TWS Fellows named for 2024

October 16, 2024 by The Wildlife Society

Ten wildlife professionals have been awarded fellowships with The Wildlife Society for 2024. The TWS Fellows awards are given each year to individuals who have “distinguished themselves through exceptional service” to the profession and have been members of the Society for at least 10 years.

The new fellows will be recognized at the 2024 Annual Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

Alan Franklin

Alan Franklin has acted as a research biologist at the USDA-APHIS WS National Wildlife Research Center for 18 years, while concurrently working as a professor at Colorado State University and the University of Minnesota. His professional career in academia and wildlife research began in the mid-1980’s at Humboldt State University. In 2021, Franklin was named the Research Grade Scientist of the Year at the National Wildlife Research Center. As a member of TWS since 1989, he has served in various roles within the organization. Franklin has been a part of the Biometrics Working Group, the Wildlife Diseases Working Group, the Chairman of the Committee of Electronic Publishing, associate editor of The Journal of Wildlife Management, and a consulting editor of Wildlife Monographs.

Norman Budd Veverka

As the director of land management at Mianus River Gorge, Inc., Norman Budd Veverka is highly regarded as a regional expert on invasive species management and suburban American black bear management in New York. Veverka currently sits on the steering committee of the Lower Hudson Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management and chairs their invasive species prevention zone committee. He is also a member of the Hudson to Housatonic Regional Conservation Partnership, helping to increase land protection and connectivity across the region. Prior to his career in New York, he served as a research biologist with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources overseeing projects related to lead shot and climate change. Veverka has been a TWS member since 2005, and was elected President of the Northeast Section in May 2023.

Michel Kohl

Michel Kohl is an assistant professor of wildlife management and wildlife extension specialist at the University of Georgia. He is a leading expert in the spatial ecology of wildlife, leading studies on species management and conservation across the western and southeastern United States. Since beginning his career at the University of Georgia in 2019, Kohl has lead or coauthored 21 scientific publications across a range of journals. He is passionate about mentoring the next generation of wildlife professionals, advising both graduate and undergraduate students, and has been actively involved across TWS as a mentor through the Native Student Professional Development Program. He has been a TWS member since 2008 and is the current President-elect for the Georgia Chapter.

Michael Gutzmer

Acting as principal for New Century Environmental LLC, Michael Gutzmer has 17 years of experience researching, monitoring and performing inventory work with invasive, threatened, and endangered species for power companies, agri-business, railroads, transportation departments and Native American Indian reservations in the Great Plains. Gutzmer has been an active scientist and liaison in TWS, the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society, and the American Fisheries Society. In 2020, Gutzmer was a concept founder of the Tribal Science Areas (TSA) program, piloted for Standing Rock Indian Reservation and other Great Plains Tribes. Gutzmer is a lifetime member of the Nebraska and South Dakota TWS chapters, and currently serves on TWS’ Invasive Species, Biological Diversity, Renewable Energy, Native Peoples’ Wildlife Management and Climate Change and Wildlife working groups.  

Katie Moriarty

Katie Moriarty is a forest wildlife ecologist and senior research scientist at the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement, Inc. She has spent much of her career studying rare species in the Pacific Northwest, and is currently conducting research on understanding and promoting the biodiversity of pollinators in forests of varying spatial scales. Since 2018, Moriarty and her colleagues have written more than 25 peer-reviewed publications and showcased their work with nearly 70 presentations at professional meetings. Moriarty has served as a TWS Board Member or officer at the Chapter and Section levels for over 15 years. As a participant in the inaugural Leadership Institute of TWS in 2006, Moriarty has consistently demonstrated a passion for mentoring early-career wildlife professionals.

Daniel Greene

Daniel Greene is a wildlife scientist for Weyerhaeuser Co. in the southeastern United States who coordinates research and conservation projects alongside universities, agencies, and NGOs, on almost 7 million acres of working forest lands. His wildlife management and research projects have focused on the conservation of threatened and endangered species, game species, uncovering ways to control invasive species, and mitigating the impacts of climate change on wildlife and ecosystems. In addition to his work duties, Greene volunteers extensively on numerous wildlife projects, domestically and internationally in six countries. He has served on boards, committees, and working groups with TWS, the American Society of Mammalogists, Southeast Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, and more. He has been a TWS member since 2008 and currently serves as President for the Southeastern Section.

