Got Nature? Blog

Have you ever wanted to set up your own scent station? Here’s a great video that will teach you how! Scent stations are a non-invasive alternative to other trapping methods for determining what species of wildlife populate an area. Scent stations work by using a scent lure surrounded by sand in which animals will leave their tracks. These tracks can then be identified later for each species that visits the scent station.

However, it can be difficult to set up an animal scent station for the first time. In this video, Robert Cordes, assistant regional wildlife biologist at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, shows you step-by-step how to construct your own scent station.

“How to Construct a Scent Station” is a companion to Lesson 2 in The Nature of Teaching’s Unit 1: Animal Diversity and Tracking. This free lesson plan includes a data sheet you can fill out after setting up your scent station, as well as other fun projects that can be used in a classroom. You can find other free lesson plans at the Nature of Teaching website with topics like food webs, watersheds, and the scientific method.

Resources:
How to Construct a Scent Station – The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center
The Nature of Teaching Unit 1: Animal Diversity and Tracking – The Education Store
The Nature of Teaching – Purdue Extension
Nature Publications – The Nature of Teaching

Megan Kuechle, Undergraduate Extension Intern
Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

Dr. Rod Williams, Associate Head of Extension and Associate Professor of Wildlife Science
Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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In an effort to provide Indiana bats with more places to live and monitor their population, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Fish and Wildlife is launching two new projects that property owners can take part of. The first project involves the distribution of 100 bat houses to Hoosier properties that meet certain habitat requirements. Interest in this project has been very positive, and more than enough people have already signed their properties up for the bat houses.

The second project is open to everyone in the state, and its mission is to document the amounts of  bats traveling to and from their roosting spots in different areas of the state, whether they are in barns, trees, or in the newly installed bat houses. Participants are asked to count bats for eight to twelve nights between May 17th and July 17th. This data will be helpful to the biologists as it will aid them in knowing where to find bats during summer months. Farmers and foresters may benefit too, since these bats feed on moths of caterpillar species that damage crops and trees.

Check out SFGate’s article “Monitoring, bat house projects aim to help flying mammals” to learn more. For further questions or to get involved with the bat count, please contact Assistant Nongame Biologist Cassie Hudson at chudson@dnr.IN.gov.

Resources:
Monitoring, bat house projects aim to help flying mammals – SFGate
Indiana Bats – Indiana Department of Natural Resources
Nongame & Endangered Wildlife – Indiana Department of Natural Resources
Summer Bat Roost Monitoring Project – Indiana Department of Natural Resources
Bats – The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center

Cassie Hudson, Assistant Nongame Biologist
Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Fish and Wildlife

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The Department of Forestry and Natural Resources’ extension team have received four Purdue Extension Issue-Based Action Team (IBAT) awards out of seven. These new initiatives have been chosen from 30 submitted proposals. In an ever-changing world, Purdue Extension is launching big ​ideas to identify and address priority issues to enhance quality of life as well as the efficiency and/or effectiveness of organizations through research-based education.

Congratulations to the following FNR teams that are moving the world forward:

ENHANCING THE VALUE OF PUBLIC SPACES: HEALTH, WELLNESS, AND DESIGNING THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Project Overview: Expand upon the existing Enhancing the Value of Public Spaces program to include a health component — building community capacities for accessible means for physical activity. $50,000.

Team: Michael Wilcox, Assistant Program Leader for Community Development Extension, Purdue Center for Reginal Development; and Kara Salazar, Sustainable Communities Extension Specialist, Department of Forestry & Natural Resources; Donna Vandergraff, Extension Specialist, Nutrition Science; Lisa Graves, Assistant Program Leader and Extension Specialist, Nutrition Science; Melissa Maulding, Director, Nutrition Education Programs; and Steve Yoder, Extension Educator, Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR), Tippecanoe County.

MARKET BASKET 360
Program Overview: A wealth of resources on a website, educational workshop agendas, certification programs, uniform materials for cooking demonstrations, and more for Farmers’ Market Masters, producers, and consumers. Market Basket 360 centralizes, streamlines, and enhances existing farmers’ market resources available through Purdue Extension, Indiana State Department of Health, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, and other industry organizations.

