Twenty-year home-range dynamics of a white-tailed deer matriline

We examined the seasonal migration and home-range dynamics of a multigeneration white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) matriline comprising six females from four generations spanning a 20-year period in northeastern Minnesota. All, from the matriarch to her great-granddaughter, migrated to the same summer and winter ranges, the longest individual record being 14.5 years. Three maternal females concurrently occupied exclusive fawning sites within their ancestral matriarch’s summer range, while two nonmaternal females explored new areas and ranged near their mothers. One great-granddaughter expanded her summer range 1 km beyond the matriarch’s summer range while essentially vacating half of her ancestors’ range and becoming nonmigratory the last 4 years of her life. These data indicate that individual movements of matriline members can potentially expand their ranges beyond the areas occupied by their ancestors through a slow process of small incremental changes. This suggests that the rapid extension of deer range in eastern North America resulted from natal dispersal by yearling deer rather than from the type of home-range expansion reported here. Nous avons étudié la migration saisonnière et la dynamique des déplacements dans les domaines au sein d’une lignée maternelle de plusieurs générations de Cerfs de Virginie (Odocoileus virginianus), lignée composée de six femelles de quatre générations recouvrant une période de 20 ans dans le nord-est du Minnesota. De l’aïeule à son arrière-petite-fille, toutes les femelles occupaient les mêmes domaines d’été et d’hiver, le record d’occupation atteignant 14,5 ans. Trois femelles mères occupaient en même temps des sites de mise-bas exclusifs à l’intérieur du domaine ancestral d’été, alors que deux femelles non mères ont exploré de nouvelles régions et occupaient des domaines voisins de ceux de leurs mères. Une arrière-petite-fille a étendu son domaine d’été de 1 km au-delà de celui de son aïeule, évacuant la moitié du domaine ancestral, et a cessé de migrer au cours des 4 dernières années de sa vie. Ces données indiquent que les déplacements des femelles d’une lignée maternelle peuvent éventuellement agrandir les domaines audelà des limites du domaine de leurs ancêtres, mais très lentement et par petites augmentations seulement. Il semble donc que l’expansion rapide de la répartition du Cerf de Virginie observée en Amérique du Nord résulte de la dispersion des jeunes de l’année à la naissance plutôt que du type d’expansion de domaine tel que décrit ici

Factors Influencing Predation on Juvenile Ungulates and Natural Selection Implications

Juvenile ungulates are generally more vulnerable to predation than are adult ungulates other than senescent individuals, not only because of their relative youth, fragility, and inexperience, but also because of congenital factors. Linnell et al.’s (Wildl. Biol. 1: 209-223) extensive review of predation on juvenile ungulates concluded that research was needed to determine the predisposition of these juveniles to predation. Since then, various characteristics that potentially predispose juvenile ungulates have emerged including blood characteristics, morphometric and other condition factors, and other factors such as birth period, the mother’s experience, and spatial and habitat aspects. To the extent that any of the physical or behavioral traits possessed by juvenile ungulates have a genetic or heritable and partly independent epigenetic component that predisposes them to predation, predators may play an important role in their natural selection. We review the possible influence of these characteristics on predisposing juvenile ungulates to predation and discuss natural selection implications and potential selection mechanisms. Although juvenile ungulates as a class are likely more vulnerable to predation than all but senescent adults, our review presents studies indicating that juveniles with certain tendencies or traits are killed more often than others. This finding suggests that successful predation on juveniles is more selective than is often assumed. Because we are unable to control for (or in some cases even measure) the myriad of other possible vulnerabilities such as differences in sensory abilities, intelligence, hiding abilities, tendency to travel, etc., finding selective predation based on the relatively few differences we can measure is noteworthy and points to the significant role that predation on juveniles has in the natural selection of ungulates. Future research should compare characteristics, especially those known to influence survival, between animals killed by predators versus those killed by other sources as well as survivors versus non-survivors to better understand predation’s role in natural selection

Prolonged winter undernutrition and the interpretation of urinary allantoin:creatinine ratios in white-tailed deer

