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A Quantitative Study Of Diet In Three Species Of Rodents In Natural And Irrigated Savanna Fields, Safianu Rabiu, Robert K. Rose

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

During July, 1990 - June, 1992 we collected stomach contents of necropsied rodents that totalled 494 Arvicanthis niloticus (Desmarest, 1822), 356 Mastomys natalensis (Smith, 1834) and 273 Tatera valida (Wroughton, 1906) from natural, savanna fields in Nigeria, and 528 Arvicanthis and 367 Mastomys from nearby irrigated fields, where Tatera was never trapped. The materials were processed and microscopically analyzed to determine patterns of diet selection. Sites were sampled for vegetative cover and rodent food resources. More than 90% of the stomach materials could be identified to one of four categories: dicots (vegetative), monocots (vegetative), seeds, and insects. Seeds constituted approximately …

Growth And Survival Of Colorado Squawfish In The Upper Colorado River, D. B. Osmundson, Ronald J. Ryel, T. E. Mourning

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Growth and adult survival rates were estimated for the endangered Colorado squawfish Ptychocheilus lucius inhabiting the upper Colorado River by using data from fish captured during 1990–1995. Mean annual growth rates of fish aged 3–6 years ranged from 32.2 (age 6) to 82.0 (age 3) mm/year. Growth rates for older fish were highest for fish 400–449 mm total length, TL, (42.7 mm/year) and declined to 19.8 mm/year for fish 500–549 mm TL. Fish 550 mm and longer grew an average 9.5 mm/year. Survival rates for fish 550 mm and longer were estimated by comparing measured size distributions with simulated stable …

Ecology And Community Relationships Of The River Cooter, Pseudemys Concinna In A Southern Illinois Backwater, Michael J. Dreslik

Masters Theses

In Illinois the River cooter, Pseudemys concinna, is an enigmatic endangered species. Even throughout its range, ecological studies on the River cooter are rare. During 1994 and 1995 I quantified the: growth rates and trends, population size and structure and dietary habits of a population from floodplain lake in Gallatin county, Illinois. Population estimation (Schnabel method) predicted 136 individuals at a density of 4.6 turtles/ha with a biomass of 3.6 Kg/ha. The sex ratio is slightly male biased (1:1.14). From back-calculated growth data, the von Bertalanffy growth model (Fabens' method) estimates males with a higher growth rate (k) and …

Population Dynamics Of Oryzomys Palustris And Microtus Pennsylvanicus On The Eastern Shore Of Virginia, John A. March Jr.

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

The population dynamics of Oryzomys palustris, the marsh rice rat, and of Microtus pennsylvanicus, the meadow vole, were determined during a year-long mark-and-recapture study on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Three nights of trapping per month were conducted on two live trap grids totaling 5456 total trap nights. The grids were located on Nature Conservancy land, one in Oyster, and the second at Steelman's Landing, which is east of Townsend in Northampton County Virginia. Trapped animals were evaluated using established criteria. Reproductive activity, age and sex composition, and density of the population, capture probability, survival rate, and recruitment were determined. …

An Analysis Of External Features As Predictors Of Reproductive Status In Small Mammals, Kenneth Wayne Mccravy

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Reproductive status in specimens of nine populations of seven species of small mammals was evaluated by examining the external reproductive features of nipple size, condition of the pubic symphysis, and vaginal condition and, in males, testis position. Usefulness of these external features in predicting true monthly breeding rates was evaluated by comparing predictions of breeding rates with true rates based on necropsy. Accuracy of predictions of reproductive status of individuals based on single external features and combinations of external features and body measurements was then analyzed at a finer level by comparing those predictions with results of necropsy of the …

Dna Fingerprinting Analysis Of Captive Asian Elephants, Elephas Maximas, Laura Louise Bischof

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examined the effectiveness of DNA fingerprinting analysis for paternity ascertainment and the establishment of relatedness of captive Asian elephants (Elephas maximas). Eighteen Asian elephants from three North American zoos were examined. Thirteen of these elephants were wild caught. Relationships between these elephants and the remaining elephants born in captivity were known.

