Opportunist gulls use anthropogenic food subsidies, which can bolster populations, but negatively influence sensitive local ecosystems and areas of human settlement. In the eastern Gulf of Maine, Canada, breeding herring gulls Larus argentatus have access to resources from aquaculture, fisheries and mink farms, but the relative influence of industry on local gull populations is unknown. Our objectives were to 1) assess use of natural and anthropogenic habitats by herring gulls from multiple colonies, 2) evaluate variation among colonies in use of distinct resource types within these habitats and 3) highlight areas of high gull:industry interaction. Using GPS devices on 39 gulls from four colonies, we identified visitation behaviour (slow, localized movements) and assigned visits to nine resource types. To evaluate the spatial distribution of visits, we created a use intensity index, reflecting both fidelity (i.e. repeated visits) and time spent in specific areas. All four anthropogenic resource types were heavily used (56 ± 11% of visiting time across colonies), notably, fish plants and mink farms. Despite large distances among three colonies, birds overlapped at particular distant, inland mink farms. In contrast, birds from close colonies overlapped in visitation to specific nearby resources (e.g. fish plants and human settlement), and otherwise diverged in distribution and use of offshore and coastal areas. Birds from three colonies also made frequent, long visits to uninhabited islands. Industry is clearly influencing the behaviour of breeding gulls in the eastern Gulf of Maine, Canada, where birds are travelling great distances or spending large proportions of time interacting with anthropogenic resources, while otherwise paying lengthy visits to nearby coastal islands. Studies have shown that concentrations of gulls can have harmful direct and indirect ecological and societal impacts. Our findings have implications for the management and regulation of industry to mitigate detrimental effects on local ecosystems and humans.

Positive interactions between shrubs and animals are frequent in desert ecosystems. Shrub canopies can provide refuge to some animal species from predators and shelter from stressful environmental conditions by ameliorating high temperatures through lowering the amplitude of variation. Consequently, there have been many contrasts of shrub versus open effects; however, we extend this approach further by testing these effects on a gradient of shrub densities in the Carrizo National Monument, California. We tested the hypothesis that shrub density is a landscape-level predictor of vertebrate community composition and structure. We used camera traps, transects and focal observations to estimate animal density and composition, alongside the deployment of temperature sensors. Plots were established within shrub patches ranging from 0 to 12 shrubs per 10 m radius. Plots with relatively higher shrub densities had increased abundance and richness of vertebrate animal species. Temperature and residual dry matter were also important mediators of animal density and richness. Shrub cover was also an important driver of animal communities but we propose that shrub density is a more rapid proxy for vegetation effects in deserts relevant to wildlife conservationists, and managers.

Predator avoidance and food availability are both factors known to influence habitat selection and site fidelity around calving in caribou and reindeer. Here, we assess habitat selection and site fidelity during the calving period in the solitary, Arctic Svalbard reindeer Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus, which is subject to limited predation risk and human disturbance. In this largely predator-free environment, we explore and discuss if habitat selection during the first week after calving is driven by food availability or remnants of anti-predatory behaviour. Based on GPS-collar data and ultrasound scanning (2009–2017; n = 134 individual-years) from two study areas, we estimated individual calving dates using recursive partitioning and first passage time and compared habitat selection and site fidelity of reproductive versus non-reproductive females. The K-select analysis suggested similar habitat selection during calving in reproductive and non-reproductive females. Female reindeer generally selected for lowland, flat habitats with high proportion of heath and moss tundra, i.e. habitats typically rich in terms of forage plants. Individuals producing a calf had significantly higher site fidelity in the calving period compared to the null model, and the mean distance between consecutive years' calving areas ranged between 1.5 and 3.9 km. Our study provides support for the prediction that in the absence of significant predation, ungulate calving site selection in the Arctic is mainly driven by the availability of spatially and temporally varying food resources.

The hazel grouse Tetrastes bonasia is a Galliformes species of major conservation interest and threatened throughout Europe. However, little information is currently available on its sanitary status both in the Alps and worldwide. Considering that gastrointestinal parasites are one of the factors negatively impacting on Galliformes population dynamics, the objective of this study is to fill the gaps of knowledge on the parasite-fauna of the Alpine hazel grouse. Twenty-nine hazel grouse were collected in the French Alps during the period 1987–2019 (no samples collected during 1997–1999). All birds were searched for gastrointestinal parasites utilizing conventional parasitological techniques. Prevalence, intensity of infection and abundance (mean number of parasites) were calculated for each parasite species. In addition, parasite richness was evaluated. Forty-one percent (CI_95%: 23.4–59.3) of birds harboured parasites, belonging to seven parasite species. Capillaria caudinflata was the most common with a prevalence of 27.6% (CI_95%: 11.3–43.8), whereas Eimeria spp. was found with a prevalence of 10.3% (CI_95%: 0–21.4). For both parasites, the majority of the infected animals show low parasite load. A low prevalence (3.4% – CI_95%: 0–10.1) was detected for Capillaria anatis, Heterakis gallinarum, Raillietina sp., Dispharynx nasuta and Trematodes. To our knowledge, this is the first report of C. anatis and D. nasuta in the hazel grouse, and in general one of the few article providing information on hazel grouse parasite community. Overall, the parasite richness was very low, with 75% of the infected birds carrying one parasite species, 17% two species and only one bird (8%) with three species. This study increases the scarce literature available on the hazel grouse parasites. The epidemiological descriptors reported are particularly useful to compare the parasite-fauna of the hazel grouse across locations and time periods.

