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Wildlife-Habitat Relationships Active

By Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center November 14, 2017

Whether generalists or specialists, wildlife species use habitats based on their structural, compositional, and climatic characteristics. This use may vary with life stage, age, or physiological condition of the animal, as well as weather, season, food availability, need for cover or shelter, and other factors. Our research focuses on understanding the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that drive wildlife habitat use patterns and population dynamics, using amphibians as a focal vertebrate group.

Below are other science projects associated with this project.

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Idaho giant salamander as seen from above

Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Biology Team (FRESC)

Wildlife respond to changes in their environment, some of which are dramatic and others subtle. To fully understand the factors that drive changes in populations and communities, we need better information on wildlife ecology in natural and human-altered landscapes. We conduct research and provide technical assistance to address applied questions about the ecology and conservation of wildlife...
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Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
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Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Biology Team (FRESC)

Wildlife respond to changes in their environment, some of which are dramatic and others subtle. To fully understand the factors that drive changes in populations and communities, we need better information on wildlife ecology in natural and human-altered landscapes. We conduct research and provide technical assistance to address applied questions about the ecology and conservation of wildlife...
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Below are publications associated with this project.

Genomics-informed delineation of conservation units in a desert amphibian

Delineating conservation units (CUs, e.g., evolutionarily significant units, ESUs, and management units, MUs) is critical to the recovery of declining species because CUs inform both listing status and management actions. Genomic data have strengths and limitations in informing CU delineation and related management questions in natural systems. We illustrate the value of using genomic data in comb
Authors
Brenna R. Forester, Melanie Murphy, Chad Mellison, Jeffrey Petersen, David Pilliod, Rachel Van Horne, Jim Harvey, W. Chris Funk
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Transition of vegetation states positively affects harvester ants in the Great Basin, United States

Invasions by non-native plants can alter ecosystems such that new ecological states are reached, but less is known about how these transitions influence animal populations. Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) ecosystems are experiencing state changes because of fire and invasion by exotic annual grasses. Our goal was to study the effects of these state changes on the Owyhee and western harvester ants
Authors
Joseph D. Holbrook, David S. Pilliod, Robert Arkle, Janet L. Rachlow, Kerri T. Vierling, Michelle M. Wiest
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Persistence at distributional edges: Columbia spotted frog habitat in the arid Great Basin, USA

A common challenge in the conservation of broadly distributed, yet imperiled species is understanding which factors facilitate persistence at distributional edges, locations where populations are often vulnerable to extirpation due to changes in climate, land use, or distributions of other species. For Columbia spotted frogs (Rana luteiventris) in the Great Basin (USA), a genetically distinct popu
Authors
Robert S. Arkle, David S. Pilliod
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Managing habitat to slow or reverse population declines of the Columbia spotted frog in the Northern Great Basin

Evaluating the effectiveness of habitat management actions is critical to adaptive management strategies for conservation of imperiled species. We quantified the response of a Great Basin population of the Columbia spotted frog (Rana luteiventris) to multiple habitat improvement actions aimed to reduce threats and reverse population declines. We used mark-recapture data for 1,394 adult frogs that
Authors
David S. Pilliod, Richard D. Scherer
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Terrestrial movement patterns of western pond turtles (Actinemys marmorata) in central California

We used radio telemetry to track the terrestrial movements and seasonal habitat use patterns of Western Pond Turtles (Actinemys marmorata) near two ponds in the Carrizo Plain Ecological Reserve, California, USA. We captured 93 turtles in September 2005 and, of these, we tagged three males and six females(weighing > 300 g) with external transmitters. Tagged turtles traveled from 255–1,096 m over th
Authors
David S. Pilliod, Justin L. Welty, Robert Stafford
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Long-term observations of Boreal Toads at an ARMI apex site

The U.S. Geological Survey’s Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) is a national project with goals to monitor the status and trends of amphibians, conduct research on causes of declines, and provide information and support to management agencies for conservation of amphibian populations. ARMI activities are organized around extensive inventories and place-based monitoring (such as c
Authors
Paul Stephen Corn, Erin L. Muths, David S. Pilliod
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center

Landscape genetics of high mountain frog metapopulations

Explaining functional connectivity among occupied habitats is crucial for understanding metapopulation dynamics and species ecology. Landscape genetics has primarily focused on elucidating how ecological features between observations influence gene flow. Functional connectivity, however, may be the result of both these between‐site (landscape resistance) landscape characteristics and at‐site (patc
Authors
M.A. Murphy, R. Dezzani, D. S. Pilliod, A. Storfer
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Taxonomic and geographic variation in oviposition by tailed frogs (Ascaphus spp)

Tailed frogs (Ascaphus spp.) oviposit in cryptic locations in streams of the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountains. This aspect of their life history has restricted our understanding of their reproductive ecology. The recent split of A. montanus in the Rocky Mountains from A. truei was based on molecular differentiation, and comparisons of their ecology are limited. Our objectives were to provide
Authors
Nancy E. Karraker, David S. Pilliod, M. J. Adams, Evelyn L. Bull, Paul Stephen Corn, Lowell V. Diller, Marc P. Hayes, Blake R. Hossack, Garth R. Hodgson, Erin J. Hyde, Kirk Lohman, Bradford R. Norman, Lisa M. Ollivier, Christopher A. Pearl, Charles R. Peterson
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Population structure of Columbia spotted frogs (Rana luteiventris) is strongly affected by the landscape

Landscape features such as mountains, rivers, and ecological gradients may strongly affect patterns of dispersal and gene flow among populations and thereby shape population dynamics and evolutionary trajectories. The landscape may have a particularly strong effect on patterns of dispersal and gene flow in amphibians because amphibians are thought to have poor dispersal abilities. We examined gene
Authors
W.C. Funk, M.S. Blouin, P. S. Corn, B.A. Maxell, D. S. Pilliod, S. Amish, F.W. Allendorf
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center

Lack of significant changes in the herpetofauna of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota, since the 1920s

We surveyed 88 upland wetlands and 12 1-km river sections for amphibians in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota, during 2001–2002 to gather baseline data for future monitoring efforts and to evaluate changes in the distribution of species. We compared our results to collections of herpetofauna made during 1920–1922, 1954 and 1978–1979. The boreal chorus frog (Pseudacris maculata) was th
Authors
B. R. Hossack, P. S. Corn, D. S. Pilliod
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center