Darcy R. Visscher

Human–wildlife conflict is intensifying globally as ungulate populations expand into human‐dominated landscapes, posing challenges for agricultural communities. This study examined the abundance, distribution, and behavior of Roosevelt elk ( Cervus canadensis roosevelti ) in the Cowichan Valley of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, a region experiencing increasing human–elk conflict related to agriculture. Using 2 years of data from motion‐sensing cameras deployed across agricultural fields, we assessed elk abundance, seasonal activity patterns, and the influence of human‐use landscape factors on their distribution. Additionally, we conducted semi‐structured interviews with farming‐based landowners to provide further insight into elk distribution and conflict trends. We estimated a minimum population of 195 elk in our monitored region, with age ratios indicative of moderate population growth. Weekly elk intensity of use peaked in early spring and late summer, coinciding with critical agricultural periods. Spatially, elk were more likely to use areas further from highways and houses, while temporally, elk exhibited increased nocturnality in areas with higher road density and greater proportions of agricultural land, as well as during months coinciding with seasonal hunting pressure. Landowners overwhelmingly reported that elk use of agriculture has increased over the past decade and is exceeding tolerable levels. Our findings from camera data corroborate that the local elk population exceeds recommended management thresholds, necessitating interventions to mitigate human–wildlife conflict. Further, this study suggests that collaborative monitoring may be a promising strategy to inform wildlife management in conflict‐prone landscapes.

La asignación precisa del sexo es esencial para comprender la demografía y la ecología del movimiento de Aegolius acadicus; sin embargo, los métodos basados en características morfológicas obtenidas en el terreno son históricamente de difícil interpretación debido a la superposición en el tamaño corporal de ambos sexos. Analizamos el ADN de 445 individuos de Aegolius acadicus capturados en Alberta, Canadá, durante la migración otoñal con el fin de evaluar la precisión de tres criterios establecidos de determinación del sexo y desarrollar un nuevo modelo de regresión logística con distribución binomial del error (modelo binomial) utilizando la longitud del ala cerrada sin aplanar y la masa corporal. Los resultados de ADN revelaron una proporción de sexos sesgada hacia las hembras, con 2.27 hembras por cada macho (H:M = 2.27:1), y nuestro modelo, que incorporó mediciones recolectadas durante años con y sin irrupción de individuos, reflejó ajustadamente este patrón (2.37:1). Nuestro modelo alcanzó una precisión general de clasificación del 93% con un alto valor estadístico de kappa (0.82), superó a los métodos existentes (rango de precisión: 69–84%, kappa: 0.34–0.44) y eliminó la necesidad de contar con una categoría de “sexo desconocido”. Es importante destacar que los métodos tradicionales subestimaron la representación de machos al asignar la mayoría de los individuos a las categorías de hembra o sexo desconocido, sesgando así las proporciones de sexos inferidas. Recomendamos el uso de nuestro validado modelo binomial cuando la determinación del sexo por ADN no sea factible e instamos a realizar calibraciones regionales adicionales de los criterios morfológicos de determinación del sexo para contemplar posibles variaciones geográficas. [Traducción del equipo editorial]

Population density estimates are invaluable to wildlife managers, but difficult to attain. Several methods have been developed to estimate density using camera traps, many of which require further testing. The time-in-front-of-the-camera (TIFC) approach allows for density estimation when “unmarked” individuals are monitored using camera traps. We applied the TIFC model to populations of bison (Bison bison, B. bison athabascae), elk (Cervus elaphus canadensis), and moose (Alces alces) in Elk Island National Park (EINP) and to populations of elk and moose in Cooking Lake – Blackfoot Provincial Recreation Area (BPRA). EINP and BPRA are fully fenced natural areas in the Beaverhills Region of central Alberta, Canada. Our objectives were to (i) use the TIFC model to estimate ungulate densities in EINP and BPRA, and (ii) compare the performance of TIFC density estimates against aerial ungulate survey estimates. Camera trap data were collected from 43 cameras in EINP between December 2016 and October 2020, and 23 cameras in BPRA from April 2019 to August 2020. Annual densities were estimated in EINP north and south (2017–2019) and in BPRA (2019). Moose density estimates had the lowest discrepancy between approaches. Bison TIFC density estimates were lower than AUS densities, and elk TIFC density estimates were higher than AUS densities. In addition to the density estimates evaluated for the three focal species, the TIFC approach also was applied to white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and mule deer (O. hemionus) in EINP and BPRA, in the absence of aerial survey data. We conclude that the TIFC model and AUS were complementary, with pros and cons of the two approaches varying based on focal species ecology. Careful consideration is required for several factors related to camera study design for TIFC density estimation that can affect the accuracy and precision of estimates.

