Elk in Great Smokey Mountain Park Management Plan

Your task this week in the discussion is to seek out a scholarly publication (i.e., a peer-reviewed journal article only) presenting a mark recapture study on the target wildlife species* for your plan. Summarize the goals and your own summary of their results as well as answer the following three questions: (1) What are the important variables in the study?; (2) What are the pros and cons of this kind of study?; and (3) How will you use this information in your Final Plan.

*In some cases, you may have selected a species to manage that is not commonly studied in this manner. Don’t panic! Find a different method commonly used in the field to study population dynamics of the selected target organism and present it here.