scholarly journals Mammal camera trapping success in a fragmented suburban landscape

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Cove ◽  
Brandon Jones ◽  
Aaron Bossert ◽  
Victoria Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Camera Traps ◽  
Didelphis Virginiana ◽  
Lynx Rufus ◽  
Sylvilagus Floridanus ◽  
Success Rates ◽  
Forest Patches ◽  
Striped Skunk ◽  
Fragmented Forest ◽  
Cottontail Rabbit ◽  
Suburban Landscape

Camera traps are commonly used for mammal surveys and many recent studies have published variable trap success rates. All published reports have focused survey efforts in protected areas or large contiguous forests, but we used camera traps in a highly altered suburban landscape. We selected 22 camera trap sites in Warrensburg and Lee’s Summit, Missouri and surveyed for a total of 308 trapnights (TN) of effort. Procyon lotor (raccoon) had the highest trap success (38.96/100 TN), followed by: Didelphis virginiana (Virginia opossum, 37.34/100 TN); Odocoileus virginianus (white tailed deer, 27.92/100 TN); Sciurus niger and S. carolinensis (fox and gray squirrel, 19.48/100 TN); Vulpes vulpes (red fox, 8.77/100 TN); Canis latrans (coyote, 7.79/100 TN); Sylvilagus floridanus (cottontail rabbit, 3.90/100 TN); Urocyon cinereoargenteus (gray fox, 2.92/100 TN); Lynx rufus (bobcat, 1.95/100 TN); and Mephitis mephitis (striped skunk, 1.62/100 TN). These results are higher than any other published findings. We used 1-3 kg of deer meat as bait at each camera station and we believe this increased our trap success of mesopredators (Cove et al., 2012) versus studies that used no bait. However, our trap success for deer, squirrels, and rabbits were also higher than those published and these species were not attracted to bait. We hypothesize that the increased trap success in our study reflects (1) a true state of increased mesopredator abundance due to increased human-derived resources in the suburbs, and (2) concentrated activity of mammals in small fragmented forest patches versus the expansive forest tracts in other studies.

scholarly journals Mammal camera trapping success in a fragmented suburban landscape

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Cove ◽  
Brandon Jones ◽  
Aaron Bossert ◽  
Victoria Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Camera Traps ◽  
Didelphis Virginiana ◽  
Lynx Rufus ◽  
Sylvilagus Floridanus ◽  
Success Rates ◽  
Forest Patches ◽  
Striped Skunk ◽  
Fragmented Forest ◽  
Cottontail Rabbit ◽  
Suburban Landscape

Camera traps are commonly used for mammal surveys and many recent studies have published variable trap success rates. All published reports have focused survey efforts in protected areas or large contiguous forests, but we used camera traps in a highly altered suburban landscape. We selected 22 camera trap sites in Warrensburg and Lee’s Summit, Missouri and surveyed for a total of 308 trapnights (TN) of effort. Procyon lotor (raccoon) had the highest trap success (38.96/100 TN), followed by: Didelphis virginiana (Virginia opossum, 37.34/100 TN); Odocoileus virginianus (white tailed deer, 27.92/100 TN); Sciurus niger and S. carolinensis (fox and gray squirrel, 19.48/100 TN); Vulpes vulpes (red fox, 8.77/100 TN); Canis latrans (coyote, 7.79/100 TN); Sylvilagus floridanus (cottontail rabbit, 3.90/100 TN); Urocyon cinereoargenteus (gray fox, 2.92/100 TN); Lynx rufus (bobcat, 1.95/100 TN); and Mephitis mephitis (striped skunk, 1.62/100 TN). These results are higher than any other published findings. We used 1-3 kg of deer meat as bait at each camera station and we believe this increased our trap success of mesopredators (Cove et al., 2012) versus studies that used no bait. However, our trap success for deer, squirrels, and rabbits were also higher than those published and these species were not attracted to bait. We hypothesize that the increased trap success in our study reflects (1) a true state of increased mesopredator abundance due to increased human-derived resources in the suburbs, and (2) concentrated activity of mammals in small fragmented forest patches versus the expansive forest tracts in other studies.

