Journal of Wildlife Management最新文献

{"title":"Principles of Soundscape Ecology: Discovering Our Sonic World By \u0000 Bryan C. Pijanowski, Chicago, Illinois: The University of Chicago Press. 2024. pp. 456. $55.00 (paperback). ISBN: 978-0-226-82429-1","authors":"Mike Proctor","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.70033","DOIUrl":"10.1002/jwmg.70033","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":"89 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144300490","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":"Metabarcoding reveals seasonal shifts in the Allegheny woodrat's generalist diet","authors":"Elizabeth K. Service,&nbsp;Gretchen Fowles,&nbsp;Will H. Ryan,&nbsp;Gregory G. Turner,&nbsp;Justin K. Vreeland,&nbsp;Jacqueline M. Doyle","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.70025","DOIUrl":"10.1002/jwmg.70025","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The Allegheny woodrat (<i>Neotoma magister</i>) population has been declining for over a century, with reduced food availability being a leading hypothesis. Allegheny woodrats consume nuts, fungi, and vegetation, but no study has used a molecular tool, such as metabarcoding, to describe diet more accurately. Furthermore, few studies address seasonal diet changes in Allegheny woodrats. To address this gap, we performed a year-long DNA metabarcoding study from 2022 to 2023 by collecting fresh fecal (<i>n</i> = 180) and latrine (<i>n</i> = 240) samples from 2 populations located in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, USA. We used chloroplast trnL and internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) markers to identify plants and fungi in the woodrat diet. We amplified and sequenced samples, then identified them to species using OBItools software and databases. We identified 123 families, 173 genera, and 156 species of plants and fungi in the Allegheny woodrat diet from the ITS and trnL dataset containing 19,208,635 reads. The summer season had higher diversity and richness than winter and hard mast items were not detected year-round. Fungi and invasive plant species were consumed more frequently than anticipated in each season. Fresh fecal samples detected more dietary items than latrine fecal samples, including more rare items. Findings will inform conservation plans and natural habitat enhancement actions, such as what to provide in cultivated food plots and diets for captive-bred individuals.</p>","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":"89 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144300161","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":"Accurate prediction of olive-sided flycatcher breeding status using song rate measured with autonomous recording units","authors":"Emily J. Upham-Mills,&nbsp;Andrew D. Crosby,&nbsp;Jody R. Reimer,&nbsp;Samuel Haché,&nbsp;Tara Stehelin,&nbsp;Erin M. Bayne","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.70026","DOIUrl":"10.1002/jwmg.70026","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Autonomous recording units (ARUs) are recognized for their use in detecting vocalizing bird species to assess presence, occupancy, and density, but their potential to monitor reproductive status of individuals and reproductive rates is not well known. We investigated whether song rates derived from ARU data, when combined with the known date, can be used to predict the proportion of male songbirds in 3 breeding status classes (single, paired, and feeding young). We monitored breeding status with weekly field visits and collected daily ARU recordings at 46 olive-sided flycatcher (<i>Contopus cooperi</i>) breeding territories in northwestern Canada in 2016–2017. We tested 4 variations of a hierarchical multinomial regression model that used time of day, day of year, and song rate derived from 2-minute recordings to predict breeding status, and evaluated models using a novel, likelihood-based approach. We found the top model correctly estimated 79% of the observed proportions of birds in each breeding status across the length of the breeding season. Although date was the primary predictor of breeding status, singing rate reduced some of the uncertainty and provided more accurate estimates for a given time. A major challenge to prediction accuracy and data interpretation was accounting for bird movement and the associated impact on detection, which we partly addressed by limiting our study to individuals who were detected on at least 30% of ARU sampling days. We demonstrate that ARUs can be used to assess breeding status in a cryptic, low-density species at risk such as the olive-sided flycatcher, suggesting this method could be applied to a wider range of species to better understand demographics and population dynamics, and inform management decisions, for bird species of concern.</p>","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":"89 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/jwmg.70026","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144300017","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":"Issue Information - Cover","authors":"","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.22607","DOIUrl":"10.1002/jwmg.22607","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":"89 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/jwmg.22607","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143793589","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":"The effects of breeding status on common raven movement, home range, and habitat selection","authors":"Julia C. Brockman,&nbsp;Peter S. Coates,&nbsp;John C. Tull,&nbsp;Pat J. Jackson,&nbsp;Shawn T. O'Neil,&nbsp;Perry J. Williams","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.70004","DOIUrl":"10.1002/jwmg.70004","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Anthropogenic infrastructure has contributed to increasing common raven (<i>Corvus corax</i>) abundance across the Great Basin region of the United States, particularly in sagebrush ecosystems, where high raven densities are correlated with reduced sage-grouse (<i>Centrocercus urophasianus</i>) nest survival. Our understanding of how raven reproductive behavior affects sage-grouse nest predation is limited, especially considering their overlapping breeding seasons. Understanding differences in space use and resource selection between breeding and non-breeding ravens could help identify high-use areas and corresponding predation risk for sage-grouse nests. We analyzed space use and resource selection of breeding (<i>n</i> = 13) and non-breeding (<i>n</i> = 32) global positioning system (GPS)-marked ravens in Nevada, USA (2017–2022) during the breeding season (1 March–31 June). We compared home-range size, core area size, step lengths, and resource selection within a Bayesian framework with inference made by comparing Bayesian credible intervals (CRI). We generated home range and core area estimates using autocorrelated kernel density methods. We did not find a difference in home range size between breeding (469.33 km², 95% CRI = 228.79–709.45 km²) and non-breeding (525.26 km², 95% CRI = 410.71–654.10 km²) ravens. However, breeding ravens had smaller core areas (10.77 km², 95% CRI = 3.16–35.78 km²) and shorter step lengths (1,160.33 m/hr, 95% CRI = 1,087.78–1,277.17 m/hr) than non-breeding ravens (core area = 279.50 km², 95% CRI = 206.77–363.72 km²; step length = 1,953.74 m/hr, 95% CRI = 1,898.42–2,009.56 m/hr). Ravens in both breeding classes selected high normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and low annual grass and shrub cover, but non-breeding ravens showed stronger selection for low annual grass and shrub cover areas. We found strong differences in selection between breeding classes for 6 of our 9 covariates: distance to road, solar radiation, distance to natural water, distance to forest edge, percent annual grass cover, and percent shrub cover. Non-breeding ravens concentrated activity near forest edges, natural water sources, and anthropogenic features, whereas breeding ravens focused activity close to their nests. Our findings suggest that raven management could be more effective if it targeted areas with high NDVI and low annual grass and shrub cover, especially in anthropogenically modified landscapes and near forest edges, and prevented raven nest establishment near prey populations of concern.</p>","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":"89 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/jwmg.70004","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143793842","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":"Enhancing performance of detection dog field surveys through experimental transects","authors":"Tim Hofmann,&nbsp;Anne Schmidt-Küntzel,&nbsp;Stijn Verschueren,&nbsp;S. Francois Jenkins,&nbsp;Stephan Neumann,&nbsp;Johannes Signer,&nbsp;Niko Balkenhol,&nbsp;Laurie Marker","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.70021","DOIUrl":"10.1002/jwmg.70021","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Wildlife detection dogs facilitate scat sample collection for wide-ranging species such as many large carnivores. Performance evaluations are required to effectively compare dog teams. Key metrics for evaluation are the ratio of targets detected (sensitivity) and the ability to discriminate the target scent (precision). These metrics and their predictors are commonly evaluated through experimental assessments; however, the extent to which these can inform field performance has not been extensively explored. We analyzed 4 years of road transect data from field surveys and experimental assessments for 1 dog team searching for cheetah (<i>Acinonyx jubatus</i>) and African wild dog (<i>Lycaon pictus</i>) scat in central-east Namibia. During assessments, we found a sensitivity of 50% for up to 35 m away from the transect line, comparable to other studies. The detection probability for each sample was positively associated with decreasing distance from the samples to the road, favorable wind conditions, the distance covered by the dog during a search, and the length of training the dog had benefited from. We calculated a 32-m effective sweep width (ESW) from assessment transects and found that most field samples were located closer to the transect line than expected based on ESW (78–93% of finds &lt;10 m). We calculated a precision of 82% for field samples, and the probability of correct identification for each sample was weakly positively associated with decreasing humidity. The assessment transects provided valuable information for optimizing field surveys, and we provide practical recommendations for their implementation and recommend integrating them into training routines. We provide evidence for the benefit of searching into the wind and suggest encouraging the dog to search closely around roads for improved efficiency when targeting species with similar ecological traits.</p>","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":"89 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/jwmg.70021","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144300345","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":"Social composition of soft-release groups is correlated with survival of translocated gopher tortoises","authors":"Kevin J. Loope,&nbsp;Rebecca A. Cozad,&nbsp;Derek. B. Breakfield,&nbsp;Matthew J. Aresco,&nbsp;Elizabeth A. Hunter","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.70020","DOIUrl":"10.1002/jwmg.70020","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The social structure of translocated animal populations can have important effects on the survival and reproduction of translocated individuals for both solitary and social species. The gopher tortoise (<i>Gopherus polyphemus</i>) is a reptile of conservation concern that is currently experiencing high levels of mitigation translocation in Florida, USA. Individuals live in aggregations of burrows with frequent agonistic, courtship, and burrow-sharing interactions between residents. Given that exposure to many unfamiliar individuals may increase the frequency of aggressive interactions and social stress following translocation, we