William J Matter

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Journals/Publications

• Steidl, R. J., Litt, A. R., & Matter, W. J. (2013). Effects of plant invasions on wildlife in desert grasslands. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 37, 527-536.
• Walker, D. B., Paretti, N. V., Cordy, G., Gross, T. S., Zaugg, S. D., Furlong, E. T., Kolpin, D. W., Matter, W. J., Gwinn, J., & McIntosh, D. (2009). Changes in reproductive biomarkers in an endangered fish species (bonytail chub, Gila elegans) exposed to low levels of organic wastewater compounds in a controlled experiment. Aquatic Toxicology, 95(2), 133-143.
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  PMID: 19748687;Abstract: In arid regions of the southwestern United States, municipal wastewater treatment plants commonly discharge treated effluent directly into streams that would otherwise be dry most of the year. A better understanding is needed of how effluent-dependent waters (EDWs) differ from more natural aquatic ecosystems and the ecological effect of low levels of environmentally persistent organic wastewater compounds (OWCs) with distance from the pollutant source. In a controlled experiment, we found 26 compounds common to municipal effluent in treatment raceways all at concentrations
• McMahon, T. E., & Matter, W. J. (2006). Linking habitat selection, emigration and population dynamics of freshwater fishes: A synthesis of ideas and approaches. Ecology of Freshwater Fish, 15(2), 200-210.
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  Abstract: The consequences of individual behaviour to dynamics of populations has been a critical question in fish ecology, but linking the two has proven difficult. A modification of Sale's habitat selection model provides a conceptual linkage for relating resource availability and individual habitat selection to exploratory behaviour, emigration and population-level responses. Whole-population experiments with pupfish Cyprinodon macularius that linked all factors along this resource to population continuum lend support to this conceptual model, and illustrate that emigration may be much more common in fish populations than considered in most individual- or population-based models. Accommodating emigration can enhance the ecological appropriateness of behavioural experiments and increase confidence in extrapolation of experimental observations to population-level effects. New experimental designs and advancing technologies offer avenues for assessing population consequences of habitat selection and emigration by individual fish. Emigration often is the key linkage between individual behaviour and population responses, and greater understanding of the underlying factors affecting this often-overlooked demographic parameter could offer new approaches for management and conservation of fishes. © 2006 The Authors Journal compilation © 2006 Blackwell Munksgaard.
• Matter, W. J., & Mannan, R. W. (2005). Invited paper: How do prey persist?. Journal of Wildlife Management, 69(4), 1315-1320.
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  Abstract: Understanding predator-prey relations is critical for management and conservation of species. Common descriptions of predator-prey dynamics often imply that low population density of prey, prey switching by predators, and high fecundity or productivity of prey are important in allowing prey species to coexist with predators. Studies of the effects of introduced predators on prey species do not support the idea that low prey density, switching by predators, and fecundity of prey are vital to coexistence of predator and prey. More likely, prey have a suite of morphological and behavior adaptations, including uses of specific habitat features, that render some individuals far less vulnerable to prdation and allow predators and prey to coexist. Management activities designed to maintain desired prey species should include maintaining or enhancing features of habitat that reduce prey vulnerability.
• Didenko, A. V., Bonar, S. A., & Matter, W. J. (2004). Standard weight (W_s) equations for four rare desert fishes. North American Journal of Fisheries Management, 24(2), 697-703.
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  Abstract: Standard weight (Ws) equations have been used extensively to examine body condition in sport fishes. However, development of these equations for nongame fishes has only recently been emphasized. We used the regression-line-percentile technique to develop standard weight equations for four rare desert fishes: flannelmouth sucker Catostomus latipinnis, razorback sucker Xyrauchen texanus, roundtail chub Gila robusta, and humpback chub G. cypha. The Ws equation for flannelmouth suckers of 100-690 mm total length (TL) was developed from 17 populations: log10Ws = -5.180 + 3.068 log10TL. The Ws equation for razorback suckers of 110-885 mm TL was developed from 12 populations: log 10Ws = -4.886 + 2.985 log10TL. The W s equation for roundtail chub of 100-525 mm TL was developed from 20 populations: log10Ws = -5.065 + 3.015 log10TL. The Ws equation for humpback chub of 120-495 mm TL was developed from 9 populations: log10Ws = -5.278 + 3.096 log 10TL. These equations meet criteria for acceptable standard weight indexes and can be used to calculate relative weight, an index of body condition.
