Journal of Wildlife Management最新文献

{"title":"Model selection uncertainty and the problem of averaging model coefficients","authors":"Jacqueline Frair","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.70186","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.70186","url":null,"abstract":"<p>You may recall the adage that “wildlife science is not rocket science, it's much harder,” which reflects that the great majority of our research takes place in uncontrolled circumstances. We never quite have the data we need, nor can we exactly observe the processes we aim to effectively manage. We are instead hamstrung by suites of correlated, surrogate variables from which we attempt to draw useful inferences. From the first issue of <i>The Journal of Wildlife Management</i> (<i>JWM</i>), our authors have endeavored to publish the most robust and reliable science to inform conservation and management actions. Since the late 1990s and early aughts, statistical approaches in <i>JWM</i> have become progressively dominated by information-theoretic methods, or model selection approaches, built on the foundations laid by Burnham and Anderson (<span>1998</span>, <span>2002</span>) using Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC) and similar criteria. One clear value of such an approach is the ability to talk in terms of the weight of evidence behind alternative models, with each model representing a specific hypothesis of how you think the system works. Model selection uncertainty occurs when statistical measures, such as AIC, cannot differentiate substantive informational differences between models that contain either different sets of covariates or the same covariates in different forms. Thus, a second strength of model selection approaches is the ability to transparently discuss uncertainty with respect to different hypotheses. Yet dealing with model selection uncertainty, when your candidate model set lacks one clearly best supported model, has vexed every practitioner in some way or another. Given a set of competing models, when drawing inferences, one might opt to select the most parsimonious model, while another might desire to combine inferences and uncertainties across the suite of competing models. Those wishing to combine inferences across competing models are the target audience for this editorial, yet even those favoring the parsimony path will have something to gain (so please read on!).</p><p>Burnham and Anderson (<span>1998</span>, <span>2002</span>) outlined model averaging, i.e., averaging either predictions or coefficient values across competing models, as 2 approaches for combining inferences under model selection uncertainty. The popularity of AIC, availability of software that conducts model averaging, and desire to include uncertainty as part of the study conclusions likely explain the prevalence of model averaging today (Banner and Higgs <span>2017</span>). However, there is a poorly recognized reality that although it is generally appropriate mathematically to average model predictions, averaging of model coefficients is statistically valid only under an extremely narrow set of conditions that effectively precludes its utility for wildlife biologists (Posada and Buckley <span>2004</span>, Cade <span>2015</span>, Banner and Higgs ","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":"90 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/jwmg.70186","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147566075","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Predicting long-term population viability for an imperiled salamander under future climate changes","authors":"Houston C. Chandler,&nbsp;George C. Brooks,&nbsp;Yan Jiao,&nbsp;Carola A. Haas","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.70158","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.70158","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Climate change has a variety of effects on amphibians breeding in ephemeral wetlands, altering both demographic processes and underlying environmental conditions. These changes can threaten the long-term viability of populations and limit the effectiveness of ongoing management programs. The reticulated flatwoods salamander (<i>Ambystoma bishopi</i>) is an endangered amphibian endemic to the southeastern United States, an area experiencing shifts in temperature and precipitation patterns. To examine the response of flatwoods salamander populations to climate change, we incorporated climate projections into a stochastic integral projection model developed using 10 years (2010–2020) of data from 2 breeding sites. We examined 6 climate change scenarios, combining 3 general circulation models (GCMs) under 2 emission scenarios to estimate extinction probability from 2030–2100. Using just wetland hydroperiod as a metric of reproductive success, 1 and 2 out of 6 climate scenarios indicated a high probability of local extinction in the 2 wetland sites (probability of quasi-extinction &gt;90%). When accounting for potential interactions between salamander phenology and wetland hydrology that can reduce breeding success, extinction probability increased from near 0 to above 25% in 2 and 3 scenarios across the 2 populations. This is the first study combining a stochastic integral projection model with GCM-derived climate forecasts to predict population viability in an endangered amphibian, and this methodology is broadly applicable to other imperiled amphibian species. Overall, our results indicate that there is a relatively high probability that these 2 flatwoods salamander populations will go extinct by the end of the century under some climate scenarios, mostly driven by severe droughts and repeated reproductive failure. Conservation and management actions should focus on maintaining high adult survival, managing habitat to extend wetland hydroperiod, and promoting clusters of breeding wetlands that can undergo natural extinction and colonization dynamics, especially when larger, longer hydroperiod wetlands are closely associated with multiple small wetlands.