Author Archives: Nathan Lyle

Large terrestrial carnivores are now widely recognized as essential components of ecosystems. However, the management of large carnivores varies greatly at national and international scales, and some management decision processes do not seem to be informed by scientific evidence. We … read more

A summary of theoretical, empirical, and experimental evidence supporting predator cleansing of CWD in deer and elk herds by mountain lions and wolves. Predator cleansing is the idea or hypothesis that predators, especially apex carnivores sitting atop their ecosystem’s food … read more

Conserving endangered species sometimes involves killing their predators. In the case of Nearctic wolves (Canis lupus), rarely are lethal control measures examined for ancillary effects on predator behaviour or community responses in a before-after design. We examined wolf relative abundance … read more

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has become a major concern among those involved in managing wild and captive cervid populations. CWD is a fatal, highly transmissible spongiform encephalopathy caused by an abnormally folded protein, called a prion. Prions are present in … read more

Aim: The assembly of species into communities and ecoregions is the result of interacting factors that affect plant and animal distribution and abundance at biogeographic scales. Here, we empirically derive ecoregions for mammals to test whether human disturbance has become … read more

Population declines were documented in multiple ruminant species in Montana and surrounding states starting in 1995. While weather, food sources, and predation certainly contributed, the declines were often attributed, at least partly, to unexplained factors. Use of teratogenic agrichemicals, notably … read more