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Like much of the global biosphere, wildlife species have experienced rapid declines during the Anthropocene. Wildlife ecologists have responded to these crises by developing a range of technologies, techniques, and large datasets, which together have revolutionized the field, provided novel insights into the movements and behaviors of animals, and identified new risks and impacts to wildlife in a human-dominated world. While these advances have been vitally important, wildlife ecology has been slower to recognize and incorporate humans themselves into its new research domains. The chapters of this dissertation explore methods for better incorporating human behaviors, beliefs, actions, and infrastructure into the theories and approaches in wildlife ecology that have flourished in the last two decades. The research presented here demonstrates the importance of linking human beliefs and behaviors to wildlife ecology both by presenting novel findings and by showing the opportunities missed when narrow approaches are applied to complex socio-ecological problems.In Chapter 1, I provide a general introduction on the theories underlying this research, contextualize the research questions in light of the loss and recovery of large predators, and describe the research site where I collected much of the data for this dissertation. In Chapter 2, I apply the methods of movement ecology to some of the first fine-scale telemetry data collected on rifle hunters. I draw conclusions about their individual, site-level, and regional-level hunting behaviors and discuss the broad implications of these findings for hunting management. In Chapter 3, I examine livestock-predator conflict using approaches from both ecology and the social sciences. I describe a form of selection bias that is likely widespread but unreported due to the omission of social data from ecological models of conflict, and I offer guidelines for combining and translating ecological and social research on conflict. In Chapter 4, I explore the ecological impacts of one of the most globally widespread human constructions, the fence. I show for the first time the potential extent of fencing at large scales and discuss the wide variety of ecological effects of fences for both humans and ecosystems. I further highlight biases and gaps in fence research that have thus far limited a complete understanding of the environmental effects of these features. In Chapter 5, I conclude by making recommendations regarding how research might better incorporate human perceptions, decisions, and actions into ecology.

A remembrance of Donald T. Stuss, PhD, OC, OOnt, FRSC, one of the giants of modern neuropsychology, died on September 3, 2019, of complications from pancreatic cancer after a short illness. He was 77.

Studies of symptoms after concussion have been focused heavily on athletic and military populations; generalizability to "civilians" has not recently been demonstrated. We selected cognitive symptoms as an important target to assess because of impact on school and employment. We evaluated cognitive complaints in a highly symptomatic (Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire [PCSQ], mean [M] = 29.5) civilian sample (

Concussion is a common problem often managed by nonneurologists. It is often accompanied by headaches, dizziness, sleep disturbance, psychiatric symptoms, and cognitive issues. Here, we outline how to evaluate and manage concussion, including treatment of the most common symptoms.

Objective To determine whether people with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) can adhere to a minimally supervised, community-based, vigorous aerobic exercise program. Design Prospective trial. Setting Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) facilities. Participants Community-dwelling volunteers (N=10; 8 men, 2 women; age range, 22–49y) 6 to 15 months after moderate-to-severe TBI. Intervention Participants received memberships to local YMCAs and brief orientations to exercise. They were then asked to independently complete ≥12 weeks of ≥3 training sessions per week, performed at 65% to 85% of maximum heart rate for ≥30 minutes per session. Participants could self-select exercise modality, provided they met intensity and duration targets. Programmable heart rate monitors captured session intensity and duration. Main Outcome Measures Independence with equipment and facility use and compliance with training goals (session frequency, duration, intensity, total weeks of training). Results All participants achieved independence with equipment and facility use. All met at least 2 of 4 training goals; half met all 4 goals. Participants averaged (±SD) 3.3±0.7 sessions per week for 13 weeks (range, 6–24). Average ± SD session duration was 62±23 minutes, of which 51±22 minutes occurred at or above individuals' heart rate training targets. Conclusions People in recovery from moderate-to-severe TBI can, with minimal guidance, perform vigorous, community-based exercise. This suggests that decentralized exercise may be logistically and economically sustainable after TBI, expanding its potential therapeutic utility and rendering longer-duration exercise studies more feasible.

Recognition memory can be subdivided into two processes: recollection (a contextually rich memory) and familiarity (a sense that an item is old). The brain network supporting recognition encompasses frontal, parietal and medial temporal regions. Which specific regions within the frontal lobe are critical for recollection vs. familiarity, however, are unknown; past studies of focal lesion patients have yielded conflicting results. We examined patients with focal lesions confined to medial polar (MP), right dorsal frontal (RDF), right frontotemporal (RFT), left dorsal frontal (LDF), temporal, and parietal regions and matched controls. A series of words and their humorous definitions were presented either auditorily or visually to all participants. Recall, recognition, and source memory were tested at 30 min and 24 h delay, along with “remember/know” judgments for recognized items. The MP, RDF, temporal and parietal groups were impaired on subjectively reported recollection; their intact recognition performance was supported by familiarity. None of the groups were impaired on cued recall, recognition familiarity or source memory. These findings suggest that the MP and RDF regions, along with parietal and temporal regions, are necessary for subjectively-reported recollection, while the LDF and right frontal ventral regions, as those affected in the RTF group, are not.