</p>","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":"90 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/jwmg.70158","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147569195","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Winter raptor population trends and land use across Nevada, USA","authors":"Robert A. Miller,&nbsp;Jay D. Carlisle,&nbsp;Carrie M. Norman,&nbsp;Joseph G. Barnes,&nbsp;Jessica D. Brooks,&nbsp;Mackenzie R. Jeffress","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.70183","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.70183","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Bird populations in North America have faced significant declines since the 1970s, particularly among arid land species. However, raptors are one of the few groups that have remained stable or are increasing. Raptors play vital roles in ecosystems and are often used as indicators of habitat quality and health. Nevada, USA, is home to various raptor species, including migratory and resident birds. We aimed to assess the distribution, status, trends, and land-cover use of wintering raptors within the state. Using volunteers and agency biologists, we completed road-based and boat surveys across Nevada. We used road-based surveys to generate state-wide density estimates for the 9 most common raptor species using distance sampling methodologies. We augmented the road surveys with data from boat surveys and stationary eBird counts to analyze land use and climate patterns for 10 raptor species using random forest models. From 2016 to 2025, the road surveys recorded 10,157 individuals across 23 species, the boat surveys added 1,067 individuals from 9 species, and we augmented with 2,647 individuals from 11 species from stationary eBird counts. We had sufficient observations to evaluate trends of 9 species. Our results indicated no significant declines in the populations of the 9 most common species over the past decade. Our findings suggest that most species prefer moderate to lower elevations with warmer year-round temperatures and less annual precipitation; however, this may be confounded by our survey methodology. The presence of shrubs in the surrounding landscape positively influenced many species. Conservation strategies should focus on preserving shrublands and ensuring robust prey availability. Continued monitoring and data collection are essential to evaluate long-term trends and address potential declines in specific species.</p>","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":"90 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147570030","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Free rein: Are feral horses competing with native ungulates in British Columbia?","authors":"Katie Tjaden-McClement,&nbsp;Tazarve Gharajehdaghipour,&nbsp;Carolyn Shores,&nbsp;Shane White,&nbsp;Robin Steenweg,&nbsp;Mathieu Bourbonnais,&nbsp;Zoe Konanz,&nbsp;A. Cole Burton","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.70177","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.70177","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Feral species have been shown to contribute to wildlife declines and ecosystem degradation. Feral horses (<i>Equus caballus</i>) can be an important competitor of native ungulate species, preventing access to habitats or water resources. The Chilcotin Plateau in west-central British Columbia, Canada, has been home to a population of feral horses for 250 years, but the impacts of this population on the ecosystem are not well understood. There is particular concern about competition between feral horses and 2 important cultural and game species in the region, moose (<i>Alces alces</i>) and mule deer (<i>Odocoileus hemionus</i>), with horses potentially competing with moose for wetlands and mule deer for water sources. We used camera traps deployed across a landscape with and without horse occurrence to evaluate evidence of competitive exclusion of moose and mule deer by feral horses at 2 scales: 1) landscape-scale spatial avoidance and differential habitat selection between a patch with horses and the rest of the landscape, and 2) patch-scale spatiotemporal avoidance where all species co-occurred. While moose and feral horses both used wetlands, we did not find evidence that moose avoided horses. Neither feral horses nor mule deer showed increased use of areas close to water sources, indicating that water is not limiting in this system. Mule deer were less likely to use the patch with horses compared to similar low-elevation patches without horses, potentially indicating landscape-scale avoidance, but did not exhibit patch-scale spatiotemporal avoidance where they co-occurred with horses. We did not find strong evidence that horses are negatively affecting moose or mule deer in this region through competition. However, we recommend further research to investigate other potential impacts of feral horses, such as through grazing and subsidies to predators, to determine if management of this feral horse population is necessary.