Wildlife Management Issues Research Articles

FORUM: Dingoes can help conserve wildlife and our methods can tell

Summary Management of apex predators is among the most controversial wildlife management issues globally. In Australia, some ecologists have advocated using the dingo, Canis dingo, as a tool for conservation management, due to evidence that they suppress invasive mesopredators. Hayward & Marlow (Journal of Applied Ecology, 51, 2014 and 835) questioned the capacity of dingoes to provide benefits to native biodiversity due to their inability to eradicate foxes and cats. They also argued that indices of abundance commonly used in studies of mesopredator release by dingoes (namely, track‐based indices) invalidate the conclusions of the studies. Hayward & Marlow caution conservation practitioners against incorporating dingoes into conservation programmes. Counter to their claims, we summarise research showing that the suppression of invasive mesopredators (cf. eradication) can enhance populations of native species and is therefore a meaningful conservation objective. We highlight literature supporting the hypothesis that dingoes suppress mesopredator abundance and activity, which in turn benefits native biodiversity. We show that Hayward & Marlow overlook many studies of carnivores that show track indices capture a large amount of the variation in the density of medium‐ and large‐sized carnivores. Synthesis and applications. Practitioners cannot afford to wait to act given the perilous state of Australia's mammal species, and we argue that the evidence is sufficiently strong to justify managing dingoes for biodiversity conservation.

Strength of Evidence for the Effects of Feral Cats on Insular Wildlife: The Club Med Syndrome Part II

Author(s): Hess, Steven C. | Abstract: Various types of evidence have been promulgated as proof for the effects of feral cats on wildlife, typically including numerous studies on predation inferred from diet, mortality attributed to pathogens, and photographic or videographic documentation. The strength of these types of evidence is often short of conclusive. For example, studies of predation inferred from diet provide weak evidence for two reasons: 1) they cannot differentiate depredation from scavenging by feral cats, and 2) they cannot address population-level effects on wildlife because it is rarely understood if mortality acts in compensatory or additive manner. Likewise, pathogens may cause mortality of individuals, but population-level effects of pathogens are rarely known. Photographic or videographic documentation provides direct ‘smoking gun’ evidence that may be useful for positive identification of depredation by cats, or identification of prey designated as threatened or endangered species. However, the most direct and compelling evidence comes from examples where feral cats have been entirely removed from islands. In many cases, several species of seabirds as well as other wildlife have recovered after the complete removal of cats. Where possible, the experimental removal of cats would provide the most conclusive proof of effects on wildlife populations. In other cases where cat removal is not feasible, modeling based on predation rates and life history parameters of species may be the only means of assessing population-level effects on wildlife. Understanding population-level effects of feral cats on wildlife will ultimately be necessary to resolve long-standing wildlife management issues.

‘Are You Serious to Ask Me about Who Owns Wildlife?’ Politics of Autonomy over Wildlife Resources in the Zambezi Valley, Zimbabwe

This article describes how a participatory action research project, the Zambezi Valley Advocacy Project, assisted the process of improving the autonomy of communities over wildlife management issues in the Zambezi Valley, Zimbabwe. The project was based on the assumption that negligible conservation and development benefits realised from wildlife resources were both a policy and a management problem of the Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE). Using a participatory analysis, we found that CAMPFIRE is a resilient programme despite the increase in poaching, unscrupulous hunting safari operators, continued destruction of crops by wildlife, reduced flow of financial benefits to producer communities, and economic decline which Zimbabwe has experienced since around the year 2000. This study demonstrates the value of participatory research, so much so that by the end of the project, stakeholders had already started implementing the findings to the hunting contract system, anti-poaching activities, and direct payment system. This represented a significant start to improving community autonomy over wildlife management. It also provided significant opportunities for both researchers and participants to collaborate and use their collective power to create political will for opening up greater decision-making, ownership wildlife resources, and benefit-sharing options for local communities. The lessons from this study are likely to be applicable to other community-based natural resource management contexts.

