Treesearch

Physical and genetic isolation are recognized as significant threats to wildlife, especially in large carnivores inhabiting fragmented landscapes. We conducted an initial genetic assessment of pumas (Puma concolor) using 19 microsatellite loci for the emblematic puma population in the Torres del Paine UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in southernmost Chile, which exhibits some distinctive phenology that some local people speculate may be due to isolation and inbreeding depression. We extracted DNA from 385 scats collected in the field, of which 96 were identified as puma, representing 20 unique...

Predation is a fundamental process that shapes ecological communities. The impact of mountain lion (Puma concolor) predation on their prey, however, is a debated topic among wildlife managers and their primary constituents, hunters and conservationists in North America. Here we present a perspective and highlight recent literature on the direct and indirect (i.e., non-consumptive) effects of mountain lion predation on 2 of its primary prey species in western North America, mule and black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus). We assert that direct effects of mountain lion predation outweigh...

Thornton and Murray (2024; hereafter TM) sought to further our understanding of historical and future Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) habitat in the contiguous USA to guard against shifting baseline syndrome and aid conservation planning for this federally threatened species. We commend the intent of this exercise, however several issues limit the application of TM to lynx conservation, including model design and validation, extensive extrapolation, ambiguous source data, and plausibility of the results.

Fire-adapted species have evolved to exploit resources in heterogenous landscapes that presumably maximize energy acquisition and minimize energetic expenditure. However, limited empirical work exists demonstrating the explicit energetic mechanisms that drive such adaptive responses to fire across diverse landscapes.

Recent approaches to fisheries research emphasize the importance of the coproduction of knowledge in building resilient and culturally mindful fisheries management frameworks. Despite widespread recognition of the need for Indigenous knowledge and historical reference points as baseline data, archaeological data are rarely included in conservation biology research designs. Here we propose a novel multiproxy method to learn from former fisheries stewards by generating archaeological data on past salmonid population parameters. We used a newly developed, high throughput qPCR (HT-qPCR) chip,...

Niche partitioning is critical for the stable coexistence of competing species that share limited resources. Yet, niches are dynamic, especially in the face of rapid environmental change. Carnivores exhibit particularly strong forms of competition and are differentially affected by change. Fishers (Pekania pennanti) and martens (Martes caurina) are two species of carnivores that overlap in space, time, and resources. In the Sierra Nevada of California, these two species share habitats that are undergoing a sudden restructuring due to drought and the subsequent mortality of more than half...

Wildfires, which are increasing in frequency and severity with climate change, reduce soil microbial biomass and alter microbial community composition and function. The soil microbiome plays a vital role in carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling, but its complexity makes it challenging to predict post-wildfire soil microbial dynamics and resulting impacts on ecosystem biogeochemistry. The application of biogeochemically relevant conceptual trait-based frameworks to the soil microbiome can distill this complexity-enabling enhanced predictability of soil microbiome recovery following wildfire...

Global wildfire activity has increased since the 1970s and is projected to intensify throughout the 21st century. Wildfires change the composition and biodegradability of soil organic matter (SOM) which contains nutrients that fuel microbial metabolism. Though persistent forms of SOM often increase postfire, the response of more biodegradable SOM remains unclear. Here we simulated severe wildfires through a controlled “pyrocosm” approach to identify biodegradable sources of SOM and characterize the soil metabolome immediately postfire. Using microbial amplicon (16S/ITS) sequencing and gas...

It is well documented that human-mediated dispersal of nonnative species plays a large role in the success of invasion (Liebhold and Tobin 2008, Annu. Rev. Entomol. 53: 387-408; McClure 1990, Environ. Entomol. 19(1): 36-43; Suarez et al. 2001, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 98(3): 1095-1100). Nonnative invasive insects, particularly ants, are found across many terrestrial ecosystems worldwide (Bradshaw et al. 2016, Nat. Commun. 7: 12986). Aspects of their biology, colony and nest structure, diet, habitat preferences, and the ease of dispersal make invasive ants challenging pests (Holway...

In North America, white-nose syndrome (WNS) has caused precipitous declines in hibernating bat populations, raising the question of whether the rapid loss of arthropodivorous bats may affect the abundance of their prey. During the summers of 2015–2018 (1 year after the arrival of WNS in Wisconsin, USA), we performed intensive arthropod black-light trapping, ultrasonic acoustic monitoring, and emergence counts at 10 little brown (Myotis lucifugus) and big brown (Eptesicus fuscus) bat maternity roosts with paired control sites. For little brown bats, which are severely affected by WNS, roost...