implications of the elephant behavior we observed for improving release procedures and for defining success benchmarks for translocation projects.
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Wittemyer G, Daballen D, Douglas‐Hamilton I. Differential influence of human impacts on age‐specific demography underpins trends in an African elephant population. Ecosphere 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology Colorado State University Fort Collins Colorado USA
- Graduate Degree Program in Ecology Colorado State University Fort Collins Colorado USA
- Save the Elephants Nairobi Kenya
| | | | - Iain Douglas‐Hamilton
- Save the Elephants Nairobi Kenya
- Department of Zoology University of Oxford Oxford UK
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Suraci JP, Gaynor KM, Allen ML, Alexander P, Brashares JS, Cendejas-Zarelli S, Crooks K, Elbroch LM, Forrester T, Green AM, Haight J, Harris NC, Hebblewhite M, Isbell F, Johnston B, Kays R, Lendrum PE, Lewis JS, McInturff A, McShea W, Murphy TW, Palmer MS, Parsons A, Parsons MA, Pendergast ME, Pekins C, Prugh LR, Sager-Fradkin KA, Schuttler S, Şekercioğlu ÇH, Shepherd B, Whipple L, Whittington J, Wittemyer G, Wilmers CC. Disturbance type and species life history predict mammal responses to humans. Glob Chang Biol 2021; 27:3718-3731. [PMID: 33887083 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2021] [Accepted: 03/25/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Human activity and land use change impact every landscape on Earth, driving declines in many animal species while benefiting others. Species ecological and life history traits may predict success in human-dominated landscapes such that only species with "winning" combinations of traits will persist in disturbed environments. However, this link between species traits and successful coexistence with humans remains obscured by the complexity of anthropogenic disturbances and variability among study systems. We compiled detection data for 24 mammal species from 61 populations across North America to quantify the effects of (1) the direct presence of people and (2) the human footprint (landscape modification) on mammal occurrence and activity levels. Thirty-three percent of mammal species exhibited a net negative response (i.e., reduced occurrence or activity) to increasing human presence and/or footprint across populations, whereas 58% of species were positively associated with increasing disturbance. However, apparent benefits of human presence and footprint tended to decrease or disappear at higher disturbance levels, indicative of thresholds in mammal species' capacity to tolerate disturbance or exploit human-dominated landscapes. Species ecological and life history traits were strong predictors of their responses to human footprint, with increasing footprint favoring smaller, less carnivorous, faster-reproducing species. The positive and negative effects of human presence were distributed more randomly with respect to species trait values, with apparent winners and losers across a range of body sizes and dietary guilds. Differential responses by some species to human presence and human footprint highlight the importance of considering these two forms of human disturbance separately when estimating anthropogenic impacts on wildlife. Our approach provides insights into the complex mechanisms through which human activities shape mammal communities globally, revealing the drivers of the loss of larger predators in human-modified landscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin P Suraci
- Center for Integrated Spatial Research, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Kaitlyn M Gaynor
- National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Maximilian L Allen
- Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, USA
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA
| | | | - Justin S Brashares
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | | | - Kevin Crooks
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | | | | | - Austin M Green
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Jeffrey Haight
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Nyeema C Harris
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Mark Hebblewhite
- Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Science, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA
| | - Forest Isbell
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA
| | | | - Roland Kays
- North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC, USA
- Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Patrick E Lendrum
- World Wildlife Fund, Northern Great Plains Program, Bozeman, MT, USA
| | - Jesse S Lewis
- College of Integrative Sciences and Arts, Arizona State University, Mesa, AZ, USA
| | | | - William McShea
- Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA, USA
| | | | - Meredith S Palmer
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Arielle Parsons
- Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | | | | | - Charles Pekins
- Fort Hood Natural Resources Management Branch, United States Army Garrison, Fort Hood, TX, USA
| | - Laura R Prugh
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | | | - Çağan H Şekercioğlu
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | | | - Laura Whipple
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA
| | | | - George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Christopher C Wilmers
- Center for Integrated Spatial Research, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
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Parker JM, Webb CT, Daballen D, Goldenberg SZ, Lepirei J, Letitiya D, Lolchuragi D, Leadismo C, Douglas-Hamilton I, Wittemyer G. Poaching of African elephants indirectly decreases population growth through lowered orphan survival. Curr Biol 2021; 31:4156-4162.e5. [PMID: 34343478 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.06.091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2021] [Revised: 06/18/2021] [Accepted: 06/29/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Prolonged maternal care is vital to the well-being of many long-lived mammals.1 The premature loss of maternal care, i.e., orphaning, can reduce offspring survival even after weaning is complete.2-5 However, ecologists have not explicitly assessed how orphaning impacts population growth. We examined the impact of orphaning on population growth in a free-ranging African elephant population, using 19 years of individual-based demographic monitoring data. We compared orphan and nonorphan survival, performed a sensitivity analysis to understand how population growth responds to the probability of being orphaned and orphan survival, and investigated how sensitivity to these orphan parameters changed with level of poaching. Orphans were found to have lower survival compared to nonorphaned age mates, and population growth rate was negatively correlated with orphaning probability and positively correlated with orphan survival. This demonstrates that, in addition to its direct effects, adult elephant death indirectly decreases population growth through orphaning. Population growth rate's sensitivity to orphan survival increased for the analysis parameterized using only data from years of more poaching, indicating orphan survival is more important for population growth as orphaning increases. We conclude that orphaning substantively decreases population growth for elephants and should not be overlooked when quantifying the impacts of poaching. Moreover, we conclude that population models characterizing systems with extensive parental care benefit from explicitly incorporating orphan stages and encourage research into quantifying effects of orphaning in other social mammals of conservation concern.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenna M Parker
- Graduate Degree Program in Ecology and Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, 1474 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA; Save the Elephants, Marula Manor, Marula Lane, Karen, Nairobi 00200, Kenya.
