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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Effects of de-snaring on the demography and population dynamics of African lions
(Elsevier BV, 2023-10)Lions and other African large carnivores are in decline, due in part to effects of illegal hunting with snares, which can reduce prey availability and directly kill or injure carnivores. It is difficult to effectively ... -
The geography of climate and the global patterns of species diversity
(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2023-09)Climate’s effect on global biodiversity is typically viewed through the lens of temperature, humidity and resulting ecosystem productivity1,2,3,4,5,6. However, it is not known whether biodiversity depends solely on these ... -
Equity, community, and accountability: Leveraging a department-level climate survey as a tool for action
(Public Library of Science, 2023-08)Organizational climate is a key determinant of diverse aspects of success in work settings, including in academia. Power dynamics in higher education can result in inequitable experiences of workplace climate, potentially ... -
Individual life histories: neither slow nor fast, just diverse
(The Royal Society, 2023-07)The slow–fast continuum is a commonly used framework to describe variation in life-history strategies across species. Individual life histories have also been assumed to follow a similar pattern, especially in the pace-of-life ... -
Connectivity between white shark populations off Central California, USA and Guadalupe Island, Mexico
(Frontiers Media SA, 2023-07)Marine animals often move beyond national borders and exclusive economic zones resulting in a need for trans-boundary management spanning multiple national jurisdictions. Highly migratory fish vulnerable to over-exploitation ... -
A hypothetico‐deductive theory of science and learning
(Wiley, 2023-08)This article presents a simple, cognitive theory of science and learning. The first section of the paper develops the theory's two main propositions: (i) A wide range of scientific activities rely heavily on one type of ... -
Lead, trash, DDE, and young age of breeders linked to lower fertility in the first two decades of reintroduction for critically endangered California Condors in California
(Oxford Academic, 2023-08)In the first comprehensive assessment of the reproductive rates of critically endangered California Condors (Gymnogyps californianus) recovering from complete extirpation in the wild, we analyzed 20 years (1999–2018) of ... -
Insect and Pathogen Influences on Tree-Ring Stable Isotopes
(Springer Nature, 2022-06)Understanding long-term insect and pathogen effects on host tree physiology can help forest managers respond to insect and pathogen outbreaks, and understand when insect and pathogen effects on tree physiology will be ... -
Effects of Soil Microbes on Functional Traits of Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda) Seedling Families From Contrasting Climates
(Frontiers Media SA, 2020-01)Examining factors that influence seedling establishment is essential for predicting the impacts of climate change on tree species’ distributions. Seedlings originating from contrasting climates differentially express ... -
Investigating old‐growth ponderosa pine physiology using tree‐rings, δ13C, δ18O, and a process‐based model
(Wiley, 2019-06)In dealing with predicted changes in environmental conditions outside those experienced today, forest managers and researchers rely on process‐based models to inform physiological processes and predict future forest growth ... -
Faster drought recovery in anisohydric beech compared with isohydric spruce
(Oxford University Press, 2023-01)With drought and heat events increasing in frequency and intensity worldwide, global drought-induced tree decline (Allen et al. 2010, Hammond et al. 2022) has resulted in widespread interest in understanding the physiological ... -
Functional traits underlie specialist-generalist strategies in whitebark pine and limber pine
(Elsevier BV, 2023-08)Plant species life history strategies are described by functional variation spanning an acquisitive and conservative resource use continuum. Specialist species can exhibit traits promoting one end of the continuum, while ... -
Facilitation strength across environmental and beneficiary trait gradients in stream communities
(Wiley, 2023-08)Ecosystem engineers modify habitats in ways that facilitate other community members by ameliorating harsh conditions. The strength of such facilitation is predicted to be influenced by both beneficiary traits and abiotic ... -
Evaluating the importance of individual heterogeneity in reproduction to Weddell seal population dynamics using integral projection models
(Wiley, 2023-07)Identifying and accounting for unobserved individual heterogeneity in vital rates in demographic models is important for estimating population-level vital rates and identifying diverse life-history strategies, but much ... -
Spawning Locations of Pallid Sturgeon in the Missouri River Corroborate the Mechanism for Recruitment Failure
(MDPI, 2023-05)Conservation propagation of pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) upstream of Fort Peck Reservoir, MT, USA, has successfully recruited a new generation of spawning-capable pallid sturgeon where there would otherwise be ... -
First observations of Weddell seals foraging in sponges in Erebus Bay, Antarctica
(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2023-05)Attaching cameras to marine mammals allows for first-hand observation of underwater behaviours that may otherwise go unseen. While studying the foraging behaviour of 26 lactating Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) in ... -
Density-related reproductive costs and natal conditions predict male life history in a highly polygynous mammal
(Elsevier BV, 2023-06)Polygynous males allocate substantial resources to sexual traits and behaviours to improve their chances of winning competitions for mates often at the cost of body maintenance. However, the degree to which males experience ... -
Home Range and Use Area Sizes of Territorial Golden Eagles Tracked with Tail-Mounted Satellite Transmitters
(The Raptor Research Foundation, Inc., 2022-09)Recent use of satellite-tracked platform transmitter terminals (PTTs) has increased knowledge of movements of Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) and virtually all have been attached via backpack harnesses. To avoid reported ... -
Increasing equitable access to graduate education through competitive hiring in the life sciences
(Wiley, 2023-06)Many professions necessitate a graduate-level education, and research conducted by graduate students is integral in many fields, particularly those in the life science programs like ecology and environmental sciences. ... -
Endurance Swimming Is Related to Summer Lake Survival of Rainbow Trout in a Warm Lake with Avian Piscivores
(MDPI AG, 2023-04)Fitness of fish is assumed to be influenced by locomotion performance, but empirical evidence linking swimming capacity to survival in nature remains sparse. Poor triploid (3N) fish aerobic swimming performance in conjunction ...
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