The complexity of cormorants: stable isotopes reveal multiple prey sources and feeding site switching

Conflict between cormorants (Phalacrocorax spp.) and humans over fisheries is currently one of the most widespread wildlife management issues in the world. Cormorant impact assessments typically assume a single source of prey near the breeding colony. However, cormorants can fly long distances (>20 km), resulting in fish removal from multiple areas. Knowledge of the source of cormorant prey is critical for fisheries impact assessments. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes values from fish in double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) regurgitations revealed several prey sources for breeding birds in north-central Saskatchewan, Canada. Cormorants also switched feeding locations on a daily and seasonal basis. Foraging patterns inferred by stable isotope analysis closely paralleled observations of relative cormorant densities on different lakes. Up to 80% of prey came from areas well removed from the breeding colony lake (≤30 km). Cormorant foraging ecology can be complex and may be driven by factors independent of breeding colony site selection. The approach of estimating biomass removal from breeding colony lakes as the guideline for management decisions may be invalid in many locations.

Wildlife law and policy

Wildlife law and policy

Using acoustical monitoring to assess mule deer behavior in response to natural gas development and noise disturbance in the Piceance Basin, Colorado

Passive recording units are valuable tools for assessing wildlife behavior, and can be used to address questions on multiple scales, from individual to landscape. We used this versatile technique to explore one of the most pressing wildlife management issues in the intermountain west: broad scale energy development. Much of this development occurs on critical wildlife habitat, and has been shown to alter the physical and acoustical properties of landscapes at a rapid rate. We designed and packaged an inexpensive, collar-mounted recording device for monitoring mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) behavior with respect to natural gas development in Northwestern Colorado. This presentation will provide a summary of collar design, data analysis, and preliminary results.

Cormorant–fisheries conflicts: Stable isotopes reveal a consistent niche for avian piscivores in diverse food webs

Global conflict between piscivorous cormorants (Phalacrocorax spp.) and fish harvesters is one of the most widespread wildlife management issues in history. Despite the persistent belief that these birds adversely affect economically important fish populations, relatively little is known about cormorant trophic ecology and habitat use. We examined the diet and trophic position of breeding populations of Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus; hereafter cormorants) from three different lakes using stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes (δ13C and δ15N). The δ15N values revealed that cormorants generally occupied top-predator positions in all food webs examined; their trophic position (5.0 ± 0.5) was consistent within and between years in all lakes studied. The δ13C values showed that cormorants occupied very similar dietary niches in three different freshwater food webs. Mean centroid distance, a measure of diversity, varied significantly among food webs (range 1.5–2.9), but not among cormorants from different lakes (range 0.8–1.2). In all three lakes, cormorants relied heavily on non-benthic or pelagic prey. Stable isotopes mixing models demonstrated that cisco (Coregonus artedii), yellow perch (Perca flavescens), and ninespine stickleback (Pungitius pungitius) were most important for cormorant diet independent of the local food web structure. The isotopic values of cormorants and pelagic predatory fish were sometimes similar, suggesting that dietary overlap is possible. Based on our study, we suggest that cormorants may have more specific and uniform dietary niche requirements than previously considered. Consequently, the potential for adverse effects on food webs will heavily depend on whether economically valuable species fill the prey niches consumed by cormorants. For example, cormorants should have little economic impact where food webs are diverse in abundant prey species and niches. Alternately, food webs with less diversity of prey species and niches may be more affected by cormorant predation. Managers should avoid simply assuming that cormorants will have negative impacts on fisheries and should instead consider the structure of the food web as well as the niches occupied by cormorants and fish species of economic interest.

Evolution of Public Issues in Wildlife Management: How Social Networks and Issue Framing Change Through Time

We examined the evolution of four public wildlife management issues using theories from collective action, social networks, and social constructionism to understand key roles and perspectives among stakeholders engaged in collective actions related to wildlife management policies. We conducted semi-structured telephone interviews with 50 key stakeholders in four communities in New York State that experienced collective stakeholder interactions in the contexts of waterfowl hunting or wildlife trapping. Our results revealed that collective action coordinators and brokers, representing local/in-state regional organizations, were not initially involved in the disputes but became involved over time. These individuals reframed the public issue from original concerns over personal safety, private property rights, and spatial proximity to include concerns about humaneness of wildlife harvest activities and regulations. Stakeholder engagement strategies for managing the impacts from these initial interactions should consider the temporal element of how the social construction of each issue changes over time.

