Publications

Federally endangered interior least terns (Sternula antillarum) nest on bare or sparsely vegetated sandbars on midcontinent river systems. Loss of nesting habitat has been implicated as a cause of population declines, and managing these habitats is a major initiative in population recovery. One such initiative involves construction of mid-channel sandbars on the Missouri River, where...

Reliable analyses can help wildlife managers make good decisions, which are particularly critical for controversial decisions such as wolf (Canis lupus) harvest. Creel and Rotella (2010) recently predicted substantial population declines in Montana wolf populations due to harvest, in contrast to predictions made by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MFWP). We replicated their analyses...

The main conflicts between Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) and farmers in western United States occur in the Rocky Mountain region during migration and wintering periods. Most crop damage by cranes occurs in mature wheat (Triticum aestivum) and barley (Hordeum vulgare), young shoots of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and cereal grains, chilies (Capsicum annuum), and silage corn (Zea mays)...

Despite the popular view that social predators live in groups because group hunting facilitates prey capture, the apparent tendency for hunting success to peak at small group sizes suggests that the formation of large groups is unrelated to prey capture. Few empirical studies, however, have tested for nonlinear relationships between hunting success and group size, and none have...

The Mid-continent Population (MCP) of sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) is widely hunted in North America and is separated into the Gulf Coast Subpopulation and Western Subpopulation for management purposes. Effective harvest management of the MCP requires detailed knowledge of breeding distribution of subspecies and subpopulations, chronology of their use of fall staging areas and...

Genetic findings suggest that 2 types of wolves, Canis lupus (Gray Wolf) and C. lycaon (Eastern Wolf), and/or their hybrids occupy Minnesota (MN), and this study examines adult wolf ear lengths as a possible distinguisher between these two. Photographic evidence suggested that the Eastern Wolf possesses proportionately longer ears than Gray Wolves. Ear lengths from 22 northwestern MN...

The bull trout Salvelinus confluentus, a stream-living salmonid distributed in drainages of the northwestern United States, is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act because of rangewide declines. One proposed recovery action is the reconnection of tributaries in the Lemhi Basin. Past water use policies in this core area disconnected headwater spawning sites from...

Emergent sandbars on the Missouri River are actively managed for two listed bird species, piping plovers and interior least terns. As a plunge-diving piscivore, endangered least terns rely on ready access to appropriately sized slender-bodied fish:

Waterfowl and other migratory birds commonly store nutrients at traditional staging areas during spring for later use during migration and reproduction. We investigated nutrient‐storage dynamics in the midcontinent population of greater white‐fronted geese (Anser albifrons; hereafter white‐fronted geese) at spring staging sites in the Rainwater Basin of Nebraska during February–April and...

Implementation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) has resulted in the restoration of >2 million ha of wetland and grassland habitats in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR). Restoration of habitats through these programs provides diverse ecosystem services to society, but few investigators have evaluated the...

Supporting recovery of federally listed interior least tern (Sternula antillarum athalassos; tern) and piping plover (Charadrius melodus; plover) populations is a desirable goal in management of the Missouri River ecosystem. Many tools are implemented in support of this goal, including habitat management, annual monitoring, directed research, and threat mitigation. Similarly, many types...

U.S. Geological Survey scientists and cooperating partners are examining the potential risk to aquatic resources (for example, wetlands, streams) by contamination from saline waters (brine) produced by petroleum development in the Williston Basin of Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The primary goals of this study are to provide a science-based approach to assess potential risk of...