A DYNAMIC LANDSCAPE OF FEAR: HUMAN IMPACTS ON CARNIVORE COMMUNITIES

Mammalian carnivores are elusive, enigmatic species that often play keystone roles in ecosystems through direct (i.e., predation) and indirect (i.e., perceived predation risk) effects. Worldwide many carnivore species are experiencing rapid human-mediated population declines due to landscape change and habitat disturbance. For researchers, carnivores present unique challenges due to their large home ranges, low population densities, sensitivity to human disturbance, and direct persecution. Further, growing evidence shows that human activity can impact carnivore behavior and community structure by altering predator-prey interactions, shifting diel activity patterns, and altering wildlife movement leading to increased sightings, nuisance reports, and harvests. To investigate how human activity influences U.S. carnivore communities, I explored variation in spatiotemporal activity of American black bear and bobcat, and assessed carnivore co-occurrence using camera trap data. I constructed diel activity density curves, applied multispecies occupancy models, and calculated attraction-avoidance ratios to describe relationships among members of the carnivore guild relative to various types of human activity. My results suggested the bobcat can function as a dominant carnivore dependent on community structure, with dominant carnivores (i.e., wolves, pumas) influenced primarily by human-related factors, and subordinate carnivores (i.e., foxes) impacted by environmental factors. Further, American black bear activity did not vary with different types of human activity, yet protected areas were positively associated with black bear presence during the annual hunting season along with increased nocturnal activity. Understanding the influence human activity has on carnivore community dynamics is critical for establishing successful management practices to promote the persistence of carnivore guilds

SNAPSHOT USA 2019 : a coordinated national camera trap survey of the United States

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.With the accelerating pace of global change, it is imperative that we obtain rapid inventories of the status and distribution of wildlife for ecological inferences and conservation planning. To address this challenge, we launched the SNAPSHOT USA project, a collaborative survey of terrestrial wildlife populations using camera traps across the United States. For our first annual survey, we compiled data across all 50 states during a 14-week period (17 August - 24 November of 2019). We sampled wildlife at 1509 camera trap sites from 110 camera trap arrays covering 12 different ecoregions across four development zones. This effort resulted in 166,036 unique detections of 83 species of mammals and 17 species of birds. All images were processed through the Smithsonian's eMammal camera trap data repository and included an expert review phase to ensure taxonomic accuracy of data, resulting in each picture being reviewed at least twice. The results represent a timely and standardized camera trap survey of the USA. All of the 2019 survey data are made available herein. We are currently repeating surveys in fall 2020, opening up the opportunity to other institutions and cooperators to expand coverage of all the urban-wild gradients and ecophysiographic regions of the country. Future data will be available as the database is updated at eMammal.si.edu/snapshot-usa, as well as future data paper submissions. These data will be useful for local and macroecological research including the examination of community assembly, effects of environmental and anthropogenic landscape variables, effects of fragmentation and extinction debt dynamics, as well as species-specific population dynamics and conservation action plans. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite this paper when using the data for publication.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Mammal responses to global changes in human activity vary by trophic group and landscape

Wildlife must adapt to human presence to survive in the Anthropocene, so it is critical to understand species responses to humans in different contexts. We used camera trapping as a lens to view mammal responses to changes in human activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Across 163 species sampled in 102 projects around the world, changes in the amount and timing of animal activity varied widely. Under higher human activity, mammals were less active in undeveloped areas but unexpectedly more active in developed areas while exhibiting greater nocturnality. Carnivores were most sensitive, showing the strongest decreases in activity and greatest increases in nocturnality. Wildlife managers must consider how habituation and uneven sensitivity across species may cause fundamental differences in human–wildlife interactions along gradients of human influence.Peer reviewe

Human Recreation Influences American Black Bear Occupancy and Activity Across the Rural-Highland Interface