Segmenting Normative Beliefs Regarding Wolf Management in Central Italy

We segmented a sample of the Italian public based on their normative beliefs to support or oppose wolf management options. Based on the specificity principle and the notion of predictive potential, we hypothesized “minimal” differences among the segments for demographic and past experience variables and substantive differences among the segments for belief and attitude measures. Data were collected through personal interviews (n = 1,611) in Abruzzo, Lazio, and Molise National Park and the surrounding area. Using K-means cluster analysis, three clusters of respondents were identified: those who favored protection, opposed protection, and had mixed views regarding wolves. Consistent with the hypotheses, demographics (i.e., age, sex) and prior-experience (i.e., hunting, seeing wolves) did not substantively differ among the clusters. The three segments, however, did differ in their beliefs about the perceived impacts and attitudes toward wolves. Findings reinforce the predictive potential of psychological variables when attempting to understand support or opposition for wildlife management issues.

Influence of Meso-Mammal Predator Control on Predator Landscape-Level Spatial Occupancy in Northern Florida and Southern Georgia, USA

Author(s): Ellis-Felege, Susan N.; Conroy, Michael J.; Sisson, D. Clay; Palmer, William E.; Carroll, John P. | Abstract: Predator control to enhance avian reproductive success is a controversial issue in wildlife management, yet rarely is the effectiveness of this tool evaluated with respect to the impact it has on predator populations. Understanding predator demographic responses to intense predator reduction efforts has important applied implications, and provides data to answer to public scrutiny. Medium-sized, generalist mammals (i.e., meso-mammalian) are important nest predators of the declining gamebird, the northern bobwhite, and may limit bobwhite populations. To evaluate the effectiveness of intensive predator control on influencing meso-mammal populations, we monitored 4 primary meso-mammal nest predators of bobwhites. These species include raccoon, Virginia opossum, nine-banded armadillo, and bobcat. We used scent stations to monitor predators on 4 study sites (1,300-1,400 ha each) in northern Florida and southern Georgia during 2000-2006. Baseline data were collected in 2000 for all study sites. During 2001-2003, 2 sites received intensive meso-mammal predator reduction during the 7-month bobwhite breeding season, whereas the other two sites served as controls with no reduction occurring. After 3 years, the treatments were reversed. Using predator detection at scent stations, we modeled the probability that predators used 25-ha patches across the study sites via a community occupancy model. We examined the probability of patch use between years to determine the effectiveness of predator reduction and the resilience of predator populations to management. We removed a total of 5,161 meso-mammals from our study areas. Our results show meso-mammal predator control, as done on our study area, was sufficiently intensive enough to reduce predator use across target sites, but continued reduction would be needed to reduce predator patch use between years. Our findings demonstrate that a predator community can be reduced at the local scale; however, the predators remain on the greater landscape thereby minimizing potential for negative impacts on ecosystem integrity.

Forest Management in the Interface: Wildlife

Revised! FOR-182, a 7-page illustrated fact sheet by Jim Parkhurst and Martha Monroe, highlights key wildlife management issues in interface forests and provides background information on potential conflicts. Includes references. Published by the UF School of Forest Resources and Conservation, October 2008.

Human dimensions of wildlife population management in Australasia - history, approaches and directions

It is now widely accepted that it is important to understand the ‘human dimensions’ of wildlife management issues in order to achieve management goals. This growing field of study was born in the 1960s and involves an examination of societal values, knowledge and behaviours associated with wildlife and wildlife management issues. This paper provides an overview of the history and directions in human dimensions research, focusing specifically on its application for wildlife population management in Australasia (in particular, Australia and New Zealand). It also provides a ‘toolkit’ of methods and approaches for those wishing to undertake, interpret or utilise human dimensions enquiries.

