By Aaron Wirsing

This past August, I once again joined colleagues from Florida International University and the Tetiaroa Society to learn more about the ecology of reef sharks in Tetiaroa, a remote French Polynesian atoll. Specifically, along with FIU biologists Kirk Gastrich and Jimmy Kilfoil, I deployed baited remote underwater video cameras, or BRUVs, to monitor the presence and behavior of blacktip reef (Carcharhinus melanopterus) and sicklefin lemon (Negaprion acutidens) sharks throughout Tetiaroa's inner lagoon. Some of our BRUVs detected lots of shark activity (e.g., see the video posted below of a blacktip investigating one of our baits). Ultimately, we'll use the data we collected over two weeks to model when and where these shark species are active in the lagoon. In future years, we hope to expand our BRUV work to Tetiaroa's outer reef, where the ocean is much deeper and we might detect more and larger shark species. For now, we thank the Seeley family for their generous support of our research in Tetiaroa and encourage you to stay tuned for more findings! 

by: Apryle Craig

This summer, I started installing deer exclosures to investigate the impact of wolves on plant communities in Northeastern Washington. 

Each fenced exclosure plot is paired with a nearby unfenced plot. The only differences between these two plots is the exclusion of deer, so the unfenced plot acts as a control plot to assess what the plants would be like in the absence of herbivory. Using this paired plot design in wolf-recolonized and wolf-absent areas, I can compare vegetation characteristics including plant height, species composition, percent cover, and age class.

Some studies have shown that the presence of predators may cause prey species to be less sedentary. When deer or other large herbivores move around more, the herbivory is dispersed and vegetation does not get browsed heavily in one spot. Alternatively, the risk of predation may have lead to concentrated herbivory if the presence of wolves causes deer to spend more time in "safe spots" such as near roads. If deer remain in one spot, the herbivory is concentrated and vegetation may become overbrowsed. In both of these two scenarios wolves could have an indirect effect on the plants by altering the behavior of their prey. A third possibility is that wolves may alter the behavior of deer, but those changes are not having any impacts on the vegetation community. 

The fences are approximately 36 square meters and 6 feet tall, with a small gap at the bottom to allow smaller animals to pass through.

Along with my team of volunteers this summer, we were able to install 21 sites across our study areas. 

by Aaron Wirsing

For the fourth year running, I've joined professor Tom Quinn (SAFS) at Lake Aleknagik in southwestern Alaska to sample brown bears exploiting the legendary Bristol Bay sockeye salmon run. Our study is noninvasive, relying on barbed wires strung across small spawning streams (see picture) to collect hair samples from passing bears. We then send the hair samples to Professor Lisette Waits, another of our collaborators at the University of Idaho, for individual genoptying, enabling us to determine how many bears use each stream. As we add more years to the investigation, we'll be able to ask a variety of exciting questions, including whether individual bears return to the same stream each year and if there is matrilineal transmission of foraging behavior (i.e., do cubs match the spatial hunting patterns of their mothers?). For now, we're off to check the wires!

Photo by Dean Adams

By Aaron Wirsing

The Washington Wolf Project is now entering its fourth year! This winter, beginning in December, we'll again be collaring deer to monitor their responses to recolonizing wolves. We'll also be testing whether the presence of wolves in eastern Washington is shaping the impacts of deer herbivory on plant communities and easing predation on fawns by suppressing coyotes (a major fawn predator). 

For the first time, you can help us to understand the ecological and economic impacts of wolves here in Washington through tax-deductible donations to a University of Washington gift account that is specific to our lab. Your contributions will be used exclusively to support graduate student research in field. For example, gift funds will support aerial helicopter captures of mule and white-tailed deer for GPS and camera collar deployment, the analysis of wolf scat samples so that we can determine what the wolves have been eating, and the purchase of GPS collars for cougars so that we can monitor responses of these top feline predators to the renewed presence of wolves. We thank you for your support!

Graduate student Carolyn Shores and her research assistant Christina Bankert out monitoring radio-collared deer fawns (photo by A. Wirsing).

Canyon Creek, Snoqualmie Forest

“Do not try to fight a lion if you are not one yourself."
      - African proverb

Cougars, also known as mountain lions, pumas, or catamounts, are opportunistic hunters that typically stalk their prey before taking it down from behind.  Cougars rely on cover to hunt successfully, and frequently make kills near forest edges.  My research explores cougar kill site locations and their habitat characteristics to determine the extent of understory cover associated with successful cougar foraging along western Washington’s urban-to-wildland gradient.   Results from the project will be used to assist wildlife managers in identifying habitats in residential areas that are associated with cougar hunting behavior as part of ongoing efforts to minimize cougar depredations and human-wildlife conflict.