| | - Colleen T Webb
- Graduate Degree Program in Ecology and Department of Biology, Colorado State University, 1878 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - David Daballen
- Save the Elephants, Marula Manor, Marula Lane, Karen, Nairobi 00200, Kenya
| | - Shifra Z Goldenberg
- Save the Elephants, Marula Manor, Marula Lane, Karen, Nairobi 00200, Kenya; Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, 1500 Remount Road, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA; Institute for Conservation Research, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, 15600 San Pasqual Valley Road, Escondido, CA 92027, USA
| | - Jerenimo Lepirei
- Save the Elephants, Marula Manor, Marula Lane, Karen, Nairobi 00200, Kenya
| | - David Letitiya
- Save the Elephants, Marula Manor, Marula Lane, Karen, Nairobi 00200, Kenya
| | - David Lolchuragi
- Save the Elephants, Marula Manor, Marula Lane, Karen, Nairobi 00200, Kenya
| | - Chris Leadismo
- Save the Elephants, Marula Manor, Marula Lane, Karen, Nairobi 00200, Kenya
| | | | - George Wittemyer
- Graduate Degree Program in Ecology and Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, 1474 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA; Save the Elephants, Marula Manor, Marula Lane, Karen, Nairobi 00200, Kenya
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Rheault H, Anderson CR, Bonar M, Marrotte RR, Ross TR, Wittemyer G, Northrup JM. Some Memories Never Fade: Inferring Multi-Scale Memory Effects on Habitat Selection of a Migratory Ungulate Using Step-Selection Functions. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.702818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding how animals use information about their environment to make movement decisions underpins our ability to explain drivers of and predict animal movement. Memory is the cognitive process that allows species to store information about experienced landscapes, however, remains an understudied topic in movement ecology. By studying how species select for familiar locations, visited recently and in the past, we can gain insight to how they store and use local information in multiple memory types. In this study, we analyzed the movements of a migratory mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) population in the Piceance Basin of Colorado, United States to investigate the influence of spatial experience over different time scales on seasonal range habitat selection. We inferred the influence of short and long-term memory from the contribution to habitat selection of previous space use within the same season and during the prior year, respectively. We fit step-selection functions to GPS collar data from 32 female deer and tested the predictive ability of covariates representing current environmental conditions and both metrics of previous space use on habitat selection, inferring the latter as the influence of memory within and between seasons (summer vs. winter). Across individuals, models incorporating covariates representing both recent and past experience and environmental covariates performed best. In the top model, locations that had been previously visited within the same season and locations from previous seasons were more strongly selected relative to environmental covariates, which we interpret as evidence for the strong influence of both short- and long-term memory in driving seasonal range habitat selection. Further, the influence of previous space uses was stronger in the summer relative to winter, which is when deer in this population demonstrated strongest philopatry to their range. Our results suggest that mule deer update their seasonal range cognitive map in real time and retain long-term information about seasonal ranges, which supports the existing theory that memory is a mechanism leading to emergent space-use patterns such as site fidelity. Lastly, these findings provide novel insight into how species store and use information over different time scales.