Examining the Living with Possums policy in Victoria, Australia: community knowledge, support and compliance

Studying the human dimensions of wildlife management issues is now considered to be an essential component of wildlife research. This study examined the Living with Possums policy in Victoria, Australia, in terms of the policy?s success in educating the community and ensuring community compliance. Postal surveys and telephone interviews were conducted across three samples from Greater Melbourne. These samples included people who had experiences with possums on their property (n = 340), veterinary clinics (n = 45) and the general public (n = 103). Significant levels of non-compliance were uncovered, highlighting the need for a renewed public education campaign to take place along with a continued interest in this issue from government agencies and councils. The study also revealed discrepancies between the policy and public preferences for possum management, suggesting that a shift in the recommended management technique may be warranted.

Evaluating the ability of habitat suitability models to predict species presences

Models predicting species spatial distribution are increasingly applied to wildlife management issues, emphasising the need for reliable methods to evaluate the accuracy of their predictions. As many available datasets (e.g. museums, herbariums, atlas) do not provide reliable information about species absences, several presence-only based analyses have been developed. However, methods to evaluate the accuracy of their predictions are few and have never been validated. The aim of this paper is to compare existing and new presence-only evaluators to usual presence/absence measures. We use a reliable, diverse, presence/absence dataset of 114 plant species to test how common presence/absence indices (Kappa, MaxKappa, AUC, adjusted D 2) compare to presence-only measures (AVI, CVI, Boyce index) for evaluating generalised linear models (GLM). Moreover we propose a new, threshold-independent evaluator, which we call “continuous Boyce index”. All indices were implemented in the BIOMAPPER software. We show that the presence-only evaluators are fairly correlated ( ρ > 0.7) to the presence/absence ones. The Boyce indices are closer to AUC than to MaxKappa and are fairly insensitive to species prevalence. In addition, the Boyce indices provide predicted-to-expected ratio curves that offer further insights into the model quality: robustness, habitat suitability resolution and deviation from randomness. This information helps reclassifying predicted maps into meaningful habitat suitability classes. The continuous Boyce index is thus both a complement to usual evaluation of presence/absence models and a reliable measure of presence-only based predictions.

Two Tool Boxes for Wildlife Management?

This article likens Australian Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal wildlife approaches to two “tool boxes.” Drawing on examples of Australian land and wildlife management issues, the authors explore similarities and differences between the two cultures in wildlife management goals, authority sources, views on appropriate uses, knowledge transfer and knowledge bases, and management techniques applied. Examples discussed include use of fire in northern Australia and central Australian Aboriginal responses to wildlife re-introduction programs. These and other examples illustrate differences and similarities between the two cultural approaches, and highlight convergences or compromises that show the cultural “divide” can be crossed. In concluding, the article argues that western wildlife managers need to be aware of the cultural history of places that support wildlife populations of interest; to involve traditional indigenous custodians of these places; and to adopt de-centralized decision-making processes that give the appropriate indigenous people a real say in managing land and wildlife.

Introduction to Special Issue on Global Community-Based Wildlife Management Issues

Introduction to Special Issue on Global Community-Based Wildlife Management Issues

Wildlife management in Australasia: perceptions of objectives and priorities

The aim of this study was to examine the values and attitudes held by Australasian wildlife managers as they relate to wildlife management issues, and to gain some insight into possible future directions and priorities for Australasian wildlife management. During December 2002 – February 2003, 138 questionnaires were completed by members of the Australasian Wildlife Management Society (AWMS) and registrants of the 2002 AWMS annual conference. Threatened species management, threatened communities/habitats, and management of introduced species were the issues rated as needing the highest priority for the Australasian Wildlife Management Society. Issues such as animal rights, genetically modified organisms and timber harvesting on public lands were the lowest-rating issues. Respondents expressed a strong belief in managing and controlling wildlife to achieve wildlife management objectives, a strong belief that wildlife should be protected and that wildlife managers should minimise the pain and suffering of individual animals, and a belief that resources should be directed towards conserving wildlife populations rather than protecting individual animals from non-threatened populations. While respondents held a strong belief that it is important to consult the community when developing wildlife management policies and programs, there was little support for a comanagerial approach where the community has a significant role to play in decision-making processes.

