Ecology
The department's teaching and research addresses critical ecological and natural resources issues for Montana, but also tackles fundamental and applied questions around the globe. Undergraduate programs within the department include Fish & Wildlife Management and Ecology, Conservation Biology and Ecology, Organismal Biology, and Biology Teaching. Graduate programs (M.S. and P.hD.) include Fish & Wildlife Management or Biology and Biological Sciences and an intercollege PhD in Ecology and Environmental Sciences.
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Montana Cooperative Fishery Research Unit
www.montana.edu/mtcfru
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Recent Submissions
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Heterogeneity and Power to Detect Trends in Moose Browse Utilization of Willow Communities
(2017-11)Monitoring of browse utilization of plant communities is consistently recommended as an important component of monitoring moose (Alces alces) populations across regions. We monitored winter browse utilization by moose ... -
Mechanistic variables can enhance predictive models of endotherm distributions: the American pika under current, past, and future climates
(2017-03)How climate constrains species' distributions through time and space is an important question in the context of conservation planning for climate change. Despite increasing awareness of the need to incorporate mechanism ... -
Hitching a ride: Seed accrual rates on different types of vehicles
(2017-12)Human activities, from resource extraction to recreation, are increasing global connectivity, especially to less-disturbed and previously inaccessible places. Such activities necessitate road networks and vehicles. Vehicles ... -
Performance of Early Instar Monarch Butterflies (Danaus plexippus L.) on Nine Milkweed Species Native to Iowa Journal of the Lepidopterists Society
(2017-09)Over the past two decades, the population of monarch butterflies east of the Rocky Mountains has experienced a significant decline. Habitat restoration that includes milkweed plants is crucial to boost population numbers ... -
Emerging role of wetland methane emissions in driving 21st century climate change
(2017-09)Wetland methane (CH4) emissions are the largest natural source in the global CH4 budget, contributing to roughly one third of total natural and anthropogenic emissions. As the second most important anthropogenic greenhouse ... -
Life History Migrations of Adult Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout in the Upper Yellowstone River
(2017-08)Knowledge of salmonid life history types at the watershed scale is increasingly recognized as a cornerstone for effective management. In this study, we used radiotelemetry to characterize the life history movements of ... -
Retention, Effect, and Utility of Tail-Mounted Satellite-Tracked Transmitters on Golden Eagles
(2016-08)Studies deploying Platform Transmitter Terminals (PTTs) or Global System for Mobile Communications-GPS (GSM) packages on Golden Eagles have typically used backpack harnesses for attachment despite evidence indicating ... -
Migratory linkages of Pacific Golden-Plovers Pluvialis fulva breeding in Chukotka, Russian Far East
(2017-04)For the first time, we have tracked the annual migrations of Pacific Golden-Plovers nesting in northern Russia. We used geolocators to determine the timing and migration routes of four male plovers trapped at one site in ... -
Environmental contaminants in tissues of bald eagles sampled in southwestern Montana, 2006-2008
(2011-06)Blood and feathers of Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) banded as nestlings (n = 17), captured as free-flying (n = 91), or submitted for rehabilitation (n = 29) in southwestern Montana between December 2005 and ... -
Longevity record for North American Golden Eagle
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Environmental contaminants in nestling Bald Eagles produced in Montana and Wyoming
(2012-09)Upper-trophic level piscivores, such as Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), may be at risk of exposure to environmental contaminants in the western United States from coal-fired power plants and coal-bed methane wells. ... -
Morphometric sex determination of North American Golden Eagles
(2013-06)We made up to 12 measurements of 79 captured Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos canadensis) to evaluate best metrics for noninvasive, morphometric determination of sex. Sex of 43 male and 36 female Golden Eagles was confirmed ... -
Lead, mercury, selenium and other trace elements in tissues of golden eagles from southwestern Montana
(2013-01)Lead-based rifle bullets, used in game hunting and recreational shooting, fragment when striking bone and soft tissues. Lead fragments may be ingested by birds scavenging offal piles or nonretrieved carcasses and therefore ... -
Natal dispersal distance of Bald and Golden Eagles originating in the Coterminous United States as inferred from band encounters
(2014-03)We reviewed band encounter data for Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) to estimate natal dispersal distances for both species in the coterminous United States (U.S.). We filtered ... -
Milkweed Matters: Monarch Butterfly (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) Survival and Development on Nine Midwestern Milkweed Species
(2017-10)The population of monarch butterflies east of the Rocky Mountains has experienced a significant decline over the past 20 yr. In order to increase monarch numbers in the breeding range, habitat restoration that includes ... -
A dual role for farmlands: food security and pollinator conservation
(2017-07)1. We briefly review current understanding of wild pollinators and pollination services on farmlands. 2. We consider how concepts in plant ecology - community assembly and functional trait diversity - may be applied ... -
The relationship between direct predation and antipredator responses: a test with multiple predators and multiple prey
(2017-08)Most species adjust their behavior to reduce the likelihood of predation. Many experiments have shown that antipredator responses carry energetic costs that can affect growth, survival, and reproduction, so that the total ... -
Assessing respiratory pathogen communities in bighorn sheep populations: Sampling realities, challenges, and improvements
(2017-07)Respiratory disease has been a persistent problem for the recovery of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis), but has uncertain etiology. The disease has been attributed to several bacterial pathogens including Mycoplasma ... -
Honey bee (Apis mellifera) colony health and pathogen composition in migratory beekeeping operations involved in California almond pollination
(2017-08)Honey bees are important pollinators of agricultural crops. Pathogens and other factors have been implicated in high annual losses of honey bee colonies in North America and some European countries. To further investigate ... -
Spatiotemporal ecology of apalone spinifera in a large, great plains river ecosystem
(2017-04)Sparse information exists about the ecology of Spiny Softshell Turtles (Apalone spinifera) in large rivers, at the northwestern extent of their natural range, and in Montana, where they are disjunct from downstream populations ...
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