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This masters thesis is a study of the possibilities of managing various insects for educational or esthetic purposes. The study focused on several insect groups: (1) butterflies, (2) ants, (3) ant lions, (4) tiger beetles, and (5) whirligig beetles. As part of the work on butterfly management a butterfly garden, complete with maintained mud puddles, was established and observed. The plants in this garden and the insects attracted to them are listed. Observations were recorded of the butterflies feeding on native wildflowers in the Clear Creek Valley area of Ohio and a butterfly census was taken in that area. In addition to the work done investigating the management of these insect groups, a rotting log study was done to record the succession of insects in such a microhabitat. For each of the sections of this thesis, which are like separate studies, introduction, methods, results, and discussion sections are given. Data are presented in tables. Some color photographs of insects are included as well. An index of scientific and common names of species mentioned in the paper is included. Appended is a publication generated from this work entitled "A Guide to July Butterfly - Wildflower Observing in Ohio's Clear Creek Valley and Several Adjoining Areas." (MR)

Rising populations of deer in Scottish urban areas are creating increased potential for conflict, raising questions about whether they need to be managed. Yet, there has been little research or policy focus on urban deer in Scotland thus far. This thesis investigates perceptions of urban deer and their management in Scotland, including the role of Local Authorities, to help shape future policymaking on the topic. Four methods were used: (i) interviews with experts, (ii) a Q-methodology study with Local Authority staff, (iii) an online survey of local councillors and (iv) a postal survey of the public. Whilst urban deer are generally welcomed in Scotland, views on whether deer numbers are too high differed between stakeholders. Perceptions of the impacts of urban deer were also varied, but deer- vehicle collisions and deer welfare were the issues recognised most frequently. There was broad consensus that urban deer need to be managed. However, current practices are perceived to be insufficient, with NatureScot and Local Authorities having paid limited attention to urban deer thus far. Views differ on which management methods should be used in the Scottish urban context. Clear differences between rural and urban deer management emerged, with fragmented landholdings (such as in dense housing areas) and higher human populations adding challenges to management. There is overall support for Local Authorities taking responsibility for urban deer management on their own land and beyond their landownership. Obstacles to their engagement include concerns about public and councillor perceptions, safety, and a lack of resources, experience and support. Three factors impacting effective urban deer management in Scotland are recognised: the need for context specific understandings and responses, the need for awareness-raising amongst stakeholders to gain support and increase action, and the need to fill gaps in data and research. A policy framework for future effective urban deer management in Scotland is proposed.

This thesis explores male sociality in African savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana), focusing on the influence of age structure on social dynamics between males in a male dominated area. There is much to learn regarding the nature of relationships in non-reproductive all-male groupings and the benefits afforded to males in associating with each other. Moreover, in long-lived species, all-male groupings provide an opportunity for individuals of vastly different age and experience to interact, and there may be different benefits afforded to males of different age in associating with one another. I conducted focal animal sampling of male elephants aggregating at hotspots of social activity, and a camera trap survey of elephant movements and behaviours on elephant pathways in Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, Botswana. I found differences in grouping and performance of several behaviours with male age. Adolescents were more likely to travel in all-male groups, and mature bulls were more likely to travel alone, suggesting association with other males is more beneficial for younger males. Adolescents performed greeting behaviours at greater rates than adults, and such behaviours may facilitate further beneficial interactions between males. Adolescents also directed more aggressive and fear-related behaviours to non-elephant targets when alone, compared to when with other males. Adolescents may therefore perceive themselves to be at greater risk when socially isolated, and grouping with other males may reduce predation risks, and improve adolescents' ability to safely navigate unknown, risky environments. Males' olfactory responses to pathways and experimentally placed urine deposits, however, did not vary with age, suggesting remote monitoring of same-sex conspecifics is equally important across the life course. Urine from adult males was more likely to evoke heightened responses than urine of adolescent males, suggesting males may be able to discern the age of same-sex conspecifics from their remote deposits. Such remote assessment of potential affiliates, threats or competitors sharing the environment is likely beneficial for males living in highly fission-fusion societies. I also found evidence for important social roles of older males in all-male groupings. Older males were more likely to lead their group movements, suggesting they may guide younger, less experienced males in locating critical resources. Male elephants were less likely to direct aggression to non-elephant targets when more males from the oldest age cohort were present. Older males may be particularly effective assessors of environmental risk, and elephants may perform less aggressive behaviours to non-elephant targets when more older males are present due to reductions in anxiety. Alternatively, older males may police other males' aggression behaviours. The African elephant is of conservation concern and a species involved in several unresolved human-wildlife conflicts. Throughout this thesis I therefore also relate findings to potential management and conservation implications.

Rodent pest species pose a threat to food security, and the management thereof requires an understanding of the species' ecology in order to make informed decisions. Here I develop the ecological understanding of a cyclic rodent pest species to aid in current and future management objectives. Working with common voles (Microtus arvalis) in Spain, I make use of experimental manipulations as well as insurance damage assessments to determine the relationship between increasing vole density and the amount of damage incurred in a field to develop a management objective. I find that at low densities, voles do not cause detectable reductions in yields, while analysis of the insurance assessments, suggest an increasing trend. These results, which when considered together, necessitate a non-linear form, imparting constraints on management. I then make use of an experiment to determine what farming practices and crop types, employed in the region, may exacerbate the risk that voles inhabit a field. I find that an increasingly employed farming practice (zero-tillage) greatly increases the risk of vole occupancy, with some suggestions of crop types that may be comparatively less attractive. In order to aid future attempts at predicting outbreak events, as well as develop understandings of a rarely observed ecological spatio-temporal phenomena, I make use of a large scale, multi-year abundance index dataset to describe and refine our understanding of travelling waves in population growth rates. The results suggest the presence of two expanding travelling waves, with implications that the resulting synchrony may be due to distinct activation and inhibition processes. To further these findings, I then consider whether or not the speed at which travelling waves synchronise distant populations is dependent on density. I find that density is not related to the speed of either of the travelling waves.

Uncertainty hinders effective decision making, and yet conservation management must be carried out both urgently and efficiently. Given the cost of obtaining new information, the value of available data should be maximised to reduce management-relevant uncertainties and improve efficiency, particularly in systems where management must continue indefinitely. This work, using the case study of invasive American mink (Neovision vision, hereafter mink) control in Scotland, seeks to identify and minimise uncertainties most impacting effective and cost efficient strategic decision making in a wildlife management project. The fundamental objective of invasive species management is to restore or protect endemic biodiversity, this objective is however costly to assess directly. We designed and implanted an extensive survey of a vulnerable water vole (Arvicola amphibius) population and used data from mink removal to define the spatially explicit impact of mink and assess the value of control. Decision making for the long-term control of a generalisable, stage-structured, seasonal invasive population similar to mink is then formalised in a management simulation to investigate the impact of key uncertainties on decision making. The susceptibility of juveniles to control, the degree of environmental variation in population productivity and the reliability of monitoring information were definitive for the relative effectiveness of different management decisions. The effect of habitat preference in mink and how this was affected by seasonality and management-induced reduction in population density is then investigated. We identified nine habitat covariates important for mink, four of which exhibited seasonality and one of which changed with population density. This thesis demonstrates how recently developed statistical methods can produce recommendations with high management relevance. The philosophical and methodological approach and results have high relevance to the control of mink, invasive species and more generally to systems where wildlife is managed under uncertainty.

The aim of the project was to explore the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge amongst decision-makers involved in the management of red deer in Scotland. While research exists on the ecology of red deer habitat, no research exists that focuses on the relationship between the deer and the people responsible for their management. Therefore, this thesis is primarily qualitative research which aimed to explore the various aspects of red deer management in Scotland within the socio-ecological context in which it exists. There are numerous groups with interest in red deer management, however this research, due to scope and time restrictions, was limited to two primary groups, the individuals tasked with implementing policy and the practitioners who carry out culling. During the course of the project, under-researched topics surfaced, highlighting areas of practical and theoretical divergence between stakeholders. This thesis therefore aims to explore how differing views and perspectives of two of the key stakeholder groups – the estate-based practitioners (including stalkers, land-managers, and land-owners) and staff of governmental agencies – influence the management of red deer in Scotland. This research indicates that people with different roles hold different relationships with the deer, which affect management decisions and implementation at local, regional, and/or national level. As with other areas within conservation and wildlife management, this research indicates there is a disconnect between blanket governmental policy and site-specific needs, with a lack of inclusion of practitioner knowledge. Potential future research would include additional qualitative research to follow up some of the management issues raised by this research and formulate recommendations for changes to practice, followed by collection of quantitative data assessing the efficacy of interventions.

Increasing anthropogenic influence has left no corner of the natural world untouched. As the negative impacts of people on the natural world have become more prominent, pro-conservation actions have been incentivised across scales, from individual to societal to intergovernmental. Clashes over conservation objectives, when there is a perception that one party is asserting its interests at the expense of the other, is termed Conservation Conflict, and causes negative outcomes for biodiversity and people. Conservation conflicts are complex problems, the successful management of which can rarely be undertaken unilaterally, for both practical and ethical reasons. Finding the best ways for encouraging social interactions and cooperative behaviours are therefore vital in managing conservation conflict. I take a conservation conflict surrounding the damaging of crops by hyper-abundant flocks of wild geese across Scotland as a case study to explore the roles of social interactions in conservation conflict. In Chapter 2 I start at the network scale by modelling the interactions between individuals and organisations involved in the goose conflict at two locations. I test the networks for the prevalence of particular sets of network configurations which represent individuals forming interactions in response to either a coordination problem (where solutions are sought and implemented efficiently to tackle an agreed goal) or to a cooperation problem (where goals are not shared, and for which solutions must be sought through negotiation). I find that interaction networks in both locations were formed in response to, and have the function to tackle, coordination problems. This is useful for dealing with coordination problems such as the practical management of geese. Interaction networks formed in response to, and having the function to tackle, cooperation problems were less prevalent. This presents a problem when collective problem solving requires negotiation, such as for managing conservation conflict. Networks at both locations would benefit from forming certain types of interactions to strengthen the network for future cooperation problems. To effectively manage conservation conflicts in-depth knowledge of the cooperative behaviours of the people involved is required. In Chapter 3 I use stakeholder interviews, to investigate how and why individual members of three important stakeholder groups (farmers & crofters, conservation managers, and shooters) cooperated with one another and what barriers to cooperation they faced. I identify three dimensions of cooperation in the goose conflict: i) that the lack of horizontal interactions (between actors who interact with others at a similar organisational scale, for example farmers communicating with other farmers or conservation project managers communicating with other conservation project managers) and vertical interactions (between actors across different organisational scales, for example farmers communicating with farming union representatives, or conservation project managers communicating with senior management) linking widely distributed actors meant both shared learning and the perception of fairness suffer. Building up horizontal and vertical interactions could bypass these scientific and political barriers; ii) a false belief in uniformity among stakeholder groups can be the source of poor system understanding, which can be prevented by developing wider or alternative stakeholder representation; and iii) for long-term, complex issues, identification and discussion of trade-offs is needed to avoid poor outcomes throughout the process, not just at the planning stages. Laboratory experiments with volunteers show cooperation is less likely in the presence of uncertainty. Much less is known about how stakeholders in real-life conservation conflicts respond to different types of uncertainty. In Chapter 4, I test the effect of different sources of uncertainty on cooperative behaviour using a framed field experiment and interviews with crofters in Scotland. The experiment compared a baseline scenario of perfect certainty with scenarios including either: i) scientific uncertainty about the effectiveness of a conflict-reduction intervention; ii) administrative uncertainty about intervention funding; or iii) political uncertainty about the extent of community support. I find that crofters' intention to cooperate is high but lessened by uncertainty, especially over the commitment from other stakeholders to cooperate on goose management. I conclude that existing cooperation on goose management may be at risk if uncertainty isn't reduced outright or if commitments between parties are not strengthened. To avert this issue researchers and government advisers need to: i) determine how uncertainty will impact intention of stakeholders to cooperate; and ii) take steps (such as uncertainty reduction, communication, or acceptance) to reduce the negative impact of uncertainty on cooperation. In Chapter 5 I use the findings from Chapters 2 to 4 in conjunction with a conservation conflict management tool to evaluate goose conflict management in Scotland. I find many existing structures and processes of goose conflict management in Scotland were successful, but in order to build on these successes I propose several practical interventions. Increasing interactions between disparate groups; building data commons for shared learning; identification, acknowledgement, discussion and inclusion of trade-offs as they emerge; and making commitments to balance and fairness across the system. Enacting these recommendations would give goose conflict management in Scotland greater ability to deliver positive outcomes in what is a highly dynamic issue. This thesis uses mixed methods to investigate the role of social interaction in conservation conflict. The work succeeds in both identifying interventions specific for managing the goose conflict in Scotland and developing the theory of social interactions and cooperation in conservation conflict management more widely.

