Elements that promote highway crossing structure use by small mammals in Banff National Park

2004 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne McDonald ◽  
Colleen Cassady St Clair
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
National Park ◽  
Banff National Park

scholarly journals Wildlife Crossing Design Influences Effectiveness for Small and Large Mammals in Banff National Park

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Stewart ◽  
Bryson Russell ◽  
Evan Zelig ◽  
Gaurang Patel ◽  
Kaitlin Stack Whitney
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
National Park ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Black Bears ◽  
Large Mammals ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Banff National Park ◽  
Crossing Structures ◽  
Snowshoe Hares ◽  
Transportation Routes

Banff National Park (BNP) is Canada’s oldest national park and a very popular one, with both year-round residents and millions of annual visitors. In turn, this means there are several busy road and rail transportation routes throughout the park. These factors can have a number of negative effects on local wildlife. The wildlife crossing structures of the Trans-Canada Highway in BNP have become a key conservation tool to conserve biodiversity in the park and beyond. As the first large-scale operation of highway mitigation of its kind in North America, it is a perfect case for understanding the conservation value of highway overpasses and underpasses for a variety of wildlife species including both large and small mammals. It was determined from the research that there is a vast majority of information available for large mammals compared to small mammals. Small mammals used the crossing structures to avoid predators, while large mammals used the crossing structures to avoid humans. The design of the structure was extremely influential on its effectiveness with black bears and cougars preferring narrow bridges with cover, elk preferring wide, open bridges, and smaller mammals, such as weasels, snowshoe hares, and some mice preferring culverts with vegetation cover.

scholarly journals Small mammals of the Addo Elephant National Park

Koedoe ◽  
1975 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Swanepoel
Keyword(s):  
Introduced Species ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
National Park ◽  
Sex Ratios ◽  
Rattus Rattus ◽  
Reproductive Activity ◽  
Body Measurements ◽  
Suricata Suricatta ◽  
Rhabdomys Pumilio ◽  
Mus Minutoides

A survey of the small mammals of the Addo Elephant National Park resulted in a checklist, as well as information on relative numbers, distribution within the Park, reproductive activity, sex ratios, and body measurements. Forty mammals species occur in the Park, while three re-introduced species probably do not occur any longer. Of the 40 species 28 are considered small mammals comprising 13 rodent, eight carnivore, two shrew, two bat, one primate and one lagomorph species, as well as the aardvark: Crociduraflavescens, C. cyanea infumata, Rousettus aegyptiacus, Eptesicus capensis, Cercopithecus pygerythrus, Canis mesomelas, Ictonyx striatus, Poecilogale albinucha, Genetta sp., Herpestes pulverulentus, Suricata suricatta, Proteles cristatus, Felis caracal, Orycteropus afer, Lepus saxatilis, Cryptomys hottentotus, Hystrix africae-australis, Pedetes capensis, Graphiurus murinus, Aethomys namaquensis, Praomys natalensis, Rhabdomys pumilio, Mus minutoides, Rattus rattus, Saccostomys campestris, Desmodillus auricularis, Otomys irroratus and 0. unisulcatus.

scholarly journals Excavation of Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) Middens by Bears (Ursus spp.) in Limber Pine (Pinus flexilis) Habitat in Banff National Park, Alberta

2017 ◽  
Vol 130 (4) ◽  
pp. 281 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Hamer
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Tamiasciurus Hudsonicus ◽  
Red Squirrel ◽  
Limber Pine ◽  
Banff National Park ◽  
Pine Stands ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Pinus Spp

Bears (Ursus spp.) in North America eat the seeds of several pines (Pinus spp.), including Limber Pine (P. flexilis E. James). Information on use of Limber Pine in Canada is limited to a report of three bear scats containing pine seeds found in Limber Pine stands of southwestern Alberta. After my preliminary fieldwork in Banff National Park revealed that bears were eating seeds of Limber Pine there, I conducted a field study in 2014–2015 to assess this use. Because bears typically obtain pine seeds from cone caches (middens) made by Red Squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), I described the abundance, habitat characteristics, and use by bears of Red Squirrel middens in and adjacent to Limber Pine stands at six study sites. On Bow River escarpments, I found abundant Limber Pines (basal area 1–9 m2/ha) and middens (0.8 middens/ha, standard deviation [SD] 0.2). Of 24 middens, 13 (54%) had been excavated by bears, and three bear scats composed of pine seeds were found beside middens. Although Limber Pines occurred on steep, xeric, windswept slopes (mean 28°, SD 3), middens occurred on moderate slopes (mean 12°, SD 3) in escarpment gullies and at the toe of slopes in forests of other species, particularly Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). At the five other study sites, I found little or no use of Limber Pine seeds by bears, suggesting that Limber Pine habitat may be little used by bears unless the pines are interspersed with (non-Limber Pine) habitat with greater forest cover and less-steep slopes where squirrels establish middens. These observations provide managers with an additional piece of information regarding potential drivers of bear activity in the human-dominated landscape of Banff National Park’s lower Bow Valley.

