ScholarWorks

ScholarWorks is an open access repository for the capture of the intellectual work of Montana State University (MSU) in support of its teaching, research and service missions. MSU ScholarWorks is a central point of discovery for accessing, collecting, sharing, preserving, and distributing knowledge to the Montana State University community and the world.

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Eco-evolutionary and risk assessment frameworks for assessing agroecosystem resilience in a changing climate
(Springer Science+Business Media, 2026-01)
Menalled, Fabian D.
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Ebel, Roland
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Peterson, Robert K. D.
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Schutte, Brian J.
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Shergill, Lovreet S.
Fostering sustainable agricultural systems in an era of anthropogenically induced climate change requires the integration of established and emerging frameworks for understanding ecological and evolutionary processes, as well as their implications for resilience and risk mitigation. In this perspective article, we focus on the ecological production unit (i.e., the agroecosystem) and discuss management tactics that could increase resilience to the perturbations associated with climate change. First, we introduce three broad conceptual frameworks to contextualize both agriculture and the impacts of climate change: eco-evolutionary dynamics, ecological disturbance, and resilience and vulnerability. Each framework provides unique insights into why certain types of agroecosystems and agricultural management practices either ameliorate or exacerbate the negative impacts of climate change. Then, we complement these perspectives with a discussion of how risk analysis can be used to assess an agroecosystem’s vulnerability to climate-induced perturbations, thereby illuminating opportunities for enhancing resilience. Finally, we discuss the importance of incorporating these perspectives in the design of food systems capable of coping with the challenges posed by a changing climate. Despite the inherent complexity of agroecosystems, the complementary frameworks presented here help point to strategies to enhance resilience to the many challenges posed by climate change, a required step to safeguard global food security and human well-being.
Volunteer Accuracy in a Benthic Macroinvertebrate Participatory Science Project
(Ubiquity Press, Ltd., 2024-11)
Hamilton, Vicki
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Stepenuck, Kristine F.
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Zinna II., Robert A.
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Traylor, Ann Marie
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Penrose, David
Concerns about the accuracy of volunteer-derived aquatic macroinvertebrate identifications and the resulting influence on calculated water quality metrics can limit use of volunteer-generated data in freshwater-focused participatory science programs. To address these concerns, we assessed 357 benthic macroinvertebrate quality control (QC) samples collected by volunteers using leaf packs, kick nets, and visual assessments between 2011 and 2016 for the Environmental Quality Institute (EQI) in North Carolina, USA. We reviewed each sample for quality, and compared macroinvertebrate identifications and water quality metric scores determined by volunteers to identification and metrics determined by an entomologist. About 80% of the QC samples were identified to be of high quality, indicating proper preparation, preservation, and labeling of samples. The majority of samples that received low quality ratings were improperly or poorly preserved. We recommend use of 95% (rather than 70%) ethanol for macroinvertebrate preservation, and increased communication to volunteers during QC sampling periods to enhance their success in properly preserving samples. We observed significant (p < 0.005) linear relationships between volunteer and entomologist-derived water quality metrics including a biotic index, Taxa Richness, and percent intolerant Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera (EPT) taxa. However, visual assessments – those in which no sampling equipment was used to collect aquatic macroinvertebrates – reduced the goodness of fit between volunteer and entomologist-derived biotic index scores and artificially increased the goodness of fit between volunteer and entomologist derived Taxa Richness and percent EPT scores. We recommend calculating water quality metrics based only on leaf pack and kick net samples collected by volunteers.
Fine-Scale Population Structure and Relatedness of Argali (Ovis ammon) in Kyrgyzstan Revealed by High-Density SNP Data
(MDPI AG, 2026-03)
Thomson, Jennifer M.
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Davletbakov, Askar
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Frisina, Michael R.
Argali (Ovis ammon), the largest wild sheep in Asia, are of high conservation concern and remain taxonomically and genetically debated across parts of their range. We investigated population structure, relatedness, and inbreeding within Argali sampled in Kyrgyzstan using the Illumina Ovine High-Density SNP array, with an emphasis on dense within-population sampling rather than range-wide comparisons. After quality control, 72 individuals and 135,242 markers were retained for analysis. Principal component analysis revealed subtle genetic variation within the sampled population, but no clustering consistent with discrete subspecies. In particular, we found no genomic support for separating O. a. polii and O. a. karelini within Kyrgyzstan, suggesting that they represent a single genetic unit in this region. Estimates of identity by descent indicated a high average relatedness (0.35), consistent with harem-based breeding systems typical of wild sheep, while individual inbreeding coefficients averaged near zero, with some evidence of moderate inbreeding in a subset of animals. Together, these results characterize fine-scale genetic structure and kinship within Tian Shan Argali and provide a regional genomic baseline for conservation planning in Kyrgyzstan. Our findings highlight the importance of maintaining connectivity within and among managed populations while acknowledging that broader inference will require sampling across the core Pamir range and other parts of the species’ distribution.
