2 research outputs found
Social and Scientific Factors Impacting Mule Deer Habitat Conservation in the Intermountain West
For mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) in the Intermountain West, alterations to habitat are outpacing strategies to mitigate human disturbance on critical seasonal ranges and migration routes. Conserving mule deer habitat requires cooperation between a diverse group of stakeholders, state wildlife agencies, and federal land management agencies. The first chapter of this thesis explores the current and historical relationship between state wildlife agencies, citizen stakeholders, and federal agencies in order to highlight opportunities to improve cooperative habitat conservation in the United States. Conservation is a result of social, political, and economic action, but relies upon science to inform policy. The second chapter explores the seasonal habitat use of mule deer in southwestern Wyoming. In response to low fawn recruitment, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department deployed 15 GPS collars on adult female mule deer in an effort to enhance knowledge of mule deer population dynamics, migrations, and habitat use. The study captured two winter climate regimes, with greater winter severity during the 2010-11 winter compared to the winter of 2011-12. Deer migrated an average of 23.9 km (SE = 2.2) between seasonal ranges, and completed spring migrations nearly one month earlier following the milder winter of 2011-12 (t19 = 5.53, df = 19, P ≤ 0.001). Pooled, the average area of winter ranges (1057 ha, SE = 103, n = 26) was larger than summer ranges (423 ha, SE = 51 ha, n = 25) (t = −5.44, df = 49, P ≤ 0.001), with no increase or decrease in size of seasonal ranges detected between years (P = 0.243) according to a post-hoc Tukey HSD test. Between years, deer were observed to shift the geographic center of winter ranges (2.9 km, SE = 1.1, n = 12) to a larger degree than summer ranges (0.4 km, SE = 0.1, n = 12) (t = −2.20, df = 22, P = 0.040). Survival and pregnancy rates (86% and 96%, respectively) correlated closely with other mule deer studies, and neither factor appears to negatively impact population growth. Identifying seasonal ranges and migration routes, and quantifying seasonal habitat use, will assist Wyoming Game and Fish Department efforts to protect mule deer seasonal habitats and migration routes, and direct vegetation manipulations intended to improve the nutritional quality of habitats. On average, winter ranges included a later percentage of shrub-dominated habitat (83.8%, SE = 0.3, n = 26) than summer ranges (57.5%, SE = 2.0, n = 25) (t = −4.42, df = 49, P ≤ 0.001). Summer ranges averaged a greater proportion of agricultural lands (2.8%, SE = 1.1, n = 25) and aspen (Populus tremuloides ) habitats (9.0%, SE = 2.2, n = 25) than winter ranges (0.1%, SE = 0.1, n = 26 and 0.2%, SE = 0.0, n = 26, respectively) (t = 3.03, df = 49, P = 0.004 and t= 3.86, df = 49, P ≤ 0.001, respectively). Mule deer ranges are primarily located on Bureau of Land Management (73%, SE = 2.8, n = 51) and privately owned (17.3%, SE = 2.9, n = 51) lands, highlighting opportunities for cooperative partnerships for mule deer habitat conservation
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ContraPest®, a New Tool for Rodent Control
Lethal rodenticides and other lethal tools of managing commensal rodent populations long-term are not sustainable due to population rebounds and increasing resistance to rodenticides. The use of integrated pest management (IPM) programs are more prevalent due to consumer desire to decrease rodenticide use and utilize environmentally friendly, humane methods. IPM plans often require multiple tools to control an infestation, such as physical, biological and chemical measures. Here, we propose that rodent population management would benefit from a new tool aimed at targeting the biological source of overabundance: reproduction. SenesTech, Inc. (Flagstaff, AZ USA) has developed ContraPest®, a liquid bait that limits the reproductive capacity of both male and female wild Norway and Roof rats. The two active ingredients, 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD) and triptolide, deplete all stages of follicles in the female and disrupt spermatogenesis in the male. Laboratory and field studies reveal that ContraPest® is palatable and repeatedly consumed by rats even when provided with ad libitum food and water. Studies involving laboratory and wild caught rats have demonstrated a 93 - 100% reduction in litter sizes of rats treated with ContraPest® compared to control rats. ContraPest® was tested on free ranging rat populations in agricultural and urban settings. Rat populations on protein production farms decreased by an average of 46% following 100 days of treatment with ContraPest®. In a complex urban environment, where property boundaries limit access to populations and foraging areas, ContraPest® reduced the seasonal population peak by 67% after 133 days of baiting. These studies, combined with all of our field studies and population reduction models, demonstrate that ContraPest® is a highly effective rodent contraceptive bait in a variety of environments. We strongly believe that adding/implementing fertility management via ContraPest® to an IPM program would enhance long-term rodent population control in rural, urban, and agricultural environments