Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Quantification Of Plasma And Egg 4,4′ Dinitrocarbanilide (Dnc) Residues For The Efficient Development Of A Nicarbazin-Based Contraceptive For Pest Waterfowl, John J. Johnston, Walter M. Britton, Alexander Macdonald, Thomas M. Primus, Margaret J. Goodall, Christi A. Yoder, Lowell A. Miller, Kathleen A. Fagerstone

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Urbanization and associated landscaping has increased the abundance of year-round habitat for waterfowl, resulting in vegetation damage, loss of recreational activities, air transportation mishaps and health hazards. As part of a research program to develop socially acceptable techniques for management of pest bird populations, we are evaluating nicarbazin as a contraceptive in pest and surrogate avian species. As reproductive studies with Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) are tedious due to the difficulty of conducting controlled field studies and/or breeding geese in captivity, we evaluated the effects of oral nicarbazin administration on the production and hatchability of chicken studies are …

Effects Of Binary Combinations Of Herbicides On Freshwater Algae, Jill K. Taylor

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

No abstract provided.

Water Current, Volume 33, No. 6. December 2001

Water Current Newsletter

• “Daisy Well System” Promising Way for Small Communities to Fight Nitrates by Steve Ress

• From the Director

• Meet the Faculty

• Water and the NRCS…All Encompassing Topics by Steve Chick

• Variety and Current Issues Punctuate Spring Water and Natural Resources Seminar by Steve Ress

• Integrated Water Management Options in the Nebraska Ground Water Management & Protection Act by J. David Aiken

• Arkansas Researchers Study Water Quality on Nebraska Tribal Lands by Ralph Davis and Shelley McGinnis

• Platte River Policy Preferences by Raymond J. Supalla

• Water News Briefs

A Case Study Of The 8 March 1999 Freezing Rain Event For North Platte, Nebraska, Shari Mutchler

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

During the morning hours of 8 March 1999, freezing precipitation fell over portions of western Nebraska, including the communities of McCook, North Platte and Valentine between midnight and 10:00 A.M. CST. The freezing precipitation resulted in dangerous travel conditions, causing several automobile accidents, along with the delay and temporary closing of area public schools 8 March 1999. The freezing rain changed over to snow later the same morning.
A forecast for snow, rather than freezing precipitation, was issued by the local forecast office. The forecast issued was based predominately on numerical weather prediction guidance, and the observed temperature profile of …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 33, No.4 December 2001

The Prairie Naturalist

SPECIES, SEASON, AND DENSITY OF BURIED SEEDS SURVIVING FOX SQUIRREL DEPREDATION ▪ C. C. Smith, and J. M. Briggs

RELATI0NSHIP OF HYDROLOGICAL CONDITIONS AND POPULATlONS OF BREEDING PIPING PLOVERS ▪ D. S. Licht,

DEMODICOSIS IN A WHITE-TAILED DEER (ODOCOILEUS VIRGINIANUS) IN SOUTH DAKOTA ▪ C. N. Jacques, J. A Jenks. M. B. Hildreth. R. J. Schauer, and D. D. Johnson

SURVEYS OF CALLING AMPHIBIANS IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ D. H. Johnson, and R. D. Batie

EFFECTS OF HUMAN PRESENCE ON VOCALIZATIONS OF GRASSLAND BIRDS IN KANSAS ▪ S. L Bye, R. J. Robel, and K. E. Kemp

Reviewers 2001

Author …

Comparison Of Instream Methods For Measuring Hydraulic Conductivity In Sandy Streambeds, Matthew K. Landon, David L. Rus, F. Edwin Harvey

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Streambed hydraulic conductivity (K) values were determined at seven stream transects in the Platte River Basin in Nebraska using different instream measurement techniques. Values were compared to determine the most appropriate technique(s) for use in sandy streambeds. Values of K determined from field falling- and constant-head permeameter tests analyzed using the Darcy equation decreased as permeameter diameter increased. Seepage meters coupled with hydraulic gradient measurements failed to yield K values in 40% of the trials. Consequently, Darcy permeameter and seepage meter tests were not preferred approaches. In the upper 0.25 m of the streambed, field falling- and constant-head permeameter tests …