Ochotona and other vertebrates of possible Illinoian age from Kelso Cave, Halton County, Ontario

1979 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. 1613-1620 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. S. Churcher ◽  
R. R. Dods
Keyword(s):  
Deer Mouse ◽  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Myotis Lucifugus ◽  
Sylvilagus Floridanus ◽  
Striped Skunk ◽  
Niagara Escarpment ◽  
Cottontail Rabbit ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Little Brown Bat ◽  
Toad Bufo

Disarticulated skeletal elements of American? toad (Bufo sp., ?B. americanus), grouse (Canachites canadensis or Bonasa umbellus), varying hare (Lepus americanus), cottontail rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus), large pika (Ochotona sp.), woodland deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus), and striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) have been identified from a travertine cemented dolomite breccia from a demolished cave in the Lockport Formation of the Niagara Escarpment west of Milton, Ontario. Pollen grains recovered from the matrix show that spruce (Picea sp.), pine (Pinus sp.), birch (Betula sp.), oak (Quercus sp.), elm (Ulmus sp.), lime (Tilia sp.), and black walnut (Juglans nigra) coexisted with the fauna. The flora resembles that radiocarbon dated to between 10 500 and 9500 years BC from nearby Crawford Lake. However, the presence of Ochotona sp. suggests a possible Illinoian age for the deposit on the known occurrences of Illinoian Ochotona in Maryland and West Virginia, and the record of Illinoian giant pikas in Alaska and eastern Asia.

scholarly journals Carnivore distributions across chaparral habitats exposed to wildfire and rural housing in southern California

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 591 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. A. Schuette ◽  
J. E. Diffendorfer ◽  
D. H. Deutschman ◽  
S. Tremor ◽  
W. Spencer
Keyword(s):  
Southern California ◽  
Coastal Sage Scrub ◽  
Lynx Rufus ◽  
Management Policy ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressures ◽  
Gray Fox ◽  
Striped Skunk ◽  
Occupancy Patterns ◽  
Animal Communities

Chaparral and coastal sage scrub habitats in southern California support biologically diverse plant and animal communities. However, native plant and animal species within these shrubland systems are increasingly exposed to human-caused wildfires and an expansion of the human–wildland interface. Few data exist to evaluate the effects of fire and anthropogenic pressures on plant and animal communities found in these environments. This is particularly true for carnivore communities. To address this knowledge gap, we collected detection–non-detection data with motion-sensor cameras and track plots to measure carnivore occupancy patterns following a large, human-caused wildfire (1134km2) in eastern San Diego County, California, USA, in 2003. Our focal species set included coyote (Canis latrans), gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), bobcat (Lynx rufus) and striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis). We evaluated the influence on species occupancies of the burned environment (burn edge, burn interior and unburned areas), proximity of rural homes, distance to riparian area and elevation. Gray fox occupancies were the highest overall, followed by striped skunk, coyote and bobcat. The three species considered as habitat and foraging generalists (gray fox, coyote, striped skunk) were common in all conditions. Occupancy patterns were consistent through time for all species except coyote, whose occupancies increased through time. In addition, environmental and anthropogenic variables had weak effects on all four species, and these responses were species-specific. Our results helped to describe a carnivore community exposed to frequent fire and rural human residences, and provide baseline data to inform fire management policy and wildlife management strategies in similar fire-prone ecosystems.

Carnivore persistence in fragmented habitats in urban southern California

2003 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lourraine A. Tigas ◽  
Dirk H. Van Vuren ◽  
Raymond M. Sauvajot
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Southern California ◽  
Didelphis Virginiana ◽  
Lynx Rufus ◽  
Urban Habitat ◽  
Secondary Importance ◽  
Carnivore Species ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Remote Camera ◽  
Total Species