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Yang A, Boughton RK, Miller RS, Wight B, Anderson WM, Beasley JC, VerCauteren KC, Pepin KM, Wittemyer G. Spatial variation in direct and indirect contact rates at the wildlife-livestock interface for informing disease management. Prev Vet Med 2021; 194:105423. [PMID: 34246115 DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2021.105423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2020] [Revised: 06/28/2021] [Accepted: 07/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Little is known about disease transmission relevant contact rates at the wildlife-livestock interface and the factors shaping them. Indirect contact via shared resources is thought to be important but remains unquantified in most systems, making it challenging to evaluate the impact of livestock management practices on contact networks. Free-ranging wild pigs (Sus scrofa) in North America are an invasive, socially-structured species with an expanding distribution that pose a threat to livestock health given their potential to transmit numerous livestock diseases, such as pseudorabies, brucellosis, trichinellosis, and echinococcosis, among many others. Our objective in this study was to quantify the spatial variations in direct and indirect contact rates among wild pigs and cattle on a commercial cow-calf operation in Florida, USA. Using GPS data from 20 wild pigs and 11 cattle and a continuous-time movement model, we extracted three types of spatial contacts between wild pigs and cattle, including direct contact, indirect contact in the pastoral environment (unknown naturally occurring resources), and indirect contact via anthropogenic cattle resources (feed supplements and water supply troughs). We examined the effects of sex, spatial proximity, and cattle supplement availability on contact rates at the species level and characterized wild pig usage of cattle supplements. Our results suggested daily pig-cattle direct contacts occurred only occasionally, while a significant number of pig-cattle indirect contacts occurred via natural resources distributed heterogeneously across the landscape. At cattle supplements, more indirect contacts occurred at liquid molasses than water troughs or molasses-mineral block tubs due to higher visitation rates by wild pigs. Our results can be directly used for parameterizing epidemiological models to inform risk assessment and optimal control strategies for controlling transmission of shared diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anni Yang
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA; National Wildlife Research Center, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, 4101 Laporte Avenue, Fort Collins, CO, 80521, USA.
| | - Raoul K Boughton
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Range Cattle Research and Education Center, University of Florida, 3401 Experiment Station, Ona, FL, 33865, USA
| | - Ryan S Miller
- Center for Epidemiology and Animal Health, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Service, 2150 Centre Avenue, Fort Collins, CO, 80526, USA
| | - Bethany Wight
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Range Cattle Research and Education Center, University of Florida, 3401 Experiment Station, Ona, FL, 33865, USA
| | - Wesley M Anderson
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Range Cattle Research and Education Center, University of Florida, 3401 Experiment Station, Ona, FL, 33865, USA
| | - James C Beasley
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, PO Drawer E, Aiken, SC, 29802, USA
| | - Kurt C VerCauteren
- National Wildlife Research Center, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, 4101 Laporte Avenue, Fort Collins, CO, 80521, USA
| | - Kim M Pepin
- National Wildlife Research Center, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, 4101 Laporte Avenue, Fort Collins, CO, 80521, USA
| | - George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
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Wall J, Wittemyer G, Klinkenberg B, LeMay V, Blake S, Strindberg S, Henley M, Vollrath F, Maisels F, Ferwerda J, Douglas-Hamilton I. Human footprint and protected areas shape elephant range across Africa. Curr Biol 2021; 31:2437-2445.e4. [PMID: 33798431 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.03.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2020] [Revised: 02/05/2021] [Accepted: 03/11/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Over the last two millennia, and at an accelerating pace, the African elephant (Loxodonta spp. Lin.) has been threatened by human activities across its range.1-7 We investigate the correlates of elephant home range sizes across diverse biomes. Annual and 16-day elliptical time density home ranges8 were calculated by using GPS tracking data collected from 229 African savannah and forest elephants (L. africana and L. cyclotis, respectively) between 1998 and 2013 at 19 sites representing bushveld, savannah, Sahel, and forest biomes. Our analysis considered the relationship between home range area and sex, species, vegetation productivity, tree cover, surface temperature, rainfall, water, slope, aggregate human influence, and protected area use. Irrespective of these environmental conditions, long-term annual ranges were overwhelmingly affected by human influence and protected area use. Only over shorter, 16-day periods did environmental factors, particularly water availability and vegetation productivity, become important in explaining space use. Our work highlights the degree to which the human footprint and existing protected areas now constrain the distribution of the world's largest terrestrial mammal.9,10 A habitat suitability model, created by evaluating every square kilometer of Africa, predicts that 18,169,219 km2 would be suitable as elephant habitat-62% of the continent. The current elephant distribution covers just 17% of this potential range of which 57.4% falls outside protected areas. To stem the continued extirpation and to secure the elephants' future, effective and expanded protected areas and improved capacity for coexistence across unprotected range are essential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jake Wall
- Mara Elephant Project, PO Box 2606, Nairobi, Kenya, 00502; Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, 1474 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
