A recent collaboration between federal, state and private partners in southeast Oregon developed mental models to distill complex plant-based community ecology for management. The mental models were then turned into a simplified, habitat-classification system that addressed landscape-level threats to the sagebrush ecosystem. The simplified, habitat-classification system formed the foundation of Threat-based

Combining carnivore movements with site visits to investigate predation events can inform investigators of carnivore diets, kill rates, and risk factors for prey. However, detecting remains of prey can be challenging when prey is small or when vegetation conceals prey. Conservation detection dogs (CDDs) have assisted with wildlife surveys to locate objects of conservation interest, often improving

Lead toxicosis is well established as an important contributor to mortalities in bald and golden eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus and Aquila chrysaetos, respectively), California condors (Gymnogyps californianus), and a variety of waterfowl. The effects of lead toxicosis may predispose birds to traumatic encounters, such as collision with power lines. Rotating wind turbine blades have caused the death

Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) is a fungal pathogen that can cause the emerging infectious disease Bsal chytridiomycosis in some amphibians and is currently causing dramatic declines in European urodeles. To date, Bsal has not been detected in North America but has the potential to cause severe declines in naïve hosts if introduced. Therefore, it is critical that wildlife managers are prepared

Eared grebes (Podiceps nigricollis) are colonial-nesting waterbirds that breed in Canada and northern United States. Great Salt Lake (GSL), Utah, is vital to the survival of this species because all eared grebes in North America stage in the fall either on the GSL or Mono Lake, California. The importance of GSL and its surrounding wetlands for breeding eared grebes is unknown. We studied eared grebe

Age estimation is useful for understanding population parameters and, in many vertebrates, relies on the principle that growth layer groups (GLGs) are deposited annually in specific tissues. In Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris), GLGs in earbones are used to estimate age at death. Opportunities to validate the rate of GLG deposition in earbones from manatees >15 years old are rare, yet

Brood surveys are used to estimate productivity in ducks, but road-side transects, aerial surveys, and double-observer ground surveys have likely underestimated productivity. Duck broods are elusive and prefer wetlands with emergent vegetation where they hide at signs of disturbance, making it difficult to get accurate brood counts. Estimates of brood detection probabilities are typically below 50%

The Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) in the foothills of the Himalayas is one of the four major elephant ranges in India. In response to the escalating problem of crop raiding by elephants, the State Forest Department of Uttarakhand (UKFD) has built walls along the forest boundary in several protected areas and multiple-use forest divisions. Given the high costs of constructing walls and the growing demand

We investigated intramuscular administration of alfaxalone (5.3–10.0 mg/kg) as an immobilizing agent in free-ranging small Indian mongooses (Urva auropunctata) on the island of St. Kitts, West Indies. From 5–11 January 2020, we successfully immobilized 10 of 11 mongooses. Alfaxalone provided rapid onset (median = 3 min) of immobilization. Mean duration of immobilization was 16.8 ± 3 min. Mean recovery

Prior to 2017 there was a lack of information regarding the abundance and density of raccoons (Procyon lotor) living in Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California. However, increased awareness of zoonotic disease raised concerns that human-raccoon interactions in Yosemite Valley could pose a risk of disease transmission. Additionally, biologists needed to know if raccoons would threaten the

Monitoring survival of juveniles in wild populations of vertebrates is challenging because capture and marking of neonates may influence survival and induce biases. Camera collars have proven effective in resource and habitat selection studies, but their effectiveness to assess offspring survival is unknown. Our objective was to monitor the survival of neonates using camera collars installed on 24

Songbirds can benefit from natal philopatry through prior knowledge about site-specific resources and local adaptation to environmental conditions. Likewise, breeding experience may also play a role in reproductive success. However, for birds that breed in managed habitats, management activities may overwhelm any potential benefits of philopatry or breeding experience. We examined the effect of site

Repeated prescribed fire can create and maintain areas with sparse overstory tree cover and a dense grass-forb-shrub understory, providing habitat for northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus; hereafter, bobwhite). Despite potential benefits of prescribed fires for conserving bobwhite habitat, burning during the nesting season may destroy bobwhite nests and reduce available nesting cover. We monitored

Cougars (Puma concolor) have been recolonizing portions of their historic range over the last few decades and are currently a rare, transient species in the western Great Lakes Region. Anticipatory attitude surveys can identify potential management challenges, stakeholder groups, and conservation and educational priorities for recolonizing cougars. We implemented an anticipatory attitude survey to

Individual identification of animals from camera traps has become an important task in wildlife research, but camera deployment methods often do not facilitate this important undertaking. Identification of individual golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) is possible using uniquely marked rectrices, but no studies have explored methods to maximize the rate of individual identification from camera images

