A flexible approach for assessing functional landscape connectivity, with application to greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus).

Connectivity of animal populations is an increasingly prominent concern in fragmented landscapes, yet existing methodological and conceptual approaches implicitly assume the presence of, or need for, discrete corridors. We tested this assumption by developing a flexible conceptual approach that does not assume, but allows for, the presence of discrete movement corridors. We quantified functional connectivity habitat for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) across a large landscape in central western North America.

Response of elk to habitat modification near natural gas development.

Elk (Cervus elaphus) are known to shift habitat use in response to environmental modifications, including those associated with various forms of energy development. The specific behavioral responses underlying these trends, however, have not been effectively studied. To investigate such effects, we examined elk response to habitat alteration near natural gas wells in Las Animas County, Colorado, USA in 2008-2010.

Identifying and prioritizing greater sage-grouse nesting and brood-rearing habitat for conservation in human-modified landscapes.

Background: Balancing animal conservation and human use of the landscape is an ongoing scientific and practical challenge throughout the world. We investigated reproductive success in female greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) relative to seasonal patterns of resource selection, with the larger goal of developing a spatially-explicit framework for managing human activity and sage-grouse conservation at the landscape level.

Methodology/principal Findings: We integrated field-observation, Global Positioning Systems telemetry, and statistical modeling to quantify the spatial pattern of occurrence and risk during nesting and brood-rearing.

Prioritizing conservation of ungulate calving resources in multiple-use landscapes.

Background: Conserving animal populations in places where human activity is increasing is an ongoing challenge in many parts of the world. We investigated how human activity interacted with maternal status and individual variation in behavior to affect reliability of spatially-explicit models intended to guide conservation of critical ungulate calving resources. We studied Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus) that occupy a region where 2900 natural gas wells have been drilled.

Chemical restraint of fishers (Martes pennanti) with ketamine and medetomidine-ketamine.

We chemically restrained fishers (Martes pennanti) as part of a captive-management protocol designed to facilitate veterinary evaluation and treatment, and conditioning on a high-calorie diet before reintroduction in Pennsylvania. We compared the safety and efficacy of ketamine (KET) and medetomidine-ketamine (MED-KET) by monitoring immobilization intervals (induction time, down time, alert time, and recovery time) and physiologic responses (pulse rate, respiration rate, rectal temperature, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and mean arterial pressure) during restraint. We administered MED-KET at 0.