47 research outputs found

    Stratégies d'approvisionnement d'un omnivore : l'ours noir oriente-t-il sa recherche de nourriture vers les jeunes cervidés?

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    L'objectif principal de cette Ă©tude Ă©tait d'Ă©valuer comment la sĂ©lection d'habitat et les stratĂ©gies d'approvisionnement de l'ours noir, un prĂ©dateur reconnu des jeunes cervidĂ©s, peuvent expliquer sa probabilitĂ© de rencontre avec ceux-ci. Nous avons premiĂšrement dĂ©montrĂ© que l'interprĂ©tation de diverses analyses de sĂ©lection d'habitat dĂ©pend des stratĂ©gies d'utilisation des ressources de l'espĂšce Ă©tudiĂ©e. Nous mettons en Ă©vidence que l'utilisation conjointe de diffĂ©rentes approches mĂ©thodologiques permet d'identifier la sĂ©lection des ressources des animaux, en plus de clarifier les stratĂ©gies comportementales aboutissant Ă  cette sĂ©lection. Nous avons appliquĂ© ces approches pour comprendre le comportement d'approvisionnement de l'ours noir durant la pĂ©riode de vulnĂ©rabilitĂ© des jeunes cervidĂ©s. Nos rĂ©sultats dĂ©montrent que l'ours recherche la vĂ©gĂ©tation au printemps en se dĂ©plaçant frĂ©quemment et prĂ©fĂ©rentiellement entre les endroits riches en vĂ©gĂ©tation. Ces nombreux dĂ©placements de l'ours devraient augmenter les opportunitĂ©s de rencontres avec les jeunes cervidĂ©s, mĂȘme si celui-ci ne les recherche pas activement

    Social network analysis of white-tailed deer scraping behavior: Implications for disease transmission

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    Host contact structure affects pathogen transmission in host populations, but many measures of host contact do not distinguish contacts that are relevant to pathogen transmission from those that are not. Scrapes are sites for chemical communication by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) during the breeding season and potential sites of transmission of prions, the causative agent of chronic wasting disease (CWD). Scrape-related behaviors vary in their probability of transmitting prions to or from the environment, suggesting that behavior be combined with contact structure to better reflect potential heterogeneity in prion transmission at scrapes. We recorded visits and behaviors by deer at scrapes throughout DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska in 2005 and 2006. We recorded 2013 interactions by 169 unique identifiable males and 75 females. Adult males performed the most scrape-related behaviors and spent the most time at scrapes, especially smelling the overhanging branch (70%), smelling the scrape (59%), licking/grasping the overhanging branch (44%), and scraping (36%). We used social network analysis to test the effect of behavior on indirect contact networks among deer at scrapes. By weighting edges based on the frequency and duration of behaviors, we produced networks representing sources of variation in scrape use and compared these networks to evaluate the effects of behavior on network contact structure. Social networks based on scrape-related behavior were highly connected and dependent upon the frequency, duration, and type of behavior exhibited at scrapes (e.g., scraping, interacting with a scrape or overhanging branch, rub-urinating, grazing) as well as the age of the deer. Accounting for contact frequency produced networks with lower variation in contact, but higher ability to facilitate contact among disparate groups. Including behavior when defining edges did not preserve the network properties of simpler measures (i.e., unweighted networks) suggesting that heterogeneity in behaviors that affect transmission probability is important for inferring transmission networks from contact networks. High connectivity through indirect contacts suggests that scrapes may be effective targets for management. Adult male deer had the highest connectivity, suggesting that management strategies focused on reducing their interaction with scrapes through density reduction or behavioral modification could reduce the connectivity of indirect contact networks

    Defining an epidemiological landscape that connects movement ecology to pathogen transmission and pace-of-life

