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At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
USGS1999

The insignificance of statistical significance testing

Despite their use in scientific journals such as The Journal of Wildlife Management , statistical hypothesis tests add very little value to the products of research. Indeed, they frequently confuse the interpretation of data. This paper describes how statistical hypothesis tests are often viewed, and then contrasts that interpretation with the correct one. I discuss the arbitrariness of P-values, conclusions that the null hypothesis is true, power analysis, and distinctions between statistical and biological significance. Statistical hypothesis testing, in which the null hypothesis about the properties of a population is almost always known a priori to be false, is contrasted with scientific hypothesis testing, which examines a credible null hypothesis about phenomena in nature. More meaningful alternatives are briefly outlined, including estimation and confidence intervals for determining the importance of factors, decision theory for guiding actions in the face of uncertainty, and Bayesian approaches to hypothesis testing and other statistical practices.

Journal of Wildlife Management↗
USGS2012

A tale of two land uses in the American West: rural residential growth and energy development

This paper describes a spatiotemporal land use map for a rural county in the western United States. Sublette County, Wyoming has undergone recent land use change in the form of heightened rural residential development on private land and increased energy development on both public and private land. In this study we integrate energy production data, population census data, ownership parcel data, and a series of Landsat Thematic Mapper and Enhanced Thematic Mapper scenes (over a 25-year period) to create a map that illustrates the changing landscape. Spatial change on the landscape is mapped at 30 square meters, congruent with a Landsat pixel. Sublette County has a wealth of wildlife and associated habitat which is affected by both types of growth. While we do not attempt to quantify the effect of disturbance on wildlife species, we believe our results can provide important baseline data that can be incorporated into land use planning and ecological-wildlife research at the landscape scale.

Journal of Maps↗
USGS2006

The Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI): 5-year report

The Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) is an innovative, multidisciplinary program that began in 2000 in response to a congressional directive for the Department of the Interior to address the issue of amphibian declines in the United States. ARMI’s formulation was cross-disciplinary, integrating U.S. Geological Survey scientists from Biology, Water, and Geography to develop a course of action (Corn and others, 2005a). The result has been an effective program with diverse, yet complementary, expertise. ARMI’s approach to research and monitoring is multiscale. Detailed investigations focus on a few species at selected local sites throughout the country; monitoring addresses a larger number of species over broader areas (typically, National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges); and inventories to document species occurrence are conducted more extensively across the landscape. Where monitoring is conducted, the emphasis is on an ability to draw statistically defensible conclusions about the status of amphibians. To achieve this objective, ARMI has instituted a monitoring response variable that has nationwide applicability. At research sites, ARMI focuses on studying species/environment interactions, determining causes of observed declines, and developing new techniques to sample populations and analyze data. Results from activities at all scales are provided to scientists, land managers, and policymakers, as appropriate. The ARMI program and the scientists involved contribute significantly to understanding amphibian declines at local, regional, national, and international levels. Within National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges, findings help land managers make decisions applicable to amphibian conservation. For example, the National Park Service (NPS) selected amphibians as a vital sign for several of their monitoring networks, and ARMI scientists provide information and assistance in developing monitoring methods for this NPS effort. At the national level, ARMI has had major exposure at a variety of meetings, including a dedicated symposium at the 2004 joint meetings of the Herpetologists’ League, the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, and the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. Several principal investigators have brought international exposure to ARMI through venues such as the World Congress of Herpetology in South Africa in 2005 (invited presentation by Dr. Gary Fellers), the Global Amphibian Summit, sponsored by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Wildlife Conservation International, in Washington, D.C., 2005 (invited participation by Dr. P.S. Corn), and a special issue of the international herpetological journal Alytes focused on ARMI in 2004 (edited by Dr. C.K. Dodd, Jr.). ARMI research and monitoring efforts have addressed at least 7 of the 21 Threatened and Endangered Species listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (California red-legged frog [Rana draytonii], Chiricahua leopard frog [R. chiricahuensis], arroyo toad [Bufo californicus], dusky gopher frog [Rana sevosa], mountain yellow-legged frog [R. muscosa], flatwoods salamander [Ambystoma cingulatum], and the golden coqui [Eleutherodactylus jasperi]), and 9 additional species of concern recognized by the IUCN. ARMI investigations have addressed time-sensitive research, such as emerging infectious diseases and effects on amphibians related to natural disasters like wildfire, hurricanes, and debris flows, and the effects of more constant, environmental change, like urban expansion, road development, and the use of pesticides. Over the last 5 years, ARMI has partnered with an extensive list of government, academic, and private entities. These partnerships have been fruitful and have assisted ARMI in developing new field protocols and analytic tools, in using and refining emerging technologies to improve accuracy and efficiency of data handling, in conducting amphibian disease, malformation, and environmental effects research, and in implementing a network of monitoring and research sites. Accomplishments from these endeavors include more than 40 publications on amphibian status and trends, nearly 100 publications on amphibian ecology and causes of declines, and over 30 methodological publications. Several databases have emerged as a result of ARMI and its partnerships; one, a digital atlas of ranges for all U.S. amphibian species, was used by the IUCN to display amphibian distribution maps in the Global Amphibian Assessment Project. Given the scope of ARMI and the panoply of projects, findings have had implications for policy. Investigations that demonstrate amphibian declines or illuminate causes of declines provide valuable information about habitat management, environmental effects, mechanisms for the spread of disease, and human/amphibian interfaces. This information has been made available to land managers, scientists, educators, Congress and other policymakers, and the public. The support afforded ARMI by Congress has been influential in the program’s development and success. The value of ARMI’s efforts will continue to increase as we are able to extend our studies spatially and temporally to answer critical questions with more confidence. We are using ARMI’s resources efficiently and continuing to develop innovative mechanisms for leveraging resources for maximum effectiveness during challenging financial times. This report is a 5-year retrospective of the structure, methodology, progress, and contributions to the broader scientific community that have resulted from this national USGS program. We evaluate ARMI’s success to date, with regard to the challenges faced by the program and the strengths that have emerged. We chart objectives for the next 5 years that build on current accomplishments, highlight areas meriting further research, and direct efforts to overcome existing weaknesses.

