Each year the NWRC examines the publications of its scientists and recognizes those papers that are rigorous treatments of topics that addressed important program mission areas and have application to managers and applied science. Because of the nature of delays in the publication process, the awards reflect those papers published during the previous calendar year.
2018 Publication awards:
Best methods/data publication:
Davis, A.J., B. Leland, M. Bodenchuk, K.C. VerCauteren, K.M. Pepin. 2018. Costs and effectiveness of damage management of an
overabundant species (Sus scrofa) using aerial gunning. Wildlife
Research 45:696-705. doi: 10.1071/WR17170
This work was
acknowledged because of the quantitative rigor, the collaboration between
research and operations, and the potential of this methodology to be applied to
many aspects of the WS program to improve operational efficiency. This
paper evaluated strategies of aerial gunning pigs (i.e., single pass in an area
vs. multiple passes over a short duration) and determined that gunning an area
for pigs 3 consecutive times could result in 60% reduction in damage in the
area, as compared to a 2% reduction when gunning was conducted just once.
This research was made possible through a productive relationship between NWRC
and operations and offers an example of the importance of monitoring for
evaluating effectiveness of operational activity.
Best synthesis/review publication:
VerCauteren,
K.C., M.J. Lavelle, and H. Campa. 2018. Persistent Spillback of Bovine Tuberculosis From
White-Tailed Deer to Cattle in Michigan, USA: Status, Strategies, and Needs.
Frontiers in Veterinary Science 5: 301. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2018.00301
NWRC and Operations have been working on
the issue of bTB in deer being spilled back to cattle in Michigan for nearly 20
years. Over this course in time, many methods have been developed by NWRC
to reduce deer contact with cattle including strategies related to fencing, use
of dogs, and feeding and watering cattle. NWRC has also conducted basic
research to better understand disease transmission and prevention that points
the way forward for ridding deer and cattle of the disease. This paper
synthesizes this work and highlights how this collective work is being
incorporated into mitigation at the farm level and influencing management and
policy at the state and federal level.
Special Recognition: Edited book
W.C. Pitt, J.C.
Beasley, and G.W Witmer, editors. Ecology and Management of terrestrial
vertebrate invasive species in the United States. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
403 pp.
https://www.crcpress.com/Ecology-and-Management-of-Terrestrial-Vertebrate-Invasive-Species-in-the/Pitt-Beasley-Witmer/p/book/9781498704823#googlePreviewContainer
Previous Award Winners:
Snow, N.P., M.A. Jarzyna, and K.C. VerCauteren. 2017. Interpreting and predicting the spread of invasive wild pigs. Journal of Applied Ecology. doi: 10.1111/1365-2664.12866
Shriner, S.A., J.J. Root, M.W. Lutman, J.M. Kloft, K.K. VanDalen, H.J. Sullivan, T.S. White, M.P. Milleson, J.L. Hairston, S.C. Chandler, P.C. Wolf, C.T. Turnage, B.J. McCluskey, A.L. Vincent, M.K. Torchetti, T. Gidlewski, and T.J.DeLiberto. 2016. Surveillance for highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza virus in synanthropic wildlife associated with poultry farms during an acute outbreak. Scientific reports 6:36237. doi: 10.1038/srep36237
Root, J.J., S.A. Shriner, J.W. Ellis, K.K. VanDalen, H.J. Sullivan, and A.B. Franklin. 2015. When fur and feather occur together: Interclass
transmission of avian influenza A virus from mammals to birds through common
resources. Scientific Reports 5:14354. doi: 10.1038/srep14354
Piaggio, A.J., R.M. Engeman, M.W. Hopken, J.S. Humphrey, K.L. Keacher, W.E. Bruce, and M.L. Avery. 2014. Detecting an
elusive invasive species: a diagnostic PCR to detect Burmese python in Florida
waters and an assessment of persistence of environmental DNA. Molecular Ecology Resources, 14:374–380. doi:10.1111/1755-0998.12180.
DeVault, T. L., Blackwell, B. F., & Belant, J. L. (2013). Wildlife in Airport
Environments: Preventing Animal-Aircraft Collisions through Science-Based
Management. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Blackwell, B. F., T. L. DeVault, T. W. Seamans, S. L. Lima, P. Baumhardt, and E. Fernández-Juricic. 2012.
Exploiting avian vision with aircraft lighting to reduce
bird strikes. Journal of Applied Ecology 49:758-766.
Guillaumet, A., B. Dorr, and G. Wang. 2012. Towards optimized population control efficiency in space and
time: A modelling framework adapted to a colonial waterbird. Ecological Modelling 235: 95-101.
Savidge, J.A., M.W. Hopken, G.W. Witmer, S.M. Jojola, J.J. Pierce, P.W. Burke, and A.J. Piaggio. 2012.
Genetic evaluation of an attempted Rattus rattus eradication
on Congo Cay, U.S. Virgin Islands, identifies importance of eradication units. Biological Invasions 14: 2343-2354.
Breck, S. W., B. M. Kluever, M. Panasci, J. Oakleaf, T. Johnson, W. Ballard, L. Howery, and D. L. Bergman. 2011. Domestic calf mortality and producer detection rates in the
Mexican wolf recovery area: Implications for livestock management and carnivore compensation schemes. Biological Conservation 144:930-936.
Carlson, J. C., A. B. Franklin, D. R. Hyatt, S. E. Petitit, and G. M. Linz. 2011. The role of starlings in the spread of Salmonella within
concentrated animal feeding operations. Journal of Applied Ecology 48:479-486
Atwood, T. C., and E. M. Gese. 2010. Importance of resource selection and social behavior to
partitioning of hostile space by sympatric canids. Journal of Mammalogy 91:490-499.
Da Silva, A. G., J. R. Eberhard, T. F. Wright, M. L. Avery, and M. A. Russello. 2010. Genetic evidence for high propagule pressure and
long-distance dispersal in monk parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) invasive
populations. Molecular Ecology 19:3336-3350.
Bradley F. Blackwell, Esteban Fernándex-Juricic, Thomas W. Seamans, and Tracy Dolan. 2009. Avian visual system configuration and behavioural response
to object approach. Animal Behavious 77:673-684.
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