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    Pathogen transmission depends on host density, mobility and contact. These components emerge from host and pathogen movements that themselves arise through interactions with the surrounding environment. The environment, the emergent host and pathogen movements, and the subsequent patterns of density, mobility and contact form an ‘epidemiological landscape’ connecting the environment to specific locations where transmissions occur. Conventionally, the epidemiological landscape has been described in terms of the geographical coordinates where hosts or pathogens are located. We advocate for an alternative approach that relates those locations to attributes of the local environment. Environmental descriptions can strengthen epidemiological forecasts by allowing for predictions even when local geographical data are not available. Environmental predictions are more accessible than ever thanks to new tools from movement ecology, and we introduce a ‘movement-pathogen pace of life’ heuristic to help identify aspects of movement that have the most influence on spatial epidemiology. By linking pathogen transmission directly to the environment, the epidemiological landscape offers an efficient path for using environmental information to inform models describing when and where transmission will occur

    Accounting for animal movement improves vaccination strategies against wildlife disease in heterogeneous landscapes

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    Oral baiting is used to deliver vaccines to wildlife to prevent, control, and eliminate infectious diseases. A central challenge is how to spatially distribute baits to maximize encounters by target animal populations, particularly in urban and suburban areas where wildlife such as raccoons (Procyon lotor) are abundant and baits are delivered along roads. Methods from movement ecology that quantify movement and habitat selection could help to optimize baiting strategies by more effectively targeting wildlife populations across space. We developed a spatially explicit, individual-based model of raccoon movement and oral rabies vaccine seroconversion to examine whether and when baiting strategies that match raccoon movement patterns perform better than currently used baiting strategies in an oral rabies vaccination zone in greater Burlington, Vermont, USA. Habitat selection patterns estimated from locally radio-collared raccoons were used to parameterize movement simulations. We then used our simulations to estimate raccoon population rabies seroprevalence under currently used baiting strategies (actual baiting) relative to habitat selection-based baiting strategies (habitat baiting). We conducted simulations on the Burlington landscape and artificial landscapes that varied in heterogeneity relative to Burlington in the proportion and patch size of preferred habitats. We found that the benefits of habitat baiting strongly depended on the magnitude and variability of raccoon habitat selection and the degree of landscape heterogeneity within the baiting area. Habitat baiting improved seroprevalence over actual baiting for raccoons characterized as habitat specialists but not for raccoons that displayed weak habitat selection similar to radiocollared individuals, except when baits were delivered off roads where preferred habitat coverage and complexity was more pronounced. In contrast, in artificial landscapes with either more strongly juxtaposed favored habitats and/or higher proportions of favored habitats, habitat baiting performed better than actual baiting, even when raccoons displayed weak habitat preferences and where baiting was constrained to roads. Our results suggest that habitat selection-based baiting could increase raccoon population seroprevalence in urban–suburban areas, where practical, given the heterogeneity and availability of preferred habitat types in those areas. Our novel simulation approach provides a flexible framework to test alternative baiting strategies in multiclass landscapes to optimize bait-distribution strategies

    Behavioral responses of terrestrial mammals to COVID-19 lockdowns

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    COVID-19 lockdowns in early 2020 reduced human mobility, providing an opportunity to disentangle its effects on animals from those of landscape modifications. Using GPS data, we compared movements and road avoidance of 2300 terrestrial mammals (43 species) during the lockdowns to the same period in 2019. Individual responses were variable with no change in average movements or road avoidance behavior, likely due to variable lockdown conditions. However, under strict lockdowns 10-day 95th percentile displacements increased by 73%, suggesting increased landscape permeability. Animals' 1-hour 95th percentile displacements declined by 12% and animals were 36% closer to roads in areas of high human footprint, indicating reduced avoidance during lockdowns. Overall, lockdowns rapidly altered some spatial behaviors, highlighting variable but substantial impacts of human mobility on wildlife worldwide.acceptedVersio

