Life Sciences Commons^™

Rate Of Growth As A Method Of Assessing Water Quality, George L. Johnston

Masters Theses

A study of the Embarras River basin was conducted to determine if rate of growth could be used as an indicator of water quality. Six species of sucker were collected from five locations using hand seines and electrofishing gear from December 1970 to December 1971. Tests of eighteen water quality parameters were conducted from November 1970 to November 1971.

The fish were measured and scale samples taken. The rate of growth of the fish taken at the five stations was analyzed and compared using the single classification analysis of variance. Condition factors were also compared.

Although there was some difference …

The Water Quality And Benthic Macroinvertebrate Fauna Of Lake Charleston, Coles County, Illinois, Paul Barding

Masters Theses

The benthic macroinvertebrate fauna and 15 water quality parameters for five sites on Lake Charleston, Coles County, Illinois were examined for 26 weeks from March 14 through September 5, 1974. None of the water quality parameters studied showed sufficient deviations at any particular area on the lake to merit demarcated water quality zonation. The lake, with its continuous mixing and shallow depth, represented a fairly stable and continuous environment. The benthic macroinvertebrate fauna was determined as fairly diverse and some indication of seasonal variation was apparent. No significant compositional variation over different areas of the lake was found, also indicating …

Effects Of Exercise On Serum Lactate Dehydrogenase Activity Of Catchable-Size Hatchery Rainbow Trout, Salmo Gairdneri, Gerlad T. Klar

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Effects of exercise and the relative condition of exercised fish were viii evaluated for two strains of rainbow trout. Circular tanks fitted with a paddle were used to continuously exercise the fish and a stamina tunnel was used to evaluate the condition of exercised trout. Trout were exercised continuously at one fish-length per second and one-half fish length per second. Serum LDH activity in Shephard-of-the-Hills (Missouri) rainbow trout acclimated to 10 C increased two fold during the first four days of exercise. Serum LDH activity returned to control levels by the tenth day of exercise. Serum LDH activity in Shephard-of-the-Hills …

Trout Movements In A Small Mountain Stream, Thomas Mark Twedt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Five groups of 400 hatchery rainbow trout, (Salmo gairdneri), were stocked in a small, mountain stream at 3-week intervals from June to September, 1972. A fish trap captured any fish moving out of a 500 m study section.

Fish began moving at high levels during the first day of each stocking and continued at high rates for 5-8 days (Early Phase), after which movement decreased to low levels for 6-9 days (Late Phase). Early Phase fish moved primarily at night, possibly due to their disoriented state and high subjectivity to stream conditions. Fish moving during Late Phase did …

The Relationship Of Climatic Factors To Grazing Activities Of Cows On Winter And Spring Ranges, Benton M. Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of climatic variations upon the daily activities of grazing cattle. The activities of individual cows on a partially seeded salt desert shrub range were observed and recorded during three grazing periods. Two of the periods were during consecutive winters and the other during the spring. Climatic variations during the second winter period were quantified and compared to changes in the daily activity patterns of the cattle.

Distinctly different daily routines of cattle activities were evident for the winter and spring seasons. In the spring, the cattle grazed, traveled, and drank …

Internal Water Potential Of An Engelmann Spruce Stand In Relation To Soil And Atmospheric Factors, Richard L. Meyn

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The primary objective of this study was to determine the degree of correlation between internal water potential of Engelmann spruce trees and selected environmental factors. The secondary objective of the study was to determine the effect of summer precipitation, both in meadow and forested sites, on the soil drying cycle.

Four study plots (each roughly 154 square meters) under spruce cover and two study plots (100 square meters) in a small meadow were established. At each spruce plot, a thermocouple psychrometer was installed at one meter above the ground on the north side of three selected, mature Engelmann spruce trees. …

Autecological Life History Studies Of Two Geraniums, Geranium Richardsonii And Geranium Nervosum, Becky Lee Green

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Two perennial species of wild geranium (Geranium nervosum Rydb. and G. richardsonii Fisch, and Trautv, [Geraniaceae]) which grow throughout the mountainous regions of western North America were studied to determine the factors influencing the life stage development and distribution of these plants. Attempts were also made to provide some information to assist in the taxonomy of this genus.

Geranium richardsonii is found in wet meadows and along streambanks throughout its distribution. Geranium nervosum frequents rocky hillsides and drier meadows throughout its range.