Non-Target Impacts Of Strychnine Baiting To Reduce Pocket Gopher Populations On Forest Lands In The United States, Dale L. Nolte, Kimberly Wagner

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Reforestation efforts are often severely hindered on sites that contain high populations of pocket gophers (Thmmysspp). Strychnine baiting is a technique used to suppress pocket gopher populations until seedlings are established. Strychnine bait is applied below ground in pocket gopher burrows, however, primary and secondary hazards remain a concern. A study to assess primary hazards indicated that some individual rodents died post strychnine baiting but there was not a long-term negative impact on non-target rodent populations. Possible secondary hazards reflect the potential for predators OT scavengers to encounter poisoned pocket gophers. Concerns that pocket gophers may surface before …

Novel Field Sampling Procedure For The Determination Of Methiocarb Residues In Surface Waters From Rice Fields, Thomas M. Primus, Dennis J. Kohler, Mike Avery, Pat Bolich, M.O. Way, John J. Johnston

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Methiocarb was extracted from surface water samples collected at experimental rice field sites in Louisiana and Texas. The sampling system consisted of a single-stage 90-mm Empore extraction disk unit equipped with a battery-powered vacuum pump. After extraction, the C-18 extraction disks were stored in an inert atmosphere at -10 °C and shipped overnight to the laboratory. The disks were extracted with methanol and the extracts analyzed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with a methanol/water mobile phase. Methiocarb was detected by ultraviolet absorption at 223 nm and quantified with the use of calibration standards. Recoveries from control surface water samples fortified …

Differential Responses Of Coyotes To Novel Stimuli In Familiar And Unfamiliar Settings, Charles E. Harris, Frederick F. Knowlton

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We studied behavioral responses of captive and wild coyotes (Canis latrans) toward novel objects and artificial scent stations to determine how they might respond to novel stimuli used in coyote management and research. When captive coyotes encountered novel stimuli in unfamiliar surroundings they showed little avoidance, while the same stimuli caused avoidance and neophobic reactions among coyotes when encountered in familiar surroundings. In the field phase of the study, radio-collared coyotes in southern Texas were intensively monitored in order to relate space-use patterns to the locations where these coyotes were exposed to artificial scent stations. Coyotes were more …

The Demographic Response Of Bank-Dwelling Beavers To Flow Regulation: A Comparison On The Green And Yampa Rivers, Stewart W. Breck, Kenneth R. Wilson, Douglas C. Anderson

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We assessed the effects of flow regulation on the demography of beavers (Castor canadensis) by comparing the density, home-range size, and body size of bank-dwelling beavers on two sixth-order alluvial river systems, the flow-regulated Green River and the free-flowing Yampa River, from 1997 to 2000. Flow regulation on the Green River has altered fluvial geomorphic processes, influencing the availability of willow and cottonwood, which, in turn, has influenced the demography of beavers. Beaver density was higher on the Green River (0.5–0.6 colonies per kilometer of river) than on the Yampa River (0.35 colonies per kilometer of river). Adult …

The Probe, Issue 219 – November/December 2001

The Probe: Newsletter of the National Animal Damage Control Association

Oversight of Wildlife Damage Control Operators
Oversight of the Wildlife Control Industry -- Tim Mien, President, NWCOA
Oversight of the Wildlife Control Industry: Regulatory and Statutory Standards as Recommendations to the States -- John Hadidian & Michele Childs, The Humane Society of the United States
Coyote Attacks Increasing in California -- Nicki Frey
Ranchers, hunters, farmers and environmentalists in eastern Idaho have agreed to a plan for managing grizzly bears in the state should they be removed from the federal Endangered Species list.
Bobby R. Acord is the new Administrator for the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Graduate …

Strike One, You're Out: Airports, Aircraft, Safety & Wildlife, Bette Blinde

Other Bird Strike and Aviation Materials

This activity is part of a program that asks students to use their problem-solving abilities to evaluate, plan and design a solution to real life dilemmas. This dilemma focuses on airports, aircraft, safety and wildlife. It is one of a series of dilemmas that allows students to learn about natural resource and environmental issues by developing solutions to complex and actual problems being faced.

