Hunter and Public Opinions of a Columbian Black-Tailed Deer Population in a Pacific Northwest Island Landscape

Management decisions are influenced by public acceptance for wildlife; thus, knowledge of public concerns and management preferences can be an advantage to natural resource decision makers. Wildlife managers with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife are concerned that the Columbian black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus; deer) population on Whidbey Island, Washington, USA, exceeds social carrying capacity (i.e., a publicly acceptable population). In summer 2014, we designed a self-administered mail questionnaire to assess opinions of residents and a phone survey to assess the opinions of Whidbey Island deer hunters about Columbian black-tailed deer. We hypothesized that residents would support increased hunting when social carrying capacity was exceeded. The resident survey focused on the frequency and type of interactions with deer, the level of acceptability of the population, and their willingness to support increased hunting. Residents perceived the deer population as acceptable for the island, and there was some support for increased hunting. The hunter survey focused on the respondents’ experience hunting deer on the island, including their opinion of the current deer population trend and the desired future deer population trend. Hunters perceived the deer population trend to be increasing somewhat, while their desired population trend was stability. Hunters cited the lack of public and private land open to hunting on Whidbey Island as the biggest barrier and the most common complaint about hunting deer on the island. The results of these surveys suggest the deer population on Whidbey Island (n = 6.2 deer/km2) had not exceeded social carrying capacity. There is support (62% of respondents) for increasing hunting opportunities on the island, but island residents were concerned about public safety. Understanding public views is instrumental for enhanced management. Managers and the public must work together to manage wildlife resources more effectively

Hunting and mountain sheep: Do current harvest practices affect horn growth?

The influence of human harvest on evolution of secondary sexual characteristics has implications for sustainable management of wildlife populations. The phenotypic consequences of selectively removing males with large horns or antlers from ungulate populations have been a topic of heightened concern in recent years. Harvest can affect size of horn-like structures in two ways: (a) shifting age structure toward younger age classes, which can reduce the mean size of horn-like structures, or (b) selecting against genes that produce large, fast-growing males. We evaluated effects of age, climatic and forage conditions, and metrics of harvest on horn size and growth of mountain sheep (Ovis canadensis ssp.) in 72 hunt areas across North America from 1981 to 2016. In 50% of hunt areas, changes in mean horn size during the study period were related to changes in age structure of harvested sheep. Environmental conditions explained directional changes in horn growth in 28% of hunt areas, 7% of which did not exhibit change before accounting for effects of the environment. After accounting for age and environment, horn size of mountain sheep was stable or increasing in the majority (similar to 78%) of hunt areas. Age-specific horn size declined in 44% of hunt areas where harvest was regulated solely by morphological criteria, which supports the notion that harvest practices that are simultaneously selective and intensive might lead to changes in horn growth. Nevertheless, phenotypic consequences are not a foregone conclusion in the face of selective harvest; over half of the hunt areas with highly selective and intensive harvest did not exhibit age-specific declines in horn size. Our results demonstrate that while harvest regimes are an important consideration, horn growth of harvested male mountain sheep has remained largely stable, indicating that changes in horn growth patterns are an unlikely consequence of harvest across most of North America.Utah Division of Wildlife Resources; National Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF); Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation; Alberta Wild Sheep Foundation; California Wild Sheep Foundation; Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society; Wyoming Governor's Big Game License Coalition; Iowa Foundation for North American Wild Sheep; Utah Foundation for North American Wild Sheep; Pope and Young ClubOpen access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction 2019

The Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (GAR) is the flagship report of the United Nations on worldwide efforts to reduce disaster risk

Optimal foraging and community structure: implications for a guild of generalist grassland herbivores

A particular linear programming model is constructed to predict the diets of each of 14 species of generalist herbivores at the National Bison Range, Montana. The herbivores have body masses ranging over seven orders of magnitude and belonging to two major taxa: insects and mammals. The linear programming model has three feeding constraints: digestive capacity, feeding time and energy requirements. A foraging strategy that maximizes daily energy intake agrees very well with the observed diets. Body size appears to be an underlying determinant of the foraging parameters leading to diet selection. Species that possess digestive capacity and feeding time constraints which approach each other in magnitude have the most generalized diets. The degree that the linear programming models change their diet predictions with a given percent change in parameter values (sensitivity) may reflect the observed ability of the species to vary their diets. In particular, the species which show the most diet variability are those whose diets tend to be balanced between monocots and dicots. The community-ecological parameters of herbivore body-size ranges and species number can possibly be related to foraging behavior.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47765/1/442_2004_Article_BF00377109.pd

Use of dry-weight rank multipliers for desert vegetation

The dry-weight rank technique has been used to measure vegetation in various habitats but has not been evaluated in desert shrub habitats. We sampled browse, forb, and grass in the palo-verde (Cercidium microphylum [Toff.] Rose and Johnston)-saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea [Engelm.) Britt and Rose) mountain slope vegetation association in the Sonoran Desert to determine if rank multipliers derived by 't Mannetje and Haydock differ from mean dry weights from different ranks. Previously derived multipliers were similar to those derived for mountain slope habitat.This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries.The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform August 202

Response of Desert Ungulates to a Water Project in Arizona

Effects of water projects on ungulates in the arid southwestern United States are poorly understood, but there are concerns that such projects will displace native ungulates, influence movements, and increase mortality. One such project, the Hayden-Rhodes Aqueduct (HRA), traverses the habitat of desert mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus crooki) and bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) in southcentral Arizona. We contrasted home range size, use of vegetation associations, and frequency of animal locations within 500 m of the HRA for mule deer in the Belmont and Big Horn mountains and for bighorn sheep in the Little Harquahala Mountains during construction (1980-84) and after completion (1989-92) of the HRA. We also examined the distance of ungulates to water catchments to determine if added water catchments attracted them. Home range size and use of vegetation associations did not differ (P \u3e 0.05) between periods for deer and sheep. Deer and sheep were rarely within 500 m of the aqueduct, but frequency of locations ≤500 m of the HRA did not differ (P \u3e 0.05) between, during, and after construction of the canal. Female deer were closer (P \u3c 0.05) to water catchments in spring and summer prior to completion of the canal but farther (P \u3c 0.05) from water catchments in summer after completion of the HRA. Bighorn sheep were not attracted to water catchments. Data suggest that the additional water was not important to the deer or sheep populations. The HRA reinforced previously established barriers (i.e., highways, fences, railroads) that fragmented habitat but did not alter use of habitats or movements of desert mule deer or bighorn sheep