Browsing by Subject "human dimensions"
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Item Developing an ecosystem health approach for reducing risk of fish pathogen introduction in a coupled social-ecological system(2022-05) McEachran , MargaretToday’s interconnected society provides ample opportunity for the inadvertent spread of dangerous diseases. Human activities are also capable of spreading wildlife diseases that can have devastating impacts on populations and threaten biodiversity. In inland fisheries, the use and release of live baitfish by recreational anglers has been identified as a particularly important pathway for the spread of pathogens. Despite regulations prohibiting it, baitfish release is widespread and common among anglers, providing substantial opportunity for pathogen spread via this pathway. To address key knowledge gaps and understand the social and ecological dimensions of risk of pathogen spread, I developed an ecosystem health approach to identify, quantify, and mitigate the risk of fish pathogen introduction via the release of live baitfish in Minnesota, USA. I first created a hazard prioritization method to identify the pathogens most likely to harm important Minnesota fishes via release of live baitfish. To quantify the risk of one of these pathogens being released into Minnesota waters, I implemented a survey of adult anglers and used this data to parameterize a stochastic risk assessment model. I modelled pathogen introduction risk across a variety of scenarios representing baseline, outbreak, and source-control scenarios. I found that the average number of angling trips resulting in pathogen release was high across all modeled scenarios, ranging from fewer than 10,000 in a small, localized outbreak, to 1.2 million in a statewide outbreak in multiple live baitfish species. Additionally, I found reducing the rate of illegal release could offer meaningful risk reduction in some scenarios with high pathogen prevalence and/or broad pathogen distribution, but this effect was less pronounced in scenarios where the outbreak was geospatially or otherwise limited. Finally, I used the Theory of Planned Behavior to identify the social and psychological determinants of baitfish release behavior and found that knowledge of the existing regulatory framework and subjective norms around live baitfish disposal play an important role in deterring illegal release. In these four chapters, I demonstrate the implementation of an integrated social-ecological approach to a complex ecosystem health issue and provide a roadmap for managing the risk of fish pathogen introduction via live baitfish release in Minnesota.Item Landowner and hunter surveys for white-tailed deer management in Minnesota: factors impacting hunter access to private lands and cell-by-cell correction to reduce mixed-mode survey sampling effects.(2016-07) Walberg, EricSurveys of hunters and landowners are an important source of information for wildlife managers in Minnesota. Two separate studies were conducted to examine the topics addressed by this thesis: 1) the identification of variables that impact landowner’s decisions to allow public hunting access in southeast Minnesota, and 2) the capability of cell-by-cell correction to reduce mixed-mode sampling effects. The first study was a survey of southeast Minnesota landowners conducted in 2013 to examine variables that influence landowners’ decision to allow hunting access to the public. Landowners who own large properties present the greatest potential for improving future public access due to the number of hunters that can be accommodated without crowding and because they are more likely to allow hunting access. The second study was a survey of 2015 Minnesota deer hunters using a sequential mixed-mode design with Internet and mail surveys. Mixed-mode designs are increasingly used in efforts to produce more representative results of the population than single survey mode designs, but such designs can introduce the potential for measurement error from mode effects. A cell-by-cell correction can be applied to survey results to adjust for nonresponse error. Applying a cell-by-cell correction caused Internet survey mode results to be significantly different from the combined mixed-mode results and also inflated variance values. There were significant demographic differences between modes for age and residence, and between mailing waves for age. Our results also showed that the fourth mailing wave using a mail survey produced a low response rate and contributed little to the results.Item Private landownership and Walk-In Access program enrollment: Motivating factors of landowner attitudes and participatory decision-making(2019-06) Salcido ,Evan LouisHunter recruitment and retention could be improved by securing public hunting access to private properties, especially for members of the public without means to purchase hunting lands of their own. However, private landowner participation in such “walk-in access” (WIA) rely on the willingness of landowners to relinquish partial control over lands that are often invested with emotional or utilitarian