DMS Statistics and Data Science Seminar

Speaker: Kelly Dunning (Auburn University)

Title: Data Science for Conservation of North American Wildlife

Abstract: Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is spreading across the U.S. in free ranging white-tailed deer, moose, and elk herds. Colloquially, it can be thought of as the mad cow disease of deer. Its arrival in the herds could spark a backlash among hunters, causing severe impacts on hunting license sales, which fund a majority of North American conservation for all game and nongame species. In other words, if hunters stop hunting and buying licenses for fear of CWD infected venison, conservation funding sources will likely disappear. Also at stake are outdoor cultural traditions, and rural community livelihoods and well-being. It is uncertain whether CWD can be transmitted from wildlife to humans through the consumption of infected meat, but the consequences for both public health and the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation would be dire. Given the high stakes nature of the CWD issue, researchers are beginning to study public knowledge and perceptions of the risks of CWD, including the likelihood of actions that hunters may take that could endanger conservation (e.g., stopping hunting and license purchasing). This research, co-authored with PhD student Catherine Cummings, looks at comfort and risk perceptions of hunters as a function of demographics and scientific knowledge shortly after CWD emerged in Alabama in January of 2023. This study is the first of its kind for our region and will inform wildlife management in the face of disease.