Deterrents that are designed to emulate humans or natural predators are increasingly applied to manage the behaviors and distribution of conflict‐prone species, but the efficacy of these tools is frequently challenged by the process of habituation. In this study, we investigated the responses of Roosevelt elk ( Cervus canadensis roosevelti ) and black‐tailed deer ( Odocoileus hemionus columbianus ) to playbacks of unimodal (acoustic) and multimodal (acoustic and visual) stimuli on crop fields in the Cowichan Valley, British Columbia, Canada. We contrasted behavioral responses to acoustic recordings of (i) human voices (shouting and talking), (ii) natural predator vocalizations (wolf and cougar), (iii) dog barks, and (iv) local bird vocalizations (control) and tested the effect of flashing LED lights using alternating audio‐light and audio‐only treatments at the same sites over two 3‐week periods. We found that multimodal stimuli increased the likelihood of fleeing by 4.7 in elk and 1.8 in deer but did not affect the time spent in alert postures. Among acoustic treatments, playbacks of human shouts tended to elicit greater flight responses than humans talking, natural predators, dogs, and bird sounds. Both species showed evidence of habituation to the deterrents as the 6‐week experiment progressed, but elk responses declined more rapidly than deer, and rates of habituation for both species were slower when deterrents included flashing lights. For deer, alert responses declined more rapidly at sites surrounded by more houses and closer to highways. Together, our results indicate that recordings of humans shouting provided the most salient acoustic deterrent for these ungulates and that acoustic deterrents were enhanced with lights, but habituation to our stationary deterrents occurred rapidly, especially in proximity to human activity.

The increasing spread of wild pigs across Canada is concerning due to their potential role as reservoirs for zoonotic diseases, including trichinosis and toxoplasmosis. Trichinosis is caused by the parasitic nematode Trichinella spp. and can manifest clinically in humans. Likewise, the intracellular protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii is a significant global foodborne and waterborne parasite responsible for toxoplasmosis. Despite wild pigs being recognized globally as reservoirs for T. gondii and Trichinella spp., the status of wild pigs in Alberta remains undetermined. Wild pig diaphragms were collected as part of provincial control efforts between 2018–2024 from four Alberta counties. Meat juice was analyzed for antibodies against Trichinella spp. and T. gondii using commercial ELISA kits. We found that 27/252 pigs were positive for antibodies against T. gondii and 11/293 positive for antibodies against Trichinella spp., corresponding with the respective true prevalence of 15.3% (95% CrI: 9.6–22.7%) and 3.8% (95% CrI: 1.8–6.5%) based on Bayesian analysis using reported test sensitivity and specificity. We found a difference in true prevalence of antibodies against Trichinella spp. between counties, and the prevalence of antibodies against Trichinella spp. and T. gondii was significantly higher in solitary wild pigs, suggesting social context of the individual is an important determinant of infection risk. These findings suggest that Alberta wild pigs function as Trichinella spp. and T. gondii reservoirs, underscoring the need for a One Health approach for managing Alberta’s invasive wild pigs.

As grazing lands expand it is important to understand the effect cattle (Bos taurus) may have on native ungulates. Cattle presence in a landscape can cause both spatial and temporal partitioning in wild ungulates. We used remote cameras to investigate the impacts of seasonal rest-rotational cattle grazing on both the temporal and spatial behaviors of moose (Alces alces), elk (Cervus canadensis), mule deer (Odocoileus hemonius), and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Cooking Lake-Blackfoot Provincial Park near Edmonton, AB, Canada. We found that all wild ungulates decrease their intensity of use in areas while cattle were grazing, and that this effect remains even after cattle have left, suggesting a degree of spatial partitioning. We also observed species specific changes in ungulate daily activity and nocturnality in response to cattle presence indicative of temporal partitioning. Elk increased their nocturnality while both deer species decreased their nocturnality. Understanding how cattle presence affects wild ungulates is essential for wildlife management, disease transmission, and conservation in the wake of potential increased ungulate-cattle interactions in the future.