    Behavioral responses of terrestrial mammals to COVID-19 lockdowns

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    COVID-19 lockdowns in early 2020 reduced human mobility, providing an opportunity to disentangle its effects on animals from those of landscape modifications. Using GPS data, we compared movements and road avoidance of 2300 terrestrial mammals (43 species) during the lockdowns to the same period in 2019. Individual responses were variable with no change in average movements or road avoidance behavior, likely due to variable lockdown conditions. However, under strict lockdowns 10-day 95th percentile displacements increased by 73%, suggesting increased landscape permeability. Animals' 1-hour 95th percentile displacements declined by 12% and animals were 36% closer to roads in areas of high human footprint, indicating reduced avoidance during lockdowns. Overall, lockdowns rapidly altered some spatial behaviors, highlighting variable but substantial impacts of human mobility on wildlife worldwide.acceptedVersio

    Behavioral responses of terrestrial mammals to COVID-19 lockdowns

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    DATA AND MATERIALS AVAILABILITY : The full dataset used in the final analyses (33) and associated code (34) are available at Dryad. A subset of the spatial coordinate datasets is available at Zenodo (35). Certain datasets of spatial coordinates will be available only through requests made to the authors due to conservation and Indigenous sovereignty concerns (see table S1 for more information on data use restrictions and contact information for data requests). These sensitive data will be made available upon request to qualified researchers for research purposes, provided that the data use will not threaten the study populations, such as by distribution or publication of the coordinates or detailed maps. Some datasets, such as those overseen by government agencies, have additional legal restrictions on data sharing, and researchers may need to formally apply for data access. Collaborations with data holders are generally encouraged, and in cases where data are held by Indigenous groups or institutions from regions that are under-represented in the global science community, collaboration may be required to ensure inclusion.COVID-19 lockdowns in early 2020 reduced human mobility, providing an opportunity to disentangle its effects on animals from those of landscape modifications. Using GPS data, we compared movements and road avoidance of 2300 terrestrial mammals (43 species) during the lockdowns to the same period in 2019. Individual responses were variable with no change in average movements or road avoidance behavior, likely due to variable lockdown conditions. However, under strict lockdowns 10-day 95th percentile displacements increased by 73%, suggesting increased landscape permeability. Animals’ 1-hour 95th percentile displacements declined by 12% and animals were 36% closer to roads in areas of high human footprint, indicating reduced avoidance during lockdowns. Overall, lockdowns rapidly altered some spatial behaviors, highlighting variable but substantial impacts of human mobility on wildlife worldwide.The Radboud Excellence Initiative, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the National Science Foundation, Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Dutch Research Council NWO program “Advanced Instrumentation for Wildlife Protection”, Fondation SegrĂ©, RZSS, IPE, Greensboro Science Center, Houston Zoo, Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, Nashville Zoo, Naples Zoo, Reid Park Zoo, Miller Park, WWF, ZCOG, Zoo Miami, Zoo Miami Foundation, Beauval Nature, Greenville Zoo, Riverbanks zoo and garden, SAC Zoo, La Passarelle Conservation, Parc Animalier d’Auvergne, Disney Conservation Fund, Fresno Chaffee zoo, Play for nature, North Florida Wildlife Center, Abilene Zoo, a Liber Ero Fellowship, the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program, Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, Teck Coal, and the Grand Teton Association. The collection of Norwegian moose data was funded by the Norwegian Environment Agency, the German Ministry of Education and Research via the SPACES II project ORYCS, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Wyoming Game and Fish Commission, Bureau of Land Management, Muley Fanatic Foundation (including Southwest, Kemmerer, Upper Green, and Blue Ridge Chapters), Boone and Crockett Club, Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resources Trust, Knobloch Family Foundation, Wyoming Animal Damage Management Board, Wyoming Governor’s Big Game License Coalition, Bowhunters of Wyoming, Wyoming Outfitters and Guides Association, Pope and Young Club, US Forest Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation, Wild Sheep Foundation, Wyoming Wildlife/Livestock Disease Research Partnership, the US National Science Foundation [IOS-1656642 and IOS-1656527, the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, and by a GRUPIN research grant from the Regional Government of Asturias, Sigrid Rausing Trust, Batubay Özkan, Barbara Watkins, NSERC Discovery Grant, the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration act under Pittman-Robertson project, the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport of the Czech Republic, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, Rufford Foundation, an American Society of Mammalogists African Graduate Student Research Fund, the German Science Foundation, the Israeli Science Foundation, the BSF-NSF, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food and Slovenian Research Agency (CRP V1-1626), the Aage V. Jensen Naturfond (project: Kronvildt - viden, vĂŠrdier og vĂŠrktĂžjer), the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany’s Excellence Strategy, National Centre for Research and Development in Poland, the Slovenian Research Agency, the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, Disney Conservation Fund, Whitley Fund for Nature, Acton Family Giving, Zoo Basel, Columbus, Bioparc de DouĂ©-la-Fontaine, Zoo Dresden, Zoo Idaho, KolmĂ„rden Zoo, Korkeasaari Zoo, La Passarelle, Zoo New England, Tierpark Berlin, Tulsa Zoo, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Government of Mongolia, the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration act and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the National Science Foundation, Parks Canada, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Alberta Environment and Parks, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Safari Club International and Alberta Conservation Association, the Consejo Nacional de Ciencias y TecnologĂ­a (CONACYT) of Paraguay, the Norwegian Environment Agency and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, EU funded Interreg SI-HR 410 Carnivora Dinarica project, Paklenica and Plitvice Lakes National Parks, UK Wolf Conservation Trust, EURONATUR and Bernd Thies Foundation, the Messerli Foundation in Switzerland and WWF Germany, the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie SkƂodowska-Curie Actions, NASA Ecological Forecasting Program, the Ecotone Telemetry company, the French National Research Agency, LANDTHIRST, grant REPOS awarded by the i-Site MUSE thanks to the “Investissements d’avenir” program, the ANR Mov-It project, the USDA Hatch Act Formula Funding, the Fondation Segre and North American and European Zoos listed at http://www.giantanteater.org/, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, the Yellowstone Forever and the National Park Service, Missouri Department of Conservation, Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Grant, and State University of New York, various donors to the Botswana Predator Conservation Program, data from collared caribou in the Northwest Territories were made available through funds from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories. The European Research Council Horizon2020, the British Ecological Society, the Paul Jones Family Trust, and the Lord Kelvin Adam Smith fund, the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute and Tanzania National Parks. The Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapahoe Fish and Game Department and the Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Kodiak Brown Bear Trust, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Koniag Native Corporation, Old Harbor Native Corporation, Afognak Native Corporation, Ouzinkie Native Corporation, Natives of Kodiak Native Corporation and the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and the Slovenia Hunters Association and Slovenia Forest Service. F.C. was partly supported by the Resident Visiting Researcher Fellowship, IMĂ©RA/Aix-Marseille UniversitĂ©, Marseille. This work was partially funded by the Center of Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS), which is financed by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and by the Saxon Ministry for Science, Culture and Tourism (SMWK) with tax funds on the basis of the budget approved by the Saxon State Parliament. This article is a contribution of the COVID-19 Bio-Logging Initiative, which is funded in part by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF9881) and the National Geographic Society.https://www.science.org/journal/sciencehj2023Mammal Research InstituteZoology and Entomolog

