Matching Items (25)
Description
Populations of resident Canada geese (Branta canadensis) that nest and reside within the contiguous United States have increased at a rate of 7.9% per year to over 3.5 million over the last few decades. Enlarged population levels have resulted in conflicts between geese and humans, including property damage and human health and safety concerns. Noticeable growth of the population of Canada geese in the Indian Bend Wash area of Scottsdale, AZ has been observed in recent years sparking concern that this population will continue to grow at high rates as seen in other urban areas throughout North America. This study was initiated to determine the current population structure, distribution, and productivity of this population of resident geese. During the 2009 to 2010 post-breeding molt, 255 geese were captured and affixed with neck collars allowing individual identification. I conducted surveys from October 2008 to September 2010 and calculated weekly population estimates from mark recapture survey data using the Lincoln-Peterson method. Productivity was also investigated. Nesting was largely limited to one island within the study area, suggesting geese preferentially nest in insular areas to avoid human disturbance. Despite limited nesting opportunities, there was a significant population increase of 15 to 25% from 2009 to 2010 based on population estimates. Goose movement patterns indicate this population has a high level of site fidelity to nesting and molting areas, as has been found in other studies of resident Canada geese. I suggest that management should be implemented to 1) reduce the current population of resident geese through adult removal and 2) limit future recruitment into the population through control of reproduction and habitat modification.
ContributorsRay, Elizabeth (Author) / Miller, William (Thesis advisor) / Cunningham, Stanley (Committee member) / Bateman, Heather (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
The Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) has been studied for over two decades and listed as endangered for most of that time. Though the flycatcher has been granted protected status since 1995, critical habitat designation for the flycatcher has not shared the same history. Critical habitat designation is essential for achieving the long-term goals defined in the flycatcher recovery plan where emphasis is on both the protection of this species and "the habitats supporting these flycatchers [that] must be protected from threats and loss" (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2002). I used a long-term data set of habitat characteristics collected at three study areas along the Lower Colorado River to develop a method for quantifying habitat quality for flycatcher. The data set contained flycatcher nest observations (use) and habitat availability (random location) from 2003-2010 that I statistically analyzed for flycatcher selection preferences. Using both Pearson's Chi-square test and SPSS Principal Component Analysis (PCA) I determined that flycatchers were selecting 30 habitat traits significantly different among an initial list of 127 habitat characteristics. Using PCA, I calculated a weighted value of influence for each significant trait per study area and used those values to develop a habitat classification system to build predictive models for flycatcher habitat quality. I used ArcGIS® Model Builder to develop three habitat suitability models for each of the habitat types occurring in western riparian systems, native, mixed exotic and exotic dominated that are frequented by breeding flycatchers. I designed a fourth model, Topock Marsh, to test model accuracy on habitat quality for flycatchers using reserved accuracy assessment points of previous nest locations. The results of the fourth model accurately predicted a decline in habitat at Topock Marsh that was confirmed by SWCA survey reports released in 2011 and 2012 documenting a significant decline in flycatcher productivity in the Topock Marsh study area.
ContributorsChenevert-Steffler, Ann (Author) / Miller, William (Thesis advisor) / Bateman, Heather (Committee member) / Alford, Eddie (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Human recreation on rangelands may negatively impact wildlife populations. Among those activities, off-road vehicle (ORV) recreation carries the potential for broad ecological consequences. A study was undertaken to assess the impacts of ORV on rodents in Arizona Uplands Sonoran Desert. Between the months of February and September 2010, rodents were trapped at 6 ORV and 6 non-ORV sites in Tonto National Forest, AZ. I hypothesized that rodent abundance and species richness are negatively affected by ORV use. Rodent abundances were estimated using capture-mark-recapture methodology. Species richness was not correlated with ORV use. Although abundance of Peromyscus eremicus and Neotoma albigula declined as ORV use increased, abundance of Dipodomys merriami increased. Abundance of Chaetodipus baileyi was not correlated with ORV use. Other factors measured were percent ground cover, percent shrub cover, and species-specific shrub cover percentages. Total shrub cover, Opuntia spp., and Parkinsonia microphylla each decreased as ORV use increased. Results suggest that ORV use negatively affects rodent habitats in Arizona Uplands Sonoran Desert, leading to declining abundance in some species. Management strategies should mitigate ORV related habitat destruction to protect vulnerable populations.
ContributorsReid, John Simon (Author) / Brady, Ward (Thesis advisor) / Miller, William (Committee member) / Bateman, Heather (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
The effects of biocontrol and the potential risks associated with them are of interest to many researchers. In the Virgin River area of Nevada, natural resource managers have done studies of various removal techniques on the non-native Tamarix spp. strands. One such area of focus is the use of biocontrol in the form of the tamarisk leaf beetle (Diorhabda spp.), and the resulting changes in the environment from the defoliation of the trees. Previous studies have shown that removal of the plants can potentially be beneficial to lizards. But do changes in the environment change the amount of food available? We were interested to see if the amount of arthropod biomass from these areas had a relationship with the lizard abundance. Taking arthropod collection data from the Virgin River, we compared it with arthropod data over several years, before and after Diorhabda was introduced in 2010. Arthropod biomass data was obtained by taking the collected arthropods and drying them in an oven and weighing them. Results show that there is no correlation between the arthropod numbers or biomass with the amount of lizards in the area, that biomass was greatest after biocontrol introduction, and biomass was highest in mixed Tamarix and native tree strands versus just Tamarix strands. In conclusion, arthropod numbers and biomass have shown to be a poor indicator of lizard abundance, and factors such as temperature changes in the environment might be a better indicator of the changing abundance of lizards.
