<p> Floodplain forests along the Upper Mississippi River are known to provide valuable habitat for many species of migrating songbirds, including the Cerulean Warbler (<i>Setophaga cerulea</i>) and other species of concern. The forested islands of the confluence region where the Illinois and Missouri Rivers join the Mississippi vary greatly in their structure and composition, providing a variety of habitats for migrating bird species. While past studies have looked at the richness and diversity of bird species across gradients of forest structure, very few have determined which species are characteristic of certain forest types. Effective management and conservation of these lands by state and federal agencies requires that managers understand patterns of species use in these different forest communities. The objectives of this study were (1) to discover how bird community composition varies throughout the floodplain, (2) to determine which vegetation factors, structural or floristic, influence the composition of bird communities, and (3) to identify any species indicative of certain habitat types. Using a protocol developed through a partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers&mdash;St. Louis District, the Audubon Center at Riverlands, and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 10 minute avian point count surveys were conducted from May 15 &ndash; June 30 at 95 survey points located throughout the forested areas of the Upper Mississippi River floodplain. Data collected during the 2017 surveys were added to point count data from the 2015 and 2016 survey seasons. An invaluable tool developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers&rsquo; forestry division, the Forest Management Geodatabase (FMG) was used to analyze structural complexity and vegetation characteristics at each avian point count site, including canopy height, basal area, tree species richness, and understory height. Differences in bird species richness across values of canopy height, basal area, understory height, and tree species richness were explored and tested using single-factor ANOVA. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) was used to summarize the pattern of avian community composition among sites and analysis of similarities (ANOSIM) tested for differences in avian communities among forest types. Bird species richness did not differ significantly across values of any of the four forest variables tested. NMDS and ANOSIM found that both canopy height and basal area significantly affected bird community composition while tree species richness and understory height had no effect. Indicator species analysis was then used to identify those species that characterized certain categories of canopy height and basal area. Indicator species analysis found 21 species to be indicators across four discreet categories of canopy height and 23 species to be indicators across 4 categories of basal area. Indicator species of note included five focal species: Indigo Bunting, Prothonotary Warbler, American Redstart, Warbling Vireo, and Red-shouldered Hawk. Warbling Vireos were indicators for sites with canopy heights less than 9 meters, while Prothonotary Warblers were characteristic of sites with the largest values of basal area (> 75 m²/ha). These focal species are chosen by the Audubon Center at Riverlands and are deemed important to the region or species of concern, making them targets of conservation. The knowledge of bird species-habitat relationships gained from this study is critical for the successful management of floodplain forest in order to benefit Neotropical migratory bird species on the Upper Mississippi River System.</p><p>

<p> Non-habituated coyotes (<i>Canis latrans</i>) avoid direct interactions with humans. Reliance on human food sources has been linked to gradual habituation, a precursor to conflict and attacks on domestic pets and humans. Diet and activity patterns of urban coyotes inhabiting natural fragments in Long Beach, CA were monitored through scat collection and camera trapping over a year (Aug 2016 &ndash; Aug 2017). Local urban coyotes are relying predominately on natural foods, with an increase in mammalian prey in the wet season and an increase in vegetation and insect consumption in the dry season. Anthropogenic items, food and food related inedible items, appeared in 14% of scats overall, with no significant seasonal change. Cat remains were found in 14% of scat samples, but only triggered cameras once throughout the 2,857 camera nights of the study. Coyote activity was centered on nights in both seasons, with greater dawn activity in the dry season, indicating an avoidance of peak human activity. This reliance on natural foods and avoidance of human activity reduces the opportunities for human-wildlife conflicts in our local area.</p><p>