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS2021

Filling knowledge gaps for a threatened species: Age and growth of Green Sturgeon of the southern distinct population segment

The Green Sturgeon Acipenser medirostris is an anadromous, long-lived species that is distributed along the Pacific coast of North America. Green Sturgeon is vulnerable to global change because of its sensitive life history (e.g., delayed maturation) and few spawning locations. The persistence of Green Sturgeon is threatened by habitat modification, altered flows, and rising river temperatures. In 2006, because of persistent stressors, the U.S. Endangered Species Act listed the southern distinct population segment as threatened. Despite increased research efforts on this species after the listing, substantial gaps in basic population information for Green Sturgeon remain. We present the only published information on age structure and growth of a threatened population of Green Sturgeon. By analyzing archived fin rays collected from 1984 to 2016, we revealed highly variable growth among individuals. We detected several age classes from 0 to 26 y and found similar growth rates of southern distinct population segment Green Sturgeon compared with northern population Green Sturgeon. Although limited, this analysis is an important first step to understanding Green Sturgeon population dynamics and highlights critical research needs.

California, Oregon, Washington↗
USGS1993

Sex identification of polar bears from blood and tissue samples

Polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ) can be adversely affected by hunting and other human perturbations because of low population densities and low reproduction rates. The sustainable take of adult females may be as low as 1.5% of the population. Females and accompanying young are most vulnerable to hunting, and hunters have not consistently reported the sex composition of the harvest, therefore a method to confirm the sexes of polar bears harvested in Alaska is needed. Evidence of the sex of harvested animals is often not available, but blood or other tissue samples often are. We extracted DNA from tissue and blood samples, and amplified segments of zinc finger (ZFX and ZFY) genes from both X and Y chromosomes with the polymerase chain reaction. Digestion of amplified portions of the X chromosome with the restriction enzyme Hae III resulted in subdivision of the original amplified segment into four smaller fragments. Digestion with Hae III did not subdivide the original segment amplified from the Y chromosome. The differing fragment sizes produced patterns in gel electrophoresis that distinguished samples from male and female bears 100% of the time. This technique is applicable to the investigation of many wildlife management and research questions.

