Many wildlife populations globally are experiencing unprecedented declines, and without accurate and precise estimates of abundance, we will not be able to conserve these vulnerable species. Remote cameras have rapidly advanced as wildlife monitoring tools and may provide accurate and precise estimates of abundance that improve upon traditional methods. Using remote cameras to estimate abundance may be less expensive, less intrusive, less dangerous, and less time consuming than other methods. While it is apparent that remote cameras have a place in the future of wildlife monitoring, research, and management, many questions remain concerning the proper use of these tools. In an effort to answer some of these questions, we used remote cameras to study a population of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) in Utah, USA from 2012 to 2014. In Chapter 1, we compared methods using remote cameras against 2 traditional methods of estimating abundance. In Chapter 2, we evaluated the relationship between deployment time of cameras and proportion of photos needed to be analyzed to obtain precise estimates of abundance. We found that methods using remote cameras compared favorably to traditional methods of estimating abundance, and provided a number of valuable advantages. In addition, we found that remote cameras can produce precise estimates of abundance in a relatively short sampling period. Finally, we identified the optimal sampling period to produce precise estimates of abundance for our study population. Our findings can help researchers better utilize the potential of remote cameras, making them a more suitable alternative to traditional wildlife monitoring.

Many wildlife populations globally are experiencing unprecedented declines, and without accurate and precise estimates of abundance, we will not be able to conserve these vulnerable species. Remote cameras have rapidly advanced as wildlife monitoring tools and may provide accurate and precise estimates of abundance that improve upon traditional methods. Using remote cameras to estimate abundance may be less expensive, less intrusive, less dangerous, and less time consuming than other methods. While it is apparent that remote cameras have a place in the future of wildlife monitoring, research, and management, many questions remain concerning the proper use of these tools. In an effort to answer some of these questions, we used remote cameras to study a population of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) in Utah, USA from 2012 to 2014. In Chapter 1, we compared methods using remote cameras against 2 traditional methods of estimating abundance. In Chapter 2, we evaluated the relationship between deployment time of cameras and proportion of photos needed to be analyzed to obtain precise estimates of abundance. We found that methods using remote cameras compared favorably to traditional methods of estimating abundance, and provided a number of valuable advantages. In addition, we found that remote cameras can produce precise estimates of abundance in a relatively short sampling period. Finally, we identified the optimal sampling period to produce precise estimates of abundance for our study population. Our findings can help researchers better utilize the potential of remote cameras, making them a more suitable alternative to traditional wildlife monitoring.

The capture of neonate ungulates has played an integral role in studies of habitat selection, phenology, survival, and other topics of ecological interest. However, neonates can be difficult for researchers to locate and capture. Neonate ungulates are born in habitats with reduced visibility, frequently spend time in a concealed, prone position, and may display cryptic coloration. In an attempt to improve researchers' likelihood of locating and capturing neonate ungulates, multiple capture methods have been developed. Much remains unknown about biases associated with capture methods and how to further improve capture methods once biases are understood. Our objectives were to determine if opportunistic captures of neonate mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) bias estimates of litter size (Chapter 1) and to determine when searches for neonate elk (Cervus canadensis) should begin following parturition to maximize likelihood of capture while minimizing disturbance (Chapter 2). To complete our objectives, we analyzed data from 161 litters of mule deer and 55 attempted captures of neonate elk during 2019-2021 in Utah, USA. Estimates of litter size derived from opportunistic captures of mule deer were smaller than estimates derived from movement-based captures or captures completed with the aid of vaginal implant transmitters (VITs). The time elapsed between parturition and when searches were initiated for neonate mule deer did not influence estimates of litter size, but we could only analyze this relationship for VIT-aided captures within approximately 2 days of parturition. Until more data are available, we recommend that estimates of litter size for neonate mule deer be completed using movement-based or VIT-aided captures within approximately 2 days of parturition. When attempting to capture neonate elk, reducing the time elapsed between parturition and when searches were initiated resulted in a decreased search length, decreased distance traveled by the neonate, and increased likelihood of capture. We initiated searches as early as 3.6 hours post-parturition with no evidence of maternal abandonment and probability of capture was near or above 90% when searches were initiated within 10 hours of parturition. We recommend that searches for neonate elk be initiated 3.6-10 hours post-parturition. Future researchers can use utilize our results to perform captures of neonate ungulates that minimize bias, decrease disturbance, increase efficiency, and maximize the likelihood of capture success.