A popular approach for conserving multiple organisms in a given region is to identify one or more umbrella species. Identifying and managing for species that have a high degree of overlap in their habitat requirements with a broader suite of organisms is expected to enhance the effectiveness of conservation actions when resources are limited. The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) has

Camera trap studies have become a popular medium to assess many ecological phenomena including population dynamics, patterns of biodiversity, and monitoring of endangered species. In conjunction with the benefit to scientists, camera traps present an unprecedented opportunity to involve the public in scientific research via image classifications. However, this engagement strategy comes with a myriad

Wildlife-aircraft collisions (wildlife strikes) pose a serious safety risk to aircraft. Raptors (i.e., hawks and owls) are one of the most frequently struck guilds of birds within North America. Although raptors (most notably red-tailed hawks [Buteo jamaicensis]) are commonly managed at most airports and military bases, there is no scientific information available regarding comparisons of the efficacy

Camera traps are widely used in wildlife surveys because they are non‐invasive, low‐cost, and highly efficient. Camera traps deployed in the wild often produce large datasets, making it increasingly difficult to manually classify images. Deep learning is a machine learning method that provides a tool to automatically identify images, but it requires labeled training samples and high‐performance servers

River otter (Lontra canadensis) populations in North America have been the focus of significant restoration efforts. Wildlife management agencies, concerned about the unintentional take of river otters incidental to beaver (Castor canadensis) trapping, may recommend techniques to avoid capturing river otters. River otter avoidance techniques that are ineffective or diminish trap performance for beavers

The use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for wildlife surveying and research has widely expanded in the past decade, but with varying levels of success. Applying UAS paired with Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) technology to survey forest‐dwelling species has been particularly challenging because of unreliable animal detection. We describe our application of UAS and FLIR technology to detect GPS‐collared

The incorporation of quick fix pseudoranging (QFP) technology into global positioning system (GPS) collars has the potential to increase location‐fix success for terrestrial species. Units enabled with QFP obtain the data necessary to calculate an accurate GPS location‐fix during post‐processing with just a 3–5 second view of a satellite constellation. Fix‐success rate is one of the main sources of

Agricultural co‐management aims to promote environmental sustainability while maintaining food‐safety standards. Amphibians, especially treefrogs, are known to enter fields of fresh produce intended for human consumption, which raises concerns for food safety and quality. We evaluated the effects of modifications to reduce the scalability of exclusion barriers on the fence‐crossing behavior of Pacific

Aerial surveys for waterfowl and other waterbirds provide abundance estimates that are commonly used by state and federal agencies for waterfowl and wetland management. However, most existing surveys provide an index of abundance and are uncorrected for visibility bias, which may limit their use in accurately determining local population size. We used concurrent ground and aerial surveys to estimate

An understanding of habitat selection and patterns of use by American black ducks (Anas rubripes; hereafter black ducks) during winter is important ecologically and for conservation of this declining species in the mid‐continent population of its North American range. During winters 2010–2011 and 2011–2012, we obtained 3,816 locations of 111 radiomarked female black ducks captured at Tennessee National

Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA, is a critical staging area for Wilson's (Phalaropus tricolor) and red‐necked (Phalaropus lobatus) phalaropes. Both phalarope species depend upon abundant invertebrate prey in Great Salt Lake to fuel fall migrations, but the lake currently faces the threat of becoming increasingly saline due to water diversions and climate change. The lake changes may decrease the ability

We collaboratively designed and implemented a pilot study to evaluate improved methods for estimating the distribution and abundance of prairie grouse in South Dakota and North Dakota. Current prairie grouse population monitoring in both states relies on annual surveys of male birds on leks within designated survey blocks. Although the survey results may give insight into local populations, they have

Purple martins (Progne subis) are declining in North America and the eastern subspecies is almost fully dependent on human‐provided nesting houses. We assessed nest house selection by purple martins located at the northern edge of their range. Guidebooks anecdotally describe the importance of house color, building material, hole shape, height, presence of shrubs, vertical accessibility, and distances

The European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) is recognized, outside its native range, as an invasive species, and efforts to deter its nesting have generally been unsuccessful. Enhancing perceived risk at the nest site is a little‐explored route in developing a nest deterrent. Specifically, nest predation risk affects site selection, reproduction, antipredator behavior, and fitness in nesting birds. We

Assessment of habitat suitability provides natural resource managers with insights on the quality and spatial distribution of habitat for wildlife species. However, habitat suitability models only provide information on current habitat parameters, and do not consider changes in habitat due to forest succession and disturbances. Habitat potential models have been developed by identifying habitat types