| | - George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, 1474 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA; Save the Elephants, PO Box 54667, Nairobi, Kenya, 00200
| | - Brian Klinkenberg
- Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, 1984 West Mall, Vancouver B.C., Canada, V6T 1Z2
| | - Valerie LeMay
- Department of Forest Resources Management, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, Forest Sciences Centre #2045-2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, V6T 1Z4
| | - Stephen Blake
- Global Conservation Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10460, USA; Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany; Biology Department, Saint Louis University, Biology Extension Building, 1008 S. Spring Ave. St. Louis, MO 63103, USA; WildCare Institute, Saint Louis Zoo, 1 Government Drive, Saint Louis, MO 63100, USA
| | - Samantha Strindberg
- Global Conservation Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10460, USA
| | - Michelle Henley
- Applied Behavioural Ecology and Ecosystem Research Unit, School of Environmental Sciences, University of South Africa, Private Bag X5, Florida 1710, South Africa; Elephants Alive, PO Box 960, Hoedspruit 1380, South Africa
| | - Fritz Vollrath
- Save the Elephants, PO Box 54667, Nairobi, Kenya, 00200; Department of Zoology, Oxford University, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK; Mpala Research Centre, PO Box 555 - 10400, Nanyuki, Kenya
| | - Fiona Maisels
- Global Conservation Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10460, USA; School of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, FK9 4LA, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Jelle Ferwerda
- University of Twente, Faculty of Engineering Technology, PO Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, the Netherlands
| | - Iain Douglas-Hamilton
- Save the Elephants, PO Box 54667, Nairobi, Kenya, 00200; Department of Zoology, Oxford University, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
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Kauffman MJ, Cagnacci F, Chamaillé-Jammes S, Hebblewhite M, Hopcraft JGC, Merkle JA, Mueller T, Mysterud A, Peters W, Roettger C, Steingisser A, Meacham JE, Abera K, Adamczewski J, Aikens EO, Bartlam-Brooks H, Bennitt E, Berger J, Boyd C, Côté SD, Debeffe L, Dekrout AS, Dejid N, Donadio E, Dziba L, Fagan WF, Fischer C, Focardi S, Fryxell JM, Fynn RWS, Geremia C, González BA, Gunn A, Gurarie E, Heurich M, Hilty J, Hurley M, Johnson A, Joly K, Kaczensky P, Kendall CJ, Kochkarev P, Kolpaschikov L, Kowalczyk R, van Langevelde F, Li BV, Lobora AL, Loison A, Madiri TH, Mallon D, Marchand P, Medellin RA, Meisingset E, Merrill E, Middleton AD, Monteith KL, Morjan M, Morrison TA, Mumme S, Naidoo R, Novaro A, Ogutu JO, Olson KA, Oteng-Yeboah A, Ovejero RJA, Owen-Smith N, Paasivaara A, Packer C, Panchenko D, Pedrotti L, Plumptre AJ, Rolandsen CM, Said S, Salemgareyev A, Savchenko A, Savchenko P, Sawyer H, Selebatso M, Skroch M, Solberg E, Stabach JA, Strand O, Suitor MJ, Tachiki Y, Trainor A, Tshipa A, Virani MZ, Vynne C, Ward S, Wittemyer G, Xu W, Zuther S. Mapping out a future for ungulate migrations. Science 2021; 372:566-569. [PMID: 33958460 DOI: 10.1126/science.abf0998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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Buxton RT, Pearson AL, Allou C, Fristrup K, Wittemyer G. A synthesis of health benefits of natural sounds and their distribution in national parks. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2013097118. [PMID: 33753555 PMCID: PMC8040792 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2013097118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Parks are important places to listen to natural sounds and avoid human-related noise, an increasingly rare combination. We first explore whether and to what degree natural sounds influence health outcomes using a systematic literature review and meta-analysis. We identified 36 publications examining the health benefits of natural sound. Meta-analyses of 18 of these publications revealed aggregate evidence for decreased stress and annoyance (g = -0.60, 95% CI = -0.97, -0.23) and improved health and positive affective outcomes (g = 1.63, 95% CI = 0.09, 3.16). Examples of beneficial outcomes include decreased pain, lower stress, improved mood, and enhanced cognitive performance. Given this evidence, and to facilitate incorporating public health in US national park soundscape management, we then examined the distribution of natural sounds in relation to anthropogenic sound at 221 sites across 68 parks. National park soundscapes with little anthropogenic sound and abundant natural sounds occurred at 11.3% of the sites. Parks with high visitation and urban park sites had more anthropogenic sound, yet natural sounds associated with health benefits also were frequent. These included animal sounds (audible for a mean of 59.3% of the time, SD: 23.8) and sounds from wind and water (mean: 19.2%, SD: 14.8). Urban and other parks that are extensively visited offer important opportunities to experience natural sounds and are significant targets for soundscape conservation to bolster health for visitors. Our results assert that natural sounds provide important ecosystem services, and parks can bolster public health by highlighting and conserving natural soundscapes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel T Buxton
- Department of Biology, Institute of Environmental and Interdisciplinary Science, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6 Canada;
| | - Amber L Pearson
- Department of Geography, Environment and Spatial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48823
- Department of Public Health, University of Otago, 6242 Wellington, New Zealand
| | - Claudia Allou
- James Madison College, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48823
| | - Kurt Fristrup
- Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division, National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO 80525
| | - George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
