Scholarship & Research
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Item Understanding the Coprophilous fungus Sporormiella as a proxy for megaherbivores(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2020) Ulrich, Barbara Carol; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Cathy WhitlockIn many studies, the presence of the coprophilous fungus Sporormiella in Quaternary sediments has been interpreted as evidence of past megaherbivore activity. Despite its use as an ecological proxy, little is known about the taxonomy and life history of Sporormiella, and the taphonomic processes that lead to its preservation in lake sediments. This information underlies its utility to interpret past herbivore presence and abundance. Present-day bison (Bison bison) dung from Yellowstone National Park was examined to explore the production, dispersal, transportation, deposition, and preservation of Sporormiella there. While Sporormiella was found in dung samples, sediments from two lakes frequently visited by bison failed to yield Sporormiella spores. Laboratory preparation techniques were modified to increase the likelihood of Sporormiella spore survival, yet no spores were identified with the new treatment. Although the occurrence of spores in lake-sediment samples may indicate herbivore presence, our study suggests that spore absence does not necessarily indicate an absence of herbivores. We attribute the absence of spores in sediments to local climatic and seasonal factors that may affect production and transport in the watershed, sedimentary processes that may destroy spores after deposition, and harsh laboratory processing techniques that may damage or destroy spores. More research remains to be done to evaluate the importance of these factors before using Sporormiella as a reliable proxy of herbivore activity.Item Generalizing and transferring a GIS-based species distribution model: from one hot spot to another(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2018) Garcia Neto, Narciso; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Clayton B. MarlowSpecies distribution models (SDMs) are efficient simulations of the distribution of species across geographical space and help to understand the spatial patterns of biological diversity. However, they are not designed to provide a description of species habitats. Geographic information systems (GIS) combined with SDMs have been used to illustrate the distribution and infer the sustainability and capability of habitats, to explore ecological relationships, serve as selection of vegetation types, avoidance of habitat disturbed by humans, establishing factors like predation, and to identify landscapes favorable for establishment of a new population. Despite the large number of SDMs papers published within the last decade, the practical utility of these models in the conservation management field remain sparse. The main objective of this research was to develop techniques for habitat modelling based on presence/availability data depicted by illustrative habitat maps and to test the new model on different landscapes. Resource selection function was used to develop a new model for the Yellowstone bison herd from published habitat maps. The predictor variables within the new model were elevation, ruggedness, profile curvature, percent of tree cove, Horizontal and vertical distance to water. The new model was then transferred and tested with field data from the National Bison Range and Grand Teton bison herds. The top predictive model performed better for the Yellowstone and Grand Teton herds than for National Bison Range herd. The output of this research indicated that habitat maps could work as source of land use by wildlife through transference to new areas of interest especially when local use data is not available.Item Cultural plant biodiversity in relict wallow-like depressions on the Wind River Indian Reservation, Wyoming, & tribal bison restoration and policy(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2016) Baldes, Jason Eric; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Rick L. LawrenceBison and Native people have co-existed on the North American landscape for millennia. As a keystone species, bison support many other organisms including plants, animals, insects and birds. Their unique dust-bathing behavior create wallow-like depressions (WLDs), altering the landscape at the local level, and are believed to increase water accumulation and support different plant species in the surrounding area. Native Americans traditionally accessed forb plants as foods tools and medicines, which are believed to increase in wallows, and in the wallow like depressions (WLDs) studied in this project. The area chosen for this study is on the Wind River Indian Reservation (WRIR) in Wyoming, home of the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes. The northern boundary of the WRIR has been identified as an ideal location for bison restoration. As bison reintroduction might impact plant biodiversity, this study gathered baseline data of cultural plant frequency inside vs. outside 65 WLD locations. Thirty-three plants were associated with WLDs, 11 plants contained sufficient data for comparison, and five plant species had a statistically significant difference in frequency using a paired t-test. Three cultural plants were shown to have greater frequency inside WLDs vs. non-WLDs. This baseline data will potentially be used to monitor changes to the landscape after bison are restored to the WRIR. Multiple tribes are maneuvering the political arena to acquire bison and the process is complex. Federal, tribal, state, and local agencies all vie for a say in management of genetically pure bison