Despite the ubiquity of wildlife management, from reintroductions and supplemental feeding to culling and habitat destruction, very little is known of the effects of management practices on species’ social dynamics. Species’ social structure has the potential to affect not only behaviour and evolution but also the transmission of information or disease. Understanding the effects of population management on social behaviour and organisation is a key step in understanding these species’ ecology. This thesis examines the differences between individuals’ roles in the social structure and what this means for the transmission of disease. It demonstrates how similarity in movement behaviour scales with increasing social circles, how seasonality in movement and seasonality in association rates covary as well as detailing post-cull behavioural changes. It finds that there is the potential for certain individuals (most likely non-breeding individuals) to transmit infection far and wide. It reveals the similarities in movement behaviour and body condition that birds share with their pair and social group. It emphasises the importance of autumn and winter movement in the transmission of infectious disease and it follows the short- and long-term changes in social structure and movement behaviour following a cull. Cull survivors were observed to retain a higher proportion of associations with their previous associates and moved less far in the year following the cull than in the year preceding it. This is the first application of social network analysis to quantify social structure before and after culling. The findings suggest that culling an infected population may facilitate rather than constrain the transmission of disease.

The surveillance and control of introduced species has become an increasingly important, yet often controversial, form of environmental management. I investigate why and how introduced species management is initiated; whether, why and how it is contested; and what relations and outcomes emerge ‘in practice’. I examine how introduced species management is being done in the United Kingdom through detailed social scientific analyses of the processes, practices, and disputes involved in a series of management case studies. First, I demonstrate how some established approaches to the design and delivery of management initiatives can render them conflict-prone, ineffective and potentially unjust. Then, examining a disputesurrounding a state-initiated eradication of monk parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus), I show why and how ‘parakeet protectors’ opposed the initiative. I identify the significance of divergent evaluations of the risks posed by introduced wildlife; personal and community attachments between people and parakeets; and campaigners’ dissatisfaction with central government’s approach to the issue. By following the story of an unauthorised (re)introduction of Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) to England, I show how adiverse collective has, at least temporarily, been united and empowered by a shared understanding of beavers as ‘belonging’ in the UK. I consider how nonhuman citizenship is socio-politically negotiated, and how the beavers have become enrolled in a ‘wild experiment’. Finally, through a multi- sited study of grey squirrel (Sciuruscarolinensis) control initiatives, I find important variations in management practitioners’ approaches to killing squirrels, and identify several ‘modes of killing’ that comprise different primary motivations, moral principles, ultimate aims, and practical methods. I identify multiple ways in which people respond and relate to introduced wildlife, and demonstrate how this multiplicity produces both socio-political tensions and accords. Furthermore, throughout this thesis I make a series of propositions for re-configuring the management of introduced species in ways that explicitly incorporate inclusive, constructive, and context-appropriate socio-political deliberations into its design and implementation.

The study of conflicts in conservation (also known as human-wildlife conflicts) is a growing field of research in areas where people and wildlife interact, because of the negative impacts each can have on the other. Addressing conflicts is certainly challenging because of the complexities of considering diverse interests from numerous stakeholders and the specific ecological and socio-economic characteristics of a given study system. No matter how complex the system under study is, the aim is in all cases to find effective and sustainable mitigation strategies for local people, as well as for wildlife conservation and local authorities. In this thesis, I look at two of the preliminary steps required to address conservation conflicts and develop efficient long-lasting management solutions: the gathering of ecological data and the assessment of mitigation strategies in the field. To do this, I use two case studies: crop-foraging by African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in northern Botswana, and selective hunting of the red deer (Cervus elaphus) population on the Isle of Rum in Scotland. In Chapter 2, I built a baseline for the level of conflict in the Okavango Delta Panhandle (Botswana) using temporal trends of crop-foraging by elephants as an index of the level of conflict, and subsequently looked at how this relates to trends in agricultural land allocated in the study area, as well as with trends in human and elephant population size. In Chapter 3, I mapped the distribution of the local population of elephants and assessed its interaction with landscape features and sites where crop-foraging events had been recorded. In both chapters (2 & 3) I found that -in general- the number of elephants was not a determinant of the level of conflict in the study area, but that the spatiotemporal distribution of the species as well as the spatial and temporal scales considered were. In the second half of my thesis, I assessed the effects of two common conflict mitigation methods: the use of deterrents (Chapter 4) and lethal control (Chapter 5). I first evaluated the effectiveness of chilli-briquettes in deterring elephants and secondly, I used a modelling approach to predict the demographic effects of increasing levels of selective hunting in a male red deer population. I found that both mitigation methods showed unexpected results, which would not have been detected had I not tested for them. This thesis highlights the advantages of applying methods that are based on informed decisions in areas of conflict, as well as the value of sharing results in conservation management. My findings contribute towards a better understanding of the negative impacts of human-wildlife interactions, which often lead to conservation conflicts, as well as contributing protocols and methodologies that can be adapted and applied elsewhere.

Anthropogenic disturbance has resulted in substantial biodiversity loss in both lotic taxa and amphibians across the globe. The Eastern Hellbender (Cryptobranchus a. allegeniensis) is one of North America’s most iconic stream amphibians, a sentinel of stream health, and is experiencing rapid range-wide population declines. While novel conservation strategies have been widely employed across the hellbenders geographic range, long-term assessment is needed to evaluate the efficacy of these techniques to mitigate widespread declines. Captive-rearing and reintroduction efforts have been the primary method for hellbender recovery in Ohio. However, the success of this strategy for rebuilding populations and the optimal release scenarios have largely been unassessed. In Chapter 1, we monitored a cohort of sub-adult hellbenders (n = 205) released in several Ohio watersheds to evaluate the success of headstarting and reintroduction efforts over 3 years. Using passive, amplified PIT-tag surveys, we found that 3-year apparent survival post-release was 0.162 ± 0.061, with lower survival in year 1 (0.383 ± 0.058) and greater in years 2 (0.696 ± 0.086) and 3 (0.609 ± 0.154). Using demographic simulations, we found that releasing cohorts of N=100 individuals at suitable sites several times (e.g., 3 releases, 2 or 3 years apart) would be a better strategy compared to single release events across many sites. Additional simulations showed that hellbender headstarting programs using wild eggs can be highly beneficial in producing more animals reaching adulthood (up to 7 times, if survival in captivity is assumed to be 100%) compared to development in the wild. This chapter was published open access in journal Population Ecology: Kaunert, M. D., Brown, R. K., Spear, S., Johantgen, P. B., & Popescu, V. D. (2023). Restoring eastern hellbender (Cryptobranchus a. alleganiensis) populations through translocation of headstarted individuals. Population Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1002/1438-390X.12171. Artificial nest boxes have gained recent popularity across the hellbenders range as a minimally-invasive habitat augmentation and population monitoring tool. However, nest box research has suffered a variety of logistical shortcomings, and successful implementation of this technique has been limited. In Chapter 2, we developed a new nest box design and construction methodology and evaluated the performance of nest boxes (n = 313) deployed across a gradient of habitat quality and hellbender density in Pennsylvania and Ohio for monitoring hellbender population trends, reproductive ecology, and behavior. Overall, our approach to nest box construction and design was efficient in providing highly stable (0.97 of boxes stable) refuge sites that remained available (0.87 availability across all observations) for hellbender occupancy across stream reaches and multiple years. While Pennsylvania streams yielded high detections of nest box occupancy (n = 294), detections in Ohio were low (n = 34) across the study period, highlighting limitations of this monitoring strategy for declining populations. Occupancy within individual nest boxes increased in microhabitat conditions comprised of abundant available boulder cover and with increasing survey effort. The proportion of nest boxes occupied per reach were typically high during the Spring and increased with multiple years of deployment in the field, suggesting that nest boxes are effective in the long-term.Chronically suppressed recruitment is the suspected demographic mechanism underpinning hellbender declines, and nest failure during egg development may be limiting survivorship of early life stages. Therefore, in addition to long-term population monitoring, artificial nest boxes offer a novel tool to examine understudied aspects of hellbender reproductive ecology. In Chapter 3, we used nest boxes and infrared underwater cameras to monitor nest success and investigate drivers of hellbender paternal care behaviors across a habitat quality gradient relevant to recruitment-driven declines. We found that nest abandonment contributes to nest failure in our system, and that the proportion of time hellbenders cared for eggs was primarily influenced by water quality parameters (i.e.; water temperature, dissolved oxygen, and conductivity). Overall, care investment decreased with time since oviposition and increased in conditions of high water temperature and low dissolved oxygen. Elevated conductivity decreased agitation and increased fanning behaviors, which may also be associated with nest fate. Fanning behavior differed drastically between nest-attending and nest-abandoning male hellbenders, with lower levels of fanning exhibited within abandoned nests in relation to conductivity. Collectively, this dissertation provides support for the continued use of these conservation strategies, and highlights potential limitations of each. Further implementation and development of these monitoring techniques will be essential to promote hellbender recovery in the face of anthropogenic stressors.

Grassland birds have narrow habitat requirements that are influenced by food availability, habitat composition, and habitat structure. Because survival is influenced by habitat quality and availability, understanding habitat requirements is critical for conservation. I determined how Henslow’s Sparrows (Centronyx henslowii) use grassland habitat in the breeding season. In the past 10 years, technology advancements have allowed researchers to study the habitat use and movement ecology of understudied birds, such as grassland birds. I deployed nanotags on 47 adult Henslow’s Sparrows at two sites in southern Ohio to determine home range size and habitat use in relation to distance to edge and shrub, as well as the post-breeding dispersal and migratory timing.I predicted that Henslow’s Sparrows would use core grassland habitat and avoid edge and shrubs. I found no difference in 95 % home range size between female (0.10 ± 0.03 ha) and male (0.32 ± 0.18 ha) Henslow’s Sparrows. Henslow’s Sparrows used shrubs when available and edge habitat as refugia after disturbance. I also found that Henslow’s Sparrows use fields into August, past dates typically recommended for disturbance (e.g., mid to late July), which suggests the need to leave corridors and patches for refugia after management such as mowing or burning. I determined the fall migratory departure timing of 13 Henslow’s Sparrows. I found that Henslow’s Sparrows are at risk for entanglement which resulted in mortality of two birds. A third bird found entangled was found alive, entangled in vegetation, and was released after I removed the nanotag. I also found that 24 Henslow’s Sparrows were able to remove nanotags and several damaged their nanotags. While I do not recommend the use of nanotags on this species in future studies, my study did result in determining fall migratory departure timing of Henslow’s Sparrows in Ohio which was previously unknown.

