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Description
The purpose of my thesis is to illustrate the story of the black-footed ferret's conservation, and to provide my own suggestions for how to eventually get the species removed from the Endangered Species List, marking a successful rebound in population numbers. I highlight my personal experience working at the Phoenix Zoo's black-footed ferret breeding center. In the first chapter, I present the species by describing its morphology, diet, reproduction, behaviors, range, and habitat. In the second chapter, I recount the chronological history of the conservation of the species, starting with its rediscovery following its putative "extinction", and ending with its present status. In the third chapter, I discuss the threats that have led to the species' overall decline and continue to affect its persistence today. In the fourth and final chapter, I conclude by making recommendations regarding what needs to occur in order to eventually get the species delisted.
ContributorsGeer, Emily Maren (Author) / Smith, Andrew T. (Thesis director) / Minteer, Ben (Committee member) / Wells, Stuart (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The Great Bustard (Otis tarda) is an iconic species of the temperate grasslands of Europe and Asia, a habitat that is among the least protected ecosystems in the world. A distinct subspecies, the Asian Great Bustard (O. t. dybowskii), is poorly understood due to its wary nature and remote range in Siberia, Mongolia, and northern China. This subspecies is now endangered by rapid development.
Using satellite telemetry and remote sensing, I investigated three aspects of the Asian Great Bustard’s ecology critical to its conservation: migratory routes, migratory cues, and habitat use patterns. I found that Asian Great Bustards spent one-third of the year on a 2000 km migratory pathway, a distance twice as far as has previously been recorded for the species. Tracked individuals moved nomadically over large winter territories and did not repeat migratory stopovers, complicating conservation planning. Migratory timing was variable and migratory movements were significantly correlated with weather cues. Specifically, bustards migrated on days when wind support was favorable and temperature presaged warmer temperatures on the breeding grounds (spring) or advancing winter weather (fall). On the breeding grounds, Asian Great Bustards used both steppe and wheat agriculture habitat. All recorded reproductive attempts failed, regardless of habitat in which the nest was placed. Agricultural practices are likely to intensify in the coming decade, which would present further challenges to reproduction. The distinct migratory behavior and habitat use patterns of the Asian Great Bustard are likely adaptations to the climate and ecology of Inner Asia and underscore the importance of conserving these unique populations.
My research indicates that conservation of the Asian Great Bustard will require a landscape-level approach. This approach should incorporate measures at the breeding grounds to raise reproductive success, alongside actions on the migratory pathway to ensure appropriate habitat and reduce adult mortality. To secure international cooperation, I proposed that an increased level of protection should be directed toward the Great Bustard under the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS). That proposal, accepted by the Eleventh Conference of Parties to CMS, provides recommendations for conservation action and illustrates the transdisciplinary approach I have taken in this research.
Using satellite telemetry and remote sensing, I investigated three aspects of the Asian Great Bustard’s ecology critical to its conservation: migratory routes, migratory cues, and habitat use patterns. I found that Asian Great Bustards spent one-third of the year on a 2000 km migratory pathway, a distance twice as far as has previously been recorded for the species. Tracked individuals moved nomadically over large winter territories and did not repeat migratory stopovers, complicating conservation planning. Migratory timing was variable and migratory movements were significantly correlated with weather cues. Specifically, bustards migrated on days when wind support was favorable and temperature presaged warmer temperatures on the breeding grounds (spring) or advancing winter weather (fall). On the breeding grounds, Asian Great Bustards used both steppe and wheat agriculture habitat. All recorded reproductive attempts failed, regardless of habitat in which the nest was placed. Agricultural practices are likely to intensify in the coming decade, which would present further challenges to reproduction. The distinct migratory behavior and habitat use patterns of the Asian Great Bustard are likely adaptations to the climate and ecology of Inner Asia and underscore the importance of conserving these unique populations.
My research indicates that conservation of the Asian Great Bustard will require a landscape-level approach. This approach should incorporate measures at the breeding grounds to raise reproductive success, alongside actions on the migratory pathway to ensure appropriate habitat and reduce adult mortality. To secure international cooperation, I proposed that an increased level of protection should be directed toward the Great Bustard under the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS). That proposal, accepted by the Eleventh Conference of Parties to CMS, provides recommendations for conservation action and illustrates the transdisciplinary approach I have taken in this research.
ContributorsKessler, Aimee (Author) / Smith, Andrew T. (Thesis advisor) / Brown, David (Committee member) / Franklin, Janet (Committee member) / McGraw, Kevin (Committee member) / Wu, Jianguo (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
This 15-week long course is designed to introduce students, specifically in Arizona, to basic sustainability and conservation principles in the context of local reptile wildlife. Throughout the course, the students work on identifying the problem, creating visions for the desired future, and finally developing a strategy to help with reptile species survival in the valley. Research shows that animals in the classroom have led to improved academic success for students. Thus, through creating this course I was able to combine conservation and sustainability curriculum with real-life animals whose survival is directly being affected in the valley. My hope is that this course will help students identify a newfound passion and call to action to protect native wildlife. The more awareness and actionable knowledge which can be brought to students in Arizona about challenges to species survival the more likely we are to see a change in the future and a stronger sense of urgency for protecting wildlife. In order to accomplish these goals, the curriculum was developed to begin with basic concepts of species needs such as food and shelter and basic principles of sustainability. As the course progresses the students analyze current challenges reptile wildlife faces, like urban sprawl, and explore options to address these challenges. The course concludes with a pilot pitch where students present their solution projects to the school.
