CFAES Give Today
SENR

School of Environment and Natural Resources

CFAES

Wildlife research presented at annual conference

Oct. 28, 2016
Katie Robertson, a doctoral student in the School of Environment and Natural Resources presented a research in progress poster at The Wildlife Society’s 23rd Annual Conference. She and co-authors are using novel object testing to examine behavioral syndromes in coyotes. Photo shows camera trap footage of forest preserve coyotes reacting to a novel object and exhibiting anxious posturing behavior. Katie is a member of the Urban Coyote Research Program in Cook County, Illinois and is advised by Professor Stan

Wildlife professionals from across the nation gathered in Raleigh, North Carolina to engage in wildlife science and management educational opportunities, participate in field trips and workshops, and network with peers, mentors and colleagues.  

Several School of Environment and Natural Resources faculty, staff and graduate students were in attendance and presented in a variety of types of sessions at The Wildlife Society’s 2016 Annual Conference.  

Organized Symposium

Pets, Pests or Wildlife? Managing Free-Roaming Cats and Horses
Organizers:  Jennifer Malpass and Ashley Wurth

Symposium Presentations

Factors Influencing Experts Judgments Concerning the Appropriate Status of Grizzly Bears under the Endangered Species Act
Jeremy T. Bruskotter, Alexander Heeren, Gabriel Karns, Harmony Szarek, Eric Toman and Robyn S. Wilson

The Dichotomy between Territory Size and Space Use in Urban Coyotes
Hance Ellington, Shane McKenzie, Evan Wilson and Stan Gehrt

What we need to know to better understand the effects of climate change on plethodontid salamanders
William E. Peterman

A horse is a horse of course...or is it? Exploring the socially constructed meaning of feral domestic animals
Kristina Slagle 

 

Hance Ellington, a post-doctoral researcher in the School of Environment and Natural Resources, presented his research at The Wildlife Society’s 23rd Annual Conference in Raleigh, NC. He and co-authors are examining how urbanization influences coyote territory size and movement behavior. As urbanization increases, coyote territories do not become larger but become more complex. As urbanization increases, coyote activity decreases. When coyotes are active, however, they spend more time traveling than foraging and when they are traveling, they are moving faster. The map shows a territorial coyote’s movement one evening along the Chicago lakeshore. Hance is a member of the Urban Coyote Research Program in Cook County, Illinois and his work is in collaboration with Dr. Stanley Gehrt. 

Contributed Posters

Fear and Loathing in Genus Canis: Cascading Effects of Wolf Versus Coyote Competition
David G. Flagel, Gary E. Belovsky, Michael J. Cramer, Dean E. Beyer, Jr. and Katie E. Robertson

Optimization of Multi-Scale Resistance Surfaces to Describe the Landscape Genetics of a Threatened Mole Salamander
Kristopher J. Winiarski, William E. Peterman, Andrew Whiteley and Kevin McGarigal

Student Research in Progress Posters

The Role of Social Values and Context in Shaping Human Interactions with Wildlife
Colleen Hartel and Alia Dietsch

Examining Behavioral Syndromes in Coyotes through Novel Object Testing
Katie Robertson, Shane Mckenzie, Chris Anchor and Stanley Gehrt

Potential Genetic Markers for Bold or Aggressive Behaviors in the Coyote
Ashley Wurth, Jean Dubach and Stanley Gehrt


Code map of interactions with wildlife excerpted from Colleen Hartel’s research in progress poster at The Wildlife Society’s 23rd Annual Conference. She and co-author, Alia Dietsch, assistant professor in the School of Environment and Natural Resources are studying the factors that contribute to individuals framing of interactions with wildlife as negative or as “conflict.” Colleen is a graduate student in the Environmental Social Science graduate specialization in the school.