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Bastille-Rousseau G, Wittemyer G. Characterizing the landscape of movement to identify critical wildlife habitat and corridors. Conserv Biol 2021; 35:346-359. [PMID: 32323365 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2019] [Revised: 03/12/2020] [Accepted: 04/14/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Landscape planning that ensures the ecological integrity of ecosystems is critical in the face of rapid human-driven habitat conversion and development pressure. Wildlife tracking data provide unique and valuable information on animal distribution and location-specific behaviors that can serve to increase the efficacy of such planning. Given the spatiotemporal complexity inherent to animal movements, the interaction between movement behavior and a location is often oversimplified in commonly applied analyses of tracking data. We analyzed GPS-tracking-derived metrics of intensity of use, structural properties (based on network theory), and properties of the movement path (speed and directionality) with machine learning to define homogeneous spatial movement types. We applied our approach to a long-term tracking data set of over 130 African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in an area under pressure from infrastructure development. We identified 5 unique location-specific movement categories displayed by elephants, generally defined as high, medium, and low use intensity, and 2 types of connectivity corridors associated with fast and slow movements. High-use and slow-movement corridors were associated with similar landscape characteristics associated with productive areas near water, whereas low-use and fast corridors were characterized by areas of low productivity farther from water. By combining information on intensity of use, properties of movement paths, and structural aspects of movement across the landscape, our approach provides an explicit definition of the functional role of areas for movement across the landscape that we term the movescape. This combined, high-resolution information regarding wildlife space use offers mechanistic information that can improve landscape planning.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, U.S.A
- Save the Elephants, Nairobi, Kenya
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40
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Northrup JM, Anderson CR, Gerber BD, Wittemyer G. Behavioral and Demographic Responses of Mule Deer to Energy Development on Winter Range. Wild Mon 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/wmon.1060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Joseph M. Northrup
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology Colorado State University 1474 Campus Delivery Fort Collins CO 80523 USA
- ; and Wildlife Research and Monitoring Section Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry 2140 East Bank Drive Peterborough ON K9L 1Z8 Canada
| | - Charles R. Anderson
- Mammals Research Section Colorado Parks and Wildlife 317 W Prospect Road Fort Collins CO 80526 USA
| | - Brian D. Gerber
- Department of Natural Resources Science University of Rhode Island 1 Greenhouse Road Kingston RI 02881‐2018 USA
| | - George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology Colorado State University 1474 Campus Delivery Fort Collins CO 80523 USA
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Yang A, Schlichting P, Wight B, Anderson WM, Chinn SM, Wilber MQ, Miller RS, Beasley JC, Boughton RK, VerCauteren KC, Wittemyer G, Pepin KM. Effects of social structure and management on risk of disease establishment in wild pigs. J Anim Ecol 2021; 90:820-833. [PMID: 33340089 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Contact heterogeneity among hosts determines invasion and spreading dynamics of infectious disease, thus its characterization is essential for identifying effective disease control strategies. Yet, little is known about the factors shaping contact networks in many wildlife species and how wildlife management actions might affect contact networks. Wild pigs in North America are an invasive, socially structured species that pose a health concern for domestic swine given their ability to transmit numerous devastating diseases such as African swine fever (ASF). Using proximity loggers and GPS data from 48 wild pigs in Florida and South Carolina, USA, we employed a probabilistic framework to estimate weighted contact networks. We determined the effects of sex, social group and spatial distribution (monthly home-range overlap and distance) on wild pig contact. We also estimated the impacts of management-induced perturbations on contact and inferred their effects on ASF establishment in wild pigs with simulation. Social group membership was the primary factor influencing contacts. Between-group contacts depended primarily on space use characteristics, with fewer contacts among groups separated by >2 km and no contacts among groups >4 km apart within a month. Modelling ASF dynamics on the contact network demonstrated that indirect contacts resulting from baiting (a typical method of attracting wild pigs or game species to a site to enhance recreational hunting) increased the risk of disease establishment by ~33% relative to direct contact. Low-intensity population reduction (<5.9% of the population) had no detectable impact on contact structure but reduced predicted ASF establishment risk relative to no population reduction. We demonstrate an approach for understanding the relative role of spatial, social and individual-level characteristics in shaping contact networks and predicting their effects on disease establishment risk, thus providing insight for optimizing disease control in spatially and socially structured wildlife species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anni Yang
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.,National Wildlife Research Center, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Peter Schlichting
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Aiken, SC, USA
| | - Bethany Wight
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Range Cattle Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Ona, FL, USA
| | - Wesley M Anderson
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Range Cattle Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Ona, FL, USA
| | - Sarah M Chinn
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Aiken, SC, USA
| | - Mark Q Wilber
- Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Ryan S Miller
- Center for Epidemiology and Animal Health, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Service, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - James C Beasley
- Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Aiken, SC, USA
| | - Raoul K Boughton
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Range Cattle Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Ona, FL, USA
| | - Kurt C VerCauteren
- National Wildlife Research Center, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Kim M Pepin
- National Wildlife Research Center, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Fort Collins, CO, USA
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42
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Bastille-Rousseau G, Schlichting PE, Keiter DA, Smith JB, Kilgo JC, Wittemyer G, Vercauteren KC, Beasley JC, Pepin KM. Multi-level movement response of invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa) to removal. Pest Manag Sci 2021; 77:85-95. [PMID: 32738020 DOI: 10.1002/ps.6029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2020] [Revised: 07/15/2020] [Accepted: 08/01/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Lethal removal of invasive species, such as wild pigs (Sus scrofa), is often the most efficient approach for reducing their negative impacts. Wild pigs are one of the most widespread and destructive invasive mammals in the USA. Lethal management techniques are a key approach for wild pigs and can alter wild pig spatial behavior, but it is unclear how wild pigs respond to the most common removal technique, trapping. We investigated the spatial behavior of wild pigs following intensive removal of conspecifics via trapping at three sites within the Savannah River Site, SC, USA. We evaluated changes in wild pig densities, estimated temporal shifts in home-range properties, and evaluated fine-scale movement responses of wild pigs to removal. RESULTS We observed a significant reduction in the density of wild pigs in one site following removal via trapping while a qualitative reduction was observed in another site. We found little evidence of shifts in pig home-ranging behavior following removal. However, we did observe a nuanced response in movement behavior of wild pigs to the removal at the scale of the GPS locations (4 h), including increased movement speed and reduced selection for vegetation rich areas. CONCLUSION Our work provides a better understanding of the impact of removal via trapping on wild pig movement and its implications for management. The lack of shift in home-range characteristics observed illustrates how targeted trapping could be used to provide temporary relief for species sensitive to wild pig consumption such as ground nesting birds or agricultural crops.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO, USA
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Peter E Schlichting
- Savannah River Ecology Lab, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Aiken, SC, USA
| | - David A Keiter
- Savannah River Ecology Lab, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Aiken, SC, USA
| | - Joshua B Smith
- Savannah River Ecology Lab, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Aiken, SC, USA
| | - John C Kilgo
- United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station, New Ellenton, SC, USA
| | - George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Kurt C Vercauteren
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - James C Beasley
- Savannah River Ecology Lab, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Aiken, SC, USA
| | - Kim M Pepin
- United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO, USA
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Kleist NJ, Buxton RT, Lendrum PE, Linares C, Crooks KR, Wittemyer G. Noise and landscape features influence habitat use of mammalian herbivores in a natural gas field. J Anim Ecol 2020; 90:875-885. [PMID: 33368272 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2020] [Accepted: 10/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Anthropogenic noise is a complex disturbance known to elicit a variety of responses in wild animals. Most studies examining the effects of noise on wildlife focus on vocal species, although theory suggests that the acoustic environment influences non-vocal species as well. Common mammalian prey species, like mule deer and hares and rabbits (members of the family Leporidae), rely on acoustic cues for information regarding predation, but the impacts of noise on their behaviour has received little attention. We paired acoustic recorders with camera traps to explore how average daily levels of anthropogenic noise from natural gas activity impacted occupancy and detection of mammalian herbivores in an energy field in the production phase of development. We consider the effects of noise in the context of several physical landscape variables associated with natural gas infrastructure that are known to influence habitat use patterns in mule deer. Our results suggest that mule deer detection probability was influenced by the interaction between physical landscape features and anthropogenic noise, with noise strongly reducing habitat use. In contrast, leporid habitat use was not related to noise but was influenced by landscape features. Notably, mule deer showed a stronger predicted negative response to roads with high noise exposure. This study highlights the complex interactions of anthropogenic disturbance and wildlife distribution and presents important evidence that the effects of anthropogenic noise should be considered in research focused on non-vocal specialist species and management plans for mule deer and other large ungulates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan J Kleist
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.,National Park Service, Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Rachel T Buxton
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.,Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, USA
| | - Patrick E Lendrum
- Northern Great Plains Program, World Wildlife Fund, Bozeman, MT, USA
| | - Carlos Linares
- Department of Biological Sciences, Boise State University, Boise, ID, USA
| | - Kevin R Crooks
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
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Wilmé L, Innes JL, Schuurman D, Ramamonjisoa B, Langrand M, Barber CV, Butler RA, Wittemyer G, Waeber PO. The elephant in the room: Madagascar's rosewood stocks and stockpiles. Conserv Lett 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/conl.12714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Lucienne Wilmé