ContributorsGoethe, Emma Rae (Author) / Brundiers, Katja (Thesis director) / Bouges, Olivia (Committee member) / School of Sustainability (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
With a growing majority of humans living within cities and towns, urbanization is one of the most persistent drivers of change in global land use and challenges to sustainability and biodiversity conservation. The development of cities and towns can substantially shape local and regional environments in which wildlife communities persist. Although urbanization can negatively affect wildlife communities – through processes such as habitat fragmentation and non-native species introduction – cities can also provide resources to wildlife, such as through food, water, and space, creating potential opportunities for conservation. However, managing wildlife communities persisting in urbanizing landscapes requires better understanding of how urbanized landscapes influence the ability of wildlife to coexist with one another and with people at local and regional scales. In this dissertation, I addressed these research needs by evaluating the environmental and human factors driving dynamic wildlife community distributions and people’s attitudes towards wildlife. In my first two chapters,I used wildlife camera data collected from across the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, AZ to examine seasonal patterns of wildlife space use, species richness, and interspecific interactions across levels of urbanization with varying landscape characteristics, including plant productivity and spatial land use heterogeneity. Here I found that urbanization was a primary driver of wildlife community characteristics within the region, but that seasonal resource availability and landscape heterogeneity could have mediating influences that require further exploration. In my third chapter, I partnered
with wildlife researchers across North America to examine how relationships between urbanization and community composition vary among cities with distinct social-ecological characteristics, finding that effects of local urbanization were more negative in warmer, less vegetated, and more urbanized cities. In my fourth and final chapter, I explored the potential for human-wildlife coexistence by examining how various ideological, environmental, and sociodemographic factors influenced Phoenix area residents’ level of comfort living near different wildlife groups. Although I found that residents’ attitudes were primarily shaped by their relatively static wildlife values, comfort living near wildlife also depended on the characteristics of the neighboring environment, of the residents, and of the wildlife involved, indicating the potential for facilitating conditions for human-wildlife coexistence. Altogether, the findings of this dissertation suggest that the management of wildlife and their interactions with people within cities would benefit from more proactive and holistic consideration of the interacting environmental, wildlife, and human characteristics that influence the persistence of biodiversity within an increasingly urbanized world.
ContributorsHaight, Jeffrey Douglas (Author) / Hall, Sharon J (Thesis advisor) / Lewis, Jesse S (Thesis advisor) / Larson, Kelli L (Committee member) / Wu, Jianguo (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Balancing conservation goals and needs of local residents is always challenging. While some believe protected areas are a safe paradise for wildlife, others suggest that it is shortsighted to ignore the social and economic challenges faced by people who live adjacent to protected areas when addressing conservation objectives. This dissertation explores the link between biodiversity conservation and environmental education programs (EEPs) administered to residents of buffer zones adjacent to three protected areas in the Terai Arc Landscape, Nepal. Using surveys and interviews, this study examined 1) the influence of EEPs on attitudes of local people toward biodiversity conservation; 2) the influence of EEPs on conservation behavior; 3) the responses toward biodiversity conservation of local people residing in buffer zones who have received different levels of EEPs; and 4) the effect of EEPs on wildlife populations within adjacent protected areas. Local people who had participated in EEPs and attended school were more likely to express a positive attitude toward conservation goals than participants who had not participated in EEPs or had the opportunity to attend school. Participation in EEPs and level of education favored expressed behavior toward conservation goals, such as making contributions for conservation or supporting anti-poaching patrols. However, EEP participants and non-participants were equally likely to engage in activities that were at odds with positive conservation behavior, such as collecting fuel wood or killing wildlife to protect their farm or feed their families. A direct comparison of EEPs given by schools versus non-government organizations showed that EEPs were largely ineffective in promoting positive conservation attitudes and behaviors. Despite heavy poaching of charismatic species such as the greater one-horned rhinoceros or tiger over past decades, Nepal recently celebrated ‘zero poaching years’ in 2011 and 2013, largely due to increased anti-poaching enforcement. The relationship between EEPs and the decline in poaching is unclear, although local officials all claimed that EEPs played an important role. These results indicate that current administration of EEPs in Terai buffer zone communities is inadequate, while also providing evidence that properly administrated EEPs may become a valuable investment for these protected areas to achieve long-term success.
ContributorsShrestha, Samridhi (Author) / Smith, Andrew T. (Thesis advisor) / Minteer, Ben (Committee member) / Pearson, David (Committee member) / Nyaupane, Gyan (Committee member) / Budruk, Megha (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015