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The increasing scope and speed of biological invasions around the world is a major concern of the modern environmental conservation movement. Although many ecological impacts of biological invasions are still not well understood, there is a general consensus that exotic, invasive species are a primary driver of extinctions globally. By altering ecosystem structure and function, invasive species also affect human quality of life; however, not all impacts lead to negative outcomes. Given that invasive species have diverse impacts on society, their management in human-dominated landscapes is a wicked problem wherein the resolution is as much an issue of social value as technical capacity. The purpose of my research was to understand the propensity for engaging private landowners in an effort to eradicate an invasive species on an inhabited island. Specifically, I investigated private landowner perspectives on eradicating the North American beaver (Castor canadensis) from the Tierra del Fuego (TDF) island archipelago in Argentina and Chile. The beaver was introduced in 1946 and has since become a central conservation issue due to its long-lasting changes to local hydrology, nutrient cycling, riparian vegetation, food webs, and aquatic and terrestrial species assemblages. Because eradication requires near complete cooperation from stakeholders and no research had been conducted to understand the perspectives or willingness of private landowners to cooperate, my objectives were to: 1) characterize the links private landowners make between the presence of beavers and impacts to the ecosystem services in their riparian areas, and 2) explore the role of a market-based incentive program to increase landowner cooperation in eradication efforts. Through semi-structured interviews, I elicited landowner mental models of how beavers impact the ecosystem services they receive from their riparian lands. I found that TDF ranchers prioritized provisioning ecosystem services, and held diverse and idiosyncratic beliefs about how beavers influence these outcomes. TDF ranchers may not recognize the beaver as a highly salient problem because they do not connect them to reductions in ecosystem services that are important to them. Among those who do perceive beavers affecting important ecosystem services, there is no clear, unified understanding of how the beavers disturb the ecosystem and key ecosystem services. Additionally, in a broadly administered survey, I used a factorial vignettes to examine the role of program structure and other program-related factors on landowners' willingness to participate in a voluntary eradication program. Overall, landowners were willing to cooperate in an incentive program to eradicate beavers. They were positively motivated by greater financial compensation, an increased expectation that the program would be successful, and the program assuming full responsibility for its implementation. Other factors returned mixed results indicating that further research may be required. In diverse, human-inhabited, and privately-owned landscapes, conservation requires collective action—i.e., the high threshold of participation needed for eradication to be achieved. Understanding the knowledge systems that cause landowners to perceive value or risk serves as a first step in understanding behaviors, and can also serve as a framework for crafting more effective outreach, as current communication about the beaver and the proposed eradication may not resonate with private landowners. Further, barriers to inaction can be overcome by understanding landowner needs and how program-related factors influence the potential for cooperation. In sum, by putting human needs at the forefront of program design, conservation planners can better understand stakeholder perspectives, reduce barriers to participation, and ultimately increase cooperation and improve conservation outcomes. / Master of Science

Cette étude vise à identifier les effets des changements climatiques sur les activités de subsistance traditionnelles des chasseurs cris de la Baie-James. De nombreuses études se penchent sur les changements climatiques, mais relativement peu d’entre elles traitent de leurs effets socio-économiques et socioculturels sur les populations dans le Subarctique du Québec. Cette thèse explore les mécanismes d’intégration des connaissances scientifiques au savoir écologique traditionnel (SET) ; une intégration prônée par de nombreux chercheurs comme l’évolution souhaitable dans la recherche sur le SET et sur ses applications. L’étude de cette intégration se fait ici à l’aide d’une analyse des perceptions des chasseurs de l’Association des Trappeurs Cris concernant les effets des changements climatiques, avec l’accent sur les activités de subsistance traditionnelles en lien avec la bernache du Canada et le caribou des bois, deux espèces importantes culturellement. Une approche combinant l’aspect théorique de l’ethnoécologie et l’aspect pratique de l’étude de cas a été utilisée. Diverses sources de données ont été employées : l’analyse documentaire et cartographique, les questionnaires