Alaska↗
USGS2012

Autumn migration of of Mississippi Flyway mallards as determined by satellite telemetry

We used satellite telemetry to study autumn migration timing, routes, stopover duration, and final destinations of mallards Anas platyrhynchos captured the previous spring in Arkansas from 2004 to 2007. Of those mallards that still had functioning transmitters on September 15 ( n = 55), the average date when autumn migration began was October 23 (SE = 2.62 d; range = September 17–December 7). For those mallards that stopped for >1 d during migration, the average stopover length was 15.4 d (SE = 1.47 d). Ten mallards migrated nonstop to wintering sites. The eastern Dakotas were a heavily utilized stopover area. The total distance migrated per mallard averaged 1,407 km (SE = 89.55 km; range = 142–2,947 km). The average time spent on migration per individual between September 15 and December 15 was 27 d (SE = 2.88 d; range = 2–84 d). The state where most mallards were located on December 15 was Missouri (11) followed by Arkansas (8), while 5 mallards were still in Canada, and only 8 of 43 females and 0 of 10 males were present in Arkansas. The eastern Dakotas are a heavily utilized migration stopover for midcontinent mallards that may require more attention for migration habitat management. The reasons for so few mallards, especially male mallards, returning to Arkansas the following year deserves further research. .

Arkansas↗
USGS2016

Where the wild things are: A research agenda for studying wildlife-wilderness relationship

We explore the connection between US designated wilderness areas and wildlife with the goal of establishing a research agenda for better understanding this complex relationship. Our research agenda has two components. The first, “wildlife for wilderness,” considers the impact of wildlife on wilderness character. Whereas studies show that wildlife is important in both the perception and actual enhancement of wilderness character, the context and particulars of this relationship have not been evaluated. For instance, is knowing that a rare, native species is present in a wilderness area enough to increase perceptions of naturalness (an important wilderness quality)? Or does the public need to observe the species or its sign (e.g., tracks) for this benefit? The second part of our research agenda, “wilderness for wildlife,” considers the types of research needed to understand the impact of wilderness areas on wildlife and biodiversity conservation. Several studies show the effect of one area being designated wilderness on one wildlife species. Yet, there has been no research that examines how the networks of wilderness areas in the National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) are used by a species or a community of species. Furthermore, we found no studies that focused on how the NWPS affects ecological or trophic interactions among species. We hope that by providing a research agenda, we can spur multiple lines of research on the topic of wildlife and wilderness.

Journal of Forestry↗
USGS2019

Mapping a keystone shrub species, huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum), using seasonal colour change in the Rocky Mountains

Black huckleberries ( Vaccinium membranaceum ) provide a critical food resource to many wildlife species, including apex omnivores such as the grizzly bear ( Ursus arctos ), and play an important socioeconomic role for many communities in western North America, especially indigenous peoples. Remote sensing imagery offers the potential for accurate landscape-level mapping of huckleberries because the shrub changes colour seasonally. We developed two methods, for local and regional scales, to map a shrub species using leaf seasonal colour change from remote sensing imagery. We assessed accuracy with ground-based vegetation surveys. The high-resolution supervised random forest classification from one-meter resolution National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery achieved an overall accuracy of 75.31% (kappa = 0.26). The approach using multi-temporal 30-meter Landsat imagery similarly had an overall accuracy of 79.19% (kappa = .31). We found underprediction error was related to higher forest cover and a lack of visible colour change on the ground in some plots. Where forest cover was low, both models performed better. In areas with <10% forest cover, the high-resolution classification achieved an accuracy of 80.73% (kappa = 0.48), while the Landsat model had an accuracy of 82.55% (kappa = 0.47). Based on the fine-scale predictions, we found that 94% of huckleberry shrubs identified in our study area of Glacier National Park, Montana, USA are over 100 meters from human recreation trails. This information could be combined with productivity and phenology information to estimate the timing and availability of food resources for wildlife and to provide managers with a tool to identify and manage huckleberries. The development of the multi-temporal Landsat models sets the stage for assessment of impacts of disturbance at regional scales on this ecologically, culturally, and economically important shrub species. Our approach to map huckleberries is straightforward, efficient and accessible to wildlife and environmental managers and researchers in diverse fields.

