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. 2025 Mar 25;20(3):e0319800.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0319800. eCollection 2025.

Uncertainty and precaution in hunting wolves twice in a year: Reanalysis of Treves and Louchouarn: Reply to Stauffer et al

Adrian Treves  1
Affiliations

Uncertainty and precaution in hunting wolves twice in a year: Reanalysis of Treves and Louchouarn: Reply to Stauffer et al

Adrian Treves. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Stauffer et al. (2024) present an alternative approach to modeling a one-year change in the wolf population of the state of Wisconsin, USA. They found an error in the code in Treves & Louchouarn 2022, which we corrected. It did not change that paper's conclusions. However, Stauffer et al. accept the state of Wisconsin's estimate for wolf abundance in 2022, which is based on undescribed methods, unshared data, lacks peer review, and depends on a method we have criticized for imprecision, inaccuracy, insensitivity to changing conditions, and irreproducibility. An occupancy model constructed and validated for a period several years after legal wolf-killing is a dubious basis for estimating wolf abundance one year after unprecedented, legal wolf-killing. Finally, undisclosed data continue to mar the work of state-funded scientists.

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Conflict of interest statement

I am one of the authors of the work being discussed as TL2022. For readers to judge potentially competing interests for themselves, see my CV and funding here https://faculty.nelson.wisc.edu/treves/CCC.php, accessed 5 February 2025.

References

    1. Stauffer GE, Olson ER, Belant JL, Stenglein JL, Price Tack JL, van Deelen TR, et al.. Uncertainty and precaution in hunting wolves twice in a year: Reanalysis of Treves and Louchouarn. PLoS One. 2024;19(6):e0301487. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301487 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Treves A, Louchouarn NX. Uncertainty and precaution in hunting wolves twice in a year. PLoS One. 2022;17(3):e0259604. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259604 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Treves A, Santiago-Ávila FJ, Putrevu K. Quantifying the effects of delisting wolves after the first state began lethal management. PeerJ. 2021;9:e11666. doi: 10.7717/peerj.11666 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Treves A, Louchouarn P. Corrected parametrization for Treves & Louchouarn 2022 proportion of packs breeding. ResearchGate. 2024. doi: 10.13140/RG.2.2.31627.40481 - DOI
    1. Treves A, Santiago-Ávila FJ. Estimating wolf abundance with unverified methods. Academia Biology. 2023;1(2):10. doi: 10.20935/acadbiol6099 - DOI

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