    Ecosystem implications of conserving endemic versus eradicating introduced large herbivores in the Galapagos Archipelago

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    Restoration of damaged ecosystems through invasive species removal and native species conservation is an increasingly common practice in biodiversity conservation. Estimating the degree of ecosystem response attributable specifically to eradication of exotic herbivores versus restoration of native herbivores is often difficult and is complicated by concurrent temporal changes in other factors, especially climate. We investigated the interactive impacts of native mega-herbivores (giant tortoises) and the eradication of large alien herbivores (goats) on vegetation productivity across the Galapagos Archipelago. We examined archipelago-wide patterns of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) as a proxy for vegetation productivity between 2001 and 2015 and evaluated how goat and historical and current tortoise occurrence influenced productivity. We used a breakpoint analysis to detect change in trends in productivity from five targeted areas following goat eradication. We found a positive association between tortoise occurrence and vegetation productivity and a negative association with goat occurrence. We also documented an increase in plant productivity following goat removal with recovery higher in moister regions than in arid region, potentially indicating an alternate stable state has been created in the latter. Climate variation also contributed to the detected improvement in productivity following goat eradication, sometimes obscuring the effect of eradication but more usually magnifying it by up to 300%. Our work offers perspectives regarding the effectiveness and outcomes of eradicating introduced herbivores and re-introducing native herbivores, and the merits of staging them simultaneously in order to restore critical ecosystem processes such as vegetation productivity

