Management Application Of Statistical Population Reconstruction To Wild Game Populations

Historically, management agencies in the United States have monitored most game populations through an ad hoc approach which combines indices, harvest data, hunter surveyed data, and occasional demographic evaluation. However, changing management priorities and increased scrutiny require more informative and defensible means of monitoring harvested populations. Statistical population reconstruction (SPR) is a flexible modeling system which simultaneously analyzes age-at-harvest data, hunter effort data and any additional demographic data which are available, producing estimates of abundance, natural survival and harvest rate, as well as their associated variances. An SPR based monitoring framework provides comprehensive analysis of commonly collected data and represents a statistically rigorous and defensible alternative to the currently popular approaches. However, applications of SPR have previously been limited to small scale, highly monitored populations, primarily due to a lack of formal evaluation of data requirements and guidance for management application. In this dissertation I provide the guidance necessary for broad scale application of SPR modeling to monitor harvested species. I rigorously evaluate the relative utility of auxiliary data sources as well as minimum harvest and hunter effort data requirements for SPR models, providing necessary guidance for resource managers seeking to apply SPR. I present a historic population reconstruction based on SPR parameter estimates as an illustrative example of the management application potential of SPR output. I comprehensively evaluate models to project reconstructed abundance into the future in order to further increase the management utility of statistical population reconstruction. I provide a detailed explanation of model structure and assumptions, allowing resource managers to critically evaluate SPR models. Finally, I offer guidance on the customization of SPR models necessary to adequately model the harvest regimes and data collection methodologies which are unique to each harvested population, thus increasing the number of populations which can be modeled. This dissertation will facilitate the broad scale management application of SPR, thus increasing the rigor and efficiency with which harvested game populations are monitored.

This comprehensive book, rich with applications, offers a quantitative framework for the analysis of the various capture-recapture models for open animal populations, while also addressing associated computational methods. The state of our wildlife populations provides a litmus test for the state of our environment, especially in light of global warming and the increasing pollution of our land, seas, and air. In addition to monitoring our food resources such as fisheries, we need to protect endangered species from the effects of human activities (e.g. rhinos, whales, or encroachments on the habitat of orangutans). Pests must be be controlled, whether insects or viruses, and we need to cope with growing feral populations such as opossums, rabbits, and pigs. Accordingly, we need to obtain information about a given population’s dynamics, concerning e.g. mortality, birth, growth, breeding, sex, and migration, and determine whether the respective population is increasing , static, or declining. There are many methods for obtaining population information, but the most useful (and most work-intensive) is generically known as “capture-recapture,” where we mark or tag a representative sample of individuals from the population and follow that sample over time using recaptures, resightings, or dead recoveries. Marks can be natural, such as stripes, fin profiles, and even DNA; or artificial, such as spots on insects. Attached tags can, for example, be simple bands or streamers, or more sophisticated variants such as radio and sonic transmitters. To estimate population parameters, sophisticated and complex mathematical models have been devised on the basis of recapture information and computer packages. This book addresses the analysis of such models. It is primarily intended for ecologists and wildlife managers who wish to apply the methods to the types of problems discussed above, though it will also benefit researchers and graduate students in ecology. Familiarity with basic statistical concepts is essential.

An illuminating look at the challenges and triumphs of state wildlife professionals at the forefront of the fight to protect the American wilderness. The adage "think globally but act locally" defines the work of American wildlife professionals. Their contributions, from remote outposts to major cities, guard the natural world of the entire country. In State Wildlife Management and Conservation, Thomas J. Ryder brings together wildlife leaders from practical, policy, and academic backgrounds to tell the story of state wildlife agencies, chronicling their efforts to restore and protect our nation's natural resources. Reflecting the core principle of the profession—that the public, not any individual, owns wildlife—the book explains how this tenet became law, laying the groundwork for the history of state-level wildlife management that follows. The authors cover key issues, including the limits of private land ownership, the funding of wildlife regulation, the nuances of humanwildlife conflict, the role of law enforcement, disease control efforts, and the challenges involved in balancing the perspectives of hunters, nonhunters, and animal rights advocates. Detailed essays also discuss state management techniques for a wide range of wildlife, including big game and migratory birds. State Wildlife Management and Conservation is a comprehensive, nationwide account of state management efforts. It will aid professors training the next generation of wildlife professionals, students hoping to enter the profession, and anyone working with wildlife to develop a more sophisticated understanding of what it means to be a state wildlife biologist. Contributors: M. Carol Bambery, Gordon R. Batcheller, Chad J. Bishop, Vernon C. Bleich, Dale Caveny, David K. Dahlgren, Daniel J. Decker, Karie L. Decker, Thomas A. Decker, Billy Dukes, John D. Erb, John R. Fischer, Ann B. Forstchen, Jonathan W. Gassett, Parks Gilbert, Colin M. Gillin, Tim L. Hiller, Daniel Hirchert, Michael W. Hubbard, Mark Humpert, Scott Hygnstrom, Robert P. Lanka, Richard E. McCabe, Jennifer Mock-Schaeffer, Brian Nesvik, Shaun L. Oldenburger, John F. Organ, Ronald J. Regan, Michael A. Schroeder, William F. Siemer, Christian Smith, Randy Stark, Gary J. Taylor, J. Scott Taylor, Daniel J. Thompson, Kurt VerCauteren, Mark P. Vrtiska, H. Bryant White, Steven A. Williams

