Masters Theses

Date of Award

5-1994

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Wildlife and Fisheries Science

Major Professor

Michael R. Pelton

Committee Members

Donald A. Buehler, Robert W. Mee

Abstract

Reintroduction projects are complex; this project attempted to further management and research aspects regarding reintroduction of the red wolf. The management goal was to assess the feasibility of reestablishing the red wolf in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in TN and NC. The research goal comprised 2 objectives: 1) to assess the potential for physical interaction between 4 reintroduced red wolves (1 adult pair and 2 juvenile females) and 6 resident coyotes (5 male, 1 female) by radio-telemetry; 2) to assess the implementation of reintroduction procedures by methods of policy analysis and statistical process control. The combination of research and management impeded controlled scientific observation and resulted in general conclusions limited by the data-set. Pairwise comparisons of movements of study animals confirmed expectations that the red wolves would travel as a group and that coyotes would use separate areas from the red wolves and from other coyotes in the study. An index of overlap between the adult and juvenile red wolves, respectively, was 0.97, between 2 coyotes was 0.7, and in 2 different inter-specific comparisons was 0.19 and 0.38. The multiple-response permutation procedure judges physical interaction as likely in all 3 intra-specific comparisons [0.25 ≤ all Pr(≤δ) ≤ 0.45] and as unlikely in both inter-specific comparisons [all Pr(≤δ) ≤ 0.001]. A Wilcoxon rank sums test of inter-animal distance concurred in these comparisons (all p<0.01) except the comparison between coyotes, in which observed inter-animal distance could not be distinguished from random expectation (p=0.16). Home ranges calculated by 5 methods ranged between 25-71 km2 for red wolves and 7-30 km2 for coyotes. A flow-chart of observed project procedures corresponded closely with planned procedures and a Pareto analysis suggested that following the release of red wolves the field team allocated more time and effort responding to depredations and undesirable movement patterns that to other problems such as equipment failure. The recovery program has developed a standard protocol for reintroduction projects and further specification of the procedures may reveal adjustments that will improve the process. The need for future reintroduction projects to improve the combination of research and management goals is discussed and techniques from statistical process control that may serve this need are presented.

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