Linda Thurston

Box 490, Gardiner, Montana 59030

Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences

Texas A & M University

College Station, Texas 77843-2258

Thesis

Biography

Den Study Report

Resume

Literature

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Linda Thurston examines a wolf-killed elk carcass for the winter study research program in Yellowstone National Park.   Currently Linda is a graduate student studying the denning behavior of Yellowstone wolf packs.

 

 

Masters of Science Thesis:

Denning Behavior of Wolves on Yellowstone's Northern Range: Male and Female Strategies

 

 

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Biography:

Linda Thurston received a B.S. degree in 1995 from the University of California at San Diego in Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution. Her background experience includes working on research projects studying amazon parrots and black iguanas in Costa Rica, and coyotes in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Currently she is pursuing a M.S. degree from Texas A&M University in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, with an emphasis in animal behavior.  She is studying behavior under ethologist Dr. Jane Packard.   Spending long hours watching wolves at observation sites with high-powered scopes, Linda has collected data over three denning seasons. As well as studying wolf denning behavior, her 4-year involvement with the Yellowstone Wolf Project includes participating in predator-prey research and management operations.  In the future, she would like to pursue her studies of animal behavior.

 

 

Resume

Linda Thurston

EDUCATION:

B. S. in Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution, Department of Biology, U.C. San Diego. Graduated June 1995.

M. S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University. Expected date of graduation: January 2001

EXPERIENCE:

Gray Wolf Recovery Project, Yellowstone National Park, Intern and Graduate Student. Assisted with management operations including capture, handling and release of gray wolves. Organized a 3-year wolf den monitoring study, coordinated up to 12 field personnel, made behavioral observations, and tracked wolves using radio-telemetry. Implemented and maintained a remote automated telemetry system for den monitoring. Assisted with other studies including predator/prey relationships and wolf-wildlife interactions that included aerial telemetry. Guided media and scientists to observe wolves. 4/96 to present

Yellowstone Ecosystem Studies, Yellowstone National Park, Field Technician. Trapped  and processed coyotes in the field including radio-collaring, collecting blood, ear tagging, assisting with tooth extraction, and monitoring vitals. Administered tranquilizers, sedatives, and antibiotics. 9/99 to 10/99

Great Plains Wildlife Institute, Jackson, Wyoming, Biological Field Technician. Initiated a coyote territory mapping study using vocalization playbacks. Trained community members in data collection. Surveyed a porcupine population during winter. 1/96 to 3/96

U. C. Davis Animal Behavior Program, U. C. San Diego Biology Department, Research Assistant in Costa Rica. Assisted Ph.D. candidate studying yellow nape parrots: Captured and radio-collared parrots, took measurements, weights, and feather samples. Radio-tracked parrots and recorded behavioral data. Assisted post-doctoral student studying relationship between parasites and testosterone levels in black iguanas, including capturing, collecting blood, and marking iguanas. Determined territories and dominance hierarchies through behavioral observations. 9/94 to 12/94

Scripps Institute of Oceanography, U. C. San Diego, Lab Assistant.  Maintained zooplankton collection specimens and computer database. Collected zooplankton on a 10-day research cruise in the Pacific Ocean. 11/92 to 3/93

TRAINING:

  • Veterinarian Wildlife Handling Course, Instructor: Mark Johnson, DVM

  • Wildlife Capture & Handling Course: Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, 10/00

  • Mammal Tracking Course, Instructor: Dr. James Halfpenny

  • Helicopter/Fixed Wing Safety, 3/98

  • First Responder first aid (exp. 11/02), Wilderness First Aid (exp. 12/03), & CPR (exp. 11/02)

  • Snowmobile Safety Training, 5/98

  • Advanced Scuba License, no exp.

  • Avalanche Safety Training, 1/98

  • Arc View training, 11/99

  • Swift Water Rescue, no. exp.

  • Software: Excel, Access, Statview, Cricket , Power Point, Word, and Word Perfect.

WRITING:

Summary reports to accompany an educational video production, Yellowstone Wolves: Predation (1/98), A History of the Rose Creek Wolf Pack, and A History of the Crystal Creek Wolf Pack.

The Buffalo Chip (8/98): Studies of Wolf Denning Behavior in Yellowstone National Park

 

 

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Selected literature on cooperative behavior in carnivores

General behavior:

Fox, M. W. 1973. Social-ecological implications of individual differences in wolf litters: a developmental and evolutionary perspective. Behav. 41:298-313.

