Seminars & Discussions

Exploring the Impact of First-Time Hunters on Satisfaction with Tier II Duck Hunting Regulations

Abstract

Waterfowl hunting has long been essential for funding conservation in the United States, but fewer people are participating now than in previous decades. In an effort to reverse this decline, wildlife agencies in South Dakota and Nebraska introduced the two-tier duck hunting regulation designed to make hunting more accessible. This new regulation's goal is to simplify bag limits making it easier for first time hunters to begin. This study examines hunters' attitudes toward the two-tier duck hunting regulation, focusing on the experiences and the satisfaction of first-time hunters as compared to those with more experience. We analyzed survey responses from 418 participants across Nebraska and South Dakota, using ordinal regression to assess satisfaction across seven area components, including how easy it was to enroll for Tier II, report harvests, and comply with regulatory requirements. Our findings indicate that first-time hunters were more satisfied overall than their more experienced counterparts, especially regarding harvest reporting and regulatory compliance. Analysis of satisfaction levels among a population with diverse experience levels highlights these positive experiences and reinforces the importance of considering first-time hunters when making management decisions. Agencies can create a welcoming environment for first-time hunters by making processes simpler and offering support, helping to attract and keep new hunters while preserving the tradition of hunting and the conservation funding it provides.

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Species Preferences on Angler Motivational Factors in Kansas

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Understanding the factors that motivate anglers to go fishing is crucial for effective fisheries management and conservation efforts. People's engagement with fishing is deeply influenced by their motivations—a complex interplay of the needs, desires, and goals that propel people to engage in recreation. We analyzed anglers' motivations to seek their primary species—including trophy fishing, keeping and eating the catch, identity, social interaction, and gear use—across various species preferences, such as Bass, Catfish, Walleye, and panfish. Data were collected via a web-based survey distributed to a stratified random sample of licensed anglers across Kansas. We sent invitations to 7500 licensed anglers and had 771 total responses (a 13% response rate). Preliminary results indicate significant differences in motivational factors when comparing species preferences. Walleye anglers are more motivated by keeping the fish they catch and liking the taste of their preferred species. In contrast, Bass anglers place a much lower value on reaching the bag limit, fishing for nutrition, and keeping the fish they catch. Among all species, anglers placed the most importance on choosing a fishing location because of the presence of their preferred fish species. These results highlight the importance of species-specific management strategies catering to the angling community's diverse motivations. Through understanding differentiated motivations, managers can be provided with critical insights into the importance of various motivational factors of recreational fishing as they relate to sought-after fish species, helping to inform the development of targeted regulations and conservation strategies that address the diverse needs and values of fishing communities in the Midwest.

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Biology and Conservation of Nurse Sharks (Ginglymostoma cirratum) from Bimini, The Bahamas

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The nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) is abundant in coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean, yet they remain relatively understudied, aside from their reproductive behavior. Previously listed as ‘data deficient’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), their status was updated to ‘vulnerable’ in 2021. This recent status update indicates additional research on this species is critical. Nurse shark populations in The Bahamas present an ideal study system as there are long-term datasets available for investigation on their morphometrics, movements, and genetics. To assess the age and growth of this species, we used mark-recapture data of 91 individual nurse sharks from Bimini, The Bahamas, and found that nurse sharks are slower-growing and longer-lived than previously thought, with the oldest individual predicted to be 43 years old. A long-term acoustic monitoring program of shark species in Bimini has additionally revealed that nurse sharks are capable of making long-distance migrations with evidence of repeated return migrations back to Bimini. In lieu of these discoveries, combining genetics with telemetry data has become increasingly important in fisheries management to assess population connectivity and diversity within species. Using over 350 samples of nurse shark tissues from The Bahamas, we aim to determine the population structure of nurse sharks in this area to help contribute crucial information to the conservation of this ‘vulnerable’ species.

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Community Engagement to Mitigate Transmission of Infectious Diseases and Antibiotic Resistance from Backyard Poultry

Abstract

Backyard poultry production is growing globally with 85 million backyard chickens estimated in the U.S. Whether kept as pets or to provide a local and sustainable food source, flocks can harbor pathogens and antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can be transmitted to humans via the environment, pests, food products, and direct contact. Poultry waste can contaminate soil and water sources, posing risks to nearby humans and other animals. Flocks can attract pests that may carry diseases and disrupt local ecosystems. This project, which will launch in the summer of 2025, aims to improve understanding among backyard poultry farmers of potential health, environmental, community, and food safety risks associated with their systems and motivate the adoption and promotion of behaviors critical to public health and sustainability of local food systems using a peer-to-peer outreach approach.

