Showing papers by "William J. McShea published in 2011"
TL;DR: Zhang et al. as mentioned in this paper investigated whether human-wildlife conflicts in Sichuan Province, southwestern China, resulted in increased bear poaching and found that negative and neutral attitudes toward bears were more negative among people who had previous interactions with bears or lived where bear encounters were more likely.
182 citations
TL;DR: A strategic plan for moving panda conservation forward is proposed and the giant panda can become a high-profile test species for this much touted, but rarely implemented, approach to conservation management.
Abstract: The giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca David, 1869) is an iconic species for global conservation, yet field research has only recently advanced to the point where adaptive management is possible. Here, we review recent developments in giant panda conservation science and propose a strategic plan for moving panda conservation forward. Because of scientific, funding, political, and logistical hurdles, few endangered species management programs have embraced adaptive management, wherein management decisions are shaped iteratively by targeted scientific research. Specific threats, such as habitat destruction, anthropogenic disturbance and fragmented nonviable populations, need to be addressed simultaneously by researchers, managers and policy-makers working in concert to understand and overcome these obstacles to species recovery. With the backing of the Chinese Government and the conservation community, the giant panda can become a high-profile test species for this much touted, but rarely implemented, approach to conservation management.
26 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used infrared cameras to confirm deer activity with respect to survey roads at 2 national parks in Maryland, USA (Catoctin National Park and Antietam National Historic Battlefield), during 2005 and 2006 and compared results with the predicted distributions.
Abstract: Estimating the population density of deer is an essential task for public agencies that plan a herd reduction. Distance sampling has been increasingly utilized to estimate population density, and is used by the National Park Service to estimate white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) densities throughout the eastern United States. Many of these surveys are conducted along public roads due to limited resources and accessibility, which may violate a critical assumption of distance sampling and potentially introduce sampling bias. We used infrared cameras to confirm deer activity with respect to survey roads at 2 national parks in Maryland, USA (Catoctin National Park and Antietam National Historic Battlefield), during 2005 and 2006 and compared results with the predicted distributions. The number of deer observed during road surveys declined with distance intervals at Catoctin, but there was a similar amount of deer activity at each distance interval. At Antietam, survey observations maintained a constant level of activity beyond 200 m from the survey route, while deer activity was inconsistent between distance intervals. The mean number of deer photographs/day/sample point did vary significantly across distance intervals from the survey route at Antietam, but not at Catoctin. In Antietam, the uneven distribution of agricultural fields and public roads were significant predictors of deer activity detected during the camera surveys. At Catoctin, the fit of the detection function was improved by expanding the first distance interval. Although density estimation using DISTANCE can account for most sources of error introduced by use of public roads, our data indicate bias is likely to occur in landscapes with high road densities and long sight distances. © 2011 The Wildlife Society.
22 citations
01 Jan 2011
9 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors collected 323 GPS locations of four takin (Budorcas taxicolor tibetana) in 13 days before and after a powerful (8.0 magnitude) earthquake on May 12, 2008 in Sichuan Province, China.
Abstract: The question of whether large-scale disturbances, such as earthquakes, impact an animal’s behavior significantly is an important question, but one that is difficult to answer due to the unpredictability of these types of events. Here, we collected 323 GPS locations of four takin (Budorcas taxicolor tibetana) in 13 days before and after a powerful (8.0 magnitude) earthquake on May 12, 2008 in Sichuan Province, China. The movement during this period was compared to that of three of the same animals during a corresponding period in 2009 (April 30 to May 25) and a slightly later 2009 period based on the start of migration (May 6 to May 31). We found that home ranges reduced in size during each study period, due to the migration process, but with no discernable differences due to the earthquake. The takin also showed the same pattern of elevation change and linear travel distance during 2008 and 2009, indicating no detectable effect of the earthquake on spatial behavior of takin. These findings add to our knowledge of how animals respond to catastrophic natural events in the wild.
4 citations