Yvette Chenaux-Ibrahim, Seth A. Moore, Steve K. Windels, William J. Severud, Ron A. Moen
{"title":"Moose in wolf diets across northeastern Minnesota","authors":"Yvette Chenaux-Ibrahim, Seth A. Moore, Steve K. Windels, William J. Severud, Ron A. Moen","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.22595","DOIUrl":"10.1002/jwmg.22595","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The moose (<i>Alces alces</i>; mooz in Anishinaabemowin, Ojibwe language) population has recently declined in Minnesota, USA, and gray wolf (<i>Canis lupus</i>; ma'iingan) predation is likely a contributing factor. We analyzed diet composition of gray wolves in northeastern Minnesota during 2011–2013 to evaluate the importance of moose as prey and seasonal and regional variations in wolf diet. We identified frequency of occurrence of prey items and biomass consumed in 1,000 wolf scats collected on and adjacent to the Grand Portage Indian Reservation and Voyageurs National Park and within the 1854 Ceded Territory (greater northeastern Minnesota). White-tailed deer (<i>Odocoileus virginianus</i>; waawaashkeshiwag [plural]), moose, and beaver (<i>Castor canadensis</i>; amikwag [plural]) composed the majority of wolf diet, with moose as the primary prey in Grand Portage (35–54% of diet by biomass across seasons) and deer the primary prey in the 1854 Ceded Territory (46–62%) and Voyageurs (63–79%). Relative importance of prey species differed by study area and season. Moose calves were an important prey item in spring in the 1854 Ceded Territory (12% of diet by biomass) but not in Grand Portage or Voyageurs. Although calves were not a majority of wolf diet by biomass, many calves were preyed upon by wolves (30% of calves born each year in Grand Portage), thus affecting recruitment in a declining moose population. Deer fawns composed 12% of wolf diet in spring and 10% in summer in Grand Portage and 19% in summer in Voyageurs. Beaver composed 16% of wolf diet by biomass in spring and 14% in summer in Grand Portage and composed 22% of wolf diet in spring and 30% in summer in Voyageurs. At most prey densities, moose were preferred and deer avoided in Grand Portage and the 1854 Ceded Territory and beaver were preferred in Voyageurs. Our results can be used in conjunction with predation and prey studies to evaluate the effect of wolves on prey populations.</p>","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/jwmg.22595","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140981684","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}
Emily A. Wright, Georgina G. Brugette, Kai F. Buckert, Froylán Hernández, J. Hunter Reed, Sara R. Wyckoff, Jace C. Taylor, Kezia R. Manlove, Caleb D. Phillips, Robert D. Bradley
{"title":"Multi-locus sequence typing indicates multiple strains of Mycoplasma in desert bighorn sheep and aoudad in Texas","authors":"Emily A. Wright, Georgina G. Brugette, Kai F. Buckert, Froylán Hernández, J. Hunter Reed, Sara R. Wyckoff, Jace C. Taylor, Kezia R. Manlove, Caleb D. Phillips, Robert D. Bradley","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.22594","DOIUrl":"10.1002/jwmg.22594","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Epizootic events of pneumonia, presumably caused by <i>Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae</i>, in bighorn sheep (<i>Ovis canadensis</i>) have been observed in the western United States and Canada. Until recently, it was thought that populations of Mexican (<i>O. c. mexicana</i>) and Nelson's (<i>O. c. nelsoni</i>) desert bighorn sheep in Texas, USA, had not been exposed to <i>Mycoplasma</i>. Evidence of disease and potential population decline from outbreaks of <i>M. ovipneumoniae</i> are now known from several populations across the Trans-Pecos Ecoregion with documented instances of pneumonia and bluetongue in desert bighorn sheep from the Van Horn Mountains and Black Gap Wildlife Management Area. These disease events, especially those in 2019–2021, may be a result of increasing populations of aoudad (<i>Ammotragus lervia</i>), an introduced and invasive ungulate, in the region. With large population sizes and similar movement patterns as desert bighorn sheep, aoudad potentially are the reservoirs for bacterial and viral diseases, such as pneumonia and bluetongue, and are possibly contributing to the decline of desert bighorn sheep. Herein, we optimized the multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) with modifications in the Taq polymerase and annealing temperatures to determine the genetic identity