Jerry Belant

Michigan State University | MSU · Department of Fisheries and Wildlife

The global decline of terrestrial species is largely due to the degradation, loss and fragmentation of their habitats. The conversion of natural ecosystems for cropland, rangeland, forest products and human infrastructure are the primary causes of habitat deterioration. Due to the paucity of data on the past distribution of species and the scarcity...

1. Since the 1990s, the number of lions (Panthera leo) has declined by about 43% across African range states. Reliable lion population estimates can contribute to effective management and inform local and international conservation policies. Though many survey methods have been used to estimate lion abundance, an assessment of their usefulness and...

Wide-ranging carnivores experience tradeoffs between dynamic resource availabilities and heterogeneous risks from humans, with consequences for their ecological function and conservation outcomes. Yet, research investigating these tradeoffs across large carnivore distributions is rare. We assessed how resource availability and anthropogenic risks i...

Species interactions can influence species distributions, but mechanisms mitigating competition or facilitating positive interactions between ecologically similar species are often poorly understood. Aardwolves (Proteles cristata) and aardvarks (Orycteropus afer) are nocturnal, insectivorous mammals that co-occur in eastern and southern Africa, and...

Habitat selection studies facilitate assessing and predicting species distributions and habitat connectivity, but habitat selection can vary temporally and among individuals, which is often ignored. We used GPS telemetry data from 96 Gray wolves (Canis lupus) in the western Great Lakes region of the USA to assess differences in habitat selection wh...

The global decline of terrestrial species is largely due to the degradation, loss and fragmentation of their habitats. The conversion of natural ecosystems for cropland, rangeland, forest products and human infrastructure are the primary causes of habitat deterioration. Due to the paucity of data on the past distribution of species and the scarcity...

Roads within protected areas facilitate management and tourism but can also alter animal movements and foraging opportunities. Animal tracks observed along roads are also used to index species distributions and abundance. We investigated the influence of roads on lion (Panthera leo) movements within the Serengeti ecosystem of Tanzania. We used hour...

Context The forestry industry provides important goods, services and economic benefits, but timber harvest can adversely impact ecosystem services, including wildlife habitat. Timber harvest planning can integrate wildlife habitat quality through multi-objective optimization for timber harvest and wildlife habitat suitability. Objectives Our objec...

Reforestation practices have intensified in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) of the United States of America with the aid of Farm Bill programs during the past three decades. Increases in reforested land also enhance possibilities to restore once-abundant but currently sparse species, such as eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestri...

Land use and climate change alter species distributions worldwide, and detecting and understanding how species ranges shift can facilitate conservation planning and action. Following extirpation from most of the contiguous United States, gray wolves ( Canis lupus ) have partially recolonized former range in the western Great Lakes region, but it is...

Understanding wildlife behavior, including accurate identification, processing, and interpretation of activities or cues, is important to behavioral biology and corresponding conservation strategies. We characterized the breeding activities of the critically endangered White-rumped Vulture Gyps bengalensis following a sequential pattern from courts...

Island biogeography theory states biodiversity increases with island size and decreases with distance from mainland source populations; however, the influence of other island characteristics (e.g., presence of neighboring islands) and species traits (e.g., body size) could alter expected patterns. We assessed the influence of island characteristics...

COVID-19 lockdowns in early 2020 reduced human mobility, providing an opportunity to disentangle its effects on animals from those of landscape modifications. Using GPS data, we compared movements and road avoidance of 2300 terrestrial mammals (43 species) during the lockdowns to the same period in 2019. Individual responses were variable with no c...

Discrete landscape features can concentrate animals in time and space, leading to non-random interspecific encounters. These encounters have implications for predator-prey interactions, habitat selection, intraspecific competition, and transmission of parasites and other pathogens. The lifecycle of the parasitic nematode Parelaphostrongylus tenuis...

The Himalayan goral (Naemorhedus goral) is facing threats, such as habitat degradation and human disturbances, which are increasing. To aid their conservation, it is crucial to understand the anthropogenic and ecological factors that influence Himalayan goral occurrence. We conducted a study in Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve, Nepal using remote cameras...

Co-occurring carnivore species that are phylogenetically related or of similar size, morphology, and ecological needs often reduce competition by partitioning shared resources through temporal, spatial, and dietary niche segregation via behavioral adaptations. Caracals (Caracal caracal) and jungle cats (Felis chaus) co-occur in portions of their ge...