Pollinators are globally important for maintaining the health of our agricultural systems and facilitating plant reproduction, and understanding how they respond to the dual threats of climate change and habitat destruction is essential for our ability to conserve their populations. We have a basic understanding of how pollinators respond to habitat loss and increasing temperatures, but we know less about how habitat management can be used to mitigate their response to the detrimental effects of climate change. Managing a natural community for biodiversity can provide thermal resources in the form of patches of sun and shade or potential thermal refugia for ectothermic pollinators to utilize as they experience thermal stress from climate change.Here, I aim to understand how bees and other floral visitors utilize thermal and foraging resources over a range of varying canopy cover. I measured floral visitation rates to black-eyed Susan plants placed in sunlit and shaded patches at 15 different sites at Kitty Todd Nature Preserve in Swanton, OH. I recorded both different environmental and surface temperatures to investigate drivers of bee body temperature, which I also measured.We found significantly more bees visited plants placed in sunlit than in shaded patches (X2 = 12.361, df = 1, pboot = 0.005). With higher floral surface temperatures and higher light intensities, we recorded higher levels of bee visitation. Bee body temperature was best related to abaxial (underside) leaf surface temperature among all the thermal metrics that we measured, with higher body temperatures at higher abaxial temperatures.My results show the importance of maintaining open areas within a matrix of wooded habitat for bees and other pollinators, although shady patches may become more important in other contexts. Light intensity may be one of the more important factors driving both surface temperature variation and preference by bees for sunny areas over shaded ones. These results, as well as those relating to bee body temperature, indicate that efforts to conserve bee populations should be informed by thermal resources in addition to more frequently researched floral and nesting resources.

Conflict with wildlife continues to escalate as human population increases and development expands. Understanding how vertebrates interact with the environment is a critical component to conservation ecology. Movement patterns reflect spatial and temporal changes associated with resource availability, life history stages, and habitat use. This study explored how vertebrate mortality could be used to understand the critical factors impacting the consequences of permeability, i.e., ability to move between patches on the landscape, in a mixed disturbance landscape. We assessed how spatial and temporal heterogeneity influenced terrestrial vertebrate mortality. In the biodiversity hotspot of the Oak Openings Region (OOR) of northwest Ohio, we surveyed repeatedly, across three years, approximately 50 kilometers of road segments. Vertebrate mortality locations (N=654) were related to road (e.g., traffic, road width), structural (e.g., canopy cover, soil average water capacity), compositional (e.g., landcover) and productivity (e.g., NDVI) measurements. We found vertebrate mortality locations were positively related to traffic, road width, canopy cover, and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) but negatively related to landcover as it becomes more altered (i.e., natural to agricultural). Our consistent findings across years suggest that the spatial components were influencing mortality differences more than temporal differences, and intra-year differences do not impact mortality in a way that would steer long term mitigation of permeability issues. We developed spatially explicit models for predicting current vertebrate mortality probabilities across the entire OOR. Proportion of residential/mixed landcover area was the most influential variables of mortality occurrence probability. We found mortality was well predicted and the results of the same key variables were robust across taxa and years. The models developed can serve as an assessment tool for evaluating conservation and management to improve landscape permeability. Our research demonstrates the validity of employing road surveys as a reliable method for gaining insights into locations of roadway vertebrate mortalities and the spatial factors influencing the corresponding lack of permeability. Our methodology is not limited to the OOR; it can be applied anywhere with sufficient mortality and environmental data to address ecological questions of interest. It is an accessible approach to address a wide variety of conservation challenges.

White-tailed deer are one of the most widespread mammalian herbivores throughout both North and South America. Throughout much of this broad geographic range, deer populations occur at densities that greatly exceed historic estimates. At high densities, deer can negatively suppress juvenile tree growth, inhibit plant regeneration, and alter plant communities which can have long-term cascading effects on small mammals, birds, and plants. Anthropogenic development can help support overabundant deer populations by creating novel foraging opportunities via disturbance regimes and supplementary foraging opportunities. Moreover, apex predators that can help regulate deer populations have been extirpated from many areas, which enables deer populations to reach high densities. The objectives of this dissertation are to identify how white-tailed deer use anthropogenic landscapes at multiple spatial scales, determine the plant chemical properties that influence deer forage selection, and discern how unique predator communities influence the spatiotemporal activity of deer in multiple ecosystems. My first study developed a novel method to measure activity densities of white-tailed deer in multiple habitats that also excluded non-target species from interfering with data collection. In my second study, I measured the activity densities of deer in forest ecosystems that are fragmented by anthropogenically developed meadows. I found that during times of the year when resources are abundant across the landscape, deer preferred meadow patches that contained an abundance of plants that provided deer with a better foraging opportunity than the adjacent forest patches. The third study in this dissertation examined how plant chemistry and volatile scent-cues influence the forage selection of white-tailed deer. During summer I found that deer preferred plants with higher carbohydrate content, likely due to these plants providing fat reserves before winter. Whereas during winter, deer were foraging sub-optimally and preferred plants that contained a higher tannin concentration and lower protein concentration. I also found that after deer sniffed trees that emitted a greater abundance of terpenes, they were less likely to forage compared to trees that emitted fewer terpenes. This suggests that deer use plant odor cues to inform their foraging decisions and avoid trees that emit large amounts of terpenes. In my fourth study, I examined how predator scent-cues and predator activity influence the spatiotemporal behavior of deer in Wyoming, where there is a diverse community of apex and mesopredators present, and Ohio, where only mesopredators are present. In Wyoming, deer altered their temporal activity in response to predator-scent cues and changed both their spatial and temporal activity in response to predator activity on the landscape. Conversely, in Ohio, deer exhibited no changes in spatiotemporal activity in response to scent-cues or predator activity, which suggests that deer in ecosystems with limited to no predators are naïve to the risk of predation. Finally, I used a large-scale, camera-trapping dataset to identify how unique habitat types influence the activity of white-tailed deer throughout the Cleveland Metroparks. Deer activity was greater at sites with an abundance of shrubby and herbaceous wetlands and herbaceous and woody development (such as sporting fields) throughout the Metroparks. Additionally, white-tailed deer activity was greater in areas with larger amounts of suburban development during summer and autumn. Ultimately, my research shows that anthropogenically modified landscapes favor white-tailed deer populations and likely contribute to deer overabundance. I also provide strong evidence that deer rely on olfactory cues from plants and predators to inform their landscape use and foraging behavior.

Populations of many species are decreasing, but the underlying causes are often poorly understood, impeding effective conservation action. One useful approach is to determine which demographic rates drive variation in population growth rate () and identify ecological and environmental causes. I identified key demographic rates driving the decrease in Ring Ouzel (Turdus torquatus) population size, a species of high conservation concern in the UK, and explored underlying ecological and environmental causes. The number of breeding pairs decreased by 44-100% during 1979-2009 across 13 study areas throughout the UK. The population in my study area in Glen Clunie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, decreased by 67%, from 39 to 13 breeding pairs, during 1998-2009. Mean  calculated from annual censuses was 0.91. I recorded reproductive success, and used re-sightings of marked individuals to estimate survival rates in each year, thus measuring the mean, variance and covariance among key demographic rates. Prospective elasticity analysis indicated that  was most sensitive to adult survival. However, integrated elasticity analysis, accounting for estimated demographic covariance, indicated that  was most sensitive to first-year survival. Retrospective decomposition of variance indicated that first-year survival contributed most to observed variation in . However, adult survival was low compared with species with similar life histories. Juveniles fledged from early-season broods had higher survival probability during each four-day period post fledging (0.952 ± 0.011) than juveniles fledged from late-season broods (0.837 ± 0.021). Predation was the main apparent cause of mortality. Juveniles foraged on invertebrates in grass-rich areas during June to mid-July, but then switched to feed mainly on moorland berries in higher-altitude, heather-rich, areas during mid-July to early-September. Thus, a variety of habitats providing different food types is required during the late summer. This thesis illustrates the value of integrating demographic and ecological studies to understand population change in species of conservation concern.

State-space modelling is a powerful tool to study ecological systems. The direct inclusion of uncertainty, unification of models and data, and ability to model unobserved, hidden states increases our knowledge about the environment and provides new ecological insights. I extend the state-space framework to create multi-species models, showing that the ability to model ecosystem interactions is limited only by data availability. State-space models are fit using both Bayesian and Frequentist methods, making them independent of a statistical school of thought. Bayesian approaches can have the advantage in their ability to account for missing data and fit hierarchical structures and models with many parameters to limited data; often the case in ecological studies. I have taken a Bayesian model fitting approach in this thesis. The predator-prey interactions between the hen harrier (Circus cyaneus) and red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scoticus) are used to demonstrate state-space modelling’s capabilities. The harrier data are believed to be known without error, while missing data make the cyclic dynamics of the grouse harder to model. The grouse-harrier interactions are modelled in a multi-species state-space model, rather than including one species as a covariate in the other’s model. Finally, models are included for the harriers’ alternate prey. The single- and multi-species state-space models for the predator-prey interactions provide insight into the species’ management. The models investigate aspects of the species’ behaviour, from the mechanisms behind grouse cycles to what motivates harrier immigration. The inferences drawn from these models are applicable to management, suggesting actions to halt grouse cycles or mitigate the grouse-harrier conflict. Overall, the multi-species models suggest that two popular ideas for grouse-harrier management, diversionary feeding and habitat manipulation to reduce alternate prey densities, will not have the desired effect, and in the case of reducing prey densities, may even increase the harriers’ impact on grouse chicks.

The role of predators and their management have become key developmental themes in applied ecology. Issues that involve predators of conservation concern killing economically valuable prey species are widespread, can be highly controversial, and pose urgent challenges worldwide. This thesis investigates current understanding of human-predator-prey conflicts and the impact of predators on their prey. A clearer picture of the current state of knowledge may offer directions for future research and the type of information that could be used to assess and manage these types of conflicts effectively. This thesis begins with a review and analysis of human-predator-prey conflicts, involving livestock and game species, and shows that there is little scientific evidence of whether or not predators have ecological or economic impacts on these prey. Poor or inconsistent data collection across a range of case studies constrained attempts to identify ecological and social factors which may be related to depredation events and the success or failure of management. The subsequent chapter specifically reviews evidence of impacts of birds of prey on gamebirds in Scotland, and also reveals that there are fundamental gaps in current understanding of these predator-prey interactions. In the following chapters I develop a series of models to improve understanding of the interaction between hen harriers and red grouse, one of the most controversial human-wildlife issues in the UK today. This work represents an important step in research in this field: it is the first time dynamical models of this system have been developed; it also provides a comparison between hypotheses for red grouse cycles. Furthermore, it is the first time a multi-species functional response has been used to model consumption of prey by a predator. The results of this work suggest that hen harriers and red grouse can coexist across a range of densities, and that the presence of alternative prey can reduce hen harrier consumption of grouse chicks. It also highlights how differences in model structure and complexity can lead to very different predictions about the impact of a predator on its prey.

