Life Sciences Commons^™

Runoff And Sediment Losses From Annual And Unusual Storm Events From The Alto Experimental Watersheds, Texas: 23 Years After Silvicultural Treatments, Matthew W. Mcbroom, R Scott Beasley, Mingteh Chang, Brian Gowin, George G. Ice

Faculty Publications

Evaluating the potential impacts of intensive silvicultural practices on water quality is critical for establishing the long-term sustainability of contemporary forest management practices. From 1979 to 1985, a study involving nine small (~2.5 ha) forested watersheds was conducted near Alto, Texas in the upper western Gulf-Coastal Plain to evaluate the impacts then-current silvicultural practices on water quality. In the years following the study, silvicultural Best Management Practices (BMPs) including Streamside Management Zones (SMZs) and other erosion control practices evolved and questions arose about the applicability of earlier results to current practices. In 1999, these same watersheds were reinstrumented to evaluate …

Bacteriological Water Quality Of Forested And Pastured Streams Receiving Land-Applied Poultry Litter, Matthew W. Mcbroom, Chang Mingteh, Charles Wells

Faculty Publications

Poultry production is a growing industry in East Texas, generating about 360,000 m tons of broiler litter each year as a by-product for application on pasturelands. Grab samples of fecal coliform (FC) and fecal streptococcus (FS) were collected monthly between March and December 1996 and FC and E-coli samples were collected weekly between July and October 2001 at six sites on the Waffelo and Terrapin Creeks in Nacogdoches County, Texas to assess possible impacts of poultry litter application on bacterial water quality. Sites were grouped by three pairs with each pair consisting of one upstream site in predominantly forested area …

Mercury Concentrations In Streams Of East Texas, Mingteh Chang, Mark C. Cochran, R. Scott Beasley, Matthew W. Mcbroom

Faculty Publications

Recent studies on potential mercury (Hg) contamination of fish from East Texas lakes and waterways have caused concern about mercury levels in East Texas waters. Historical records of Hg concentrations in 33 East Texas streams showed that median concentrations for each stream segment were no different than other U.S. streams. All the means and medians for stream segments having at least 20 recorded measurements were less than Texas (2.4 µg/L) water quality standards. Water samples collected in December 1995 and March 1996 from 6 different stream sites in Nacogdoches County had concentrations similar to historical records. Due to biological magnification, …

Do Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers Select Cavity Trees Based On Chemical Composition Of Pine Resin?, Richard N. Conner

Faculty Publications

We examined resin chemistry of loblolly (Pinus taeda) and shortleaf (P. echinata) pines selected as cavity trees by Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (Picoides borealis) in eastern Texas. We sampled resin from (1) pines selected by Red-cockaded Woodpeckers that contained naturally excavated active cavities, (2) pines selected by forest biologists that contained artificially installed cavity inserts and were actively being used by Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, and (3) control pines of similar age and appearance to the active cavity trees. We hypothesized that if woodpeckers are inducing a change in resin chemistry by excavating resin wells, this change should …

Effects Of Controlled Dog Hunting On Movements Of Female White-Tailed Deer, Christopher E. Comer

Faculty Publications

Understanding the responses of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to controlled dog hunting can aid in the effective implementation of canine-assisted population management strategies. We examined the 24-h diel movements of 13 radio-collared female deer exposed to dog hunting on the Savannah River Site (SRS) near Aiken, South Carolina, where regulated dog hunting has occurred since 1965. We compared diel home range size, rate of travel, and distance between extreme diel locations before, during, and after hunts from 14 September-14 December 2002. Die1 home range size (F2,91= 7.71, P < 0.001) and distance between extreme diel locations (F2,9l= 6.78, P = 0.002) on hunt day were greater than 10-day pre- and …

Breeding Biology Of An Interior Least Tern (Sterna Antillarum Athalassos) Colony In Childress County Of North Texas, Warren C. Conway, Loren M. Smith, James D. Ray

Faculty Publications

This study documented nest success, nest initiation chronology and nest site selection for interior least terns (Sterna antillarum athalassos) along the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River in Childress County, Texas during 1998. Terns experienced

a 65% nest success rate (Mayfield estimate 71 %) and clutch sizes ranged from 1 3 eggs (x = 2.25) for 20 nests. Seventy percent of all nests were initiated during the first 20 days of June, which coincided with the highest number of adult terns observed on the study site. All nests were found on gravel/sand bars in the river basin; 25% …

Assessing The Quantity And Quality Of Forested Resources In East Texas Using Remotely Sensed Data, Daniel Unger

Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVES: Development of new or enhanced remote sensing methodologies for assessing the quantity of east Texas forests and their associated ecosystems. Development of new or enhanced remote sensing methodologies for assessing the quality of east Texas forests and their associated ecosystems. Application of temporal analysis to assess the change in the quantity/quality of east Texas forests and their associated ecosystems over time.

