Investigating the impact of hunting on insular Newfoundland caribou using virtual population analysis
Thesis (M.A.S.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2008. Mathematics and Statistics Includes bibliographical references (leaves 51-53). The key issue in wildlife management is developing strategies to maintain the long-term sustainability of a species. In order to develop a management strategy, w...
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Language: | English |
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2008
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Online Access: | http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/theses4/id/64222 |
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ftmemorialunivdc:oai:collections.mun.ca:theses4/64222 |
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openpolar |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Memorial University of Newfoundland: Digital Archives Initiative (DAI) |
op_collection_id |
ftmemorialunivdc |
language |
English |
topic |
Caribou populations--Estimates--Statistical methods Caribou--Effect of hunting on--Newfoundland and Labrador--Statistics Wildlife management--Newfoundland and Labrador |
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Caribou populations--Estimates--Statistical methods Caribou--Effect of hunting on--Newfoundland and Labrador--Statistics Wildlife management--Newfoundland and Labrador Peckham, Dana Orlando, 1978- Investigating the impact of hunting on insular Newfoundland caribou using virtual population analysis |
topic_facet |
Caribou populations--Estimates--Statistical methods Caribou--Effect of hunting on--Newfoundland and Labrador--Statistics Wildlife management--Newfoundland and Labrador |
description |
Thesis (M.A.S.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2008. Mathematics and Statistics Includes bibliographical references (leaves 51-53). The key issue in wildlife management is developing strategies to maintain the long-term sustainability of a species. In order to develop a management strategy, we must first understand the make-up of the species including estimates of the stock abundance. The species we are concerned with, in this case, is insular Newfoundland caribou or rangifer tarandus caribou. -- Hunting and trapping is often thought of as a recreational activity, but it also plays a crucial role in wildlife management. Hunting contributes to wildlife management in many ways that most people do not even realize. It is used to maintain a healthy species population, especially in cases where there are no major predators like wolves. The information gathered through hunter returns helps to determine the status of a population by things like how many animals they saw, what was the sex and age (calf or adult) of the animals they saw, and how many of these hunters were successful in their hunt. Hunter experiences also help in understanding the behavioral patterns of a species. -- Other things that hunting does that may not be so obvious are things like its contribution to the economy of a region. For example, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported that in 2002, hunters and trappers contributed $847 million to state and wildlife management agencies via hunting and trapping licences and excise taxes. This does not even include revenues gained from pelt sales, outfitting and other spin-offs like hotels, gunsmithing and hunting apparel sales. Hunting and trapping is also a useful tool in taking care of problem animals such as beavers that may cause extensive damage to roads, bridges and dams or coyotes killing livestock on a farm. There is also no arguing that wildlife-auto collisions would be significantly higher, were the population densities not controlled. -- One method we are going to focus on in this paper is virtual population analysis, also known as VPA or cohort analysis. This technique uses catch-at-age data from hunters and using backward recursive formulas, estimates the number of animals alive for a specific cohort at a specific time. VPA has been used most extensively in fisheries analysis but can also be applied in other wildlife applications. There are other methods of abundance estimation as well, such as aerial surveys, which we will compare in the paper. The problem with aerial surveys is that they are time consuming and very expensive. -- The research done in this paper will be facilitated using data provided by the Wildlife Division of the Department of Environment and Conservation, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. |
author2 |
Memorial University of Newfoundland. Dept. of Mathematics and Statistics |
format |
Thesis |
author |
Peckham, Dana Orlando, 1978- |
author_facet |
Peckham, Dana Orlando, 1978- |
author_sort |
Peckham, Dana Orlando, 1978- |
title |
Investigating the impact of hunting on insular Newfoundland caribou using virtual population analysis |
title_short |
Investigating the impact of hunting on insular Newfoundland caribou using virtual population analysis |
title_full |
Investigating the impact of hunting on insular Newfoundland caribou using virtual population analysis |
title_fullStr |