While protected areas encompass ~15% of Earth’s terrestrial surface and serve an important role in wildlife conservation, most wildlife occur outside protected areas and are subject to varying degrees of human disturbance. In the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, for example, American black bears (Ursus americanus) are relatively common across the forested landscape despite a rapidly growing outdoor recreation industry (e.g., mountain biking, snow biking, snowmobiling, hiking). As a highly mobile, opportunistic species with a large home range, increased human activity across the landscape has the potential to affect black bear spatial and temporal activity, as well as reduce their period of inactivity (i.e., hibernation) which may lead to an increase in human-bear conflicts. As such, our goal is to investigate how landscape (e.g., land cover type, distance to water) and anthropogenic (e.g., human presence, recreating type, infrastructure) factors influence black bear occupancy, detection probability, and activity patterns across the urban-wildland interface before and after hibernation. To accomplish our goals, we deployed 30 trail cameras across a 60km2 study area that includes multi-use lands managed by MI-Department of Natural Resources, The Nature Conservancy and Hancock Timber Management Group in Marquette County, MI. Preliminary results indicate black bear occurrence at 23 camera sites (~77%), and an increase in activity following hibernation in the spring. Though analyses are ongoing, we expect to find that peak black bear activity not only differs seasonally, but also differs based on peak human activity and the type of activity being performed. Understanding black bear responses to human recreation patterns across the urban-wildland interface may provide useful information for minimizing human-mediated disturbance of this common, wide-ranging carnivore

Data for: A path forward: creating an academic culture of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion

<p>Institutions of higher education (IHE) throughout the United States have a long history of acting out various levels of commitment to diversity advancement, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Despite decades of DEI "<em>efforts</em>," the academy is fraught with legacies of racism that uphold white supremacy and prevent marginalized populations from full participation. Furthermore, politicians have not only weaponized education but passed legislation to actively ban DEI programs and censor general education curricula (<a href="https://tinyurl.com/antiDEI">https://tinyurl.com/antiDEI</a>). Ironically, systems of oppression are particularly apparent in the fields of Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology (EECB)–which recognize biological diversity as essential for ecological integrity and resilience. Yet, amongst EECB faculty, people who do not identify as cis-heterosexual, non-disabled, affluent white males are poorly represented. Furthermore, IHE lack metrics to quantify DEI as a priority. Here we show that only 30.3% of US-faculty positions advertised in EECB from Jan 2019-May 2020 required a diversity statement; diversity statement requirements did not correspond with state-level diversity metrics. Though many announcements "encourage women and minorities to apply," empirical evidence demonstrates that hiring committees at most institutions did not prioritize an applicant's DEI advancement potential. We suggest a model for change and call on administrators and faculty to implement SMART (i.e., Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely) strategies for DEI advancement across IHE throughout the United States. We anticipate our quantification of diversity statement requirements relative to other application materials will motivate institutional change in both policy and practice when evaluating a candidate's potential "fit". IHE must embrace a leadership role to not only shift the academic culture to one that upholds DEI, but to educate and include people who represent the full diversity of our society. In the current context of political censure of education including book banning and backlash aimed at Critical Race Theory, which further reinforce systemic white supremacy, academic integrity and justice are more critical than ever. </p><ul> <li>Google Sheets