White-tailed deer, or Odocoileus virginianus, are an abundant and widespread species across a majority of the continental United States. These large herbivores play a significant role in the trophic cascade in their ecosystem, thus their interactions with it are deemed highly important to wildlife managers. However, with deer populations seemingly growing rapidly over the past few decades, managers are presented with a much larger concern: implications of this growth on public health. As WTD populations grow, they are forced to further encroach on land that is also populated by humans. With this, there is an increased number of potential interactions between us and WTD. This increased interaction accompanied with the WTD’s ability to maintain and promote zoonotic disease is one of the main emergent concerns. To approach this concept, we first performed a literature review on WTD and one disease that provoked concerns and questions: Chronic Wasting Disease. CWD is a pathogenic prion disease transmissible to organisms in the Cervidae family. While much is still unknown about this disease, CWD’s potential transmission to humans has caused alarm and increased surveillance among wildlife management. After completion of our literature review, we determined it was important to begin the process of quantifying population dynamics of WTD in our home state of Ohio, USA as they had just recently had their first case of CWD in a wild population in 2020. We were able to do so utilizing ecological modeling and parameters from several reliable literature sources. With that population model, we then were able to perform an analysis on our output to ascertain what factors are impacting the survival and growth patterns observed. From there, we applied our findings to determine what they may imply for public health. Lastly, with the data we received on hunter harvests from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, we were able to model geographically which areas may be impacted by hunting in counties in which CWD had been detected or suspected in Ohio. Here we discovered that the range of those who could potentially be affected by CWD is much larger than the zones of detected CWD presence. Throughout all research done, we aimed to focus on the cross section between WTD and human health and well-being. In doing so, we came to a realization the two overlap to a greater extent than we originally imagined. Due to this, it is of increasing importance for further research and studies on this topic to be performed so that proper management decisions for WTD can be made.

The federally threatened eastern massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus) occurs across the Great Lakes region of the midwestern United States in increasingly small and fragmented populations. While massasaugas are relatively well-studied among snakes, much is still unknown about their baseline habitat requirements, as well as how they move across heterogeneous landscapes. One of the most stable remaining populations outside the species strongholds of Michigan and Ontario is found at a wildlife area in northern Ohio.My research objectives were to: 1) identify land use practices and habitat features that best predict massasauga occurrence at the wildlife area; and 2) determine how the wildlife area is functionally connected for massasaugas given the amount of active agricultural production still taking place on the landscape and the species’ tendency not to travel great distances. During the 2022 field season, I used adapted-Hunt drift fence technique (AHDriFT) camera arrays and timed constrained visual encounter surveys to assess massasauga occupancy and created single-species integrated occupancy models to establish which covariates best predicted occupancy. Massasaugas were more likely to occupy sites with a higher proportion of open herbaceous habitat, sites with a higher proportion of marginal habitat features like infrequently mowed ditches and field margins, and sites that had been out of agricultural production for a longer time. I created a series of cumulative kernel density surfaces using three different dispersal kernels to analyze functional connectivity for massasaugas at the wildlife area. I also examined the potential impact of agriculture on connectivity by using three alternative resistance values for agriculture in the resistance surface. The probability of detecting dispersing massasaugas was highest in and around the heavily occupied center of the wildlife area. Using the mean rank for each of the 45 agricultural fields across the nine different density surfaces, I determined which fields dispersing massasaugas would most quickly encounter and potentially colonize if those fields were removed from agricultural production and restored. The results of these analyses will help facilitate effective and adaptive management for the northern Ohio wildlife area massasauga population and will offer valuable insight into how massasaugas traverse heterogeneous landscapes across their range

Ixodes scapularis, otherwise known as the blacklegged tick, has rapidly expanded across eastern North America in the last 50 years due to changing climate, land use change, and associated shifts in host distribution across the landscape. Blacklegged ticks are major vectors of disease agents, including those that cause Lyme disease, the most common vector-borne disease in the United States, leading to public health concerns in the USA and Canada. Species distribution models (SDMs) can help assess blacklegged tick occurrence and abundance, avoiding extensive time or funding that would otherwise be needed for active surveillance. Additionally, SDMs can reveal important ecological drivers of expansion and highlight areas where blacklegged ticks are likely to spread. To understand the ecological drivers of blacklegged tick occurrence and abundance, we reviewed all published blacklegged tick SDMs as of December 2022, and identified common traits of SDMs and areas for improvement. Next, we studied the spatial distribution and abundance of blacklegged ticks in Ohio, a midwestern state in the USA where the northeastern and upper midwestern ranges of the blacklegged tick are converging over the Ohio River Valley. To develop comprehensive models, we considered climate, landscape, and host covariates in a spatially explicit framework. Additionally, we considered several spatial scales for landscape covariates to identify possible cross-scale linkages between blacklegged ticks and their hosts. With these considerations, we developed the first predictive occurrence and abundance models for blacklegged ticks in Ohio, USA, identifying key drivers of blacklegged tick abundance and areas of high disease risk.

Terrestrial carnivores are some of the most imperiled species today due to their large home range requirements, high metabolic demands, sensitivity to habitat fragmentation, and persecution by humans. Carnivores play a vital role in shaping community dynamics through top-down regulation, and changes in their abundance, distribution, or intraguild interactions can alter such top-down influences. As such, the recovery of carnivores as a conservation tool to restore ecosystem functions (termed: trophic rewilding) has become increasingly popular. Additionally, many carnivores readily expand their range or reestablish in human-dominated landscapes and coexist with humans. Therefore, carnivore conservation, management, and the use of terrestrial carnivore species for trophic rewilding efforts require not only an understanding of their ecological interactions within the carnivore guild, but also the broader context of these interactions, including the effects of human activities on and predator-prey and competitive interactions.My doctoral research addresses these questions using community and species- level approaches with carnivores in two human-dominated systems: one that harbors the full complement of carnivore species and did not experience species extirpation (brown bear, wolf, lynx, wildcat, red fox, badgers– Romanian Carpathians, RO), and one depauperate, dominated by native and non-native mesocarnivores and witnessing a dynamic recovery of native species (e.g., coyote, bobcat, red fox, gray fox, black bear,raccoon–Ohio, OH). Specifically, in the Romanian system, I used camera trap data coupled with community ecology models to 1) understand seasonal drivers of spatial patterns of apex and mesocarnivore species occurrence and 2) determine the relative importance of top-down versus bottom-up processes in shaping community dynamics of carnivores and prey. In the Ohio system, I used multiple data sources paired with population-level models to 3) evaluate the viability of recovering bobcats and the population susceptibility to various sources of mortality and 4) determined regional density of bobcats to further inform population trajectories and statewide management.First, I used two seasons of camera trap data with multispecies occupancy models and found seasonal differences in the environmental predictors of species-level occupancy for lynx, wildcat, and wolf in the Romanian Carpathians. I also found differences in predictors of co-occurrence between seasons for both lynx-wolf and wildcat-wolf co-occurrence. For both seasons, conditional occupancy probabilities of all three species were higher when another species was present. These results indicate that while there are seasonal differences in predictors of occupancy and co-occurrence of the three species, co-occurrence in our study area is high. Second, I used apex predator, mesocarnivore, and ungulate camera trap data with piecewise structural equation modeling and found that neither top-down nor bottom-up processes alone best describe the predator-prey dynamics in the Romanian Carpathians. Instead, I found that environmental variables in combination with both top-down and bottom-up processes best explained the community dynamics. Therefore, when considering trophic rewilding and conservation efforts it is important to protect viable habitats and prey populations before predator reintroduction.Third, I used road mortality and habitat suitability data with data from theliterature on bobcat demographics in a spatial population simulation framework to assess the viability of the recovering Ohio bobcat population under various management scenarios. I found that the Ohio bobcat population can withstand marginal increases in mortality, but responses to changes in mortality varied greatly with changes in density and marginally when targeting different age classes. These findings will be used to inform current and future management decisions for the Ohio bobcat population. Lastly, to further fine-tune findings from the spatial population simulation model, I estimated the regional density for bobcats in two area of Ohio using eDNA from scat and spatially explicit capture-recapture models. I found that there is regional variation in bobcat density, and bobcat density in southeast Ohio was high when compared with other recovering US Midwest populations, but similar to other eastern populations.Cumulatively, these findings advance our understanding of terrestrial carnivore populations in human-dominated systems and their role in shaping overall community dynamics. The research in Romania highlights the need to protect habitat for both predators and prey and provides a way forward to implement conservation strategies, such as trophic rewilding, that are based on community ecology. Similarly, the research in Ohio highlights the role of the environment and human-induced mortality in population dynamics, while also addressing critical information gaps to inform carnivore management in a recovering carnivore species, the bobcat.

The Painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) is a widespread North American species, and its subspecies found in Ohio is the Midland Painted turtle (Chrysemys picta marginata). While it is generally a widespread species and less at risk than other freshwater turtle species, understanding different local populations of the species can help us better understand the species as a whole, as well as factors that may play a role in conserving other freshwater turtle species. I conducted a mark-recapture study over the course of two separate study periods to assess the Midland Painted population in Conrad Balliet Family Nature Preserve’s Pond, a local pond in Clark County, Ohio. Of the turtles recorded, 28 individual turtles were captured, and there was a 1.33:1 ratio of male turtles to female turtles and a 0.19:1 ratio of juveniles to adult turtles. Males tended to be in higher abundance in traps when there were few females and accounted for more recaptures than females. The estimated population size for the pond is 30 Midland Painted turtles. Males were smaller in size than females, in carapace length and width, plastron length and width, shell height, and weight. This information, and further studies on the pond’s population, can serve to inform conservation methods for this species and other applicable freshwater turtle species as is relevant.

Species diversity has become of more importance to ecological community surveys and conservation efforts globally. Use of such methods of assessing species in target groups of particular concern, such as herpetofauna, have increased in frequency in recent decades, incorporating mathematical indices and measures in an attempt to analyze community composition as a trend over time. The goal of this study was to report herpetofauna species found in the region, their diversity, dominance and rarity, richness, and other measures throughout the four separate survey trips, showing trends over the periods of time in order to better inform the timing and methods of the survey in future years. Ex-situ data analysis of the detections over four years thus far have found 86 herpetofauna individuals across 26 distinct species. Reptilian species make up the larger portion of detections than amphibian, with a ratio of detections and relative abundance of 1.39:1, respectively. Dominant species across trip years included the southern two-lined salamander, the southern cricket frog, and the little brown skink. Dominant species across seasons included the Mississippi slimy salamander, southern cricket frog, and little brown skink. Highest herpetofauna abundance was found in 2018 and in the fall season, while highest species richness was detected in 2018 and in the spring season. Species evenness was maximized in 2019 and in the fall season. Shannon-Weiner and Simpson’s Diversity were both maximized in the 2018 and spring trips and lowest in the 2021 and fall trips overall. Diversity of amphibians in particular was maximized in 2022 and in fall, while diversity of reptiles in particular was maximized in 2018 and in spring season. Reptiles were detected at higher average substrate temperatures and similar air temperatures to amphibians. The highest and lowest temperatures at detection for amphibians were lower than those for reptiles when adjusting for the summer season anomaly found. Deviations from expectations formed from knowledge on herpetological distribution, ecology, and life history were found in herpetofauna abundance and diversity in particular seasons, while other measures of richness, abundance, and evenness met predictions. This survey thus far gave insight into the state of the herpetofauna community in the study region, creating a baseline for comparison in continuation of the study. The value of this extended study thus far will prove critical in moving forward in herpetofauna conservation, particularly with attention to bias and improvements to methods found in the past four years.

Over the past several decades, changes in land use, extirpation of predators, conservation measures, and climate change have driven rapid and uncontrolled increases in large herbivore populations around the world. In temperate forest systems, selective foraging by overabundant ungulates has been negatively impacting the diversity and structure of plant communities for many years, with cascading impacts on arthropod and songbird communities as well. Species loss is often so complete that plant communities cannot recover diversity even when ungulate densities are reduced. However, an emerging body of research documents common landscape features providing localized relief from intense herbivory pressure. In these locations, diverse plant communities flourish, and they may also be effective propagule sources for re-colonizing the landscape if ungulate densities return to historical levels. Here, I explore the history and impacts of white-tailed deer herbivory on eastern North American forests (Chapter 1), I report the results of a deer exclosure experiment showing the legacy effects of chronic over-browsing (Chapter 2), and I present a systematic review of refuges from ungulate herbivory worldwide (Chapter 3). Despite the intense pressure of long-term herbivory and the persistence of legacy effects, refuges provide hope for a healthier and more diverse forest plant community in the future.

