A mail-survey questionnaire concerning wildlife management on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land was sent to one-half (n = 808) the enrollees in Virginia selected at random. Results from a 76% return indicated that 72% wanted to improve the wildlife habitat on their retired land. These respondents felt that wildlife habitat improvement was important because of its visual appeal (23%), hunting opportunities for enrollees (21 %), and future values for descendants (18%). Respondents who did not want to improve wildlife habitat desired to avoid attracting hunters. Most respondents (62%) indicated they had not been informed about improving wildlife habitat on their CRP land, and one-third of them wished someone would do so. Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS) and Soil Conservation Service (SCS) personnel were the primary source (63%) of wildlife habitat information for CRP participants. CRP land was planted primarily to pines (49%), fescue-clover (19%), and fescue (15%). Only 5% of the land was enrolled as a "permanent wildlife habitat" Less than 2% of the respondents indicated that they had planted woody shrubs. Mowing the entire CRP acreage was the primary means (43%) of weed control. Leasing of CRP land to hunters for cash income was uncommon (3%). When asked what amount of compensation would be required to implement a wildlife plan, if the costs of doing so were paid, 27% indicated they would require no payment. CRP participants are older, more likely female, and control more land than typical Virginia farmers. These results indicate a high interest in wildlife on private land and a need for better targeting of information and education efforts by USDA and state wildlife management agencies. / M.S.

My research examines how primary stakeholders interact with Texas' most harvested big game animals: white-tailed deer, which are increasingly impacted by chronic wasting disease (CWD), and feral hogs, which impact the landscape but effectively have no management strategy. Drawing on literature on wildlife governance in Texas, managing property and the commons, and disease landscapes, and broadly framed by themes of political and historical ecology, my research asks: (1) how do management goals for deer and feral hogs compare to hunting practices and hunting culture in Texas? (2) How are deer commodified by the Texas deer breeding industry? (3) How does the commodification of deer by breeders impact deer hunting practices in Texas? To examine how local stakeholders manage CWD and feral hogs, I conducted interviews among 21 stakeholders, including hunters, game wardens, game ranch managers, and deer breeders in Texas, as well as conducting participant observation at three deer conferences. Analysis shows that contrary to my expectations, not all participants viewed feral hogs negatively, with some viewing them as profit-making ventures. Inversely, how stakeholders contend with and understand CWD varies by a stakeholder's ability to generate profit from deer breeding. Furthermore, the majority of participants identified deer breeding operations as the greatest risk for spreading CWD; deer-breeders themselves, not surprisingly, perceived CWD as either low risk or a big government conspiracy. This research demonstrates a need for further regulation or outlawing deer breeding altogether.

Working lands, such as mine reclamation and timber production sites, may be able to provide supplementary habitat for declining disturbance-dependent birds, such as Bachman's Sparrow (Peucaea aestivalis) and Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus). However, habitat use is likely contingent on specifics of land-use practices, especially those that could alter understory vegetation. My first research objective was to use autonomous recording units (ARUs) and BirdNET algorithms to compare the relative abundance of eight focal bird species across site treatments representing land management types: surface mine reclamation, timber production, young savanna, and mature savanna. All sites were established in upland pine (Pinus spp.) habitat throughout the southeastern Coastal Plain region of Georgia, USA from May-June 2024. I hypothesized that the mine reclamation site would support similar focal species, but in lower abundances than timber production and both savanna sites, and vegetation characteristics would also influence relative abundance along with site treatment. Model selection showed site treatment influenced relative abundance for all species and explained more variation in relative abundance than measured vegetation characteristics. The mine reclamation site had similar relative abundances for focal species when compared to the timber production site, suggesting these treatments provide comparable habitat. The young savanna site exhibited the highest abundances for most species, whereas the mature savanna site had lower abundances, suggesting some focal species may prefer habitat lacking overstories. Focal species responded differently to vegetation characteristics; for example, Common Nighthawk showed a positive response to grass cover, whereas Prairie Warbler responded negatively. My results provide strong evidence that site treatment influences the relative abundance of all focal species and highlight the need for future studies to parse out the exact mechanisms underlying these differences. Additionally, this study highlights the potential for working lands to provide habitat for disturbance-dependent birds and the effectiveness of using ARUs to assess the effects of land management on bird relative abundances. My second research objective assessed optimal survey frequency when using Royle-Nichols (RN) models to estimate abundance or relative abundance from ARU data. Passive acoustic monitoring with ARUs can enable efficient monitoring of avian populations. RN models may be well suited for estimating abundance or relative abundance from ARU detection/non-detection data; as repeated surveys can easily be conducted with ARUs. Yet, optimal survey effort using these methods remains unexplored. Using ARU data from four site treatments in southeastern Georgia, I assessed how survey frequency and mean cumulative detection probability influenced estimates for Blue Grosbeak (Passerina caerulea) and Bachman's Sparrow from May–June 2024. A baseline dataset of 50 daily surveys was subsampled into reduced frequencies: 25 surveys every 2nd day, 17 every 3rd day, 13 every 4th day, 8 every 7th day, and 5 every 10th day. RN models were fitted to each subsample. Abundance estimates decreased with subsampling, showing