Kris Budd

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service · Division of Ecological Services

Despite containing the largest extent of unfragmented landscape in the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) range, Myanmar has high levels of human–elephant conflict. The Bago Yoma mountain region of central Myanmar has previously been identified as an elephant conflict hotspot, characterized by high levels of crop-raiding and illegal killing of elepha...

Wildlife translocations, which involve the introduction of naive hosts into new environments with novel pathogens, invariably pose an increased risk of disease. The meningeal worm Parelaphostrongylus tenuis is a nematode parasite of the white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ), which serves as its primary host and rarely suffers adverse effects...

The gut microbiome, or the community of microorganisms inhabiting the digestive tract, is often unique to its symbiont and, in many animal taxa, is highly influenced by host phylogeny and diet. In this study, we characterized the gut microbiome of the African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) and the African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis)...

Elephants, which are among the most high-profile of the charismatic megafauna, are increasingly found in the human-dominated landscapes outside protected areas, creating the potential for serious economic impacts and tragic consequences for both humans and elephants. Managing elephants and other wide-ranging species requires information about popul...

The white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) of Missouri have undergone changes in the past 100 years. From a historical estimate of 700,000 individuals, deer were nearly extirpated from the state following overexploitation in the late 1800s. Despite this, deer have since undergone a rapid expansion to the current population of 1.4 million. Becau...

Studying the mating system of wild populations of American crocodiles, Crocodylus acutus, has important conservation implications. We conducted a preliminary analysis of the mating system of C. acutus in Las Baulas (2007 and 2008), Santa Rosa (2007) and Palo Verde (2008 and 2009) National Parks in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. We captured hatchlings duri...