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Advancing Precision in Farmland Segmentation: Open-Source Methodologies and Applications

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Segmenting corn fields in Nebraska presents a significant research-intensive challenge. With over 2.5 million acres under cultivation, achieving spatiotemporally precise cropland data demands extensive investigation and analysis. This presentation will critically examine the open-source methodologies employed to generate and apply these datasets, highlighting the datasets and the analytical tools developed for their creation. In addition, the talk will briefly address the roles of OpenStreetMap and the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team in advancing the accessibility and accuracy of spatial data within agricultural research and the broader geospatial community.

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Tracking Agrochemical Contaminants in Aquatic and Terrestrial Environments Using Tadpoles and Songbirds as Sentinels

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Agrochemical contamination poses risks to human, animal, and ecosystem health. The AltEn Ethanol plant in Mead, Nebraska, processed pesticide-treated seed products until 2020, leading to contamination of surrounding water and land. In 2021, researchers collected American Bullfrog tadpoles from surface water and songbird eggs from farmland/wetlands to assess agrochemical presence. Using advanced chromatography techniques, they detected neonicotinoid pesticides (clothianidin, thiamethoxam) in 21.21% of samples, with concentrations ranging from 3.2 to 315.4 ng/g. Fungicide residues (including atrazine and its derivatives) were found in 32% of samples. Tadpole analysis revealed neonicotinoid detection in 12.4% of cases, with thiamethoxam reaching up to 8,908.8 ng/g, while fungicides were detected in 36.5%, with concentrations up to 116.2 ng/g. The highest pesticide levels were found near the AltEn facility and downstream sites. Results confirm that tadpoles and songbird eggs serve as effective wildlife sentinels for agrochemical exposure. The study expanded in 2022–2024 to analyze spatial and temporal contamination trends.

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Identification of landscape features that may facilitate or impede gene flow among habitat patches within Wild Turkeys in Nebraska and Kansas

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Behavioral, ecological, and evolutionary process shape the spatial distribution of genetic diversity. Variation in behavioral and life history traits may have important consequences for the structuring of genetic variation across landscape. Assessments of genetic parameters can help identify populations, prioritize areas for conservation, identify barriers and corridors to movement, thereby informing management actions. The wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is an upland game bird native to North America that has experienced declines throughout much of its range. Among some states, reintroduction efforts were carried out in the mid-1900s to bolster remanent or extirpated populations. Our research aims to evaluate the spatial arrangement of genetic diversity and identify features that may facilitate or impeded dispersal across the landscape. We collected reduced representation genomic sequence data (ddRAD) from wild turkeys sampled at 8 sites across North-west (NW) and South-west (SW) in Nebraska and 13 sites in across Eastern, Central and Western Kansas when birds are in winter flocks (Jan – Mar) on 338 individuals and isolated 5355 loci. We applied two complementary approaches with different underlying assumptions to evaluate spatial genetic structure: (1) principal components analysis (PCA, nonparametric method) and (2) fineRADstructure (shared co-ancestry). The patterns in genetic diversity were similar across analyses, individuals clustered into 4 groups based on geographic region with NW Nebraska, SW Nebraska, eastern Kansas and central and western Kansas. Within each region, subtle structure was detected based on co-ancestry analysis. We identified genetic structuring with limited gene flow between the NW and SW regions of Nebraska. We also uncovered evidence of gene flow between the SW region of Nebraska and the western and central sites in Kansas, suggesting greater connectivity between these populations. Spatial genetic structure detected among sample sites may be influenced by factors such as habitat continuity and dispersal behavior. The observed genetic differentiation is likely shaped, in part, by landscape features. These findings provide valuable insights into the population connectivity and genetic structure of wild turkeys in Nebraska and Kansas that benefited from translocation efforts, which can inform conservation and management strategies aimed at maintaining genetic diversity and connectivity across the landscape.

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Assessing Spatial and Temporal Variation in Photoprotective Responses of Deciduous and Evergreen Tree Canopies with Leaf Spectroscopy