survey frequency arbitrarily influences estimates and RN models should be viewed as relative, not absolute, abundance estimates. However, the specific order of relative abundance across site treatments remained consistent for both species during subsampling, indicating RN models can still reliably infer effects across sites. Mean cumulative detection probability decreased with subsampling yet remained >70% for both species. Subsampling reduced precision in relative abundance estimates for both species; particularly for Bachman's Sparrow, emphasizing species-specific sensitivity to survey effort. However, subsampling every 2nd day or every 3rd day resulted in moderate losses of precision (≤ 34%) for both species, suggesting reduced survey frequency may be a viable strategy for efficient data collection depending on species detectability and study goals. Together, these findings from my research objectives highlight the potential of working lands to support disturbance-dependent bird conservation and demonstrate how passive acoustic monitoring with ARUs can be an effective tool for the conservation and management of bird populations. / Master of Science / Working lands, such as mine reclamation and timber production areas, can provide valuable habitat for bird species that require environments shaped by disturbance, such as fire or tree harvesting. However, how disturbance-dependent birds use these habitats may depend on specific land management practices, especially those that alter vegetation. In this study, I compared the abundance of eight bird species across four sites in upland pine (Pinus spp.) habitat across southeastern Georgia from May-June 2024. Sites represented a distinct land-use or management type: surface mine reclamation, timber production, recently harvested and replanted pine savanna, and unharvested mature savanna. I used automated recorders to monitor birds at sites and found that the mine reclamation supported many of the same bird species as the timber production site, often at similar abundance levels. The young savanna site had the highest amount of bird abundance overall, while the mature savanna site supported fewer of the birds evaluated, suggesting some species prefer open habitats lacking mature trees. Vegetation features, such as understory composition also affected bird abundances, but these effects varied between species. I also tested how to optimize survey effort, specifically how many days of surveys are required, when using data from automated recorders to estimate bird abundance with statistical models. By focusing on two birds, Blue Grosbeak (Passerina caerulea) and Bachman's Sparrow (Peucaea aestivalis), I examined how reducing the number of survey days affected the accuracy and precision of abundance estimates from models. Although fewer surveys reduced precision, the overall patterns in bird relative abundance across sites remained consistent. This suggests that less frequent surveys could still produce reliable results, depending on the study's goals and species detectability. Together, these findings highlight the potential of working lands to support disturbance-dependent bird conservation and demonstrate how automated recorders can be an effective tool for studying bird populations.

The present study compared Sand Forest bird assemblages found in a communal land area with that of the Tembe Elephant Park, and determined the habitat preference and status of selected herbivore species within the park. The study forms part of the Maputaland Conservation-based and Integrated Rural Development Programme of the Centre for Wildlife Management from the University of Pretoria and is linked to the activities of the Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation Area (LTFCA). The main purpose of the study was to compare Sand Forest bird assemblages found in the Tshanini Community Conservation Area, which is characterised by low levels of human utilisation, with that of the Tembe Elephant Park, which is characterised by wildlife utilisation. This approach was used to determine the biological importance of this communal land area in contributing towards the conservation of the rare Sand Forest habitat. Visual and auditory bird surveys revealed that the communal land area contains unique Sand Forest bird assemblages, which demonstrated the biological importance of the communal land for Sand Forest conservation, especially from an avian perspective. The second purpose of the study was to identify possible competition between selected herbivore species within the Tembe Elephant Park and/or a decrease in numbers of rare species. Herbivores that might be adversely affected by the destruction of the Sand Forest, or who may themselves have a destructive effect on the Sand Forest were also identified. Target herbivores included the nyala Tragelaphus angasii, impala Aepyceros melampus, Burchell’s zebra Equus burchellii, greater kudu Tragelaphus strepsiceros, red duiker Cephalophus natalensis and suni Neotragus moschatus. Road transects were used to record the spatial distribution of the target herbivores, and the vegetation types that were used more or less often than expected were subsequently determined. None of the target herbivores showed a preference for the Sand Forest or appeared to have a destructive effect on the Sand Forest. The suni, however, reached its highest density within the Sand Forest and the destruction of this habitat will therefore negatively affect the suni population. In several parks and reserves that aim to conserve a variety of species, it has been necessary to control the populations of highly competitive species. Both the nyala and the impala are highly competitive and occur in relatively high numbers within the Tembe Elephant Park, and consequently their population numbers should be kept sufficiently low in order not to have a negative influence on the vegetation or the survival of less competitive ungulates. Total aerial counts and transect distance sampling counts indicated an increase in the numbers of all the target herbivores. It is important to protect a viable portion of the preferred habitat of every target species within a reserve, and to keep competition with rare species to a minimum for the long-term survival of the regional biodiversity. Key aspects of wildlife and their habitat should be monitored so that trends are noted in time, and management adjustments can be made accordingly. / Dissertation (MSc (Wildlife Management))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Centre for Wildlife Management / unrestricted

No description available.