Team: James Wolff, Extension Educator, Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR), Allen County; Julie Gray, Central District Director, ANR; Morgan Roddy, Extension Educator/Health & Human Sciences (HHS), ANR, Henry County; Curt Campbell, Extension Educator, ANR, Wabash County; Jodee Ellett, Local Foods Coordinator, Purdue Extension; Vickie Hadley, HHS Extension Educator/CED, ANR, Allen County; Nancy Manuel, HHS Extension Educator, ANR, Adams County; Gail Peitzmeier, HHS Extension Educator, Crawford County; Tim Vining, Development Educator, ANR; Teresa Witkoske, HHS Extension Educator/CED, Wabash County; Kwamena Quagrainie, Aquaculture Marketing Director and Associate Professor, Department of Forestry & Natural Resources and Agriculture Economics; Bob Rode, Aquaculture Research Lab Manager and Extension Specialist, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources.

NATURAL RESOURCES LEADERSHIP PROGRAM
Program Overview: Expanding Extension’s capacity to develop and deliver statewide natural resource programs and enhance decision-making for implementation at the community level. $30,000.

Team: Kara Salazar, Assistant Program Leader for Community Development and Sustainable Communities Extension Specialist, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources/Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant; Angie Tilton, Extension Educator, Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR), Hendricks County Team; Lenny Farlee, Sustaining Hardwood Extension Specialist, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources; Liz Jackson, Hardwood Tree Improvement and Regeneration Center (HTIRC), Engagement Specialist and Executive Director of the Indiana Forestry and Woodland Owners Association and the Walnut Council; Steve Yoder, Regional Extension Educator, Community Development

THE NATURE OF HEALTH
Project Overview: A multifaceted approach to engaging families in nature-learning opportunities that will utilize emerging research to connect Health and Human Sciences and Agriculture and Natural Resources using curriculum developed by Rod Williams titled “The Nature of Teaching.” $20,000.

Team: Rod Williams, Professor of Wildlife Science, Department of Forestry & Natural Resources; Angie Frost, Extension Specialist-Healthy Living, College of Agriculture; Stephanie Woodcox, Extension Specialist-Health & Wellness, College of Health and Human Sciences; Deb Arseneau, Extension Educator, Agriculture Natural Resources (ANR), Newton County; Jay Christiansen, Extension Educator, ANR, Vigo County; Jan Dougan, Extension Educator, ANR, Dubois County; Molly Hoag, Extension Educator, ANR, Wells County; Molly Hunt, Extension Educator, ANR, Delaware County; Gracie Marlatt, Extension Educator, ANR, Rush County; Kelsie Muller, Extension Educator, ANR, Benton County; Lindsey Pedigo, Extension Educator, ANR, Howard County; Katie Zuber, Extension Educator, ANR, Lawrence County.

View the College of Agriculture Strategic Plan and the Purdue Extension Annual Report for more information on Purdue Extension.

For extension resources on Forestry and Natural Resources view Purdue Extension-FNR​ website.

Diana Evans, Extension and Web Communications Specialist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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The Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo is one of three Indiana zoos working with Purdue University to study and raise hellbenders in captivity until they are ready to be released into the wild in an effort to grow their native population. Last spring, Rod Williams and his team at the Aquaculture Research Lab transferred young hellbenders to the zoo, where they will be reared for the next couple years. The zoo also puts on an outreach program called Kids4Nature where hellbenders were featured as one of the animals children could vote for with their quarters, collecting money for the hellbenders and other conservation projects.

In this new video, former Education and Communications Director Cheryl Piropato explains more about the zoo’s outreach process with the hellbenders, and Hellbender Keeper Dave Messmann offers a behind-the-scenes look at the hellbenders themselves. Check out “Helping the Hellbenders at the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo”  to see for yourself and learn more about the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo’s involvement in the Help the Hellbender initiative.

