Researchers are turning to AI to help wildlife managers find remote fencing that impairs wildlife movement or causes wildlife deaths. Around 1 million kilometers of fencing, largely built to contain livestock, stretches across the western U.S. In recent years, efforts to remove or replace fencing have gained traction as species like elk (Cervus canadensis), deer and pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) are unable to cross them. The problem for many conservation organizations, though, is that the fences are hard to find. To better map the potential wildlife barriers, Wenjing Xu, a postdoctoral researcher at the Senchkenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center, and Zhongqi Miao, an applied research scientist with the Microsoft AI for Good Lab, trained a computer to pick out fences from aerial images taken in southwestern Wyoming. The team reported that the system was able to identify about 70% of fences when compared to on-the-ground data. The preliminary research demonstrates how wildlife managers can use this technology across more habitats in the future.
Sustainable logging may help boost a vulnerable freshwater turtle’s occupancy in parts of Malaysian Borneo.
“Despite the negative association with logging with the flat-shelled turtles, they seem to be doing quite well,” said Nick Tan, who recently received his PhD from the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change at the Museum Koenig in Bonn, Germany.
The Deramakot Forest Reserve sits in the northeastern part of Malaysian Borneo. Foresters had heavily logged the area in the past, but in the 1980s, they used a more sustainable method called reduced impact logging. This method is stricter about harvest rates and pays attention to other factors, like the direction a tree will fall. It also requires reduced roads and trails to logging areas and a 30-meter buffer around waterways.
Past studies have shown how this logging practice improved habitat for mammals in Borneo, but researchers hadn’t yet looked at its effect on reptiles there.
Tan’s colleague Sami Asad with the Tomorrow University of Applied Science in Germany had collected field data on reptiles from March to July in 2019. He and an assistant walked transects along eight waterways in Deramakot, recording turtle sightings. Some areas they surveyed had been logged a year prior, while others hadn’t been disturbed for 20 years.
Malayan soft-shelled turtles, pictured here, were less commonly found than Malayan flat-shelled turtles. Credit: M.O. Rödel
The team collected the most data on two species—the Malayan flat-shelled turtle (Notochelys platynota), considered vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and the Malayan soft-shelled turtle (Dogania subplana), which is more common.
Sustainable logging and freshwater turtles
In a study published recently in TheJournal of Wildlife Management, Tan and his colleagues analyzed the data Asad collected to see how sustainable logging was affecting these species. The researchers hoped these findings could help them make further recommendations aimed at decreasing the ecological impacts of the practice.
The team ran occupancy models based on the field sightings of these nocturnal reptiles and took into account factors like the lunar phase, rainfall data taken from nearby weather stations, distance to nearby logging roads, forest canopy height and river size.
The results surprised the researchers—flat-shelled turtles were seen more in Deramakot than the usually more common soft-shelled species. The average occupancy for flat-shelled turtles was 80% compared to 50% for Malayan soft-shelled turtles.
Tan said that the fact that both species have occupancy rates higher than 50% is a good sign for the sustainability of this logging practice.
The analysis also revealed the importance of rainfall for flat-shelled turtle detection. They didn’t appear as much when it was raining—possibly as they lay eggs on sandy banks in drier periods.
The vulnerable species was also found more in larger rivers and in areas that were more than 1,000 meters from a logging road. The logging roads might be affecting the water quality, Tan said, by adding sediment to the rivers—Malayan flat-shelled turtles prefer clearer water.
Fewer Malayan soft-shelled turtles
The data wasn’t as robust for Malayan soft-shelled turtles in this area since the researchers didn’t see as many. But the research revealed a weak trend suggesting that the reptiles seem to appear most about a decade after an area has been sustainably logged. They aren’t found as much during the first 10 years, then they seem to appear a lot more in the 11th year. After that, the occurrence seems to drop again. Tan cautioned that this data wasn’t as reliable as the trends they found for flat-shelled turtles.
It also isn’t clear why this might be the case and why the researchers found flat-shelled turtles more than soft-shelled turtles. But Tan said that soft-shelled turtles tend to be more tolerant of humans and development—they are often found in urban areas or university campuses, for example.
Neither the lunar phase nor the canopy height seemed to show any trend on turtle occurrence for either species.
Tan said the take-home message from the research is that both species tend to respond well to sustainable logging practices. The data on vulnerable flat-shelled turtles shows how important it is to keep logging roads away from waterways—these should be carefully managed to reduce the impact.
It’s also important to check the weather before conducting surveys, he said. Their data revealed that rainy weather will likely result in fewer sightings.
In the future, he added that it would be good to compare turtle occupancy in these sustainably logged areas with forests that had been more heavily logged.