Targeting Alphas Can Make Coyote Control More Effective And Socially Acceptable, Michael M. Jaeger, Karen M. Blejwas, Benjamin N. Sacks, Jennifer C.C. Neale, Mary M. Conner, Dale R. Mccullough

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Research at the UC Hopland Research and Extension Center (HREC) has improved our understanding of how to reduce sheep depredation while minimizing the impact on coyotes. Analysis of a 14-year data set of HREC coyote-control efforts found that sheep depredation losses were not correlated with the number of coyotes removed in any of three time scales analyzed (yearly, seasonally and monthly) during corresponding intervals for the next 2 years. Field research using radiotelemetry to track coyotes supported and explained this finding. For example, in 1995, dominant “alphas” from four territories were associated with 89% of 74 coyote-killed lambs; “betas” and …

Determination Of Cabergoline By Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry: Picogram Detection Via Column Focusing Sample Introduction, Bruce A. Kimball, Thomas J. Deliberto, John J. Johnston

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

An electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometric method was developed for low-picogram detection of an ergot alkaloid, cabergoline, in coyote plasma extracts. Cabergoline is under investigation as an abortifacient in canid species. Central to the successful development of this method was the ability to introduce relatively large sample volumes into the mass spectrometer. This was achieved by focusing the analyte on a conventional high-performance liquid chromatography guard column prior to elution into the spectrometer. Volumes up to at least 900 μL could be injected onto the guard column using a 100% aqueous mobile phase. Cabergoline retained on the column was eluted …

Evaluation Of Chemical Repellents For Reducing Crop Damage By Dickcissels In Venezuela, M. L. Avery, E. A. Tillman, C.C. Lauker

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

In Venezuela, lethal control of wintering Dickcissels (Spiza americana) is considered a threat to the species survival. To help farmers protect their rice and sorghum crops from depredations by Dickcissels and to minimize the killing of large numbers of these birds, alternative non-lethal crop protection measures are needed. To that end, the responses of captive Dickcissels to three bird-repellent chemicals applied to rice seed were evaluated. In one-cup feeding trials, treatments of methiocarb (0.05% g g^-1, applied as Mesurol® 75% wettable powder) and anthraquinone (0.5%, applied as Flight Control® ) reduced consumption of rice by 70% …

Water Current, Volume 33, No. 5. October 2001

Water Current Newsletter

• Research Indicates Sprinkler Irrigation Use Could Reduce Groundwater Nitrate Levels by Steve Ress

• From the Director

• Meet the Faculty

• Time for Change on the Missouri River by Chad Smith

• Four States Irrigation Council Tour Visits Western Kansas in July by Steve Ress

• Pumpkin Creek Surface-Ground Water Dispute by J. David Aiken

• Water Issues in 2001 by Tim Anderson

• Water News Briefs

Scwds Briefs: Volume 17, Number 3 (October 2001)

Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study: Publications

• Biosecurity Alert
• The United Kingdom appears to be near success in eradicating foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).
• USDA declares chronic wasting disease CWD emergency in captive elk.
• CWD Calamity in Colorado: Approximately 1,300 animals in seven Colorado captive elk herds currently are under quarantine because chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been diagnosed in or traced to the herds.
• Further Spread of West Nile virus (WNV)
• Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) virus was isolated from the brain of a wild white-tailed deer from Houston County, Georgia. Togaviridae, Culiseta melanura
• Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) is a severe neurological …

Acoustic Detections Of Singing Humpback Whales In Deep Waters Off The British Isles, Russell Charif, Phillip Clapham, Christopher Clark

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

From October 1996 through September 1998, we used bottom-mounted hydrophone arrays to monitor deep-water areas north and west of the British Isles for songs of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). Singing humpbacks were consistently detected between October and March from the Shetland- Faroe Islands south to waters west of the English Channel. Temporal and geographic patterns of song detections, and movements of individually tracked whales, exhibited a southwesterly trend over this period, but with no corresponding northward trend between April and September. These results, together with a review of historical data from this area, suggest that the offshore waters …

