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Habitat Use By Black Bears In Relation To Forest Management In Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina, Allan Joseph Brody

Masters Theses

A total of 1310 locations was obtained on 18 radio collared black bears (Ursus americanus) in Pisgah National Forrest, North Carolina, during 1982 and 1983. Male home ranges averaged 3205 ha in summer and 6931 ha in fall. Female home ranges averaged 872 hectares in summer and 1712 hectares in fall. Nine of the collared animals were killed by hunters during the study, 4 of these illegally.

Bear habitat use was analyzed in relation to timber management parameters available in the U. S. Forrest Service "Continuous Inventory of Stand Condition" and other parameters derived from stand and topographic maps. Chi-square …

An Ecological Investigation Of Native Grassland In Southern Lower Michigan, Kim Alan Chapman

Masters Theses

Floristic and soil data from 50 relicts and other sources were analyzed using polar ordination of species presence. Historical and early scientific accounts were interpreted from the results.

The relicts ranged from wet to dry, on either sandy or loamy soil. Alkaline lakeplain sites added a third dimension of variability. Most upland remnants were interpreted as fragments of former savanna.

Floristic composition and distribution of the remnants were determined by these factors:

1. Edaphic: away from the Prairie Peninsula, only very dry or very wet sites support prairie vegetation;

2. Phytogeographic: the farther from the Prairie Peninsula, the fewer characteristics …

Fuel Levels In Forests Of The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Niki Stephanie Nichols

Masters Theses

Forest fuel levels in western portions of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park were measured to determine community and site relationships. Data was collected from 93 permanent plots established in earlier studies of Uplands Field Research Laboratory, National Park Service. Dead and downed fuel volume was sampled using the planar intersect method. Other fuel variables included dead stem basal area and organic layer components. Community and site variables included elevation, topography, slope, aspect, site protection, distance from plot to nearest water, distance from plot to nearest ridgetop, disturbance history, live basal area, and community types.

Nine forest types were identified …

Aspects Of The Life History Of The Smoky Madtom, Noturus Baileyi Taylor, In Citico Creek, Gerald R. Dinkins

Masters Theses

A two-year study of certain aspects of the life history of the smoky madtom, Noturus baileyi Taylor, in Citico Creek was conducted from 1981 to 1983. This species was rheophilic in the summer and fall and a pool dweller during the winter and spring. Smoky madtoms occupied the undersides of palm-sized slabrocks to the exclusion of other species in both habitats. N. baileyi lives at least 2+ years and possibly 3+ years, with females attaining greater lengths than males. Individuals of both sexes generally matured at two years; however some one-year-old individuals showed adult characteristics. Nests were located under large, …

Inland Seawalls In Southwestern- Michigan: A Limnological Approach, Jeroen Wagendorp

Masters Theses

This research retrospectively evaluates the development of inland lake seawalls in southwestern Michigan. The objective was to look at physically induced phenomena and human induced phenomena, to determine which was most responsible for the need, and large numbers of inland lake seawalls in this region. In addition, the role of the Department of Natural Resources in inland lake seawall development was evaluated.

The findings, obtained through questionnaires, were compared to data from seawalls installed along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, and showed that man's activity in the littoral zone was the fundamental rationale behind the installation on inland lake …

Operant Conditioning In The Water Snake (Nerodia Sipedon), Angela R. Deitz

Masters Theses

Six subjects of Nerodia sipedon were tested for runway acquisition. Five of six subjects met criterion for runway learning, demonstrating a significant decrease over the 25 day testing period in mean latency and running times. Four subjects completed 170 trials in a T-maze to test two-choice discrimination and reversal learning. All subjects met criterion for the initial discrimination and one reversal while two subjects completed four reversals and one subject met criterion for six reversals. Results are similar or superior to those previously reported for reptiles and other non-human vertebrates.

Seasonal Lekking Behavior Of The Greater Prairie-Chicken In Illinois, Scott A. Simpson

Masters Theses

Spring behavior of prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus cupido) has been studied extensively, however there is little information on fall-winter lekking activity. Greater prairie-chickens were observed weekly on a lek from 25 September 1982 to 23 June 1983 during morning and evening hours in Jasper County, Illinois. The peak number of prairie-chicken males on the lek occurred in February although hen attendance did not occur until 10 March 1983. All spring lekking activities were higher compared to that of the fall-winter period. Fall-winter lek activity was aggression which centered on probably brief, less intense male aggression which probably establishes or maintains …

Operant Conditioning In The Psittacine, Amazona Amazonica, Gloria J. Nadolski

Masters Theses

Two Orange-winged Amazon Parrots, (Amazona amazonica) were subjected to operant conditioning involving three tests: two-choice spatial discrimination and reversal, three-choice color discrimination and reversal, and the oddity principle. Results of the habit reversal tests were compared to those of Gossett (1968) to determine the phylogenetic ranking of the learning capabilities of psittacines. In the first two habit reversal tests, the subjects completed twenty reversals using sunflower seeds as positive reinforcements. In the oddity principle test, the parrots completed the equivalent of 20 reversals, again using sunflower seeds. Criterion was met when they completed 8 consecutive correct choices with …

Avoidance Learning And Memory In Largemouth Bass (Micropterus Salmoides) Fed Bufo Tadpoles, Randy John Gawlik

Masters Theses

Tadpoles of the American toad (Bufo americanus) have been shown to be distasteful to largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) predators who learn, on the short term, to avoid them. How long bass retain this learned avoidance of Bufo larvae is unknown so an experimental design was constructed in an attempt to answer this question.

Largemouth bass were divided into four treatment groups. Two groups were initially fed exclusively larvae of Bufo americanus (one group was fed large tadpoles, the other group fed small larvae). Similarily, the other two groups were initially fed spring peeper (Hyla crucifer …

Observations On Relationships Between Limb Measurements And Mode Of Locomotion In Malaysian Turtles, Duayne Nyckel

Masters Theses

Twelve Genera (spanning three Families) of Malaysian Turtles were studied to determine whether bone lengths could be correlated to mode of locomotion. Ulna, humerus, tibia, femur, coracoid (among others) were measured and results were presented graphically. Five of the genera were observed singly in a large aquarium. Data were recorded on the amount of time each spent in different locomotor modes. Both limb length data and aquarium observations suggest that turtles can be grouped into three main locomotor habits (i.e. terrestrial walking, bottomwalking, and swimming). The terrestrial group includes the genera, Geochelone, Kinixys, and Gopherus. Bottomwalkers include …