Academic study: CA/NV lions
Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2012 6:27 pm
from the Reno Journal-Gazette
http://www.rgj.com/article/20121005/NEW ... ck_check=1
Californians, take notice!
academic reference:
Identification of source-sink dynamics in mountain lions of the Great Basin
Alyson M. Andreasen1,*, Kelley M. Stewart2, William S. Longland3, Jon P. Beckmann4, Matthew L. Forister5
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... 740.x/full
from the Reno Journal-Gazette
http://www.rgj.com/article/20121005/NEW ... ck_check=1
Mountain lions 'go west' from Nevada into California, new research shows
Written by
Jeff DeLong
FILED UNDER
Local News
Sierra Nevada
ZOOM
A mountain lion is shown in this undated file photo provided by the California Department of Fish and Game in 2004. While mountain lion populations are healthy across California, the situation is becoming increasingly dire for the isolated population in the Santa Monica Mountains. Lions need as many as 100 square mile territories but the estimated 10 cats in this mountain range are hemmed in by freeways and other development and without a way to link to the greater population, biologists say the Santa Monica Mountain lions will go extinct. / California Dept of Fish and Game file
By the numbers
1,300: Adult mountain lions in Nevada.
3,000: Total mountain lions in Nevada, including juveniles.
4,000-6,000: Mountain lions in California.
739: Mountain lions sampled in genetic study.
Source: RGJ research
On RGJ.com
Log on to see video of the release of the mountain lion that came to downtown Reno in August.
More
Related Links
Video: Mountain lion found at Harrah's released near Spooner Summit
The young male mountain lion that made nationwide news when it tried to enter a downtown Reno casino might have been following Horace Greeley’s advice.
He might have been going west.
A new study, said to be the first of its kind in such scale, indicates mountain lions in Nevada’s Great Basin are migrating westward to California to take up residence. It’s the opposite of what biologists expected and in line with the famous author’s urging to young men to pursue western expansion in the mid-1800s.
The seven-year study, jointly conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society, University of Nevada, Reno and the Nevada Department of Wildlife, used genetics to identify distinct populations of mountain lions in Nevada and California. The research was recently published in the online edition of Molecular Ecology.
Among the goals was to determine which areas serve as population “sinks,” or places where animals move to at a greater rate than those that leave, and which places serve as population “sources,” or places from which animals disperse to other locations at a greater rate.
Lion population structures and history were determined by analyzing DNA from tissue samples taken from 739 lions in both states. Scientists were able to trace lion movements over multiple generations, with such information described as particularly useful when it comes to managing lion populations.
Because cougars are hunted in Nevada but not in California, it was thought more of the highly territorial predators would migrate east into Nevada, moving into habitat made available when lions were killed by hunters.
“We expected they would move in the direction of open territory. We found exactly the opposite to be the case,” said Alyson Andreasen, a UNR doctoral student and a lead researcher in the study. “There was actually more movement from the Great Basin into the Sierra. They were going more from east to west than west to east, which was kind of a surprise to everybody.”
“It gives us a better picture of how lions are moving on the landscape,” said co-researcher Jon Beckmann of the Wildlife Conservation Society. “We predicted we would have more lions coming in from California. We were surprised the Sierra itself was a net importer.”
Why that’s the case is not yet known, but it might be as simple as that the California’s Sierra offers a more lush habitat with a greater selection of prey than the more arid mountain landscape of the Great Basin, researchers said.
“It may just be more attractive to move into the Sierra Nevada,” Andreasen said. “It’s just conjecture at this point, but that’s what we think might be going on.”
It might have been going on in the case of the 2-year-old male cougar that was captured after wandering into downtown Reno’s casino core early the morning of Aug. 24. Guests at Harrah’s Reno reported seeing the lion trying to enter the casino’s revolving door. After failing to do so, the 100-pound animal hid under an outdoor stage, where it was tranquilized and captured by wildlife officials.
The cat displayed behavior Nevada Department of Wildlife spokesman Chris Healy compared at the time to that of a “stupid teenager.” He then speculated the cat had wandered into downtown Reno after traveling east down the Truckee River from the foothills of Mount Rose in a wandering search for a new home.
The new research, Healy acknowledged, raises the possibility the lion was traveling east-to-west along the river instead, wandering from the interior of Nevada into the Sierra.
“Now, it may have come from the east of town and worked its way up the river,” Healy said. “No one can say for sure.”
The cougar — whose exploits hit newspapers nationally and CNN — was released near Spooner Summit a couple of days later. Fitted with a satellite collar, the cat quickly went on the move with its travels tracked by Andreasen.
Looking for habitat free of a competing mountain lion, it quickly went south down the Carson Range and the spine of the Sierra, trekking more than 60 miles. It’s now heading in the direction of Mono Lake.
“When you consider the ruggedness of that terrain, he’s really on the move,” Andreasen said.
Whether the lion fit the pattern of east-to-west migration identified in her research is not yet known but future study of the cat’s DNA could show the animal fits that profile, Andreasen said.
