Intrinsic and environmental drivers of pairwise cohesion in wild Canis social groups.

Animals within social groups respond to costs and benefits of sociality by adjusting the proportion of time they spend in close proximity to other individuals in the group (cohesion). Variation in cohesion between individuals, in turn, shapes important group-level processes such as subgroup formation and fission-fusion dynamics. Although critical to animal sociality, a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing cohesion remains a gap in our knowledge of cooperative behavior in animals.

Effectiveness of population-based recovery actions for threatened southern mountain caribou.

Habitat loss is affecting many species, including the southern mountain caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) population in western North America. Over the last half century, this threatened caribou population's range and abundance have dramatically contracted. An integrated population model was used to analyze 51 years (1973-2023) of demographic data from 40 southern mountain caribou subpopulations to assess the effectiveness of population-based recovery actions at increasing population growth.

Saving endangered species using adaptive management.

Adaptive management is a powerful means of learning about complex ecosystems, but is rarely used for recovering endangered species. Here, we demonstrate how it can benefit woodland caribou, which became the first large mammal extirpated from the contiguous United States in recent history. The continental scale of forest alteration and extended time needed for forest recovery means that relying only on habitat protection and restoration will likely fail.

Prevalence of antibodies to canine parvovirus and distemper virus in wolves in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

Wild carnivores are often exposed to diseases via contact with peridomestic host species that travel through the wildland-urban interfaces. To determine the antibody prevalences and relationships to human activity for two common canid pathogens, we sampled 99 wolves (Canis lupus) from 2000 to 2008 for antibodies to canine parvovirus (CPV) and canine distemper virus (CDV) in Banff and Jasper National Parks and surrounding areas of the Canadian Rockies. This population was the source for wolves reintroduced into the Northern Rockies of the US.

Survival in the Rockies of an endangered hybrid swarm from diverged caribou (Rangifer tarandus) lineages.

In North America, caribou (Rangifer tarandus) experienced diversification in separate refugia before the last glacial maximum. Geographical isolation produced the barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) with its distinctive migratory habits, and the woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou), which has sedentary behaviour and is now in danger of extinction. Herein we report on the phylogenetics, population structure, and migratory habits of caribou in the Canadian Rockies, utilizing molecular and spatial data for 223 individuals.

Grizzly bear habitat selection is scale dependent.

The purpose of our study is to show how ecologists' interpretation of habitat selection by grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) is altered by the scale of observation and also how management questions would be best addressed using predetermined scales of analysis. Using resource selection functions (RSF) we examined how variation in the spatial extent of availability affected our interpretation of habitat selection by grizzly bears inhabiting mountain and plateau landscapes. We estimated separate models for females and males using three spatial extents: within the study area, within the home range, and within predetermined movement buffers.

Film Formation and Redispersion of Waterborne Latex Coatings.

Poly(vinyl acetate-co-ethylene) latex dispersions are prepared and their films investigated with a focus on the effect of composition upon redispersion. Films of dispersions containing sufficient amounts of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) can be redispersed in water. This property is lost in the presence of surfactant, a fact which suggests a procedure to control film formation.

A new address for an aging resident.

It's tough on residents to be reclassified and transferred based on their functional status. But there are ways to help make this necessary process go smoothly.