significance. To persuade landowners to open their lands and resources to the public, it is first necessary to gain a deeper understanding of what internal factors will most effectively impact their intent to do so. We conducted a self-administered mail-back questionnaire of private landowners in Minnesota with properties eligible for or enrolled in the state’s WIA program, and data were analyzed through linear modeling using multi-item variables constructed from individual survey items. We based our variables upon factors demonstrated through previous research to be integral to landowners' conservation decision-making, and used hierarchical regression to measure the influence of place attachment and trust variables on landowner attitudes. Landowners' land ethic and willingness to trust exerted significant positive influence on their attitudes toward WIA, while place dependence negatively impacted landowner attitudes. Future studies may consider further measurement and analysis of subjects’ land ethic and willingness to trust in order to corroborate whether these factors can serve as powerful and reliable predictors of attitudes.Item A qualitative study of Minnesota forestry based on logger experiences and the development of county land departments(2022-01) Spence, MarissaI use mixed social science methods to explore the Minnesota forest economy through two distinct but related parts. In part one I explore Minnesota logger challenges and adaptation strategies and find that Minnesota loggers face difficulties which are structural, including rising equipment costs, reduced business profitability, and timber market uncertainty. However, the actors within the forestry supply chain can improve market functioning through discretionary choices that promote individual and collective stability of the forest economy. In part two I explore the history and development of Minnesota county land departments to understand what policy choices over time have shaped the retention versus disposal of county land and how the decentralization of natural resource management has been implemented in Minnesota county forests. I found that local forestry will not work in all places and can take decades to flourish. Such programs require among other things long-term support and capacity building and markets to make the retention of the resource financially viable and compelling to local leaders. However, once developed, such programs can provide enduring benefits to under-resourced communities and may be an asset to state and regional economies. Collectively, this research will interest natural resource practitioners and policymakers who care about logger livelihoods and the fate of timber-dependent workers, as well as those seeking to improve the effectiveness of local forestry programs.Item Survey of anglers who had a fishing license in the 2018-2019 fishing season(2022-03-28) McEachran, Margaret C.; Hofelich Mohr, Alicia; Lindsay, Thomas; Phelps, Nicholas; Fulton, David; phelp083@umn.edu; Phelps, Nicholas; University of Minnesota Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center; University of Minnesota Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology; University of Minnesota Liberal Arts Technology and Innovation ServicesThis is a dataset containing responses to a 2019 mailed paper survey of recreational anglers in Minnesota, USA. The release of live baitfish by anglers has been identified as a high-risk pathway for aquatic invasive species due to the potential for invasive fish, invertebrates, or pathogens to be release simultaneously with the baitfish. Consequently, the release of live baitfish is illegal in many jurisdictions, but little is known about compliance rates or motivations for illegal release. To assess the incidence of live baitfish release, we administered a mailed survey to a random sample of anglers who held a 2018-2019 annual fishing license and received 681 responses. To mitigate potential recall bias, we also administered 345 intercept surveys at waterbody access sites around the state asking anglers about the current day’s behaviors. Four hundred and eighty-one (72%) of the mailed survey respondents reported that they used live baitfish and of those, 99 (20%) reported that they release their leftover live baitfish into the water at least some of the time. Of the anglers surveyed at waterbody access sites, 59 (19%) were using live baitfish on the day they were surveyed and of those, 11 (18%) released their leftover baitfish into the water. The reasons provided for release included convenience and a misperception that released baitfish benefit the recipient ecosystem. Given the many millions of fishing trips that occur every year, the current rate of illegal baitfish release results in many chances for invasive species introduction. However, there is also significant opportunity for management interventions aimed at changing perceptions and providing convenient disposal alternatives to illegal release to reduce the risk presented by this pathway. This data is being released in accordance with the terms of our funding and to facilitate review of the paper prior to publication.