Predators and Human-Wildlife Conflict

Reduction of humanwildlife conflicts is key for long term persistence in the wild. Therefore, considerable research effort is directed towards reducing livestock depredations and damage caused by coyotes, bears, and wolves, resolving conflicts in urban areas, and mitigating impacts of predators on wildlife populations.

At the Predator Research Field Station (a USDA National Wildlife Research Center) both

scientists and students can study the ecology and behavior of predators in an effort to identify new management techniques and strategies, especially nonlethal tools.

Note to Potential Sponsors or Collaborators:

This online catalog of researchers was produced to help you target specific researchers for a project or task. If the subject area that interests you is not represented here, please contact me using the contact information below. I can either assist you directly or I can produce a catalog that would fit your particular needs.

Holly Strand Proposal Development Specialist WILD/Biology/Ecology Center 5230 Old Main Hill, NR 226 Utah State University Logan, UT 84322-5230 office: (435) 797-9246 email: holly.strand@usu.edu http://www.cnr.usu.edu/htm/propdev

Different picture for Eric

Eric Gese , Wildland Resources Eric has been conducting field research on wild carnivores since 1983 with a major focus on the behavior, ecology, and management of coyotes, wolves, and foxes in North America, plus research on jaguars and pumas in Brazil. His research interests also include wildlife damage management, predator-prey relationships, and behavioral ecology of carnivores. He is a Research Wildlife Biologist with the Predator Ecology and Behavioral Applications Field Station (see below) and has an appointment as Research Associate Professor in the Department of Wildland Resources at Utah State University. Area expertise: North America, Brazil Foreign Languages: Research Tools: Selected publications Gese, E. M. (2004) Coyotes in Yellowstone National Park: the influence of dominance on foraging, territoriality, and fitness. Pages 267-279 in Biology and Conservation of Wild Canids. Edited by D. W. Macdonald and C. Sillero-Zubiri. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Kamler, J. F., W. B. Ballard, E. M. Gese, R. L. Harrison, S. M. Karki, and K. Mote. (2004) Adult male emigration and a female-based social organisation in swift foxes, Vulpes velox. Animal Behaviour (in press).

Gese, E. M., and M. Bekoff. (2004) Coyote (Canis latrans). In Canids: Foxes, Wolves, Jackals, and Dogs.

Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan, 2nd edition. Edited by C. Sillero-Zubiri, M. Hoffmann, and D. W. Macdonald. IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group, Gland, Switzerland, and Cambridge, UK. (in press).

Gese, E. M. (2004) Survey and census techniques for canids. In Canids: Foxes, Wolves, Jackals, and Dogs.

Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan, 2nd edition. Edited by C. Sillero-Zubiri, M. Hoffmann, and D. W. Macdonald. IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group, Gland, Switzerland, and Cambridge, UK. (in press).

Vercauteren, K. C., R. A. Dolbeer, and E. M. Gese. (2004) Identification and control of wildlife damage. In Techniques for Wildlife Investigations and Management, 6th edition. Edited by C. Braun. The Wildlife Society, Bethesda, Maryland (in press)

Daniel MacNulty, Wildland Resources Research emphases include behavior of predator-prey interactions, ecoevolutionary dynamics, nonconsumptive predator effects, antipredator behavior, life history theory, cooperative behavior, territorial aggression, human-carnivore conflict, wolf-ungulate dynamics.

Area expertise: U.S., Canada Foreign Languages: Research Tools: To find out whether larger body size in fact leads to better predator performance, ecologist Dan MacNulty of Utah State University studied whether wolves' size-related ability to handle prey might come at the expense of successfully pursuing that prey.

Some Recent Publications Coulson, T., D.R. MacNulty, D.R. Stahler, B. vonHoldt, R.K. Wayne, and D.W. Smith (in press) Modeling effects of environmental change on wolf population dynamics, trait evolution and life history. Science MacNulty, D.R. D.W. Smith, L.D. Mech, J.A. Vucetich, and C. Packer (in press) Nonlinear effects of group size on the success of wolves hunting elk. Behavioral Ecology MacNulty, D.R., D.W. Smith, J.A. Vucetich, L.D. Mech, D.R. Stahler, and C. Packer (2009) Predatory senescence in aging wolves. Ecology Letters 12:1347-1356.

MacNulty, D.R., D.W. Smith, L.D. Mech, & L.E. Eberly (2009) Body size and predatory performance in wolves: is bigger better? Journal of Animal Ecology 78:532-539.

MacNulty, D.R., G.E. Plumb, and D.W. Smith (2008) Validation of a new video and telemetry system for remotely monitoring wildlife. Journal of Wildlife Management 72:1834-1844.

Julie Young, Wildland Resources Julie’s research focuses on behavior, ecology, and management of carnivores. The research utilizes wild and captive carnivore populations to understand and reduce human-wildlife conflict. Other topics: Non-invasive genetic sampling for population estimates; influence of intraguild competition on coyote foraging behavior; predator release effects on small mammal abundance, diversity, and foraging behavior. Julie is a Supervisory Research Wildlife Biologist with the Predator Research Field Station for the National Wildlife Research Center (USDA-WS) Area expertise: N. America Mongolia, S Africa Foreign Languages: Research Tools: Some Recent Publications Ausband, D.E., J.K. Young, B. Fannin, M.S. Mitchell, J.L. Stenglein, J.A. Shivik. In review. Hair of the dog: obtaining samples from coyotes and wolves noninvasively. Journal of Wildlife Management.

Young, J.K., K.A. Olson, R.P. Reading, S. Amgalanbaatar, J. Berger. In press. Is wildlife going to the dogs? The impact of feral and free-roaming dogs on wildlife populations. BioScience.

Young, J.K., K.M. Murray, S. Strindberg, B. Buuveibaatar, and J. Berger. 2009. Population estimates of Mongolian saiga: implications for effective monitoring and population recovery. Oryx 44: 285-292.

Young, J.K., M. González-Suárez, L.R. Gerber. 2008. Determinants of agonistic interactions in California sea lions. Behaviour 145: 1797-1810.

Young, J.K., S. Glasscock, and J.A. Shivik. 2008. The influence of food abundance and distribution on coyote space use and diet. Journal of Mammalogy 89: 10941104.

Berger, J., J.K. Young, K. Berger. 2008. Protecting migration corridors: challenges and optimism for Mongolian saiga. PLoS Biology 6: e165. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060165. (invited article)