Goodmann, P. A. and Klinghammer, E. 1990. Wolf Ethogram. North American Wildlife Park, Battle Ground, IN.

Mech, L. D. 1994. Buffer zones of territories of gray wolves as regions of intraspecific strife. J. Mammal. 75:199-202.

Mech, L. D. 1995. Summer movements and behavior of an Arctic wolf, Canis lupus, pack without pups. Can. Field-Natur. 110:473-475.

Zimen, E. 1982. A Wolf Pack Sociogram. In: Wolves of the World: Perspectives of Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation. Eds: F. H. Harrington and P. C. Paquet. Noyes Publications, Park Ridge, N.J.

Zimen, E. 1987. Ontogeny of approach and flight behavior towards humans in wolves, poodles and wolf-poodle hybrids. 275-292 in Frank, H., ed. Man and wolf. Dr. W. Junk Pub., Dordrecht.

Cooperative Behavior:

Heinsohn, R. & Packer, C. 1995. Complex cooperative strategies in group-territorial African lions. Science, 269, 1260-1262.

Heinsohn, R., Packer, C. & Pusey, A. 1996. Development of cooperative territoriality in juvenile lions. Proc. Royal Soc. London-B, 263, 475-479.

Krebs & Davies, ch. 11, 12

Lewis, S. E. and Pusey, A. E. 1997. Factors influencing the occurrence of communal care in plural breeding mammals. 335-363 in Solomon, N. G. and J. A. French, ed. Cooperative breeding in mammals. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge.

Macdonald, D. W. and Moehlman, P. D. 1982. Cooperation, altruism, and rstraint in the reproduction of carnivores. In Perspectives in Ethology, Vol. 5, ed. P.P.G. Bateson and P.H. Klopfer, 433-467.

Moehlman, P. 1986. Ecology of cooperation in canids. 64-86 in Rubenstein, C. I. and R. W. Wrangham, ed. Ecological aspects of social evolution. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, N.J.

Snowdon, C. T. 1996. Infant care in cooperatively breeding species. Adv. Study Behav. 25:643-689.

Courtship & Reproduction:

Asa, C. S. In press. Hormonal and experiential factors in the expression of social and parental behavior in canids. In French and Solomon, ed. Cooperative breeding in mammals. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge.

Bernal, J.F. and Packard, J.M. 1997. Differences in winter activity, courtship, and social behavior of two captive family groups of Mexican wolves (Canis lupus baileyi). Zoo Biology. 16:435-443.

Boyd, D. K. and Jimenez, M. D. 1994. Successful rearing of young by wild wolves without mates. J. Mamm. 75:14-17.

Boyd, D. K., Ream, R. R., Pletscher, D. H. and Fairchild, M. W. 1993. Variation in denning and parturition dates of a wild gray wolf, Canis lupus, in the Rocky Mountains. Can. Field-Nat. 107:359-360.

Boyd, D. K., Ream, R. R., Pletscher, D. H. and Fairchaild, M. W. 1994 In press. Delayed reproduction of a wild wolf in the Rocky Mountains. Can. Field-Nat.

Derix, R., van Hooff, J., Devries, H. and Wensing, J. 1993. Male and female mating competition in wolves - female suppression vs. male intervention. Behav. 127:141-174.

Fentress, J. C. 1982. Conflict and context in sexual behaviour. 579-613 in Hutchinson, J., ed. Biological determinants of sexual behaviour. J. Wiley & Sons, New York.

Knick, S. T. and Mech, L. D. 1980. Sleeping distance in wild wolf packs. Behav. and Neural Biol. 28:507-511.

Krebs & Davies, ch. 8

McLeod, P. J., et al. 1996. The relation between urinary cortisol level and social behavior in captive timber wolves. Can. J. Zool. 74:209-216.

Mech, L. D. and Seal, U. S. 1987. Premature reproductive activity in wild wolves. J. Mamm. 68:871-873..

Medjo, D. C. and Mech, L. D. 1976. Reproductive activity in nine and ten month old wolves. J. Mamm. 57:406-408.

Packard, J. M. In press. Developmental, social and reproductive behavior. In: The Ecology, Behavior and Conservation of the Wolf. (Ed. by J. M. Lakoski, J. R. Perez-Polo, and D. K. Rassin) New York: Alan R. Liss, Inc. pp. 525-543.