Investigating the impact of hunting on insular Newfoundland caribou using virtual population analysis |
title_full_unstemmed |
Investigating the impact of hunting on insular Newfoundland caribou using virtual population analysis |
title_sort |
investigating the impact of hunting on insular newfoundland caribou using virtual population analysis |
publishDate |
2008 |
url |
http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/theses4/id/64222 |
op_coverage |
Canada--Newfoundland and Labrador; |
geographic |
Newfoundland Canada |
geographic_facet |
Newfoundland Canada |
genre |
Newfoundland studies Rangifer tarandus University of Newfoundland |
genre_facet |
Newfoundland studies Rangifer tarandus University of Newfoundland |
op_source |
Paper copy kept in the Centre for Newfoundland Studies, Memorial University Libraries |
op_relation |
Electronic Theses and Dissertations (6.34 MB) -- http://collections.mun.ca/PDFs/theses/Peckham_DanaOrlando.pdf a2700188 http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/theses4/id/64222 |
op_rights |
The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. |
_version_ |
1766113257604513792 |
spelling |
ftmemorialunivdc:oai:collections.mun.ca:theses4/64222 2023-05-15T17:23:33+02:00 Investigating the impact of hunting on insular Newfoundland caribou using virtual population analysis Peckham, Dana Orlando, 1978- Memorial University of Newfoundland. Dept. of Mathematics and Statistics Canada--Newfoundland and Labrador; 2008 vii, 53 leaves : ill. Image/jpeg; Application/pdf http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/theses4/id/64222 Eng eng Electronic Theses and Dissertations (6.34 MB) -- http://collections.mun.ca/PDFs/theses/Peckham_DanaOrlando.pdf a2700188 http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/theses4/id/64222 The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. Paper copy kept in the Centre for Newfoundland Studies, Memorial University Libraries Caribou populations--Estimates--Statistical methods Caribou--Effect of hunting on--Newfoundland and Labrador--Statistics Wildlife management--Newfoundland and Labrador Text Electronic thesis or dissertation 2008 ftmemorialunivdc 2015-08-06T19:22:05Z Thesis (M.A.S.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2008. Mathematics and Statistics Includes bibliographical references (leaves 51-53). The key issue in wildlife management is developing strategies to maintain the long-term sustainability of a species. In order to develop a management strategy, we must first understand the make-up of the species including estimates of the stock abundance. The species we are concerned with, in this case, is insular Newfoundland caribou or rangifer tarandus caribou. -- Hunting and trapping is often thought of as a recreational activity, but it also plays a crucial role in wildlife management. Hunting contributes to wildlife management in many ways that most people do not even realize. It is used to maintain a healthy species population, especially in cases where there are no major predators like wolves. The information gathered through hunter returns helps to determine the status of a population by things like how many animals they saw, what was the sex and age (calf or adult) of the animals they saw, and how many of these hunters were successful in their hunt. Hunter experiences also help in understanding the behavioral patterns of a species. -- Other things that hunting does that may not be so obvious are things like its contribution to the economy of a region. For example, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported that in 2002, hunters and trappers contributed $847 million to state and wildlife management agencies via hunting and trapping licences and excise taxes. This does not even include revenues gained from pelt sales, outfitting and other spin-offs like hotels, gunsmithing and hunting apparel sales. Hunting and trapping is also a useful tool in taking care of problem animals such as beavers that may cause extensive damage to roads, bridges and dams or coyotes killing livestock on a farm. There is also no arguing that wildlife-auto collisions would be significantly higher, were the population densities not controlled. -- One method we are going to focus on in this paper is virtual population analysis, also known as VPA or cohort analysis. This technique uses catch-at-age data from hunters and using backward recursive formulas, estimates the number of animals alive for a specific cohort at a specific time. VPA has been used most extensively in fisheries analysis but can also be applied in other wildlife applications. There are other methods of abundance estimation as well, such as aerial surveys, which we will compare in the paper. The problem with aerial surveys is that they are time consuming and very expensive. -- The research done in this paper will be facilitated using data provided by the Wildlife Division of the Department of Environment and Conservation, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. Thesis Newfoundland studies Rangifer tarandus University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland: Digital Archives Initiative (DAI) Newfoundland Canada |