James (Jim) Heffelfinger

Jim Heffelfinger’s expertise and leadership as a wildlife conservationist has been sought after by numerous colleagues, policy makers, and conservation organizations. Having worked with Arizona Game and Fish Department for 32 years, currently acting as wildlife science coordinator, Heffelfinger has been recognized for his contributions to wildlife science with accolades including the Mule Deer Foundation Wildlife Professional of the Year; Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ Wallmo Award and Outstanding Contributor Award; and Dallas Safari Club’s Trailblazer Award, among others. He has authored or co-authored more than 300 publications, including peer-reviewed manuscripts and several books. His book, Deer of the Southwest, is referenced by deer managers in the Southwestern United States. He has been involved with The Wildlife Society in multiple capacities since 1985.

Patrick Lederle

Prior to his retirement, Patrick Lederle acted as the planning and adaptation section supervisor and adjunct associate professor for the Michigan Department of National Resources and Michigan State University for over 19 years. During his career with the Michigan DNR, Lederle was a leader in strategic and land management planning, having led or contributed to a number of state forest and game management area plans and species management and research plans. He was also co-leader of the Wildlife Division’s strategic planning effort and the statewide wildlife action planning program. Lederle has been a Certified Wildlife Biologist since 1989. He has served as the president of the TWS North Central Section, and served as North Central Section Representative to Council from 2019-2022. He has been a long-time supporter of the TWS Leadership Institute and is a dedicated mentor to budding wildlife professionals.

John Moriarty

As Senior Manager of Wildlife at the Three Rivers Park District, John Moriarty has spent years managing wildlife and natural resources in the urban and peri-urban parks of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. He has helped restore over 33,500 acres, and raised over $3.5 million to reconstruct native oak savannah, woodlands, prairie, and wetland landscapes in public ownership. Since the start of his career in wildlife management, Moriarty has developed multiple monitoring programs including annual surveys on species important to park management such as endangered butterfly species, songbirds, waterfowl, swans, reptiles and amphibians, muskrats, turkeys, deer, and others. He has authored or co-authored 63 journal articles and technical reports on a variety of topics, 14 books, 16 book reviews, and other works. Moriarty has been a TWS member since 1980.

Michael Wisdom

Michael Wisdom has been a supervisory research wildlife biologist at the Pacific Northwest Research Station of the United States Forest Service for 14 years. Wisdom is an internationally recognized wildlife researcher and expert in ungulate ecology and management. During his career, Wisdom has worked diligently to ensure implementation of his science to the benefit of real-world wildlife conservation and management. He has published more than 160 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters related to wildlife ecology and management, and has led or contributed to over 600 presentations at professional wildlife meetings. Wisdom has been a TWS member since 1978, has served as President-elect and President of the TWS Oregon Chapter and has served as associate editor for The Journal of Wildlife Management.

Wild Cam: Jaguar predation on livestock limited in NE Mexico

October 15, 2024 by Joshua Rapp Learn

Adrián Caballero and his colleagues released tracking dogs late one February morning in the hilly jungle terrain of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, and from there, the chase was on. “Machete en mano,” they sometimes ran along thin game trails, sometimes sliced their way through thick foliage, following the sound of the dogs’ barking as best as they could, in pursuit of a jaguar.

After nearly four kilometers of an intense, “exciting” chase, the team finally caught up to the dogs, which had chased their quarry up a tree. Despite the apparent exhaustion of the jaguar, Caballero was taken back by the fierce look in its eyes. “It’s a magnificent beast,” he said. The wildlife managers prepared the tranquilizing dose in the gun, but “I was nervous—I think I was shaking,” he recalled.

Credit: Alejandro Prieto

Once the dart hit the animal, the team prepared a large blanket to catch its fall, similar to the way firefighters capture people jumping from burning buildings.

Credit: Octavio Rosas

The trouble was, the jaguar (Panthera onca) became unconscious up in the tree, perched on a fork of branches. They had to cut the limb off the tree and tie a rope to the jaguar so it would fall properly into the blanket without injury.