Ecology And Interspecific Relationships Of The Painted Turtle, (Chrysemys Picta) In A Marsh-Fen Ecosystem, Eric S. Mcgee

Masters Theses

An ecological study of the painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) was conducted at the Fox River site in Chain O' Lakes State Park in northeastern Illinois from March to September in 1987. Findings were compared to two studies in 1986 concerning the common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) and Blandings turtle (Emydoidea blandingi) also present in the area. Population densities and composition were evaluated to determine the degree of interspecific competition.

Two hundred-forty five turtles were captured in 1986 and 1987. Painted turtles comprised 75 percent of the chelonian population, while Blandings turtles and snapping turtles …

Evaluation Of Inter-Flock Genetic Improvement Programs For Sheep And Goats, G. B. Nicoll, L. Bodin, J. V. Jonmundson

World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production: 3rd (1986)

Some of the factors involved in inter-flock or breed improvement programs are discussed. Such programs are complicated by the fact that sheep and goats produce a wide range of products under diverse environmental, management and economic circumstances. This leads to problems in defining realistic breeding objectives arising from determining the beneficiaries of genetic improvement, the major genetic decision makers in the industry and the relative importance of the various productive characteristics. The implementation of functional performance recording systems, breeding systems to generate young sire replacements, and testing systems to disseminate genetic improvement, also depend on the conditions under which the …

Reproduction In A Nebraska Sandhills Population Of The Northern Prairie Lizard Sceloporus Undulatus Garmani, Royce E. Ballinger, Dale L. Droge, Steven M. Jones

Papers in Herpetology

The reproductive cycle of Sceloporus undulatus was studied in western Nebraska. Females mature in the 1st year following hatching at a size of 45 mm SVL. Two clutches averaging 5.5 eggs each are produced. Egg sizes are similar to other grassland populations and contain approximately 650 g-cal. per egg. Egg weight to body weight ratios of 0.33 were the highest which have been reported for any S. undulatus population. Variation in life history characteristics within and between grassland and eastern woodland habitat types are explicable given a knowledge of the growing season, predation intensity and demographic environment.

Coyote-Prey Relationships In Curlew Valley During A Period Of Low Jackrabbit Density, Stephen W. Hoffman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Coyote-prey relationships were examined in Curlew Valley, northern Utah and southern Idaho, during a period of low jackrabbit density (from September 1973 to May 1975). The Utah and Idaho portions of Curlew Valley were treated separately. Field work provided estimates of relative and absolute rodent densities as well as relative coyote density each spring and fall. Laboratory analysis of over 2,300 scats and 249 stomachs provided detailed information on coyote diets. Jackrabbit population data for northern Utah were obtained from L. Charles Stoddart.

Four species, Peromyscus maniculatus, Perognathus parvus, Eutamias minimus, and Dipodomys ordii comprised over 90 …

Live Trap Preference Among Grassland Mammals, Robert K. Rose, Norman A. Slade, James H. Honacki

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

In two independent studies, small mammals of grassland communities in eastern Kansas, when given a choice, preferred Fitch to Sherman live traps. Except for the harvest mice in the demographic study, the type of preferred trap and magnitude of selection was remarkably comparable, with microtines showing slight, and cricetines strong, preferences overall. The merits of each type of trap are compared, and related to season, weather, prior experience, and trap-associated mortality.

The Growth Of The Red-Ear Turtle Pseudemys Scripta Elegans In A Thermal Lake In Southwestern Illinois, Diana Avalos

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Impact Of The Black-Tailed Jackrabbits (Lepus Californicus) On Vegetation In Curlew Valley, Northern Utah, Mark Westoby

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The interrelations of black-tailed jackrabbits and the desert-shrub vegetation on which they were feeding were studied in Curlew Valley, Northern Utah. The vegetation was described as a three-cornered continuum, the corners being types dominated respectively by Artemisia tridentata, Atriplex confertifolia, and Sarcobatus vermiculatus.

Jackrabbit diet was studied by microscopic analysis of plant fragments in stomachs from shot animals. The method was inaccurate, apparently because the ratio of identifiable tissues to all ingested tissues was very low, and varied between plant taxa, and seasonally. This problem seems intractable for desert shrub vegetation.

The diet was similar to that …