Packard, J. M., Mech, L. D., & Seal, U. S. 1983. Social influences on reproduction in wolves. In: Wolves in Canada and Alaska: their status, biology and management. (Ed. by L. Carbyn), pp.78-85. Ottawa: Canadian Wildlife Service Report Series No. 45. Ottawa.

Packard, J. M, Seal, U.S., Mech. L. D. & Poltka, E. D. 1985. Causes of reproductive failure in two family groups of wolves (Canis lupus). Zeit. Tierpsyc. 68, 24-40.

Peterson, R. O. 1979. Social rejection following mating of a subordinate wolf. J. Mamm. 60:219-221.

Peterson, R. O. 1979. Social rejection following mating of a subordinate wolf. J. Mamm. 60:219-221.

Seal, U. S., Plotka, E. D., Mech, D. and Packard, J. M. 1987. Seasonal metabolic and reproductive cycles in wolves. 109-125 in Frank, H., ed. Man and wolf. Dr. W. Junk Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.

Smith, D., et al. 1997. Is incest common in gray wolf packs? Behavioral Ecology 8:000-000.

Waser, P.M., Austad, St.N., and Keane, B. 1986. When should animals tolerate inbreeding? American Naturalist. 128(4):529-537.

Breeding Supression:

Packard, J. M. 1980. Deferred reproduction in wolves (Canis lupus). Ph. D. dissertation, University of Minnesota, Minnesota.

Packard, J. M. 1989. Olfaction, ovulation, and sexual competition in monogamous mammals. 525-543 in Lakoski, J. M., et al., ed. Neural control of reproductive function. Alan R. Liss, Inc., New York.

Denning Behavior:

Ballard, W.B., Ayres, L.A., Gardner, C.L., and J.W. Foster. 1991. Den Site Activity Patterns of Gray Wolves, Canis lupus, in Southcentral Alaska. Can. Field-Natur. 105(4): 497-504.

Carbyn, L. 1975. Wolf predation and behavioral interactions with elk and other ungulates in an area of high prey diversity. Ph. D. dissertation, University of Toronto. pp. 45-56.

Fentress, J. C. 1967. Observations on the behavioral development of a hand-reared male timber wolf. Amer. Zool. 7:339-351.

Fentress, J. C. and Ryan, J. 1982. A long-term study of distributed pup feeding in captive wolves. 238-261 in Harrington, F. H. and P. C. Paquet, ed. Wolves of the world: perspectives of behavior, ecology and conservation. Noyes Pub., Park Ridge, NJ.

Harrington, F. H. and Mech, L. D. 1978. Howling at two Minnesota wolf pack summer homesites. Can. J. Zool. 56:2024-2028.

Harrington, F. H. and Mech, L. D. 1982a. Fall and winter homesite use by wolves in northeastern Minnesota. Can. Field-Nat. 96:79-84.

Harrington, F. H. and Mech, L. D. 1982b. Patterns of homesite attendance in two Minnesota wolf packs. 81-105 in Harrington, F. H. and P. C. Paquet, ed. Wolves of the World: Perspectives of Behavior, Ecology and Conservation. Noyes Publ., Park Ridge, N.J.

Harrington, F. H., Mech, L. D. and Fritts, S. H. 1983. Pack size and wolf pup survival: their relationship under varying ecological conditions. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 13:19-26.

Mech, L. D., Phillips, M. K., Smith, D. W. and Kreeger, T. J. 1996. Denning behavior of non-gravid wolves, Canis lupus. Can. Field. Natur. 110:343-345.

Packard, J. M., Mech, L. D. and Ream, R. R. 1992. Weaning in an artic wolf pack: behavioral mechanisms. Can. J. Zool. 70-1269-1275.

Paquet, P. C., Bragdon, S. and McCusker, S. 1982. Cooperative rearing of simultaneous litters in captive wolves. 223-237 in Harrington, F. H. and P. C. Paquet, ed. Wolves of the world. Noyes Pub., Park Ridge, N. J.

Ryon, C. J. 1977. Den digging and related behavior in a captive timber wolf pack. J. Mammal. 58:87-89.

Endangered Species Act

Food Caching:

Phillips, D. P., Danilchuck, W., Ryon, J. and Fentress, J. C. 1990. Food-caching in timber wolves and the question of rules of action syntax. Behav. Brain Res. 38:1-6.

