Patricia Harveson

Prey use and diet of large carnivores can have important impacts on food webs, wildlife management, and human conflict. Mountain lions (Puma concolor) are large, apex predators that are commonly controlled for livestock depredation and ungulate population management strategies. We assessed predatory behavior on privately owned lands in the Davis Mo...

Mountain lions, also called cougars, pumas and Florida panthers, are a wide‐ranging, large felid in the western hemisphere. Every U.S. state in which there are breeding populations of mountain lions offer the species some level of protection, except Texas. Here, we summarize historical research on mountain lions in Texas, human perceptions about th...

Management of a species requires knowledge of their distribution and the environmental factors that influence their use of an area. The kit fox (Vulpes macrotis) is a small fox species endemic to the threatened desert grasslands of the western United States and northern Mexico. Little information exists on the status and distribution of kit fox in...

Local knowledge regarding the movements and space-use of large carnivores can inform species’ management, conservation planning, and strategies for reducing human-wildlife conflict. However, because issues regarding large carnivores can be controversial, obtaining such information may be difficult and therefore lacking in many places. Such is the c...

Availability and habitat use are central factors in the selection of prey by mountain lions (Puma concolor), and they are important for understanding predator–prey dynamics. We used an array of camera traps to evaluate the relative abundance and spatial distribution of mountain lions and their prey in the Davis Mountains of Texas. Resource selectio...

Historically distributed throughout North America, most populations of elk (Cervus elaphus) were extirpated by the early 20th century. Merriam elk (C. e. merriami) were once native to Texas, USA, and became extinct after the beginning of the 20th century through excessive hunting and degradation of habitat. Since then, landowners and state agencies...

We predicted current and potential distribution of cougars (Puma concolor) in Texas and bordering states in Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas) by creating a model of suitable habitats. We used MaxEnt to create our model using radiotelemetric data from southern and western Texas, as well as a suite of environmental variables. O...

Influential factors associated with population dynamics of mountain lions Puma concolor include exploitation rates, prey availability, habitat structure and social structure. Throughout most of North America, mountain lion harvest is regulated by state or provincial quotas or is protected by federal laws. In Texas, however, they are not classified...

The endangered Florida Key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium) is endemic to the Florida Keys, Florida, USA, with Big Pine Key (BPK) supporting most (approx 60%) of the population. Habitat loss and fragmentation have altered the amount of available habitat, creating areas of varying suitability; north BPK (NBPK) is believed to contain more optima...

Obtaining reliable survival estimates is important in the management of wildlife populations, particularly for the construction of computer simulation models. Many methods for estimating survival (e.g., radiotelemetry) are cost-prohibitive or time consuming. Life tables can provide survival estimates using data routinely collected by some managemen...

The ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) is an endangered cat native to south Texas. Urbanization and agricultural development have resulted in limited and fragmented habitat, making ocelot habitat restoration an important factor in the cat's recovery. We evaluated the use of United States Department of Agriculture-Natural Resource Conservation Service (USD...

Rapid human population growth and urbanization have had a negative impact on species biodiversity. As competition for resources between man and wildlife continues, it is important to understand the effects of urbanization on species. Endangered Key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium) are endemic to the Florida Keys which have undergone rapid huma...

Metapopulation dynamics of species that occur in patchy or island subpopulations are an important consideration in the conservation of endangered species. Key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium) are endemic to the Florida Keys and occur on 11 island-complexes in the Lower Keys from Big Pine Key to Sugarloaf Key. While deer numbers have increased...

The relationship between population density and range size has long been debated. While many studies have documented varying responses in range size to changes in pop- ulation densities, most have been the result of experimental manipulation. We examined the effects of long-term density changes in Florida Key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clav- ium)...

The ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) is an endangered cat native to south Texas. Urbanization and agricultural development have resulted in limited and fragmented habitat, making ocelot habitat restoration an important factor in the cat's recovery. We evaluated the use of United States Department of Agriculture‐Natural Resource Conservation Service (USD...

this document is to describe the progress that has occurred in the management of toxic chemical wastes among Texas manufacturers who report to the TRI. In 1994, 1,215 manufacturers in 138 counties released 250.1 million pounds and transferred off-site 273.3 million pounds of toxic chemical wastes. This document overviews the status of these release...

Environmental-justice proponents have argued that demographic factors unevenly affect the location of manufacturing and waste facilities and, thus, differences in exposure risks and outcomes. In this paper, statistical relationships among demographic factors, toxic chemical wastes released by Texas manufacturing facilities who participated in the E...

Conservation of native wildlife is becoming increasingly difficult due to continued human population growth and expansion. As the human population continues to increase, so does the rate of consumption of our natural resources. As competition for resources between man and wildlife continues, it is important to understand the effects of urbanization...