Muskrats Ondatra zibethicus are semiaquatic herbivores experiencing long-term and widespread population declines across North America. Translocation may be a viable tool to bolster or reestablish local populations; however, subsequent effects of translocation on muskrats are unknown. We live-trapped and translocated radiomarked muskrats (n = 65) during the summers of 2018–2019 in Voyageurs National Park, MN, USA and assessed post-translocation effects on weekly survival probabilities and space-use patterns. We did not observe homing behavior, though individuals moved an average of 2.2 km (SE = 0.30 km) from release sites and established home ranges within ∼8 days (SE = 1.16 days) post-translocation. Weekly post-translocation survival probabilities (0.95, SE = 0.001) and average home-range sizes (2.52 ha, SE = 0.44 ha) were similar to other studies of non-translocated muskrats. Our most-supported known-fate survival model revealed muskrats using beaver Castor canadensis lodges had greater weekly survival probabilities. Additionally, weekly muskrat survival varied between years suggesting a positive response to a novel soft-release technique applied in 2019. Our study provides the first empirical assessment of translocation effects on muskrats and suggests translocation may be effective for establishing or enhancing local muskrat populations. Additionally, our study suggests beaver lodges may confer fitness benefits to sympatric muskrats particularly during dispersal.

Ecologists increasingly rely on camera-trap data to estimate biological parameters such as population abundance. Because of the huge amount of data camera trap can generate, the assistance of non-scientists is often sought after, but an assessment of the data quality is necessary. We tested whether volunteers data from one of the largest citizen science projects – Snapshot Serengeti – could be used to study breeding phenology. We tested whether the presence of juveniles (less than one or 12 months old) of species of large herbivores in the Serengeti: topi, kongoni, Grant's gazelle, could be reliably detected by the ‘naive' volunteers versus trained observers. We expected a positive correlation between the proportion of volunteers identifying juveniles and their effective presence within photographs, assessed by the trained observers. The agreement between the trained observers was good (Fleiss' κ > 0.61 for juveniles of less than one and 12 month(s) old), suggesting that morphological criteria can be used to determine age of juveniles. The relationship between the proportion of volunteers detecting juveniles less than a month old and their actual presence plateaued at 0.45 for Grant's gazelle, reached 0.70 for topi and 0.56 for kongoni. The same relationships were much stronger for juveniles younger than 12 months, reaching 1 for topi and kongoni. The absence of individuals < one month and the presence of juveniles < 12 months could be reliably assumed, respectively, when no volunteer and when all volunteers reported a presence of a young. In contrast, the presence of very young individuals and the absence of juveniles appeared more difficult to ascertain from volunteers' classification, given how the classification task was presented to them. Volunteers’ classification allows a moderately accurate but quick sorting of photograph with/without juveniles. We discuss the limitations of using citizen science camera-traps data to study breeding phenology, and the options to improve the detection of juveniles.

Wildlife populations in southeast Asia are increasingly experiencing a broad array of anthropogenic threats, and mammalian carnivores are particularly vulnerable. Populations of the Malayan sun bear Helarctos malayanus are estimated to have declined by 30% over the last 30 years from forest conversion to industrial plantations and mortality associated with human–bear conflicts and illegal wildlife trade. However, the effects of industrial plantations on habitat selection and activity patterns of mammals that live at the protected area-plantation interface, including sun bears, are not well known. We investigated habitat selection and activity patterns of sun bears in Tabin Wildlife Reserve in Sabah, Malaysia. We deployed 83 remote camera sites to record sun bear detections during two sampling periods (2012–2013 and 2017). We used generalized linear models to examine relationships between sun bear presence and site covariates representing physical, environmental and anthropogenic elements of the landscape. Relative probability of sun bear presence was positively associated with distance to roads and elevation. Because most roads were on the reserve boundary and often associated with oil palm plantations, proximity to roads likely served as a surrogate measure of human accessibility and activity in peripheral areas of the reserve. Supporting that interpretation, sun bears close to the reserve boundary were primarily active at night, whereas daytime activity was more common for bears in the interior. Our findings indicate that sun bears alter behaviour and habitat selection likely in response to anthropogenic activities at the edges of Tabin Wildlife Reserve (112 200 ha). Because the ratio of edge to interior increases steeply with declining habitat area, smaller protected areas bordered by plantations are predicted to have greater impacts on sun bear behaviour and, potentially, population persistence. Effective conservation actions may benefit from management to improve the security of edge habitats for sun bears and other vulnerable species.