Wildlife management regimes in north Alaska are examined and found not to accommodate local wildlife use adequately. Often, traditional uses of game are not allowed, or local residents are unable to provide for their needs within the regulatory systems. To provide background for the conflict between traditional use and government management, Chapters 1 and 2 discuss the origin of game laws in western society and the history of the liiupiat people in north Alaska, with particular reference to subsistence hunting patterns. Chapter 3 examines eight federally operated regimes in which wildlife is implicated: international treaties, the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Minerals Management Service. Chapter 4 examines four state regimes: the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's Division of Boards, Division of Wildlife Conservation, and Division of Subsistence, and Alaska's hunting regulations. Chapter 5 examines three local regimes: the North Slope Borough's Department of Wildlife Management, Science Advisory Committee, and Fish and Game Management Committee. Chapter 6 examines six cooperative management regimes: the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission, the Eskimo Walrus Commission, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Goose Management Plan, the Alaska and lnuvialuit Beluga Whale Committee, the lnuvialuit Game CouncilNorth Slope Borough management agreement for polar bears in the southern Beaufort Sea, and cooperative management of caribou. This examination determines which management and regulatory practices are effective in providing for local needs and conserving the resource for sustainable use. In Chapter 7, eight criteria are developed as guidelines for an effective management or regulatory regime: (1) legality, (2) ecological relevance, (3) cultural appropriateness, (4) flexibility and predictability in its response to changing conditions, (5) adaptability to local concerns, (6) local participation in all phases of activity, (7) clearly defined role and limitations, (8) ability to implement its provisions. These criteria are used to analyze the existing regimes to provide an assessment of their effectiveness. Cooperative management regimes are found to be most effective because they achieve the highest degree of local involvement and participation. Federal and state regimes often have the mechanisms to gather local input and to foster local participation, but these mechanisms are not used to their full potential. Effective management of local hunting in north Alaska requires the cooperation of local hunters. Cooperative regimes have shown the effectiveness of this approach; to achieve similar success, federal and state regimes must follow their example.

The human footprint is rapidly expanding, and wildlife habitat is continuously being converted to human residential properties. Most wildlife residing in developing areas are displaced to nearby undeveloped areas. However, some animals can coexist with humans and acquire the necessary resources (food, water, shelter) within the human environment. This may be particularly true when development is low intensity, as in suburban yards. Due to the wide variety in how homeowners utilize their yards, they can be considered individually managed “greenspaces.” These yards can provide a range of food (e.g., bird feeders, compost, gardens), water (bird baths and garden ponds), and shelter (e.g., brush-piles, outbuildings) resources to wildlife. Due to their larger space requirements and vulnerability to human persecution, larger mammalian predators often respond differently to the presence of humans and human development than smaller mammals. Some medium-bodied mammalian predators such as coyote (Canis latrans), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), and gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), have adapted to coexist in human-dominated areas. There is a currently a need to understand how human-created land use such as residential yards can support wildlife as well as how certain yard features may facilitate human-wildlife conflict. In Chapter I, I evaluated which landscape and yard features influence the richness and diversity of the herbivores and mesopredators within residential yards in a rapidly developing region. I deployed game cameras in 46 residential yards in summer 2021 and 96 yards in 2022 from approximately April 15-August 15th. I found that mesopredator diversity was negatively impacted by fences and positively influenced by the number of bird feeders present in a yard. Mesopredator richness increased with the amount of forest within 400m of the camera. Herbivore diversity and richness were positively influenced by the area of forest within 400m of the yard and by the area of garden space within the yard, respectively. Our results suggest that while landscape does play a role in the presence of wildlife in a residential area, homeowners also have some agency over the richness and diversity of mammals using their yards based on the features they create or maintain on their properties. For chapter II, I used the data collected over the summers of 2021 and 2022 from deployed game cameras in 46 and 96 residential yards in Northwest Arkansas USA to understand which landscape and yard features influenced the occupancy of the predators; coyotes (Canis latrans) and both gray and red foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus and Vulpes vulpes). I found that predator occupancy was marginally influenced by yard level features as opposed to landscape composition. Fences had significant negative effects on the occupancy of coyotes in our study. The total area of potential den sites in a yard also slightly increased the probability of coyote occupancy in a yard. When present in a yard, I found that gray foxes have increased detection rates in yards with poultry, highlighting a likely source of conflict with homeowners. I found that the interspecific interactions between our focal predator species were all modest but positive, indicating that these species likely use yards for similar resources and have ways of minimizing antagonistic interactions with one another in the suburban environment. As the number of residential yards continues to grow across the country, our results suggest that there are ways in which our yards can provide valuable resources to suburban predators and that homeowners also have the agency to mitigate interactions with predators through management of their yard features.

Forest canopy gaps are integral for regenerating most plants and maintaining regional diversity. However, native diversity in gaps is often compromised by exotic plant dominance and in the eastern United States, chronic overbrowsing by white-tailed deer (deer; Odocoileus virginianus). Notably, decades-long, near ubiquitous deer overabundance limits opportunity to study the dynamics of communities lacking persistent overbrowsing. Here, we ask how does spring and fall herbaceous and woody composition differ between areas with ≥50 years of low (~7 deer/km²) and high deer density (≥20 deer/km²). This was done in 2-14-year-old canopy gaps, ranging in size from 83-522m² (median: 230m²), in both mesic and drier temperate forest. Paired deer exclosure vs. control plots in two-year-old harvest gaps were also followed for three growing seasons to assess exclusion effects in low deer density areas only. Composition of browsable native and exotic plants (≤2m in height) did not differ between exclosure and control plots, indicating gap regeneration dynamics were unaffected by low deer density after three growing seasons. For spring flora, exotic relative cover increased with gap age, but native and exotic diversity did not differ across gap size, deer density, and habitats. However, for fall flora, exotic cover increased with gap age when deer were abundant, where communities averaged 380% higher non-native coverage. Fewer deer were associated with 75% higher native richness, 50% higher native diversity, and 60% more native cover across gap ages and habitats. Additionally, sapling height and stem density of red (Quercus rubra) and pin oak (Quercus palustris) were five- to twenty-fold higher with fewer deer. We find that managing white-tailed deer at roughly twice their historic abundance for 67-years facilitates all measured aspects of fall-flowering native understories, including early recruitment of four important canopy species, and reduces exotic plant abundance. Coupling this with our novel theory on short- and long-term carrying capacity suggests a sustained density of < 8 deer/km² is sufficient to maintain their forage base and that selective harvests under such conditions are self-replacing. Lastly, persistently high deer densities will continue to lower native and increase exotic plant abundance, fundamentally alter gap successional trajectories, and lower deer carrying capacities in the process.

Dispersal, the permanent movement of an animal away from its location of birth, is common in mammals and can have an important role in shaping demography, genetics, distribution, and social structure. Dispersal entails potential costs but also potential benefits, and the dispersal decision is thought to be conditional; the potential disperser assesses prospects for success at its current location and disperses to improve its fitness. However, the costs and benefits of dispersal, as well as factors influencing the dispersal decision, are not well known. We used trapping and observation to study dispersal in the Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel (Callospermophilus lateralis), a species for which dispersal is largely unknown. We characterized the dispersal process by evaluating dispersal timing and distance, assessed factors that might influence the dispersal decision, and analyzed the fitness cost of dispersal after settlement. We found that most dispersal occurred during the summer of birth, as is expected for a small-bodied sciurid. However, some squirrels delayed dispersal until early in their yearling summer. Dispersal was male-biased in dispersal tendency, and it was also male-biased in dispersal distance, but only over shorter dispersal distances. The dispersal decision for juvenile females appeared to originate as soon as 10 days after they emerged from the natal burrow, and the decision was not associated with body mass or several measures of competition. Instead, dispersal of juvenile females was associated with the number of littermate sisters, with each sister present increasing the likelihood of dispersal by 26%. Littermate sisters might be a cue foretelling the effects of kin competition the following year. We did not find a significant difference in lifetime reproductive success between philopatric and dispersing females after settlement, suggesting that for Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels, any cost of dispersal is experienced primarily during the transience phase.

Freshwater fishes in California are challenged by anthropogenic activities, especially habitat fragmentation and the introduction of invasive species. Restriction Site-associated (RAD) Sequencing, a commonly applied Next Generation Sequencing technique in non-model organisms, can provide essential and actionable genomic information for managers to assess population statuses and for developing species conservation plans. In this dissertation, I explored the varied application of RAD sequencing to two native California species, Speckled Dace (Rhinichthys osculus) and Paiute cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii seleniris). The Speckled Dace are widespread in western North America, and to this point, have been considered a single species. In Chapter One, the California Speckled dace is divided into three distinct evolutionary lineages based on the genetic differentiation detected by thousands of single nucleotide polymorphisms extracted using RAD sequencing. Paiute cutthroat trout are a subspecies of cutthroat trout threatened by competition and hybridization with introduced non-native trout. To protect and recover the subspecies, populations were previously translocated by conservation biologists to nine refuge populations thought to approximate historical habitats. Yet long-term genetic monitoring is required to monitor genetic diversity over space and time to assess the efficacy of these management actions. In Chapter Two, we selected 1,114 SNPs that generate comparable results in genetic diversity and genetic population structure to 6,187 SNPs in RAD sequencing after resolving technical questions related to the RAD sequencing approach. Results ultimately demonstrate the SNP panel is useful for genetic monitoring of population structure and heterozygosity, and thus helpful for conservation management. In Chapter Three, we applied 1,114 SNPs to estimate genetic diversity, and genetic population structure for all nine refuge populations. We also applied these SNPs to estimate parent-offspring relationships and the change of genetic diversity after the translocation between two refuge populations. We also applied these SNPs to estimate parent-offspring relationships and the change of genetic diversity after the translocation between two refuge populations.

Urban coyotes (canis latrans) have increasingly made their homes in American cities like Los Angeles and ongoing research into their flourishing has taken on new urgency due to the reported rise in human-coyote conflict. Using a mixed methods approach for understanding the urban ecology as a natural-cultural system, the following dissertation attempts to think across scales and to grapple with the epistemological challenges of studying a highly adaptable carnivore in an immensely complex urban environment like Los Angles. Utilizing the tools of movement ecology, anthropology, and experiments with imagistic multi-media praxis, and sometimes writing with collaborators across a variety of disciplines, this work adds to the current research paradigm for urban coyotes by highlighting the necessity of thinking with human-coyote relations towards a more capacious understanding of the urban ecology as an ‘ecology of selves,’ one constituted as much by coyote foraging habits and movement patterns as by the perspectival formations occurring through online social media applications like Nextdoor and the municipal policy documents known as “Coyote Management Plans.” Central to the aims of this work is to politicize the study of urban ecology, but also to “ecologize” our contemporary understanding of urban politics. How can we imagine the imperatives of housing justice for humans and questions of urban coyote belonging together? How do representations of urban coyotes come to inform human-coyote relations, and through the materialization of our thinking, other kinds of human-human relations in the urban ecology too? Does urban coyote “management” offer an opportunity for anti-colonial experiments in service of furthering sovereignty for indigenous peoples in cities like Los Angeles? In “At Home with Coyotes,” the necessity of living together with coyotes offers the inspiration for imagining biodiversity and environmental justice as a unified project and holistic ethical practice.