Seeds of G. nervosum had 65%, germination in the stratification pretreatment. Geranium richardsonii seeds required scarification to …

Habitat Selection By Large Wild Ungulates And Some Aspects Of The Energy Flow In A Sub-Tropical African Savanna Woodland Ecosystem, Stanley M. Hirst

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A study of habitat selection by large wild ungulates was carried out on a 50 cm² area in the sub-tropical Lowveld region of eastern Transvaal province, South Africa. Estimations were made of herbaceous forage net productivity and ungulate secondary productivity on the same area.

Fourteen vegetation types, varying in composition and structure from open savanna to dense woodland, were delineated by association analysis. Structural and vegetational characteristics which were considered to influence ungulate distribution were measured within each vegetation type.

The study area supported resident populations of seven ungulate species during the wet season; drv season densities were higher …

Bromegrass Productivity In Relation To Precipitation, Shrub Canopy Cover And Soil Nitrogen Content, Lawrence G. Kline

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In seasons of above normal precipitation, populations of annual weedy species increase in great abundance in semi-arid desert plant communities. These increases in biomass tie up a considerable portion of the available nitrogen of such ecosystems and may depress subsequent annual grass germination.

A big sagebrush-annual bromegrass plant community was irrigated to simulate a spring growth period of abundant precipitation amenable to annual bromegras s productivity. Productivity and nitrogen content parameters were monitored throughout the spring and summer to evaluate the short and potential long term effects of this seasonal increase in "precipitation".

Irrigation increased annual bromegrass productivity almost 50 …

A Comparison Of Consumer's Surplus And Monopoly Revenue Estimates Of Recreational Value For Two Utah Waterfowl Marshes, C. Holden Brink

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Demand curves were estimated for waterfowl hunting and nonconsumptive recreational use from use rate and variable expenditure data collected at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and the Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area during fiscal 1969. Consumer's surplus and monopoly revenue estimates were then derived from the demand functions. Adjusted estimates of consumer's surplus for waterfowl hunting amounted to $7,260 per year at Bear River and $11,400 per year at Farmington Bay. For nonconsumptive recreation annual consumer's surplus was estimated to be $18,700 at Bear River and $3,760 at Farmington Bay. Monopoly revenue estimates were between one-half and one-fourth the …

Mechanisms Of Population Regulation In Confined Colonies Of Peromyscus Maniculatus (Wagner) And The Response To Exploitation, Donna Corn Olsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Wild-trapped and laboratory-reared Peromyscus maniculatus (Wagner) were raised as confined colonies indoors with various stocking densities ranging from 0.026 to 0.100 mice per sq. ft. in pens of 40, 77, and 154 sq. ft. The animals were individually tagged and all pens were censused at weekly or semi-monthly intervals to record animals present, body weights, food consumption, and overt reproductive condition. At the termination of each experiment, all mice were necropsied and organ weights of gonads and adrenals recorded. Histological sections were made of the testes and ovaries. Half the colonies were subjected to density-independent exploitation by removal of 50% …

Field Measurements Of Photosynthesis And Leaf Growth Rates Of Three Alpine Plant Species, Douglas A. Johnson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Leaf photosynthetic measurements using a portable ¹⁴Co₂ field system were carried out and correlative leaf relative growth rates, RGR, were determined at different leaf positions of three alpine plant species throughout the growing season. Initially there was a period of high leaf RGR associated with a period of increasing photosynthetic activity. Following this stage was a long period of no net change in length of the living leaf. During this period, photosynthetic activity generally increased to a maximum level and then decreased steadily. The final ontogenetic stage was a period of negative leaf RGR denoting leaf senescence which …

Growth Rate And Nesting Aspects For The Glossy Ibis In Virginia, 1972, John William Williams

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

A Study Of Organochlorine Insecticides In Freshwater Crayfish -- Analytical Problems And Biomonitoring Survey, Robert C. Vanderjack

Masters Theses

Crayfish were collected from 3 sites on Polecat Creek, Coles County, Illinois in early spring, early summer, and late summer of 1972. Pesticides were extracted from the crayfish tissue in a one step procedure utilizing a Florisil elution column. Analysis was by electron capture gas chromatography. Pesticide residues in the nannogram range were analyzed and background contamination was an important consideration. Sources of background contamination were investigated and teflon stopcocks, Florisil, and residues on “cleaned” glassware were found to be major contamination sources. Distilled water used in flushing glassware should also be considered a potential contamination source.

