Integrating Ecology and Information Technology: Conserving Natural Resources

The goal of this project is to develop an interdisciplinary collaboration in technology, spatial analysis and the conservation of natural, environmental, and ecological resources. The proposed collaboration involved independent research projects so that students can participate in both field‐based and laboratory activities. The Thinkfinity project has initiated continued work and expansion of our goals to include a multi‐college collaboration and possibilities for outside funding (NSF)

Home Range and Dispersal of Juvenile Florida Burrowing Owls

Volume: 119Start Page: 275End Page: 27

Lack of response of an open-habitat ungulate to the presence of predator urine La falta de la respuesta de un ungulado de habitat abierto a la presencia de orina de depredadores

The behavioral response of ungulates to the presence of odors associated with dangerous predators has received some attention, yet little is known about how predominantly open-habitat ungulates react to the presence of predator scents. We investigated the behavioral responses of a predominantly open-habitat ungulate, the guanaco, Lama guanicoe, when exposed to the urine of various predators. Guanacos only reacted to the urine of mountain lions (native predator), Puma concolor, in one trial. The lack of a response to predator urine may indicate that guanacos generally rely on visión more than olfaction for predator detection.<br>La respuesta conductual de ungulados a la presencia de olores asociados a depredadores ha recibido algo de atención, pero aún se sabe poco sobre cuan predominantemente los ungulados de habitat abiertos reaccionan a la presencia de olores de depredadores. Examinamos las respuestas conductuales del guanaco, Lama guanicoe, cuando estos animales estaban expuestos a orina de varios depredadores. Los guanacos solo reaccionaron a la presencia de la orina del puma en uno de los ensayos. La ausencia de respuesta registrada podría indicar que los guanacos utilizan más la visión que el olfato para detectar a sus depredadores

The association between continual, year-round hunting and bellowing rate of bison bulls during the rut

The impact of hunting (selective harvest, trophy hunting) on the demography of mammals is well documented. However, despite continual year-round hunting of bison in some populations, little is known about how the behavior of survivors may be altered. Therefore, in this initial study, we used focal-animal observations in adjacent populations of continually hunted and protected Plains bison (Bison bison bison) in western South Dakota, to examine the potential impact of hunting on bellowing rate—an important behavior that serves to intimidate rival bulls and potentially influences mate choice by females. In addition to hunting, we investigated how the number of attendant males, number of adult females, group size, and number of days from the start of rut influenced bellowing rate. Bulls bellowed an order of magnitude more often in the protected population than in the hunted populations, whereas bellowing rate was not significantly different in the hunted populations. Hunting was significantly and negatively associated with bellowing rate, while all other predictors were found to be positively associated with bellowing rate. Furthermore, the impact of hunting on bellowing rate became more pronounced (i.e., dampened bellowing rate more strongly) as the number of attendant males increased. Changes in bellowing behavior of bulls (and possibly mate choice by cows) can alter breeding opportunities. Therefore, our data suggest the need for studies with broader-scale geographical and temporal replication to determine the extent that continual year-round hunting has on bellowing rate of bison during the rut. If reduced bellowing is associated with human hunting on a larger scale, then wildlife managers may need to adjust hunting rate and duration, timing (season), and the time lag between hunting events in order to insure that bison are able to express their full repertoire of natural mating behaviors