Author Archives: Nathan Lyle
Examination of the interaction between age-specific predation and chronic disease in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
May 5, 2022
The patterns of parasite infections in wildlife hosts often have an age component. For example, the prevalence of chronic infections tends to skew towards older individuals that have had a longer amount of time to be exposed (e.g. Heisey et … read more
Posted in CWD & Other Diseases, Resources | Tagged age structure, demography, healthy herds, infectious disease, matrix model, predator–prey, Prion, simulation
The Role of Wolves in Regulating a Chronic Non-communicable Disease, Osteoarthritis, in Prey Populations
May 5, 2022
It is widely accepted that predators disproportionately prey on individuals that are old, weak, diseased or injured. By selectively removing individuals with diseases, predators may play an important role in regulating the overall health of prey populations. However, that idea … read more
Posted in CWD & Other Diseases, Resources | Tagged bone disease, carnivores, chronic pathology, disease dynamics, resource selection, selective predation, senescent related pathology, ungulates
The gray wolf as a symbol or a subject of science
May 5, 2022
Wolves have always slipped easily into the part of the human brain that processes symbols and metaphors. In the Inferno from his Divine Comedy, Dante (~1265–1321) used wolves to represent greed and fraud. In the Middle Ages Europeans called famine, … read more
Posted in Human Dimensions, Resources | Tagged Gray Wolves, science, Wolf
Rapid changes in public perception toward a conservation initiative
May 5, 2022
Rapid, widespread changes in public perceptions and behaviors have the potential to influence conservation outcomes. However, few studies have documented whether and how such shifts occur throughout the span of a conservation initiative. We examined the 2020 ballot initiative to … read more
Posted in Human Dimensions, Resources | Tagged attitude change, conservation behavior, public perspectives, Wolf
Extinguishing a Learned Response in a Free-ranging Gray Wolf (Canis lupus)
April 2, 2022
A free-ranging Gray Wolf (Canis lupus), habituated to human presence (the author) on Ellesmere Island, Canada, learned to anticipate experimental feeding by a human, became impatient, persistent, and bold and exhibited stalking behaviour toward the food source. Only after the … read more
Posted in Conflicts, Resources | Tagged arctic, Behaviour, Canis lupus, Ellesmere Island, extinguishing learned behaviour, gray wolf, learned-response, learning
Nonlethal Techniques for Managing Predation: Primary and Secondary Repellents
March 4, 2022
Conservation biology requires the development of practical tools and techniques to minimize conflicts arising from human modification of ecosystems. We applied behavioral theory of primary and secondary repellents to predator management by using aversive stimulus devices (electronic training collars) and … read more
Posted in Non-Lethal Management Tools, Resources