<p> Wildlife management is challenged with addressing human resource needs while simultaneously conserving wildlife populations. Conflicts between humans and wildlife have increased across Northern countries with the expansion of human communities and environmental changes. Lack of information exists about reasons for such occurrences. This study explores adaptive capacity and resilience in coupled human-wildlife systems through the analysis of social and ecological factors contributing to perceptions of negative and positive human-bear (<i> Ursus</i> spp.) encounters. I first developed a theory to evaluate human perceptions and behaviors during human-wildlife encounters. Secondly I adopted an interdisciplinary framework to analyze human-bear encounters in urbanizing regions of south Sakhalin Island, Russian Far-East, and southcentral Alaska, USA. These case studies facilitate an analysis of perception development across spatial and social scales while incorporating approaches of both social and ecological sciences. Hunting, tourism and overall anthropogenic impacts are central to bear management, whereas cultural and social interests are perceived to not be considered in bear management decision-making across study regions. In Alaska, political interests are prevalent in bear management, whereas on Sakhalin, economic interests, including illegal animal trade and poaching prevail. Across study regions the perception of an encounter with a bear was dependent on the socio-economic situation of the individual having the encounter. The higher a person's socio-economic status was, the higher was their probability to perceive bear encounters as positive. Further, spatial and social scales across which perceptions vary are identified. Scales include urban-non-urban areas, wildland-urban interfaces, and a recreation-subsistence interest divide. Outside of urban areas, people's interests in recreation versus subsistence affect their perceptions toward bear encounters. Subsistence collectors of fish, game or plants are more likely to have negative encounters. Within urban areas, increased experience with encountering bears and length of residency are associated with positive encounters, whereas closeness to residences while not in sheltered environments increases negative encounters. These findings constitute spatial and social barriers and benefits to individualistic perception formation during human-bear encounters. Their identification advances resilience in researched human-wildlife systems and helps us to understand the adaptive capacities within these communities. The successful spatially-explicit integration of social and ecological variables promotes the opportunities for integrating human dimensions in wildlife management.</p>

<p> The state and federally endangered California clapper rail (<i> Rallus longirostris obsoletus</i>) has declined in abundance and been reduced in range and now occupies fragmented intertidal saltmarsh only within San Francisco Bay. Historically extensive salt marsh habitats existed in San Francisco Bay and today, remnants are largely restricted to the water's edge with dikes and levees separating marshland from modified habitats unsuitable for clapper rails. Clapper rail population abundance has roughly tracked a series of positive and negative impacts including market hunting at the turn of the 20th century, widespread habitat reduction and fragmentation, and invasive species introduction and eradication programs. Despite these changes, rail populations have been subject to the ebb and flow of the tides, which regularly inundate salt marsh habitats. The influence that tides have on vertebrate species living in intertidal saltmarsh should be substantial, but the relationship between tide and California clapper rails is poorly understood. This research identified important ways in which tides influenced demographic processes, space use, and resource selection in California clapper rails. Tidal inundation in San Francisco Bay saltmarshes creates zonation in plant communities, typically with tall monocots in the low marsh (<i>Spartina </i> sp.), short pickleweed (<i>Sarcocornia pacifica</i>) in mid-elevation ranges, and gumplant (<i>Grindela humilis</i>) in the high marsh. Invasive Spartina (<i>Spartina foliosa x alterniflora </i>) grows taller and thicker than native Pacific cordgrass (<i> Spartina foliosa</i>). Invasive Spartina also grows lower onto mudflats, further up into pickleweed areas, and provided both nesting habitat and tidal refuge for clapper rails. In Chapter 1, I examined survival rates of California clapper rails. Specifically, I investigated whether seasonal patterns observed in the early 1990s were still evident and assessed the influence that Invasive Spartina and the degree of tidal inundation on weekly survival rates in four South San Francisco Bay salt marshes. Between January 2007 and March 2010, California clapper rail annual survival was 73% greater in Spartina-dominated marshes (&Scirc; = 0.482) than in a control marsh dominated by native vegetation (&Scirc; = 0.278). Lower survival also occurred during periods when tide height was greatest and during the winter. Survival patterns were consistent with Invasive Spartina providing increased refuge cover from predators during tidal extremes which flood native vegetation, particularly during the winter when the vegetation senesces. Tide heights also strongly influenced selection for artificial habitats provided adjacent to one marsh during the winters of 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. Ten floating islands equipped with canopies providing cover were monitored using time-lapse cameras for evidence of clapper rail use. Clapper rails regularly used artificial islands once tides reached heights equal to the average surface elevation of the marsh. When tides had inundated the marsh plan, observed use of the artificial islands was more than 300 times expected use based on the surface area provided. Probability of use varied among the islands and low levels of use were observed at night. Endemic saltmarsh species are increasingly at risk from habitat change resulting from sea-level rise and development of adjacent uplands. Escape cover during tidal inundation may therefore need to be supplemented if species are to survive. I developed a new method to estimate space use accounting for individual movement phases within non-stationary relocation datasets using simulated radio-telemetry data. To define movement phases I used a nonparametric, multivariate test to detect change points in the mean or variance of a sequence of x,y coordinates. Once all phases (change points) were identified, Gaussian kernel density analysis was used to estimate space use during each phase, which I termed change-point utilization distributions (CPUDs). One advantage of this technique is that the location of change points can subsequently be tested for relationships with conditions that might trigger a change in how individuals use space. Change points in clapper rail movement were associated with a variety of environmental and biotic variables including high tides, nesting activity, intrusion by neighboring clapper rails, and transient movements outside the home range. Change points occurred more than twice as frequently during the highest observed tides relative to all other tide heights. Another use of CPUDs is that space use patterns of adjacent individuals can be evaluated for joint overlap only during specific time periods when overlap occurs. I used CPUDs developed for California clapper rails and identified the point within overlapping space-use estimates where each individual had priority access to the resources within its utilization distribution (i.e. the lowest kernel density isopleth that was common to two overlapping individuals). This provided an estimate of the spatial region at which individuals exhibited territoriality. During the breeding season, space use distributions overlapped less and average territory size increased relative to the non-breeding seasons. Population density implied by these territory sizes (1.38 birds/ha) is comparable to density estimates during the 1970s and 1980s. Together these findings show the great degree to which clapper rail behavior and demography can be influenced by the tides that populations experience. It is my hope that conservation efforts for this species, particularly in the arena of habitat restoration may benefit from this research.</p>

