Responses of Florida panthers to recreational deer and hog hunting

Michael W. Janis; Joseph D. Clark

doi:10.2307/3803148

Home/Archive/USGS

USGS · 1014937

Responses of Florida panthers to recreational deer and hog hunting

Michael W. Janis·Joseph D. Clark

View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Big Cypress National Preserve constitutes approximately one-third of the range of the endangered Florida panther ( Puma concolor coryi ). Because recreational hunting is allowed in Big Cypress National Preserve, we examined 8 response variables (activity rates, movement rates, predation success, home-range size, home-range shifts, proximity to off-road vehicle trails, use of areas with concentrated human activity, and habitat selection) to evaluate how Florida panthers respond to human activity associated with deer and hog hunting. Data consisted of panther radiolocations collected since 1981 by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the National Park Service, which we augmented with radiolocations and activity monitoring from 1994 to 1998. A split-plot (treatment and control) study design with repeated measures of the variables for each panther taken before, during, and after the hunting season was used. We did not detect responses to hunting for variables most directly related to panther energy intake or expenditure (i.e., activity rates, movement rates, predation success of females; P >0.10). However, panthers reduced their use of Bear Island ( P =0.021), an area of concentrated human activity, and were found farther from off-road vehicle trails ( P ≤0.001) during the hunting season, which was indicative of a reaction to human disturbance. Whereas the reaction to human activity on off-road vehicle trails probably has minor biological implications and may be linked to prey behavior, the decreased use of Bear Island is most likely a direct reaction to human activity and resulted in increased use of adjacent private lands. Future habitat loss on those private lands could exacerbate the negative consequences of this response by panthers.

Explore related subjects

Journal of Wildlife Management Article

Source-reported bounding extent: 25.31423555219758° to 26.330345320410842° latitude; -81.84539794921875° to -80.79071044921875° longitude. This indicates report coverage, not an exact sampling location. View area on OpenStreetMap.

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeX RIS

Michael W. Janis, Joseph D. Clark. 2002. Responses of Florida panthers to recreational deer and hog hunting. https://doi.org/10.2307/3803148

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related USGS reports

USGS2026

Beginning with a single step: A social theory of change for managing chronic wasting disease

Emerging wildlife diseases, like chronic wasting disease (CWD), not only lead to changing dynamics within the ecology of the susceptible species but also to changes within interrelated social and management systems. Chronic wasting disease has proven challenging to manage partially because the best management practices (BMP) available have conflicted with historical cervid management paradigms. In support of CWD management decisions, we conducted an expert elicitation investigation of potential intervention strategies that experts believed would positively affect CWD management. The most prioritized intervention was “understanding audiences, outreach, and engagement with public.” Using the most prioritized intervention theme, we continued the expert elicitation process to develop a social theory of change that describes the expected results of implementing the intervention theme. The results chain describes a process of conducting social science investigation to gather evidence and understand the situation and use the gathered evidence to support the selection of appropriate behavior change strategies and pathways prior to implementing a desired CWD management action. The produced social theory of change provides CWD managing organizations with a framework for evaluating efforts to engage with the public about the actions they are taking and working to increase support or participation.

Journal of Wildlife Management↗

USGS2026

Validating antler- and movement-based estimates of caribou reproduction using video camera collars

Wildlife agencies invest substantial resources in monitoring ungulate reproductive rates given ongoing concerns about population trends and their implications for management. For barren-ground caribou ( Rangifer tarandus ) in the North American Arctic, data on parturition and neonate survival have traditionally been collected using visual observations of antler retention and calf presence from small, fixed-wing aircraft. However, these surveys are weather-dependent, expensive, and dangerous, motivating the development of movement-based approaches that infer reproductive events from global positioning system (GPS) location data. We had the unique opportunity to use video camera collars to validate both antler- and movement-based methods for estimating reproduction in barren-ground caribou, using data from the Porcupine (2018–2023) and Western Arctic (2021, 2023) herds in Alaska, USA, and Yukon, Canada. For the movement-based approaches, we assessed individual-based and population-based methods, which both inferred parturition following a sharp decline in movement and inferred calf loss following a sharp increase in movement. We investigated these approaches using rarified 1-, 2-, 4-, and 8-hour fix intervals. Based on video collar observations, we found that antler retention at the onset of the calving period was highly accurate for predicting parturition (96% accuracy) but became unreliable as calving progressed, as approximately 80% of parturient females shed their antlers during the calving period. In contrast, both movement methods performed marginally for estimating caribou parturition (~70% accuracy), with estimates from the individual-based method exhibiting greater bias than those from the population-based method. The individual-based method also poorly predicted neonate survival (≤49% accuracy for detecting parturition and calf fate for the Porcupine Herd). Video data revealed that inaccuracies with the movement methods often occurred when caribou bedded during storms, rested after traversing mountainous terrain, lost a calf shortly after birth, or increased movement to evade insects. These results have important implications for management agencies using antler- and movement-based methods to estimate caribou reproduction, particularly when informing assessments of population decline or recovery. Our results demonstrate the utility of video collar data for validating reproductive monitoring approaches and provide insights into how these approaches can be improved.

Alaska, Yukon↗

USGS2026

Ringtail (Bassariscus astutus) survival in southwestern Oregon

The effective conservation and management of small carnivore populations requires understanding species’ life-history traits and identifying important vital rates that drive population trajectories. However, many of these species are rare or elusive and of state or federal conservation concern, and demographic information is often lacking and difficult to obtain. At the northern limit of their range in Oregon, USA, ringtail ( Bassariscus astutus ) occupy mid-elevation forests and are a species of conservation concern because of their limited distribution and suspected low density. We initiated a radio-telemetry study in 2020 to estimate monthly and annual survival of ringtail in southwest Oregon. We monitored 26 ringtail from November 2020 to October 2022 and estimated survival rates using a known-fate framework and Program MARK. Model-averaged monthly survival estimates ranged from lows of 0.963 (SE = 0.022, 95% CI = 0.887–0.988) in spring (Feb–May) of 2021 to highs of 0.980 (SE = 0.018, 95% CI = 0.889–0.997) in summer (Jun–Oct) of 2022. Model-averaged estimates of annual survival were 0.695 (SE = 0.176, 95% CI = 0.310–0.920) during 2020–2021 and 0.728 (SE = 0.168, 95% CI = 0.336–0.934) during 2021–2022. Predation was the leading cause of mortality, but notably, no mortalities could be attributed to avian predation. Survival rates were much higher within forested landscapes in Oregon than for populations in the southwestern United States, which may have implications for regional conservation and management strategies.

Oregon↗