Credit: Alejandro Prieto

The operation worked. On the ground, they measured the jaguar, fitted it with a GPS tracking collar, took a blood sample, administered a drug that reversed the tranquilization and woke the cat up. They backed up 10-15 meters and watched as it woke up and took off. Only then did Caballero realize how scratched up he was from barreling through spiny agave-like guapilla plants in their pursuit.

“In the moment, I didn’t even sense it,” he said.

It was 2016, and Caballero, who was working on his PhD at the Postgraduate College of San Luis Potosi at the time, and his colleagues were capturing jaguars. They were fitting them with tracking collars in an effort to learn more about how they prey on livestock in the state of San Luis Potosi in northeastern Mexico. These kinds of predations can lead to conflict with the ranchers that live in the area—problems that could be dangerous for humans and sometimes lethal for jaguars.

Tracking jaguars

In their study published in Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment, the team built on 10 years of previous trail camera work on jaguars in the area conducted by Octavio Rosas-Rosas, a biology professor at the Postgraduate College of San Luis Potosi and a co-author on the study. They started in 2015 by putting out snares to capture jaguars, but this technique didn’t work. The next year, they set out with tracking dogs in search of paw prints, scat and other traces of jaguars in areas where the trail cameras had captured recent photos.

Credit: Obed Godinez

In total, the team captured three jaguars in 2016, though one of them went missing only a few days after it was collared—Caballero said it may have been poached.

They monitored the GPS data from the two cats that remained and watched for location clusters indicative of the cats making a kill. The team then set out to find the remains of any prey in these areas—Caballero described them as looking something like a crime scene investigation, with hair, pieces of bone and some stomach. “We could see the struggle, and we interpreted that,” he said.

Credit: Adrián Caballero

The researchers’ analysis revealed that the most common wild prey were javenilas (Tayassu tajacu) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus).

They also found that jaguars preyed on cows, though not to the same extent as javelinas or deer. In fact, jaguars only preyed on cattle during the dry season.

Credit: Adrián Caballero

Why do jaguars prey on cows?

Caballero said this may be due to a lack of water resources in nearby wildlife reserves. The jaguars may be using artificial water sources placed by ranchers for cows and donkeys, putting them in closer proximity to livestock. When the opportunity arises to take a yearling cow, it is likely an easier target than a javelina for a jaguar.

Other factors may also play a role in jaguars preying on livestock. Many ranchers in the area don’t control their cattle very closely, letting them wander freely in large areas. When cows or donkeys die of disease or other causes, ranchers often leave them on the landscape—in fact, Caballero’s study determined that about half of the eight cattle were scavenged rather than killed.

Credit: Alejandro Prieto

Caballero said that increased education among farmers in the area could help to reduce the attraction of jaguars to ranch areas. To reduce the likelihood of jaguar predation, ranchers could bring cattle closer to houses during the night and clean up the carcasses of dead cattle.

Caballero, now the CEO of Wildlife Management Mexico, a nonprofit consultancy, said his lab has worked on improving public education about ranching through workshops funded by the United Nations Development Program and the National Commission for Protected Natural Areas. Ranchers have also received money for cables to build cattle pens as well as funding and education on feeding the cattle with things like ground-up corn stalks, leaves and cobs, thereby keeping the cows closer to the houses and less likely to venture into wilder areas where they may encounter jaguars.

Caballero said many of the locals were very curious to hear the results of their research. “I’m glad about that,” he said.

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.

Drier winters may reduce survival for migrating birds

October 15, 2024 by The Wildlife Society

Climate change is causing drier winters in some parts of the world. This could be a problem for migrating birds, as researchers have found that winter conditions could affect their ability to survive spring migration and breeding seasons. A new study published in Current Biology examines telemetry data for Kirtland’s warblers (Setophaga kirtlandii) and mark-recapture data for black-throated blue warblers (S. caerulescens). Analysis revealed that fewer birds of both species survived the spring migration when there was reduced rainfall and lower plant productivity in the Caribbean where the birds spend the winter. Survival of Kirtland’s warblers even dropped in the following breeding season. “If winter habitat quality continues to degrade over the next half-century due to climate change, we can now say that it will reduce birds’ ability to survive spring migration,” said Nathan Cooper, the study’s lead author and research ecologist at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in a press release. “That knowledge can help us prioritize conservation measures on the most drought-resistant non-breeding grounds.”  