Aldrin, dieldrin, and …

Reproduction And Hematology Of The Cache Elk Herd, Thomas B. Follis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The initial three years of a 10-year reproductive study of elk involved three major phases. A fourth was added because of convenience. Objective 1 was to ascertain pregnancy rates in yearling and mature elk by rectal palpation, associate these rates with subsequent fall cow/calf ratios, and to test concurrently an ultrasonic fetal heart detector. Rectally observed anatomical changes in gravid uteri of cattle were directly applicable to elk. Ultrasonic detections of pregnancies in elk and deer were unsuccessful.

Pregnancy rates in the 1969-70 winter of 100 and 0 percent, respectively, for 19 adult and five yearling elk were associated with …

Population Biology Of The Black-Tailed Jackrabbit (Lepus Californicus) In Northern Utah, L. Charles Stoddart

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Population biology of the black-tailed jackrabbit population on a 250-square-mile area in Curlew Valley, northern Utah, was studied from 1962-70. During this period the fall population density index increased from 40.0 in 1962, to 60.6 in 1963, decreased progressively to a low of 21.2 in 1967, then increased the following 3 years to a high of 185.0 in 1970.

Breeding was synchronous with four conception periods each year; in some years a fifth conception period was evident. The first conception period occurred about the last half of January; other periods followed at 40-day intervals indicating a 40-day gestation period and …

An Analysis Of Stock Densities And Harvest Of The Cutthroat Trout Of The Snake River, Teton County, Wyoming, John W. Kiefling

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

An intensive creel census and marking program was conducted in 1969 and 1970 to make possible population estimates and estimates of harvest of cutthroat trout in the Snake River in Teton County, Wyoming. Stock density determinations made in one of the five study areas provided an estimate of 400 and 992 cutthroat trout, eight inches or more in length, per mile of stream in 1969 and 1970 respectively.

Harvest data provide an estimate of 5,207 and 5,903 cutthroat trout harvested in 1969 and 1970 respectively. The harvest estimates obtained in this study are not comparable to those made in 1967 …

Some Aspects Of Conditioning Behavior In Rainbow Trout, Salmo Gairdneri, Reed E. Harris

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Effects of exercise, social facilitation, and delayed conditioning after vi exercise on the learning behavior of 5 to 6-inch rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri, was measured in a conditioned avoidance response apparatus. The conditioning schedule contained an intertrial interval between alternate presentations of conditioned (light) and unconditioned (shock) stimuli. This randomization eliminated learning losses found in a previous study. Mean percentage avoidance, the measurement of learning, did not decrease significantly during conditioning trials. Exercised fish learned avoidance better than did non-exercised fish. Mean percentage avoidance for fish exercised at 0.5 ft/sec was 66.3; at 1.0 ft/ sec, 1.5 ft/sec, and …

Acute Toxicity Of No 6 Fuel Oil To Intertidal Organisms In The Lower York River, Virginia, Jeffrey L. Hyland

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Biomonitoring Of Organochlorine Insecticides Using The Clam, Amblema Plicata, Terry M. Hogan

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Water Quality And Benthos Of A Small East Central Illinois Stream, With A Selected Literature Review, Kenneth Lloyd Brummett

Masters Theses

Polecat Creek is an occasionally intermittent stream which drains approximately 18,368 acres in eastern Coles County, Illinois. It travels 15.2 miles through cropland and a partially wooded valley before it enters the Embarrass River 3 miles upstream from Lake Charleston. The stream ranges from 0.5 foot to 5 feet deep at a normal water level, with an average depth of 16 inches. It averages 12 feet wide, with a range from 4 to 20 feet.