- Madagascar ProgramWorld Resources Institute Africa Antananarivo Madagascar
- Madagascar Research & Conservation ProgramMissouri Botanical Garden Antananarivo Madagascar
| | - John L. Innes
- Faculty of ForestryUniversity of British Columbia Vancouver British Columbia Canada
| | | | | | - Marion Langrand
- Program on African Protected Areas & ConservationIUCN Pretoria South Africa
| | | | | | - George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation BiologyColorado State University Fort Collins Colorado USA
| | - Patrick O. Waeber
- ETH ZurichInstitute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, Forest Management and Development (ForDev) Group Zurich Switzerland
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Taylor LA, Vollrath F, Lambert B, Lunn D, Douglas‐Hamilton I, Wittemyer G. Movement reveals reproductive tactics in male elephants. J Anim Ecol 2020; 89:57-67. [PMID: 31236936 PMCID: PMC7004166 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2018] [Accepted: 03/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Long-term bio-logging has the potential to reveal how movements, and hence life-history trade-offs, vary over a lifetime. Reproductive tactics in particular may vary as individuals' trade-off current investment versus lifetime fitness. Male African savanna elephants (Loxodona africana) provide a telling example of balancing body growth with reproductive fitness due to the combination of indeterminate growth and strongly delineated periods of sexual activity (musth), which results in reproductive tactics that alter with age. Our study aims to quantify the extent to which male elephants alter their movement patterns, and hence energetic allocation, in relation to (a) reproductive state and (b) age, and (c) to determine whether musth periods can be detected directly from GPS tracking data. We used a combination of GPS tracking data and visual observations of 25 male elephants ranging in age from 20 to 52 years to examine the influence of reproductive state and age on movement. We then used a three-state hidden Markov model (HMM) to detect musth behaviour in a subset of sequential tracking data. Our results demonstrate that male elephants increased their daily mean speed and range size with age and in musth. Furthermore, non-musth speed decreased with age, presumably reflecting a shift towards energy acquisition during non-musth. Thus, despite similar speeds and marginally larger ranges between reproductive states at age 20, by age 50, males were travelling 2.0 times faster in a 3.5 times larger area in musth relative to non-musth. The distinctiveness of musth periods over age 35 meant the three-state HMM could automatically detect musth movement with high sensitivity and specificity, but could not for the younger age class. We show that male elephants increased their energetic allocation into reproduction with age as the probability of reproductive success increases. Given that older male elephants tend to be both the target of legal trophy hunting and illegal poaching, man-made interference could drive fundamental changes in elephant reproductive tactics. Bio-logging, as our study reveals, has the potential both to quantify mature elephant reproductive tactics remotely and to be used to institute proactive management strategies around the reproductive behaviour of this charismatic keystone species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucy A. Taylor
- Department of ZoologyUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
- Save the ElephantsNairobiKenya
| | | | - Ben Lambert
- Department of ZoologyUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
- Department of Infectious Disease EpidemiologyImperial College LondonLondonUK
| | - Daniel Lunn
- Department of StatisticsUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
| | | | - George Wittemyer
- Save the ElephantsNairobiKenya
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation BiologyColorado State UniversityFort CollinsColorado
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Wilson-Henjum GE, Job JR, McKenna MF, Shannon G, Wittemyer G. Correction to: Alarm call modification by prairie dogs in the presence of juveniles. J ETHOL 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s10164-019-00631-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
The article Alarm call modification by prairie dogs in the presence of juveniles
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Shannon G, McKenna MF, Wilson-Henjum GE, Angeloni LM, Crooks KR, Wittemyer G. Vocal characteristics of prairie dog alarm calls across an urban noise gradient. Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Increasing anthropogenic noise is having a global impact on wildlife, particularly due to the masking of crucial acoustical communication. However, there have been few studies examining the impacts of noise exposure on communication in free-ranging terrestrial mammals. We studied alarm calls of black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) across an urban gradient to explore vocal adjustment relative to different levels of noise exposure. There was no change in the frequency 5%, peak frequency, or duration of the alarm calls across the noise gradient. However, the minimum frequency—a commonly used, yet potentially compromised metric—did indeed show a positive relationship with noise exposure. We suspect this is a result of masking of observable call properties by noise, rather than behavioral adjustment. In addition, the proximity of conspecifics and the distance to the perceived threat (observer) did affect the frequency 5% of alarm calls. These results reveal that prairie dogs do not appear to be adjusting their alarm calls in noisy environments but likely do in relation to their social context and the proximity of a predatory threat. Anthropogenic noise can elicit a range of behavioral and physiological responses across taxa, but elucidating the specific mechanisms driving these responses can be challenging, particularly as these are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Our research sheds light on how prairie dogs appear to respond to noise as a source of increased risk, rather than as a distraction or through acoustical masking as shown in other commonly studied species (e.g., fish, songbirds, marine mammals).