ContributorsPicciano, Melanie Erin (Author) / Bateman, Heather (Thesis director) / Barnard, James (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Letters and Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Urban encroachment into traditional snake territories has long been underway; likely increasing snake sightings in urban neighborhoods. With increasing overlap, I ask if the perceptions of snakes are actually influencing urban residents to say that snakes are a significant problem in their neighborhood today? I was interested in finding out whether or not there would be a positive correlation between the perception of snakes being a problem within a neighborhood and the actual number of sightings recorded. To address this, I used survey responses from 2017 regarding the risk perception of snakes from twelve neighborhoods within Maricopa County. These responses were then compared to the number of snake sightings within those same neighborhoods over a span of ten years using community science data from iNaturalist. The average results of the people who took the survey perceived that snakes were not a problem in their neighborhood. It was also found that in the outlying areas closer to natural snake habitat (desert preserves), a positive correlation between a higher survey response and a higher number of snake sightings could be seen. Overall, the conclusion of the data revealed that the perceptions of residents did not align with the actual number of snake sightings.
ContributorsMiranda, Caroline (Author) / Bateman, Heather (Thesis director) / Brown, Jeffrey (Committee member) / College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
In the U.S., less than 20 percent of wildlife strikes are reported, which leaves a large portion of incidents unaccounted for. Although wildlife strikes at airports often go unreported, since the early 1990's the number of wildlife strikes has increased five-fold and the number of damaging strikes has increased 1.5-fold. Goals for this project include determining if biological and landscape variables are good predictors of wildlife strikes. We define response variables as the number of reported wildlife strikes per 10,000 airport operations. We studied seven major airports around Phoenix, Arizona and 30 large airports in the western U.S. In the Phoenix metro valley, airports varied from having 0.3 strikes per year per 10,000 operations to having 14.5 strikes from 2009 to 2013. We determined bird richness by using the citizen-science database "eBird,"and measured species richness within a 15 kilometer area of each airport. Species richness between hotspots ranged from 131 to 320. Seasonal differences were determined using an analysis of variance (ANOVA) analysis for the seven Phoenix metro airports as well as the 30 western U.S. airports. Our results showed that there was a seasonal difference in wildlife strikes in the majority of our airports. We also used land use data from CAP LTER to determine any environmental factors such as vicinity to water or fence line located within five kilometers from airports using ArcGIS. These results are important because they are helpful in determining the factors influencing wildlife strikes based on the number of strikes reported.
ContributorsSalaki, Logan (Co-author) / Montgomery, Brett (Co-author) / Bateman, Heather (Thesis director) / Niemczyk, Mary (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
My thesis/creative project is a series of videos, supplemented by a paper documenting all the research. The project focuses on domestic and feral cats through the viewpoint of the “warrior cats” book series. The use of a particular fandom as a vehicle for science communication is a unique platform for use as a thesis/creative project. The narrated videos are made with the intention of being presented on YouTube or a similar viewing platform to an audience that is already familiar with the book series. The videos would fit on the site as a form of educational film known as video essays. The videos cover a range of topics to relate this book series to real situations with domestic animals, particularly cats, and wildlife. Each video is around ten to twenty minutes long and presented as episodes in a series.
The objective of my thesis project is to help bridge the gap between entertainment and science. I grew up reading the warrior cats, and I assume I was similar to many other children and young teens who did not understand domestic cats or ecology enough to question anything in the books. I know that much of these books are fictional, but that does not mean that it can’t be analyzed and used as a tool for teaching. The goal is to reach common ground with those people who have an interest in the warrior cats series, and help them understand it in a new light, as well as the world around them. I aim for the takeaway of this series to encourage people to explore the concepts I discuss and consider expanding upon the ideas within the Warriors universe or with their own cats.
The objective of my thesis project is to help bridge the gap between entertainment and science. I grew up reading the warrior cats, and I assume I was similar to many other children and young teens who did not understand domestic cats or ecology enough to question anything in the books. I know that much of these books are fictional, but that does not mean that it can’t be analyzed and used as a tool for teaching. The goal is to reach common ground with those people who have an interest in the warrior cats series, and help them understand it in a new light, as well as the world around them. I aim for the takeaway of this series to encourage people to explore the concepts I discuss and consider expanding upon the ideas within the Warriors universe or with their own cats.