Economic Analysis Of Sequestering Carbon In Green Ash Forests In The Lower Mississippi River Valley, Ching Hsun Huang, Gary D. Kronrad, Shiaolin D. Cheng

Faculty Publications

Since the U.S. is the largest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2), it has become crucial to develop options that are both cost effective and supportive of sustainable development to reduce atmospheric CO2. Electric utility companies have the options of reducing their use of fossil fuels, switching to alternative energy sources, increasing efficiency, or offsetting carbon emissions. This study determined the cost and profitability of sequestering carbon in green ash plantations, and the number of tons of carbon that can be sequestered. The profitability of green ash is $2,342 and $3,645 per acre on site indices (measurement of soil quality) 65 …

Factors Affecting Mississippi’S Nipf Landowners’ Reforestation Decisions, Kathryn G. Arano, John E. Gunter, Steven H. Bullard, Larry Doolittle, Ian A. Munn

Faculty Publications

Non-industrial private forest (NIPF) landowners have played an increasingly important role in the nation's timber economy. Nearly 70% of the forestland in the South is owned by NIPF landowners (Powell et al., 1994). In Mississippi alone, these landowners control approximately 66% of the state's forestland base (Hartsell and London, 1995). Therefore, NIPF landowners are expected to provide a large portion of the state's supply of timber. However, whether they do so depends largely on how their timberlands are managed. Forest management decisions of NIPF landowners can impact future timber supply due to the magnitude of their collective ownership.

Perceived Benefits Of Mississippi’S Forestry Best Management Practices, Amanda L. Husak, Stephen C. Grado, Steven H. Bullard, Chuck Jepsen

Faculty Publications

The primary goal of many nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) landowners, forestry consultants, and timber industry professionals is to increase revenues from their forestland. Most often, increased revenues are a result of harvesting timber stands from the site. However, the chances of increased revenues can be greatly reduced if the stands are improperly managed or voluntary Best Management Practices (BMPs) guidelines are not followed.

See The Light: A Multi-Faceted Effort By Mississippi State University Aims To Keep U.S. Manufacturers Competitive, Steven H. Bullard

Faculty Publications

People and organizations change for one of two reasons - when they see the light or when they feel the heat. With global competitors providing the heat, U .S. furniture producers today must be willing to change and innovate if they intend to stay in business long term. The Institute of Furniture Manufacturing and Management at Mississippi State University can help. IFMM exists to document and develop strategies that enable U.S.-based furniture manufacturers to achieve and sustain competitive advantages in the global furniture marketplace.

East Texas Forest Inventory (Etfi) Pilot Project: Remote Sensing Phase (Project Report), I-Kuai Hung

Faculty Publications

The overall goal of the project was to test a methodology to accurately quantify the forest resources of East Texas based on the premise that the quantification and qualification of forest resources is crucial to: (1) managing the resources wisely by providing timely and accurate information; and (2) proper forest resource assessment is crucial to the economic development and sustainability of East Texas communities. Prior quantification and qualification of forest resources in East Texas have relied on measurements taken at field plots recorded either by the Texas Forest Service (TFS) or the United States Forest Service (USFS) via the Southern …

Accelerated Hatching Of Southern Leopard Frog (Rana Sphenocephala) Eggs In Response To The Presence Of A Crayfish (Procambarus Nigrocinctus) Predator, Daniel Saenz, James B. Johnson, Cory K. Adams, Gage H. Dayton

Faculty Publications

Phenotypic plasticity, such as morphological and behavioral changes in response to predators, is common in larval anurans. Less is known about inducible defenses in the embryonic stages of development. We investigated the predation risk imposed by crayfish (Procambarus nigrocinctus) on southern leopard frog (Rana sphenocephala) eggs aud whether crayfish presence induces a change in the timing of hatching of R. sphenocephala eggs. We found that crayfish significantly reduce the hatching success of R. sphenocephala eggs by eating them and that eggs hatch significantly faster in the presence of crayfish than when crayfish are not present. We …

The Influence Of Predator Threat On The Timing Of A Life-History Switch Point: Predator-Induced Hatching In The Southern Leopard Frog (Rana Sphenocephala), James B. Johnson, Daniel Saenz, Cory K. Adams, Richard N. Conner

Faculty Publications

We tested the hypotheses that potential egg predators, crayfish Procambarus nigrocinctus and dytiscid Cybister sp. larvae, would accelerate the timing of hatching and that a larval predator, dragonfly naiad Anax junius, would delay hatching in the southern leopard frog (Rana sphenocephala). We also tested the hypothesis that differences in response would be proportional to predator lethality. Our results indicate that our hypotheses were partially supported. The presence of an efficient egg predator (crayfish) induces hatching faster than a less efficient predator (dytiscid larvae). However, the presence of a larval predator (naiads) did not delay hatching. Eggs that …