THE GREATER YELLOWSTONE AREA MOUNTAIN UNGULATE PROJECT THE GREATER YELLOWSTONE AREA MOUNTAIN UNGULATE PROJECT
A COLLABORATIVE PROJECT MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY BOB GARROTT- LEAD COORDINATOR ECOLOGY AND ANIM. & RANGE SCI. DEPTS.
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE YELLOWSTONE AND GRAND TETON NATL. PARKS
WYOMING GAME AND FISH DEPT. IDAHO DEPARTMENT FISH AND GAME MONTANA FISH WILDLIFE AND PARKS U.S. FOREST SERVICE THE GREATER YELLOWSTONE AREA MOUNTAIN UNGULATE PROJECT
A COLLABORATIVE PROJECT MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY BOB GARROTT- LEAD COORDINATOR ECOLOGY AND ANIM. & RANGE SCI. DEPTS.
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE YELLOWSTONE AND GRAND TETON NATL. PARKS
WYOMING GAME AND FISH DEPT. IDAHO DEPARTMENT FISH AND GAME MONTANA FISH WILDLIFE AND PARKS U.S. FOREST SERVICE 22 Biologists and 5 Graduate Students THE GREATER YELLOWSTONE AREA MOUNTAIN UNGULATE PROJECT
Funding THE GREATER YELLOWSTONE AREA MOUNTAIN UNGULATE PROJECT Initiated 2009
Project Goal Develop and implement comparative studies of sympatric mountain goats and bighorn sheep in the GYE. 1) Gain insight into the ecological interactions between these two species. 2) Advance our basic ecological knowledge of mountain ungulates in the region 3) Inform policy and enhance conservation and management. THE GREATER YELLOWSTONE AREA MOUNTAIN UNGULATE PROJECT
REGIONAL DATABASES
DISTRIBUTION-RANGE DYNAMICS -MOUNTAIN GOAT RANGE EXPANSION
SPATIAL ECOLOGY
HABITAT MODELS REGIONAL DATABASES
PHASE ONE • HISTORIC DISTRIBUTION – BHS: 1937-PRESENT ~22,000 RECORDS – MTG: 1942-PRESENT ~6,000 RECORDS REGIONAL DATABASES
PHASE TWO • GREATER YELLOWSTONE MTN UNGULATE PROJECT – CAPTURE RECORDS • ~150 TOTAL CAPTURES • BHS: ~110 • MTG: ~41 – GPS DATA • 86,000 – DISEASE SAMPLING DISTRIBUTION-RANGE DYNAMICS
Mtn Goats as Non-native
Nine Introduction Sites
Introduced Montana 1942-1959 Introduced Idaho 1969-1971 MTN GOAT RANGE EXPANSION
1970 MTN GOAT RANGE EXPANSION
1980 MTN GOAT RANGE EXPANSION
1990 MTN GOAT RANGE EXPANSION
2000 MTN GOAT RANGE EXPANSION
2013 BIGHORN SHEEP DISTRIBUTION MTN GOAT RANGE EXPANSION SPATIAL ECOLOGY OF MOUNTAIN UNGULATES
OBJECTIVES Use telemetry to enhance our understanding of mountain ungulate spatial ecology
• Seasonal distribution • Movement dynamics • Resource preference • Potential competition • Disease transmission MULTIPLE STUDY AREAS
1 Upper Yellowstone , MT 1 2 Mount Everts, WY 4 2 3 3 Northeast GYA 5 4 Clarks Fork Canyon, WY 5 Upper Sunlight, WY 6 6 Grey Bull, WY 8 7 Gros Ventre, WY 10 7 8 Grand Teton NP, WY 9 9 Snake River Canyon, WY 10 Palisades, ID CAPTURE TELEMETRY
Dual Collaring – GPS-SOB and Micro-VHF TELEMETRY
Currently: ~40 MTG & ~100 BHS To Deploy: ~20 MTG & ~40 BHS TELEMETRY
~ 200 Instrumented Animals Total TELEMETRY EXAMPLE
The Thunderer
Upper Sunlight THE THUNDERER THE THUNDERER THE THUNDERER THE THUNDERER UPPER SUNLIGHT BASIN UPPER SUNLIGHT BASIN USING OCCUPANCY SURVEYS TO CONSTRUCT HABITAT MODELS
OBJECTIVES • MODEL MTN GOAT HABITAT SELECTION
• PREDICT MTN GOAT RANGE EXPANSION OCCUPANCY SURVEYS OCCUPANCY SURVEYS OCCUPANCY SURVEYS OCCUPANCY SURVEYS SAMPLING EFFORT
551 SURVEYS 53,098 GRID CELLS 508 W/ GOATS 296 W/ BIGHORN 35 W/ BOTH MTN GOAT HABITAT MODEL
MODEL COVARIATES TERRAIN, CANOPY COVER, NDVI, & RADIATION MTN GOAT HABITAT MODEL - S. ABSAROKA MTN GOAT HABITAT MODEL - TETON RANGE MTN GOAT HABITAT MODEL - ABUNDANCE MTN GOAT HABITAT MODEL - ABUNDANCE MTN GOAT HABITAT MODEL - ABUNDANCE MTN GOAT HABITAT MODEL - ABUNDANCE MTN GOAT HABITAT MODEL - ABUNDANCE
CURRENT ESTIMATE ~ 2,100 MTN GOAT HABITAT MODEL - ABUNDANCE MTN GOAT HABITAT MODEL - ABUNDANCE
CURRENT ESTIMATE ~ 250 MTN GOAT HABITAT MODEL - ABUNDANCE MTN GOAT HABITAT MODEL - ABUNDANCE Thanks for your attention MTN GOAT HABITAT MODEL – GROS VENTRE DISEASE
Initial Strain-typing Of Mycoplasma ovi.
CLIMATE AND BIGHORN SHEEP DEMOGRAPHY ANALYSIS OF HISTORIC BIGHORN RECRUITMENT DATA
GRADUATE STUDENT CARSON BUTLER
OBJECTIVES
• ASSESS RELATIONSHIP OF ANNUAL BIGHORN RECRUITMENT WITH ANNUAL WEATHER VARIATION
• ASSESS POTENTIAL INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON GYA BIGHORN POPULATIONS DATA AND METHODS
RECRUITMENT METRIC WINTER LAMB:EWE RATIOS
WEATHER DATA SOURCE SNOTEL SENSORS
ANNUAL WEATHER VARIABLES WARM SEASON & COLD SEASON PRE-BIRTH & POST-BIRTH DATA AND METHODS
MOIST
HYPOTHESES
THE RELATIONSHIP OF RECRUITMENT WITH ANNUAL WEATHER PATTERNS DEPENDS ON REGIONAL CLIMATE
DRY FINDINGS
MOIST
DRY FINDINGS
MOIST
DRY FINDINGS
MOIST
DRY FINDINGS
CLIMATE CHANGE EFFECTS FINDINGS SUGGEST DIFFERENT AREAS WILL BE AFFECTED DIFFERENTLY DISEASE
All captured animals sampled for respiratory pathogens UPPER SUNLIGHT BASIN UPPER SUNLIGHT BASIN