Joseph Clark, Ph.D. (Former Employee)

Guide to the most popular and famous critters in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Includes bear, elk, deer, flying squirrels, and buffalo.

One of the goals of the Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi) recovery plan is to expand panther range north of the Caloosahatchee River in central Florida. Our objective was to evaluate the potential of that region to support panthers. We used a geographic information system and the Mahalanobis distance statistic to develop a habitat model based on landscape characteristics associated...

We assessed the potential for reestablishing elk (Cervus elaphus) in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP), USA, by estimating vital rates of experimentally released animals from 2001 to 2006. Annual survival rates for calves ranged from 0.333 to 1.0 and averaged 0.592. Annual survival for subadult and adult elk (i.e., ≥1 yr of age) ranged from 0.690 to 0.933, depending on age and...

We explored whether genetic sampling would be feasible to provide a region-wide population estimate for American black bears (Ursus americanus) in the southern Appalachians, USA. Specifically, we determined whether adequate capture probabilities (p >0.20) and population estimates with a low coefficient of variation (CV

The Purisima Formation is an important upper Miocene and Pliocene stratigraphic unit in central California, cropping out from the coast at Point Reyes north of San Francisco to more extensive exposures in the Santa Cruz Mountains to the south. The fine-grained rocks in the lower parts of the Purisima Formation record a latest Miocene transgressive event, whereas the middle and upper...

Regional wildlife–habitat models are commonly developed but rarely tested with truly independent data. We tested a published habitat model for black bears (Ursus americanus) with new data collected in a different site in the same ecological region (i.e., Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma, USA). We used a Mahalanobis distance model developed from relocations of black bears in...

We used spatial data to identify potential areas for elk (Cervus elaphus) restoration in Arkansas. To assess habitat, we used locations of 239 elk groups collected from helicopter surveys in the Buffalo National River area of northwestern Arkansas, USA, from 1992 to 2002. We calculated the Mahalanobis distance (D2) statistic based on the relationship between those elk-group locations and...

A major objective of the 1995 Florida Panther (Puma concolor cory) Recovery Plan is the establishment of 2 additional panther populations within the historic range. Our goal was to identify prospective sites for Florida panther reintroduction within the historic range based on quantitative landscape assessments. First, we delineated 86 panther home ranges using telemetry data collected...

The black bear (Ursus americanus) population at White River National Wildlife Refuge is isolated and genetically distinct, but hunting occurs adjacent to refuge boundaries and females with cubs are removed annually for a reintroduction project. We trapped and radiotracked bears to determine level of exploitation and compare methods for estimating population growth and sustainability. We...

Reinterpretation of onshore and offshore geologic mapping, examination of a key offshore well core, and revision of cross-fault ties indicate Neogene dextral strike slip of 156 ± 4 km along the San Gregorio–Hosgri fault zone, a major strand of the San Andreas transform system in coastal California. Delineating the full course of the fault, defining net slip across it, and showing its...

Bait-station surveys are used by wildlife managers as an index to American black bear (Ursus americanus) population abundance, but the relationship is not well established. Hard mast surveys are similarly used to assess annual black bear food availability which may affect mortality and natality rates. We used data collected in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) from 1989 to 2003...

American black bears (Ursus americanus) have been extirpated from all but a few areas in southwestern Alabama, and the remaining habitat is being rapidly lost to development. Remnant bear populations exist near extensive (>125,000 ha) bottomland hardwood forests in the Mobile–Tensaw Delta (MTD), but those bottomland areas are rarely used by bears. Reintroduction of black bears to the MTD...