Read more at Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.

Reptile rescues are increasing in Sydney

October 11, 2024 by The Wildlife Society

As the city of Sydney, Australia increases in size and population, reptile rescues are increasing in number, according to new research tracking a decade of records. Researchers examined more than 37,000 records of snake and lizard rescues in the Greater Sydney area between 2011 and 2021. They found that people most commonly called into wildlife rehabilitators to rescue larger species. Two species—the venomous red-bellied black snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus) and the eastern blue-tongue lizard (Tiliqua scincoides scincoides)—were particularly prominent in the records. Surprisingly few of these records included instances of snake bites, the authors found. The team also uncovered seasonal trends, including more wildlife rehabilitators being called in at the start of the Australian spring in August and September. Numbers are increasing partly due to the expanding urban area of Sydney, the researchers said. But, they added, it’s also due to the extensive wild spaces preserved around the urban area.

Read more at Phys.org.

The Wildlife Society partners with ‘1% for the Planet’

October 11, 2024 by The Wildlife Society

The Wildlife Society is proud to have been recently named an Environmental Partner with the nonprofit and global movement 1% for the Planet®.

1% for the Planet Environmental Partners, like TWS, work to advocate, conserve, steward, educate, and activate to create a healthy, vibrant future for our planet.

Started in 2002 by Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, and Craig Mathews, founder of Blue Ribbon Flies, business and individual members have given hundreds of millions of dollars to approved Environmental Partners. 1% for the Planet’s global network consists of thousands of businesses, individuals, and environmental non-profits throughout the world working toward a better future for all.

“I am thrilled that The Wildlife Society has been asked to join a global community of like-minded Environmental Partners,” said Lauren Ruotolo, TWS director of development. “This partnership is a fantastic vehicle for The Wildlife Society to advance its mission and empower more wildlife professionals across the globe.”

1% for the Planet member organizations have similar sustainability goals and contribute at least 1% of their annual revenue to causes that protect the environment. Participation in the Environmental Partner network positions The Wildlife Society to receive direct financial support from 1% for the Planet Business Members.

How to become a partner

By joining 1% for the Planet and contributing 1% of their annual sales to causes like The Wildlife Society, business owners will earn a 1% for the Planet certification. 

Some businesses donate monetarily, while others give to particular campaigns, collaborate on projects, or donate in-kind services or goods. Each unique partnership is essential to supporting The Wildlife Society’s work empowering wildlife professionals and investing in wildlife conservation.

“By partnering with both The Wildlife Society and 1% for the Planet, businesses are showing their customers and followers that they are committed to making positive, lasting change in the world,” Ruotolo said.

Reach out to Lauren at LRuotolo@wildlife.org to learn more about getting involved!

New California law protects wildlife connectivity

October 10, 2024 by The Wildlife Society

A new state law in California will instruct counties and municipalities to conserve wildlife corridors when planning new development. According to AB 1889, or the Room to Roam Act, signed recently into state law, local leaders will have to find areas that wildlife use to move through and “avoid, minimize or mitigate” impacts to these connectivity areas. This could entail everything from creating wildlife crossings at roads or highways, employing wildlife-safe fencing, or not developing on certain land. One of the goals is to bring cities and counties together in a state-wide effort to improve wildlife connectivity. The law will take effect in 2028.

Read more at the Los Angeles Times.

Daniel Uresk wins TWS’ Special Recognition Service Award

October 10, 2024 by The Wildlife Society

Daniel Uresk has been granted The Wildlife Society’s Special Recognition Award in 2024 for “substantial research contributions.”

The award honors individuals or groups who have made a contribution, either in the long or short term, to the wildlife profession, wildlife conservation, management or science, or to a specific species, community, ecosystem or region.

In his long career with the U.S. Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Uresk published dozens of research articles on a huge number of species, including black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus), burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia), swift foxes (Vulpes velox), mountain plovers (Charadrius montanus) and others.

He also worked on studies looking at using prescribed burning to help control cheatgrass invasion and reclaiming bentonite mining spoils. 

“Dan’s publications and articles have helped establish a strong and solid foundation for future wildlife research in the Great Plains and elsewhere,” said TWS member Greg Schenbeck, a retired wildlife biologist with the U.S. Forest Service and Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, in his nomination letter.