A water quality study with 5 stations along the stream was conducted from January 1971 to July 1971. A qualitative benthos study at the same …

Spawning And Early Life History Of Largemouth Bass (Micropterus Salmoides) In Wahweap Bay, Lake Powell, Kent D. Miller

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Spawning time and habitat of largemouth bass, survival of embryos, and growth and food habits of fingerlings were studied in 1968 and 1969 at Wahweap Bay, Lake Powell. Spawning began in mid- to late-April, when mean daily water temperature at nesting depths was 14.4-15.0 Centigrade (58-59 Fahreheit), and continued until mid-June. Most spawning took place on the northeast shore of the bay. Sandstone rubble was the most commonly used bottom type for nesting, either at the base of ledges or around large sandstone boulders. Mean nest depth increased from 1.63 meter to 4.54 meters (5.36 feet to 14.90 feet) in …

A Study Of The Exotic Game Bird Introduction Program In The Sandy Point Area Of Virginia 1970-1971, Hans Wachtmeister

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Population Dynamics Of Ospreys In Tidewater Virginia, Robert Senior Kennedy

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Drift Of Oligophlebodes Sigma And Baetis Bicaudatus In A Mountain Stream, William Dean Pearson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The objective of this study was to clarify the relationships between drift rates, population density, production rates, key environmental factors, and movements of adults within two populations of stream insects (a caddisfly--Oligophlebodes sigma and a mayfly--Baetis bicaudatus).

Samples of benthic invertebrates (424 total) were collected every 28 days at four stations on Temple Fork of the Logan River, Utah, from October, 1967 to September, 1969. Samples of drift invertebrates (181 total) were collected every 14 days at three stations on Temple Fork during the same period. During summer months (June-September) a day and a night drift sample …

Evaluation Of Molting Areas Of Great Basin Canada Geese, Paul D. Arneson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Environmental factors at Neponset and Woodruff Narrows reservoirs were evaluated to determine their effects on molting Canada geese. More geese utilized Woodruff Narrows. Geese apparently favored the larger expanse of open water and adequate food supply.

Most of the molting geese were from the Bear River drainage. Some geese came from scattered areas in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. After molting, the geese flew to migration staging areas in southeastern Idaho before migrating to wintering areas in southern California and Arizona.

Females outnumbered males by 6 percent. The mean annual mortality rate for adult geese was 42 percent. Recovery rates …

Shellfish Resources Of Washington, Robert Grant Levens

Graduate Student Research Papers

This paper will explore the salt water shellfish resources of Washington State. Particular emphasis will be placed upon the Pacific and Olympia Oysters, the Dungeness Crab, the research being done at Quilcene, and the lesser varieties of shellfish, including shrimp and the hardshell species of clams. The latter includes the littleneck, butter, Manila, and geoduc clams. A major emphasis will be the commercial importance of the shellfish, but the sportsman and the expanding role of Washington as a summer recreation area will not be overlooked.

The Effects Of Certain Environmental And Biological Factors On Rally Calling In The Chukar Partridge, H. Warrington Williams

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Naturalists for many years have known that birds sing most at dawn and at dusk, but to which of many physical variables they are responding has not been completely determined. This problem has taken on importance in the field of wildlife management because calling rate has been used as an index of abundance for numerous game birds, namely the Pheasant, Phasianus colchicus (Kimball, 1949); the Mourning Dove, Zenaidura macroura (McClure, 1939); the Bobwhite Quail, Colinus virginianus (Bennitt, 1951; Rosene, 1957): and the Woodcock, Philohela minor (Pitelka, 1943).

Life History Notes On The Walleye, Stizostedion Vitreum Vitreum (Mitchill) In A Turbid Water, Utah Lake, Utah, Billy B. Arnold

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Early in 1952, walleye fry were stocked for the first time in Utah Lake. Subsequent plants were made in 1954, 1955 and 1956. Altogether, over two million fry have been stocked.

By January, 1958, it was felt sufficient time had elapsed for the species to establish patterns of growth, reproduction, food habits and consequent relationships to the new environment. Thus, on January 1, 1958, a Federal Aid to Fisheries project, number DJ F-4-R-5, job T, was initiated. This project was entitled "investigations of Yellow Pikeperch and Channel Catfish of Utah Lake, Utah County." Although the closing date was December 31, …

Lethal Concentrations And Detoxification Time Of Toxaphene For Goldfish, Gambusia And Rainbow Trout, Gar W. Workman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In the past few years the Utah Fish and Game Department, as well as the fish and game departments of other states, has been spending fisheries money for fish eradication on both lakes and streams. The Utah Fish and Game Department recently suggested to the University that research be initiated on the subject of toxaphene as a fish poison. Consequently, a better insight into conditions that exist for a given water type could be developed.