Linda Thurston Box 490, Gardiner, Montana 59030 Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Texas A & M University College Station, Texas 77843-2258 |
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. |
Denning Behavior of Wolves on Yellowstone's Northern Range: Male and Female Strategies
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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.
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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:
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. 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. 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: 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., 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Monogamy: Polygamy: Parental Care: 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. |