Helping Behavior:

Emlen, St. T. 1982. The evolution of helping. I. An ecological constraints model. Amer. Nat., 119, 29-39.

Hatier-Riess, K.G. and Crabtree, R.L. Unpublished report. The effects of helping behaviours on Coyote (Canis latrans) packs in Yellowstone National Park, WY. 

Homesite Activity:

Harrington, F. H. and Mech. L. D. 1982. Fall and winter homesite use by wolves in northeastern Minnesota. Can. Field-Nat. 96-79-84.

Packard, J. M. In press. Developmental, social and reproductive behavior. In: The Ecology, Behavior and Conservation of the Wolf. (Ed. by J. M. Lakoski, J. R. Perez-Polo, and D. K. Rassin) New York: Alan R. Liss, Inc. pp. 525-543.

General:

Geffen, E., Gompper, M.E., Gittleman, J.L., Luh, H.K., Macdonald, D.W. and Wayne, R.K. 1996. Size, life-history traits, and social organization in the canidae: a reevaluation. The American Naturalist. 147(1):140-160.

Mech, L. D. 1993a. Resistance of young wolf pups to inclement weather. J. Mamm. 74:485-486.

Packard, J. M. In press. Developmental, social and reproductive behavior. In: The Ecology, Behavior and Conservation of the Wolf. (Ed. by J. M. Lakoski, J. R. Perez-Polo, and D. K. Rassin) New York: Alan R. Liss, Inc. pp. 525-543.

Packard, J. M. In press. Social context of learning in wolf families: developmental perspectives. In: Mammalian social learning: comparative and ecological perspectives. (Ed. by H. O. Box & K. R. Gibson). Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.

Mating Systems:

Krebs and Davies, ch. 9

Monogamy:

Harrington, F. H., Paquet, P. C., Ryon, J. and Fentress, J. C. 1982. Monogamy in wolves: A review of the evidence. 209-222 in Harrington, F. H. and P. C. Paquet, ed. Wolves of the world: perspectives of behavior, ecology and conservation. Noyes Pub., Park Ridge, N.J.

Kleiman, D. G. 1977. Monogamy in mammals. Quart. Rev. Biol. 52:39-69.

Polygamy:

Mech, L. D. and Nelson, M. E. 1989. Polygyny in a wild wolf pack. J. Mamm. 70:675-676.

Pair Bonds:

Rothman, R. and Mech, L. 1979. Scent-marking in lone wolves and newly formed pairs. Anim. Behav. 27:750-760.

Parental Care:

Asa, C.S. In press. Hormonal and experiential factors in the expression of social and parental behavior in canids. In French and Solomon, ed. Cooperative breeding in mammals. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge.

Fentress, J. C. and Ryon, J. 1982. A long-term study of distributed pup feeding in captive wolves. 238-261 in Harrington, F. H. and P. C. Paquet, ed. Wolves of the world: perspectives of behavior, ecology and conservation. Noyes Pub., Park Ridge, N. J.

Krebs & Davies, ch. 9

Pup Behavior:

MacDonald, K. 1987. Development and stability of personality characteristics in prepubertal wolves: Implications for pack organization and behavior. 293-312 in Frank, H., ed. Man and wolf. Dr. W. Junk Publishers, Dordrecht.

Relationships:

 Appleby, M. 1993. How animals perceive a hierarchy: reactions to Freeman et al. Anim. Behav. 46:1232-1233.

Barrette, C. 1993. The 'inheritance of dominance', or of an aptitude to dominate? Anim. Behav. 46:591-593.

Freeman, L. C., Freeman, S. C. and Romney, A. K. 1992. The implications of social structure for dominance hierarchies in red deer, Cervus elaphus L. Anim. Behav. 44:239-245.

Fentress, J. C. 1992. The covalent animal: on bonds and their boundaries in behavioral research. 44-71 in David, H. and D. Balfour, ed. The inevitable bond: examining scientist-animal interactions. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Moehlman, P. 1989. Intraspecific variation in canid social systems. 143-163 in Gittleman, J. L., ed. Carnivore behavior, ecology and evolution. Cornell Univ. Press, Ithaca.

Van Hooff, J. A. R. A. M. and Wensing, J. A. B. 1987. Dominance and its behavioral measures in a captive pack. 219-252 in Frank, H., ed. Man and wolf. Dr. W. Junk Publishers, Dordrecht.

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