An Evaluation of Hunter Self-Monitoring in the Bolivian Chaco

Community wildlife management is being tested across the tropics as a means of promoting the conservation and sustainable use of wildlife resources. Key to successful programs is the effective participation of local hunters and communities in monitoring, planning, decision-making and implementation. We evaluate one method to achieve this participation, namely hunter self-monitoring. Between 1997 and 2000, Izoceno hunters from 22 communities in the Bolivian Chaco have voluntarily participated in monitoring their hunting activities, measuring and recording data on captured animals and hunting methods in personal notebooks. Despite the lack of remuneration, participation exceeds 60% of active hunters. However, the written information and specimens provided are not complete, and are biased according to hunting methods and prey characteristics. Complementary research is essential to answer specific research questions. Nevertheless, hunter self-monitoring serves to raise awareness of wildlife management issues at the communal or indigenous territory level, as evidenced by preliminary actions taken by hunters and communities in the Izozog.

Behavioral externalities in natural resource production possibility frontiers: integrating biology and economics to model human–wildlife interactions

Production possibility modeling has been applied to a variety of wildlife management issues. Although it has seen only limited employment in modeling human–wildlife output decisions, it can be expected that the theory's use in this area will increase as human interactions with and impacts on wildlife become more frequent. At present, most models applying production possibility theory to wildlife production can be characterized in that wildlife output quantities are determined by physically quantifiable functions representing rivalrous resources. When the theory is applied to human–wildlife interactions, it may not be sufficient to model the production tradeoffs using only physical constraints. As wildlife are known to respond to human presence, it could be expected that human activity may appear in wildlife production functions as an externality. Behavioral externalities are revealed by an output's response to the presence of another output and can result in a loss of concavity of the production possibilities frontier. Ignoring the potential of a behavioral externality can result in an unexpected and inefficient output allocation that may compromise a wildlife population's well-being. Behavioral externalities can be included in PPF models in a number of ways, including the use of data or cumulative effects modeling. While identifying that behavioral externalities exist and incorporating them into a model is important, correctly interpreting their implications will be critical to improve the efficiency of natural resource management. Behavioral externalities may cause a loss of concavity anywhere along a PPF that may compel managerial decisions that are inconsistent with multiple use doctrines. Convex PPFs may result when wildlife species are extremely sensitive to any level of human activity. It may be possible to improve the PPF's concavity by reducing the strength of the behavioral effect. Any change in the PPF that increases the convexity of the production set could offer natural resource managers additional opportunities to optimally provide multiple natural resource outputs. Techniques that minimize the effect could focus on either the human or wildlife outputs, or both. Methods could focus on reducing the externality itself through changing the production of the offending output or to reduce the impact of the externality through a change in the production of the affected output. Managers unfamiliar with PPF modeling can employ PPF thinking by recognizing that every decision involves tradeoffs and that sometimes these tradeoffs are unnecessary negative impacts that could be mitigated without compromising the resource.

A model for assessing wildlife habitats in urban landscapes of eastern Pima County, Arizona (USA)

The loss of large natural areas due to development has increased interest for and use of vegetated areas in urban and suburban areas for wildlife habitats. The goal of this study was to quantify vegetation characteristics for each type of land cover found in the greater Tucson, Arizona area, thereby providing a predictive tool for wildlife management and other land management issues. This research was based on and is a continuation of a pilot study that developed a method associating land cover categories to aerial photographs in eastern Pima County, including the City of Tucson. Aggregation of land cover categories used by Tucson and Pima County and verifications of any uncertain classifications of land cover with field evaluations produced a consistent land cover classification system and database. Natural open space was the largest land cover category within our study area, comprising 52% of the total land cover. Riparian areas, low-density housing and natural open space areas had the highest percentage of native vegetation and escape cover. Golf and neighborhood parks ranked much lower than these land covers relative to native vegetation and escape cover (vegetation with foliage/stems at ground level). The most structurally diverse plant communities were associated with medium density residential areas and zoos that contain a relatively high number of exotic species. Results from the wildlife habitats index indicated riparian areas as the most valuable habitats in eastern Pima County (the county where Tucson is located), followed by low-density housing (≤1 residence/acre), natural open space, and federal/state parks and forests.