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Experimental Repatriation Of Black Bears To The Big South Fork Area Of Kentucky And Tennessee, Rick Eastridge

Masters Theses

Black bears (Ursus americanus) have been extirpated from the Big South Fork Area (BSFA) of Kentucky and Tennessee since the turn of the 20^th century. Although this area is within the bear's historic range, it may be unreachable to individual bears through natural dispersal. Wildlife managers and the public were interested in reestablishing a population of black bears to BSF A. A habitat analysis found that the area could support bears. However, managers remained concerned about how humans would interact with bears; furthermore, managers needed to know how to overcome the homing ability of translocated bears.

I …

Patterns And Implications Of Aberrant Singing Behaviors Of Black-Capped (Poecile Atricapillus) And Carolina (Poecile Carolinensis) Chickadees In Illinois, Patrick Caesar Enstrom

Masters Theses

I studied the singing behavior of the closely related Black-capped (Poecile atricapillus) and Carolina (Poecile carolinensis) Chickadees along their range interface in central Illinois. These sibling species are parapatrically distributed from the Appalachians through the Midwest to Kansas. Where their ranges do overlap, small hybrid zones form and chickadees in these areas frequently sing aberrant songs. The majority of the songs studied were recorded 17 April-16 July 1999 in fifteen counties throughout central Illinois. I measured 8 frequency and duration characteristics of the first two notes of songs that began with two whistled notes. The averages of these characteristics …

Effects Of Leafy Spurge (Euphorbia Esula) Infestation On Breeding Birds Of The Sheyenne National Grassland, Nd, Daniel M. Scheiman

Masters Theses

Leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula) is an exotic invasive weed in the northern Great Plains. We examined the effects of leafy spurge infestation on densities and nest success of breeding birds in grasslands on the Sheyenne National Grassland (SNG), ND. We categorized spurge-infested grasslands into three levels of infestation, based on the area covered by spurge patches: (a) low (0-20%), (b) medium (20-60%) and, (c) high (> 60%). We surveyed 60 100-m radius circular plots (20 in each category), and searched for nests in three 16-ha plots (one in each category). There were no statistically significant differences in mean species richness …

The Effect Of Predator Chemical Cues And Conspecific Alarm Signals Upon Behavior In Early And Late Developmental Stages Of American Toad (Bufo Americanus) Tadpoles, Carol Lynette Johnson

Masters Theses

The chemosensory capability and subsequent habitat choice of larval American toad (Bufo americanus) tadpoles were quantified using choice of refuge with both early and late developmental stages. Treatments were performed with two tadpole densities to ascertain the effect of social aggregations upon behavior. Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) and predaceous diving beetle larvae (Dytiscus sp.) predators were used to condition water. Conspecific tadpoles as well as Southern leopard frog (Rana sphenocephala) tadpoles were used to prepare treatment extracts.

Tadpole density (n=10 and n=20) had no significant effect upon the percentage of tadpoles seeking cover …