State-space modeling to support management of brucellosis in the Yellowstone bison population
Hobbs NT, Geremia C, Treanor J, Wallen R, White PJ, Hooten MB, Rhyan JC. 2015. State-space modeling to support management of brucellosis in the Yellowstone bison population. Ecological Monographs. 85(4)
The Yellowstone bison (Bison bison) population exemplifies the difficulty of conserving large mammals that migrate across the boundaries of conservation areas. Bison in Yellowstone are infected with brucellosis (Brucella abortus) and their seasonal movements can expose livestock to infection. We developed a modeling approach to inform adaptive management of the Yellowstone bison population, an approach that can be broadly useful for supporting environmental management and policy in other systems. Adaptive management as it was originally formulated requires a model that assimilates past data to support forecasts of the future behavior of the system being managed. We constructed a Bayesian state-space model to reveal the influence of brucellosis on the dynamics of the Yellowstone bison population and to inform decisions on bison management.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Hobbs, N.; Geremia, Chris; Treanor, John; Wallen, Rick; White, P.; Hooten, Mevin; Rhyan, Jack
- Units
- YELL
- Keywords
- bayesian, management, modeling approaches, park boundaries, policy, seasonal movements
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Infestations and Disease | Animal Diseases , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Mammals