Effective conservation and management of sensitive species requires knowledge of their ecology. For example, understanding habitat requirements can identify environmental constraints that govern persistence of a species, where on the landscape a species will occur, and habitat-related causes of declines. Understanding demography and vital rates can identify reasonable expectations for abundances, survival, and potential for population growth, and identify sensitive life stages. In addition, quantitative evaluations of management, conservation, and recovery actions can provide valuable insights into the success or failures of these programs and how to improve their effectiveness. In reality, these types of information typically are not available. Although assumptions about the ecology of a species may exist, quantitative data commonly is lacking, and management, conservation, and recovery actions are rarely evaluated for their success. Thus, management decisions are often based on incomplete information.Amphibian populations have undergone severe declines and extinctions worldwide, including in relatively pristine areas. Yet, basic ecological data are often lacking for this taxon, which has been poorly studied relative to other vertebrates like birds and mammals. This dissertation addresses information gaps in the ecology of two federally listed anurans in the Sierra Nevada, CA, the threatened Yosemite toad (Anaxyrus canorus) and the endangered Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog (SNYLF, Rana sierrae), which have both declined in distribution and abundance. These species occur in patchily distributed, high elevation, montane, aquatic systems. The wet meadows, lakes, ponds, and streams available to these species vary greatly in size, hydrology, topography, and isolation. Sierra Nevada weather is highly variable and unpredictable, spanning gradients from wet to drought and warm to cold years. The two species have different life history strategies that allow them to persist in these uncertain environments. In Chapters 1 and 2, I addressed habitat selection, first investigating Yosemite toad habitat selection in wet meadows, where the species most commonly breeds (Chapter 1), and then investigating habitat selection of SNYLF in streams (Chapter 2), where the species has not been well-studied. In Chapter 3, I investigated the demography of SNYLF in streams. In addition to quantifying the ecology of SNYLF in streams, in Chapters 2 and 3 I investigated the success of a recovery action—population augmentation—by comparing habitat selection and demography of captive-reared frogs and wild frogs.The Yosemite toad inhabits variable and unpredictable environments with short growing seasons. To investigate Yosemite toad breeding habitat selection in these environments, in Chapter 1 I quantified habitat characteristics in wet meadows at multiple scales including egg mass deposition microhabitats, tadpole microhabitats, breeding areas within wet meadows, and wet meadows. Using logistic regression, I quantified the relationship between breeding occupancy and habitat variables measuring surface water characteristics, water temperature, cover, habitat complexity, physical environment, and climate. I found that habitat selection by the Yosemite toad reflects choices that promote fast development which may be an adaptation to its short growing season and uncertain environment. Yosemite toads bred in very shallow, warm water with low gradient shorelines, and habitat characteristics associated with water and temperature were important at all scales. Overall, Yosemite toads selected for very small differences in these habitat components. For example, water depths where they laid eggs were consistently very shallow, averaging 0.04–0.05 m. Probability of occupancy increased with water temperature at all scales. Breeding areas within meadows ranged from potholes to flooded vegetation with standing or flowing water. Breeding meadows tended to have flatter slopes, west-facing aspects, and complex habitats in the form of springs, inlets, outlets, and breedinghabitat type richness. The quantitative data describing important habitat components summarized in the chapter can be used to design appropriate management and conservation for the Yosemite toad across its range.In Chapter 2, I addressed two information needs for SNYLF that inhabit streams in its northern range, habitat selection and the effectiveness of a recovery action. Because available habitats in streams can change across space and time, I investigated SNYLF habitat requirements across spatial and temporal scales. I quantified habitat use across diverse streams (third-order perennial streams to first-order intermittent headwater creeks), habitat types within streams (pool, riffle, cascade), and seasonal flows (high water at snowmelt to reduced flows late in the summer). Available habitat changed with flows. Perennial streams retained a variety of habitats across flows whereas intermittent streams dried to just a few pools. These results suggest that SNYLF is an aquatic generalist in streams, able to meet its ecological requirements in a variety of habitats, with some site-specific constraints affecting habitat selection. Frogs used all seasonal habitat types but selected deeper pools most often relative to available habitats in intermittent streams and selected riffles or showed no preference in perennial streams. Frogs avoided fast deep-water microhabitats, but otherwise, preferred flowing water or deeper water without flow. I also compared habitat selection between wild and captive-reared frogs that were released as a population augmentation in one intermittent stream. Captive-reared frogs selected similar habitats as wild frogs, suggesting captivity does not alter habitat selection behaviors post-release. This also suggests that reintroduction designs for this species can be based on wild frog preferences. Results in this chapter improve our understanding of how SNYLF habitat use varies among different types of streams and differs seasonally in response to changing habitat conditions, which in turn can inform designs of effective management, conservation, and recovery programs, including reintroductions of frogs in streams.In Chapter 3, I conducted a three-year capture–mark–recapture study to investigate the demography of SNYLF in the same streams. The objectives were to quantify abundances and vital rates in diverse streams, evaluate a population augmentation recovery action in one of the streams, and use the demographic data to inform reintroduction designs. Population abundances were low in three streams supporting the need for recovery actions such as population augmentation. The two largest populations were in intermittent streams, possibly because fish are less common where water is not flowing year-round. Estimates of apparent survival rates of wild adults were relatively high (0.55 –0.90) whereas estimates of annual recruitment were relatively low (0.02–0.26). The oldest frog found in the streams was at least 13 years old whereas few tadpoles or subadults were seen in any of the streams. The high survival rates leading to long-lived adults may facilitate persistence of these stream populations, whereas low recruitment may limit population growth and recovery. The population augmentation was relatively successful with at least 52% of captive-reared frogs surviving their first summer after release and at least 36% surviving their first winter. These results offer promise for the use of reintroductions to augment depleted populations. The demography of wild frogs helps identify considerations for reintroduction designs. For example, the apparent low survival of wild eggs, tadpoles, and subadults, suggests releasing adults, as was done in this study, rather than younger life stages, may be more successful. The results also suggest that further research on factors affecting recruitment and survival of younger life stages is needed.The Yosemite toad and SNYLF are examples of at-risk amphibians that require basic ecological knowledge to support effective management, conservation, and recovery. To date, these decisions mostly have been based on descriptive information and general field observations. This dissertation addresses key aspects of the ecology of these species as well as presents quantitative data to guide future actions.

Fishery managers are tasked with preparing our fisheries for climate change, but doing so requires data to assess population status and environmental drivers, both of which are typically limited. Many small-scale fisheries, like recreational-only fisheries, have a paucity of information and resources to perform robust assessments, which results in data-limited management measures that can inadvertently increase the vulnerability of the resource to detrimental harvest and climate change impacts. Here I focus on the popular and overexploited southern California recreational saltwater bass fishery, which despite its economic and cultural significance to the state, lacks long-term species-specific data and formal population assessments. By leveraging a variety of disparate data sets, taxonomy methods, and advanced quantitative methods, I reconstruct the population dynamics of the two focal species, Barred Sand Bass (Paralabrax nebulifer) and Kelp Bass (P. clathratus), over most of the last century and across rapidly changing ocean conditions. I begin with Barred Sand Bass and build a bespoke Bayesian capture-mark-reencounter model to estimate demographic rates over three historical periods spanning 54 years. Using these rates, I generate, for the first time, estimates of abundance, and along with other data sources (juvenile recruitment, adult densities, harvest, and sea surface temperature) and historical accounts in the literature, I demonstrate how the environment and harvest have contributed to long-term fluctuations in productivity. I then develop a robust method to construct and validate a taxonomic key for distinguishing southern California Paralabrax spp. larvae and use this key to unlock a larval abundance data set with high spatial and temporal resolution. Using these larval data within a geostatistical modeling framework, I generate species-specific standardized indices of larval abundance, quantify the influence of environmental covariates on their long-term spatiotemporal patterns, and explore the predictive power of the larval time series to anticipate future catches. Based on these modeling efforts, I contribute improved fishery management tools for monitoring status and trends and demonstrate species-specific population dynamics, highlighting the species’ different susceptibilities to harvest and climate change impacts. Taken together, these studies pave the way toward an ecosystem and climate-ready approach to fisheries management for this important group of fishes.

Northwest Ohio has been heavily impacted by ditching and draining of the landscape as well as impoundment and pond construction. These features can reduce baseflows, alter wetland hydroperiods, or otherwise impair ecosystem services. However, they may also create aquatic habitat, serve as refuges from wetland habitat loss and promote connectivity of wildlife populations. It is critical to identify the effects of hydromodification on semiaquatic fauna such as the common muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), the American mink (Neovison vison) and cambarid crayfishes (Cambaridae), which may be sensitive to associated changes in fine- and coarse-scale wetland habitat and landscape characteristics. To evaluate potential wetland habitat use patterns, sign and nocturnal spotlight surveys were conducted in the Oak Openings Region from May 15th to October 18th 2021. Habitat, environmental and spatial data were also collected. As predicted, focal organisms used modified wetlands to a lesser degree, although the effect depended on organism and wetland type. As expected further, muskrats and crayfishes were more likely to use higher order or deep streams/ditches; crayfishes were more likely to use seasonal and restored wetlands. Results were consistent with isolation-area based predictions of habitat use insofar as mink and muskrats were more likely to use large nonlinear wetlands, and muskrats used less isolated wetlands. Crayfish and, unexpectedly, mink used more isolated wetlands. Open canopy and anthropogenic landcover classes in the landscape neighborhood of wetlands featured in many habitat use models. Fine-scale habitat variables tended to predict habitat use as well as or better than coarser-scale variables. Treating presence or relative activity of each organism as a predictor variable in habitat use models of the other organisms produced competitive models, although results for mink occurrence were inconsistent with predictions based on predator-prey relationships. Results support restoration of historical wetland conditions, implementation of spatially-informed conservation strategies, consideration of local landcover types in conservation planning, and careful selection of predictor variables in models of habitat use.

My research examines how primary stakeholders interact with Texas' most harvested big game animals: white-tailed deer, which are increasingly impacted by chronic wasting disease (CWD), and feral hogs, which impact the landscape but effectively have no management strategy. Drawing on literature on wildlife governance in Texas, managing property and the commons, and disease landscapes, and broadly framed by themes of political and historical ecology, my research asks: (1) how do management goals for deer and feral hogs compare to hunting practices and hunting culture in Texas? (2) How are deer commodified by the Texas deer breeding industry? (3) How does the commodification of deer by breeders impact deer hunting practices in Texas? To examine how local stakeholders manage CWD and feral hogs, I conducted interviews among 21 stakeholders, including hunters, game wardens, game ranch managers, and deer breeders in Texas, as well as conducting participant observation at three deer conferences. Analysis shows that contrary to my expectations, not all participants viewed feral hogs negatively, with some viewing them as profit-making ventures. Inversely, how stakeholders contend with and understand CWD varies by a stakeholder's ability to generate profit from deer breeding. Furthermore, the majority of participants identified deer breeding operations as the greatest risk for spreading CWD; deer-breeders themselves, not surprisingly, perceived CWD as either low risk or a big government conspiracy. This research demonstrates a need for further regulation or outlawing deer breeding altogether.

