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opencc-zeroDec 2018View details →

Data from: Temporal road closures improve habitat quality for wildlife

Increasing levels of human activity threaten wildlife populations through direct mortality, habitat degradation, and habitat fragmentation. Area closures can improve habitat quality for wildlife, but may be difficult to achieve where tourism or other economic drivers are a priority. Temporal closures that limit human use during specific times of day have potential to increase habitat quality for wildlife, while continuing to provide opportunities for human use. However, the effectiveness of daily temporal closures has not been tested. We assessed how implementation of a temporal road closure affected wildlife movements in Banff National Park. Parks Canada closed a popular 17 km stretch of road between 2000 and 0800 hours to improve habitat quality for wildlife. We assessed the effectiveness of the closure on nine mammal species using three sets of data: remote cameras, road surveys, and grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) GPS data. In all three analyses, wildlife detection rates on the road doubled during the closure while remaining unchanged in reference areas. Our strong and consistent results suggest temporal closures are an important conservation tool that can increase habitat quality for wildlife while minimizing effects on people.

opencc-zeroDec 2014View details →

Data from: Wolves adapt territory size, not pack size to local habitat quality

1. Although local variation in territorial predator density is often correlated with habitat quality, the causal mechanism underlying this frequently observed association is poorly understood and could stem from facultative adjustment in either group size or territory size. 2. To test between these alternative hypotheses, we used a novel statistical framework to construct a winter population-level utilization distribution for wolves (Canis lupus) in northern Ontario, which we then linked to a suite of environmental variables to determine factors influencing wolf space use. Next, we compared habitat quality metrics emerging from this analysis as well as an independent measure of prey abundance, with pack size and territory size to investigate which hypothesis was most supported by the data. 3. We show that wolf space use patterns were concentrated near deciduous, mixed deciduous/coniferous and disturbed forest stands favoured by moose (Alces alces), the predominant prey species in the diet of wolves in northern Ontario, and in proximity to linear corridors, including shorelines and road networks remaining from commercial forestry activities. 4. We then demonstrate that landscape metrics of wolf habitat quality – projected wolf use, probability of moose occupancy and proportion of preferred land cover classes – were inversely related to territory size but unrelated to pack size. 5. These results suggest that wolves in boreal ecosystems alter territory size, but not pack size, in response to local variation in habitat quality. This could be an adaptive strategy to balance trade-offs between territorial defence costs and energetic gains due to resource acquisition. That pack size was not responsive to habitat quality suggests that variation in group size is influenced by other factors such as intraspecific competition between wolf packs.

opencc-by-nc-nd-4.0Mar 2024View details →

Data from: Analyzing the relative importance of habitat quantity and quality for boosting pollinator populations in agricultural landscapes

Data and code underlying Fijen et al Analyzing the relative importance of habitat quantity and quality for boosting pollinator populations in agricultural landscapes

opencc-zeroJan 2022View details →

Influence of habitat quality and resource density on breeding-season female monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) movement and space use in north-central USA agroecosystem landscapes

<ol> <li> The eastern North American monarch butterfly is at risk of quasi-extinction due, in part, to the loss of breeding habitat in agricultural landscapes of the USA Midwest. Because adult females are not patch residents, egg abundance and distribution across the landscape are a function of their perceptual range, flight directionality, and flight step lengths. Conservation actions that account for habitat use in agricultural landscapes can enhance functional connectivity.</li> <li>Field-captured females (n=114) were released in a 64-ha area containing restored prairies, grass-dominated fields, and crop fields in Floyd County, Iowa, USA, and two 1,000 m linear north-south sections of grass-dominated roadside along secondary roads (~ 35 ha) with different proximity to prairie habitat in rural Story County, Iowa. Radio-tagged or untagged monarchs were released in areas with high-density, low-density, and zero density of forage and oviposition resources, as well as on habitat edges between high and zero-density habitats. Monarchs were observed for one hour. Radio-tagged individuals that flew beyond visual detection were relocated using handheld radio telemetry.</li> <li>Monarchs moved within and between habitat classes and typically performed up-wind search behavior. Monarchs successfully located resources, with some flying over 500 m to find high-density areas, providing evidence that the monarch's perceptual distance is > 100 m. Regardless of habitat class or field site, most step lengths were < 50 m, and turn angles were directional. Large steps (≥ 50 m) crossing habitat boundaries occurred with approximately half of the monarchs, which may indicate initiation of long-range searches for suitable habitat, consistent with their vagile behavior. Establishing habitat patches 50 m apart in agricultural landscapes would facilitate efficient movement.</li> <li>This study provides an extensive dataset of directly observed breeding-season monarch butterflies to assess the utilization of agricultural landscapes. Documentation of step lengths > 50 m in complex, agricultural landscapes would not have been possible without the aid of radio telemetry. Results provide improved estimates of perceptual range and flight patterns within and between habitat patches that support models that simulate natural population dynamics to enable conservation planning at a landscape scale.</li> </ol>