Wildlife Demography compiles the multitude of available estimation techniques based on sex and age data, and presents these varying techniques in one organized, unified volume. Designed to guide researchers to the most appropriate estimator based upon their particular data set and the desired level of study precision, this book provides quantitative consideration, statistical models, estimator variance, assumptions and examples of use. The authors focus on estimation techniques using sex and age ratios because this data is relatively easy to collect and commonly used by wildlife management. Applicable to a wide array of wildlife species, including game and non-game birds and mammals Features more than 100 annotated examples illustrating application of statistical methods Includes more than 640 references of the analysis of nontagging data and the factors that may influence interpretation Derives historical and ad hoc demographic methods in a modern statistical framework

Comprehensive and multidisciplinary coverage of fundamental and advanced statistical tools and issues relevant to long-term ecological monitoring.

Age-at-harvest data are routinely collected as part of game-management programs. These data represent a wealth of information regarding demographic processes and trends in wildlife abundance. Use of wildlife age-at-harvest data has blossomed only relatively recently in the literature despite its frequent collection by game management agencies. Statistical models exist for such data, but are limited in their facility, owing to restrictive assumptions regarding constancy of demographic processes, unsuitability of models for the type of data collected, or computing difficulty in fitting models. Current models cannot accommodate the presence of process error (natural variation in demographic processes), or separate this error from sampling error (measurement error that is present whenever the full population cannot be sampled). I develop and examine a set of statistical models for demographic processes using primarily age-at-harvest data that can be used to estimate survival probability, harvest vulnerability, and recruitment, as well as process error associated with these entities. I conduct thorough simulation studies of these models, and assess them with respect to their ability to accurately and precisely reconstruct abundance. Studies are conducted for fully-aged big game harvest, pooled age-class big-game harvest, and small-game harvest. Results indicate that a mixed-effects model which incorporates random effects in the processes of natural mortality and harvest probability, as well as a likelihood conditional on total cohort capture along with a Horvitz-Thompson abundance estimator outperform other models, and are recommended for use.

Since its original publication in 1960, The Wildlife Techniques Manual has remained the cornerstone text for the professional wildlife biologist. Now fully revised and updated, this seventh edition promises to be the most comprehensive resource on wildlife biology, conservation, and management for years to come. Superbly edited by Nova J. Silvy, the thirty-seven authoritative chapters included in this work provide a full synthesis of methods used in the field and laboratory. Chapter authors, all leading wildlife professionals, explain and critique traditional and new methodologies and offer thorough discussions of a wide range of relevant topics, including: • experimental design • wildlife health and disease • capture techniques • population estimation • telemetry • vegetation analysis • conservation genetics • wildlife damage management • urban wildlife management • habitat conservation planning A standard text in a variety of courses, the Techniques Manual, as it is commonly called, covers every aspect of modern wildlife management and provides practical information for applying the hundreds of methods described in its pages. To effectively incorporate the explosion of new information in the wildlife profession, this latest edition is logically organized into a two-volume set: Volume 1 is devoted to research techniques and Volume 2 focuses on management methodologies. The Wildlife Techniques Manual is a resource that professionals and students in wildlife biology, conservation, and management simply cannot do without. Published in association with The Wildlife Society

International journal for the application of formal methods to history.

"Here's everything one needs to know about sage-grouse, but it's much more than that. From the probing analyses of sage-grouse biology, one gains a broader understanding the ecology and conservation imperatives of sagebrush habitats throughout the West."—John A. Wiens, Chief Conservation Science Officer, PRBO Conservation Science "The threats facing Sage-grouse and the sagebrush habitats of the West are as vast as the landscape itself. Anyone’s foray into confronting this monumental conservation challenge should begin in the pages of this book.”-Ben Deeble, Sagebrush-Steppe Project Leader