Attempts to assess behavioral responses of prey to predation risk are often confounded by depredation of prey. Moreover, the scale at which the response of prey is assessed has important implications for discovering how predation risk alters prey behavior. Herein, we assessed space use of wild Ring-necked Pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) in response to spatial and temporal variation in recreational hunting. We radio-marked pheasants and monitored space use at two spatial scales: short-term seasonal home range, and nightly resting locations. Additionally, we considered temporal variation in predation risk by monitoring space use prior to and during the pheasant hunting season. Although we found no change in nightly resting location, pheasants subjected to predation risk expanded their home range and shifted home range location even when invulnerable to predation. Home range formation was plastic, with home ranges expanding and contracting as risk fluctuated before and during the hunting season. Depredation reduced the measured response within the population, obscuring the potential importance of perceived predation risk in shaping prey communities, particularly when not measured at the appropriate scale. By assessing space use of a wild prey population at multiple scales, considering spatial and temporal variation in predation risk, we show that not only does predation risk affect space use, but that the effects at the population level may be challenging to assess when not measured at the appropriate ecological scale because of the direct effects of differential mortality on the same behaviors.

Understanding species-habitat relationships is vital to successful conservation, but the tools used to communicate species-habitat relationships are often poorly suited to the information needs of conservation practitioners. Here we present a novel method for translating a statistical species-habitat model, a regression analysis relating ring-necked pheasant abundance to landcover, into an interactive online tool. The Pheasant Habitat Simulator combines the analytical power of the R programming environment with the user-friendly Shiny web interface to create an online platform in which wildlife professionals can explore the effects of variation in local landcover on relative pheasant habitat suitability within spatial scales relevant to individual wildlife managers. Our tool allows users to virtually manipulate the landcover composition of a simulated space to explore how changes in landcover may affect pheasant relative habitat suitability, and guides users through the economic tradeoffs of landscape changes. We offer suggestions for development of similar interactive applications and demonstrate their potential as innovative science delivery tools for diverse professional and public audiences.

Declining hunter participation threatens cultural traditions and public support for conservation, warranting examination of the forces behind the downward trajectory. Access to lands for hunting, an often-cited reason for nonparticipation, may play a critical role in the retention and recruitment of hunters. Meeting the access needs of a diverse hunting constituency requires understanding how hunters use and perceive access opportunities, particularly public-access sites. Given that perceptions of access are entirely place based and degrade with time, traditional postseason survey methods may fail to adequately quantify the value of public access to the hunting constituency. To overcome the potential limitations of postseason surveys, we conducted on-site assessments of hunter perceptions of habitat quality, game abundance, ease of access, and crowding as well as whether the experience met the hunters' expectations and their likelihood to return to hunt. Over 3 y, we interviewed 3,248 parties of which 71.5% were hunting. Most parties (65.9%) reported having no private access within the region of Nebraska where they were interviewed. Parties (67.6%) were largely limited to two or fewer hunters, most of whom were adult males (84.3%) who were, on average, 41.2 y old. The perception of public-access sites was generally positive, but 43.1% of parties indicated that game abundance was below average despite 59.2% of parties seeing game and 37.3% harvesting at least one animal. Similar to other explorations of hunter satisfaction, we found game abundance, and in particular harvest success, had the most consistent relationship with hunter perception of public access. By surveying multiple types of hunters across sites that encompass a range of social and ecological conditions, we gained a broader understanding of how hunters perceive public access in real time, which will help to inform future management decisions to foster and improve public-access programs.

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PATHMAP (Pathogen And Tree fruit Health Map) is a smart phone application (app) and interactive dashboard developed specifically for support specialists, extension personnel, and university scientists supporting the tree fruit industry. The PATHMAP app collects detailed information about observed diseases, insect pests, and disorders and the option for attaching photos. The data is then visualized using a graphical interface dashboard displaying an interactive color-coded map. Prior to the development of PATHMAP, abundant tree fruit disorder data were collected each year, but a central interactive repository for archiving data and facilitating communication of field observations did not exist. PATHMAP has been beta-tested by university extension personnel, private consultants, and university scientists to ensure usability and functionality. PATHMAP will be used within the tree fruit industry for monitoring known pest patterns, occurrences, and outbreaks of emerging pathogens. It will augment existing extension diagnosis listservs which have value in visual diagnosis but are cumbersome and have no archiving capabilities. Data obtained through the tool can be used in epidemiological meta-analyses, to develop new predictive models, and can serve as a platform to track emerging pathogens, insects, and disorders for a variety of cropping systems.