| Abstract: | The criticisms of Rominger et al. (2008) of our retrospective analysis of desert bighorn sheep (DBS; Ovis canadensis mexicana) dynamics in the San Andres Mountains of south-central New Mexico, USA, contained many biological errors and analytical oversights. Herein, we show that Rominger et al. (2008) 1) overstated both magnitude and potential effect of predator removal; 2) incorrectly claimed that our total precipitation (TP) model did not fit the data when TP correctly classed ???66 of subsequent population increases and declines (P ??? 0.063); 3) presented a necessary prerequisite of the exponential model (serial correlation between Nt and Nt1) as the key relationship in the DBS data, when it merely reflected that DBS are strongly K-selected and was irrelevant to our hypothesis tests specific to factors affecting the instantaneous rate of population increase (r); 4) greatly oversimplified relationships among precipitation, arid environments, and DBS; and 5) advocated a time for collection of lamb/female (L/F) ratio data that was unrelated to any meaningful period in the biological year of DBS and consequently presented L/F ratio data unrelated to observed dynamics of DBS. In contrast, the L/F ratios used in Bender and Weisenberger (2005) correctly predicted annual changes and were correlated with long-term population rates of change. |
| Genre: | Article |
| ProdID: | 70035343 |
| Citation Author: | Bender, L. C.; Weisenberger, M. E. |
| Citation Contributing Office: | |
| Citation Datum: | |
| Citation Day: | |
| Citation Edition: | |
| Citation Editor: | |
| Citation End Page: | 810 |
| Citation Issue: | 5 |
| Citation Keywords: | |
| Citation Language: | English |
| Citation Larger Work Title: | Journal of Wildlife Management |
| Citation LatN: | |
| Citation LatS: | |
| Citation LonE: | |
| Citation LonW: | |
| Citation Month: | |
| Citation No Pagination: | |
| Citation Number Of Pages: | 5 |
| Citation Online Only Flag: | |
| Citation Phsyical Description: | |
| Citation Projection: | |
| Citation Public Comments: | |
| Citation Publisher: | |
| Citation Series: | |
| Citation Series Code: | |
| Citation Series Number: | |
| Citation Search Results Text: | Criticisms biologically unwarranted and analytically irrelevant: Reply to Rominger et al.; 2009; Article; Journal; Journal of Wildlife Management; Bender, L. C.; Weisenberger, M. E. |
| Citation Start Page: | 806 |
| Citation Volume: | 73 |
| Citation Year: | 2009 |
| Type: | citation/reference |
| Text: | Criticisms biologically unwarranted and analytically irrelevant: Reply to Rominger et al.; 2009; Article; Journal; Journal of Wildlife Management; Bender, L. C.; Weisenberger, M. E. |
| URL (THUMBNAIL): | http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/thumbnails/outside_thumb.jpg |
| URL (DIGITAL OBJECT IDENTIFIER): | http://dx.doi.org/10.2193/2008-219 |
| Date Other: | Thu, 1 Jan 2009 00:00 -0600 |
| Publisher: | |
