EVALUATING THE THRESHOLD DENSITY HYPOTHESIS FOR MOOSE (ALCES ALCES), WHITE-TAILED DEER (ODOCOILEUS VIRGINIANUS), AND PARELAPHOSTRONGYLUS TENUIS.

Despite the importance of the Parelaphostrongylus tenuis infection for moose (Alces alces) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) management, only one peer-reviewed study has evaluated the relationship between deer and moose densities and the potential for parasite-mediated competition between the species. Using polynomial-regression modeling, that study identified a deer-density threshold above which moose populations declined; however, the nature of the data and apparent outliers suggests the approach used to develop that threshold may not have been appropriate. We used the data from the original study to test whether alternative models, including linear models and negative binomial models would be less sensitive to outliers and could better explain that relationship.

Population reduction by hunting helps control human-wildlife conflicts for a species that is a conservation success story.

Among the world's large Carnivores, American black bears (Ursus americanus) are the foremost conservation success story. Populations have been expanding across North America because the species is adaptable and tolerant of living near people, and because management agencies in the U.S.

Spatio-temporal variation in prevalence and intensity of trematodes responsible for waterfowl die-offs in faucet snail-infested waterbodies of Minnesota, USA.

Several non-native trematodes hosted by the invasive Eurasian faucet snail, , have been causing die-offs of waterfowl in the Midwestern United States and Canada for several decades. Because of the potential implications of these die-offs on waterfowl in non-native settings, it is necessary to better understand the trematodes that cause the die-offs. Here, we studied the spatio-temporal dynamics of two trematodes, and spp.

Modelling avian biodiversity using raw, unclassified satellite imagery.

Applications of remote sensing for biodiversity conservation typically rely on image classifications that do not capture variability within coarse land cover classes. Here, we compare two measures derived from unclassified remotely sensed data, a measure of habitat heterogeneity and a measure of habitat composition, for explaining bird species richness and the spatial distribution of 10 species in a semi-arid landscape of New Mexico. We surveyed bird abundance from 1996 to 1998 at 42 plots located in the McGregor Range of Fort Bliss Army Reserve.

An evaluation of prior influence on the predictive ability of Bayesian model averaging.

Model averaging is gaining popularity among ecologists for making inference and predictions. Methods for combining models include Bayesian model averaging (BMA) and Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC) model averaging. BMA can be implemented with different prior model weights, including the Kullback-Leibler prior associated with AIC model averaging, but it is unclear how the prior model weight affects model results in a predictive context.

Modeling habitat suitability for Greater Rheas based on satellite image texture.

Many wild species are affected by human activities occurring at broad spatial scales. For instance, in South America, habitat loss threatens Greater Rhea (Rhea americana) populations, making it important to model and map their habitat to better target conservation efforts. Spatially explicit habitat modeling is a powerful approach to understand and predict species occurrence and abundance.