<p> After nearly being extirpated from the state, black bears in Maryland have rebounded to a point where recreational harvest has now become an important management tool. Having a better understanding of bear population parameters, movements, and harvest vulnerability allows managers to implement hunting more effectively and responsibly. To estimate demographics of the Maryland bear population, we implemented noninvasive genetic sampling of bear hair during summer 2011. We used a model-based sampling design that allowed us to collect samples more efficiently. We used presence-only maximum entropy (Maxent) modeling to classify the study area based on predicted probability of bear occurrence, and allocated the majority of our hair snares to areas with high or medium probabilities. Using microsatellite analysis and mark-recapture methods, we estimated the bear population at 701 individuals. This represents a nearly doubling of the population since the previous estimate in 2005. Our density estimate (0.25 bears/km²) is comparable to other estimates from southeastern and mid-Atlantic states. Our sampling approach did lead to more efficient sample collection, with more hair samples collected at snares located in areas with predicted high or medium probability of bear occurrence than those in low probability areas. However, in the eastern portion of our study area, where bear occurrence is presumed to be much lower, our sampling effort seemed insufficient to collect enough samples for reliable abundance estimation. As a first step toward quantifying harvest vulnerability, we used Global Positioning System (GPS) units to record movements and spatial behaviors of 108 bear hunters during the 2005&ndash;2007 Maryland bear hunting seasons. Median values showed that hunters traveled 2.9 km per hunting event, but only 0.6 km from their starting point. Hunters did not seem to show any preferential use of areas based on the landscape metrics we examined (e.g., elevation, distance from nearest road) except cover type, where 81% of locations were in deciduous forests. We found few differences between spatial behaviors of groups of hunters based on harvest success, residency, and previous bear hunting experience, as classified using post-hunt mail surveys. One notable difference is that successful hunters used steeper slopes than unsuccessful hunters. We also found that hunter perceptions of total distance traveled and distance from nearest roads were often highly inaccurate, showing that hunter surveys are not a useful tool for collecting those data. For Garrett County, Maryland, we used the hunter locations to create a Maxent model of the spatial distribution of harvest pressure. We also created a model using fall telemetry locations of female bears and compared the models to identify areas of high (i.e., high hunter and high bear occurrence) and low (i.e., low hunter and high bear occurrence) harvest vulnerability. Both models showed higher probability of occurrence on public lands. Both high and low vulnerability areas comprised small portions of the county. The low vulnerability areas included 9 larger blocks (>1 km²), which were 2.3 times steeper, 2.0 times farther from roads, and 1.5 times farther from streams than the medians for the study area. Those characteristics may limit hunter access to and use of the areas. Our predicted high vulnerability areas did not correspond to most previous bear harvest locations, indicating that our definition of harvest vulnerability often does not translate to actual harvest. Finally, we used GPS collars to track female bear locations in Garrett County and examine home range dynamics. Fixed kernel estimates for annual, spring, summer, and fall home ranges were 10.40 km², 8.93 km², 16.08 km², and 19.35 km², respectively. Fall and summer home ranges were larger than spring home ranges, but summer and fall ranges were similar. Solitary females had mean spring home ranges 6.9 times larger than females with cubs-of-the-year, but ranges did not differ during other seasons. Bears exhibited high levels of home range fidelity, with home range centroids shifting little among seasons or years. Intraspecific overlap of home ranges occurred during all 3 seasons, but was most common in summer. The results of this study provide Maryland bear biologists and managers with essential information about the state&rsquo;s bear population. Home range estimates represent important baseline information to determine appropriate spatial scales of management. The abundance estimates will be used to set proper harvest quotas with the goal of slowing the bear population growth. The hunter movement analysis and harvest vulnerability modeling may be used by managers to adjust harvest regulations to increase the efficacy of the hunting seasons.</p>

