FIGURE 8. Four adult polar bears eating the remains of a bull caribou on Kiyask Island, 8 August ... more FIGURE 8. Four adult polar bears eating the remains of a bull caribou on Kiyask Island, 8 August 2012.
FIGURE 4. A. This is one of many eider eggs this female polar bear consumed from 25 June to 6 Jul... more FIGURE 4. A. This is one of many eider eggs this female polar bear consumed from 25 June to 6 July 2013. B. Her cub is seen chewing on remains of the predated nest bowl.
Conspecific brood parasitism allows females to exploit other females' nests and enhance their... more Conspecific brood parasitism allows females to exploit other females' nests and enhance their reproductive output. Here, we test a recent theoretical model of how host females gain inclusive fitness from brood parasitism. High levels of relatedness between host and parasitizer can be maintained either by; 1) kin recognizing and parasitizing each other as a form of cooperative breeding or 2) natal philopatry and nest site fidelity facilitating the formation of kin groups increasing the probability of parasitism between relatives nesting in close proximity. To address these two hypotheses we genotyped feathers and hatch membranes of common eiders (Somateria mollissima) from western Hudson Bay, using a non-invasive sampling methodology. We found that most instances of brood parasitism do result in inclusive fitness gains. However, a greater inclusive fitness was gained toward the host when she was parasitized by individuals with no nest of their own compared to those that parasitiz...
High-throughput sequencing has been proposed as a method to genotype microsatellites and overcome... more High-throughput sequencing has been proposed as a method to genotype microsatellites and overcome the four main technical drawbacks of capillary electrophoresis: amplification artifacts, imprecise sizing, length homoplasy, and limited multiplex capability. The objective of this project was to test a high-throughput amplicon sequencing approach to fragment analysis of short tandem repeats and characterize its advantages and disadvantages against traditional capillary electrophoresis. We amplified and sequenced 12 muskrat microsatellite loci from 180 muskrat specimens and analyzed the sequencing data for precision of allele calling, propensity for amplification or sequencing artifacts, and for evidence of length homoplasy. Of the 294 total alleles, we detected by sequencing, only 164 alleles would have been detected by capillary electrophoresis as the remaining 130 alleles (44%) would have been hidden by length homoplasy. The ability to detect a greater number of unique alleles result...
Recent advancements in extraction technologies have resulted in rapid increases of gas and oil de... more Recent advancements in extraction technologies have resulted in rapid increases of gas and oil development across the United States and specifically in western North Dakota. This expansion of energy development has unknown influences on local wildlife populations and the ecological interactions within and among species. Our objectives for this study were to evaluate nest success and nest predator dynamics of sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus) in two study sites that represented areas of high and low energy development intensities in North Dakota. During the summers of 2012 and 2013, we monitored 163 grouse nests using radio telemetry. Of these, 90 nests also were monitored using miniature cameras to accurately determine nest fates and identify nest predators. We simultaneously conducted predator surveys using camera scent stations and occupancy modeling to estimate nest predator occurrence at each site. American badgers (Taxidea taxus) and striped skunks (Mephitis mephit...
FIGURE 8. Four adult polar bears eating the remains of a bull caribou on Kiyask Island, 8 August ... more FIGURE 8. Four adult polar bears eating the remains of a bull caribou on Kiyask Island, 8 August 2012.
FIGURE 4. A. This is one of many eider eggs this female polar bear consumed from 25 June to 6 Jul... more FIGURE 4. A. This is one of many eider eggs this female polar bear consumed from 25 June to 6 July 2013. B. Her cub is seen chewing on remains of the predated nest bowl.
Conspecific brood parasitism allows females to exploit other females' nests and enhance their... more Conspecific brood parasitism allows females to exploit other females' nests and enhance their reproductive output. Here, we test a recent theoretical model of how host females gain inclusive fitness from brood parasitism. High levels of relatedness between host and parasitizer can be maintained either by; 1) kin recognizing and parasitizing each other as a form of cooperative breeding or 2) natal philopatry and nest site fidelity facilitating the formation of kin groups increasing the probability of parasitism between relatives nesting in close proximity. To address these two hypotheses we genotyped feathers and hatch membranes of common eiders (Somateria mollissima) from western Hudson Bay, using a non-invasive sampling methodology. We found that most instances of brood parasitism do result in inclusive fitness gains. However, a greater inclusive fitness was gained toward the host when she was parasitized by individuals with no nest of their own compared to those that parasitiz...
High-throughput sequencing has been proposed as a method to genotype microsatellites and overcome... more High-throughput sequencing has been proposed as a method to genotype microsatellites and overcome the four main technical drawbacks of capillary electrophoresis: amplification artifacts, imprecise sizing, length homoplasy, and limited multiplex capability. The objective of this project was to test a high-throughput amplicon sequencing approach to fragment analysis of short tandem repeats and characterize its advantages and disadvantages against traditional capillary electrophoresis. We amplified and sequenced 12 muskrat microsatellite loci from 180 muskrat specimens and analyzed the sequencing data for precision of allele calling, propensity for amplification or sequencing artifacts, and for evidence of length homoplasy. Of the 294 total alleles, we detected by sequencing, only 164 alleles would have been detected by capillary electrophoresis as the remaining 130 alleles (44%) would have been hidden by length homoplasy. The ability to detect a greater number of unique alleles result...
Recent advancements in extraction technologies have resulted in rapid increases of gas and oil de... more Recent advancements in extraction technologies have resulted in rapid increases of gas and oil development across the United States and specifically in western North Dakota. This expansion of energy development has unknown influences on local wildlife populations and the ecological interactions within and among species. Our objectives for this study were to evaluate nest success and nest predator dynamics of sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus) in two study sites that represented areas of high and low energy development intensities in North Dakota. During the summers of 2012 and 2013, we monitored 163 grouse nests using radio telemetry. Of these, 90 nests also were monitored using miniature cameras to accurately determine nest fates and identify nest predators. We simultaneously conducted predator surveys using camera scent stations and occupancy modeling to estimate nest predator occurrence at each site. American badgers (Taxidea taxus) and striped skunks (Mephitis mephit...
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