Species distribution models (SDMs) are widely applied to understand the processes governing spatial and temporal variation in species abundance and distribution but often do not account for measurement errors such as false negatives and false positives. We describe unmarked, a package for the freely available and open‐source R software that provide...

The red panda (Ailurus fulgens) population is decreasing, with less than 10,000 individuals in the wild because of habitat destruction, fragmentation, and illegal hunting. Captive breeding has become an increasingly crucial strategy for conserving endangered species, but efforts to generate self-sustaining populations have failed despite ample reso...

Human-wildlife interactions occur where human and wildlife coexist and share common resources including food or shelter. Increasing wildlife populations within protected areas also can increase interactions with humans living adjacent to these areas, resulting in conflicts including human casualty, livestock depredation, crop damage, and property l...

Roost locations can be an important contributor to vulture conflicts with humans, but factors influencing roost-site selection at a landscape level remain largely unexplored. Further, there has been little research comparing how these factors vary between nocturnal and diurnal roosting sites. We used remote cameras to document daily variation in vu...

The decline in mammalian species diversity is increasing worldwide, with areas characterized by high human activities experiencing more prominent effects. Knowledge of spatial distributions of species and factors acting on them is necessary for effective management. We evaluated community-level occupancy of mammal species in Dhorpatan Hunting Reser...

Giant African land snails (Achatina fulica; GALS) are a highly invasive herbivore and pose serious threats to native species and that could disrupt ecosystems. Various botanical extracts have been used as molluscicides to control mollusks for pest management. We aimed to identify the effects of neem (Azadirachta indica) and titepati (Artemisia vulg...

Wolves (Canis lupus) can exert top-down pressure and shape ecological communities through the predation of ungulates and beavers (Castor spp.). Therefore, understanding wolf foraging is critical to estimating their ecosystem-level effects. Specifically, if wolves are consumers that optimize tradeoffs between the cost and benefits of prey acquisitio...

Free-ranging large carnivores are involved in human-wildlife conflicts which can result in economic costs. Understanding factors that lead to human-wildlife conflicts is important to mitigate these negative effects and facilitate human-carnivore coexistence. We used a human-American black bear (Ursus americanus) conflict database maintained by the...

Niche overlap between sympatric species can indicate the extent of interspecific competition. Sympatric competing species can exhibit spatial, temporal, and dietary adjustments to reduce competition. We investigated spatial, temporal, and dietary niche overlap of sympatric Asian palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) and small Indian civet (Viverr...

Abstract Within optimal foraging theory animals should maximize their net energy gain while minimizing energetic costs. Energetic expenditure in wild animals is therefore key to measure proxies of fitness. Accelerometers are an effective tool to study animal movement-based energetics, but retrieval of the device is usually required and often diffic...

Simple Summary Potentially suitable habitat for nest-site selection of the globally endangered Egyptian vulture in Nepal was influenced primarily by precipitation and forested areas containing cliffs. Sites near to forests and human settlements were most suited habitat for Egyptian vultures in Nepal. Land-use change could negatively impact the nest...

Introduction To sustain black bear (Ursus americanus) populations, wildlife managers should understand the coupled socio-ecological systems that influence acceptance capacity for bears. Method In a study area encompassing a portion of New York State, we spatially matched datasets from three sources: human-bear conflict reports between 2006 and 201...

Color variation is a frequent evolutionary substrate for camouflage in small mammals, but the underlying genetics and evolutionary forces that drive color variation in natural populations of large mammals are mostly unexplained. The American black bear, Ursus americanus (U. americanus), exhibits a range of colors including the cinnamon morph, which...

Animals moving through landscapes need to strike a balance between finding sufficient resources to grow and reproduce while minimizing encounters with predators. Because encounter rates are determined by the average distance over which directed motion persists, this trade-off should be apparent in individuals’ movement. Using GPS data from 1,396 in...

Large carnivores are often involved in human-wildlife conflicts which can endanger human safety and result in considerable economic costs. We used a human-American black bear (Ursus americanus) conflict database maintained by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to determine whether drought, conflicts within parks as compared...

Protected areas that restrict human activities can enhance wildlife habitat quality. Efficacy of protected areas can be improved with increased protection from illegal activities and presence of buffer protected areas that surround a core protected area. Habitat value of protected areas also can be affected by seasonal variation in anthropogenic pr...

The Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) once roamed throughout the Middle East and central India. Today there remain only an estimated 20 free-ranging individuals in central Iran and 5 in captivity.