Movements And Population Structure Of Humpback Whales In The North Pacific, John Calambokidis, Gretchehn Steiger, Janice Straley, Louis Herman, Salvatore Cerchio, Dan Salden, Jorge Urban R., Jeff Jacobsen, Olga Von Ziegesar, Kenneth Balcomb, Christine Gabriele, Marilyn Dahlheim, Senzo Uchida, Graeme Ellis, Yukifumi Miyamura, Paloma Ladron De Guevara P., Manami Yamaguchi, Fumihiko Sato, Sally Mizroch, Lisa Schlender, Jay Barlow, Terrance Quinn Ii

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Despite the extensive use of photographic identification methods to investigate humpback whales in the North Pacific, few quantitative analyses have been conducted. We report on a comprehensive analysis of interchange in the North Pacific among three wintering regions (Mexico, Hawaii, and Japan) each with two to three subareas, and feeding areas that extended from southern California to the Aleutian Islands. Of the 6,413 identification photographs of humpback whales obtained by 16 independent research groups between 1990 and 1993 and examined for this study, 3,650 photographs were determined to be of suitable quality. A total of 1,241 matches was found by …

Mapping Ice Covered Waters From Space, Cheryl Bertoia, Michael Manore, Henrik Steen Andersen

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Under a leaden April Arctic sky, the United States Coast Guard Cutter Healy left the swell of the southern Labrador Sea and entered the Arctic ice pack for the first time, settling in as if she had finally found her home. The deck log notes that at about 4 pm on the 4th April 2000, the ship’s commanding officer, Capt. Bob Garrett, assumed both the deck and the con for the momentous occasion (Figure 1). The ship entered the ice at 51° 33.0’ N, 54° 33.33’ W. The ice trials of the newest U.S. icebreaker were underway!

Intermediate Rings Between A Local Domain And Its Completion, Ii, William Heinzer, Christel Rotthaus, Sylvia Wiegand

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

We present results connecting flatness of extension rings to the Noetherian property for certain intermediate rings between an excellent normal local domain and its completion. We consider conditions for these rings to have Cohen-Macaulay formal fibers. We also present several examples illustrating these results.

Effects Of Trapping And Subsequent Short-Term Confinement Stress On Plasma Corticosterone In The Brown Treesnake (Boiga Irregularis) On Guam, Tom Mathies, Todd A. Felix, Valentine A. Lance

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The effects of capture in a live trap and subsequent handling stress on plasma concentrations of corticosterone and other sex steroids were examined in wild male and female brown treesnakes (Boiga irregularis), an introduced species on Guam that has been implicated in the extirpation or decline of many of that island's vertebrate species. Males and females that spent 1 night in a trap had plasma levels of corticosterone about four and two times higher, respectively, than those of the respective free-ranging controls. Mean plasma levels of corticosterone of snakes that had spent 3 nights in a trap were …

Efficacy Of Wolfin To Repel Black-Tailed Deer, Dale L. Nolte, Kimberly K. Wagner

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Deer and elk provide many desirable recreational opportunities but also can cause severe conflicts with humans. Excluding them from agricultural resources or from roadways is desirable, but fencing is expensive. A chemical barrier would offer a feasible alternative to reduce damage caused by deer. A series of three tests was conducted to assess whether black-tailed deer avoided areas treated with Wolfin, a synthetic predator odor. Wolfin failed to repel deer during any of these trials. We conclude that Wolfin, as applied within this study, is unlikely to reduce problems roused by free-ranging deer. West. J Appl. For. 16(4):182-186.

Porcine Zona Pellucida Immunocontraception: Long-Term Health Effects On White-Tailed Deer, Lowell A. Miller, Ken Crane, Stan Gaddis, Gary J. Killian

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

As part of a 9-year study on the contraceptive effects of Porcine Zona Pellucida (PZP) on white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), we analyzed serum chemistry panels during the first 4 years. This included the first 2 years when does were being actively immunized, and 2 years post-immunization. The chemistry panel was designed to detect pathologies that might result from the immunization of the deer. Blood chemistry results did not suggest any pathological changes resulting from the immunization. Seasonal differences in serum cholesterol were similar in both the control and PZP-treated groups. Seasonal changes in the mean body weights of …

Decline Of The Red-Winged Blackbird Population In Ohio Correlated To Changes In Agriculture (1965-1996), Bradley F. Blackwell, Richard A. Dolbeer