Our study explored the utility of using Importance‐Satisfaction Analysis (ISA) to identify critical attributes to deer management cooperative (DMC) member satisfaction. With white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginanus) management by landowners becoming an increasingly popular conservation tool, DMCs represent an approach by private landowners and hunters to collaboratively improve deer herds and hunting

The white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is an ecologically important species in forests of North America. Effective management of forests requires accurate, precise estimates of deer population abundance to plan and justify management actions. Spotlight surveys in combination with distance sampling are a common method of estimating deer population abundance; however, spotlight surveys are known

Toxic baiting of wild pigs (Sus scrofa) is a potential new tool for population control and damage reduction in the United States. Use of toxic bait sites by non‐target species is concerning because of the risks posed from exposure to a toxic bait. A 2018 field trial in northern Texas, USA, examining the efficacy of a prototype toxic bait (HOGGONE®, containing 10% sodium nitrite) revealed unexpected

Social media is often used to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and engage the public, which can change the public's attitudes and behaviors and may be used to benefit conservation. Moreover, widespread social media use provides an alternative data sourcing platform to inexpensively access countless potential respondents. However, social media data have rarely been used in conservation regardless

Methods used in wildlife ecology can influence population‐ and community‐level estimates, such as species richness, sex ratio, age and size structure, occupancy and detection probabilities, and community composition. Various trapping and sampling biases exist for freshwater turtles including bait and trap choice and survey technique. To date, no study has investigated the influence of hoop net and

Owls play important cultural, ecological, and indicator roles throughout the world. Yet owls’ cryptic behavior has led to uncertainties about their basic ecology, including foraging, communication, and functional roles within the community, and potentially hindered the implementation of effective conservation measures. Here we demonstrate the potential for next‐generation GPS tags capable of recording

Humans engage in 2 modes of thinking: an associative mode and a reasoning mode. Institutions and scientific education primarily have focused on reasoning, even though the associative mode is linked to creativity and has been actively nurtured and used by influential scientists. The inattentiveness by scientific institutions toward associative thinking is such that it has been called the forgotten half

The use of radio‐frequency identification (RFID) offers new potential in remote wildlife monitoring to reduce the invasive nature of studies requiring direct contact with study animals. Facilitated by the emergence of new technology, RFID can remotely identify individual animals implanted with passive‐integrated‐transponder (PIT) tags. We aimed to establish and assess a new technique for remote RFID

Estimating animal home ranges is a primary purpose of collecting tracking data. Many widely used home range estimators, including conventional kernel density estimators, assume independently‐sampled data. In stark contrast, modern animal tracking datasets are almost always strongly autocorrelated. The incongruence between estimator assumptions and empirical reality often leads to systematically underestimated

As wild pigs (Sus scrofa) expand throughout North America researchers are increasingly being tasked with trapping and marking entire sounders (family groups) to attach monitoring devices or other identifying markers to gather knowledge to inform management. Capture and marking procedures can be challenging, dangerous for both researchers and animals, and time consuming, particularly when handling sounders

Plague causes declines in native wildlife populations including those of prairie dogs (Cynomys sp.) and endangered black‐footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes). The infusion of insecticides into prairie dog burrows is a vector control method regularly used to suppress or prevent plague transmission by fleas. Detailed methods on how insecticide application equipment (dusters) is calibrated or how the quality

We surveyed nest‐structure use by sympatric nesting wood ducks (Aix sponsa) and black‐bellied whistling ducks (Dendrocygna autumnalis) across coastal South Carolina, USA, in 2016–2017. Of 718 nest boxes surveyed cumulatively in 2016 and 2017, 61% were used by wood ducks and 15% by black‐bellied whistling ducks. Lower nest‐box use by whistling ducks was related to recent arrivals and breeding by the

Fish crows (Corvus ossifragus) can be important seabird egg predators. In southwestern Florida, USA, crows were previously documented as causing the abandonment of black skimmer (Rynchops niger) colonies. While lethal crow control might be the most effective strategy, there are ethical and practical concerns about corvid control in an urban setting. Illness‐induced aversion to egg eating (conditioned

To estimate population abundance of wide‐ranging and elusive species, wildlife managers require practical data‐collection methods that are efficient, accurate, and cost‐effective. Natural abundance marking can provide a useful solution, but it has largely been utilized only for conservation monitoring of species with very high distinctiveness. We estimated abundance of invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa)