Montana↗
USGS1992

Evaluation of aerial transects for counting winter mallards

Winter waterfowl surveys rarely use sampling methods, and little is known about the precision and biases of their population estimates. Consequently, we developed aerial transect surveys (n=5) in 4 strata comprising 16 substrata in the lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley during winters 1987-88 through 1989-90 to estimate mallard ( Anas platyrhynchos ) population indices and determine regional patterns of habitat use. Mallard population indices ranged from 1,147,628 (SE=192,341) in December 1988 to 1,790,708 (SE=179,406) in January 1988. Coefficients of variation (CV's) for early winter surveys averaged 0.15 and those for late winter surveys averaged 0.10. During early winter, 59-69% of mallards were on wetlands with water regimes managed for waterfowl; whereas in late winter, 52-79% used wetlands with unmanaged water regimes. Late winter was wet during 1987-88 and 1988-89, and most mallards (62-68%) were on naturally flooded croplands. Use of forested wetlands (3-11%) and moist-soil habitats (3-29%) varied among surveys but was not correlated with water conditions. The number of mallards using naturally flooded croplands (e.g., >1,100,000 in Jan 1988) illustrated the extent of habitat use on private lands. We recommend transect surveys (e.g., 5-yr intervals) for evaluating responses of mallard populations to management programs and as a sampling framework for integrating regional waterfowl research and management data.

Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississip↗
USGS2010

Bald eagle predation on common loon egg

The Common Loon ( Gavia immer ) must defend against many potential egg predators during incubation, including corvids, Herring Gulls ( Larus argentatus ), raccoons ( Procyon lotor ), striped skunk ( Mephitis mephitis ), fisher ( Martes pennanti ), and mink ( Neovison vison ) ( McIntyre 1988 , Evers 2004 , McCann et al. 2005 ). Bald Eagles ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus ) have been documented as predators of both adult Common Loons and their chicks ( Vliestra and Paruk 1997 , Paruk et al. 1999 , Erlandson et al. 2007 , Piper et al. 2008 ). In Wisconsin, where nesting Bald Eagles are abundant (>1200 nesting pairs, >1 young/pair/year), field biologists observed four instances of eagle predation of eggs in loon nests during the period 2002&ndash;2004 (M. Meyer pers. comm.). In addition, four cases of eagle predation of incubating adult loons were inferred from evidence found at the loon nest (dozens of plucked adult loon feathers, no carcass remains) and/or loon leg, neck, and skull bones beneath two active eagle nests, including leg bones containing the bands of the nearby (<25 m) incubating adult loon. However, although loon egg predation has been associated with Bald Eagles, predation events have yet to be described in peer-reviewed literature. Here we describe a photographic observation of predation on a Common Loon egg by an immature Bald Eagle as captured by a nest surveillance video camera on Lake Umbagog, a large lake (32 km 2 ) at Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge (UNWR) in Maine.

Maine↗
USGS2024

Viability modeling for decision support with limited data: A lizard case study

Plateau spot-tailed earless lizards, Holbrookia lacerata, are a species of ground lizard in central Texas that are under review for listing as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act, but heretofore no predictive models of population dynamics or viability have been developed. We used limited available data and published demographic rates in a PVA model to predict future status of these lizards under parametric and ecological uncertainty and temporal variability. Even in cases where data are sparse and life history information are limited, viability models can help clarify the consequences of management choices given the uncertainty. Our model predicted that on average populations will decline in in the future. Quasi-extinction probability was low 20 years into the future but up to 0.60. Extinction risk was highly dependent on the road mortality effect and the proportion of the population exposed to roadways, both of which are currently uncertain quantities. Despite these unknowns, our model enables managers to consider the future abundance and extinction risk for the species and make decisions about management to project the populations and also identifies key uncertainties for future research and monitoring.

