Tag: wildlife

Fire Suppression and Northern Idaho Ground Squirrel (Urocitellus brunneus) Hypothesis Testing

Abstract The Northern Idaho Ground Squirrel (Urocitellus brunneus) is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The prevailing hypothesis for the species decline is encroachment of trees into its habitat due to fire suppression. However, this hypothesis has not been rigorously tested. Using geographic information systems and aerial imaging, I compared changes in abundance …

Studying Bats in the UI Experimental Forest Using Acoustic Monitoring

Creepy, dirty, disease-ridden, blood-sucking pests. This is the description that come to mind for most people when they think about bats. So, why would anyone want to study bats? The truth is that bats are incredibly important to many ecosystems world-wide. Bats eat insects that carry diseases which means they serve as a natural insect …

When to vaccinate a fluctuating wildlife population: is timing everything?

Investigating whether or not timing a vaccination program can help protect wildlife and potentially facilitate pathogen elimination.