This article features research that was published in a TWS peer-reviewed journal. Individual online access to all TWS journal articles is a benefit of membership. Join TWS now to read the latest in wildlife research.
Stephanie Simek has been named the new executive director of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. Simek, a TWS member, is the first woman to ever hold the position. The New Hampshire Fish and Game Commission unanimously approved her appointment to the role. With over 30 years of natural resources experience, Simek has spent the last decade of her career working for agencies with the state of Washington. “I’m really trying to contain myself here, because I’m trying to be very professional, but I’m super excited about this opportunity,” Simek said in an interview with the New Hampshire Bulletin. “I have worked my whole career preparing for a position of this caliber.” Simek holds a bachelor’s degree in fisheries and wildlife from Virginia Tech, a master’s degree in environmental and forest biology from State University of New York, and a doctorate in forest resources from Mississippi State University.
Selamat datang means welcome to the jungle—Indonesian style!
In 2008, I visited the island of Sumatra to learn about tiger monitoring and threats to the big cats’ survival. Here follow a few field notes from my trip:
Hidden in the thick, thorny, humid jungle of Tesso Nilo National Park, I see the promising trail of tiny pugmarks left from the Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) in the mud—much smaller than what I’ve seen in Nepal or India. We erect our thin black plastic tarp-over-a-log shelter for the night. Come morning, we discover a tiger has passed by, captured on the nearby trail camera—possibly, the animal we heard sniffing loudly by our camp last night!
Next, we head to Kerumutan Wildlife Reserve. It isn’t clear if tigers use this peat swamp habitat year-round given the inundation during the rainy season, although tigers are great swimmers. Here they would mainly just prey on pigs and macaques. We rent a small wooden boat accompanied by a driver. We boat upriver to the driver’s small, floating fish hut with just enough room for our team to climb in for lunch. While eating, a breeze picks up, followed by frantic shouts in Bahasa. Another shack, not 15 feet away, partially collapses as a water twister spirits it away. The fisherman says he has never seen anything like it.
Wildlife biologist Barber-Meyer comes face to face with a manatee in Crystal River, Florida during a project collecting photos for identifying the marine mammals. Credit Robert Bonde/USGS
We navigate through narrow waterways in the swampy maze. An elderly woman peacefully squats on the ledge of her shack, selling fish. The team buys some tiny black fish drying on wood and a few bigger fish swimming in her nets—a floating grocery store. Later, we dock at another floating hut to sleep for the night. We’re told that if the owners come back, it will be fine—everyone will just scooch over to make space. Amazing hospitality!
Lastly, we visit the rolling hills of Bukit Rimbang Baling Reserve. While driving, the team becomes confused because the roads look so different after recent forest clearings. We visit a lovely river near an old mining area. The mining company was shut down because of illegal practices, but the company’s name was simply changed and operations moved elsewhere. This is exceptionally frustrating for those trying to halt the destruction of this precious landscape.
Barber-Meyer helicopters to remote emperor penguin colonies in Antarctica for postdoctoral research. Credit: Gerald Kooyman, University of CA, San Diego
It is encouraging to see firsthand that tigers can be so adaptive, living in such varied habitats. Yet encroachment seems pervasive—we watch oil drills pumping throughout the landscape and hear a large boom from mining in the distance. We smell a terrible odor from the rubber factories; witness smoke billowing up from forest clearings; and we pass new clear cuts outlined with oil palm plants waiting to cover the scar. Poaching continues to be a problem as well. It is all happening so shockingly fast, and it can feel overwhelmingly sad. I’m so thankful for this team and other dedicated teams and their inspiring efforts to conserve tigers in the face of such daunting challenges.
Wildlife Vocalizations is a collection of short personal perspectives from people in the field of wildlife sciences.
Submit your story for Wildlife Vocalizations or nominate your peers and colleagues to encourage them to share their story. For questions, please contact tws@wildlife.org.
With scientific journals moving toward open access and digital formats, as well as becoming more affordable overall, the wildlife publishing scene is rapidly changing. As a result, a survey team, led by researchers from Northern Arizona University, is hoping to learn more about authors’ ideas around publishing and how it could improve. The researchers will share the data they gather with wildlife journal editorial boards in the hopes of future implementation. The survey only takes 15 minutes to complete and closes on Sept. 30.
The U.S. Department of the Interior has announced a new national wildlife refuge south of Portland, Oregon. The Willamette Valley Conservation Area is 600 acres of oak and prairie ecosystems that provide habitats for species like western monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus), western meadowlarks (Sturnella neglecta) and dusky Canada geese (Branta canadensis occidentalis). The new area will form part of the Willamette Valley National Wildlife Refuge Complex, a group of national wildlife refuges managed mostly for dusky Canada geese. A collaboration between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Willamette Valley Oak and Prairie Cooperative helped create the new refuge. “It’s because of these partnerships that today we celebrate the new Willamette Valley Conservation Area, which will help support Oregon’s outdoor economy while protecting and restoring threatened and endangered species,” said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland in a press release.
