A Long-Term Vision for an Ecologically Sound Platte River

The Platte River extends about 310 mi (499 km) from North Platte, Nebraska, to its terminus at the Missouri River confluence near Plattsmouth, Nebraska. The Platte River Valley is a continentally significant ecosystem that serves as a major stopover for migratory waterbirds in the Central Flyway including the endangered Whooping Crane (Grus americana) and \u3e1 million Sandhill Cranes (Antigone canadensis) at the peak of spring migration. However, the Platte River Valley also supports a great diversity of avifauna including grassland breeding birds, native stream fish, vascular plants, herpetofauna, mammals, pollinators, and aquatic macroinvertebrates. Despite ongoing conservation efforts since the mid-1970s the ecosystem remains largely conservation dependent and an increasing number of species across taxa are being considered at risk of regional extirpation or outright extinction. However, given the attention provided to conservation in the Platte River Valley and the need to maintain ecologically functional stopover sites in the Central Flyway, there is a great opportunity to create a resilient refugium for biodiversity conservation in the central Great Plains. To that end we convened a working group of \u3e18 individuals representing \u3e9 organizations including representatives from non-profit conservation organizations, universities, and state and federal natural resource agencies to develop a long-term vision for an ecologically sound Platte River Valley (PRV). We met in groups of varying size for \u3e170 hours throughout a more than 3-year period and developed conservation priorities and objectives using a landscape design process. Landscape design is an interdisciplinary conservation planning process that incorporates components of landscape ecology and social dimensions of natural resources with the explicit intention of improving conservation implementation.https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/zeabook/1128/thumbnail.jp

Applying social science to inform conservation solutions regarding owned outdoor cats in urbanizing landscapes

2014 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.Free-ranging domestic cats (Felis catus) incur and impose risks on ecosystems and represent a complex issue of critical importance to wildlife conservation and domestic cat and human health. There is an inherent social dimension to the issue of owned free-ranging cats, as humans are their caregivers and can contribute to the cause as well as the solution to this issue. To address this social component, we examined public risk perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs towards owned free-ranging cats along a gradient of urbanization via a survey of residents in two study areas in Colorado. Residents did not view all types of risks uniformly; they viewed the risks of cat predation on wildlife and carnivore predation on cats as more likely than the risks of disease transmission to and from wildlife. Additionally, risk perceptions were related to such factors as attitudes and general beliefs about cats, prior experiences with cats and their interactions with wildlife, and cat owner behavior. These findings provide support for the notion that changes in risk perceptions can result in behavior change, and they offer insight for development of communication campaigns aimed at promoting risk aversive behaviors and cat management strategies that are both acceptable to the public and have direct conservation implications. Our study can also be used as a model for further research focused on integrating social and biological information to promote conservation of wildlife and habitats

The effect of outreach programs on the knowledge and attitudes about snakes in San Isidro de Upala, Costa Rica

28 p.I interviewed 30 people in San Isidro de Upala, Costa Rica, to reveal their knowledge and attitudes about snakes. I found that many people hated and feared snakes because they assumed incorrectly that many or all snakes in the area were venomous. I then administered an education program designed to improve people's knowledge and attitudes about snakes. The program included information on the biology, identification, and ecological importance of snakes. I also explained how to safely respond to snake encounters. Before-and-after comparisons of responses to questionnaires measuring knowledge and attitudes showed that education programs made people more knowledgeable about snakes. Increased knowledge has been linked to positive attitudes. If people have positive attitudes towards snakes, they will be less likely to kill them; therefore helping to preserve the biodiversity of Costa Rica

Minimizing the Effects of Free-Ranging Domestic Cats on Wildlife: A Framework that Integrates Social and Biological Information

Recently, there has been growing interest in the study of the biology of free-ranging cats and their effects on wildlife, generating new estimates of cat densities and predation rates. Although such biological data are important to consider when formulating management strategies, they have done little to stifle conflict between stakeholder groups or reduce the number of cats on the landscape and their ecological impacts. In many cases, this research has actually rekindled debate, often pitting wildlife biologists against animal welfare organizations and the general public. While some social science research regarding human perceptions of free-ranging cats exists, these studies are often initiated after conflict has occurred or after a controversial management strategy has been implemented. Furthermore, few studies have focused on the perceptions of owned free-ranging cats, although these cats may comprise a large proportion of cats on the landscape. The most effective, humane, and socially-acceptable management strategies will involve front-end integration of both social and biological science information as well as inclusion of diverse stakeholders. Our ongoing research provides a framework that wildlife managers, pest managers, animal protection organizations, and local government entities can use to develop socially-relevant and biologically-effective management programs for owned free-ranging domestic cats. This framework involves social science research methods grounded in social psychological theories to help predict human thought and behavior, as well as biological methods to assess cat impacts. Lastly, using our own research as a model, our framework compiles guiding principles that help managers develop effective communication programs aimed at promoting conservation-relevant behaviors

Human activity influences wildlife populations and activity patterns: implications for spatial and temporal refuges

Abstract Human activity affects plant and animal populations across local to global scales, and the management of recreation areas often aims to reduce such impacts. Specifically, by understanding patterns of human activity and its influence on animal populations, parks and recreation areas can be managed to provide spatial and temporal refuge to wildlife most sensitive to this type of human disturbance. However, additional research is necessary to understand how human activity influences wildlife populations, habitat use, and activity patterns for a diversity of wildlife species. We studied the potential impacts of human activity (as measured by nonmotorized recreationists) on populations and activity patterns of 12 mammal species, including herbivores and carnivores, from 63 motion‐activated cameras that sampled game trails and human trails with varying degrees of human activity along the Front Range of Colorado. Human activity was greatest during the day and minimal or absent during the night. All wildlife species in our study used human trails, although the extent to which human recreation altered the occupancy, relative habitat use, and activity patterns of wildlife varied across species, where some animals appeared to be more influenced by human activity than others. Some species (e.g., fox squirrel, red fox, and striped skunk) did not demonstrate a response to human activity. Other species (e.g., black bear, coyote, and mule deer) altered their activity patterns on recreation trails to be more active at night. Across all wildlife, the degree to which animals altered activity patterns on human trails was related to their natural activity patterns and how active they were during the day when human activity was greatest; species that exhibited greater overlap in natural activity patterns with humans demonstrated the greatest shifts in their activity, often exhibiting increased nocturnal activity. Further, some species (e.g., Abert’s squirrel, bobcat, and mountain lion) exhibited reduced occupancy and/or habitat use in response to human recreation. Managing spatial and temporal refuges for wildlife would likely reduce the impacts of human recreation on animals that use habitat in proximity to trail networks

Advancing Urban Wildlife Research Through a Multi-City Collaboration

Research on urban wildlife can help promote coexistence and guide future interactions between humans and wildlife in developed regions, but most such investigations are limited to short-term, single-species studies, typically conducted within a single city. This restricted focus prevents scientists from recognizing global patterns and first principles regarding urban wildlife behavior and ecology. To overcome these limitations, we have designed a pioneering research network, the Urban Wildlife Information Network (UWIN), whereby partners collaborate across several cities to systematically collect data to populate long-term datasets on multiple species in urban areas. Data collected via UWIN support analyses that will enable us to build basic theory related to urban wildlife ecology. An analysis of mammals in seven metropolitan regions suggests that common species are similar across cities, but relative rates of occupancy differ markedly. We ultimately view UWIN as an applied tool that can be used to connect the public to urban nature at a continental scale, and provide information critical to urban planners and landscape architects. Our network therefore has the potential to advance knowledge and to improve the ability to plan and manage cities to support biodiversity