Texas↗
USGS2024

Wildlife stewardship on Tribal lands: Our place is in our soul By Serra J. Hoagland and Steven Albert (Eds.), Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. 2023. pp. 432. $59.95 (hardcover). ISBN 978-1-4214-4657-8

Despite thousands of years of land stewardship by Indigenous Peoples, Western ideology and science predominantly influences wildlife management in North America today. Indigenous science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) extend beyond the scope of Western science and ecological understanding to include knowledge derived from generations of people living as part of ecosystems (Rinkevich 2008 ). Historically, Western science and TEK have operated separately, resulting in the exclusion of Indigenous Peoples and TEK in wildlife science and management, which has led to significant knowledge gaps in Western science. Today, many practitioners are seeking ways to study and manage wildlife in more inclusive ways that integrate multiple perspectives, including those from Indigenous communities, wildlife managers, researchers, and academics.

Journal of Wildlife Management↗
USGS2010

Survival of wood duck ducklings and broods in Mississippi and Alabama

Although North American wood ducks (Aix sponsa) are well-studied throughout their range, researchers know little about demographic and environmental factors influencing survival of ducklings and broods, which is necessary information for population management. We studied radiomarked female and duckling wood ducks that used nest boxes and palustrine wetlands at Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge (NNWR) in Mississippi, USA, in 1996-1999, and riverine wetlands of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Rivers and Waterway (TTRW) system in Alabama in 1998-1999. We estimated survival of ducklings and broods and evaluated potentially important predictors of duckling survival, including age and body mass of brood-rearing females, hatch date of ducklings, duckling mass, brood size at nest departure, inter-day travel distance by ducklings, site and habitat use, and daily minimum air temperature and precipitation. At NNWR, survival of 300 radiomarked ducklings ranged from 0.15 (95% CI = 0.04-0.27) to 0.24 (95% CI = 0.13-0.38) and was 0.21 (95% CI = 0.15-0.28) for 1996-1999. Our overall estimate of brood survival was 0.64 (n = 91; 95% CI = 0.54-0.73). At TTRW, survival of 129 radiomarked ducklings was 0.29 in 1998 (95% CI = 0.20-0.41) and 1999 (95% CI = 0.13-0.45) and was 0.29 (95% CI = 0.20-0.40) for 1998-1999. Our overall estimate of brood survival was 0.71 (n = 38; 95% CI = 0.56-0.85). At NNWR, models that included all predictor variables best explained variation in duckling survival. Akaike weight (wi) for the best model was 0.81, suggesting it was superior to other models (<0.01 ??? wi ???0.18). We detected 4 competing models for duckling survival at TTRW. Inter-day distance traveled by ducklings was important as this variable appeared in all 4 models; duckling survival was positively related to this variable. Patterns of habitat-related survival were similar at both study areas. Ducklings in broods that used scrub-shrub habitats disjunct from wetlands containing aggregations of nest boxes had greater survival probabilities than birds remaining in wetlands with such nest structures. Managers may increase local wood duck recruitment by promoting availability of suitable brood habitats (e.g., scrub-shrub wetlands) without aggregations of nest boxes that may attract predators and by dispersing nest boxes amid or adjacent to these habitats. We did not determine an optimal density of nest boxes relative to local or regional population goals, which remains important research and conservation needs.

Journal of Wildlife Management↗
USGS2024

Self-determination theory as an alternate conceptual foundation for motivation in natural resource research

Motivation is a topic that receives substantial interest across the social sciences. However, in the human dimensions of natural resource literature, scholars have primarily treated motivation as a construct narrowly defined by the individual’s desired goal state. In contrast, self-determination theory (SDT) suggests that multiple forms of motivation can influence levels of self-determination, integration of identities, and subsequent behavioral intentions, and has been utilized in multiple realms to understand human behavior. SDT forms a consistent and well-understood mechanism for human psychological development and optimal function and allows for the formulation of out-of-sample prediction, a cornerstone of science. In this manuscript, we review the basic theories that make up SDT and provide insight for its application to human dimensions of natural resource research.

Human Dimensions of Wildlife: An International Jou↗