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Environmental conditions frequently prevent photosynthetic carbon fixation by plants, leading to the absorption of excess light that can potentially damage photosynthetic machinery if not dissipated. To do so, plants utilize a variety of photoprotective mechanisms, some optically detectable with remote sensing using Photochemical Reflectance Index (PRI). The two components of PRI have been associated with the facultative engagement of the xanthophyll cycle (ΔPRI) and constitutive changes in chlorophyll and xanthophyll pigment pool sizes (PRI0), representing distinct mechanisms regulating shorter and longer-term photoprotective responses, respectively. This study aimed to assess the variation in the expression of facultative and constitutive photoprotective mechanisms within and between canopies of six deciduous and evergreen tree species across the growing season, and how this variation is structured by trade-offs in leaf function related to leaf lifespan and insolation. We quantified species pigment responses by exposing dark-adapted leaves to high irradiance (“dark-to-light” method) while sampling reflectance to measure constitutive (PRI0) and facultative (ΔPRI) responses. Reflectance measurements were also collected in situ on leaves from canopies under low (“shade”) and high (“sun”) irradiance conditions to derive both constitutive and facultative PRI-light responses. Deciduous and evergreen species had contrasting PRI0 and ΔPRI values at mid-growing season, reflecting differences in both constitutive investments in photoprotective pigments and facultative xanthophyll cycle engagement. Towards the end of the growing season, PRI0 and ΔPRI shifted more dramatically for deciduous species undergoing leaf senescence than evergreens that retained their leaves. PRI-light responses derived from canopy positions in contrasting irradiance conditions resembled differences detected among functional groups using the dark-to-light method, demonstrating the utility of canopy light gradients for evaluating the constitutive and facultative PRI components at the leaf-level. Our results indicate that deciduous and evergreen species have distinct, seasonally dynamic photoprotective strategies, likely related to different functional constraints tied to leaf lifespan. The identification of coordinated strategies in photoprotection and photosynthesis may improve the ability to distinguish photoprotective mechanisms operating dynamically under different environmental conditions in functionally diverse communities.

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From Pixels to Pastures: A Remote Sensing Perspective on Sandhills Complexity

Abstract

Remotely sensed metrics have been used to estimate diversity and heterogeneity in vegetation however, these estimations can also be influenced by other factors such as abiotic variables. It is understood that topography and climate shape species composition and distribution (biodiversity), thus influencing spectral reflectance and confounding the relationship between remotely sensed metrics and vegetation diversity. Understanding the interactions among these variables is important to accurately estimate biodiversity using remote sensing. This presentation assesses some of the relationships between spectral data, landscape characteristics, species composition and distribution, and management (prescribed burning and cattle grazing).

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Comment: The video of this presentation was not recorded properly. We present the audio portion of the presentation and the PowerPoint slides associated with the presentation.

You Go Over, I Go Under: A Study of the Coyotes, Badgers, and their Prairie Home

Abstract

Cooperative foraging is a long-standing, central component of animal behavior. Cooperation occurs relatively commonly within the same species (intraspecific) as well as across species (interspecific), although much more rarely. Across western North America, coyotes and American badgers sometimes work together to hunt prairie dogs and ground squirrels using their complementary hunting skills. Badgers are excellent diggers and usually hunt belowground, digging up burrows searching for small mammals. Coyotes are opportunistic hunters that seek a wide variety of prey and mostly hunt aboveground. When coyotes and badgers work together, burrowing mammals, such as prairie dogs, are not safe above or belowground. If a coyote chases a prairie dog into its burrow, the badger has an opportunity to capture the animal, and if a prairie dog escapes the badger and comes aboveground, the coyote has an opportunity to catch it. Although this relationship is described by Indigenous people and early European settlers dating back to at least the 19th century, little research has been done to understand the circumstances in which these two carnivore species work together. To expand on the handful of recent studies, my project focuses on the spatial and temporal environmental conditions that influence when coyotes and badgers are together in prairie dog colonies. We conducted a broader study across five sites in South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. We predict that detection of coyote-badger associations increases closer to large colonies of colonial and semi-colonial burrowing mammals (P1). We also predict that detection of coyote-badger associations decreases closer to human disturbance, as both species may prioritize avoiding risk from humans over foraging success (P2). In our preliminary results, we are noticing most associations occur within prairie dog colonies. Temporally, we predict that detection of coyote-badger associations is lowest when both species are raising offspring (spring-summer), given that young offspring would be vulnerable to interspecific predation (P3). Preliminary results indicate higher coyote-badger detections in the fall. Finally, we predict that detection of coyote-badger associations is highest during nocturnal and crepuscular periods when both species are most active and more likely to be foraging (P4). Preliminary results suggest a diurnal trend in coyote-badger association during the day. Coyotes have a long history of misunderstanding since white European settlers arrived in America. Badgers are thought to be mean, vicious animals. Prairie dogs are also disliked because their burrowing habits potentially interfere with agriculture and cattle. I will share what I learned from our research about the coyote-badger relationship and their larger prairie ecosystem home through short videos, photos, and an all-encompassing online Storymap to create fascination and wonder about these species and the unique relationship they form with one another. Ultimately, I hope my project will shine a light on the overlooked and endangered grasslands and the species that call it home.

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