• Mannan, R. W., Estes, W. A., & Matter, W. J. (2004). Movements and survival of fledgling Cooper's Hawks in an urban environment. Journal of Raptor Research, 38(1), 26-34.
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  Abstract: Cooper's Hawks (Accipiter cooperii) nest in urban and suburban areas across North America, but little is known about movements, habitat use, or survival of fledglings in these settings. We followed 40 radio-tagged, fledgling Cooper's Hawks hatched in Tucson, Arizona in 1999 or 2000, for up to 6 mo to estimate survival, and describe patterns of movement and the environments they use while dispersing. The typical pattern of movement for hawks we tracked through early winter consisted of sedentary behavior in the natal area, followed by relatively long movements beginning 11-13 wk after hatching, and finally sedentary behavior again when they settled into a fall/winter home range. Distances between relocations of individual hawks were, on average, greater for females (x̄ = 6.8 km, range = 0.02-51.7 km, SD = 9.8) than males (x̄ = 3.8 km, range = 0.05-20.8 km, SD = 5.4; t-test, P = 0.02). Home range size for nine hawks during their first fall/winter averaged 771 ha (SD = 403). Distance from center of home range to natal site averaged nearly twice as far for females (x̄ = 10.9 km, range = 4.2-19.5 km, SD = 6.4) as males (x̄ = 6.0 km, range = 2.2-13.3, SD = 5.0), but the difference was not significant (t-test, P = 0.23). Survival of radio-tagged hawks was 67% through 180 d. Hawks used a variety of environments prior to settling for the winter, but were found most frequently (35% of locations) in riparian areas. We found no discernable pattern of habitat selection for land use categories inside winter home ranges. We speculate that the abundance of food may facilitate survival of post-fledging, dispersing hawks in Tucson. © 2004 The Raptor Research Foundation, Inc.
• Schultz, A. A., Maughan, O. E., Bonar, S. A., & Matter, W. J. (2003). Effects of flooding on abundance of native and nonnative fishes downstream from a small impoundment. North American Journal of Fisheries Management, 23(2), 503-511.
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  Abstract: Flooding can benefit native fishes in southwestern streams by disproportionately displacing nonnative fishes. We examined how the presence of an upstream impoundment affected this relationship in lower Sonoita Creek, Arizona. Nonnative species not found in the reservoir decreased in abundance in lower Sonoita Creek after flooding. The catch and relative abundance of some nonnative species found in both the reservoir and the creek increased in lower Sonoita Creek after flooding. Movement of nonnative fishes out of the reservoir via the spillway during periods of high water probably contributes to the persistence and abundance of these species downstream. Both preventing nonnative fishes from escaping reservoirs and the release of flushing flows would aid conservation of native southwestern fishes downstream.
• Nelson, A. R., Johnson, C. L., Matter, W. J., & Mannan, R. W. (2002). Tests of emigration in small mammals under experimental conditions. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 80(12), 2056-2060.
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  Abstract: Holding animals in enclosures that block emigration causes demographic abnormalities called "fence effects." Experimenters have built exits that require animals to move through unfavorable conditions to leave enclosures. There are doubts about whether individuals that cross these challenging exits are true emigrants. We tested whether an exit that required house mice (Mus musculus) to swim through a water-filled trough was used only by mice triggered to emigrate from an experimental enclosure. Also, we examined the responses of mice to the availability of resources and the presence of conspecific adult animals in a small enclosure with an exit and in an enclosure made by joining two single enclosures. All mice left a barren enclosure within 12 h but no mice left during 7-day trials in a resource-rich enclosure during spring and summer. At the end of trials with repeated introduction of pairs of mice, about 85% of resident mice were the first mice added. Nearly all mice added later left the enclosure. A relatively constant number of mice became residents in small enclosures and about 2.3 times as many mice resided in double enclosures. Mice readily found and used exits when motivated to leave and did not accidentally pass through exits during routine exploration. Thus, mice that stayed in enclosures were not "fenced in" by the water-filled exit and exhibited residency as in nature. Tests of exits should give ecologists confidence that animals can display normal residency and emigration behaviors in experimental settings. The defense of resources by residents and the emigration of excess animals resulted in a consistent limit to the number of animals able to reside in enclosures.