scholarly journals Prevalence and Distribution of Plague and Tularemia in Small Mammals of Grand Teton National Park

2000 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 34-36
Author(s):  
Asaf Dagan ◽  
Colin Gillin ◽  
Kira Marciniak
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
National Park ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
University Of Wyoming ◽  
Grand Teton National Park ◽  
Wild Mammals ◽  
Bacterial Diseases ◽  
Zoological Society ◽  
Scale Population ◽  
Low Incidence

Sylvatic plague (Yersinia pestis) and tularemia (Francisella tularensis) are infectious bacterial diseases that can be transmitted from wild mammals to humans by insects or through direct contact. Although cases of plague and tularemia have been reported in the southwest, a comprehensive understanding of the prevalence, distribution and dynamics of these diseases is lacking. During the months of June and July 2000 we sampled small mammals in Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) for antibodies of these zoonotic diseases. This survey was conducted in conjunction with a large scale population dynamics study, lead by Dr. Brian Miller, Denver Zoological society, and Dr. Hank Harlow, Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming. A published survey of plague and tularemia has not been conducted in GTNP. In 1996, Dr. Fredrick Jannett looked for plague in the genus Microtus and found low incidence

scholarly journals The Effect of Fire on Bird and Small Mammal Communities in the Grasslands of Wind Cave National Park

1983 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 95-99
Author(s):  
Jon Forde ◽  
Norman Sloan
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
National Park ◽  
Breeding Populations ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
Small Mammal Communities ◽  
Management Recommendations ◽  
Mammal Communities ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Prairie Vegetation

Specifically, the objectives of this research project were to: 1) Census burned and unburned grassland areas for breeding populations of birds and small mammals. Population censuses have been made on areas prescribed burned between 1973 and 1978 as well as the areas burned in the spring of 1981; 2) Analyze study transect vegetation to determine the impact of burning treatments on prairie vegetation and its relationship to bird and small mammal densities; 3) Provide usable management recommendations that will aid not only in vegetation maintenance but also with the animal populations associated with the grasslands.

The Village Lake Louise Controversy: Ski Resort Planning, Civil Activism, and the Environmental Politics of Banff National Park, 1964–1979

2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-110
Author(s):  
Qi Chen ◽  
Pearl Ann Reichwein
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Public Space ◽  
National Parks ◽  
National Park ◽  
Environmental Politics ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Public Consultation ◽  
Ski Resort ◽  
Banff National Park ◽  
The Village

A new ski resort village plan proposed for Lake Louise in Banff National Park triggered intense opposition at public hearings in 1972. Local proponents, backed by Imperial Oil, had entered into agreements to expand services at Lake Louise, which led to federal public consultations. We investigate Parks Canada’s early public consultation process and how it was institutionalized in federal policy making from 1964 to 1979. Public debate was significant and influenced political decisions in the Village Lake Louise controversy. The National and Provincial Parks Association of Canada, Bow Valley Naturalists, Environmental Law Association, mountain clubs, academics, and others advocated for protection as conservation lobbyists and the Government of Alberta also objected to the proposal, leading Minister Jean Chrétien to halt the plan. It was a win for citizens, environmentalists, and ecological integrity as Village Lake Louise debates became Canada’s town hall. Past environmental protection is relevant to civil society and public space in a moment of new approvals for massive ski hill industry expansions in national parks. Precedents in civil society and governance can inform understanding of public consultation and a new environmental politics.

Use of Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis) seeds by GPS-collared Grizzly Bears (Ursus arctos) in Banff National Park, Alberta

2021 ◽  
Vol 135 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-67
Author(s):  
David Hamer
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Ursus Arctos ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Grizzly Bears ◽  
Pinus Albicaulis ◽  
Whitebark Pine ◽  
Gps Collars ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Banff National Park

Seeds of Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis) are a major food for Grizzly Bears (Ursus arctos) in the Yellowstone ecosystem. In Canada, Grizzly Bears are known to eat Whitebark Pine seeds, but little additional information, such as the extent of such use and habitat characteristics of feeding sites, is available. Because Grizzly Bears almost always obtain Whitebark Pine seeds by excavating cones from persistent caching sites (middens) made by Red Squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), it is possible to infer Whitebark Pine feeding when bears are located near excavated middens in Whitebark Pine stands. During 2013–2018, I conducted a retrospective study in Banff National Park using data from 23 Grizzly Bears equipped by Parks Canada staff with global positioning system (GPS) collars. My objectives were to use GPS fixes to determine the percentage of these bears that had been located in close proximity to excavated middens containing Whitebark Pine seeds and to describe the habitat at these excavated middens. I linked 15 bears (65%) to excavated middens and, by inference, consumption of Whitebark Pine seeds. Excavated middens occurred on high-elevation (mean 2103 ± 101 [SD] m), steep (mean 26° ± 8°) slopes facing mostly (96%) north through west (0–270°). Use of Whitebark Pine seeds by at least 65% of the 23 studied Grizzly Bears suggests that conservation of Whitebark Pine in Banff National Park would concomitantly benefit the at-risk population of Grizzly Bears.

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