We investigated the responses of carnivores to habitat fragmentation in urban southern California. We used scat, track, and remote camera surveys to determine presence and residence of carnivores on habitat fragments of various sizes (4.4-561.0 ha) and degrees of isolation (10-750 m). Fragment area explained a significant portion of the variation in all four measures of species richness (total species present, native species present, total species resident, and native species resident). Isolation was of secondary importance and was significant only for species presence. We suggest that fewer carnivore species at smaller or more isolated fragments resulted from foraging decisions based on lower food reward in smaller fragments and greater movement costs for more distant fragments. Carnivore species responded differentially to fragmentation. Bobcats Lynx rufus were fragmentation-sensitive and apparently required large fragments, thus they may be useful as focal species for conservation planning. In contrast, Coyotes Canis latrans were more fragmentation-tolerant and, along with smaller species such as Northern Raccoons Procyon lotor, Striped Skunks Mephitis mephitis, and Virginia Opossums Didelphis virginiana, can persist in smaller fragments. Our results suggest that most of the common carnivores can persist in fragmented urban habitat, provided that fragments are sufficiently large and in close proximity.

scholarly journals The rabbit papillomavirus model: a valuable tool to study viral–host interactions

2019 ◽  
Vol 374 (1773) ◽  
pp. 20180294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy M. Cladel ◽  
Xuwen Peng ◽  
Neil Christensen ◽  
Jiafen Hu
Keyword(s):  
Viral Infections ◽  
Vaccine Development ◽  
Therapeutic Vaccine ◽  
Rabbit Model ◽  
Preclinical Model ◽  
Sylvilagus Floridanus ◽  
Host Interactions ◽  
Cottontail Rabbit ◽  
Transgenic Rabbits ◽  
Viral Host Interactions

Cottontail rabbit papillomavirus (CRPV) was the first DNA virus shown to be tumorigenic. The virus has since been renamed and is officially known as Sylvilagus floridanus papillomavirus 1 (SfPV1). Since its inception as a surrogate preclinical model for high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infections, the SfPV1/rabbit model has been widely used to study viral–host interactions and has played a pivotal role in the successful development of three prophylactic virus-like particle vaccines. In this review, we will focus on the use of the model to gain a better understanding of viral pathogenesis, gene function and host immune responses to viral infections. We will discuss the application of the model in HPV-associated vaccine testing, in therapeutic vaccine development (using our novel HLA-A2.1 transgenic rabbits) and in the development and validation of novel anti-viral and anti-tumour compounds. Our goal is to demonstrate the role the SfPV1/rabbit model has played, and continues to play, in helping to unravel the intricacies of papillomavirus infections and to develop tools to thwart the disease. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Silent cancer agents: multi-disciplinary modelling of human DNA oncoviruses’.

Comparison of methods to detect rare and cryptic species: a case study using the red fox (Vulpes vulpes)

2009 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 436 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. Vine ◽  
M. S. Crowther ◽  
S. J. Lapidge ◽  
C. R. Dickman ◽  
N. Mooney ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vulpes Vulpes ◽  
Hair Follicles ◽  
Rural Landscape ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Seasonal Effects ◽  
Specific Marker ◽  
Success Rates ◽  
Red Foxes ◽  
Hair Samples ◽  
Bait Stations

Choosing the appropriate method to detect and monitor wildlife species is difficult if the species is rare or cryptic in appearance or behaviour. We evaluated the effectiveness of the following four methods for detecting red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) on the basis of equivalent person hours in a rural landscape in temperate Australia: camera traps, hair traps (using morphology and DNA from hair follicles), scats from bait stations (using DNA derived from the scats) and spotlighting. We also evaluated whether individual foxes could be identified using remote collection of their tissues. Genetic analysis of hair samples was the least efficient method of detection among the methods employed because of the paucity of samples obtained and the lack of follicles on sampled hairs. Scat detection was somewhat more efficient. Scats were deposited at 17% of bait stations and 80% of scats were amplified with a fox-specific marker, although only 31% of confirmed fox scats could be fully genotyped at all six microsatellite loci. Camera trapping and spotlighting were the most efficient methods of detecting fox presence in the landscape. Spotlighting success varied seasonally, with fox detections peaking in autumn (80% of spotlighting transects) and being lowest in winter (29% of transects). Cameras detected foxes at 51% of stations; however, there was limited seasonality in detection, and success rates varied with camera design. Log-linear models confirmed these trends. Our results showed that the appropriate technique for detecting foxes varies depending on the time of the year. It is suggested that wildlife managers should consider both seasonal effects and species biology when attempting to detect rare or elusive species.

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