• Ward, D. L., Maughan, O. E., Bonar, S. A., & Matter, W. J. (2002). Effects of temperature, fish length, and exercise on swimming performance of age-0 flannelmouth sucker. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 131(3), 492-497.
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  Abstract: The flannelmouth sucker Catostomus latipinnis is one of the few native fish that persists in the lower Colorado River basin. Little is known about the effects of hypolimnetic releases of cold, swift water from Colorado River dams on flannelmouth sucker populations. We conducted fatigue velocity tests on age-0 flannelmouth suckers in the laboratory to evaluate the effects of water temperature and fish size on swimming ability. Fish of 25-114 mm total length (TL) were subjected to incremental increases in water velocity until the upper limit of their swimming ability was reached. Swimming tests were conducted at 10, 14, and 20°C. Swimming ability increased with fish length and was directly related to water temperature at all fish sizes. A decrease in water temperature from 20°C to 10°C resulted in an average decrease in swimming ability of 40%. Mean swimming ability of wild-caught flannelmouth suckers was 7 cm/s higher than that of captive-reared flannelmouth suckers of similar size at 20°C and 14°C. Flannelmouth suckers subjected to an abrupt 10°C temperature drop did not have significantly different swimming ability than flannelmouth suckers acclimated to 10°C over 4 d.
• Dudley, R. K., & Matter, W. J. (2000). Effects of small green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) on recruitment of Gila chub (Gila intermedia) in Sabino Creek, Arizona. Southwestern Naturalist, 45(1), 24-29.
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  Abstract: Young-of-year Gila chub (Gila intermedia) were abundant in upstream reaches of Sabino Creek, Arizona, devoid of green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus), but were absent in downstream areas occupied by green sunfish. We examined potential reasons for this pattern by studying piscivory and habitat use of small green sunfish (150 mm TL) green sunfish. However, even small green sunfish were highly predacious on young-of-year Gila chub, and our habitat study demonstrated that both taxa occupied similar mesohabitats. Co-occurrence of Gila chub and green sunfish in Sabino Creek seems to be the result of periodic downstream movement of adult Gila chub from reaches devoid of green sunfish. Young life stages of Gila chub apparently do not persist in sections of Sabino Creek occupied by green sunfish.
• Matter, W. J., & McPherson, G. R. (2000). No lurking inconsistency. Conservation Biology, 14(4), 1204-1205.
• Matter, W. J., & Steidl, R. J. (2000). University undergraduate curiculla in wildlife: Beyond 2000. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 28(3), 503-507.
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  Abstract: Educational content and the practices of wildlife educators must change deliberately, not inadvertently, to best serve students, employers, and the profession. The first priority of university faculty is to help students explore new ideas and worldviews and become informed citizens, self-learners, and critical thinkers. University programs should not merely train students for careers. There is no one ideal curriculum in natural resources, and wildlife programs will continue to vary in focus, strengths, modes of course delivery, and regional flavor. However, wildlife professionals should identify a fundamental set of knowledge, skills, and competencies expected of all undergraduate wildlife students. Fostering candid and constructive exchange among faculty, students, alumni, and employers concerning these competencies is a challenge we must meet. We caution against the false dichotomy that students can either master more facts or master synthesis and critical thinking. Students need to do both. Development of a core curriculum with a mix of single-discipline courses (e.g., plant taxonomy or basic ecology) and courses in which a primary goal is integration across disciplines may be a way to increase breadth without weakening basic competencies. Education of wildlife professionals should become more of a shared responsibility among all interested parties - students, employers, and educators.
• Steidl, R. J., DeStefano, S., & Matter, W. J. (2000). On increasing the quality, reliability, and rigor of wildlife science. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 28(3), 518-521.
