Tag Archives: species

Core Strategies for Conservation of Greater Sage-Grouse

Greater sage-grouse (GRSG) is a North American bird species that nests exclusively in sagebrush habitat. In the last century, natural populations of this species have significantly declined largely due to human influenced habitat loss and fragmentation. This has prompted multiple petitions to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to list GRSG under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which would require mandatory restrictions on critical sagebrush habitat. This means that land managers of sagebrush areas would face land use restrictions for natural resource extraction and development, the bulk of the economy in Wyoming.

Wyoming Basin study site with associated GRSG Core Areas in blue. These Core Areas were designated as part of the GRSG Core Area Protection Act, Wyoming’s GRSG conservation policy aimed at protecting at least 67% of male GRSG attending leks. This policy is focused on directing development outside of these areas by setting strict conservation measures inside the Core Areas. Overall, the policy has remained effective in protecting at least 2/3 of GRSG habitat and has been identified as having the highest conservation value to maintaining sustainable GRSG populations.

 

Scent station and associated trail camera set-up in Natrona County, WY. Scent stations were randomly placed throughout the study site along roads and stratified between Core and Non-Core Areas. Mammalian predators are known to use roads for easy travel. These scent stations will help gather occupancy data of mammalian predators (Photo Credit: Eliana Moustakas).

Wyoming is a stronghold for GRSG, with the most birds, the most leks (male mating display grounds), and the largest contiguous sagebrush habitat in North America. Since GRSG declines have led to its possible endangered listing, Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal launched an effort in 2007 to develop stronger policies for GRSG that would protect the species and its habitat while also sustaining the state’s economy. A public forum followed, including representatives from state and federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, and industries, and in 2008 a conservation policy called the Greater Sage-Grouse Core Area Protection Strategy was developed to maintain and restore suitable habitat and active breeding GRSG pairs. The plan aims to protect at least 67% of male GRSG attending leks, and is focused on directing development outside of Core Areas by setting strict conservation measures inside Core Areas. By protecting sagebrush habitat and allowing development and mining in Non-Core Areas, Wyoming can continue to expand its natural resource economy and play a critical role in GRSG conservation.

In 2010, the USFWS concluded that GRSG were warranted protection but left them off the ESA list because threats were moderate and did not occur equally across their range. The status of GRSG was reevaluated in 2015 and the USFWS determined that GRSG did not warrant protection, claiming that the Core Area Strategy was sound framework for a policy by which to conserve GRSG in WY. However, recent monitoring of GRSG has shown that populations are still in decline in some Core Areas and in populations across their range. Our guest this week, Claire Revekant, a second year Master’s student in the Department of Animal and Rangeland Science, is trying to understand if avian and mammalian predator abundance differs between Core and Non-Core Areas.

Golden eagle using a utility pole to perch. Raptors and corvids are known to use  structures to perch and nest.

 

Working under Dr. Jonathan Dinkins, Claire estimates associations between human influence areas and habitat variables on the abundance of predatory birds and occupancy of mammalian predators. For example, raptors and corvids have been documented to perch and nest on fences and other human structures, and roads have been found to be used as travel paths for mammalian predators. Claire’s hypothesis is that predatory animals will be higher in Non-Core Areas where human-influenced environments serves as areas of food subsidies. Identifying areas of predator abundance and relating those areas to human features and habitat variables may help policy makers prioritize plans to mitigate human influence and protect sagebrush habitat.

Badger captured by trail camera at scent station in Lincoln County.

While her research is focused on predators of GRSG, Claire’s work for GRSG conservation contributes to the conservation of other sagebrush-obligate species (species that relay on sagebrush for all or some parts of their life cycle). By protecting the ecosystem for one “umbrella” species, other species may also benefit. Throughout her career as a wildlife biologist, Claire has been involved with numerous projects where she has handled and monitored several species. From learning to band raptors as a child to monitoring seabird productivity as an intern at the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge, Claire has developed a passion for research. She told us that she can’t remember a time when she had a different dream job. Tune in tonight Sunday November, 11 at 7 to hear more about Claire’s research and her journey to graduate school on 88.7 FM KBVR Corvallis, or stream the show live.

Beetle-Seq: Inferring the Phylogeny of Clivinini

We humans are far outnumbered by organisms that are much smaller and “less complex” than ourselves. The cartoon above depicts representatives of major groups of organisms, and each organism is drawn such that its size reflects the number of species contained within its group. The bird, the fish, and the trees look as expected, but you may notice the enormous beetle. No, beetles are not generally larger than trees or elephants, but there are more species of beetles than any other group of organisms. Beetles are a wonderful representative of the biodiversity of the earth because they can be found in almost every terrestrial and non-marine aquatic environment!

Examples of carabid beetles of the tribe Clivinini (top row; photos with ‘HG’ – Henri Goulet, otherwise – David Maddison). Male genitalia of a clivinine species, Ardistomis obliquata, with possible ‘copulatory weapons’ (right) and several examples of clivinine female genitalia (bottom row) modified from Zookeys 2012;(210):19-67 shared under CC BY 3.0.

Our guest this week, Antonio Gomez from the Department of Integrative Biology, studies a group of beetles called clivinines (pronounced kliv-i-nīnz) which has 1,200 species, and potentially more that have yet to be discovered. Antonio is also particularly interested in the morphological diversity and evolution of clivinine beetle sperm. Antonio wants to know: What is the evolutionary history of clivinine beetles? What is the pattern of morphological diversity of sperm in clivinine beetles, and how are sperm traits evolving? The objective is to collect beetles, study their form, sequence their DNA, and understand their diversification.

Several examples of sperm conjugates (cases where two or more sperm are physically joined and travel together) in carabid beetles. Conjugation is considered rare, but in carabid beetles, it’s the rule and not the exception to it. In many carabids, sperm leave the testis but do not individualize. Instead, they remain together and swim as a team.

This is no small task, but Antonio is well equipped with microscopes to dissect and describe beetle anatomy, a brain geared to pattern recognition, and some fresh tools for genome sequencing. All of this is used to build an evolutionary tree for beetles. This is kind of like a family tree, but with species instead of siblings or cousins. Antonio and other students in the lab of David Maddison are adding knowledge to the vastness of the beetle unknown, bit by bit, antenna by antenna, gene by gene.

Antonio Gomez collecting beetles near a really bright light (a mercury vapor light trap) near Patagonia, Arizona.

Like many of our graduate students at Oregon State, a group of great mentors can make all the difference. Before working with Dr. Kelly Miller at University of New Mexico, he never knew beetle phylogenetics meant exploring exotic locations around the world to collect and potentially discover new species. As an undergraduate, Antonio even named a species of water beetle, Prionohydrus marc, after the undergraduate research program that go him started as a beetle systematist, the Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) program. Pretty amazing. That was not his first or last research project with insects before he joined ranks at Oregon State, he also was participated in a Research Experience for Undergraduate program at the California Academy of Sciences and completed a Master’s at University of Arizona. Now he has ample experience working with beetles and is maybe a little overwhelmed but still excited by the unknown beetle tree of life. Next on his list of questions: did the ancestor of all clivinines likely have sperm conjugation?

You’ll have to tune in on Sunday April, 16 at 7 pm to hear more about that evolutionary arms race!
Not in Corvallis? No sweat! Stream the show live.

Can’t get enough? Follow this link to learn about Stygoprous oregonensis, a blind subterranean diving beetle that had not been seen in 30 years. Recently, a team of researchers that included Antonio Gomez reported the discovery of more specimens, which allowed them to place Stygoporus in an evolutionary tree.