Persistent Spillback of Bovine Tuberculosis From White-Tailed Deer to Cattle in Michigan, USA: Status, Strategies, and Needs

Free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are believed to be a self-sustaining reservoir for bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in northeastern Lower Michigan, USA. Although a comprehensive control program is in place and on-farm mitigation strategies to curtail bTB transmission between cattle and deer have been implemented for over a decade, cattle and deer continue to become infected with the disease. Thus, renewed motivation to eradicate bTB is needed if that is truly the goal. Recurrent detection of bTB in cattle in the region is of mounting concern for state and federal agricultural agencies, producers, and wildlife managers. Current on-farm mitigation efforts include fencing and refined cattle feeding and watering practices. Liberal removal of antlerless deer through hunter harvest and disease control permits (DCPs) issued to cattle producers and agency sharp shooters have also been ongoing. Although these strategies have merit and efforts to reduce prevalence in deer and occurrence of positive farms are elevated, additional actions are needed. Heightened management actions to combat bTB in deer could include deer vaccination programs, strategic habitat manipulations to redistribute deer from farms, and precision removal of deer in proximity to high-risk farms. Foundational research to address development and delivery of vaccine to free-ranging deer is complete. Strategic management and habitat manipulation could reduce and disperse local concentrations of deer while better meeting wildlife, forestry, and agricultural goals. The responses of local deer populations to targeted removal of individuals are generally understood and there is potential to reduce deer activity around agricultural operations while allowing them to persist nearby on natural foods. We summarize the history and progress to date, discuss the realized merit of novel management strategies, and suggest options to rid deer and cattle in Michigan of bTB

Kenya model: Development and implementation of an overseas study course on African wildlife ecology and management

The brochure declares: What better place to study a diversity of wildlife species and ecosystems than Kenya\u27s spectacular National Parks and Conservation Areas? Enticing! Exhilarating! A once in a life time experience! African Wildlife Ecology and Management in Kenya is an intensive two and a half week overseas study program offered by Michigan State University\u27s (MSU) Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. Through this hands-on experience, students apply wildlife management principles to issues in Kenya\u27s National Parks and Conservation Areas. Planning and coordination of this course requires a year\u27s worth of thoughtful preparation in order to provide students with a dynamic yet placid in-country experience. To better aid other educators and coordinators in development and implementation of similar courses, we present a detailed account of the history and evolution of African Wildlife Ecology and Management in Kenya. How was this course conceived? How was support garnered from the University? What is required for developing such a course? Furthermore, we present information on why different sites within Kenya were selected and how the order of visitation to these sites allows for a logical progression and increasingly more elaborate acquisition of knowledge of course material. Finally, we describe the various projects assigned to students and the rational for assigning them; the basis for using student groups throughout the in-country experience; the use of alternative forms of assessment to evaluate student learning; assigned readings and course packet development and contents; and implications of limited time and lack of technology while in-country

Climatic and geographic predictors of life history variation in Eastern Massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus): A range-wide synthesis

Elucidating how life history traits vary geographically is important to understanding variation in population dynamics. Because many aspects of ectotherm life history are climate-dependent, geographic variation in climate is expected to have a large impact on population dynamics through effects on annual survival, body size, growth rate, age at first reproduction, size-fecundity relationship, and reproductive frequency. The Eastern Massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus) is a small, imperiled North American rattlesnake with a distribution centered on the Great Lakes region, where lake effects strongly influence local conditions. To address Eastern Massasauga life history data gaps, we compiled data from 47 study sites representing 38 counties across the range. We used multimodel inference and general linear models with geographic coordinates and annual climate normals as explanatory variables to clarify patterns of variation in life history traits. We found strong evidence for geographic variation in six of nine life history variables. Adult female snout-vent length and neonate mass increased with increasing mean annual precipitation. Litter size decreased with increasing mean temperature, and the size-fecundity relationship and growth prior to first hibernation both increased with increasing latitude. The proportion of gravid females also increased with increasing latitude, but this relationship may be the result of geographically varying detection bias. Our results provide insights into ectotherm life history variation and fill critical data gaps, which will inform Eastern Massasauga conservation efforts by improving biological realism for models of population viability and climate change

Persistent Spillback of Bovine Tuberculosis From White-Tailed Deer to Cattle in Michigan, USA: Status, Strategies, and Needs

