Research Accomplishment Reports 2007

The Ecological Role of Large Mammals in the Forests of Kentucky and the Eastern United States: Implications for Conservation

D. S. Maehr
Department of Forestry

 

Project Description

Large mammals in the southeastern U.S. evolved as communities within complex networks of competitive and trophic interactions. However, these interactions, especially those of predators and their prey, are seldom well-understood, and they can exhibit great regional and temporal variability. In many cases, competition has been obscured by millennia of successful niche separation, or the "ghost of competition past". One of the challenges in restoration ecology is the maintenance and re-creation of interspecific relations that existed before European settlement of North America - relations that have been obscured by two centuries of anthropogenic transformation.

In the southeastern U.S., dramatic ecological changes have resulted in new relations among wild animals and their landscapes. A thorough understanding of existing patterns in large mammal distribution and ecology will be necessary to evaluate the effectiveness and consequences of future restorative efforts, and in facilitating successful biodiversity conservation. The results of this study will also be important to the growing eco-tourism industry in eastern Kentucky. As interest in the eastern Kentucky bear populations grows, the results of this study will become increasingly important to local and regional education efforts. A fact-based understanding and appreciation for the black bear will promote responsible human behavior in occupied black bear range including the urban-wilderness interface where otherwise wary and wild individuals may be encouraged to utilize food sources of human origin. Given the success of elk restoration over the last 10 years, a comparable increase in the black bear will result in the desire of some members of the public to utilize this species as legal game. A thorough understanding of black bear habitat relations, spatial patterns, behavior, and demographics will be critical in the development of sustainable harvest strategies. The inclusion of the public through mail surveys and other contacts will promote partnerships between government entities and the public that will foster successful wildlife conservation programs. Finally, as the elk research has already done, ecological and sociological studies of the black bear in eastern Kentucky will not only promote regional conservation, but will serve as national and international models. Expanding or restored populations of large mammals create unique challenges for local residents and government stewards of natural resources. The insights derived from this work will enhance the likelihood of compatibility among large carnivores, large mammals, and humans. Intensive data collection continues on about 40 black bears in Kentucky and Florida. Elk were recently instrumented with GPS collars to record movements related to dispersal and colonization.

Impact

The ecological study of the black bear has provided important information to managers regarding future colonization and population growth potential. The black bear has the potential to drive a productive recreation-based economy in this economically challenged region. Our sociological work has the potential to improve the public perception of this large carnivore and help restore biodiversity and ecological sustainability.

The implications of our elk research will help fine-tune management for this recently established herd that is already an important economic benefit to the region. Understanding the balance between elk abundance and impacts to soils and the landscape will help maintain the ability of the region to support this economically important resource, and will help educate the public and natural resource agencies.

The bear work in Florida is identifying important core and dispersal habitat for the imperiled population in south central Florida. Detailed movement data are providing a foundation for new analytical approaches that will change the way black bear telemetry data are collected and interpreted.

Publications

Maehr, D.S. 2007. Views from the bear den. Pages 171-207 in J. Lange, editor. The bear book. Bear Trust International, Missoula, MT.

Maehr, D.S. 2007. Central Florida ranches are Key to the black bear's future. Florida Cattleman 71(12):90-96.

Maehr, D.S. 2007. Black bear ecology and colonization in eastern Kentucky. Kentucky Woodlands. 2(3):4-5.

Maehr, D.S., J.J. Cox, and J.L. Larkin. 2007. Elk (Cervus elaphus). Pages 526-532 in M. Trani-Griep, editor. The land manager's guide to mammals of the South. USDA Forest Service and The Nature Conservancy. Atlanta, GA.

Treanor, J.T., R.L. Waller, D.S. Maehr, and P.H. Crowley. 2007. Brucellosis in Yellowstone bison: implications for conservation management. Yellowstone Science 20(2):20-24.

Olsson, M.P. O.., J.J. Cox, J.L. Larkin, D.S. Maehr, P. Widen, and M.W. Wichrowski. 2007. Movement and activity patterns of reintroduced elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) on an active coal mine in Kentucky. Wildlife Biology in Practice 3:1-8.

Treanor, J., J. Johnson, R. Wallen, S. Cilles, P. Crowley, D. Maehr, and G. Plumb. 2007. Brucellosis in Yellowstone bison: An individual-based simulation model of vaccination strategies. Proceedings of the 110th Annual Meeting of the United States Animal Health Association. 15-18 October 2006. Minneapolis, MN.