The urinary allantoin:creatinine (A:C) ratio (expressed in micromoles of allantoin to micromoles of creatinine) has shown potential as an index of recent winter energy intake in preliminary controlled studies of elk (Cervus elaphus) involving mild condition deterioration (up to 11% loss of body mass). To ensure reliable nutritional assessments of free-ranging cervids by measuring A:C ratios of urine in snow, it is essential to extend this work. We assessed the effect of moderate and severe winter nutritional restriction on urinary A:C ratios of captive white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) that lost up to 32% body mass and related these ratios to metabolizable energy intake (MEI), body-mass loss, and other reported nutritional indicators. Deer in the control group were fed a low-protein, low-energy diet ad libitum, whereas deer in the treatment group were fed restricted amounts of the same diet. MEI was below the winter maintenance requirement for all deer, but was lower (P = 0.029) in treatment deer than in control deer. Percent body-mass loss differed between the two groups as the study progressed, and represented the full range of physiological tolerance (0–32% loss). Mean A:C ratios of control deer, which lost up to 17.4% body mass, showed a slight increasing (P = 0.086) trend, whereas initially similar A:C ratios of severely restricted deer increased (P = 0.0002) markedly by the eighth week (0.52 vs. 0.09 mmol:mmol). The urinary A:C ratio was not related (P = 0.839) to recent (2 days prior to urine sampling) MEI, but there was a marginally significant relation (r2 = 0.42, P = 0.110) between the A:C ratio and cumulative percent mass loss. The urinary A:C ratio was directly related to urinary urea nitrogen:creatinine (r2 = 0.59, P \u3c 0.0001) and 3-methylhistidine:creatinine (r2 = 0.43, P \u3c 0.0001) ratios. This study confirms that elevated and increasing A:C ratios may be due either to increasing energy intake or to accelerated tissue catabolism and increased endogenous contributions to urinary allantoin excretion. Le rapport allantoïne : créatinine (A : C) de l’urine s’est montré un indice prometteur de l’absorption récente d’énergie en hiver au cours d’études préliminaires dans des conditions contrôlées chez des Wapitis (Cervus elaphus) qui ont subi une légère détérioration de leur condition physiologique (perte de masse allant jusqu’à 11 %). Pour que les rapports A : C de l’urine relevés dans la neige permettent d’estimer les conditions nutritionnelles des cervidés en liberté, il fallu étendre le champ de recherche. Nous avons mesuré les rapports A : C urinaires chez des Cerfs de Virginie (Odocoileus virginianus) en captivité qui ont perdu jusqu’à 32 % de leur masse et avons tenté de relier ces rapports à l’absorption d’énergie métabolisable (MEI), à la perte de masse et aux autres indicateurs nutritionnels disponibles. Les cerfs du groupe témoin ont été gardés à un régime faible en protéines et en énergie et se nourrissaient ad libitum, alors que les cerfs du groupe expérimental étaient soumis au même régime mais recevaient des portions rationnées. L’absorption d’énergie métabolisable a été inférieure au seuil de maintien en hiver chez tous les cerfs, mais a été encore plus basse (P = 0,029) chez les cerfs traités que chez les cerfs témoins. La perte de masse en pourcentage différait entre les groupes et la différence s’accentuait à mesure qu’avançait l’étude et représentait tout l’éventail de tolérance (perte de 0–32 %). Les rapports A : C moyens chez les cerfs témoins, qui ont perdu jusqu’à 17,4 % de leur masse, avaient légèrement tendance à augmenter (P = 0,086), alors que les rapports A : C des cerfs expérimentaux fortement privés de nourriture, semblables aux précédents au départ, avaient subi une augmentation très forte (P = 0,0002) à la 8e semaine (0,52 vs. 0,09 mmol : mmol). Le rapport A : C urinaire n’était pas relié (P = 0,839) à l’absorption récente d’énergie métabolisable (2 jours avant le prélèvement d’urine), mais il y avait une relation presque significative (r2 = 0,42, P = 0,110) entre A : C et le pourcentage cumulatif de perte de masse. Le rapport A : C de l’urine es

An advanced open-path atmospheric monitor design

The conceptual design of an open-path atmospheric monitor combines an acousto-optic tunable filter for emission spectroscopy (3-14 {mu}m) with a mid-IR (4.6-5.4 {mu}m) for absorption spectroscopy. It utilizes mostly commercially available components, covers a large area ({approximately}4 km radius), measures the distance to any reflecting object, can take measurements along any line-of-sight, and is eye safe. Of twenty test pollutants it is to detect, the concentrations of all twenty will be measurable via emission spectroscopy and ten by the more sensitive absorption spectroscopy

Mountain lions prey selectively on prion-infected mule deer

The possibility that predators choose prey selectively based on age or condition has been suggested but rarely tested. We examined whether mountain lions (Puma concolor) selectively prey upon mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) infected with chronic wasting disease, a prion disease. We located kill sites of mountain lions in the northern Front Range of Colorado, USA, and compared disease prevalence among lion-killed adult (≥2 years old) deer with prevalence among sympatric deer taken by hunters in the vicinity of kill sites. Hunter-killed female deer were less likely to be infected than males (odds ratios (OR) = 0.2, 95% confidence intervals (CI) = 0.1–0.6; p = 0.015). However, both female (OR = 8.5, 95% CI = 2.3–30.9) and male deer (OR = 3.2, 95% CI = 1–10) killed by a mountain lion were more likely to be infected than same-sex deer killed in the vicinity by a hunter (p < 0.001), suggesting that mountain lions in this area actively selected prion-infected individuals when targeting adult mule deer as prey items