Roads can have significant impacts on wildlife populations by impeding movement, restricting access to resources and causing wildlife–vehicle collisions. In particular, wildlife–vehicle collisions represent a substantial conservation and social problem, and although mitigation measures are available, an increased understanding of the temporal and spatial patterns of animal movement around roads will enhance their effectiveness. We analysed GPS telemetry data from 47 swamp wallabies Wallabia bicolor on Phillip Island, south-east Australia, within patches of native vegetation dissected by roads. Our aims were to determine if (a) road crossing frequency was influenced by time period (day, night) or sex, (b) wallabies avoided roads, and if avoidance was influenced by time period or sex and (c) road crossing locations were associated with dense vegetation, and other habitat characteristics. We found that males crossed roads more often at night than during the day while females showed the opposite pattern. Further, wallabies avoided roads, with some evidence that avoidance increased at night (p = 0.07). The chance of a wallaby crossing roads with high speed limits (80–100 km h-¹) increased with vegetation density during the day but not at night. In contrast, vegetation density had no influence on crossing locations along roads with lower (50–70 km h-¹) speed limits during the day or night. Both vegetation density and vehicle speed may influence wallaby–vehicle collisions and suggest management strategies targeting these factors. Partial fencing guiding wallabies towards safer crossing locations, combined with other measures such as reduced speed limits and signage, could reduce collisions between vehicles and swamp wallabies on Phillip Island.

Family groups with cubs-of-the-year (cubs) in Finland's brown bear Ursus arctos population are protected from hunting, but sport hunters inadvertently shoot some cubs almost every year. In our data, 39 of 1463 bears from hunting bags (and 39 of all 1503 shot bears) during 1996–2018 were cubs. Mortality of cubs owing to inadvertent shooting by hunters was estimated to be relatively low (ca 8%) and was therefore above all an ethical problem. Male bias from the 1:1 sex ratio was significant (67%, χ² = 4.333, p = 0.037) and possibly attributed to a greater resemblance with yearlings (legal game) given their larger body size. The year trend in the proportion of cubs in hunting bag was not significant (t = -1.832, p = 0.076) We examined whether the risk of cub to being killed by hunters was related to the distance from the Russian border because bear hunting has been practised for more years in eastern Finland compared with mid- and western Finland. The risk of cub being killed was not related to the distance but the risk of female cubs being killed was highest within a narrow zone at the Russian border. If the family group escapes to the Russian side, the risk of losing the hunting dog is presumably high. Given hunters' high motivation to keep their valuable bear-hunting dogs, the proportion of female cubs might be highest near the border. Systematic educational programs for hunters would likely reduce the risk of inadvertent killing of cubs. The full legal protection of all family groups is potentially the most efficient method to reduce the risk and thereby formally provide improved ethics in bear hunting. However, this practice might also prolong the mother–offspring bond.

Age-specific patterns of primary molt facilitate age classification of native North American upland gamebirds, a critical step in understanding their ecology, behavior, life history, population dynamics and harvest. However, deviations from typical molt patterns can create confusing plumages that complicate age classification. We examined data from live-captured greater sage-grouse Centrocercus urophasianus across seven studies in five U.S. states and wings from harvested birds in Oregon and Colorado for evidence of atypical primary molt. We documented atypical replacement through primary nine during preformative molt, atypical retention of juvenile primary 10 during second prebasic molt, and atypical retention of basic outer primaries during definitive prebasic molt. Atypical primary molts were observed more often in live-captured females (3.2%, n = 561) than males (0.8%, n = 494). Many individuals with atypical primary patterns, especially females, are difficult or impossible to reliably age by plumage or morphology and may bias research and harvest data.

The gray wolf Canis lupus range in central Europe is dynamically expanding, reconnecting previously isolated populations. Thus, a recent paper has proposed to merge the current Baltic and Central European (CE) wolf management units, which are no longer isolated by distance. However, recent genetic findings indicate that these two populations are not genetically homogenous. Here we review the most recent data on wolf genetic structure in central Europe and show that even though the CE and Baltic wolves represent the same phylogeographic lineage, their demographic history has resulted in significant genetic structure between these two populations. While the groups are interconnected by moderate gene flow, it is not high enough to reduce the strong founder signal observed in the CE population, suggesting that population dynamics within the CE wolf range are largely independent from those of its source (Baltic) population. Consequently, a management unit combining the CE and Baltic wolves would not form a demographically coherent entity. Thus, we recommend that conservation management units maintain their separate status.