Wildlife Crossing Hotspot Analyses for Major Highways in Wisconsin, USA
(Western Transportation Institute, 2025-07)
Huijser, Marcel P.
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Bell, Matthew A.
In this report we explore where and how to enhance road safety in Wisconsin through reducing collisions with large wild mammals on state-maintained routes, while also ensuring safe crossing opportunities for wildlife. We identified and prioritized road sections in Wisconsin along state-maintained routes that have a relatively high concentration of collisions involving large wild mammals, mostly with white-tailed deer. We used the large wild mammal crash and carcass data to conduct cost-benefit analyses to identify road sections where the implementation of mitigation measures may be less expensive than doing nothing and letting these types of collisions continue to occur. We also identified 36 species of conservation concern in Wisconsin. The species of conservation concern, as defined for this report, included 4 amphibian species (3 frog species, 1 salamander species), 20 reptile species (3 lizard species, 13 snake species, 4 turtle species), and 12 mammal species (1 insectivore species, 5 rodent species, 1 mustelid species, 1 canid species, 2 felid species, 2 ungulate species). We identified road sections, or counties, where species of conservation concern have been observed. Road sections that would need to be prioritized for reducing collisions with common large mammals (i.e., mostly white-tailed deer) are mostly in the eastern and southeastern parts of Wisconsin. Areas where a relatively high number of species occur that are of conservation concern are predominantly in the southwestern parts of Wisconsin. This illustrates that there would be benefits to having a two-track system of policy, funding mechanisms and implementation programs; one that is rooted in human safety through reducing collisions with large wild mammals that are common, and another that is rooted in biological conservation. We also identified measures for both large wild mammals and small animal species that are aimed at reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions and associated direct road mortality of the animals, and at reducing the barrier effects of roads and traffic to wildlife.
Potential Future Mitigation Measures for Wildlife and People Along I-90 and Other Major Highways in Western Montana, USA
(Western Transportation Institute, 2026-04)
Huijser, Marcel P.
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Bell, Matthew A.
We explore the opportunities for potential future mitigation measures for wildlife and people along I-90 and other major highways across the Y2Y (the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative) region in western Montana. We identified highway sections that had the highest concentration of collisions with large wild animals based on crash data and carcass removal data. We also conducted cost-benefit analyses for the implementation of wildlife fences in combination with wildlife crossing structures (underpasses and overpasses) along the highways in the study area. Then we compiled existing data on habitat and corridors for species of special conservation concern (grizzly bear, Canada lynx and wolverine) and obtained existing range distribution maps for other large wild mammals (white-tailed deer, mule deer elk, moose, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, bison, mountain lion and gray wolf). We conducted further analyses on grizzly bear road mortality and grizzly bear connectivity pathways. Our analysis of the barrier effect of the highways (based on hourly traffic volume counts) that cut through grizzly bear connectivity pathways centered around two conservation objectives. The first objective was to establish robust and functional connectivity between the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE) grizzly bear population and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) grizzly bear population. The second objective was to facilitate recolonization by grizzly bears of the Bitterroot Ecosystem (BE). Depending on the objective, different highway sections were identified as barriers to grizzly bears. The road sections that were identified based on the two connectivity objectives were different from the road sections where most grizzly bears are killed by vehicles. The road sections that were identified based on the two connectivity objectives would need to be mitigated in a spatially coherent manner to reach the objectives, illustrating a strategic anticipatory approach to conservation rather than a reactionary approach to either conservation or human safety. An analysis of the 360-mile-long section of I-90 through the Y2Y area in Montana showed that 124 miles (34.4%) is important for grizzly bear connectivity and that 152 miles has major human safety concerns because of collisions with large wild mammals (mostly ungulates). While there is some overlap between the road sections that are important for grizzly bear connectivity and the road sections that have a relatively high concentration of collisions with large wild mammals, only 41.9% of the length of the road sections along I-90 that are important to grizzly bear connectivity are also important because of collisions, and only 34.2% of the length of the road sections along I-90 that are important because of collisions are also important to grizzly bear connectivity. This illustrates the need for a two-track system for the policy, funding and implementation of mitigation measures; one that is based on human safety, and one that is based on conservation. Furthermore, measures for human safety can relate to individual road sections, whereas measures for conservation must be spatially coherent at a landscape level.