One of the biggest challenges with today's conservation strategy has been the increase in human-wildlife conflicts in rural areas. Different strategies in conservation have been presented, such as mainstream conservation and convivial conservation, both with the same goal but different approaches when it comes to economic, social and environmental aspects. Conservation of species and mitigation of human-wildlife conflicts are complex, both in practice and in theory. This makes the subject important to study in order to improve conservation models which in turn improve livelihoods, attitudes and surroundings for villagers affected by the conflicts. In this paper, the authors performed interviews with representatives of two administrations working with conservation of elephants as well as interviews with villagers living in wildlife management areas (WMA), specifically Burunge Wildlife Management Area (BWMA) in Manyara region, Tanzania. This paper aims to examine villagers’ perception of the BWMA and if the wildlife management areas fulfil their purpose and live up to their expectations as well as examine the potential perks and risks for villagers that live near wildlife areas. The overall perception was that the villagers were satisfied with the BWMA and the organization seemed to be successful in fulfilling their purpose regarding conservation. The risks of living near wildlife areas does seem to surpass the perks, both when looking from an economic perspective and overall safety, which makes the solutions to the conflicts a subject of great importance. / En av de största utmaningarna med dagens bevarandestrategier har varit ökningen av konflikter mellan människor och vilda djur. De olika strategierna som presenterats inom bevarande, som mainstream conservation och convivial conservation, har samma mål men olika tillvägagångssätt när det kommer till ekonomiska, sociala och miljömässiga aspekter. Att bevara arter och mildra konflikterna mellan människor och vilda djur är komplext, både i praktiken och i teorin. Detta gör det till ett ämne värt att studera vidare för att förbättra modeller för bevarande, vilket i sin tur ämnar stärka områden som: försörjning, attityder och omgivningen för bybor som drabbats av dessa konflikter. I denna artikel genomförde författarna intervjuer med representanter från två administrationer som arbetar med bevarandet av elefanter samt intervjuer med bybor som bor nära viltförvaltningsområden, närmare bestämt Burunge Wildlife Management Area (BWMA) i Babati-distriktet, Tanzania. Den här artikeln syftar till att undersöka bybors uppfattning om BWMA och huruvida viltförvaltningsområden uppfyller sitt syfte och lever upp till dess förväntningar samt att undersöka de potentiella förmånerna och riskerna för bybor som bor nära dessa områden. Den övergripande uppfattningen var att majoriteten av byborna var nöjda med BWMA och att organisationen verkade ha lyckats med att uppfylla sitt syfte gällande bevarande. Riskerna med att bo nära viltområden tycks överträffa fördelarna, både från ett ekonomiskt- och trygghetsperspektiv vilket motiverar att lösningarna på konflikterna prioriteras.

Master of Arts / Department of Geography / J. M. Shawn Hutchinson / Prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) are social, ground-dwelling rodents native to North American short- and mixed-grass prairie. They are also the main prey of the Federally-endangered black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes). At the same time, prairie dog colonization is highly opposed by most agricultural landowners. Therefore nonlethal population management techniques must be investigated. This paper presents the results of research on the effectiveness of ungrazed vegetative barriers composed of native plants at limiting prairie dog dispersal away from a ferret reintroduction site in northwest Kansas. Data was collected on barrier quality and condition as well as estimates of population densities of immigrant prairie dogs, dispersing through the vegetative barrier to reoccupy previously extirpated colonies on properties surrounding the ferret reintroduction site. Using strip transects and aboveground visual counts to estimate population densities and visual obstruction ranking techniques to sample barrier condition, statistical analysis of the data indicated that while barrier condition increased over time, it was not effective at limiting prairie dog emigration from the black-footed ferret reintroduction site.