The other two Indiana zoos are also doing great things to help the hellbenders. Columbian Park Zoo in Lafayette held a “Help the Hellbender Day” last summer with educational games and activities for the whole family to learn more about this at-risk species. Mesker Park Zoo in Evansville is preparing a public hellbender exhibit that will be available later this spring. To stay updated in the world of hellbender outreach, check out HelpTheHellbender.org.

Resources:
Helping the Hellbenders at the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo – Purdue Extension
HelpTheHellbender.org – Purdue Extension
Help the Hellbender Day at Columbian Park Zoo a Great Success – Got Nature?
Purdue partners with Indiana zoos for hellbender conservation – Purdue Agriculture News

Rod Williams, Associate Head for Extension and Associate Professor of Wildlife Science
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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Come to the 13th consecutive Hellbender Hustle 5K Run/Walk at the O’Bannon Woods State Park in Corydon, Indiana to learn more about hellbenders and how they are faring in the nearby Blue River. The race is part road, part trail, and fun for the whole family. After crossing the finish line, enjoy the outstanding refreshments that are a hallmark of this event. Awards will be given to top finishers and there will be a drawing for a handcrafted door prize, made exclusively for the Hellbender Hustle. And if running/walking a 5K isn’t your thing, come and take a look at the Nature Center exhibits or just kick back and relax and listen to the sounds of a local traditional band.

Resources:
Help the Hellbender – Purdue Extension

Nick Burgmeier, Research Biologist and Extension Wildlife Specialist
Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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It’s likely you have had some type of run-in with wildlife—no matter where you live. Regardless of the situation, you have essentially three choices when you deal with a wildlife problem. You can ignore the problem and hope it goes away (not the best choice!), fix the problem yourself, or hire someone to fix the problem for you.

Even if you want to fix things yourself, you may find that the situation warrants professional assistance. Or, you may simply want to hire someone because you don’t have time to deal with the problem, you aren’t sure what is causing the problem, or you are unable or unwilling to do the job yourself. The question then becomes, “Who can help?”

Wildlife Extension Specialist Brian MacGowan‘s new publication “Selecting a Nuisance Wildlife Control Professional” provides information about nuisance wildlife control professionals, things to consider when deciding whether or not you need to hire a professional, and tips on how to find a professional who is right for you.

Resources:
Selecting a Nuisance Wildlife Control Professional – The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center
Preventing Wildlife Damage – Do You Need a Permit? – The Education Store
The Basics of Managing Wildlife on Agricultural Lands – The Education Store
Nuisance Wildlife – Indiana Department of Natural Resources
Dealing with nuisance geese this spring – Got Nature?

Brian MacGowan, Wildlife Extension Specialist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

 

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How do a fully sequenced genome, microbiomics, and intensive population genetics help save a critically endangered mammal?

Provided by Professor Janet Foley of UC Davis Veterinary Medicine.

There are only a few hundred Amargosa voles left in the world with an 85% chance of going extinct over the next 10 years if intensive management is not implemented. Voles are rodents related to mice and rats. They are notable for the variety of their breeding systems (some species are monogamous, others promiscuous), their extraordinarily high rate of evolution, their diversity (>60 species), and the fact that many species are indistinguishable to the naked eye. The hoc Amargosa vole team, consisting of federal, state and private organizations, aims to determine the status of and major threats to the Amargosa vole, fundamental aspects of its biology, and how recovery actions can target genetics, disease, habitat factors, demographic problems, and other threats to improve the chances that this species will persist. Here we describe how cutting edge DNA-based techniques can teach us what makes this little mammal so special, what makes it vulnerable, and what we can do to protect it.

Amargosa voles occupy a tiny range in the Mojave Desert where the Amargosa River interrupts its subterranean flows with occasional above-ground stretches and little marshes grow around springs and wells where the ancient carbonate aquifer bubbles to the surface. These marshes are remnants of formerly extensive wetlands that occurred during the Pleistocene 10,000 years ago: as the water receded, the harsh Mojave Desert expanded and now these increasingly isolated marsh oases support endemic species living there and only there, like the Shoshone pupfish and the Amargosa vole. These endemic species have probably evolved to take special advantage of the unique conditions they find in their desert refuges.