Achieving sufficient plasmid delivery is a key unresolved problem in postischemic myocardium for the latest clinical trials whose main objective is to rapidly upregulate potent regenerative mechanisms within a tight therapeutic window (i.e., within 48 hr). The well-documented impediments for efficient plasmid trafficking and subsequent transduction include anatomical-scale, cardiac disease-related comorbidities, and localized immune responses following the acute myocardial infarction event. An appreciation of delivery challenges originated from the first-in-human cardiac surgery gene therapy trial,1 which featured direct intramuscular (IM) injection of adenovirus encoding the vascular endothelial growth factor. Long-term follow-up of this phase I trial yielded no clear evidence of efficacy, likely because of a limited, transient expression profile—but it provided an impetus for improvements in vector, target, and clinical delivery strategies. Since then, numerous regenerative trials such as the stromal cell-derived growth factor 1 have generated significant interest. These strategies seek to repair myocardium through the chemoattraction of endogenous stem cell lineages shortly after myocardial infarction.2 In contrast to viral vector-mediated transgenes, these approaches offer rapid onset gene overexpression through high-dose, yet low-risk vector plasmids. The IM route is attractive for this emerging therapeutic class because of its clinical feasibility through both surgical (Fig. 1A) and catheter-based delivery techniques, but is limited by transfer inefficiency. Despite technical modifications of needle-based delivery in myocardium, these problems persist: poor retention, inconsistent performance per site, and the highly focal resultant delivery profiles. This results in the demand for more injections, thus increasing the risk for additional injury in already-compromised myocardium.3 In addition, recent trial results suggest that the predominant intracoronary infusion route may be even less efficient in patients with significant coronary disease, thus renewing interest in IM delivery. Therefore, a shift toward improvement in the delivery profile featuring clinically applicable drug combination approaches has been explored as a means to increase efficiency per injection site.4

Mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) is common but accurate diagnosis and defining criteria for mild TBI and its clinical consequences have been problematic. Mild TBI causes transient neurophysiologic brain dysfunction, sometimes with structural axonal and neuronal damage. Biomarkers, such as newer imaging technologies and protein markers, are promising indicators of brain injury but are not ready for clinical use. Diagnosis relies on clinical criteria regarding depth and duration of impaired consciousness and amnesia. These criteria are particularly difficult to confirm at the least severe end of the mild TBI continuum, especially when relying on subjective, retrospective accounts. The postconcussive syndrome is a controversial concept because of varying criteria, inconsistent symptom clusters and the evidence that similar symptom profiles occur with other disorders, and even in a proportion of healthy individuals. The clinical consequences of mild TBI can be conceptualized as two multidimensional disorders: (1) a constellation of acute symptoms that might be termed early phase post-traumatic disorder (e.g., headache, dizziness, imbalance, fatigue, sleep disruption, impaired cognition), that typically resolve in days to weeks and are largely related to brain trauma and concomitant injuries; (2) a later set of symptoms, a late phase post-traumatic disorder, evolving out of the early phase in a minority of patients, with a more prolonged (months to years), sometimes worsening set of somatic, emotional, and cognitive symptoms. The later phase disorder is highly influenced by a variety of psychosocial factors and has little specificity for brain injury, although a history of multiple concussions seems to increase the risk of more severe and longer duration symptoms. Effective early phase management may prevent or limit the later phase disorder and should include education about symptoms and expectations for recovery, as well as recommendations for activity modifications. Later phase treatment should be informed by thoughtful differential diagnosis and the multiplicity of premorbid and comorbid conditions that may influence symptoms. Treatment should incorporate a hierarchical, sequential approach to symptom management, prioritizing problems with significant functional impact and effective, available interventions (e.g., headache, depression, anxiety, insomnia, vertigo).

Mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) is common but accurate diagnosis and defining criteria for mild TBI and its clinical consequences have been problematic. Mild TBI causes transient neurophysiologic brain dysfunction, sometimes with structural axonal and neuronal damage. Biomarkers, such as newer imaging technologies and protein markers, are promising indicators of brain injury but are not ready for clinical use. Diagnosis relies on clinical criteria regarding depth and duration of impaired consciousness and amnesia. These criteria are particularly difficult to confirm at the least severe end of the mild TBI continuum, especially when relying on subjective, retrospective accounts. The postconcussive syndrome is a controversial concept because of varying criteria, inconsistent symptom clusters and the evidence that similar symptom profiles occur with other disorders, and even in a proportion of healthy individuals. The clinical consequences of mild TBI can be conceptualized as two multidimensional disorders: (1) a constellation of acute symptoms that might be termed early phase post-traumatic disorder (e.g., headache, dizziness, imbalance, fatigue, sleep disruption, impaired cognition), that typically resolve in days to weeks and are largely related to brain trauma and concomitant injuries; (2) a later set of symptoms, a late phase post-traumatic disorder, evolving out of the early phase in a minority of patients, with a more prolonged (months to years), sometimes worsening set of somatic, emotional, and cognitive symptoms. The later phase disorder is highly influenced by a variety of psychosocial factors and has little specificity for brain injury, although a history of multiple concussions seems to increase the risk of more severe and longer duration symptoms. Effective early phase management may prevent or limit the later phase disorder and should include education about symptoms and expectations for recovery, as well as recommendations for activity modifications. Later phase treatment should be informed by thoughtful differential diagnosis and the multiplicity of premorbid and comorbid conditions that may influence symptoms. Treatment should incorporate a hierarchical, sequential approach to symptom management, prioritizing problems with significant functional impact and effective, available interventions (e.g., headache, depression, anxiety, insomnia, vertigo).