Master of Science / Division of Biology / Brett K. Sandercock / Grassland birds have experienced population declines worldwide from habitat degradation caused by conversion to agriculture and recent intensification of land use, including increased use of fertilizer, fossil fuels, and irrigation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) includes initiatives targeting wildlife enhancement to mitigate ongoing declines in grassland bird populations. The newest CRP practice, State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE), was designed to restore vital habitats for high priority wildlife species throughout the United States. Our objective was to assess the potential benefits of SAFE for upland gamebirds and grassland songbirds in Kansas. We monitored lands enrolled in SAFE to estimate bird density based on field scale and landscape scale characteristics. Our study was conducted in three ecoregions: Smoky Hills (4 counties), Flint Hills (3 counties), and the High Plains (3 counties). We surveyed 121 SAFE fields and 49 CRP fields from 2012 – 2013. Northern Bobwhite density was negatively associated with percent litter within survey fields. Ring-necked Pheasant density differed among ecoregions, and was positively associated with percent bare ground in the High Plains, but negatively associated with field age in the Smoky Hills. Mourning Dove density differed among ecoregions, and was negatively associated with percent forb in the High Plains, and positively associated with percent grassland in the Smoky Hills. In the Flint Hills, Mourning Doves were negatively associated with CRP fields and large fields. Brown-headed Cowbirds were positively associated with percent forbs. Amount of CRP surrounding survey locations was positively associated with bird density through the entire range for Grasshopper Sparrows, Dickcissels, and Lark Buntings, and in the High Plains for Western Meadowlarks. Percent woodland had negative effects on Western Meadowlarks in the Smoky Hills, whereas percent cropland had negative effects on Eastern Meadowlarks statewide. CRP positively affected abundance of four of our species, whereas percent cropland and woodland negatively affected others. Thus, the amount of set-aside lands enrolled in SAFE could be important for grassland bird populations. SAFE and CRP supported equal numbers of Northern Bobwhites and Ring-necked Pheasants, suggesting SAFE provides benefits for target species of upland gamebirds.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Biology / David A. Haukos / Mottled ducks (Anas fulvigula) are dabbling waterfowl species native to coastal wetlands of the Gulf of Mexico of the United States and Mexico. Although closely related to common waterfowl species such as the mallard (A. platyrhynchos) and American black duck (A. rubripes), the mottled duck exhibits unique behavior, mainly in its life history as a non-migratory species. As such, because of population declines caused by predation, habitat destruction, and environmental contaminants, this species requires specialized conservation concerns and species-specific management to protect population numbers. The goal of this study was to assess ongoing effect of observed lead (Pb) contamination and exposure issues in mottled ducks and their habitats, which I achieved by conducting assessments that will provide managers habitat and organism level metrics to detect and mitigate lead in mottled ducks and their environments. My field study was conducted at the Texas Chenier Plain National Wildlife Refuge Complex (TCPC), which was the area of greatest mottled duck density on the Texas Coast. I first created a body condition index to provide managers a tool to monitor population health, and a proxy for lead exposure and avian health without destructively sampling individuals. I then used presence-only maximum entropy (MaxENT) and multivariate statistical modeling procedures in conjunction with mottled duck movement data to elucidate sets of habitat conditions that were conducive to predicting the occurrence of mottled ducks and environmental lead “hot spots”. MaxENT analyses suggested that lead in the top portion of the soil column is similarly related to all environmental variables considered, may be increasingly available after large-scale environmental disturbances. Lack of variation in coarse-scale habitat use between breeding and non-breeding seasons may further point to a food-based exposure pathway for lead as mottled ducks switch from an invertebrate to plant diet, either as a result of changing age classes or normal adult phenology, during the period of increased lead exposure. Using stable isotope ratio analysis, I then tested environmental samples of soil and vegetation as well as mottled duck blood to determine isotopic signatures that were consistent with particular sources of lead deposition (e.g., lead shot pellets, leaded fossil fuel combustion, industrial effluents). Comparisons suggested a great deal of similarity to lead shot reference values in vegetation and blood samples, especially in blood samples with higher concentrations of lead present. Last, I conducted a formal Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) procedure to quantify the risk to mottled ducks from lead exposure in their current habitat and direct managers towards effective mitigation and habitat management strategies to reduce exposure in the future. One scenario suggested that mottled ducks were at greatest risk from eating an invertebrate-based diet, but lead content values at the TCPC suggest that a plant-based diet may provide a higher lead exposure risk for mottled ducks, depending on true levels of bioavailability in environmental media. Overall, I determined that mottled ducks experience greatest lead exposure risk from lead shot pellets on the TCPC or in nearby habitat, while potentially also experiencing low levels of exposure from several other sources. Additionally, management efforts that focus on plants that do not provide food resources for mottled ducks as a potential environmental sink for lead contamination, such as phytoremediation, may prove effective in reducing the overall lead load from historical activities that likely deposited much of the lead in this ecosystem.