In many ecosystems, rodents serve a huge role in harvesting plants for food and serving as a primary diet source for a plethora of predators. In the Mojave, where Amargosa voles live, the only known food source for this subspecies of California vole is three-square bulrush, but remarkably, the nutritional value of this plant is almost negligible. UC Davis specialist in rodent nutrition, Jon Ramsey, remarks that no animal he is aware of can survive with such a meager diet and indeed, nutritional analysis of bulrush tissues reveals that it offers even less nutrition as a sole source diet than bamboo (the famously minimalist diet of the giant panda). In order to survive, the Amargosa vole must utilize a community of microbes it hosts in its gut to access every single nutrient bulrush has to offer, and this is where the story gets a bit more complicated. Although Amargosa voles are reared in a captive breeding facility for safekeeping at UC Davis, changes in their diet could significantly change their gut microbial community, and thus researchers are using next generation sequencing to describe the entire community of gut bacteria, including pathogens, bacteria that can ferment and help make bulrush a useable food, and other miscellaneous bacteria. This approach will help ensure voles can make a transition from colony food to that which they evolved to use in the wild marshes of the Mojave. Study of the vole-bulrush-microbial community can also shed light on how animals in harsh environments with very marginal nutrition can survive, and even how to help protect species during climate change which can alter water availability in the marsh, bulrush health, and vole survival.

Additionally, Conroy, Rosenblum, and Krohn at UC Berkeley are using modern molecular approaches to understand vole population structure, which is necessary to guide captive breeding, protect rapidly diminishing natural genetic diversity, and guide habitat work that could help voles with rare genotypes effectively reproduce and keep those special genes in the larger gene pool. The team at Berkeley is turning to a genome-wide approach called RadSeq to ferret out subtle genetic differences among individual voles. This approach can help the team ensure that new founders are brought to the colony at the right time, from the right place and that translocation of voles among marshes helps support what little genetic variation is left. Genomics tools can even shed light on where the Amargosa vole originated – are its closest relatives voles in southern California and Baja California or are they the voles that flourish in coast range meadows up into northern California?

A common shortcoming many teams working with population genetics have to face is that conventional genetic markers don’t necessarily tell us what the genes of the vole do. In order to find genes for disease resistance, their characteristic large body and distinct skull shape, their atypically docile behavior, their apparent high requirement for free water—or any heritable trait defining Amargosa voles and helping them survive—the group worked to produce a complete genetic map of the entire genome of an Amargosa vole individual at Purdue University. This genetic map, revealing thousands of genes of the vole as well as intergenic, possibly regulatory DNA, will serve as a starting place for genetic studies to better understand and support the recovery of this endangered species.

As endangered species recovery programs holistically integrate modern genetic techniques, captive breeding, habitat management, epidemiology, and ecology, there will be increasing need for tools such as these we are providing for Amargosa vole conservation. We hope these tools can help improve the odds of recovery for this one species and that sharing our findings will contribute to the recovery of other species as well.

To read more, check out the full article at UC Davis Veterinary Medicine’s website.

Janet Foley, Professor and Researcher of Medicine and Epidemiology
University of California, Davis

Purdue University Contact:
Dr. Andrew DeWoody, Professor of Genetics
Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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An international team of scientists led by Purdue University has sequenced the genome of the tick that transmits Lyme disease, the most common vector-borne illness in North America.

The decade-long project, involving 93 authors from 46 institutions, decodes the biology of an arachnid with sophisticated spit, barbed mouthparts and millions of years of successful parasitism. The genome of Ixodes scapularis, known as the deer tick or blacklegged tick, also sheds light on how ticks acquire and transmit pathogens and offers tick-specific targets for control.

“The genome provides a foundation for a whole new era in tick research,” said Catherine Hill, lead author of the paper, Purdue professor of medical entomology and Showalter Faculty Scholar. “Now that we’ve cracked the tick’s code, we can begin to design strategies to control ticks, to understand how they transmit disease and to interfere with that process.”

The full article is available at Purdue Agriculture News.