of <i>Mycoplasma</i> strains or species within the nasal passages of desert bighorn sheep and aoudad in the Trans-Pecos Ecoregion of Texas. Four loci (small ribosomal unit, 16S; 16S-23S intergenic spacer region, IGS; RNA polymerase B, <i>rpo</i>B; gyrase B, <i>gyr</i>B) were characterized using MLST. Based on results from the modified MLST technique, we identified 9 desert bighorn sheep and 5 aoudad with <i>M. ovipneumoniae</i>, 9 aoudad with bacterial sequences genetically similar to <i>M. conjunctivae</i>, and 10 aoudad with bacterial sequences genetically similar <i>M. hyopneumoniae</i>. Of these, 9 aoudad possessed bacterial sequences genetically similar to both <i>M. conjunctivae</i> and <i>M. hyopneumoniae</i>. Among the 4 diagnostic loci, genetic divergence of <i>M. ovipneumoniae</i> ranged from 0.00–0.90% among desert bighorn sheep and aoudad. Future sampling efforts of seemingly asymptomatic aoudad, and asymptomatic, visibly sick, or deceased desert bighorn sheep, are important to monitor the spread of disease in desert bighorn sheep populations across mountain ranges in western Texas. It is imperative that aoudad removal plans are implemented to reduce and eliminate current infections and putative transmission of <i>M. ovipneumoniae</i>, prevent future disease outbreaks of pneumonia, and ultimately conserve desert bighorn sheep for future generations.</p>","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140977774","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}
Kelly Koriakin, D. Buck Jolley, Benjamin Smith, Kurt C. VerCauteren, Nathan P. Snow
{"title":"Effects of ungulate-proof fencing on space use by wild pigs","authors":"Kelly Koriakin, D. Buck Jolley, Benjamin Smith, Kurt C. VerCauteren, Nathan P. Snow","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.22592","DOIUrl":"10.1002/jwmg.22592","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Wild pigs (<i>Sus scrofa</i>) are a highly adaptable species that have invaded many regions and cause significant damage throughout the world. Ungulate-proof fencing is increasingly used in conjunction with other control techniques to manage wild pig populations. However, little is known about how fencing affects wild pig space use behaviors and whether any changes may be exploited to increase efficacy of control activities. Our goal was to understand how wild pigs altered their space use behaviors in response to newly constructed fencing. Specifically, we examined for changes in space use area (home range and core area), increases in overlap with conspecifics, and shifts in space use as ungulate exclusion fencing was constructed on northern Guam from February 2021 to March 2022. Wild pigs closer to the fence had decreased space use. For every 200 m nearer newly constructed fence, home ranges and core areas decreased approximately 15% and 16%, respectively. When individual wild pigs were enclosed by the fence, those animals increased their home range overlap with conspecifics by approximately 76% compared to wild pigs outside the fence. Wild pigs shifted their home ranges 3 to 9 times more during the first part of fence construction when 68% of the fence was completed compared to all other time periods, with male wild pigs shifting greater distances than females by 1.15 times. The construction of ungulate fencing led to smaller space use areas of wild pigs on both sides of the fence and intensified use of the area inside the fence by wild pigs contained within (i.e., more overlap). Management activities nearer the fence should account for decreases in home range and core area size to maximize population control efforts (i.e., more densely spaced trap sites). Enclosed wild pigs should be eradicated quickly to minimize damages to sensitive flora and fauna and decrease disease risk from intensified movement behaviors inside the fence.</p>","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140940938","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":"The Codex of the Endangered Species Act: The First Fifty Years (Volume 1) By \u0000 Lowell E. Baier, \u0000Lanham, Maryland: \u0000Rowman and Littlefield. \u0000 2023. pp. \u0000 864. $99.00 (hardcover). ISBN 978-1538112076","authors":"Leopoldo Miranda-Castro","doi":"10.1002/jwmg.22593","DOIUrl":"10.1002/jwmg.22593","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":17504,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Wildlife Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140940929","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}