Context: Human activities, such as tourism and hunting, affect the spatiotemporal behaviour of wildlife. For example, it is well documented that ungulates change their spatiotemporal behaviour as a response to hunting pressure, but less is known about ungulate responses to hunting in areas where human activity is common throughout the year and ungulates are constrained by fences. Aims: In this camera-trap study, we analysed the change in spatiotemporal behaviour of wild ungulates (elk, Cervus canadensis (3519 events), moose, Alces alces (1153 events), and white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus (2708 events)) in response to the hunting period in a recreational and fenced park, the Cooking Lake–Blackfoot Provincial Area, Canada. Methods: We used general linear models to compare species-specific patterns of intensity of use, calculated as events per week, in response to changes in the nature of human disturbance, namely a shift from recreation to hunting activity. In particular, we compared intensity of use in and out of the hunting season to determine whether species engaged in spatial patterns of avoidance with respect to hunting. We used daily and seasonal patterns of activity to determine how ungulates shifted their temporal use in response to hunting activity and whether they became more nocturnal as a result. Key results: We found that ungulates responded temporally to the hunting period by generally shifting their activity to more nocturnal hours, with white-tailed deer showing the biggest temporal shift, suggesting that the ungulates distinguish between consumptive and non-consumptive human activities. Nevertheless, temporal overlap between humans and all ungulate species increased during the hunting period as humans targeted times of increased ungulate activity. Spatially, the response was less distinctive and was species-specific. Elk showed little change in spatial behaviour in response to the hunting period. In contrast, moose decreased the use of trail areas and other areas frequented by humans, whereas deer, counterintuitively, increased the use of trail areas, albeit their use became much more nocturnal. Conclusions: We have shown that responses of ungulates to hunting exceed those to non-consumptive recreational use, and whereas temporal responses (increased nocturnality) were consistent across ungulate species, spatial responses were species-specific. Implications: Management in small fenced multi-use areas needs to account for shifts in the intensity of disturbance resulting from a change in human disturbance from recreational activity to hunting. Providing spatial opportunities for avoidance of humans is key for most species if hours of operation in these areas already limit the timing of human activity.

Predators negatively affect prey outside of direct attack, and these nonconsumptive effects (NCEs) may cause over half the impacts of predators on prey populations. This “ecology of fear” framework has been extended to host–parasite interactions. The NCEs of parasites are thought to be small relative to those of predators. However, recent research shows ectoparasites exert NCEs on multiple life stages of Drosophila. In this study, we apply recent data to a matrix‐based model of fly populations experiencing infection/consumption and NCEs from an ectoparasitic mite. We found the NCEs of parasites on larvae, which are not actively parasitized, decreased the size of simulated host populations. By contrast, the NCEs on adult flies increased population size through compensatory egg production. The negative NCEs on larvae outweighed the positive effects on adults to reduce population size. This study suggests that parasitic NCEs can suppress host populations independent of infection.

Wildlife must adapt to human presence to survive in the Anthropocene, so it is critical to understand species responses to humans in different contexts. We used camera trapping as a lens to view mammal responses to changes in human activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Across 163 species sampled in 102 projects around the world, changes in the amount and timing of animal activity varied widely. Under higher human activity, mammals were less active in undeveloped areas but unexpectedly more active in developed areas while exhibiting greater nocturnality. Carnivores were most sensitive, showing the strongest decreases in activity and greatest increases in nocturnality. Wildlife managers must consider how habituation and uneven sensitivity across species may cause fundamental differences in human–wildlife interactions along gradients of human influence.

Background: There has been a spate of recent cases of human alveolar echinococcosis (AE) in Alberta, Canada. Alveolar echinococcosis is caused byEchinococcus multilocularis, which is prevalent among coyote populations and present in domestic dogs in Alberta.Methods and results: Using qPCR, we estimated the seasonal fecal prevalence ofE. multilocularisin coyotes and dogs in a multiuse recreation area close to Edmonton, Alberta, where we also setup remote cameras to model seasonal changes in the overlap in temporal activity and the spatial intensity of use among coyotes, humans, and dogs, as a proxy of potential transmission. We detectedE. multilocularisin 18 of 137 wild canid feces and none in 44 dog feces. After correcting for the qPCR test’s sensitivity and specificity, we estimated at 15.7% (9.7-22.7%, 95% CrI) the true fecal prevalence for coyotes. Temporal overlap between coyotes and both humans and dogs increased in the fall and winter relative to the spring and summer. Coyote intensity of use showed seasonal variations and was higher on maintained trails and locations closer to visitor parking and at sites with high intensity of dog use.Conclusions: Our results reinforce the need of an integrated approach, typical of both One-Health and Eco-Health, to park management for minimizing the likelihood of transmission where human and dog activity results in significant overlap with the one of the natural definitive hosts of zoonotic parasites.