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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Göteborg University, 2003. / Title from home page (viewed June 21, 2004). Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 196-201). Also available via the Internet.

The differing objectives of the public in managing and using both wildlife habitat and the wildlife resource create problems for wildlife managers who must find socially acceptable solutions. How should the resource be allocated among alternative uses such as hunting and observation? Should particular species be given priority in the management of the wildlife resource and, if so, which ones? What tradeoffs should be made to arrive at solutions which appropriately reflect the public's legitimate interest and concern with the management of this resource? The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of the management system established as a means of arriving at socially acceptable solutions in the management of wildlife at the Pitt Wildlife Management Area (PWMA). The study focuses on the effectiveness of the PWMA Advisory Committee as a forum for incorporating public input into policy and management decisions at the PWMA. While the "Proposed Wetlands Policy" for the Provincial Government calls for the establishment of public advisory committees, the PWMA Advisory Committee is the first public advisory committee established in B.C. for the purpose of advising the F&WB on issues relating to wildlife management in a specific area. Normative criteria have been derived for evaluating the performance of an ideal process for wildlife management decision-making. These criteria follow logically from social values inherent in a liberal democratic system. A basic assumption behind these criteria is that socially acceptable solutions can be elicited through a process which reflects social values. The normative criteria used for evaluating the decision-making process are: (1) all interests affected by decisions should be represented; (2) decisions should be based on adequate information; (3) interaction should take place among participants; (4) participants' efforts should be of value; and (5) the system should be efficient. This study documents the planning process for four issues pertaining to the PWMA - the formation of a management plan, the allocation of a Sandhill Crane reserve, the waterfowl hunting policy, and the formation of a recreation plan. The PWMA Advisory Committee has opened up the wildlife management decision process a great deal. However, the results of the evaluation indicate a number of weaknesses in the process. Representation of Legitimate Interests; Four categories of interests affected by the management of the PWMA were identified: those who use the PWMA, those who do not regularly use the area but are interested in enhancing wildlife populations in the area, those who don't use the area but are interested in preserving the diversity of wildlife species, and those affected by the external effects of managing the area. The evaluation revealed that a good cross-section of interests is represented on the committee except for those interested in certain recreational uses of the area. Five stages of a typical resource allocation process include issue formulation, plan conceptualization, evaluation, decision-making, and implementation. In order for affected interests to be adequately represented, they must be able to participate at all stages of the process. This has not been the case with the Advisory Committee. Because of the general lack of a systematic process, none of the interests have been well represented in the planning process for all issues. Adequacy of Information: Alternative planning and management strategies were not generated for most issues. In fact, for the most controversial issue (pertaining to the hunting regime), no alternatives were formally discussed for either of the two changes which were made. Because of the absence of management alternatives, very little information has been produced for evaluating management strategies. Interaction: Bargaining is a common method for resolving differences. Although the F&WB has encouraged debate among committee members, very little bargaining or compromise has occurred on issues where differences of opinion have existed. This appears to be related to the absence of many of the planning stages at which bargaining could have taken place. All government agencies have shown co-operation in their willingness to discuss issues of concern to the public interest groups. Effectiveness: Almost every public interest group qualified the extent to which their participation had been of value to the planning process.. Most of these members felt that, on at least one issue, their contribution was disregarded or that they were not given adequate opportunity to participate. Efficiency: All government agencies indicated that the time and resources spent on committee activities were very productive. The evaluation has indicated that there are a number of weaknesses in the management system as revealed by the planning process. The following recommendations are made to strengthen the process in terms of the normative elements of the decisionmaking process and in light of theories of political-administrative behavior: (1) There should be better representation by public groups affected by recreational developments at the PWMA; (2) There should be structural changes to the management system involving a long-range plan which is updated annually, the production of annual plans which coincide with the F&WB budgetary process, and the establishment of a budget for the management of the PWMA; and (3) There should be rule changes in the terms of reference of the Advisory Committee which would ensure the production of detailed agendas, information and problem statements regarding the most important items on the agendas, alternative solutions in the resolution of all issues, and information pertaining to the consequences of alternatives. If the operation of the PWMA Advisory Committee is reorganized to incorporate these recommendations, this management system should serve as a useful model for public involvement in wildlife management in other areas of B.C. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

<p> As eel populations decline worldwide, research tools for scientists and managers to better understand eel populations and dynamics will be vitally important. This research focuses on the relatively understudied silver phase eel, the sexually mature adult life stage that will make the single spawning journey to the oceanic spawning grounds. A non-lethal index of eel maturity was designed based on external measurements and was able to correctly classify individuals into one of seven maturity classes 83% of the time overall, yielding similar results to other non-lethal indices. Habitats above and below barriers to migration, at varying levels of watershed urbanization, and different distances from the ocean were compared in terms of eel maturity, size, age, and parasite parameters. Two methods of bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) were evaluated in their ability to estimate eel lipid concentration, a key factor in eel maturity and successful spawning.</p>