Since the Taiwan Forestry Bureau (TFB) implemented the Wildlife Conservation Act (WCA) in 1989 to protect wildlife and forbid hunting activities, indigenous tribes have asked for the reinstatement of hunting rights to support their traditional culture. In response to indigenous tribes’ request, the TFB revised the WCA for indigenous tribes in 2004 so that they would be able to conduct traditional hunting. However, questions concerning the health of the wildlife population arose because no information on wildlife populations existed. Indigenous tribes argued the wildlife populations had increased because their crops were damaged by wildlife, but the TFB had no information on the population size of any wildlife species to present to the general public on the issue. To decrease conflicts between the TFB and indigenous tribes, I designed a citizen-science survey, the Ungulate Pellet Groups Sign Survey, to encourage the indigenous hunters to participate in wildlife monitoring in the role of citizen scientists in order to track wildlife population change. The objective of this survey was to collect information on focal wildlife (muntjac, serow, and sambar deer), as well as to increase trust between the TFB and the indigenous tribes. In addition, I tested indigenous hunters’ ability and performance in conducting scientific wildlife surveys, and encouraged indigenous hunters to participate in wildlife management with the TFB. To mitigate conflicts caused by implementation of the WCA and encourage indigenous tribes to manage their natural resources, the TFB initiated the Community Forestry Project (CFP) in 2002. This project helped develop the indigenous tribes’ abilities in building consensus, inventorying natural resources, and using cultural knowledge to develop nature-based tourism in order to increase tribal incomes. In 2012, ten years after the CFP was implemented, the TFB initiated a tribal-based ecotourism project, the Ecotourism Committee Project (ECP) to encourage indigenous tribes to develop tribe-featured ecotourism in order to manage national forest lands with the TFB. The ECP consisted of a committee composed of diverse members, including tribal representatives, scholars, management experts, and government officials. The TFB officers acted as an interface, integrating step-by-step procedures to help develop the tribes' visions on using national forest land sustainably. The sign survey yielded not only wildlife population information such as seasonal migration, habitat preferences, and the influence of environmental factors, but also provided government agencies a cost-efficient way of collecting wildlife information to enhance wildlife management where there are terrain constraints. Furthermore, indigenous hunters in my study demonstrated their ability to conduct scientific wildlife surveys and revealed their anxiety about losing their tribal hunting culture. My study suggests employing indigenous hunters as citizen scientists, not only to collect wildlife population information for wildlife management but also to participate in being part of the management system, decreases conflict decrease the TFB and preserves their hunting culture. Indigenous hunters successfully demonstrated their ability to work as citizen scientists, but the indigenous tribes' transition from working with the CFP to the ECP was not straightforward. Indigenous tribes seemed to perform well in the tribe consensus building for the CFP but failed to be present in the ECP. This study also provides insight into how focal groups can cooperate in the management of wildlife and national lands.

Coyotes (Canis latrans) are now commonplace in cities across the United States, and bobcats (Lynx rufus) are growing in numbers within city limits as years pass. These generalist mesocarnivores have adapted their behaviors to thrive in an anthropogenic environment. This phenomenon is largely unnoticed by much of the public. However, humans have struggled to adapt their behaviors in response to the increased presence of mesocarnivores in cities. The urban public in the United States is generally uncertain how to foster a healthy relationship with wildlife in urban areas. Management agencies tend to be more reactive rather than proactive in dealing with carnivores, but proactive management may be necessary to foster human-carnivore co-existence in urban areas. We sought to better understand residents’ judgements of appropriate responses to interactions with coyotes and bobcats in scenarios not involving a threat to human safety. To do this we conducted cross-sectional surveys of adult residents of the United States and the state of Ohio and embedded randomly assigned carnivore interaction scenarios in which respondents were asked to choose the most appropriate method of predator control in response to each scenario. In our first study (chapter 2) we determined the likelihood that an individual would switch their preferred method of predator control between two human-mesocarnivore scenarios. We found that switching was predicted best by the location in which the scenarios occurred (i.e., residential or agricultural area) and second by an increase in severity between the two scenarios’ context. Interestingly, a variety of cognitive (e.g., wildlife value orientations, affect towards the species of carnivore) and demographic (e.g., gender, level of urbanization in respondent residency) factors identified in prior studies is impacting judgments about the acceptability of various types of control had no impact on the odds of a respondent preferring the same form of predator control in response to different scenarios. In our second study (chapter 3) we found that an individual’s predator control preferences in scenarios with no direct threat to human safety were moderately associated with the respondent’s residential experience (i.e., the extent to which their current and childhood residences were located in more rural vs. urban locations). Additionally, wildlife value orientations were not as predictive as the urbanization level in respondent residency when predicting an individual’s predator control preferences across multiple scenarios. Collectively, these results demonstrate (1) the importance of context (i.e., location and severity of conflict incidents) and (2) residential experience in explaining judgments concerning appropriate means of controlling predators.

Lyme disease is rapidly expanding and is of a great public health concern in the United States. The emergence of Lyme disease is the consequence of a confluence of the causative agent, Borrelia burgdorferi, Ixodes tick vectors, hosts, and the ecological and climatic conditions supporting tick and host populations. The complexity of Lyme disease transmission impedes our ability to predict its migration patterns and areas of high risk. In Ohio, established populations of the blacklegged tick or deer tick, Ixodes scapularis, were first identified in Coshocton County in 20101. Consequently human Lyme disease incidence has increased dramatically, from 21 cases in 2010 to 388 cases in 20192. However, little is known about how B. burgdorferi prevalence in the blacklegged tick population has changed in Coshocton County since initial establishment or the genotypic diversity of B. burgdorferi in Ohio. This study was conducted at the index sites where established populations of blacklegged ticks were first identified in Ohio to investigate the current infection prevalence of B. burgdorferi sensu lato, B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, and B. mayonii in questing blacklegged ticks and small mammals using real time polymerase chain reactions (RT-PCR). Multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) analysis was performed to find the diversity of Ohio B. burgdorferi sensu stricto strains relating to the reported stains in other regions in the public databases for molecular typing and microbial genome diversity (PubMLST.org). Pathogen-tick-host relationships of the Ohio small mammal community were also studied by trapping a variety of host species during peak tick activity and assessing tick burden. Increasing trends of both B. burgdorferi sensu lato and B. burgdorferi sensu stricto were detected in blacklegged ticks and white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) compared to the 2010 data1. Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto strains reported from the Upper Midwest and the Northeast were found in Ohio, as well as strains reported in California and Canada. Blacklegged ticks and Borrelia were found to parasitize a wide variety of host species in Ohio.

Seed dispersal mutualisms between plants and animals often determine the structure and diversity of ecosystems. In eastern hardwood forests of North America, the mutualism between scatter-hoarding animals and nut-bearing trees is crucial in shaping the distribution of dominant tree species and the complex wildlife communities they support. Avian seed-hoarders, in particular Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata), are especially important long-distance dispersers of oak (Quercus) acorns and other small nuts, through their caching of seeds in the autumn for winter consumption. Since oak-dominated forests are declining across much of the eastern U.S. – through mesophication, disease, and introduced pests – understanding their relationship with jays is critical to determining how best to manage for increased oak dispersal and recruitment. In addition, the reintroduction of American chestnut (Castanea dentata) to its former range is anticipated in the near future, and jays are likely to play a key role in their natural dispersal from founder plantings. In this dissertation, I examine dynamics of the mutualism between avian seed-hoarders and oaks/chestnuts to determine how it will shape these two processes of forest change – oak decline and chestnut reintroduction.I approach this topic in two ways. First, I examine each stage of the dispersal process from selection of seeds by birds through growth and survival of seedlings, for two common oaks (white oak [Q. alba] and black oak [Q. velutina]) and American chestnut. Second, I examine the link between mast abundance and Blue Jay abundance and survival, to determine how jay populations will be influenced by oak forest declines. When assessing the seed preferences of jays and other avian seed-hoarders in southeastern Ohio (Chapter 2), I found that jays consistently preferred black oak acorns over chestnuts, and chestnuts over white oak acorns. The strength of their preference for black oak acorns increased in late fall/early winter, when all seeds were less available, suggesting perhaps a greater need for lipid-rich resources in winter. Their preference for chestnuts over white oak acorns, however, suggests that chestnuts may become an important resource for jays and other seed-hoarders in years of black oak mast failure. Likewise, jays will likely serve as effective dispersers (Chapter 3) of chestnuts in those years, as 6.2% of cached chestnuts produced seedlings surviving through the first growing season, compared to 3.8% for black oak and 2.6% for white oak acorns. In addition, the propensity of jays to cache seeds in shrubby early-successional areas may also be a boon for early recruitment of the more competitive chestnut seedlings. On the other hand, jays provided directed dispersal for black and white oak acorns, as stem emergence of planted seeds was greater at cache sites than random sites for these species, but not chestnut. One of the most limiting factors for dispersal effectiveness of jays was pilferage by rodents, with >80% of all cached seeds being pilfered. Dispersal distances by jays (up to 460m from parent trees) at my mostly contiguous forest site were shorter than those reported by other studies in more fragmented habitats (up to 4km), but still suggest great potential for recruitment and colonization for oak and chestnut seedlings. Overwinter survival of jays (Chapter 4) at my Ohio field site was much greater for adults (88%) compared to young birds (47%), but otherwise was not influenced by annual mast abundance or other weather-related factors. In an analysis of long-term bird and mast abundance datasets (Breeding Bird Survey, Christmas Bird Count, and Regional Mast Survey) across 15 years and 8 states, I found that winter abundance of jays was positively associated with red oak subgenus mast abundance and negatively associated with the previous year’s white oak mast abundance, indicating both direct and indirect influences of acorn abundance on jays. Breeding abundance of jays, however, was not clearly associated with mast abundance, suggesting that jay populations are not necessarily limited by mast. Taken together, my results highlight the dynamic nature of the relationship between nut-bearing trees and their avian seed-dispersers, which underscores the importance of considering plant-animal mutualisms when planning forest management and restoration efforts.

Six channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) were collected from four different bodies of water in Central Ohio to determine whether the concentrations of mercury within the samples were safe enough for human consumption. Digesting each sample with concentrated acid and utilizing flame atomic absorption spectroscopy for analysis, the average mercury concentration between the six samples was calculated to be 9 ± 13 µg/g, where the FDA recommends only eating one serving of fish containing 0.46 µg/g of mercury per week. Because the degree of experimental uncertainty was high, it is difficult to conclude if the collected data indicate a toxic amount of mercury in the collected samples. Based on the current lack of governmental warnings on consuming channel catfish within Central Ohio, it is likely that competitive absorbance during the experimental procedure resulted in the unreasonably high concentrations of mercury in each sample. Though experimental error was clearly present, two samples, fish 1 and fish 3, had concentrations of mercury much higher than the other four samples which may suggest a possibility for mercury contamination. This possibility provides sufficient rationale for the proper government agencies to conduct further studies on the contamination of mercury in channel catfish of Central Ohio.

