A5103181041- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Wildlife-Road Interactions and Conservation
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Brucella: diagnosis, epidemiology, treatment
- Animal Disease Management and Epidemiology
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Animal testing and alternatives
- Rangeland and Wildlife Management
- Cryospheric studies and observations
- Religion, Ecology, and Ethics
- Zoonotic diseases and public health
- Flood Risk Assessment and Management
- Land Use and Ecosystem Services
- Environmental Philosophy and Ethics
- Animal and Plant Science Education
- Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management
- Primate Behavior and Ecology
- Prion Diseases and Protein Misfolding
- Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
- Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior
- Freshwater macroinvertebrate diversity and ecology
- Genetic diversity and population structure
- Climate Change Communication and Perception
- Rangeland Management and Livestock Ecology
- Agriculture, Land Use, Rural Development
University of British Columbia
2020-2025
Conservation Science Partners
2025
World Wildlife Fund
2018-2024
Durham University
2024
Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research
2021
Institute for Biodiversity
2021
University of Wyoming
2017-2018
United States Geological Survey
2010-2017
Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center
2017
Montana State University
2010-2015
Global policies call for connecting protected areas (PAs) to conserve the flow of animals and genes across changing landscapes, yet whether global PA networks currently support animal movement-and where connectivity conservation is most critical-remain largely unknown. In this study, we map functional world's terrestrial PAs quantify national through lens moving mammals. We find that mitigating human footprint may improve more than adding new PAs, although both strategies together maximize...
Abstract Connectivity conservation is aimed at sustaining animal movements and ecological processes important to ecosystem functioning the maintenance of biodiversity. However, connectivity plans are typically developed around a single species rarely empirically evaluated for their relevance others, thereby limiting our understanding how requirements differ across species. We used an omnidirectional application circuit theory GPS data from six evaluate multiple scales within world's largest...
Abstract Context Conservation scientists recommend maintaining and restoring ecological connectivity to sustain biodiversity in the face of land-use climate change. Alternative assessments conducted at multiple spatial scales are needed understand consequences varying assumptions for use multi-scale conservation planning. Objectives We compared mapped output from different model scenarios identify areas important across North America. asked how vary with scale regarding way which human...
Governments around the world have acknowledged that urgent action is needed to conserve and restore ecological connectivity help reverse decline of biodiversity. In this study we tested hypothesis functional for multiple species can be estimated across Canada using a single, upstream model. We developed movement cost layer with values assigned expert opinion anthropogenic land cover features natural based on their known assumed effects terrestrial, non-volant fauna. used Circuitscape conduct...
The relationship between host density and parasite transmission is central to the effectiveness of many disease management strategies. Few studies, however, have empirically estimated this particularly in large mammals. We applied hierarchical Bayesian methods a 19-year dataset over 6400 brucellosis tests adult female elk (Cervus elaphus) northwestern Wyoming. Management captures that occurred from January March were two times more likely be seropositive than hunted killed September...
Abstract Plans for expanding protected area systems (prioritizations) often aim to facilitate connectivity. To achieve this, many approaches—based on different assumptions and datasets—have been developed. However, little is known about how such approaches influence prioritizations. We examine eight that promote connectivity in Using Washington State (USA) its avifauna as a case study, we generated prioritizations aimed meet species' representation targets by (a) maximizing total area; (b)...
Abstract In many savannah regions of Africa, pronounced seasonal variability in rainfall results wildlife being restricted to floodplains and other habitats adjacent permanent surface water the dry season. During wet season, fills small‐scale, ephemeral sources that allow exploit forage resources far from water. These remain difficult quantify, however, due their small nature, as a result are rarely included quantitative studies distribution, abundance, movement. Our goal was map Bwabwata...
Abstract Landscape connectivity operates at a variety of scales, depending on the geography area in question and focal species or ecological process under consideration. Most studies, however, are typically focused single scale, which case resistance‐based modelling, is often entire landscape protected (PA) network. This large, single‐scale focus may miss areas that important for smaller scales can be documented via observed animal movements without resorting to landscape‐wide statistical...
Tracking and preventing the spillover of disease from wildlife to livestock can be difficult when rare outbreaks occur across large landscapes. In these cases, broad scale ecological studies could help identify risk factors patterns inform management reduce incidence disease. Between 2002 2014, 21 herds in Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA) were affected by brucellosis, a bacterial caused Brucella abortus, while no detected between 1990 2001. Using Bayesian analysis, we examined several...