Master of Science / Biology / David A. Haukos / The lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) is an endemic North American prairie grouse once widely distributed in the southwestern Great Plains. Recent population declines and continued threats to lesser prairie-chicken populations prompted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the species as “threatened” under the protection of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 in May 2014. The northern extent of the species range in Kansas and Colorado supports 2/3 of the remaining range-wide population of lesser prairie-chickens, but has thus far been relatively understudied. Concern for species viability has created a need to fill current knowledge gaps in lesser prairie-chicken ecology, provide more recent demographic information, and develop appropriate conservation actions. I evaluated female survival, movement, space use, and effects of anthropogenic features during the breeding seasons of 2013 and 2014. I captured and radio-tagged 201 females with satellite GPS (N = 114) and VHF (N = 82) transmitters within the three ecoregions of Kansas and Colorado. Mean daily movement varied by region, year, and breeding season period but the amount of space used was consistent between ecoregions and years. On average, females moved 1352 m ± 12 [SE] per day. Females moved the greatest distances during the lekking period of the breeding season with females moving 2074 m ± 36 per day. Females were most sedentary during the brooding period moving only 780 m ± 14 per day. Mean breeding season home range size was estimated to be 340 ha ± 27. The lekking period had the greatest amount of movement as a result of females visiting leks to find mates, copulate, and search for nest locations. Female’s movements were reduced during the brooding period because of physical limitations of the brood mobility. Variation in movement between ecoregions was most likely a product of fragmentation as females moved 10-30% more in northwest Kansas compared to the study sites, which was characterized by northwest Kansas having the greatest degree of fragmentation. Survival varied by ecoregion with females in northwest Kansas having the lowest probability of surviving the 6-month breeding season compared to other ecoregions. Estimated 6-month breeding season survival during 2013 and 2014 was 0.455 (95% CI = 0.38 – 0.53). Survival was lowest during the nesting period, which claimed 59.5% of all observed mortalities. Survival increased from 2013 to 2014 in northwest Kansas as grassland habitats recovered from extreme drought conditions in 2013. Drought was less severe in south-central Kansas and survival rates remained fairly consistent across years. Avian and mammalian predators caused 45.7% and 34.3% of breeding season mortalities, respectively. Other mortalities were either cause by snakes or were unknown (5.7%, 14.3%). Overhead cover may have been limited from drought conditions causing nesting females to be more visible to avian predators during incubation. When pooled across years and ecoregions, rump-mounted GPS transmitters did not adversely affect female survival when compared to commonly used necklace style VHF transmitter (VHF: 0.48 95% CI = 0.39 – 0.58; GPS: 0.50 95% CI = 0.38 – 0.64). Distance to distribution power lines and lek were significant predictors of female space use within their home range with females behaviorally avoiding distribution power lines and using space closer to leks. Space use decreased with increasing oil well density. Females avoided areas that had well densities of 23 wells/250 ha. Observed female locations were further from anthropogenic features but closer to leks on average than at random. Avoidance behavior of anthropogenic features may result in functional habitat loss and reduce the amount of suitable habitat available; compounding previously fragmented landscapes. Anthropogenic features may limit movement by acting as barriers on the landscape and potentially disrupt population connectivity. Furthermore, habitats selected for nesting and brooding may result in potential ecological traps because of reduce breeding success when impacted by increased occurrence and densities of anthropogenic features. Reduced breeding success can have significant negative impacts on population persistence. Average home range size across all ecoregions indicated that female lesser prairie-chickens need at least 340 ha of habitat to fulfill her life-history requirements during the breeding season. Brooding habitats need to be in close proximity (≤ 750 m) to nesting cover to reduce distance traversed by newly hatched broods. Reducing grazing pressure will ensure that sufficient vertical habitat structure is available during the nesting period and increase female survival; especially in times of drought. Mangers should restrict construction of anthropogenic features near or within suitable lesser prairie-chicken habitat with emphasis on distribution power lines. Well densities should not exceed 1 well/60 acres (11 wells/section) for a >10% probability of use. However, because the affect that density of wells has on demographic rates of lesser prairie-chickens has yet to be determined, a conservative approach where well densities in or adjacent to grassland patches should be minimized as much as possible is best.