The loss of open-canopy ecosystems throughout North America has precipitated declines in reptile and amphibian species associated with these habitat types. Current efforts to restore open-canopy ecosystems are underway in many areas, but the local distributions of, habitat characteristics required by and the effects of management actions on many herpetofauna species are poorly understood or entirely unknown. Research examining relationships among herpetofauna and their environments is often complicated by the extremely low detectability seen in many studies. We used landscape-scale, assemblage-level surveys to investigate the occupancy patterns and habitat associations of open-canopy-associated herpetofauna in two regions, as well as gain a broad understanding of the effects of management actions on these assemblages. We also used a long-term monitoring program to document the direct effects of prescribed burn management on a snake community in a restored prairie site. Finally, we used advanced statistical modeling techniques to examine spatial, methodological, and species-specific variation in the detection process that can skew our understanding of species’ distributions and habitat associations when ignored. In Chapter 1, we conducted seven rounds of herpetofauna surveys at 81 open-canopy pine savanna sites under a wide range of management regimes, including working forests and conservation areas, and featuring a variety of landscape and vegetation characteristics in Northwest Louisiana. Open-canopy-pine-associated species richness and occupancy were positively related to open vegetation structure in the canopy and understory, as well as the presence of sandy soils, regardless of overstory tree species. These results suggest that working pine forests are capable of supporting open- canopy-pine-associated herpetofauna if certain structural and landscape conditions are present. In Chapter 2, we used a similar study design to examine the status and associations of prairie-associated herpetofauna at 34 remnant, restored, or degraded tallgrass prairie sites in Western Arkansas. Prairie mound density, suggesting a lack of intense anthropogenic disturbance in a site’s land-use history, had a significant positive relationship with community and species-specific occupancy of prairie-association herpetofauna, while current vegetation conditions did not strongly influence occupancy. Our findings suggest that prairie-associated herpetofauna distributions in this fragmented landscape are driven more by historic land use than by current habitat conditions. In Chapter 3, we used a long-term monitoring program to track the direct effects of prescribed burn management on a tallgrass prairie snake community. We documented direct mortality from burns in six snake species over an eight-year period, but populations did not appear to suffer meaningful declines due to these mortalities in the long-term. Finally, we used data from Chapters 1 and 2 to investigate spatial and methodological sources of variation in species-specific detection probabilities of squamate reptiles in Chapter 4. We implemented occupancy models that produce method- and species-specific detection probabilities and highlighted variation in the detection process that should be accounted for in herpetofauna research in order to avoid inaccurate inference relating to occupancy, abundance, and habitat associations. In sum, this dissertation produced applicable management guidelines, tools for conservation work, and methodological insight that we believe will advance the state of herpetofauna research.

As habitat loss and degradation continually threaten biodiversity, understanding the habitat requirements of species is as important as ever for wildlife management and conservation. All species require certain habitat features to persist, whether that be at the microhabitat scale or the landscape scale. Here I aimed to determine habitat features important for spotted salamanders, a cryptic species with a complex life cycle. My central hypothesis is that microhabitat features and landscape-level features will both impact spotted salamander individuals and populations. I used an experimental study to assess impacts on individuals and a field survey to assess populations. Overall, I found that larval density and pond cover both impact captive reared spotted salamander metamorphosis, and that leaf litter impacts the recapture of individuals after overwintering. Finally, I found that the prevalence and abundance of wild spotted salamanders are associated with the amount of leaf litter, the amount of shrub/scrub habitat surrounding breeding ponds, and the distance of the breeding pond to the nearest pond. This research demonstrates the importance of studying habitat features at various scales to accurately study species occupancy and manage natural areas in a way that best accommodates wildlife.

In North America, the replacement of greenspaces with human-made structures causes hundreds of millions, if not billions, of avian fatalities every year. Through the continuous increase in urbanization, threats to avian wildlife are exacerbated by a multitude of related factors such as habitat loss, fragmentation, and pollution. Birdcollisions with buildings are an integral component of these threats because they directlycause avian mortality, and they are expected to increase as human populations continue to grow in urban areas. Bird collisions with buildings represent the largest source of collision mortalities, ahead of collisions with windmills, power lines, and vehicles. Cities serve as physical impediments for numerous bird species, as many urbanized landscapes are located along migratory routes. Birds play an important role in the proper functioning of ecosystems, and they also play an important role within human societies. Therefore, it is important to explore determinants of bird collisions with buildings to identify effective mitigation strategies that aim to counter the rapid decline of bird populations.Previous studies have identified that numerous factors correlate with bird collisions with buildings. These factors include species’ life-history traits, artificial lighting at night, building characteristics, and atmospheric conditions. There are likely a multitude of other factors influencing bird collisions with buildings at any point in time, and this further increases the complexities behind collision dynamics. I evaluated previously identified factors related to bird collisions with buildings to test their influence on bird collisions in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, during fall of 2017. I identified that life-history strategies related to migration distance and foraging height, along with family groupings, differentiated collision frequencies. For example, long-distance migrant and warbler (Family Parulidae) species were overrepresented in their collision frequencies when compared to their local relative abundances. Next, I explored patterns of collision over time and found a complex interaction of variables related to bird collisions with buildings. Variables included in the final model included atmospheric pressure, peak wind speeds, temperature, relative abundance, date, and flying altitude. I also found that time lags were important when exploring determinants of collision. For example, atmospheric conditions (i.e., peak wind speeds) one day before collision eventswere critical in capturing changing weather conditions over time. This study also found an important multiplicative interaction between Julian date and maximum dry bulb temperature when predicting collision numbers, and this highlights the need to include complex variable interactions when modeling and predicting collision risk. Every year, there are large numbers of bird collisions with buildings, so when exploring and creating efficient mitigation efforts, it is crucial to consider changing atmospheric conditions and avian movement patterns both during and before actual collision events.

Small artificial ponds are widely distributed throughout the United States and represent a considerable human footprint on the aquatic landscape. Management of these freshwater systems differ somewhat and are dependent on individual landowner decisions. While many management actions are directed toward one or two components of a pond, different management strategies are implemented as landowners invest varying amounts of time and effort in pond management. Active management of ponds come in varying degrees and approaches and include such practices as the removal of vegetation through mechanical or chemical (e.g. herbicides) means, fish stocking, aeration, and dredging. These actions are often meant to improve environmental conditions for aquatic wildlife, especially fish, however increasing levels of management present greater human induced disturbances that may be counterproductive to management goals. I used a combination of field surveys and an experimental study to investigate the effects of management activities on fish health, biodiversity, and water quality. The field surveys consisted of repeated sampling efforts of artificial ponds in rural Ohio. I found that increased management had little effect on water quality parameters (e.g. dissolved oxygen, conductivity, turbidity, etc.). Likewise, taxonomic richness and diversity measures (Shannon’s Diversity Index) of aquatic macroinvertebrates were not affected by increased management. I did find differences in presence of several taxonomic orders across increasing intensities of management which contributed to disparity in macroinvertebrate community assemblages. This indicated that increased management inputs, or even specific actions, could affect favorability of environmental conditions for unique taxonomic groups. I also found no differences in fish abundance or health between ponds. My findings from the field surveys suggest two possible explanations. First, increased management actions did not negatively impact water quality, biodiversity, or fish health. Alternatively, the lack of major differences across management levels suggests that certain management actions may not improve environmental conditions. The experimental study examined sub-lethal effects of pond dye on growth and health of Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus). I housed juvenile Bluegill in clear and dyed outdoor mesocosms for 84 days. There was no effect of pond dye on water temperature between treatments, but as expected, the dye did reduce the intensity of light in treated mesocosms compared to control tanks. I found that growth rate and body condition of Bluegill were not significantly affected by pond dye. Similarly, reproductive investment and body coloration were unaffected. This suggests that exposure to pond dye has no direct effect on the growth and health of Bluegill, yet indirect effects remain unclear as the darkened environment in a natural setting could impact foraging success and predator avoidance. Through investigating the effects of pond management practices on fish health, biodiversity, and water quality, landowners can make more informed decisions regarding the management and conservation of their small artificial ponds.

The adverse effects of oil spill disasters on wildlife populations often include mass mortalities and widespread oiling of large numbers of individuals. While these incidents are highly visible and well documented, chronic, long-term impacts on vertebrate species may often persist after the initial oil exposure due to lingering toxins in the environment. These chronic effects may often exceed the short-term impacts caused by initial oil exposure. Additionally, emergency spill response, cleanup operations, and mitigation measures may have additional impacts on populations exposed to oil spills. Species that have long lifespans, late age maturation, and low recruitment rates are particularly vulnerable to population-level impacts if oil spills, and subsequent cleanup operation cause an increase in mortality.Regarding the effects of oils spills in freshwater ecosystems, very little is known in comparison to marine ecosystems. In particular, almost nothing is known about the impacts on freshwater organisms’ exposure to diluted bitumen (dilbit) oil. To date, most data on the effects of dilbit on free-ranging freshwater organisms were collected in relation to one of the largest inland oil spills in United States history, the Kalamazoo River oil spill, which spilled between 3 and 4.5 million L of dilbit in Calhoun and Kalamazoo counties, Michigan, impacting 56 km of the Kalamazoo River and the species within. Of the vertebrate species known to have been oiled during the Kalamazoo River oil spill, northern map turtles (Graptemys geographica) were the most observed oiled animal. As a result of the Kalamazoo River oil spill, extensive effort occurred in 2010 and 2011 to clean and restore the freshwater ecosystem impacted by the spill. During 2010, this included the capture, cleaning, rehabilitating, and releasing of more than 2,000 northern map turtles. In 2010, we documented a nearly 6% direct mortality rate (i.e., individuals captured dead, died in care, or transferred to a permanent rehabilitation center as a result of injuries suffered) of sexable northern map turtles. During 2019 and 2020 we captured turtles within the Kalamazoo River to evaluate changes in the estimated number of individuals in the population, demographics, and size classes nine to ten years after the spill. I found that the estimated number of male northern map turtles decreased by over 30% between 2010 and 2011, while the number of females decreased by nearly 40% between 2011 and 2019. A decrease in the mean size of northern map turtle males and females occurred between 2011 and 2019, due in part to increased recruitment and capture of individuals less than 5 years of age in 2019. Fewer 8–12-year-old females were captured in 2019 and 2020, a result of potentially losing a large portion of a generation during the 2010 oil spill. This was evident in that 2% of captures in 2010 were less than 2 years of age, while in subsequent years of survey these age classes made up of over 20% of individuals captured. These data suggest that beyond the direct mortality of the spill, shifts in the estimated number of northern map turtles and size class distribution are likely indicative of negative impacts incurred following the 2010 oil spill and resulting cleanup.During cleanup efforts following the 2010 Kalamazoo River oil spill, over 1,000 individuals spent at least one night in a rehabilitation facility to have any oil removed. Rehabilitation is often used to mitigate the adverse effects of oil spills on wildlife; however, limited post-release monitoring studies have been conducted to quantify survival of rehabilitated animals. Utilizing mark-recapture data collected from northern map turtles in 2010, 2011, and 2018-2021 I evaluated the effectiveness of turtle rehabilitation following the Kalamazoo River oil spill. To do this I compared monthly survival rates of turtles that were either “non-rehab” (i.e., turtles captured in the field with no oil or 50 km between capture locations, which to my knowledge is the greatest travel distance recorded for any freshwater turtle species in the U.S. My results demonstrate that riverine turtles have considerable homing ability when displaced long distances, which has important implications for design and success of translocation projects. Overall, these studies provide details on changes a population of northern map turtles underwent 10 years after a catastrophic diluted bitumen oil spill, specifically evaluating emergency response mitigation strategies such as rehabilitation and translocation.

Overabundant deer in the United States are a threat to forest regeneration and future forest composition due to browse on seedlings of preferred species. Controlled hunting programs are common for deer population management in parks. In this study, I investigated the Cincinnati Parks system’s hunting program to determine if it was reducing deer density enough to facilitate tree regeneration. To do this, I completed surveys of seedlings, saplings, trees, palatable herbs, and invasive shrubs in five different sites within the Cincinnati Parks System. I found that in all sites, sapling densities were much lower than the 1,000 saplings/ha considered sufficient for forest regeneration. Four sites had seedling densities above 2,500 seedlings/ha considered sufficient for forest regeneration. However, when species that cannot contribute to future canopies (Fraxinus spp. and Asimina triloba) were excluded, all sites were below that density. Species preferred by deer were common in the canopy of the forests but were sparse in the seedling and sapling layer, suggesting that deer have shifted tree species composition over time. Deer densities have not decreased since 2007, suggesting that the hunting program is not decreasing populations sufficiently in the Cincinnati Parks. To facilitate tree regeneration, other management strategies should be considered.