Free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are believed to be a self-sustaining reservoir for bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in northeastern Lower Michigan, USA. Although a comprehensive control program is in place and on-farm mitigation strategies to curtail bTB transmission between cattle and deer have been implemented for over a decade, cattle and deer continue to become infected with the disease. Thus, renewed motivation to eradicate bTB is needed if that is truly the goal. Recurrent detection of bTB in cattle in the region is of mounting concern for state and federal agricultural agencies, producers, and wildlife managers. Current on-farm mitigation efforts include fencing and refined cattle feeding and watering practices. Liberal removal of antlerless deer through hunter harvest and disease control permits (DCPs) issued to cattle producers and agency sharp shooters have also been ongoing. Although these strategies have merit and efforts to reduce prevalence in deer and occurrence of positive farms are elevated, additional actions are needed. Heightened management actions to combat bTB in deer could include deer vaccination programs, strategic habitat manipulations to redistribute deer from farms, and precision removal of deer in proximity to high-risk farms. Foundational research to address development and delivery of vaccine to free-ranging deer is complete. Strategic management and habitat manipulation could reduce and disperse local concentrations of deer while better meeting wildlife, forestry, and agricultural goals. The responses of local deer populations to targeted removal of individuals are generally understood and there is potential to reduce deer activity around agricultural operations while allowing them to persist nearby on natural foods. We summarize the history and progress to date, discuss the realized merit of novel management strategies, and suggest options to rid deer and cattle in Michigan of bTB

Building Professionally-Based Communities of Learning among Faculty, Students, and Practioners

Residential and non-residential “communities of learning” have been used within institutions of higher education as formal methods to enhance interactions among individuals that ultimately helps learning. Typically, these communities have included student-to-student and faculty-to-student interactions within residential living areas, teams in a core of courses, or teams of students within a course. If students are to develop into leaders within their respective disciplines an additional component that should be integrated into communities of learning is practioners. The objectives of our paper are to describe: 1) communities of learning and why they should be established for all students to enhance learning, 2) how to integrate a community of learning into its respective community of practice, 3) models of communities of learning and their characteristics, and 4) what roles natural resource practitioners, faculty, and students can play in developing and maintaining non-residential communities of learning to meet academic and professional objectives. Ultimately, the integration of faculty, students, and practioners for developing and maintaining learning communities will help create an educational culture that produces life-long learners and leaders in natural resource

Telecoupling framework for research on migratory species in the Anthropocene

Migratory species are an important component of biodiversity and provide essential ecosystem services for humans, but many are threatened and endangered. Numerous studies have been conducted on the biology of migratory species, and there is an increased recognition of the major role of human dimensions in conserving migratory species. However, there is a lack of systematic integration of socioeconomic and environmental factors. Because human activities affect migratory species in multiple places, integrating socioeconomic and environmental factors across space is essential, but challenging. The holistic framework of telecoupling (socioeconomic and environmental interactions over distances) has the potential to help meet this challenge because it enables researchers to integrate human and natural interactions across multiple distant places. The use of the telecoupling framework may also lead to new conservation strategies and actions. To demonstrate its potential, we apply the framework to Kirtland’s warblers ('Setophaga kirtlandii' ), a conservation-reliant migratory songbird. Results show accomplishments from long-term research and recovery efforts on the warbler in the context of the telecoupling framework. The results also show 24 research gaps even though the species has been relatively well-studied compared to many other species. An important gap is a lack of systematic studies on feedbacks among breeding, wintering, and stopover sites, as well as other “spillover” systems that may affect and be affected by migration (e.g., via tourism, land use, or climate change). The framework integrated scattered information and provided useful insights about new research topics and flow-centered management approaches that encapsulate the full annual cycle of migration. We also illustrate the similarities and differences between Kirtland’s warblers and several other migratory species, indicating the applicability of the telecoupling framework to understanding and managing common complexities associated with migratory species in a globalizing world

SURVIVAL, REPRODUCTION, AND MOVEMENTS OF MOOSE IN THE WESTERN UPPER PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN

Moose were extirpated from the Lower Peninsula of Michigan by the late 1800s. Although it is not clear if moose were extirpated from the Upper Peninsula (UP), the population was at the very least, reduced to a low level by ca 1900. Attempts to re-establish a population of moose in the UP during the mid-1930s failed. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources made a second attempt to reestablish moose by translocating animals from Canada to the western UP in 1985 and 1987. Based on optimistic estimates of survival and reproductive rates and habitat surveys, a population of 1,000 moose was expected by the year 2000. However, aerial surveys conducted in the winters of 1996 and 1997 produced population size estimates that were well below 1,000. To determine possible reasons for the slower than expected population growth, 84 moose were outfitted with radio-collars in the winters of 1999-2001. The survival, reproduction, and movements of these moose and 12 others radio-collared in 1995 were monitored from January 1999-June 2001. Overall, 1999-2001 pregnancy rates averaged 75%. Annual adult survival rate (0.88) was higher than yearling survival rate (0.82). First-year calf survival rate (0.71) was high, relative to highly preyed on populations. Annually, approximately 6% of radio-collared moose, primarily yearlings, dispersed out of the study area. The size of moose home ranges was typical of those found in the deciduous/coniferous ecotone of the upper Great Lakes region. Migratory adult moose had larger annual home ranges than did non migratory adult moose. Low productivity appears to be the likely cause of the slower than predicted population growth. Data from this study can be utilized to facilitate management of moose in the upper Great Lakes region

Contact data used to analyze multi-species, multi-mode contact networks

The zip file contains the data and corresponding metadata for the for the contact analyses used in the corresponding publication