</p>","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":"90 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/jwmg.70177","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147566815","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Common construction materials do not deter turtles from nesting in roadside habitat","authors":"Jenna Kentel,&nbsp;Tianna Burke,&nbsp;Steven Kell,&nbsp;Jacqueline D. Litzgus","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.70169","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.70169","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Roads are pervasive linear features that bisect landscapes, altering how female turtles use and move between critical habitats during nesting migrations. We evaluated a new mitigation strategy aimed at deterring females from nesting along road shoulders at wetland crossings in eastern Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada. The mitigation strategy was designed to reduce roadside nesting habitat by covering gravel on road embankments near wetlands with rock rip-rap (large angular rocks; in ~100-m-long sections) paired with paved road shoulders (paved using tar-and-chip; in ~300-m-long sections). We evaluated the mitigation strategy using a mark-recapture study and a before-during-after comparison of nest observations at mitigated and unmitigated sites and nesting hot spots on the road. We found a significant reduction in the number of females nesting at mitigated sites in the after period, and no females of any species nested in the rip-rap on road embankments. However, females continued to nest in the nearest available roadside habitat in unmitigated and mitigated road sections (including in the semi-compact tar-and-chip shoulders). Notably, we found a high proportion of the local populations of Blanding's turtles (<i>Emydoidea blandingii</i>; 45% [36/80]) and snapping turtles (<i>Chelydra serpentina</i>; 52% [91/172]) nesting on the road in the during and after periods. Our findings suggest that the mitigation strategy was unsuccessful at deterring female turtles from nesting on roads and indicate that the application of rip-rap and paved road shoulders as a mitigation strategy to reduce roadside nesting should not be applied without further research. Females will likely continue to nest in the roadside habitat if a barrier (e.g., exclusion fencing) is not deployed. Our study elucidates the importance of incorporating species-specific behavior and movements into all aspects of road planning and highlights that new road-effect mitigation strategies should be empirically tested before widespread adoption.</p>","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":"90 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/jwmg.70169","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147569261","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Trade-offs between selecting habitat and avoiding human disturbance for a widespread ungulate","authors":"Brianna M. Russo,&nbsp;Jesse S. Lewis,&nbsp;Scott C. Sprague,&nbsp;Tiffany Sprague,&nbsp;Scott Hamilton","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.70184","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.70184","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Animals exhibit trade-offs in habitat selection, where they balance selecting habitat characteristics that increase their survival and reproduction while reducing exposure to predation, competition, and disturbance. As the human population continues to grow, understanding how resource selection changes in response to human disturbance is increasingly important for effectively conserving wildlife. Mule deer (<i>Odocoileus hemionus</i>) are an important focal species for conservation because of their wide-ranging movements, habitat requirements, and cultural value. However, in arid environments, where food and water may be especially limited during the hot and dry summer season, limited information exists on how anthropogenic disturbance may affect habitat selection and resource trade-off across broad and fine spatial scales. Our objectives were to evaluate the resource selection of mule deer in relation to landscape characteristics (plant productivity, water, and topography) and disturbance factors (urbanization and recreation) across multiple temporal (seasonal and daily time periods) and spatial (population [second order] and home range [third order]) scales. In addition, we evaluated the functional response of how use of urbanization changed with the amount of urbanization within home ranges of mule deer. We used locations from 37 mule deer collected July 2016–June 2017 in the McDowell Mountains near Phoenix, Arizona, USA, to estimate resource selection using mixed-effects resource selection functions. At the broad scale of the study area (i.e., second-order selection), mule deer avoided urbanization but did not appear to increase their use of urbanization during the hot and dry season. At the finer scale within the home range (i.e., third-order selection), mule deer avoided urbanization but exhibited a weaker negative relationship with urbanization and recreation at night when human activities were lower. Further, mule deer increased their use of urbanization and areas close to trails during the hot and dry season at the third-order scale. Mule deer also selected areas of high plant productivity across scales and seasons, with the strongest selection occurring during the day. Lastly, mule deer appeared to exhibit a negative functional response during some periods in the hot-wet and hot-dry seasons, where they used urbanization less as availability increased. The results from this research suggest that mule deer exhibited trade-offs between accessing resources and avoiding human disturbance by shifting their habitat use in space and time, which has important management implications for conserving mule deer populations in areas experiencing increased human activities.