TCEL was founded in 2015 by Dr. John M. Tomeček out of the realization that there were increasingly few scientists in Texas working on issues related to the management of carnivores, particularly mesocarnivores. The group came into existence at first with one or two small projects, primarily investigating the effects of Livestock Guardian Dogs (LGDs) on mesomammals. With little science on a common tool, the group began to provide context to managers and conservationists on when and how LGDs did and did not affect mesomammals, especially carnivores. With a small, dedicated team, TCEL was born. Several years later, the group is still growing, and has expanded their reach from initial work.
Projects
Previously, TCEL worked on projects related to quantifying interactions of Livestock Guardian Dogs (LGDs) on native mesomammals. These projects led to an increased understanding of how these ancient wildlife damage management tools function with regard to their movements and use of space, as well as effects on native species—both intentional and unintentional. Although the field portion of this project is currently finished, more products from collected data are still forthcoming.
One of the key projects led by TCEL is the South Texas Coyote Ecology Project. This effort, conducted on the East Foundation’s San Antonio Viejo Ranch, seeks to document the behavior and use of space of an unharvested, unharassed population of coyotes in southern Texas. This may be one of the few opportunities to examine this species and its interactions with other native species, introduced species, and humans. This project has given rise to several smaller projects (see ‘Projects’), housed under this umbrella that investigate many aspects of the species’ ecology, from implications for rabies transmission, to use of carrion from mass mortality events, to interactions with white-tailed deer.
TCEL is currently engaged in a variety of projects that range the width and breadth of management issues in Texas (see ‘Projects’ for more details).