<p> The Golden-winged Warbler (<i>Vermivora chrysoptera</i>) is an imperiled migratory songbird that nests in young forest habitats of eastern North America. As such, this species has recently been the focus of an intensive multi-year, range-wide, breeding ecology study. A major focus of this research involved spot-mapping color banded males to examine relationships between nesting success and territory-scale habitat variables. I compared differences in space and habitat use of individual male Golden-winged Warblers that were monitored using both spot mapping and radio telemetry. An individual's telemetry delineated use area was on average 3.6 times larger than its spot-mapped territory. Almost half (46%) of all telemetry locations were located outside their respective male's spot-mapped territory. Number of saplings was higher in telemetry use areas (22.49 &plusmn; 2.14) than spot-mapped territories (11.80 &plusmn; 1.86). Although the exact motive for extra-territorial movements is unknown, foraging and/or suggestive observations of extra-pair copulation are likely motivating factors. The results of my study suggest Golden-winged Warblers are seeking resources outside their spot-mapped delineated territories. Furthermore, Golden-winged Warblers were found to have more telemetry locations in mature forest than found through spot-mapping. Ultimately, spot mapping alone does not accurately reflect Golden-winged Warbler space use and habitat needs.</p>

<p> West Texas, especially the Trans-Pecos region, mainly consists of desert shrubs and grasslands with patches of higher elevation (1,500 &ndash; 2,000 m) mountain ranges. Black bears (<i>Ursus americanus</i>) were extirpated from this area by the 1940s because of predator control and over hunting. In the 1980s, black bears returned to west Texas in a natural recolonization movement from Mexico, where they had survived. The black bear populations of the Trans-Pecos region and northern Mexico fit a mainland-island metapopulation model. Based on previously published research on this recolonization event, I identified several likely habitat recolonization sites and corridor routes for use in predicting possible black bear dispersal throughout the area. Then, using these corridor and recolonization scenarios, I produced a black bear metapopulation model for the Trans-Pecos region.</p><p> The possible habitat recolonization site map was created by combining 2 habitat suitability index (HSI) maps and using these HSI maps to define 'core' and 'useable' black bear habitat within the Trans-Pecos region. Using these locations, along with dispersal probabilities and black bear demographic parameters, I created a corridor dispersal map of the area using the program Circuitscape.</p><p> The metapopulation model was created using STELLA modeling software. Each recolonization location in the Trans-Pecos region (Big Bend National Park, Black Gap Wildlife Management Area, and the Davis Mountains) has its own black bear subpopulation. The metapopulation model is a stochastic compartment model based on a yearly time step (&Delta;<i>t</i> = 1 yr). This model was tested for the effects of: carrying capacity per site, immigration rates from Mexico, rates of dispersal from Black Gap Wildlife Management Area to the Davis Mountains, and the recovery time for the area after complete extirpation from the Trans-Pecos. This information will help local biologists conserve and manage these returning black bears in the Trans-Pecos region. </p>