or Excel is required to open Lafferty et al. Data_File.xlsx</li> <li>Sankey Flow Show (THORTEC Software GmbH: <a href="http://www.sankeyflowshow.com">www.sankeyflowshow.com</a>) used to create the Sankey diagram</li> <li>Figure 2 produced in R</li> </ul><p>Funding provided by: Northern Michigan University<br>Crossref Funder Registry ID: https://ror.org/01epvyf46<br>Award Number: </p><p>Here we investigated the (lack of) process in faculty searches at IHE for evaluating candidates' ability to advance DEI objectives. We quantified the prevalence of required diversity statements relative to research and/or teaching statements for all faculty positions posted to the Eco-Evo Jobs Board (<a href="http://ecoevojobs.net/">http://ecoevojobs.net</a>) from January 2019 - May 2020 as a proxy for institutional DEI prioritization (Supplement). We also mapped the job posts that required diversity statements geographically to gauge whether and where diversity is valued in higher education across the US.</p> <h3>Data analysis</h3> <p>We pulled all faculty jobs posted on Eco-Evo jobs board (<a href="http://ecoevojobs.net/">http://ecoevojobs.net</a>) from Jan 1, 2019, to May 31, 2020. For each position, we recorded the Location (i.e., state), Subject Area, Closing Date, Rank, whether or not the position is Tenure Track, and individual application materials (i.e., Research statement, Teaching statement, combined Teaching and Research statement, Diversity statement, Mentorship statement). Of the 543 faculty positions posted during this time, we eliminated 299 posts because the web links were broken or application information was no longer available (i.e., "NA"), leaving 244 faculty job posts. For each of the retained posts, we coded the requirement of teaching, research, diversity, and/or mentorship statements as follows:</p> <ul> <li>"Yes" = statement required </li> <li>"No" = statement not required </li> <li>"Other" = application materials did not explicitly require a Diversity Statement (i.e., option or suggested that applicants include a statement on diversity and inclusion as a component of their teaching and/or research statement or in their cover letter)</li> </ul> <h3>Data visualization</h3> <p>We created a Sankey diagram using Sankey Flow Show (THORTEC Software GmbH: <a href="http://www.sankeyflowshow.com">www.sankeyflowshow.com</a>) to compare diversity and representation from the general population, through (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) STEM academia (a career hierarchy often referred to as the "leaky pipeline"). We procured population data from the US Census Bureau (US Department of Commerce: <a href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045219">https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045219</a>) and quantified the diversity/representation in Conservation Biology (<a href="https://datausa.io/profile/cip/ecology-evolution-systematics-population-biology#demographics">https://datausa.io/profile/cip/ecology-evolution-systematics-population-biology#demographics</a>) and Ecology (<a href="https://datausa.io/profile/cip/conservation-biology">https://datausa.io/profile/cip/conservation-biology</a>) using Data USA (developed by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited and Datawheel).</p> <p>We used the 2015 Diversity Index (produced by PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity: <a href="https://nationalequityatlas.org/indicators/Diversity_index/Ranking:33271/United_States/false/Year(s):2015/">https://nationalequityatlas.org/indicators/Diversity_index/Ranking:33271/United_States/false/Year(s):2015/</a>) to quantify relative ethnic diversity per state, and graphed Figure 2B using the <em>tidyverse</em>, <em>rgdal</em>, <em>broom</em>, and <em>rgeos</em> packages in R (see Base code used to produce Figure 2 in R, below). The Diversity index measures the representation of White, Black, Latino, Asian/Pacific Islander, Native American, and Mixed/other race in a given population. A maximum possible diversity score (1.79) would indicate even representation of all ethnic/racial groups.</p> <p>We checked all figures using the Color Blindness Simulator (ColBlindor: <a href="https://www.color-blindness.com/coblis-color-blindness-simulator/">https://www.color-blindness.com/coblis-color-blindness-simulator/</a>) to maintain inclusivity.</p&gt