opennotspecifiedNov 2017View details →

Distribution. Mt Cameroon, W Cameroon, and Bioko I, Equatorial Guinea. Descriptive notes. Head-body 100- 130 mm, tail 110-147 mm, ear 16-20 mm, hindfoot 21-25 mm; weight 27-62 g. Fur of the Cameroon Soft-furred Mouse is dark rufous-brown to blackish brown above and pale to dark gray below. Tail is very long (c.112% of head-body length) and dark. Hindfeet and forefeet are dark brown. Females have three pairs of nipples. Habitat. Montane forest and alpine grassland at elevations above 1000 m. Food and Feeding. No information. Breeding. Gestation lasts 26-30 days. Litters have 2-6 young. Activity patterns. The Cameroon Soft-furred Mouse is nocturnal and terrestrial. Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information. Status and Conservation. Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List. The Cameroon Soft-furred Mouse occurs in two disjunct areas occupying only ¢.2900 km? and the extent and quality of its forest habitat continue to decline. Bibliography. Eisentraut (1970, 1973), Happold (2013a), Missoup et al. (2012), Monadjem etal. (2015). in Muridae

Distribution. Mt Cameroon, W Cameroon, and Bioko I, Equatorial Guinea. Descriptive notes. Head-body 100- 130 mm, tail 110-147 mm, ear 16-20 mm, hindfoot 21-25 mm; weight 27-62 g. Fur of the Cameroon Soft-furred Mouse is dark rufous-brown to blackish brown above and pale to dark gray below. Tail is very long (c.112% of head-body length) and dark. Hindfeet and forefeet are dark brown. Females have three pairs of nipples. Habitat. Montane forest and alpine grassland at elevations above 1000 m. Food and Feeding. No information. Breeding. Gestation lasts 26-30 days. Litters have 2-6 young. Activity patterns. The Cameroon Soft-furred Mouse is nocturnal and terrestrial. Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information. Status and Conservation. Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List. The Cameroon Soft-furred Mouse occurs in two disjunct areas occupying only ¢.2900 km? and the extent and quality of its forest habitat continue to decline. Bibliography. Eisentraut (1970, 1973), Happold (2013a), Missoup et al. (2012), Monadjem etal. (2015).

opencc-by-sa-4.0Nov 2017View details →

Lakefront property owners' willingness to accept easements for conservation of water quality and habitat survey

This dataset describes properties and property owners on inland lakes in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, USA. Further information can be found at: Nohner, J. K., F. Lupi, and W. W. Taylor. In review. Lakefront property owners’ willingness to accept easements for conservation of water quality and habitat. Water Resources Research.

FIG. 7 in Neutrophil: Lymphocyte Ratios as a Measure of Chronic Stress in Populations of the Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) across a Habitat Quality Gradient

FIG. 7. Hellbender neutrophil: lymphocyte ratio across 2017 and 2018 at Little River (LR; n ¼ 8), Tumbling Creek (TC; n ¼ 12), Hiwassee River (HR; n ¼ 11), Elk River (ER; n ¼ 3), North Fork Triplett Creek (NFTC; n ¼ 4), Little Buffalo River (LBR; n ¼ 4), Doe River (DR; n ¼ 1), and South Fork New River (SFNR; n ¼ 5). Letters indicate among-site differences, where sites that are significantly different have different letters, and error bars represent two standard deviations from the mean.

FIG. 5 in Neutrophil: Lymphocyte Ratios as a Measure of Chronic Stress in Populations of the Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) across a Habitat Quality Gradient

FIG. 5. Scatterplot showing regression between Hellbender neutrophil: lymphocyte ratio and water pH observed in 2018.

FIG. 4 in Neutrophil: Lymphocyte Ratios as a Measure of Chronic Stress in Populations of the Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) across a Habitat Quality Gradient

FIG. 4. Scatterplots showing multiple linear regression comparing Hellbender neutrophil: lymphocyte ratio and water characteristics for 2018. The first row of graphs depicts neutrophil: lymphocyte ratio on the y-axis and corresponding environmental variables on the x-axis; all other rows depict the relationship among water quality parameters assessed. R2 values are provided for each graph, the red line represents the overall trend line, and significant variables are indicated with an asterisk.

FIG. 3 in Neutrophil: Lymphocyte Ratios as a Measure of Chronic Stress in Populations of the Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) across a Habitat Quality Gradient

FIG. 3. Scatterplots showing regressions between Hellbender neutrophil: lymphocyte ratios and conductivity (A), pH (B), and dissolved oxygen (C), in 2017.

FIG. 1 in Neutrophil: Lymphocyte Ratios as a Measure of Chronic Stress in Populations of the Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) across a Habitat Quality Gradient

FIG. 1. Map of eight sites surveyed between 2017 and 2018 for Hellbenders, including North Fork Triplett Creek (NFTC) in Kentucky, Little Buffalo River (LBR), Hiwassee River (HR), Little River (LR), Doe River (DR), Tumbling Creek (TC), and Elk River (ER) in Tennessee, and South Fork New River (SFNR) in North Carolina.