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Based on North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data since 1966, Ohio has traditionally hosted 1 of the highest breeding season densities of red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) of any U.S. state or Canadian province. However, from 1966 through 1996, breeding populations of red-winged blackbirds in Ohio showed a marked decline (x̅ % change/yr in birds per route = -3.9), with breeding population indices decreasing by over 53%. Because the red-winged blackbird successfully adapted to habitats created by agricultural expansion over the last century and became a recognized pest of crops such as corn (Zea mays), …

The Role Of Predation In Wildlife Population Dynamics, Eric M. Gese, Frederick F. Knowlton

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The role predation plays in the dynamics of prey populations is controversial. Our understandings of predator-prey relationships is complicated by a multitude of factors in the environment and a general lack of knowledge of most ecological systems. Various other factors, besides predation, may regulate or limit prey populations, and various factors influence the degree to which predation affects prey populations. Furthermore, some factors may create time lags, or even cause generational effects, that go unnoticed. Herein, we review the role of predation in wildlife population dynamics, some of the factors influencing predator-prey interactions, and attempt to indicate where the professional …

Strike One—You’Re Out! Wildlife Services Helps Reduce Wildlife Conflicts At Airports

Other Bird Strike and Aviation Materials

Collisions between aircraft and wildlife at airports have risen dramatically in recent years as a result of large population increases in many wildlife species, faster airplanes, and the increase in air transportation traffic. Every year between 1991 and 1997, wildlife strikes cost U.S. civil aviation more than $300 million and 500,000 hours of aircraft downtime. About 2,400 bird strikes to civil aircraft are reported each year, and more than 2,500 are reported by the U.S. Air Force. Since 1990, more than 300 deer collisions with aircraft have been reported to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The Probe, Issue 218 – September/October 2001

The Probe: Newsletter of the National Animal Damage Control Association

Regional Directors Address NADCA's Future -- Chad Richardson & Sam Linhart
South Carolina State Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources was justified in issuing permits to kill 200 deer in an effort to control the white-tailed deer population of the Sea Pines Plantation (SPP) on Hilton Head Island.
The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) is claiming credit for a September 9 firebombing at a Tucson, Arizona, McDonald's restaurant.
Biologists from the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (DFWR) have begun using "hair traps" to get an estimate of the state's black bear population.
A …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 33, No.3 September 2001

The Prairie Naturalist

SEASONAL REPRODUCTION IN SIGMODON HISPIDUS INHABITING TALLGRASS PRAIRIES OF OKLAHOMA ▪ J. A. Wilson and R. L. Lochmiller

USE OF THE INDEX OF BIOLOGICAL INTEGRITY IN EASTERN SOUTH DAKOtA RIVERS ▪ C. L. Milewski, C. R. Berry, and D. Dieterman

SEED USE BY VERTEBRATES AND INVERTEBRATES IN TALLGRASS PRAIRIE ▪ A. W. Reed, G. A. Kaufman, J. E. Boyer, Jr., and D. W. Kaufman

RANGE EXPANSION OF THE PILEATED WOODPECKER IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ J. A. Dechant 163

LAB FATTENING AND NON-INVASIVE ESTIMATES OF BODY COMPOSITION IN DEER MICE ▪ E. T. Unangst, Jr., M. J. Blair, M. W. Granger, …

Designing A Terminal Area Bird Detection And Monitoring System Based On Asr-9 Data, Seth Troxel, Mark Isaminger, Beth Karl, Mark Weber, Arthur Levy

2001 Bird Strike Committee-USA/Canada, Third Joint Annual Meeting, Calgary, AB

Conflicts between birds and commercial aircraft are a noteworthy problem at both large and small airports [Cleary, 1999]. The risk factor for United States airports continues to increase due to the steady rise in take-off/landings and bird populations. There is a significant bird strike problem in the terminal area as shown by the incidents reported in the National Bird Strike Database [Cleary and Dolbeer, 1999]. The focus of bird strike mitigation in the past has centered primarily on wildlife management techniques. Recently, an Avian Hazard Advisory System (AHAS) has been developed to reduce the risks of bird strikes to military …