Uresk, who retired from the USFS in 2020, also spent years mentoring graduate students and supervising field technicians and other research scientists. “Dan was never one to seek recognition and was always content staying in the background so that his graduate students and other research colleagues received the acknowledgement and recognition for their collective research accomplishments,” Schenbeck said.

“Dan was also very effective and skilled at putting science on the table during controversial land use debates and decisions involving the national grasslands and forests in the region.”

Uresk will be presented with the Special Recognition Service Award at the 2024 Annual Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

Wildlife Vocalizations: Luis Trujillo Sosa

October 9, 2024 by Luis Trujillo Sosa

I have always been fascinated by observing wild animals in their natural habitats. Growing up, I spent as much time as I could outdoors, watching birds, small mammals and insects as they went about their lives. That sense of wonder never left me.

Over the years, various encounters with wildlife continued to fuel my passion for understanding how these species survive and interact with their environment. Watching animals move freely in nature sparked a desire not only to observe them, but also to protect them and their habitats.

It was this fascination, along with learning more about ecosystems and conservation, that led me to pursue a career as a wildlife biologist. I studied for my master’s degree at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). But I wanted to dive deeper into wildlife studies and be a part of efforts aimed at preserving biodiversity, ensuring that future generations could experience the same sense of awe that I did.

I lead the biological monitoring and research program at the nongovernmental organization Fundación Defensores de la Naturaleza in Guatemala. My tasks and those of my team is to focus on research and policy for conserving species such as jaguars (Panthera onca), howler monkeys, manatees (Trichechus manatus), bats, tapirs and other iconic wildlife like resplendent quetzals (Pharomachrus mocinno) and horned guans (Oreophasis derbianus).

Trujillo and a woolly false-vampire bat (Chrotopterus auritus) inside a Mayan temple in Mexico. Photo: Armando Vega

Our organization works with a large diversity of stockholders and scientists of different backgrounds. Guatemala shares many challenges with other countries in Latin America, and I think that the exchange of experiences and collaboration to develop synergies are of top importance for effective conservation.

One of the most important things I have learned is that conservation goes beyond protecting individual species; it requires a deep understanding of entire ecosystems and strong collaboration with local communities.

Trujillo releases a spectral bat (Vampyrum spectrum) in the Maya Forest in Mexico. Credit: Armando Vega

Bats, in particular, have been central to my research due to their incredibly high diversity and crucial roles in maintaining ecological balance. My work involves everything from field research and data collection to developing conservation strategies that support both biodiversity and the livelihoods of local people. I am focusing on the development of local capacity and bringing new research methods and resources to my work.

But my passion for animals remains at the heart of everything I do.

Wildlife Vocalizations is a collection of short personal perspectives from people in the field of wildlife sciences. 

Learn more about Wildlife Vocalizations, and read other contributions.

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.

Bird extinctions led to 3 billion years of lost evolution

October 9, 2024 by The Wildlife Society

The extinction of hundreds of birds since the evolution of humans 130,000 years ago has led to a massive loss in functional diversity. This not only includes the loss of the species themselves but also of the ecosystem roles they played. These extinctions account for about 3 billion years of unique evolutionary history down the drain, a new study published in Science has found. Researchers have found evidence of the extinction of 600 birds, from the dodo (Raphus cucullatus) to the more recent Kauaʻi ʻōʻō (Moho braccatus). “In addition to functional diversity, each species also carries a certain amount of evolutionary history; therefore, when that species becomes extinct, it’s basically like chopping off a branch of the tree of life, and all of that associated phylogenetic diversity is also lost,” said study author Tom Matthews from the University of Birmingham in a press release.

Read more at Phys.org.

USFWS proposes listing a firefly species as endangered

October 8, 2024 by The Wildlife Society

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed listing the first firefly ever on the federal Endangered Species Act. The nocturnal Bethany Beach firefly (Photuris bethaniensis) is found only in the Delmarva Peninsula of Virginia, Delaware and Maryland in a handful of freshwater marsh areas that lie within 500 meters from the ocean. Rising sea levels due to climate change and storm surges are the main threats to this species. Development, light pollution and other problems might also affect the insect. A public comment about the proposal will last 60 days from the announcement on Oct. 1.

Read more at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.