</p>","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":"90 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147570006","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Analysis of dedicated revenue scale and diversity among U.S. state fish and wildlife agencies","authors":"Charlie R. Booher,&nbsp;Jonathan G. Karlen,&nbsp;Hannah M. Specht,&nbsp;Ronald J. Regan,&nbsp;Robert A. Montgomery,&nbsp;Joshua Millspaugh","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.70167","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.70167","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;State fish and wildlife agencies in the United States depend on consistent, dedicated revenue to study, manage, and conserve wildlife. As hunters comprise a declining portion of the population in the United States and firearms excise taxes are increasingly paid by non-hunters, states are exploring ways to diversify their revenue streams beyond the user-pay model of the American System of Conservation Funding. To quantify the variety and scale of dedicated revenue streams, we surveyed all 50 state fish and wildlife agencies and compiled a revenue portfolio for fiscal years (FY) 2018 and 2019. We cataloged revenue from 25 policy mechanisms and assessed the influence of covariates related to politics, wildlife values, and demographics on revenue diversification. Most dedicated revenue was derived from 3 primary sources: 1) hunting, fishing, and trapping license sales (&lt;span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;math&gt;\u0000 &lt;semantics&gt;\u0000 &lt;mrow&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;mrow&gt;\u0000 &lt;mover&gt;\u0000 &lt;mi&gt;x&lt;/mi&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;mo&gt;¯&lt;/mo&gt;\u0000 &lt;/mover&gt;\u0000 &lt;/mrow&gt;\u0000 &lt;/mrow&gt;\u0000 &lt;/semantics&gt;&lt;/math&gt; = 42.5%, SD = 15%, range = 13–90%, &lt;i&gt;n&lt;/i&gt; = 50), 2) Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Grants (&lt;span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;math&gt;\u0000 &lt;semantics&gt;\u0000 &lt;mrow&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;mrow&gt;\u0000 &lt;mover&gt;\u0000 &lt;mi&gt;x&lt;/mi&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;mo&gt;¯&lt;/mo&gt;\u0000 &lt;/mover&gt;\u0000 &lt;/mrow&gt;\u0000 &lt;/mrow&gt;\u0000 &lt;/semantics&gt;&lt;/math&gt; = 18%, SD = 10%, range = 0–40%, &lt;i&gt;n&lt;/i&gt; = 50; e.g., Pittman-Robertson), and 3) Federal Aid in Sportfish Restoration Grants (&lt;span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;math&gt;\u0000 &lt;semantics&gt;\u0000 &lt;mrow&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;mrow&gt;\u0000 &lt;mover&gt;\u0000 &lt;mi&gt;x&lt;/mi&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;mo&gt;¯&lt;/mo&gt;\u0000 &lt;/mover&gt;\u0000 &lt;/mrow&gt;\u0000 &lt;/mrow&gt;\u0000 &lt;/semantics&gt;&lt;/math&gt; = 8.4%, SD = 12%, range = 0–79%, &lt;i&gt;n&lt;/i&gt; = 50; e.g., Dingell-Johnson). Combined, these 3 sources accounted for an average of 69% of dedicated revenue per state (SD = 16%, range = 32–96%, &lt;i&gt;n&lt;/i&gt; = 50). Other revenue sources ranged from sales taxes and boat registrations to public land user fees and license plates. Collectively, agencies reported $3.7 billion in dedicated revenue in FY2019 (&lt;span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;math&gt;\u0000 &lt;semantics&gt;\u0000 &lt;mrow&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;mrow&gt;\u0000 &lt;mover&gt;\u0000 &lt;mi&gt;x&lt;/mi&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;mo&gt;¯&lt;/mo&gt;\u0000 &lt;/mover&gt;\u0000 &lt;/mrow&gt;\u0000 &lt;/mrow&gt;\u0000 ","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":"90 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/jwmg.70167","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147562318","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluating the impact of hunter access and harvest regulations on elk movement and resource selection","authors":"Nicole P. Bealer,&nbsp;Shane M. Petch,&nbsp;Jay J. Rotella,&nbsp;Jesse D. DeVoe,&nbsp;Cory Loecker,&nbsp;Kelly M. Proffitt","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.70170","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.70170","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Wildlife managers in many parts of the western United States are tasked with managing elk (<i>Cervus canadensis</i>) populations that exceed population goals and strain public and landowner tolerance with problematic distributions. Reducing these populations through hunter harvest and achieving desirable distributions can be challenging in mixed landscapes of public and private lands where decisions to allow hunter access vary among landowners. We used global positioning system (GPS) data from 58 female elk in the Devil's Kitchen elk population in central Montana, USA, to evaluate how hunter access, harvest regulation, and other landscape factors influence elk movements and resource selection during a multi-phase hunting season. We fit Bayesian multistate models to evaluate factors influencing the daily probability of an elk transitioning between areas with different hunter access strategies, then constructed resource selection functions describing female elk resource selection in relation to hunter access, harvest regulation, and other landscape factors in 4 distinct periods during the hunting season. Our results indicate that elk were likely to transition between hunter access strategies during each hunting period, and the direction of their transitions appeared to be influenced by both hunter access and harvest regulations. Elk responded dynamically to harvest risk throughout the hunting season, generally selecting for less accessible hunter access strategies and more restrictive harvest regulations. Although elk moved to less accessible private lands in the early shoulder and archery seasons, restrictive regulations on open access public lands during the general season appeared to drive elk movements towards those public lands. A combination of restricted hunter access and harvest regulations maintained elk on those public lands through the late shoulder season, reducing conflict with private landowners in the area.