Data for: A path forward: creating an academic culture of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion

<p>Institutions of higher education (IHE) throughout the United States have a long history of acting out various levels of commitment to diversity advancement, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Despite decades of DEI "<em>efforts</em>," the academy is fraught with legacies of racism that uphold white supremacy and prevent marginalized populations from full participation. Furthermore, politicians have not only weaponized education but passed legislation to actively ban DEI programs and censor general education curricula (<a href="https://tinyurl.com/antiDEI">https://tinyurl.com/antiDEI</a>). Ironically, systems of oppression are particularly apparent in the fields of Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology (EECB)–which recognize biological diversity as essential for ecological integrity and resilience. Yet, amongst EECB faculty, people who do not identify as cis-heterosexual, non-disabled, affluent white males are poorly represented. Furthermore, IHE lack metrics to quantify DEI as a priority. Here we show that only 30.3% of US-faculty positions advertised in EECB from Jan 2019-May 2020 required a diversity statement; diversity statement requirements did not correspond with state-level diversity metrics. Though many announcements "encourage women and minorities to apply," empirical evidence demonstrates that hiring committees at most institutions did not prioritize an applicant's DEI advancement potential. We suggest a model for change and call on administrators and faculty to implement SMART (i.e., Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely) strategies for DEI advancement across IHE throughout the United States. We anticipate our quantification of diversity statement requirements relative to other application materials will motivate institutional change in both policy and practice when evaluating a candidate's potential "fit". IHE must embrace a leadership role to not only shift the academic culture to one that upholds DEI, but to educate and include people who represent the full diversity of our society. In the current context of political censure of education including book banning and backlash aimed at Critical Race Theory, which further reinforce systemic white supremacy, academic integrity and justice are more critical than ever. </p><ul> <li>Google Sheets or Excel is required to open Lafferty et al. Data_File.xlsx</li> <li>Sankey Flow Show (THORTEC Software GmbH: <a href="http://www.sankeyflowshow.com">www.sankeyflowshow.com</a>) used to create the Sankey diagram</li> <li>Figure 2 produced in R</li> </ul><p>Funding provided by: Northern Michigan University<br>Crossref Funder Registry ID: https://ror.org/01epvyf46<br>Award Number: </p><p>Here we investigated the (lack of) process in faculty searches at IHE for evaluating candidates' ability to advance DEI objectives. We quantified the prevalence of required diversity statements relative to research and/or teaching statements for all faculty positions posted to the Eco-Evo Jobs Board (<a href="http://ecoevojobs.net/">http://ecoevojobs.net</a>) from January 2019 - May 2020 as a proxy for institutional DEI prioritization (Supplement). We also mapped the job posts that required diversity statements geographically to gauge whether and where diversity is valued in higher education across the US.</p> <h3>Data analysis</h3> <p>We pulled all faculty jobs posted on Eco-Evo jobs board (<a href="http://ecoevojobs.net/">http://ecoevojobs.net</a>) from Jan 1, 2019, to May 31, 2020. For each position, we recorded the Location (i.e., state), Subject Area, Closing Date, Rank, whether or not the position is Tenure Track, and individual application materials (i.e., Research statement, Teaching statement, combined Teaching and Research statement, Diversity statement, Mentorship statement). Of the 543 faculty positions posted during this time, we eliminated 299 posts because the web links were broken or application information was no longer available (i.e., "NA"), leaving 244 faculty job posts. For each of the retained posts, we coded the requirement of teaching, research, diversity, and/or mentorship statements as follows:</p> <ul> <li>"Yes" = statement required </li> <li>"No" = statement not required </li> <li>"Other" = application materials did not explicitly require a Diversity Statement (i.e., option or suggested that applicants include a statement on diversity and inclusion as a component of their teaching and/or research statement or in their cover letter)</li> </ul> <h3>Data visualization</h3> <p>We created a Sankey diagram using Sankey Flow Show (THORTEC Software GmbH: <a href="http://www.sankeyflowshow.com">www.sankeyflowshow.com</a>) to compare diversity and representation from the general population, through (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) STEM academia (a career hierarchy often referred to as the "leaky pipeline"). We procured population data from the US Census Bureau (US Department of Commerce: <a href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045219">https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045219</a>) and quantified the diversity/representation in Conservation Biology (<a href="https://datausa.io/profile/cip/ecology-evolution-systematics-population-biology#demographics">https://datausa.io/profile/cip/ecology-evolution-systematics-population-biology#demographics</a>) and Ecology (<a href="https://datausa.io/profile/cip/conservation-biology">https://datausa.io/profile/cip/conservation-biology</a>) using Data USA (developed by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited and Datawheel).</p> <p>We used the 2015 Diversity Index (produced by PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity: <a href="https://nationalequityatlas.org/indicators/Diversity_index/Ranking:33271/United_States/false/Year(s):2015/">https://nationalequityatlas.org/indicators/Diversity_index/Ranking:33271/United_States/false/Year(s):2015/</a>) to quantify relative ethnic diversity per state, and graphed Figure 2B using the <em>tidyverse</em>, <em>rgdal</em>, <em>broom</em>, and <em>rgeos</em> packages in R (see Base code used to produce Figure 2 in R, below). The Diversity index measures the representation of White, Black, Latino, Asian/Pacific Islander, Native American, and Mixed/other race in a given population. A maximum possible diversity score (1.79) would indicate even representation of all ethnic/racial groups.</p> <p>We checked all figures using the Color Blindness Simulator (ColBlindor: <a href="https://www.color-blindness.com/coblis-color-blindness-simulator/">https://www.color-blindness.com/coblis-color-blindness-simulator/</a>) to maintain inclusivity.</p&gt