Quantifying animal movements is necessary for answering a wide array of research questions in ecology and conservation biology. Consequently, ecologists have made considerable efforts to identify the best way to estimate an animal’s home range, and many methods of estimating home ranges have arisen over the past half century. Most of these methods...

Ungulates are key components of ecosystems due to their effects on lower trophic levels, role as prey, and value for recreational and subsistence harvests. Understanding factors that drive ungulate population dynamics can inform protection of important habitat and successful management of populations. To ascertain correlates of ungulate population...

The Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) is a myrmecophagous, nocturnal mammal species that occurs in forests, agricultural lands, and grasslands. It is critically endangered due to illegal hunting and habitat loss. Characterizing the Chinese pangolin’s habitat and diet could improve our knowledge of the conditions necessary for species persistenc...

Following federal protection in 1974, gray wolves (Canis lupus) partially recolonized former range in the western Great Lakes region, USA, yet remain absent from most of the eastern USA. Understanding potential for further recolonization requires quantifying remaining wolf habitat and habitat connectivity. We used recent snow tracking data from the...

Iran has lost two felid species (the Asiatic lion Panthera leo persica and Caspian tiger Panthera tigris virgata), and there are unsubstantiated estimates of only 550–850 free-ranging Persian leopards Panthera pardus saxicolor remaining in the country, further emphasizing the need for conservation of the Asiatic cheetah. Recovery of the Asiatic che...

Wolves (Canis lupus) can exert top-down pressure and shape ecological communities through selective predation of ungulates and beavers (Castor Canadensis). Considering their ability to shape communities through predation, understanding wolf foraging decisions is critical to predicting their ecosystem level effects. Specifically, if wolves are optim...

Color variation is a frequent evolutionary substrate for camouflage in small mammals but the underlying genetics and evolutionary forces that drive color variation in natural populations of large mammals are mostly unexplained. The American black bear, Ursus americanus , exhibits a range of colors including the cinnamon morph which has a similar co...

Using existing data can be a reliable and cost-effective way to predict species distributions, and particularly useful for recovering or expanding species. We developed a current gray wolf ( Canis lupus ) distribution model for the western Great Lakes region, USA, and evaluated the spatial transferability of single-state models to the region. This...

Small carnivores – here defined as members of the mammalian Order Carnivora with a body mass < 21.5 kg – occur worldwide, including in Oceania, following introductions. They are represented by 210 to 282 species, which corresponds to around 90% of terrestrial carnivores globally. Some species are endemic to one or two countries (sometimes only isla...

This book focuses on the 232 species of the mammalian Order Carnivora with an average body mass < 21.5 kg. Small carnivores inhabit virtually all of the Earth's ecosystems, adopting terrestrial, semi-fossorial, (semi-)arboreal or (semi-)aquatic lifestyles. They occupy multiple trophic levels and therefore play important roles in the regulation of e...

Within optimal foraging theory animals should maximize their net energy gain while minimizing energetic costs. Energetic expenditure in wild animals is therefore key to measure proxies of fitness. Accelerometers are an effective tool to study animal movement-based energetics but retrieval of the device is usually required and often difficult. Measu...

Within optimal foraging theory animals should maximize their net energy gain while minimizing energetic costs. Energetic expenditure in wild animals is therefore key to measure proxies of fitness. Accelerometers are an effective tool to study animal movement-based energetics but retrieval of the device is usually required and often difficult. Measu...

Although most prey have multiple predator species, few studies have quantified how prey respond to the temporal niches of multiple predators which pose different levels of danger. For example, intraspecific variation in diel activity allows white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to reduce fawn activity overlap with coyotes (Canis latrans) but f...

Proclaimed in 1907, Etosha National Park in northern Namibia is an iconic dryland system with a rich history of wildlife conservation and research. A recent research symposium on wildlife conservation in the Greater Etosha Landscape (GEL) highlighted increased concern of how intensification of global change will affect wildlife conservation based o...

Successful species introductions are not homogeneously distributed over the globe, which points to the need to understand why some have succeeded, yet others failed. We summarized information on small carnivore introductions worldwide and assessed whether introduction outcomes (success or failure) supported one or more of the following hypotheses:...

Managing wildlife populations in the face of global change requires regular data on the abundance and distribution of wild animals but acquiring these over appropriate spatial scales in a sustainable way has proven challenging. Here we present the data from Snapshot USA 2020, a second annual national mammal survey of the United States of America. T...