“He was probably trying to find an open territory of his own. Who knows how far he traveled before he got to Reno,” she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
http://www.rgj.com/article/20121005/NEW ... ck_check=1
Californians, take notice!
academic reference:
Identification of source-sink dynamics in mountain lions of the Great Basin
Alyson M. Andreasen1,*, Kelley M. Stewart2, William S. Longland3, Jon P. Beckmann4, Matthew L. Forister5
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... 740.x/full
from the Reno Journal-Gazette
http://www.rgj.com/article/20121005/NEW ... ck_check=1
Mountain lions 'go west' from Nevada into California, new research shows
Written by
Jeff DeLong
FILED UNDER
Local News
Sierra Nevada
ZOOM
A mountain lion is shown in this undated file photo provided by the California Department of Fish and Game in 2004. While mountain lion populations are healthy across California, the situation is becoming increasingly dire for the isolated population in the Santa Monica Mountains. Lions need as many as 100 square mile territories but the estimated 10 cats in this mountain range are hemmed in by freeways and other development and without a way to link to the greater population, biologists say the Santa Monica Mountain lions will go extinct. / California Dept of Fish and Game file
By the numbers
1,300: Adult mountain lions in Nevada.
3,000: Total mountain lions in Nevada, including juveniles.
4,000-6,000: Mountain lions in California.
739: Mountain lions sampled in genetic study.
Source: RGJ research
On RGJ.com
Log on to see video of the release of the mountain lion that came to downtown Reno in August.
More
Related Links
Video: Mountain lion found at Harrah's released near Spooner Summit
The young male mountain lion that made nationwide news when it tried to enter a downtown Reno casino might have been following Horace Greeley’s advice.
He might have been going west.
A new study, said to be the first of its kind in such scale, indicates mountain lions in Nevada’s Great Basin are migrating westward to California to take up residence. It’s the opposite of what biologists expected and in line with the famous author’s urging to young men to pursue western expansion in the mid-1800s.
The seven-year study, jointly conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society, University of Nevada, Reno and the Nevada Department of Wildlife, used genetics to identify distinct populations of mountain lions in Nevada and California. The research was recently published in the online edition of Molecular Ecology.
Among the goals was to determine which areas serve as population “sinks,” or places where animals move to at a greater rate than those that leave, and which places serve as population “sources,” or places from which animals disperse to other locations at a greater rate.
Lion population structures and history were determined by analyzing DNA from tissue samples taken from 739 lions in both states. Scientists were able to trace lion movements over multiple generations, with such information described as particularly useful when it comes to managing lion populations.
Because cougars are hunted in Nevada but not in California, it was thought more of the highly territorial predators would migrate east into Nevada, moving into habitat made available when lions were killed by hunters.
“We expected they would move in the direction of open territory. We found exactly the opposite to be the case,” said Alyson Andreasen, a UNR doctoral student and a lead researcher in the study. “There was actually more movement from the Great Basin into the Sierra. They were going more from east to west than west to east, which was kind of a surprise to everybody.”
“It gives us a better picture of how lions are moving on the landscape,” said co-researcher Jon Beckmann of the Wildlife Conservation Society. “We predicted we would have more lions coming in from California. We were surprised the Sierra itself was a net importer.”
Why that’s the case is not yet known, but it might be as simple as that the California’s Sierra offers a more lush habitat with a greater selection of prey than the more arid mountain landscape of the Great Basin, researchers said.
“It may just be more attractive to move into the Sierra Nevada,” Andreasen said. “It’s just conjecture at this point, but that’s what we think might be going on.”
It might have been going on in the case of the 2-year-old male cougar that was captured after wandering into downtown Reno’s casino core early the morning of Aug. 24. Guests at Harrah’s Reno reported seeing the lion trying to enter the casino’s revolving door. After failing to do so, the 100-pound animal hid under an outdoor stage, where it was tranquilized and captured by wildlife officials.
The cat displayed behavior Nevada Department of Wildlife spokesman Chris Healy compared at the time to that of a “stupid teenager.” He then speculated the cat had wandered into downtown Reno after traveling east down the Truckee River from the foothills of Mount Rose in a wandering search for a new home.
The new research, Healy acknowledged, raises the possibility the lion was traveling east-to-west along the river instead, wandering from the interior of Nevada into the Sierra.
“Now, it may have come from the east of town and worked its way up the river,” Healy said. “No one can say for sure.”
The cougar — whose exploits hit newspapers nationally and CNN — was released near Spooner Summit a couple of days later. Fitted with a satellite collar, the cat quickly went on the move with its travels tracked by Andreasen.
Looking for habitat free of a competing mountain lion, it quickly went south down the Carson Range and the spine of the Sierra, trekking more than 60 miles. It’s now heading in the direction of Mono Lake.
“When you consider the ruggedness of that terrain, he’s really on the move,” Andreasen said.
Whether the lion fit the pattern of east-to-west migration identified in her research is not yet known but future study of the cat’s DNA could show the animal fits that profile, Andreasen said.
“He was probably trying to find an open territory of his own. Who knows how far he traveled before he got to Reno,” she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.