of Yellowstone National Park. Tribes are restoring bison and forming coalitions and international treaties to share and restore herds on tribal lands. The Fort Peck Tribes of Montana are re-acquiring land to allocate to their cultural herd of Yellowstone bison and lead the way in becoming a new tribally operated quarantine facility for excess Yellowstone bison. Tribal bison policy and acquisition is an exercise in tribal self-determination and will be a way for tribes to implement programs for cultural and ecological restoration in the coming years.Item Before the 'big dogs' : an environmental history of bison and Plains Indians in the Yellowstone River Basin(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2001) Haynes, Thomas Piper; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Susan R. NeelOur understanding of the history and ecology of bison in association with the history of Plains Indians has undergone an extensive review during the latter part of the twentieth century. The role Plains Indians played in the demise of bison has been central to many of these studies. These histories are usually associated with horses and the arrival of Europeans. Bison and Indians have, however, a long history of interactions. This thesis attempts to lay the historical background to these pre-horse relationships for one particular region in the Great Plains: the Yellowstone River Basin. Using the interdisciplinary tools of environmental history to explore these relationships, this narrative spans roughly 18,000 years of known bison use and 12,000 years of known human use. Such a narrative is uncommon for the northwestern plains, and specifically for the Yellowstone River Basin it has not been done. Five major premises underline this story. The first is that the environmental conditions of the Yellowstone River Basin have been in a continual process of change. Second, bison and people have continually adapted and evolved to these changes. Third, the cultural mechanisms for procuring bison were well in place before European ideas and manufactured goods influenced the way people lived in the Basin. Fourth, Indian people were responsible for the deaths of millions of bison before the horse arrived on the northwestern plains. And fifth, far fewer bison roamed over the Basin’s grasslands prior to the arrival of the horse then once was thought. Changing climate conditions resulted in bison and people developing unique strategies for survival. For bison, this meant evolving into a smaller animal. For people it meant adapting to available resources. Through processes of adaptation, bison and people endured dramatic changes in environmental conditions, including complete vegetational transformations of the landscape, the extinction of numerous mammals, and periods of widely fluctuating weather patterns. Around 5,000 years ago bison evolved into the familiar species known today, Bison bison. Over time, bison and human populations increased. However, bound by the vegetative productivity of the Basin’s landscape, bison numbers were smaller than previous estimates have suggested. The evolution and cultural development of a Plains Indian lifeway was well established by the time horses arrived in the Basin, with these traditions forming the foundations of a horse culture. The increase in human population and procurement of bison implicates Plains Indians as an active contributor in controlling herd size before the arrival of horses to the Basin.Item Bison and elk responses to winter recreation in Yellowstone National Park(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2001) Hardy, Amanda RuthItem Applying predator-prey theory to evaluate large mammal dynamics : wolf predation in a newly-established multiple-prey system(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2008) Becker, Matthew Smith; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Robert A. Garrott; Patrick J. White (co-chair)I studied wolf prey selection and kill rates during 1996-97 through 2006-07 winters in a newly established two-prey system in central Yellowstone National Park. Prey differed substantially in their vulnerability to wolf (Canis lupus) predation and wolves preyed primarily on elk (Cervus elaphus) but also used bison (Bison bison) to varying degrees within and among winters and packs. Winter severity, wolf abundance, distribution, and prey selection varied during the study, concurrent with variations in the demography, distribution, and behavior of elk and bison. A total of 759 wolf-killed ungulates were detected and prey selection by wolves was influenced by the absolute and relative abundance of prey types, the abundance of predators, and the duration of snow pack. Wolves strongly preferred elk calves relative to all other prey types, and elk calf abundance was inversely related to the occurrence of bison in wolf diets. Increasing wolf numbers also broadened prey selection from elk calves, and predation on bison and adult elk increased with increasing snow pack accumulation and duration, likely due to its long-term debilitating influence. Elk abundance and wolf pack size best explained variation in kill rates for elk while bison calf abundance and snow pack duration best explained kill rates of bison. The functional response of wolves for elk was best described by a Type II ratio-dependent model, indicating significant predator dependence. Prey-switching evaluations indicated increasing selection of bison with increasing bison:elk ratios, however no concurrent decrease in elk predation occurred. Increased bison predation is not solely dependent on relative abundance of the two prey species; therefore it is unlikely at this time that wolf prey-switching will stabilize the system.