Cougar Puma concolor use of wildlife crossing structures

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Cougar Puma concolor use of wildlife crossing structures on the Trans-Canada highway in Banff

Cougar Puma concolor use of wildlife crossing structures on the Trans-Canada highway in Banff National Park, Alberta Vanessa Hays

Large Mammals (Chapter 8) Large home ranges Require more food Greater mobility Extensive spatial

Large Mammals (Chapter 8) Large home ranges Require more food Greater mobility Extensive spatial requirements Seasonal migrants

Road Impacts Disrupt movement Eliminate and alienates habitat Source of mortality Mortality statistics 9

Road Impacts Disrupt movement Eliminate and alienates habitat Source of mortality Mortality statistics 9 brown bears Slovenia Florida Panther Southern California

Common Studies Increase barrier permeability Effective highway mitigation plans Ungulates Predators

Common Studies Increase barrier permeability Effective highway mitigation plans Ungulates Predators

Objectives 1. Seasonal patterns 2. Movement of prey 3. Cougars and humans 4. Structure

Objectives 1. Seasonal patterns 2. Movement of prey 3. Cougars and humans 4. Structure selection

Methods Study area Traffic Wildlife structure Data collection

Methods Study area Traffic Wildlife structure Data collection

Figure 1

Figure 1

Open-span bridge

Open-span bridge

Creek bridge

Creek bridge

Metal culvert

Metal culvert

Concrete box culvert

Concrete box culvert

Overpass

Overpass

Methods: data collection & analysis Track sections Infra-red Camera 3 -4 day interval Test

Methods: data collection & analysis Track sections Infra-red Camera 3 -4 day interval Test statistics Chi-square Pearson’s correlation

Table 1

Table 1

Table 2

Table 2

Objectives 2 & 3 Correlation between movement of cougar and deer? Positive correlation (

Objectives 2 & 3 Correlation between movement of cougar and deer? Positive correlation ( r = 0. 624, p < 0. 002) Correlation between cougar and human use? Not correlated ( r = 0. 274, p = 0. 216)

Table 3

Table 3

Discussion Seasonal pattern Correlation between prey and cougar No correlation between human and cougar

Discussion Seasonal pattern Correlation between prey and cougar No correlation between human and cougar Frequent use of open-span underpass

Mitigation Planning Efficacy of design Overpass vs underpass Cost Reduce road mortality Increase barrier

Mitigation Planning Efficacy of design Overpass vs underpass Cost Reduce road mortality Increase barrier permeability Maintenance Fence and crossing designs

Sources Cited Gloyne, Claire C. , and Anthony P. Clevenger. "Cougar Puma Concolor Use

Sources Cited Gloyne, Claire C. , and Anthony P. Clevenger. "Cougar Puma Concolor Use of Wildlife Crossing Structures on the Trans-Canada Highway in Banff National Park, Alberta. " Wildlife Biology 7 (2000): 117 -24. Web. Primack RB. 2014. Essentials of conservation biology. Sinauer Associates, sunderland, MA. www. arkive. org Beier, P. & Barrett, R. H. 1991: The cougar in the Santa Ana mountain range, California. - Final report. Orange County co-operative mountain lion study, 51 pp. Maehr, D. S. , Land, E. D. & Roelke, M. E. 1991: Mortality pat- terns of panthers in southwest Florida. - Proceedings of the Annual Conference of Southeast Game and Fish and Wild- life Agencies 45: 201 -207 Kaczensky, P. , Knauer, F. , Huber, T. , Jonosovic, M. & Adamic, M. 1996: The Ljubljana-Postojna highway - a deadly bar- rier for brown bears in Slovenia? - Journal of Wildlife Re- search 1: 263 -267.

Questions?

Questions?