et les entrevues ouvertes et semi-dirigées. Cette recherche met en évidence des variations dans l’observation des changements climatiques et dans la perception de leurs effets par les chasseurs cris selon la localisation de leur communauté. Certains effets sont ressentis de la même façon par tous. Ainsi, les participants de toutes les communautés s’inquiètent des dangers liés à une fragilité accrue de la glace sur les lacs et les rivières. Cependant, ce sont surtout les membres des communautés côtières qui s’alarment du déplacement des bernaches vers l’intérieur du territoire. Ils sont aussi les seuls à ne pas percevoir de baisse du nombre de caribous des bois sur leurs lignes de trappe. Les effets des changements climatiques paraissent avoir un impact sur le mode de vie traditionnel cri en lien avec la bernache du Canada et le caribou des bois et affecter la transmission du savoir traditionnel vers les nouvelles générations quant au caribou des bois. Les résultats montrent aussi que la combinaison du SET et des données scientifiques permet de compléter le portrait de l’évolution du climat et des espèces (par ex. : variation du climat entre la côte et l’intérieur du territoire, apparition du cerf de Virginie et du coyote sur le territoire) et d’élaborer de nouvelles pistes de recherches et des hypothèses qui n’auraient pas été autrement identifiées (par ex. : causes d’un changement dans la structure de la gla ce, évolution des aires de répartition des sous-espèces de bernaches, impact des insectes suceurs-piqueurs sur la santé des caribous). Elle facilite également l’identification et la compréhension des enjeux et des processus d’adaptation qui ont lieu dans les communautés cries de la Baie-James (par ex. : diminution de la consommation du caribou, maintien de la consommation de la bernache, dangers accrus dans les déplacements liés à la fragilité de la glace ou à la difficulté à prévoir les schèmes climatiques). L’utilisation combinée du SET et du savoir scientifique permet de mieux appréhender les effets des changements climatiques et les dynamiques socioculturelles et environnementales complexes du territoire de la Baie-James. / This thesis intends to identify the effects of climate change as it relates to the traditional activities of the Eastern James Bay Cree. Numerous studies have analysed climate change, however relatively few have studied its socioeconomic and socio-cultural effects on the subarctic populations of Quebec as does this one. Exploring the integration mechanisms between scientific knowledge and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), this combination of knowledge being presented by many researchers as the next step in TEK research, this thesis utilizes the various perceptions that the hunters of the Cree Trappers Association have of the impacts of climate change. Emphasis was placed on their traditional activities in connection with the Canada goose and the woodland caribou, two culturally important species The study uses an approach combining the theoretical aspects of ethnoecology with the practical aspects of case studies. Various methods of data collection were used: literary and cartography reviews, questionnaires and long and short interviews. The research demonstrates a variation in Cree observations of climate change and in their perceptions of the effects of these changes based on the location of the community in the James Bay region. Certain effects are perceived in all communities, for instance participants from all communities worried about the dangers associated with an increased fragility of the ice formed on lakes and rivers. However, it was primarily members of the coastal communities who worried over the Canada geese moving further inland. Members of the coastal communities were also the only ones to not notice a reduction in the numbers of woodland caribou on their traplines. Climate change seems to have an impact on the Cree’s traditional way of life associated with the Canada goose and woodland caribou and to affect the transmission of their traditional knowledge to the newer generations as it pertains to the woodland caribou. Also highlighted is the fact that a combination of TEK and scientific data allows for a broader picture of climate and species evolution (e.g.: climate variations between the coast and the interior of the territory, presence of white-tailed deers and coyotes on the territory) and suggests new research questions and hypothesis (e.g.: causes for a change in the ice structure, evolution in the range and distribution of Canada geese subspecies, impact of bloodsucking insects on caribou health). It also allows for a better identification and understanding of the stakes and adaptation processes currently going on in Eastern James Bay communities (e.g.: decrease in caribou consumption, maintenance of geese consumption, increased dangers during travel due to an increase in ice fragility or in unusual climatic events). The combined use of TEK and scientific knowledge allows for a better understanding of the effects of climate change and the complex sociocultural and environmental dynamics at play in the Eastern James Bay.

