The Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit (est. 1950) is a partnership among the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, the University of Montana, the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Wildlife Management Institute.
The Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit performs research designed to address the needs of cooperators, bridging the gap between applied and basic wildlife science. Our studies provide new insights useful to management and conservation, based on understanding the ecological mechanisms that underlie habitat requirements and demography of individual and coexisting wildlife species. Research emphases within the Unit include ecology and management of carnivores, applied landscape ecology, management of large game, interactions between forest management and wildlife, environmental influences (predators, habitat, ungulates) on demography and diversity of birds, habitat requirements and community ecology of birds, and comparative demography and life history strategies of birds in differing environmental and geographical contexts. Other research topics are addressed as needed, in keeping with the Cooperative Research Program's mission to best meet the needs of the Cooperators by remaining flexible and open to new areas of inquiry. When Cooperator's needs occur outside Unit expertise, the assistance of appropriate University faculty will be recruited.
Unit staff will advance the training and education of graduate students at the University of Montana by teaching up to one graduate-level course per year in wildlife science, chairing graduate committees of Unit students, and serving on graduate committees of non-Unit students. Technical support and training will be provided to Cooperators and other agencies as the need exists.
RT-QuIC Florescence Data from Experimental Soils Varying in Soil Texture RT-QuIC Florescence Data from Experimental Soils Varying in Soil Texture
Unified antlerless harvest records for firearm white-tailed deer harvest in the Midwestern United States 2001-2023 Unified antlerless harvest records for firearm white-tailed deer harvest in the Midwestern United States 2001-2023
Data for Fatal interactions: Pneumonia in bighorn lambs following experimental exposure to carriers of Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae Data for Fatal interactions: Pneumonia in bighorn lambs following experimental exposure to carriers of Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae
Pseudogymnoascus destructans detections by US county 2007-2022 Pseudogymnoascus destructans detections by US county 2007-2022
Grizzly Bear Space Use in the US Northern Rocky Mountains (ver. 3.0, July 2024) Grizzly Bear Space Use in the US Northern Rocky Mountains (ver. 3.0, July 2024)
White-tailed deer and sharp-tailed grouse data used in constrained generalized additive models to enhance survival analyses and incorporate ecological theory White-tailed deer and sharp-tailed grouse data used in constrained generalized additive models to enhance survival analyses and incorporate ecological theory
Expert assessments of hypotheses concerning the etiological agent(s) of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease collected during a rapid prototyping project Expert assessments of hypotheses concerning the etiological agent(s) of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease collected during a rapid prototyping project
Development of high-throughput genomic resources to inform white-tailed deer population and disease management Development of high-throughput genomic resources to inform white-tailed deer population and disease management
Strategic planning of prevention and surveillance for emerging diseases and invasive species Strategic planning of prevention and surveillance for emerging diseases and invasive species
Animal trajectory imputation and uncertainty quantification via deep learning Animal trajectory imputation and uncertainty quantification via deep learning
Wolf harvest management strategy evaluation: Annual Report, 2024 Wolf harvest management strategy evaluation: Annual Report, 2024
Investigating the influence of forest disturbance on grizzly bear habitat ecology and fitness in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem Investigating the influence of forest disturbance on grizzly bear habitat ecology and fitness in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem
Leveraging local wildlife surveys for robust occupancy trend estimation Leveraging local wildlife surveys for robust occupancy trend estimation
Code for Doe diligence: A regional analysis of antlerless deer harvest regulations in the Midwestern United States of America Code for Doe diligence: A regional analysis of antlerless deer harvest regulations in the Midwestern United States of America
Example code for implementing physics-informed neural networks and generating simulated data Example code for implementing physics-informed neural networks and generating simulated data
Chronic Wasting Disease Surveillance Optimization Software Version 2 Chronic Wasting Disease Surveillance Optimization Software Version 2
The Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit (est. 1950) is a partnership among the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, the University of Montana, the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Wildlife Management Institute.
The Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit performs research designed to address the needs of cooperators, bridging the gap between applied and basic wildlife science. Our studies provide new insights useful to management and conservation, based on understanding the ecological mechanisms that underlie habitat requirements and demography of individual and coexisting wildlife species. Research emphases within the Unit include ecology and management of carnivores, applied landscape ecology, management of large game, interactions between forest management and wildlife, environmental influences (predators, habitat, ungulates) on demography and diversity of birds, habitat requirements and community ecology of birds, and comparative demography and life history strategies of birds in differing environmental and geographical contexts. Other research topics are addressed as needed, in keeping with the Cooperative Research Program's mission to best meet the needs of the Cooperators by remaining flexible and open to new areas of inquiry. When Cooperator's needs occur outside Unit expertise, the assistance of appropriate University faculty will be recruited.
Unit staff will advance the training and education of graduate students at the University of Montana by teaching up to one graduate-level course per year in wildlife science, chairing graduate committees of Unit students, and serving on graduate committees of non-Unit students. Technical support and training will be provided to Cooperators and other agencies as the need exists.