ContributorsGarcia, Johnny Nico (Author) / Bateman, Heather (Thesis director) / Meloy, Elizabeth (Committee member) / College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (Contributor, Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Desert ecosystems are one of the fastest urbanizing areas on the planet. This rapid shift has the potential to alter the abundances and species richness of herbivore and plant communities. Herbivores, for example, are expected to be more abundant in urban desert remnant parks located within cities due to anthropogenic activities that concentrate food resources and reduce native predator populations. Despite this assumption, previous research conducted around Phoenix has shown that top-down herbivory led to equally reduced plant biomass. It is unclear if this insignificant difference in herbivory at rural and urban sites is due to unaltered desert herbivore populations or altered activity levels that counteract abundance differences. Vertebrate herbivore populations were surveyed at four sites inside and four sites outside of the core of Phoenix during fall 2014 and spring 2015 in order to determine whether abundances and richness differ significantly between urban and rural sites. In order to survey species composition and abundance at these sites, 100 Sherman traps and 8 larger wire traps that are designed to attract and capture small vertebrates such as mice, rats, and squirrels, were set at each site for two consecutive trap nights. Results suggest that the commonly assumed effect of urbanization on herbivore abundances does not apply to small rodent herbivore populations in a desert city, as overall small rodent abundances were statistically similar regardless of location. Though a significant difference was not found for species richness, a significant difference between small rodent genera richness at these sites was observed.
ContributorsAlvarez Guevara, Jessica Noemi (Co-author) / Ball, Becky A. (Co-author, Thesis director) / Hall, Sharon J. (Co-author) / Bateman, Heather (Committee member) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
As white-nose syndrome (WNS) spreads across North America, generating baseline data on bats hibernating outside of the affected area is critical. To illustrate, despite the imminent arrival of Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) to Arizona (AZ), little is known about bat hibernation in the Southwest. With the current amount of information, if Pd spreads throughout the state, detection of cases would be limited, and severity of disease and magnitude of mortality impossible to accurately estimate. Thus, my study monitored hibernating bats in AZ to increase knowledge and investigate potential WNS impacts on these populations. Utilizing passive acoustic monitoring, internal cave surveys, environmental monitoring, and thermal imaging, my study quantified microclimate preferences, hibernation lengths, hibernation behaviors, population dynamics, and species compositions of bats hibernating in three north-central AZ caves. Hibernation lasted between 104 and 162 days, from late October through mid- March, during which time bats (primarily Corynorhinus townsendii and Myotis species) roosted at locations with an average of 4.7oC (range = -0.2oC – 12.1oC), 59.6% relative humidity (range = 39.6% - 75.9%), and 0.4 kPa water vapor pressure deficit (range = 0.2 kPa – 0.8 kPa). A maximum of 40 individuals were observed in any hibernacula and clustering behavior occurred in only 4.1% of torpid bats. Bats selected cold and dry roost sites within caves. Results suggest Pd could proliferate on some bats hibernating in colder areas of AZ hibernacula, yet the range of observed roost humidities was lower than optimal for Pd growth. Hibernation length in north-central AZ is longer than predicted for Myotis species at similar latitudes and may be long enough to pose over- winter survival risks if WNS emerges in AZ populations. Yet, a natural tendency for mid-winter activity, which I observed by multiple species, may allow for foraging opportunities and water replenishment, and therefore promote survival in bats utilizing these arid and cold habitats in winter. Additionally, the relatively solitary behaviors I observed, including virtually no clustering activity and a maximum of 40 bats per hibernacula, may keep rates of Pd transmission low in these Southwest bat populations.
ContributorsHutcherson, Hayden K (Author) / Bateman, Heather (Thesis advisor) / Moore, Marianne (Committee member) / Lewis, Jesse (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
When most people think of Phoenix, Arizona, they think of sprawling cityscapesand hot desert mountains full of saguaros and other cacti. They rarely think of water and
fish, and yet, the Arizona landscape is home to many lakes, ponds, rivers and streams,
full of both native fish and sportfish, including in the urban areas. According to the report
by DeSemple in 2006, between the years 2001 and 2006, the Rio Salado Environmental
Restoration Project worked to revitalize the dry river bed that runs through Phoenix, that
included the construction of two urban ponds, the Demonstration Pond and the Reservoir
Pond. At the start of this study, it was unknown what vertebrate species inhabited these
ponds, but it was known that these urban ponds have been used to dump unwanted
aquatic pets. The bluegill Lepomis macrochirus was found to reside in both ponds, and as
it is such an important sportfish species, it was chosen as the focal species for these
studies, which took place over periods in March, May, July, and September of 2021.
Single-season occupancy models were used to attempt to determine how L. macrochirus,
use the microhabitats within the system, and a multi-season model was used to estimate
their recruitment, and seasonal changes in occupancy. In addition, this study also
attempts to understand the size structures of the L. macrochirus population in the
Reservoir Pond and the population in the Demonstration Pond, and if that size structure
varies from March to September. As the populations of these ponds are physically
isolated from one another, statistical tests were also done to determine if the size
structures of the two populations of L. macrochirus differ from one another and found
that the two populations do indeed differ from one another, but only during two of the
sampling periods.
ContributorsKeister, Emily Jan (Author) / Saul, Steven (Thesis advisor) / Bateman, Heather (Committee member) / Suzart de Albuquerque, Fabio (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022