Reproduction in mammals is costly, with implications for trade-offs between current reproduction and survival. Life history theory suggests the amount of energy allocated to reproduction should change as a function of increasing maternal age, and empirical work supports both within-individual decreases (consistent with senescence) and increases (consistent with constraint and restraint). The Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii) is an ideal organism with which to study patterns of maternal energy allocation due to the life history. Here, we used a long-term mark-recapture database of individually marked mothers and pups in Erebus Bay, Antarctica, to develop a stratified sample of masses from pups and known-age females across maternal ages in 11 different years. Hierarchical modeling of potential sources of variation in: 1) pup masses at parturition, 2) pup mass gains from parturition to mid-lactation (~20 days), and 3) pup mass gains from mid-lactation to late-lactation (~20-days to ~35-days) was used to 1) evaluate the relative support for increases/decreases in reproductive allocation as a function of maternal age, 2) assess how patterns of reproductive allocation may reflect pre-parturition resource acquisition and/or post-parturition resource allocation, and 3) estimate the magnitude of individual heterogeneity in maternal effects after accounting for maternal and offspring characteristics. Our results provide strong evidence that reproductive investment at parturition and pup mass gains from parturition through late-lactation vary with maternal age and breeding history and result in important differences in late-lactation pup masses. Such variation may have consequences for the early-life success of offspring, and thus implications at the population level.

Birds are a highly diverse group consisting of species that use a wide-range of available resources. Therefore bird communities are thought to represent the natural complexity of ecosystems. In recent years, groups of birds and individual species have been recognized as indicators of environmental change. Even with all the potential benefits of conserving bird populations, considerable declines of avian populations in the US have been well documented. These losses highlight the need for continued large-scale monitoring programs. The North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) and the Integrated Monitoring in Bird Conservation Regions (IMBCR) are independent large-scale programs conducted within the US to monitor populations of birds. Each of these programs is uniquely designed to provide different types of information to resource managers within the state of Montana. We examined the current products available from BBS and IMBCR programs and the methodology employed. We also compared how each monitoring program assesses population change at the Montana state level across a variety of species to investigate potential program inconsistencies. If programs work equivalently we would expect abundance trend estimates to be in the same direction (positive or negative) and of similar magnitudes. Preliminary results suggest 94% (104/111) of species analyzed exhibited some difference in their abundance trend estimates between monitoring programs. Inconsistencies found within our species comparisons reflect inherent differences in the programs. Our results reiterate the importance for users to carefully consider the unique design, intention, and sources of bias ascribed to each program before applying monitoring data to ecological questions.

Livestock – large carnivore coexistence occurs within a broader context of social-ecological systems, specifically ranches and rural communities. Coexistence practitioners can be more effective by expanding from a direct focus on carnivores and predation-prevention tools to livestock management context. Ranchers can apply many of the same approaches that work for rangeland health and livestock production to reduce conflicts with large carnivores. The central anti-predator behavior of wild grazing animals is to form large, dense herds that then move around the landscape to seek fresh forage, avoid fouled areas, and escape predators. They also have their young in short, synchronized birthing seasons (predator satiation). Grazing management involving high stocking density and frequent movement, such as rotational grazing and herding with low-stress livestock handling, can improve rangeland health and livestock production, by managing the distribution of grazing across time, space, and plant species. Short calving seasons can increase livestock production and reduce labor inputs, especially when timed to coincide with peak availability of forage quality. Livestock management approaches based on anti-predator behaviors of wild ungulates, including grazing management and synchronized calving, may directly and synergistically reduce predation risk—while simultaneously establishing a management context in which other predation-prevention practices and tools can be used more effectively. Pilot projects on summer cattle range in the U.S. Northern Rockies involving increased stocking density through intensification of existing grazing rotations with herding suggest methods that can be used to improve grazing distribution and prevent depredations.