Life Sciences Commons^™

Second Growth Forest As Potential Marten Habitat In Western Newfoundland: An Examination Of Forest Habitat Structure And Microtine Abundance, Brian R. Sturtevant

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The American marten (Martes americana) is associated with large tracts of relatively undisturbed, mature coniferous forests. I examined coarse woody debris (CWD) structure and small mammal abundance with respect to forest age and stem structure within second-growth forests, in comparison with old-growth stands in western Newfoundland. Results suggest that a critical change in marten habitat quality may occur at stand senescence, due to decreased tree competition, more complex subcanopy structure, and increased meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus) abundance.

Analysis of stem structure within a chronosequence of 19 second-growth stands indicated high intertree competition, with dense canopy closure …

Mule Deer Highway Mortality In Northeastern Utah: An Analysis Of Population-Level Impacts And A New Mitigative System, Mark E. Lehnert

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Rerouting highways to accommodate construction of the Jordanelle Reservoir in northeastern Utah caused a dramatic increase in vehicle collisions with mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). I evaluated the effectiveness of a new system of highway crosswalk structures installed to reduce deer losses and preserve seasonal migrations. In addition, I constructed computer simulation models to investigate how highway mortality has impacted the Jordanelle deer population.

The crosswalk system restricted deer crossings to specific, well-marked areas along highways where motorists could anticipate them. Subsequent to installation, mortality declined 42.3% and 36.8% along a four-lane and two-lane highway, respectively. I was unable …

A Survey Of Employees Of The United States Department Of Agriculture's Animal Damage Control Program, Susan A. Schroeder

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined the attitudes of employees of the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal Damage Control (ADC) Program. This research examined ADC employees' attitudes about wildlife, the ADC program and ADC employment, wildlife damage management methods, euthanasia and the killing process, and the role of various public and private groups on ADC policy. This study also applied the theory of organizational capture to the ADC program to test its utility in explaining the attitudes and behaviors of employees. Results were based on a survey of ADC employees conducted in January 1995.

Survey responses were analyzed to explore associations between …

Livestock As Seed Disseminators For Reseeding Degraded Rangelands: The Role Of Dung In Gap Formation And Plant Establishment, Brian S. Auman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Livestock (cattle and sheep) were examined as seed disseminators for reseeding degraded Intermountain rangelands. "Hycrest" crested wheatgrass [Agropyron desertorum (Fisch. ex Link) Schult. X A. cristatum (L.) Gaert.] seed was fed to yearling Holstein steers and Suffolk ewes. Dung was collected from each animal type and deposited on plots of high and low densities of an annual [cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.)] and perennial [squirreltail (Sitanion hystrix Nutt.)] grass species. The experiment evaluated the ability of the dung to suppress the resident vegetation, and the recruitment and establishment of Hycrest seedlings emerging from the dung.

Sheep dung had …

Habitat Selection And Movement Of A Stream-Resident Salmonid In A Regulated River And Tests Of Four Bioenergetic Optimization Models, Mark D. Bowen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A bioenergetics model was constructed for stream-resident drift-feeding salmonids. Model predictions of surplus power (energy available per unit time for growth and reproduction) were not statistically distinguishable from observations of surplus power in three laboratory studies. Of 40 experimental trials in these three studies, the model correctly predicted surplus power in 39 cases (p < 0.05).

I collected observations of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) focal velocity and physical habitat availability in the Green River of northeastern Utah, USA (1988-1990). In the winter of 1988, Flaming Gorge Dam generated hydropower and delivered an lJDStable discharge regime with a higher mean discharge …

An Ecological History Of Tintic Valley, Juab County, Utah, Jeffrey A. Creque

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This work was a case study of historical ecological change in Tintic Valley, Juab County, Utah, an area historically impacted by mining and ranching activities common to much of the American West. The temporal framework for the study was approximately 120 years, the period of direct Euroamerican influence. In recognition of the ecological implications of cultural change, however, the impacts of prehistoric and protohistoric human activity on study area landscape patterns and processes were also explicitly addressed.

The study included a narrative description of historic land uses and ecological change in Tintic Valley, and examined the changes in landscape patterns …

Evaluation Of The Delta Waterfowl Foundation's Adopt-A-Pothole Project, Daniel S. Vice

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The establishment of dense nesting cover (DNC) for breeding waterfowl is a common management practice on large blocks of former agricultural land. The Delta Waterfowl Foundation's Adopt-A-Pothole (AAP) program establishes DNC adjacent to small wetland complexes to increase waterfowl use and productivity. I evaluated waterfowl use and nesting success on AAP lease sites in southwestern Manitoba in 993- 94 and compared the relative amount and success of overwater and upland nesting by mallards using these sites.

Diving duck breeding pair densities were higher on treatment sites in both 1993 and 1994 (P = 0.02 and 0.02, respectively). Dabbling duck …

The Influence Of Forest Fragmentation And Landscape Pattern On American Martens And Their Prey, Christina D. Hargis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Habitat fragmentation occurs when large tracts of an orginal habitat are replaced by smaller patches of two or more habitat types, largely through human activities. I studied the behavior of six measures of landscape pattern that seemed appropriate for quantifying fragmentation, and used these measures to investigate the effects of forest fragmentation on American martens (Martes americana) and their prey. The measures I selected were edge density, contagion, mean nearest neighbor distance between patches, mean proximity index, perimeter-area fractal dimension, and mass fractal dimension. To test the behavior of these measures with a variety of landscape patterns, I …

Effects Of Daphnia Availability On Growth And Food Consumption Of Rainbow Trout In Two Utah Reservoirs, R. Tabor, Chris Luecke, Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

We monitored the diet and growth of stocked rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss in two Utah reservoirs during 1986 and 1989–1990. For the first month after stocking, juvenile rainbow trout in both reservoirs fed extensively on large Daphnia spp. In East Canyon Reservoir where Daphnia were abundant, this pattern continued throughout the summer, fall, and winter. Growth of rainbow trout in East Canyon Reservoir was generally good throughout 1989–1990. In Causey Reservoir, where Daphnia were less abundant and smaller, rainbow trout fed progressively less on smaller Daphnia throughout the summer, fall, and winter, while other prey items (snails, aquatic insects, and …

Simulated Growth And Production Of Endangered Snake River Sockeye Salmon: Assessing Management Strategies For The Nursery Lakes, Chris Luecke, Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh, Phaedra E. Budy, H. P. Gross

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

We examined the potential of employing a series of lake management strategies to enhance production of endangered Snake River sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in its historical nursery lakes in central Idaho. We used a combination of limnological sampling, experimentation, and simulation modeling to assess effects of lake fertilization and kokanee reduction on growth and survival of juvenile sockeye salmon. Juvenile sockeye salmon from a broodstock of this endangered species are being introduced into the lakes from 1995 to 1998. Results of our analyses indicated that several lakes were suitable for receiving broodstock progeny. Field experimentation and simulation modeling indicated that …

Comparison Of The Aquatic Ecology Of Side-Canyons And The Main Channel Of Lake Powell, Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh, Kirsten L. Gallo

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

From 18-21 April 1996, students in a Utah State University class (Aquatic Ecology Laboratory; FW 560) measured limnological and fisheries characteristics in two side canyons (Halls Creek Bay and Moki Canyon) and the main channel of Lake Powell. Inclement weather precluded sampling of two other side canyons. Most of the sub-projects, directed by indiVIdual students, addressed the following two hypotheses: (1) productivity gradients existed from the inflows of the side canyons toward the main channel and; (2) productivity was higher in the side canyons than in the main channel of the lake. In most cases, parameters were measured at 3-5 …