predicted that tortoises with greater numbers of familiar individuals co-translocated from the same origin site would have higher survival after translocation. To test this, we updated a recently published survival analysis of 2,822 translocated tortoises and 502 identified carcasses from a translocation site in the western Florida panhandle from 2006–2022. After controlling for simultaneous effects of soft-release enclosure identity, release season, release density, region of origin, sex, and size, adding the number of potentially familiar individuals improved model fit and showed increasing the number of familiars reduced the probability of being found dead. This effect was modulated by release density, being apparent only when density was high, suggesting a role for social interactions. This effect was also present only in the first few years after release, prior to the removal of soft-release enclosures preventing dispersal, and was similar in magnitude to previously identified effects of density, release season, and region of origin. We suggest that this effect may result from reduced aggressive interactions or social stress for tortoises with a greater number of familiar individuals in their release enclosures but cannot rule out the possibility of reduced novel pathogen exposure for individuals released with a greater number of individuals from the same source site or other factors that may be confounded with the size of translocated groups. Designing and implementing mitigation translocations to account for social composition of gopher tortoise groups could improve survival in release enclosures.</p>","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":"89 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/jwmg.70020","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144300497","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":"Greater sage-grouse seasonal habitat associations: A review and considerations for interpretation and management applications","authors":"Gregory T. Wann,&nbsp;Ashley L. Whipple,&nbsp;Elizabeth K. Orning,&nbsp;Megan M. McLachlan,&nbsp;Jeffrey L. Beck,&nbsp;Peter S. Coates,&nbsp;Courtney J. Conway,&nbsp;Jonathan B. Dinkins,&nbsp;Aaron N. Johnston,&nbsp;Christian A. Hagen,&nbsp;Paul D. Makela,&nbsp;David E. Naugle,&nbsp;Michael A. Schroeder,&nbsp;James S. Sedinger,&nbsp;Brett L. Walker,&nbsp;Perry J. Williams,&nbsp;Richard D. Inman,&nbsp;Cameron L. Aldridge","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.70022","DOIUrl":"10.1002/jwmg.70022","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Habitat features needed by wildlife can change in composition throughout the year, particularly in temperate ecosystems, leading to distinct seasonal spatial-use patterns. Studies of species-habitat associations therefore often focus on understanding relationships within discrete seasonal periods with common goals of prediction (e.g., habitat mapping) and inference (e.g., interpreting model coefficients). Across the range of the greater sage-grouse (<i>Centrocercus urophasianus</i>) of western North America, the increasing use of high-frequency tracking devices has led to a surge in habitat association studies covering multiple temporal periods and spatial extents. We reviewed the literature for seasonal habitat association studies corresponding to the second and third orders of selection (Johnson 1980). Our objectives were to summarize the methodological approaches used to estimate habitat associations to aid understanding in cross-study comparisons and identify common habitat features reported as selected or avoided within different seasonal periods. We reviewed 71 second- and third-order studies published from 2007–2023 that evaluated covariates collected in a geographic information system (GIS) and modeled probability of selection or intensity of use. The most common study design evaluated a single level of selection (third-order) and was multi-scale (i.e., covariates were measured at varying spatial grains). The most common model approach estimated habitat associations using resource selection functions (RSFs) fit with logistic regression. Studies mostly focused on the breeding periods and winter, but all seasons throughout the annual cycle were covered. There was clear support for selection of sagebrush and avoidance of trees and rugged terrain across seasons, and strong selection of mesic conditions in summer. However, habitat associations for most covariates were mixed, with proportionally equivalent selection and avoidance reported, even within the same seasons. Different factors hampered cross-study comparisons, including variation in study design, but additional contributors likely included important context-dependent habitat associations, such as functional responses to changing habitat availability. We suggest collaborative studies leveraging multiple datasets can help improve seasonal habitat inference by removing the effects of variable study designs.</p>","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":"89 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/jwmg.70022","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144300420","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":"Reducing bias in the peer-review process","authors":"Jacqueline L. Frair","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.70019","DOIUrl":"10.1002/jwmg.70019","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;Systemic biases in the scholarly review process erode public trust in science. It is incumbent upon editorial boards to consider policy and procedural changes to mitigate biases where they arise. Many scholars have advocated double-blind review (DBR) to offset reviewer biases, yet literature on the value of DBR versus single-blind reviews has been challenging to interpret. For example, early research purported favorable outcomes for female first-authors under DBR (Budden et al. &lt;span&gt;2008&lt;/span&gt;), but reanalysis of those same data (Webb et al. &lt;span&gt;2008&lt;/span&gt;) and more recent (Cox and Montgomerie &lt;span&gt;2019&lt;/span&gt;) and more robust studies (Fox et al. &lt;span&gt;2023&lt;/span&gt;) have not supported that effect.