<p>I investigated percent coverage, plant height, species richness, and woody stem density in plant communities in ten study plots during spring and fall (2010&ndash;2012) within 3 different treatments (continual mowings, one fall mowing, and one fall mowing with native wildflower seeds) on Highway 25 right-of-way in Oktibbeha and Winston counties, Mississippi. I recorded 277 plant species including native and non-native forbs, legumes, grasses, rushes/sedges, and woody plants. Non-native agronomic grasses exhibited greatest coverage greater than 90 percent occurring in all treatments. Percent coverage of plants less than 0.46m height category exceeded 100 while, greater than 0.46m plant height categories averaged 55 percent. Woody stem density ranged from 7,772 year 1 to 10,025 stems/hectare year 2. I detected no significant differences in plant height or woody stems among treatments. One mowing per year retained agronomic plant cover for erosion control and annual cost savings up to 75 percent for roadside maintenance. </p>

<p> During the 1970s to the 1990s, Steller sea lions (<i>Eumetopias jubatus</i>) in Alaska declined severely, resulting in the western stock's listing as endangered under the United States Endangered Species Act. The localized depletion of their main food source around rookeries and haul out sites was the primary cause of their depletion. The western stock has still not recovered to historical levels. Therefore, scientists have continued to study Steller sea lions diet and foraging habits. One approach has been through stable isotope analysis of their various tissues. Analysis of their vibrissae, or whiskers, provides an exact record of an individual's diet from birth to the present. However, scientists so far have only measured stable isotope values of a single vibrissa from an individual, assuming no significant difference among vibrissae within or between cheeks. They have not accounted for the possibility of variable stable isotope accumulation in an individual's different vibrissae. In this study, I tested the assumption of no significant individual variability among vibrissae by examining the &delta;¹³C and &delta;¹⁵N values in all of the vibrissae on five Steller sea lion pups recovered in Alaska. &delta;¹⁵N values did not differ between vibrissae on a cheek or between vibrissae from left and right cheeks. The &delta;¹³C values did not differ between vibrissae within cheeks; however, &delta;¹³C values were significantly different between the left and right cheeks of Lowrie Island Pup and PWS 29 Pup. This between cheek variation is most likely due to small sample size rather than different stable isotope incorporation. The lack of &delta;¹⁵N value variation within or between cheeks, as well as the lack of &delta;¹³C variation within cheeks, supports the assumption that stable isotope accumulation is similar between all vibrissae and validates sampling protocols of previous studies collecting just the longest, thick vibrissa from a Steller sea lion. More studies similar to this one are needed to verify these findings and to look at variability in stable isotope incorporation of juvenile and adult Steller sea lion vibrissae as well as other mammal species.</p>

<p> Current scientific knowledge of the ringtail (<i>Bassariscus astutus </i>) is limited, thus impeding appropriate management decisions. Ringtails in Zion National Park, Utah, are rarely seen, but are involved in increasing occurrences of negative interactions with park visitors and employees such as food theft and denning in buildings, interactions which are harmful to both parties. To manage this conflict, an update to the general knowledge about the status of the population is required as the only previous study on ringtails in this area was conducted in the 1960s. Using noninvasive techniques provides dependable large-scale population information. I used two noninvasive detection methods in combination to establish a robust occupancy estimate of the ringtail population in Zion National Park. Ringtails were detected in 2 of 3 focus areas in the park, but at low densities. This study included the development of a novel method to individually identify ringtails by their footprints. I used the Interactive Individual Identification System (I3S) software to determine if individuals could be identified using the pattern formed by papillae and ridges of the footpad. Ringtails' footpad prints consistently resulted in a unique pattern recognizable by simple visual analysis and a computer-aided analysis of the prints in a database; however more research is needed for the applicability using field data. Ringtail densities were highest in the areas of greatest human activity. The proximity to humans may be impacting ringtail diet and consequently their health. I collected scat in areas of high and low human use to quantify the change in diet resulting from food acquired around human establishments. Ringtails living in areas of high human activity exhibited a change in diet, including the presence of human trash such as foil and plastic; this has implications for ringtail health and human safety. Ringtails acquiring food from human sources may increase their activities around buildings and areas with high human activity, resulting in an increased chance of direct and indirect human-ringtail interactions. Active management of human activities and regular building maintenance is required in the future to decrease negative consequences of ringtail use and presence in areas of high human activity.</p>