Summary Animal group size distributions are often right‐skewed, whereby most groups small, but individuals occur in larger that may also disproportionately affect ecology and policy. In this case, examining covariates associated with upper quantiles of the distribution could facilitate better understanding management large animal groups. We studied wintering elk Wyoming, where sizes span several orders magnitude, issues disease, predation property damage affected by sizes. used quantile...
In response to global declines in biodiversity, many conservation prioritization schemes were developed guide effective protected area establishment. Protected coverage has grown dramatically since the introduction of several high-profile biodiversity schemes, but impact such on establishment not been evaluated. We used matching methods and a Before-After Control-Impact causal analysis evaluate two key schemes—Biodiversity Hotspots Last Wild—representing examples reactive proactive ends...
Landscape connectivity is considered critical for maintaining biodiversity. Many jurisdictions have identified the importance of considering in land use plans, and has recently been included as a metric international conservation agreements. Consequently, there need measures that can be applied at national scales; however, evaluating across boundaries remains challenge due to inconsistencies mapping data, differences sociopolitical systems. Canada United States America (USA) share long...
To more effectively protect biodiversity and promote sustainable development, transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs) aim to enhance wildlife flows across national borders. This is true of the world's largest terrestrial TFCA, Kavango-Zambezi (KAZA), home half Africa's savannah elephants that move five countries in a mixed-use landscape. We used GPS tracking data from >100 collared evaluate how fences between Namibia Botswana impact transboundary connectivity KAZA. For female these...
Landscape resistance is vital to connectivity modeling and frequently derived from resource selection functions (RSFs). RSFs estimate relative probability of use tend focus on understanding habitat preferences during slow, routine animal movements (e.g., foraging). Dispersal migration, however, can produce rarer, faster movements, in which case models movement speed rather than may be more realistic for identifying habitats that facilitate connectivity. To compare two approaches applied...
After a hiatus during the 1990s, outbreaks of Brucella abortus in cattle are occurring more frequently some western states United States, namely, Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. This increase is coincidentwith increasing brucellosis seroprevalence elk (Cervus elaphus), which correlated with density. Vaccines seductive solution, but their use wildlife systems remains limited by logistical, financial, scientific constraints. Cattle vaccination ongoing region. Livestock regulations, however, tend...
It is increasingly common for studies of animal ecology to use model‐based predictions environmental variables as explanatory or predictor variables, even though model prediction uncertainty typically unknown. To demonstrate the potential misleading inferences when with error are used in place direct measurements, we compared snow water equivalent (SWE) and depth predicted by Snow Data Assimilation System (SNODAS) field measurements SWE depth. We examined locations on elk ( Cervus canadensis...
Abstract Surface water in arid regions is essential to many organisms including large mammals of conservation concern. For little known about the extent, ecology and hydrology ephemeral waters, because they are challenging map given their nature small sizes. Our goal was advance surface knowledge by mapping monitoring from wet dry seasons across Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area southern Africa (300 000 km 2 ). We mapped individual waterholes for six time points each year...
Understanding how animal density is related to pathogen transmission important develop effective disease control strategies, but requires measuring at a scale relevant transmission. However, this not straightforward or well‐studied among large mammals with group sizes that range several orders of magnitude aggregation patterns vary across space and time. To address issue, we examined spatial variation in elk ( Cervus canadensis ) brucellosis 10 regions the Greater Yellowstone Area where...
The conservation of natural and cultural resources shared between countries is a significant challenge that can be addressed through the establishment transboundary areas (TBCAs). TBCAs enable to harmonize cross-border governance management, increase protected area (PA) coverage, strengthen relationships neighbouring communities. In Africa, many ecosystems species ranges span multiple countries, making crucial tool for biodiversity conservation. However, there lack research on where...
Abstract Large herbivore migrations are imperiled globally; however the factors limiting a population across its migratory range typically poorly understood. Zambia's Greater Liuwa Ecosystem (GLE) contains one of largest remaining blue wildebeest ( Connochaetes taurinus ) migrations, yet structure, vital rates, and virtually unknown. We conducted long‐term demographic study GLE from 2012 to 2019 107 collared adult females their calves, 7352 herd observations, 12 aerial surveys, concurrent...
Abstract Allocating resources to growth and reproduction requires grazers invest time in foraging, but foraging promotes dental senescence constrains expression of proactive antipredator behaviors such as vigilance. We explored the relationship between carnivore prey selection effort using incisors collected from kills coursing stalking carnivores. predicted that investing less would be killed more frequently by coursers, predators often exploit physical deficiencies. However, could expect...