Behavioral Neurobiology Commons^™

Chemical Bird Repellents: Possible Use In Cyanide Ponds, Larry Clark, Pankaj Shah

Larry Clark

No abstract provided.

Avoidance Of Bird Repellents By Mice, Dale Nolte, J. Russell Mason, Larry Clark

Larry Clark

It is believed that mammalian chemosensory initants are not aver­ sive to birds and vice versa. Nevertheless, few avian repellents have been tested against mammals. For that reason, we evaluated the efficacy of 1.0% w/v methyl anthranilate, orthoaminoacetophenone, 2-amino-4' ,5 '-methoxy­ acetophenone, 2-methoxyacetophenone, and veratryl amine as mouse repel­ lents in 3-hr no-choice drinking tests. Relative to ingestion of plain water, all test substances significantly reduced (P < 0.05) intake. Orthoaminoaceto­phenone was the most effective repellent, with intake reduced to levels sta­tistically indistinguishable from zero.

White Plastic Flags Repel Snow Geese, J. Russell Mason, Larry Clark, N. Jay Bean

Larry Clark

The effectiveness of white flags as visual repellents to snow geese (Chen caerulescens) was evaluated. Twelve fields, each 10.12 ha (25 acres) in area, with snow goose damage, were located and proximity was used to create six pairs. Within each pair, one field was selected randomly for treatment (one white plastic flag per acre) and the other served as a control. At 7-day intervals for SV2 weeks, mean vegetation length and mean percentage vegetative cover were estimated for all fields. The results showed that grazing damage was significantly reduced in fields with flags. It is concluded that white plastic flags …

Development Of Chemosensory Attractants For White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus), J. Russell Mason, N. Jay Bean, Larry Clark

Larry Clark

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus spp.) overpopulate many areas of the United States. Browse damage to agricultural crops, forest regeneration and landscaping can be severe. Human and animal health also arc threatened by Lyme disease, which is spread by the deer tick (Ixodes dammini). Although sterilants to reduce and/or slow the growth of deer populations and vaccines against Lyme disease may soon become available, efficient and economical techniques to inoculate large numbers of deer have not been developed. Oral baits represent one promising possibility. In experiment 1, salt blocks and several olfactory lures were evaluated as potential lures for use in deer …

Nonlethal Rodent Repellents: Differences In Chemical Structure And Efficacy From Nonlethal Bird Repellent, Dale Nolte, J. Russell Mason, Larry Clark

Larry Clark

At least some anthranilates (e.g., methyl anthranilate), and ace­ tophenones (e.g., orthoaminoacetophenone) are aversive to mice as well as to birds. Here we systematically examined nine acetophenone isomers (ortho, meta, para) and moieties (amino, hydroxy, methoxy) previously tested as drinking and feeding repellents for European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris). All nine substances reduced intake by mice in single-bottle tests. When molecular characteristics were examined, amino group reactivity and, to a lesser extent, isomeric position (i.e., resonance), were related to the strength of the avoid­ ance response. Unlike effective avian repellents, the presence of intramo lecular hydrogen bonds did not appear to …

Interaction Between Sensory And Postingestional Repellents In Starlings: Methyl Anthranilate And Sucrose, Larry Clark, J. Russell Mason

Larry Clark

Ingestion of concentrated sucrose solutions causes sickness in sucrase-defi­ cie_nt birds. As a result, some suggest that sucrose may represent an environmentally safe avian repellent. In the present experiments, we compared the repellency of sucrose to that of methyl anthranilate (MA), a known avian repellent. We also tested mixtures of sucrose and MA to investigate whether repellency could be enhanced, relative to sucrose or MA presentealo'!e. The results showed that the MA was strongly avoided in both drinking anf edmtnals. Conversely, only high sucrose concentrations were avoided, and only in dnnkmg tnals. No combination of MA and sucrose was as …

Odor Thresholds In Passerines, Larry Clark, K.V. Avilova, N.J. Bean

Larry Clark

Eight species of passerines were evaluated for their ability to form conditioned responses to odor stimuli. Only 5 species met training criteria and were tested for odor detection thresholds.

2. Detection thresholds were comparable to other passerines tested. Detection values were also similar to mammalian macrosmatic species, such as rats and rabbits. Thus, despite the poorly elaborated olfactory anatomy of passerines, these birds possess an adequate sense of smell.

3. Within the Passeriformes there is no correlation between olfactory acuity and relative size of the olfactory bulb. However, there is a correlation between acuity and olfactory bulb size across orders …