Spatially varying density dependence drives a shifting mosaic of survival in a recovering apex predator (Canis lupus)

Understanding landscape patterns in mortality risk is crucial for promoting recovery of threatened and endangered species. Humans affect mortality risk in large carnivores such as wolves (Canis lupus), but spatiotemporally varying density dependence can significantly influence the landscape of survival. This potentially occurs when density varies spatially and risk is unevenly distributed. We quantified spatiotemporal sources of variation in survival rates of gray wolves (C. lupus) during a 21-year period of population recovery in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA. We focused on mapping risk across time using Cox Proportional Hazards (CPH) models with time-dependent covariates, thus exploring a shifting mosaic of survival. Extended CPH models and time-dependent covariates revealed influences of seasonality, density dependence and experience, as well as individual-level factors and landscape predictors of risk. We used results to predict the shifting landscape of risk at the beginning, middle, and end of the wolf recovery time series. Survival rates varied spatially and declined over time. Long-term change was density-dependent, with landscape predictors such as agricultural land cover and edge densities contributing negatively to survival. Survival also varied seasonally and depended on individual experience, sex, and resident versus transient status. The shifting landscape of survival suggested that increasing density contributed to greater potential for human conflict and wolf mortality risk. Long-term spatial variation in key population vital rates is largely unquantified in many threatened, endangered, and recovering species. Variation in risk may indicate potential for source-sink population dynamics, especially where individuals preemptively occupy suitable territories, which forces new individuals into riskier habitat types as density increases. We encourage managers to explore relationships between adult survival and localized changes in population density. Density-dependent risk maps can identify increasing conflict areas or potential habitat sinks which may persist due to high recruitment in adjacent habitats

Large carnivore science: non-experimental studies are useful, but experiments are better

1. Response to Bruskotter and colleagues We recently described the following six interrelated issues that justify questioning some of the discourse about the reliability of the literature on the ecological roles of large carnivores (Allen et al., in press): 1. The overall paucity of available data, 2. The reliability of carnivore population sampling techniques, 3. The general disregard for alternative hypotheses to top-down forcing, 4. The lack of applied science studies, 5. The frequent use of logical fallacies, 6. The generalisation of results from relatively pristine systems to those substantially altered by humans. We thank Bruskotter et al. (2017) for responding to our concerns and engaging with this important issue. We agree completely that nonexperimental studies can and do often have great value, and we recognize that in many (most) cases these types of studies may provide the only data that are available. We acknowledge the many challenges of working on large, cryptic, dangerous, and highly-mobile animals in the wild. However, the absence of more robust data and the reality of these challenges do not excuse weak inference or overstating conclusions – a practice apparent in many studies (and communication of those studies) adopting only observational or correlative methods to infer the roles of large carnivores (reviewed in Allen et al., in press)

Understanding and measuring child welfare outcomes

The new Children\u27s and Family Services Reviews (CFSR) process focuses on the effectiveness of services to children and families by measuring client outcomes. This article reviews the research literature related to child welfare outcomes in order to provide a context for federal accountability efforts. It also summarizes the 2001 federal mandate to hold states accountable for child welfare outcomes and describes California\u27s response to this mandate. Implications of the outcomes literature review and measurement problems in the CFSR process suggest CSFR measures do not always capture meaningful outcomes. Recommendations for change are made

Intense or Spatially Heterogeneous Predation Can Select against Prey Dispersal

Dispersal theory generally predicts kin competition, inbreeding, and temporal variation in habitat quality should select for dispersal, whereas spatial variation in habitat quality should select against dispersal. The effect of predation on the evolution of dispersal is currently not well-known: because predation can be variable in both space and time, it is not clear whether or when predation will promote dispersal within prey. Moreover, the evolution of prey dispersal affects strongly the encounter rate of predator and prey individuals, which greatly determines the ecological dynamics, and in turn changes the selection pressures for prey dispersal, in an eco-evolutionary feedback loop. When taken all together the effect of predation on prey dispersal is rather difficult to predict. We analyze a spatially explicit, individual-based predator-prey model and its mathematical approximation to investigate the evolution of prey dispersal. Competition and predation depend on local, rather than landscape-scale densities, and the spatial pattern of predation corresponds well to that of predators using restricted home ranges (e.g. central-place foragers). Analyses show the balance between the level of competition and predation pressure an individual is expected to experience determines whether prey should disperse or stay close to their parents and siblings, and more predation selects for less prey dispersal. Predators with smaller home ranges also select for less prey dispersal; more prey dispersal is favoured if predators have large home ranges, are very mobile, and/or are evenly distributed across the landscape