The Cougar project’s 2015 field season is underway, with data collection taking place in the Snoqualmie and Markworth Forests.  The study site’s proximity to Seattle (30 miles) allows undergraduates and volunteers to readily contribute to data collection.  Currently, there are seven assistants working on the project.  Volunteers learn how to locate cougar kills, navigate rugged terrain, use prey remains to determine prey age and condition, and quantify forest characteristics. 

Before I begin installing exclosures, I have to determine where to place them. I use mapping software called ArcMap to look at different land characteristics and property boundaries. If my study results show that deer in wolf areas do not eat as much of species x, then I need to be sure it is because there are wolves there and not because all of my plots in the wolf areas in on north-facing hillsides, for instance. So, I use maps to make sure that hydrology, aspect, slope, roads, and plant communities are similar in the two study areas and that the only difference between the plots in the wolf-present and non-wolf area is the presence of wolves. 

I also use the software to help with field navigation. I can use the software to export my survey points and import them to GPS units to find the sites in the field. While GPS units are handy for returning to the same exact point repeatedly, they are still no substitute for paper maps for navigation. Mapping software allows me to map elevation, vegetation, or other distinguishing characteristics to help in getting to and from study sites by car and foot. 

Mapping and study design are an important facet of a sound research study. By preparing in advance, I will be able to maximize efficiency and safety in the field and minimize resource use. 

by: Apryle Craig

This summer, I will be installing deer exclosures in wolf-present and non-wolf areas of northeastern Washington to investigate the impacts of recolonizing wolves on deer herbivory. At each study site, there will be two vegetation plots: one inside a fence protected from deer browse, and one outside of the fence exposed to deer browse. Each winter, deer consume woody plants that stick up above the snow. In the spring, I will measure the plants in all plots to see how much the deer ate during the winter. By comparing plants inside and outside the fences across wolf-present and non-wolf areas, I can determine if wolves are influencing deer herbivory.

Over the next few days, we will make the last of our preparations, then head high into the Central Tien Shan Mountains, where, for the next four months, the team and I will focus on deploying GPS collars on snow leopards and wolves in order to understand how these two enigmatic species coexist with one another despite relatively simple prey communities. In addition to trapping, we will use camera traps and non-invasive genetics from scat to build models of predator and prey population densities, and to document variability in ungulate behavior in relationship to predators. Finally, we will investigate the threats facing these imperiled species and work with high mountain herder communities to promote conservation solutions that benefit wildlife and humans alike.

For now, the Tien Shan Mountains beckon from the south, inviting and imposing. 

By: Apryle Craig

The winter 2014-15 field season is well underway studying the impacts of recolonizing wolves in northeast Washington. Along with their excellent field crew, Justin and Carolyn are trapping deer to be fitted with GPS or camera collars. 


I am working on my first field season, setting up giving up density trays to assess predation fear in white-tailed and mule deer in two habitats: wolf-recolonized and wolf-absent. Giving-up densities (GUD) are a common method to assess predation risk relative to patch characteristics.  The GUD is determined by setting out feeding trays with known amounts of food for a fixed time and then measuring the amount that remains. The remaining amount or density of food at which the animal or animals decide to leave the box (give up) is an indicator of the level of apprehension or predation risk deer experience in the area.

By Aaron Wirsing

A PBS Quest documentary about our wolf project titled, "The Ecology of Fear" was recently awarded a 2014 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Kavli Science Journalism Award in the 'Spot News/Feature Reporting' category. These awards recognize professional journalists for distinguished reporting aimed at general audiences. We would like to express our sincere appreciation to Michael Werner, the journalist responsible for the film.

Michael Werner

By Carolyn Shores

Have you ever heard about a Pangolin?  What about a Colugo, a flying lemur that soars through the air on folds of skin?  

These two incredible but little-known mammals were both at the Burke Museum's "Meet the Mammals" event last weekend.  Last Saturday the Burke Museum opened up its doors to the public to showcase its diverse mammal collection of skulls, skins and skeletons. There were lots of cool mammals to show off with over 5,400 known mammal species in the world.

The Predator Ecology lab was invited to share our wolf ecology research at the Conservation table at Meet the Mammals.  Below are photos of graduate students Carolyn Shores and Shannon Kachel with wolf, coyote, and mule deer fawn specimens, along with our radio tracking equipment.

We had a lot of questions and interest about wolves and their return to Washington.

And quite a few budding field biologists eager to try their hand at radio tracking with our antennas!

From walruses to wombats, it was a day filled with mammals and lots of interested visitors, both young and old. The Predator Ecology Lab will be back at Meet the Mammals next year with graduate student Shannon Kachel showcasing his research on snow leopards, don't miss it!