Factors affecting the recovery of Mexican wolves in the Southwest United States

Recovering and maintaining large carnivore populations is a global conservation challenge that requires better knowledge of the factors affecting their populations, particularly in shared landscapes (i.e. non-protected areas where people occupy and or utilize the land). The Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) is an endangered wolf subspecies being recovered on shared landscapes in the Southwest United States and Mexico. We used data from the U.S. program to model population growth, evaluate the impact of management removal and illegal killing relative to other demographic factors, and test hypotheses about factors influencing rates of management removal and illegal killing. From 1998 to 2019, the population growth averaged 12% per year. Rates of natural reproduction, illegal killing and other mortality remained consistent over the 22 years; while releases, translocations and management removals varied markedly between two time periods, phase 1:1998–2007 and phase 2:2008–2019. The number of wolves removed for conflict management was higher during phase 1 (average ~ 13 per year, rate = 24.8%) than phase 2 (average of ~5 per year, rate = 5.2%). This decrease in management removal resulted in the wolf population resuming growth after a period of population stagnation. Two factors influenced this decrease, a change in policy regarding removal of wolves (stronger modelling support) and a decrease in the number of captive-reared adult wolves released into the wild (weaker modelling support). Illegal mortality was relatively constant across both phases, but after the decrease in management removal, illegal mortality became the most important factor (relative importance shifted from 28.2% to 50.1%). Illegal mortality was positively correlated with rates of reintroduction and translocation of wolves and negatively correlated with the rate of management removal. 6. Synthesis and applications. Using management removal to reduce human–carnivore conflict can have negative population impacts if not used judiciously. Recovering and maintaining carnivore populations in shared landscapes may require greater tolerance of conflict and more emphasis on effective conflict prevention strategies and compensation programs for affected stakeholders

Do or Do Not...There is No Try: The Quest for Library Value

Librarians today can establish academic library value by linking library services and resources to the missions, goals, and needs of their institutions. Statistical correlations between student library interactions and established learning and retention measures offer one path to demonstrable library value. This panel reveals research results from three libraries that successfully followed this path, shares best practices for “doing” value research, and embraces the quest to both prove and improve the value of academic libraries

Cyberinfrastructure facilitators: new approaches to information professionals for e-Research

This paper introduces the concept of a CI-Facilitator defined as a vital member of the research enterprise who works closely with researchers to identify extant tools, data sets, and other resources that can be integrated into the process of pursuing a research objective. In order to prepare CI-Facilitators to evolve with e-Research endeavors they must be grounded in deep conceptual frameworks that do not go out of date as quickly as any given cyberinfrastructure technology. One such framework, that of participatory librarianship, is presented here and explored in terms of tackling the issue of massive scale data in research. Participatory librarianship is grounded in conversation theory and seeks to organize information as a knowledge process rather than as discreet objects in some taxonomy

Domestic Calf Mortality And Producer Detection Rates In The Mexican Wolf Recovery Area: Implications For Livestock Management And Carnivore Compensation Schemes.

Conserving large carnivores throughout the world will often require that they share the landscape with livestock. Minimizing depredations and increasing tolerance by livestock producers will be critical for conservation efforts. To investigate factors influencing calf mortality and producer detection rates (i.e., number of livestock killed by predators, found by producers, and correctly classified as to cause of death), we monitored radio-tagged domestic calves at two sites in the Mexican wolf recovery area (East Eagle [EE] and Adobe Ranch [AR]). Study areas differed in grazing practices, density of predators (mountain lions, black bears, coyotes, and Mexican wolves), and amount of effort spent monitoring cattle. We radiotagged 618 calves over 3.5 years, and 312 calves over 2 years on the EE and AR, respectively. The overall proportion of radioed calves that died was higher on the EE (6.5%) than on the AR (1.9%). Predators (especially mountain lions) accounted for 85% of mortality on the EE and 0% on the AR. Calves selected by predators were on average 25 days younger than the surviving cohort. Our results indicate that year-round calving, especially in areas with high predator densities, are subject to higher losses primarily because calves are exposed to mortality agents for longer periods of time rather than having higher natural rates of mortality. We found a significant difference in producer detection rates between study sites, likely due to differences in the intensity of monitoring cattle between sites. On the EE, the producer detected 77.5% of mortalities and on the AR, the producer detected 33% of mortalities. Our results support changing husbandry practices to limit calving to a seasonal endeavor and that performance payment may be a better compensation strategy than ex post compensation schemes

Using Paid Radio Advertisements to Promote Physical Activity Among Arkansas Tweens

Introduction The level of physical activity among children is a growing concern. Evidence shows that many children aged 9 to 13 years (tweens) do not participate in any organized physical activity during their nonschool hours, and some do not engage in any free-time physical activity. Physical inactivity is associated with a host of chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Paid media advertisements have been an effective method of promoting physical activity. Methods From March 10, 2003, through June 29, 2003, we aired paid radio advertisements in six major Arkansas metropolitan areas to promote physical activity among tweens. In September 2003, we surveyed 295 Arkansas tweens by telephone to assess their exposure to the advertisements and the impact of the advertisements on their intent to participate in physical activity. In the same telephone survey, we also asked questions about the respondents’ physical activity level. The data were weighted so that the results would be representative of the areas surveyed. The statistical analysis was performed using SPSS, version 11.5 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, Ill). Results Of the tweens surveyed, 56.4% (95% confidence interval [CI], 50.7%–62.1%) reported hearing the radio advertisements. Of the tweens who heard the advertisement messages, 76.1% (95% CI, 69.4%–82.8%) said the messages made them more likely to get involved in physical activity. Younger tweens (aged 9 and 10 years) were less likely to have heard the advertisements than older tweens (aged 11 to 13 years). However, the advertisements were more likely to cause younger tweens to want to get involved in physical activity (odds ratio [OR] = 6.89, P = .003) than older tweens. Of the tweens surveyed, 74.9% (95% CI, 70.0%–79.8%) reported that they were involved in nonschool-sponsored sports, and 45.3% (95% CI, 39.6%–51.0%) were involved in school-sponsored sports. Conclusion Paid media advertisements may be an effective way to promote physical activity among tweens. More rigorous evaluations of the impact of paid media advertisements among tweens, with larger samples and additional media markets, are needed. Future physical activity promotion efforts should focus on encouraging participation in school-sponsored sports and creating community environments conducive to physical activity