Author Archives: Nathan Lyle
Influence of body mass and environmental conditions on winter mortality risk of a northern ungulate: Evidence for a late-winter survival bottleneck
December 30, 2021
A relationship between winter weather and survival of northern ungulates has long been established, yet the possible roles of biological (e.g., nutritional status) and environmental (e.g., weather) conditions make it important to determine which potential limiting factors are most influential. … read more
Posted in Deer, Predator/Prey Relationships | Tagged Canis latrans, Canis lupus, cause-specific mortality, Odocoileus virginianus, weather, winter severity index
Reduction of Chronic Wasting Disease Prion Seeding Activity following Digestion by Mountain Lions
December 30, 2021
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible prion disease first observed in the 1960s in North America. This invariably fatal disease affects multiple cervid species in the wild and in captivity. In addition to the several known transmission pathways involving … read more
Posted in CWD & Other Diseases | Tagged chronic wasting disease, mountain lion, Prion, PrP, Puma concolor, RT-QuIC
Dogs are resistant to prion infection, due to the presence of aspartic or glutamic acid at position 163 of their prion protein
December 30, 2021
Unlike other species, prion disease has never been described in dogs even though they were similarly exposed to the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) agent. This resistance prompted a thorough analysis of the canine PRNP gene and the presence of a … read more
Posted in CWD & Other Diseases | Tagged canids, canine, dog, interspecies transmission, prion infection, prion susceptibility, scrapie, transgenic mouse models, transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, transmission barrier
Spatial compartmentalization: A nonlethal predator mechanism to reduce parasite transmission between prey species
December 30, 2021
Predators can modulate disease transmission within prey populations by influencing prey demography and behavior. Predator-prey dynamics can involve multiple species in heterogeneous landscapes; however, studies of predation on disease transmission rarely consider the role of landscapes or the transmission among … read more
Posted in Benefits of Wolves
Liberalizing the killing of wolves State of the science
December 30, 2021
Recently, some state governments began pursuing aggressive efforts to reduce wolf populations through programs that include liberalized hunting and trapping seasons, and efforts to incentivize killing (e.g., bounties). These efforts represent a departure from policies of the recent past, raising … read more
Posted in Hunting Wolves | Tagged Bounties, carnivores, killing, Policies, science, State Government, wolves
Become A WCC Junior Wolf Biologist | Wolf Conservation Center
December 30, 2021
Love wolves? Become a certified Wolf Conservation Center Junior Wolf Biologist! Children are encouraged to build upon their knowledge of wolves by completing the digital “Junior Wolf Biologist Training Guide” and sending it to the Wolf Conservation Center wolf experts … read more
Posted in Front Page News