<p> This study investigates the population dynamics, movements, and habitat use of a population of western pond turtles in Orange County, California from 2008-2012 using radio telemetry and mark-recapture data. Western pond turtles have been thought to be declining throughout their range. However, few studies have documented their status in southern California, where urbanization has changed the landscape drastically in recent decades. I individually marked 236 pond turtles using hoop-net funnel traps and estimated the population size at 308 individuals, which is the largest estimate reported in southern California. Mean capture per unit effort was 5.03&plusmn;0.87. Mean female carapace length (CL) (142&plusmn;14mm) was not significantly larger than males (139&plusmn;14 mm). I also documented 20 nest and 9 estivation locations. Mean distances included 176 &plusmn;130.80 meters (m) and 91&plusmn;58.6 m. These data identify the population demography, which can be a metric of population stability. Other known populations need to be estimated to determine their regional status.</p>

<p> Conserving bird populations in urban landscapes often depends on interactions between extinction, recolonization, and survival in remnant habitat patches such as small nature preserves. Thus, determining the ecological value of small nature preserves to birds is a necessary step towards an informed conservation strategy. As such, I conducted a year round capture-mark-recapture study from April 2010 to March 2014 to examine population dynamics of Northern Cardinals (<i>Cardinalis cardinalis</i>) and Carolina Wrens (<i> Thryothorus ludovicianus</i>) in a 41.7-ha nature preserve embedded in an urban matrix. More specifically, we examined variation in survival, recruitment, and realized population growth rates relative to year, season, sex, age, and wing length (as a proxy for body size) to investigate attributes that affect individual survival and to assess whether the reserve served as a population source or sink. The overall annual apparent survival rate of Northern Cardinals (0.520 &plusmn; SE 0.050) was higher than that of the Carolina Wrens (0.349 &plusmn; 0.050), and estimates in both species were similar to regional baseline estimates. The survival rates for adults were significantly higher than for immatures in both species, with body size having a positive influence on survival. Seasonal variation in survivorship was evident only in Northern Cardinals, being highest in the winter and lowest during the breeding season. Average annual population growth rate was slightly greater than 1.0 for both species, indicating stable or perhaps modestly increasing populations. These results represent the first published full annual cycle estimates of survival and population growth relative to age, sex, and body size for non-migratory passerines. Our results suggest that urban forests can provide the necessary resources to sustain growing populations of locally common birds. Furthermore, our demographic estimates derived from two healthy bird populations can serve as target values for other species of conservation concern within human-modified landscapes. </p>

<p> The coastal temperate rainforest is one of the rarest ecosystems in the world, and a major portion of the global total is found in Southeast Alaska. In this ecosystem, Sitka black-tailed deer are the dominant large herbivore, influencing large carnivores that prey on deer such as wolves and bears, as well as plant species and communities through browsing. In addition, deer play an important economic and cultural role for humans in Southeast Alaska, making up the large majority of terrestrial subsistence protein harvested each year as well as providing the backbone of a thriving tourism industry built around sport hunting. Given the importance of deer in this system, there remain a surprisingly large number of key gaps in our knowledge of deer ecology in Southeast Alaska. </p><p> These knowledge gaps are potentially troubling in light of ongoing industrial timber-harvest across the region, which greatly alters habitat characteristics and value to wildlife. This dissertation research project was undertaken with the aim of filling several connected needs for further understanding deer ecology, specifically 1) patterns of reproduction and fawn survival, 2) population dynamics in response to environmental variability, and the underlying drivers of spatial selection during 3) reproduction and 4) winter. To fill these knowledge gaps, I developed robust statistical tools for estimating rates of fawn survival, and found that fawns must be captured at birth, rather than within several days of birth, in order to produce unbiased estimates because highly vulnerable individuals died quickly and were thus absent from the latter sample. I then use this robust approach to estimate vital rates, including fawn survival in winter and summer, and developed a model of population dynamics for deer. I found that winter weather had the strongest influence on population dynamics, via reduced over-winter fawn survival, with mass at birth and gender ratio of fawns important secondary drivers. </p><p> To better understand deer-habitat relationships, I examined both summer and winter habitat selection patterns by female deer. Using summer-only data, I asked how reproductive female deer balance wolf and bear predation risk against access to forage over time. Predation risks and forage were strong drivers of deer spatial selection during summer, but reproductive period and time within reproductive period determined deer reaction to these drivers. To ensure adequate reproductive habitat for deer, areas with low predation risk and high forage should be conserved. Focusing on winter, I evaluated deer spatial selection during winter as a response to snow depth, vegetation classes, forage, and landscape features. I allowed daily snow depth measures to interact with selection of other covariates, and found strong support for deer avoidance of deep snow, as well as changes in deer selection of old-growth and second-growth habitats and landscape features with increasing snow depth. Collectively, this dissertation greatly improves our understanding of deer ecology in Alaska, and suggests habitat management actions that will help ensure resilient deer populations in the future.</p>

The aims of this study were to identify alternative mechanisms for financing nongame wildlife management in Arizona and to evaluate the mechanisms based on criteria drawn from the fields of public finance and political science. A public opinion survey was conducted to estimate support for the funding of nongame management and the employment of specific mechanisms. The results of the study indicate that a combination of state general fund appropriations and user charges would provide the best means for financing nongame wildlife management. In order to gain financial support from the public and the state legislature it is suggested that the Arizona Game and Fish Department focus its efforts on enhancing its image as an agency that serves a diverse constituency of nonconsumptive and consumptive wildlife enthusiasts.