</p>","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":"90 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/jwmg.70170","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147564127","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Anuran occupancy of created wetlands within reforested legacy surface mines in Kentucky and West Virginia","authors":"Jillian C. Newman,&nbsp;Steven J. Price,&nbsp;Jacquelyn C. Guzy,&nbsp;Joshua Castle,&nbsp;John J. Cox,&nbsp;Jeffrey L. Larkin,&nbsp;Christopher D. Barton","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.70156","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.70156","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Restoration of habitat is an important component of wildlife management. Surface coal mining has altered forest cover in the Central Appalachians, and most reclamation activities on previously mined lands result in non-native grasslands or shrub lands. The Forestry Reclamation Approach (FRA), which emphasizes non-native vegetation removal, soil decompaction, planting of native trees and shrubs, and, in some cases, wetland creation represents an alternative to grassland-based reclamation that may promote forest-associated wildlife on legacy surface mines. We used automated recording units to evaluate the response of anurans to created wetlands and the FRA in Kentucky and West Virginia, USA. We used a Bayesian community occupancy model to compare species occupancy and richness across a range of wetland sizes (6.6–252 m²) and 3 site types: 1) younger FRA (1–6 yr), 2) older FRA (7–23 yr), and 3) unmined, mature forests (&gt;100 yr). In addition, we evaluated factors influencing anuran detection probabilities. Mean occupancy and species richness in both states were highest in the younger FRA, suggesting anurans may rapidly colonize wetlands created on restored mines. In Kentucky, occupancy of several species (green frog [<i>Lithobates clamitans</i>], pickerel frog [<i>L. palustris</i>], and wood frog [<i>L. sylvaticus</i>]) was higher in larger created wetlands, but wetland size was not important in West Virginia. Daily minimum temperature positively influenced detection of anurans in both states, and time of day was also important for detection in West Virginia. Wetland creation and implementation of the FRA may be an important tool for wildlife managers aiming to improve anuran populations and diversity on legacy surface mines in the Central Appalachians.</p>","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":"90 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147566687","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Prioritizing efficient use of resources: Simple changes to monitoring combat inefficient capture-recapture of vulnerable skinks","authors":"Scott D. Bourke,&nbsp;Steph M. Bennington,&nbsp;Sam Turner,&nbsp;Joanne M. Monks","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.70160","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.70160","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Obtaining resources for conservation is one of the major challenges to its effective implementation. This challenge is amplified for lizards in Aotearoa New Zealand, where they receive meager funding for conservation management and monitoring. Regardless, long-term monitoring is required to inform population trends, the impact of threats, and the effect of any subsequent management. Lakes skinks (<i>Oligosoma</i> aff. <i>chloronoton</i> “West Otago”) are large ground-dwelling skinks currently classed as Threatened – Nationally Vulnerable in Aotearoa New Zealand, though little is known regarding this species' trajectory. We compiled 9 years (2017–2025) of monitoring data from a population of Lakes skinks. The first 8 years of monitoring failed to reveal a clear trend in abundance. To resolve this problem, in 2025 we doubled survey effort for the population, resulting in a more precise estimate of abundance that indicated that the population is small and may be declining. However, this methodology is not guaranteed to generate equally precise estimates in the future, particularly because we observed declining capture rates within annual effort. We suggest that survival rates generated using between-year mark-recapture (photo-ID) could provide an alternative framework by which to track the population and justify management. Producing highly precise estimates of population abundance is inherently difficult and may be impossible given current resource limitations for species that are not prioritized for active management. We suggest that there is not one ubiquitous solution to this problem and that constant assessment of whether a monitoring regime is fit for purpose is required so that effort is not wasted.</p>","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":"90 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147563831","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}