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Staff at the journal &lt;i&gt;Functional Ecology&lt;/i&gt; conducted what I consider to be the most relevant and comprehensive peer journal study on the subject. Over 3 years, starting in 2019, Fox et al. (&lt;span&gt;2023&lt;/span&gt;) randomly assigned papers submitted to &lt;i&gt;Functional Ecology&lt;/i&gt; to either a single-blind review process (i.e., authors identified to reviewers, reviewers blinded to authors; &lt;i&gt;n&lt;/i&gt; = 1,837) or double-blind process (author identities blinded to reviewers, reviewers blinded to authors; &lt;i&gt;n&lt;/i&gt; = 1,852). They examined differences between review types in terms of overall reviewer ratings (on a scale of 1-4):&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;4. An extremely novel paper that is in the top 10% of all papers you have read in the broader field of ecology.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;3. A strong contribution to the broader field of ecology.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;2. Solid work, but largely confirmatory.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;1. Weak or flawed, or not of enough importance and general interest for &lt;i&gt;Functional Ecology&lt;/i&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;They also tracked editorial decisions and whether the gender or geography of the lead author affected the manuscripts' success.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Compared to single-blind reviews, &lt;i&gt;Functional Ecology&lt;/i&gt; papers receiving DBR yielded a lower rating overall (Fox et al. &lt;span&gt;2023&lt;/span&gt;). These differences translated into single-blinded papers being 24% more likely to be invited for resubmission and 15% more likely to have an overall positive outcome compared to DBR papers. No advantages were observed for DBR with respect to gender of the first author. However, papers having first authors from countries with a lower human development index or lower English proficiency fared worse under single-blind review, while equivalent outcomes were observed across demographic groups under DBR. The authors were careful to explain that this pattern reflected a positive bias under single-blind review towards authors from high-income countries rather than a negative bias towards authors from low-income countries. Papers from low-income countries received similar ratings and success regardless of review type. Although authors from lower-income and Non-English countries are more likely to choose DBR when given the option (McGillivray and De Ranieri &lt;span&gt;2018&lt;/span&gt;), Fox et al. (&lt;span&gt;2023&lt;/span&gt;) suggested that unless all","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":"89 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/jwmg.70019","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143793820","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 pup-rearing habitat for Mexican wolves","authors":"Sarah B. Bassing,&nbsp;John K. Oakleaf,&nbsp;James W. Cain III,&nbsp;Allison R. Greenleaf,&nbsp;Colby M. Gardner,&nbsp;David E. Ausband","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.70017","DOIUrl":"10.1002/jwmg.70017","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Population monitoring is essential to document recovery efforts for threatened and endangered species. Mexican wolves (<i>Canis lupus baileyi</i>) are an endangered subspecies of gray wolves that historically occupied large portions of the American Southwest and Mexico. Recently, the Mexican wolf population in the United States has been growing rapidly and traditional approaches for population monitoring (e.g., capture and radio collaring) are becoming difficult and expensive as wolves expand into new areas. We developed predictive models of pup-rearing habitat (i.e., den and rendezvous sites) that could help guide future population monitoring efforts. We located 255 den sites and 129 rendezvous sites in Arizona and New Mexico, USA (1998–2023) using tracking collars and site visits. We sampled habitat conditions in wolf-occupied regions of Arizona and New Mexico and fit logistic regressions to these data following a use–available study design to estimate resource selection functions (RSF) for den and rendezvous sites. We hypothesized wolves would select areas that offered greater physical protection, lower human-disturbance, and access to reliable water sources for pup-rearing but that the relative importance of these features would differ between the denning and rendezvous site seasons. Mexican wolves selected den sites at higher elevations in steeper and rougher terrain that were closer to permanent waterbodies but farther from rural roads. Selection of rendezvous sites was also associated with higher elevations and proximity to waterbodies but varied with availability of green leaf biomass on the landscape. While still highly predictive, our rendezvous site model was less predictive than our den model (Spearman's correlation averaged 0.81 [SE = 0.05] vs. 0.90 [SE = 0.03], respectively), possibly because water and green leaf biomass are more spatially diffuse and variable because of monsoonal rains during the rendezvous site season. Our results suggest that terrain features associated with physical protection and access to reliable water were most important in characterizing suitable pup-rearing habitat for Mexican wolves. By predicting suitable den and rendezvous site habitat across portions of the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area, our models can help guide future population monitoring by reducing the total search area when surveying for wolves and increase the probability of detecting all members of a pack.</p>","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":"89 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/jwmg.70017","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144300322","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}