Resources: 
Tick genome reveals inner workings of a versatile blood-guzzler – Purdue Agriculture News
Watch Out For Forest Hitchhikers – Ticks! – Got Nature?
Lyme Disease – The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center
The Biology and Medical Importance of Ticks in Indiana – The Education Store
Ticks – Biology and Their Control – The Education Store
Ticks – Purdue Medical Entomology

Purdue Agriculture News

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As the weather begins to warm up later this year, the sight of Canada geese returning is pleasant to some as a reminder of spring approaching. It can also be downright irritating to others who experience property damage and other conflicts as the geese concentrate on their property. There are several strategies for dealing with geese listed in further detail at the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) website, ranging from mild to severe.

The first thing that is important to know regarding geese is that it is simply not a good idea to feed them. While this act is positive in intention, it is a bad thing for both people and geese. Feeding geese gives them an artificially abundant source of food, which can cause them to delay or skip their migration and instead congregate in areas where they will conflict with people. Furthermore, being fed can cause geese to lose their fear of people, giving them the confidence to stroll across roadways and runways. Finally, large amounts of geese competing over bread and other food of limited nutritional value greatly increases their chances of developing and spreading avian diseases. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service‘s free publication “Caution: Feeding Waterfowl May Be Harmful!” further explains the need to stop feeding geese.

INDNR offers a significant amount of other advice on other methods of handling goose problems. Habitat modification such as adding vegetative barriers or suspended grid systems can be a good long term solution by making your land less attractive to geese. If geese have already begun to settle in, nonlethal harassment techniques like air horns and sprayers can be used twice a day to scare geese away from your property. Nests can be legally removed as long as there are no eggs present. If the situation calls for more severe actions, a permit can be acquired to destroy nests with eggs, or another permit can be issued by a District Wildlife Biologist to capture and relocate the animals. In cases of excessive property damage, a District Wildlife Biologist can also issue an agricultural depredation permit to shoot geese outside of the normal hunting season.

There are many methods of handling nuisance Canada geese this spring, and not one solution for every problem. If there is a goose problem in your area, please view INDNR’s Nuisance Canada Goose Management page to learn more about what you can do and how to acquire permits if needed.

Resources:
Nuisance Canada Goose Management – Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)
Caution: Feeding Waterfowl May Be Harmful! – U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Selecting a Nuisance Wildlife Control Professional, Got Nature? blog, Purdue Extension-Forestry & Natural Resources

Aaron Doenges, videographer & assistant web designer
Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources

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​The National 4-H Wildlife Habitat Education Program (WHEP) is an environmental education program for youth ages 8-19 that teaches all about wildlife habitat and damage management through hands-on activities. This program is the largest of its kind in the nation and has been awarded the Conservation Education Award by The Wildlife Society, the only professional organization that certifies wildlife biologists around the world.

Each year, WHEP has a national contest for its senior level (ages 14-19) youth consisting of three individual events and one team event. The first event, the wildlife challenge, consists of 30 general knowledge questions and 20 animal identifications based on skins and/or skulls. With only 30 minutes allowed for this event, it can be a challenging task.

Competitors can look to the WHEP manual for help studying for the general knowledge questions. The new publication “Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Program: Wildlife Identification Guide” assists further by providing 142 flashcards covering all of the species found on the identification questions, complete with pictures of the animal’s skins and a list of characteristics. Practicing with these flashcards is an extremely effective way to learn the material and perform better in the event.

This year’s contest will be held this summer on July 24th. Study with the “Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Program: Wildlife Identification Guide” publication to get ready!

For more information on WHEP, please check out the Purdue Extension video “WHEP – Wildlife Habitat Education Program” to take a deeper look through the testimonials of students and staff members involved with the program.

Resources:
Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Program Video, What is WHEP?, Purdue Extension-Forestry & Natural Resources (FNR) YouTube Channel playlist
​Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Program: Preparing for the Wildlife Challenge – The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Developing a Wildlife Habitat Management Plan – Purdue Extension
Wildlife Habitat Education Program – Teaching and Learning Wildlife Management Practices – The Education Store

Jarred Brooke, Wildlife Extension Specialist
Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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