Cette étude vise à identifier les effets des changements climatiques sur les activités de subsistance traditionnelles des chasseurs cris de la Baie-James. De nombreuses études se penchent sur les changements climatiques, mais relativement peu d’entre elles traitent de leurs effets socio-économiques et socioculturels sur les populations dans le Subarctique du Québec. Cette thèse explore les mécanismes d’intégration des connaissances scientifiques au savoir écologique traditionnel (SET) ; une intégration prônée par de nombreux chercheurs comme l’évolution souhaitable dans la recherche sur le SET et sur ses applications. L’étude de cette intégration se fait ici à l’aide d’une analyse des perceptions des chasseurs de l’Association des Trappeurs Cris concernant les effets des changements climatiques, avec l’accent sur les activités de subsistance traditionnelles en lien avec la bernache du Canada et le caribou des bois, deux espèces importantes culturellement. Une approche combinant l’aspect théorique de l’ethnoécologie et l’aspect pratique de l’étude de cas a été utilisée. Diverses sources de données ont été employées : l’analyse documentaire et cartographique, les questionnaires et les entrevues ouvertes et semi-dirigées. Cette recherche met en évidence des variations dans l’observation des changements climatiques et dans la perception de leurs effets par les chasseurs cris selon la localisation de leur communauté. Certains effets sont ressentis de la même façon par tous. Ainsi, les participants de toutes les communautés s’inquiètent des dangers liés à une fragilité accrue de la glace sur les lacs et les rivières. Cependant, ce sont surtout les membres des communautés côtières qui s’alarment du déplacement des bernaches vers l’intérieur du territoire. Ils sont aussi les seuls à ne pas percevoir de baisse du nombre de caribous des bois sur leurs lignes de trappe. Les effets des changements climatiques paraissent avoir un impact sur le mode de vie traditionnel cri en lien avec la bernache du Canada et le caribou des bois et affecter la transmission du savoir traditionnel vers les nouvelles générations quant au caribou des bois. Les résultats montrent aussi que la combinaison du SET et des données scientifiques permet de compléter le portrait de l’évolution du climat et des espèces (par ex. : variation du climat entre la côte et l’intérieur du territoire, apparition du cerf de Virginie et du coyote sur le territoire) et d’élaborer de nouvelles pistes de recherches et des hypothèses qui n’auraient pas été autrement identifiées (par ex. : causes d’un changement dans la structure de la gla ce, évolution des aires de répartition des sous-espèces de bernaches, impact des insectes suceurs-piqueurs sur la santé des caribous). Elle facilite également l’identification et la compréhension des enjeux et des processus d’adaptation qui ont lieu dans les communautés cries de la Baie-James (par ex. : diminution de la consommation du caribou, maintien de la consommation de la bernache, dangers accrus dans les déplacements liés à la fragilité de la glace ou à la difficulté à prévoir les schèmes climatiques). L’utilisation combinée du SET et du savoir scientifique permet de mieux appréhender les effets des changements climatiques et les dynamiques socioculturelles et environnementales complexes du territoire de la Baie-James. / This thesis intends to identify the effects of climate change as it relates to the traditional activities of the Eastern James Bay Cree. Numerous studies have analysed climate change, however relatively few have studied its socioeconomic and socio-cultural effects on the subarctic populations of Quebec as does this one. Exploring the integration mechanisms between scientific knowledge and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), this combination of knowledge being presented by many researchers as the next step in TEK research, this thesis utilizes the various perceptions that the hunters of the Cree Trappers Association have of the impacts of climate change. Emphasis was placed on their traditional activities in connection with the Canada goose and the woodland caribou, two culturally important species The study uses an approach combining the theoretical aspects of ethnoecology with the practical aspects of case studies. Various methods of data collection were used: literary and cartography reviews, questionnaires and long and short interviews. The research demonstrates a variation in Cree observations of climate change and in their perceptions of the effects of these changes based on the location of the community in the James Bay region. Certain effects are perceived in all communities, for instance participants from all communities worried about the dangers associated with an increased fragility of the ice formed on lakes and rivers. However, it was primarily members of the coastal communities who worried over the Canada geese moving further inland. Members of the coastal communities were also the only ones to not notice a reduction in the numbers of woodland caribou on their traplines. Climate change seems to have an impact on the Cree’s traditional way of life associated with the Canada goose and woodland caribou and to affect the transmission of their traditional knowledge to the newer generations as it pertains to the woodland caribou. Also highlighted is the fact that a combination of TEK and scientific data allows for a broader picture of climate and species evolution (e.g.: climate variations between the coast and the interior of the territory, presence of white-tailed deers and coyotes on the territory) and suggests new research questions and hypothesis (e.g.: causes for a change in the ice structure, evolution in the range and distribution of Canada geese subspecies, impact of bloodsucking insects on caribou health). It also allows for a better identification and understanding of the stakes and adaptation processes currently going on in Eastern James Bay communities (e.g.: decrease in caribou consumption, maintenance of geese consumption, increased dangers during travel due to an increase in ice fragility or in unusual climatic events). The combined use of TEK and scientific knowledge allows for a better understanding of the effects of climate change and the complex sociocultural and environmental dynamics at play in the Eastern James Bay.