    Mie aattelen niin, ettĂ€ siellĂ€ sitten neuvotaan, miten tĂ€ssĂ€ toimitaan” ASIAKKAIDEN KOKEMUKSIA VANHUKSILLE TARKOITETUSTA PALVELUOHJAUKSESTA

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    OpinnĂ€ytetyön tarkoituksena oli selvittÀÀ Joensuun kaupungin seniorineuvonta Ankkurin asiakkaiden kokemuksia ikÀÀntyneille tarkoitetusta palveluohjauksesta. Tavoitteena oli tuoda esiin asiakkaiden nĂ€kökulmia palveluohjauksesta. Palveluohjaus on sosiaalialan asiakaslĂ€htöinen työskentelymenetelmĂ€, jonka tarkoituksena on selvittÀÀ asiakkaan yksilölliset palveluntarpeet ja löytÀÀ hĂ€nen tarpeisiinsa sopivat palvelut. Tarve palveluohjaukselle on suuri, sillĂ€ vanhusten palvelujĂ€rjestelmĂ€ on laaja ja monitahoinen. TĂ€mĂ€n vuoksi ikÀÀntyneille voi olla vaikeaa hahmottaa omia oikeuksiaan ja heille kuuluvia palveluja. OpinnĂ€ytetyö on laadullinen tutkimus, jonka aineisto on kerĂ€tty teemahaastattelumenetelmÀÀ kĂ€yttĂ€en. YhteensĂ€ tutkimusta varten on haastateltu kuutta palveluohjausta saanutta asiakasta. Aineisto on analysoitu kĂ€yttĂ€en aineistolĂ€htöistĂ€ sisĂ€llönanalyysia. Tutkimuksessa ilmeni, ettĂ€ palveluohjauksen koettiin lisĂ€nneen tietoutta omista oikeuksista ja ikÀÀntyneille palveluista. TĂ€rkeĂ€nĂ€ koettiin se, ettĂ€ palveluohjaajilla olisi aikaa kuunnella asiakasta ja ettĂ€ asiakkaan tilanteen edistymistĂ€ seurattaisiin enemmĂ€n. Palveluohjaajilta kaivattaisiin myös ”asianajoa” eli tukea vaikuttamiseen yhteiskunnallisella ja yksilöllisellĂ€ tasolla. OpinnĂ€ytetyöprosessin aikana nousi esiin jatkotutkimusidea koskien vanhusten osallisuutta ja sitĂ€, kuinka osallisuutta voisi edistÀÀ palveluohjauksen avulla.The aim of the thesis was to collect customers’ experiences about the case management aimed at the elderly people provided by the city of Joensuu. The purpose was to give a voice to the customers so they can express their own views in regard to the case management. Case management is a working method used in the social work. It is a customer-oriented method which is used to find out customer’s individual needs so they can be provided with appropriate services. The need for case management is high since the service system for elderly people is extensive and complex. Thus, it may be challenging for the elderly to find out the services they are entitled to. This research was done using qualitative methods. The data was gathered by using thematic interviews and altogether six customers were interviewed. The data was analyzed by using data-based content analysis. The results showed that the case management had increased the customers’ knowledge of their own rights and of the services for elderly people. It was considered important that the case management workers have enough time to listen and give attention to the customers. The results also show that the customers would like their situation to be followed more closely by the workers. Lastly, the customers hoped the case management workers would act as the customers’ advocate on societal and personal level. In the future, it would be interesting to research how the participation and engagement of elderly people could be supported
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