The American Wildlife Conservation Partners, a coalition of America’s top 52 sporting and conservation organizations, has released a comprehensive publication recommending solutions to current and future wildlife and habitat-related issues.
Wildlife for the 21st Century, Volume VII (W-21) is intended to aid policymakers in the next administration and the next two Congresses when making decisions on conservation and sporting issues. The recommendations presented in the publication will help bolster fish and wildlife populations, enhance the conservation of America’s lands and waters, and ensure public land access for conservationists.
“The wildlife conservation and policy expertise brought to bear by the American Wildlife Conservation Partners has been a force on Capitol Hill for more than two decades,” said Ed Arnett, CEO of The Wildlife Society. “Implementing the policy recommendations in AWCP’s Wildlife for the 21st Century report would greatly enhance funding and conservation on both public and private lands well into the future.”
The American Wildlife Conservation Partners (AWCP) first convened in 2000, bringing together groups that represent hunter-conservationists, professional wildlife and natural resource managers, outdoor recreation users, conservation educators and wildlife scientists. Current organizational members include the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, Ducks Unlimited, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, The Wildlife Society and others.
While the priorities and missions of AWCP organizations are varied, the recommendations presented in W-21 are a culmination of each group’s shared commitment to advancing and promoting pro-sporting conservation priorities. The recommendations are compiled into nine sections, each including descriptions of the issues and actions that can be taken to address them. The AWCP says that W-21 encourages collaboration between federal agencies, state fish and wildlife agencies, as well as private landowners, and supports science-based conservation efforts. Sections include funding for conservation measures, wildlife health issues, climate change impacts and more.
Those interested can find a copy of Wildlife for the 21ST Century, Volume VII on the AWCP website.
A grant will help a recovery project fight the devastating effects of avian malaria on Hawaiian honeycreepers. The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation have granted $644,758 to the Kaua‘i Forest Bird Recovery Project to further its research on efforts to fight the invasive mosquitoes that carry malaria. Part of the effort includes introducing mosquitoes injected with bacteria that sterilizes them into the populations. These modified mosquitoes will breed with the malaria-carrying mosquitos, but will produce nonviable offspring. Honeycreepers like the ‘akikiki (Oreomystis bairdi) and ‘akeke‘e (Loxops caeruleirostris) are among the most endangered birds in the U.S. due to the climate change assisted spread of invasive, malaria-carrying mosquitoes to higher elevations in Kaua‘i.
After decades of uncertainty, researchers have established population estimates for wolverines in two boreal forest areas in Alberta and Ontario.
The results reveal that the carnivore’s populations are denser in Alberta than Ontario, though trapping was a major conservation concern for both populations.
In both areas, trapping caused twice as many deaths as predation and vehicle collisions combined, said Matt Scrafford, a conservation scientist at the Wildlife Conservation Society Canada who was the principal investigator of both studies.
Credit: WCS Canada
In a study published recently in The Journal of Wildlife Management, Scrafford and his colleagues analyzed and compared the two populations of wolverines (Gulo gulo)—one in each province. In northwestern Alberta, Scrafford and his team tracked wolverines around Rainbow Lake from 2013 to 2016. In Ontario, they estimated the population around Red Lake in the northwest of the province from 2018 to 2022.
“They’re very hard to study,” Scrafford said. “They live in very remote places.”
Credit: M. Jokinen
The researchers used baited poles fixed with trail cameras. The camera, aimed at the best angle to capture photos of the animals’ unique chest patterns, would go off as the wolverine walked up the pole, which sticks out parallel to the ground.
Credit: M. Jokinen
They also captured wolverines using traps, placing unique ear tags on them for identification.
Based on the live captures and the photos, Scrafford and his colleagues estimated wolverine population numbers at these locations. They found twice as many wolverines in Rainbow Lake, Alberta, as in Red Lake, Ontario, per capita. In Rainbow Lake, an area important for the oil and gas industry, the team estimated 6.7 wolverines per 1,000 square kilometers, while at Red Lake they estimated about 3.5 wolverines per 1,000 square kilometers.
The researchers aren’t sure why there are more wolverines around the Alberta site than the Ontario site, but they think it might be due to the latter being farther south. Rainbow Lake is within core wolverine distribution, while Red Lake is near the southern end of the species’ range in Ontario—there aren’t many wolverines south of that area.