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Affiliation(s)
- Graeme Shannon
- School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd, UK
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Megan F McKenna
- Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division, National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Grete E Wilson-Henjum
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Lisa M Angeloni
- Department of Biology, Biology Building, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Kevin R Crooks
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
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Abstract
Abstract
Foraging behavior underpins many ecological processes; however, robust assessments of this behavior for free-ranging animals are rare due to limitations to direct observations. We leveraged acoustic monitoring and GPS tracking to assess the factors influencing foraging behavior of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). We deployed custom-built acoustic collars with GPS radiocollars on mule deer to measure location-specific foraging. We quantified individual bites and steps taken by deer, and quantified two metrics of foraging behavior: the number of bites taken per step and the number of bites taken per unit time, which relate to foraging intensity and efficiency. We fit statistical models to these metrics to examine the individual, environmental, and anthropogenic factors influencing foraging. Deer in poorer body condition took more bites per step and per minute and foraged for longer irrespective of landscape properties. Other patterns varied seasonally with major changes in deer condition. In December, when deer were in better condition, they took fewer bites per step and more bites per minute. Deer also foraged more intensely and efficiently in areas of greater forage availability and greater movement costs. During March, when deer were in poorer condition, foraging was not influenced by landscape features. Anthropogenic factors weakly structured foraging behavior in December with no relationship in March. Most research on animal foraging is interpreted under the framework of optimal foraging theory. Departures from predictions developed under this framework provide insight to unrecognized factors influencing the evolution of foraging. Our results only conformed to our predictions when deer were in better condition and ecological conditions were declining, suggesting foraging strategies were state-dependent. These results advance our understanding of foraging patterns in wild animals and highlight novel observational approaches for studying animal behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph M Northrup
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
- Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Wildlife Research and Monitoring Section, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
| | - Alexandra Avrin
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Charles R Anderson
- Mammals Research Section, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Emma Brown
- National Park Service Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
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Abstract
Increasing interest in the complexity, variation and drivers of movement-related behaviours promise new insight into fundamental components of ecology. Resolving the multidimensionality of spatially explicit behaviour remains a challenge for investigating tactics and their relation to niche construction, but high-resolution movement data are providing unprecedented understanding of the diversity of spatially explicit behaviours. We introduce a framework for investigating individual variation in movement-defined resource selection that integrates the behavioural and ecological niche concepts. We apply it to long-term tracking data of 115 African elephants (Loxodonta africana), illustrating how a behavioural hypervolume can be defined based on differences between individuals and their ecological settings, and applied to explore population heterogeneity. While normative movement behaviour is frequently used to characterise population behaviour, we demonstrate the value of leveraging heterogeneity in the behaviour to gain greater insight into population structure and the mechanisms driving space-use tactics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
- Save the Elephants, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
- Save the Elephants, Nairobi, Kenya
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50
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Abstract
Wildlife tracking is one of the most frequently employed approaches to monitor and study wildlife populations. To date, the application of tracking data to applied objectives has focused largely on the intensity of use by an animal in a location or the type of habitat. While this has provided valuable insights and advanced spatial wildlife management, such interpretation of tracking data does not capture the complexity of spatio-temporal processes inherent to animal behaviour and represented in the movement path. Here, we discuss current and emerging approaches to estimate the behavioural value of spatial locations using movement data, focusing on the nexus of conservation behaviour and movement ecology that can amplify the application of animal tracking research to contemporary conservation challenges. We highlight the importance of applying behavioural ecological approaches to the analysis of tracking data and discuss the utility of comparative approaches, optimization theory and economic valuation to gain understanding of movement strategies and gauge population-level processes. First, we discuss innovations in the most fundamental movement-based valuation of landscapes, the intensity of use of a location, namely dissecting temporal dynamics in and means by which to weight the intensity of use. We then expand our discussion to three less common currencies for behavioural valuation of landscapes, namely the assessment of the functional (i.e. what an individual is doing at a location), structural (i.e. how a location relates to use of the broader landscape) and fitness (i.e. the return from using a location) value of a location. Strengthening the behavioural theoretical underpinnings of movement ecology research promises to provide a deeper, mechanistic understanding of animal movement that can lead to unprecedented insights into the interaction between landscapes and animal behaviour and advance the application of movement research to conservation challenges. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Linking behaviour to dynamics of populations and communities: application of novel approaches in behavioural ecology to conservation’.
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Affiliation(s)
- George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Joseph M Northrup
- Wildlife Research and Monitoring Section, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada K9J 8M5.,Environmental and Life Sciences Graduate Program, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
| | - Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
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