Despite extensive range contractions, several large carnivore species have recently recolonized portions of their former range. Since the 1990s, American black bear reports have increased in Missouri, USA, corresponding with increasing abundance and distribution. As effective management benefits from sound information on wildlife demographics and s...

Understanding the types and magnitude of human-caused mortality is essential for maintaining viable large carnivore populations. We used a database of cause-specific mortality to examine how hunting regulations and landscape configurations influenced human-caused mortality of North American gray wolves (Canis lupus). Our dataset included 21 studies...

For many avian species, spatial migration patterns remain largely undescribed, especially across hemispheric extents. Recent advancements in tracking technologies and high‐resolution species distribution models (i.e., eBird Status and Trends products) provide new insights into migratory bird movements and offer a promising opportunity for integrati...

Aim: Macroecological studies that require habitat suitability data for many species often derive this information from expert opinion. However, expert-based information is inherently subjective and thus prone to errors. The increasing availability of GPS tracking data offers opportunities to evaluate and supplement expert-based information with de...

Canis lupus (Gray Wolf or Wolf) have killed subordinate canids that scavenge on Wolf-killed prey, but little evidence is available for antagonistic behavior of Wolves toward other canids at interspecific den sites. We investigated clusters of locations from a global positioning system (GPS)-collared male Wolf, translocated to Isle Royale National P...

Accurate abundance estimates can contribute to effective management of large carni-vore populations. Lion Panthera leo and spotted hyena Crocuta crocuta populations are frequently estimated at night by eliciting their approach using broadcasted vocaliza-tions. Spotlights are typically used to observe these species on approach but can disturb animal...

Neonatal mortality is a primary determinant of ungulate population dynamics and occurs from multiple proximal causes, but few studies have compared relationships between risk factors and cause-specific mortality. We evaluated how landscape and physiological characteristics influenced white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) fawn risk from predato...

Food availability resulting from anthropogenic land-use changes may have contributed to the recent increase of Cathartes aura (Turkey Vulture) and Coragyps atratus (Black Vulture) populations. We assessed anthropogenic contributions to diets of these species by analyzing 176 pellets collected from communal roosts in coastal South Carolina. To provi...

The parallel niche release hypothesis (PNR) indicates that reduced competition with dominant competitors results in greater density and niche breadth of subordinate competitors and which may support an adaptive advantage. We assessed support for the PNR by evaluating relationships between variation in niche breadth and intra‐ and interspecific dens...

Species distribution models are key to spatially explicit conservation and management plans. Modeling distributions using data collected by the public has become increasingly popular; however, it is vital to evaluate their advantages and limitations. We investigated whether distribution models developed using opportunistic data (public reports) are...

Managing wildlife populations in the face of global change requires regular data on the abundance and distribution of wild animals, but acquiring these over appropriate spatial scales in a sustainable way has proven challenging. Here we present the data from Snapshot USA 2020, a second annual national mammal survey of the locations across 103 array...

Invasive species alter ecosystem structure and functioning, including impacts on native species, habitat alteration, and nutrient cycling. Among the 27 invasive plant species in Nepal, water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) distribution is rapidly increasing in Lake Cluster of Pokhara Valley (LCPV) in the last several decades. We studied the effects...

Obtaining unbiased estimates of wildlife distribution and abundance is an important objective in research and management. Occupancy and N‐mixture abundance models, which correct for imperfect detection, are commonly used for this purpose. Fitting these models in a Bayesian framework has advantages but doing so can be challenging and time‐consuming...

Despite continued global declines in large carnivore abundance and distribution, some species are recovering. In North America, these recoveries can occur in large areas of suitable habitat in or near areas of human development, increasing the likelihood of human–carnivore conflicts. Understanding the intersection among habitat suitability, connect...

The gray wolf (Canis lupus) population of Isle Royale National Park suffered an extreme population decline where by 2017 only two wolves that were both half-siblings and a father-daughter pair remained with low probability of producing viable young. This precipitous decline was in part due to the negative fitness consequences associated with inbree...

Managing game species can require balancing multiple social and conservation goals. For many game species, including white‐tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ), harvest is the primary tool for management of population abundance. Hunter interest in harvesting older male deer has encouraged managers to find ways to protect younger deer and recruit...

The Human Influence Index (HII) quantifies anthropogenic landscape pressures by combining eight measures of human influence: human population density, built environments, crop lands, pasture lands, lights, roads, railways and navigable waterways. The comparative influence of the HII components on cause-specific mammal mortality remains unexplored....