Credit: Matt Scrafford
The researchers also tracked the animals with GPS and VHF collars for several years—45 in Rainbow Lake and 53 in Red Lake. These devices revealed some of the common causes of death for the carnivores, as well as information about their denning habits and typical diet.
Overall, trapping was the primary cause of death for wolverines by a long shot. Alberta permits two animals per year per trapper—one intentional and one incidental—while in Ontario, trapping of wolverines by non-Indigenous trappers is prohibited due to their threatened status in the province. Nonetheless, trappers accidently catch wolverines in traps meant for martens(Martes americana), lynx (Lynx canadensis), wolves (Canis lupus), or other wildlife in both locations.
In fact, Scrafford and his colleagues removed traps and snares from the limbs and necks of several wolverines they captured during their study. Others were missing paws—possibly from getting caught in snares in the past. “They likely had to chew their paw off to free themselves,” Scrafford said.
Credit: Jacob Seguin
Roadkill and wolf predation were also sources of death in both locations, with a handful of kills in each province. The wolf kills happened mostly along roads, so humans may be indirectly responsible for the number of dead wolverines in these areas by providing access routes for the canids deep into wolverine habitat.
Credit: Matt Scrafford
“We found fairly low survival in Rainbow Lake and slightly higher survival in Red Lake,” Scrafford said.
As a result, the population trajectory showed evidence of decline in northwestern Alberta, with a 50-60% yearly survival rate, while the population in northwestern Ontario was predicted to remain stable, with an 85-86% yearly survival rate. Since these species are long lived and slow to reproduce, the cutoff for a stable population is about 75% yearly survival, Scrafford said.
Scrafford said that reducing access roads and seismic cut lines used by the oil and gas industry might be one way of reducing deaths, since both human trappers and wolves use these features to access wolverine habitat.
Credit: M. Jokinen
This photo essay is part of an occasional series from The Wildlife Society featuring photos and video images of wildlife taken with camera traps and other equipment. Check out other entries in the series here. If you’re working on an interesting camera trap research project or one that has a series of good photos you’d like to share, email Josh at jlearn@wildlife.org.
This article features research that was published in a TWS peer-reviewed journal. Individual online access to all TWS journal articles is a benefit of membership. Join TWS now to read the latest in wildlife research.
The Bureau of Land Management recently announced the formation of a Federal Advisory Committee that will help implement the Public Lands Rule that went into effect on June 10, 2024.
The Public Lands Rule—formally known as the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule—will make public land conservation a top priority for the BLM. Historically, the BLM has placed an emphasis on livestock grazing, oil and gas drilling, and mining on the lands it manages. While this will still be the case, the Public Lands Rule puts conservation on equal footing with those types of land usage.
“The Public Lands Rule provides essential tools that will help the Bureau improve and conserve the health of the lands we’ve been entrusted with for present and future generations,” said BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning in an early August press release. “With this guidance and the announcement of our advisory committee, we are showing our work, demonstrating how this rule will look in practice, and asking the public to help inform our implementation so we can make good on our obligation to protect and conserve the health of our public lands.”
A diverse group of stakeholders with different interests will make up the committee that will help the BLM effectively implement the rule. A series of internal guidance documents will help the BLM’s 175 field offices throughout the country assist in its execution.
The BLM details the rule as one that will protect the most intact and functional landscapes, restore degraded habitat, and use science, data and Indigenous knowledge as the foundation for management decisions.
BLM volunteers remove old fencing at the New Fork River near Pinedale, Wyoming to improve river access and install wildlife-friendly fencing and bird and bat boxes. Credit: Bureau of Land Management.
Some of the most notable aspects of the rule allow for the designation of Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), the development of land health standards, and the creation of restoration and mitigation leases on BLM land.
The restoration leases may be issued to a qualified entity to assist in the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged or destroyed. Qualified entities could include individuals, businesses, Tribal governments, or state fish and wildlife agencies, among others. The entities would ideally hold the lease until the land is restored to a more natural, healthier state.
Although the Public Lands Rule faced some pushback from a handful of lawmakers who suggested the rule would be a detriment to more traditional land uses, the rule would still allow for grazing and development. Existing leases, like those for livestock, would not be interrupted if all parties involved don’t agree upon the proposed restoration work. If new development is created on BLM land, like a solar energy development, for example, then land elsewhere would be set aside for conservation to mitigate any development impacts.
Header Image: The South Fork of the Snake River flows through a BLM-managed portion of Idaho. The river corridor is home to a variety of wildlife including moose (Alces americanus), elk (Cervus Canadensis), mountain lions (Puma concolor) and more. Credit: Bureau of Land Management.