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  Abstract: Memorized definitions of science and recipes for quantitative analyses are no substitute for critical thinking in wildlife science. Inadequately understanding the philosophy of science and the principles of sampling and experimental design, not appreciating the differences between research hypotheses and statistical hypotheses, and between biological and statistical significance, and not viewing research questions within the context of ecological processes limit the quality of research efforts in wildlife science. Increasing conceptual understanding of these issues will help wildlife scientists, managers, and students develop the powerful tools necessary for creative, critical thinking.
• Dudley, R. K., & Matter, W. J. (1999). Effects of a record flood on fishes in Sabino Creek, Arizona. Southwestern Naturalist, 44(2), 218-221.
• Alam, M. K., Maughan, O. E., & Matter, W. J. (1996). Growth response of indigenous and exotic carp species to different protein sources in pelleted feeds. Aquaculture Research, 27(9), 673-679.
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  Abstract: Three indigenous carp species, Catla catla (Ham.), Labeo rohita (Ham.) and Cirrhinus mrigala (Ham.), and two exotic carp species. Cyprinus carpio L. and Hypophthalmichthys molitrix (Val.), were stocked together at a total density of 6000 fish ha-1 in the ratio of 11:22:14:14:11, respectively. Three pelleted feeds, maize gluten (MG), cotton seed (CS) and fish meal (FM), were fed at 5% of the body weight of fish per day. The crude protein content of each feed was different. Growth rates for exotic species were significantly higher (P < 0.05) on all feeds than growth of indigenous species. The best growth for both exotic and indigenous carps was achieved on fish meal. Supplemental feeds made from locally available materials can enhance fish culture in Pakistan.
• Matter, W. J., & Mannan, R. W. (1988). Sand and gravel pits as fish and wildlife habitat in the Southwest. Resource Publication - US Fish & Wildlife Service, 171.
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  Abstract: Reclaimed lands provide fish and wildlife habitat if water is present. Shape, location and number of pits, and the type of revegetation affect colonization by animals. Sand and gravel pits can be restored for wildlife use but monitoring is necessary to evaluate the efficacy of reclamation. -from Authors
• Matter, W. J., & Ney, J. J. (1981). The impact of surface mine reclamation on headwater streams in Southwest Virginia. Hydrobiologia, 78(1), 63-71.
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  Abstract: Recovery of headwater streams following the cessation of mining and the application of terrestrial (vegetative) reclamation techniques was assessed by comparison of water quality and aquatic biota in two such systems (reclaimed four to seven years) with that of an unimpacted stream and of streams draining mine areas which were abandoned without reclamation. Alkalinity, hardness, sulfate, and conductivity were elevated in the reclaimed mine streams as were fine-particle suspended solids and sediment. Overall water quality was comparable to streams draining unreclaimed lands. Benthic invertebrate and fish populations were significantly lower in abundance in the reclaimed mine streams than in the reference stream and showed less taxonomic richness and stability; they were similar in these respects to the biota of the unreclaimed mine streams. Continued sedimentation from mined areas and haul roads affected stream habitat and appeared to be the major factor limiting biotic recovery. These findings emphasize that terrestrial reclamation does not assure lotic restoration. Water quality criteria merit consideration in the refinement of reclamation procedures for mined lands. © 1981 Dr. W. Junk B.V. Publishers.

Presentations

• Matter, W. J. (2015, March). Who, Among the Fit, Survive and Reproduce?. SNRE Seminar Series. UA: SNRE.
• Matter, W. J., Brizendine, M., Bonar, S., & Ward, D. (2014, Fall). Use of ultrasonic imaging to evaluate egg maturation of humpback chub Gila cypha in the Grand Canyon. Annual Grand Canyon Monitoring Consortium. Phoenix, AZ: US Fish & Wildlife Service.

Poster Presentations

• Matter, W. J. (2015, August). Use of Ultrasonic Imaging to Evaluate Egg Maturation of Humpback Chub in Grand Canyon. American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting. Portland, Oregon: American Fisheries Society.

Others

• Matter, W. J. (2012, September). How do Prey Persist?. Department of Ecology Graduate Student Forum.
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  Exact Date: September 19, 2012
• Matter, W. J. (2012, September). The fence effect: What do we know? Why should we care?. Montana State University Ecology Department Seminar.
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  Exact Date: September 13, 2012
• Matter, W. J. (2010, October). Service to Service for 125 Years. CALS.