Prescribed fire and canopy reduction are accepted forest management practices used to increase forage and cover for white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) in pine systems throughout the southeastern United States. However, use of prescribed fire to improve conditions for deer and turkeys has not been evaluated in upland hardwood forests of the Coastal Plain

Aerial surveys are an efficient technique for counting animals over large geographic areas such as rangelands. In southwestern rangelands, aerial surveys are routinely conducted for ungulates, with the implicit understanding that abundance estimates represent an undercount. Distance sampling can correct for visibility bias, but assumes perfect detection on the survey line, a condition often violated

The indirect effects (risk effects) of hunting (e.g., lowered frequency of hunting site use by deer due to human predation risk) have received increasing attention in deer management programs. However, our understanding of the relationship between hunting time schedule and risk‐effect level remains limited. We investigated the relationships between hunting time schedule (the duration of the hunting

The northern long‐eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) is one of the bat species most affected by white‐nose syndrome. Population declines attributed to white‐nose syndrome contributed to the species’ listing as federally threatened under the 1973 Endangered Species Act. Although one of the most abundant Myotine bats in eastern North America prior to white‐nose syndrome, little is known about northern

Surgical implantation of transmitters into the coelomic cavity is a common attachment technique for ducks and geese. Although retention rates are assumed to be high, most studies utilizing this attachment method involve tracking in a system where low rates of recapture, resight, or recovery limit the ability of researchers to assess tag loss. We describe the extrusion and loss of coelomic radiotransmitters

Challenges in monitoring rare and elusive species often involve low detection and sampling success. Noninvasive methods have allowed researchers to more efficiently monitor rare and elusive species while reducing costs of more invasive, traditional techniques. We evaluated the use of a noninvasive method as an alternative to live‐trapping pocket gophers. We found that tunnel diameter can be used to

I developed a method of marking raccoons (Procyon lotor) for individual recognition under trail camera surveillance using restraint cones, tail‐fur clipping, and hair dyeing in an old field‐agricultural habitat matrix in southwest Wisconsin, USA, during 2012 and 2018–2019. I live‐trapped and marked 29 individual raccoons and monitored them using trail cameras during early May to mid‐August. Fur‐clipping

Biodiversity monitoring is important for species and habitat management, although it can be costly in terms of personnel time and expertise. Citizen Science projects that engage community participants to collect species distribution data can provide high volumes of data at little cost, but data are often associated with unknown observer error. Projects that remove decision‐making (e.g., species identification)

Detailed information on movements, space use, and habitat selection patterns by northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus; hereafter, bobwhite) is important for understanding population dynamics, gene flow, disease spread, and development of habitat management activities. Advances in Global Positioning System (GPS) technology has allowed researchers to collect spatial and temporal location data with increasing

Monitoring within an adaptive management framework provides important insights about system responses to management and information on which management actions to adjust to improve outcomes over time. We evaluated the range‐wide monitoring survey of the New England cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis) and assessed its ability to track changes in species’ population status over time using data gathered

We developed a simple and environmentally‐friendly protocol for identifying herbivore diets by isolating and identifying microscopic vegetation fragments from fecal materials that can be easily applied in remote areas where laboratories are absent. We used feces from human‐habituated Virunga mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei), whose diet is well‐known, to develop and validate the protocol

Farmland set‐aside programs provide important habitat for many wildlife species, yet little information exists regarding how vegetation structure and species respond to conservation practice and site age. This information could provide managers with a guide for how to implement, enhance, and maintain wildlife benefits of conservation programs. We describe how vegetation structure and avian species

Historically, undergraduate college students enrolled in natural resources programs came from rural backgrounds and regularly participated in fishing, hunting, and trapping (i.e., consumptive activities). Student demographics shifted considerably over the past 30 years, with more natural resources students coming from urban backgrounds with lower levels of engagement in consumptive activities. Some

Predation on smolts by Caspian terns (Hydroprogne caspia) has been identified as a factor limiting the restoration of some populations of anadromous salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp.) from the Columbia River basin that are listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Implementation of a management plan to reduce numbers of Caspian terns nesting at the 2 largest colonies in the Columbia Plateau region of

Wire cages (exclosures) that exclude nest predators are regularly used for management of federally threatened and endangered populations of piping plovers (Charadrius melodus) and similar species. However, recent evidence that apparent nest abandonment related to exclosure use is indicative of adult mortality has led to concern about the technique. We developed a decision support tool named PiperEx

Population viability analyses can assess species persistence under current or simulated future conditions and guide conservation and management efforts for species of concern. We evaluated population viability of an endangered songbird, the golden‐cheeked warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia), over a 50‐year period using empirically derived population parameters collected from 2009 to 2015 on the Balcones