Terrestrial Mammals

The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, as amended, states that, "It is the policy of Congress that wild free-roaming horses and burros shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death; and to accomplish this they are to be considered in the area where presently found, as an integral part of the natural system of the public lands (PL 92-195, Sec. 1331, Congressional...

Because population estimates drive nearly all management decisions pertaining to wild horses and burros, accuracy is important. Several widely used techniques exist for conducting aerial population estimates of wildlife, but individually, each has important limitations. Researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center (FORT), are evaluating combinations of these techniques...

White-Nose Syndrome (WNS) is a devastating disease that threatens the survival of hibernating bats in North America. Since first documented in the winter of 2005/2006, WNS has spread from a very small area of New York across at least two thousand kilometers and half or more of states and provinces in the U.S. and Canada.

White-Nose Syndrome (WNS) is a devastating disease that threatens the survival of hibernating bats in North America. Since first documented in the winter of 2005/2006, WNS has spread from a very small area of New York across at least two thousand kilometers in half or more of states and provinces in the U.S. and Canada. Over five million bats are estimated to have died during the past decade from...

White-nose syndrome (WNS) and/or Pseudogymnoascus destructans (P.d.), the causal agent, has spread westward across 26 states and 5 provinces within the eastern United States and Canada, respectively, over a short period of time. Since its discovery there has been a search to stop the spread of this disease that has killed millions of hibernating bats in its wake. Recent collaborative work by FORT...

During the winter of 2006–2007, an affliction of unknown origin dubbed “white-nose syndrome” (WNS) began devastating colonies of hibernating bats in a small area around Albany, New York. Colonies of hibernating bats were reduced 80–97 percent at the affected caves and mines that were surveyed. Since then, white-nose syndrome or its causative agent have consistently spread more than 2,000...

Managers need information on the grazing ecology of bison and elk in the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve to develop science-based management alternatives.

The wild horses that roam the west are feral descendents of domestic animals that either escaped from or were intentionally released by early European explorers and later settlers. As a result of both origin and contemporary management, the Spanish or Iberian influence remains strong in some wild horse populations (e.g., the Kiger, Pryor Mountain, and Sulfur Mountain herds). In other populations...

In 1994, USGS scientists recognized that despite increasing concern for many species of bats known or believed to be declining, the data necessary to determine population status and trends were fragmented among agencies and organizations. Thus began the USGS Bat Population Data Project, which has become a multi-phase, comprehensive effort to compile existing population information for bats in the...

Plague was first detected in the southwest corner of Badlands National Park (BADL), and spread northeastward, reaching the northeast corner in 2011. Multiple prairie dog colonies in BADL and Conata Basin have had population collapses from plague since its arrival in the park. Plague is now common throughout BADL (NPS and USFS, unpublished data), and threatens efforts to preserve and manage the...

The need to mark bats individually in order to assess life history parameters and movements is especially important as threats from white-nose syndrome (WNS) and wind energy development continue to negatively affect bats.

Bats are the only flying mammals that are active mostly at night and occur on all continents except Antarctica. Bats are ecologically diverse, with a range of species that specialize in feeding on fruit, nectar, blood, fish, small mammals, and insects. However, of the more than 1,100 known species of bats on Earth, the majority specialize in feeding on insects. In the United States for example, of...