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13.4.6. Strategies For Water Level Manipulations In Moist-Soil Systems, Leigh H. Fredrickson

Waterfowl Management Handbook

Water level manipulations are one of the most effective tools in wetland management, provided fluctuations are well-timed and controlled. Manipulations are most effective on sites with (1) a dependable water supply, (2) an elevation gradient that permits complete water coverage at desired depths over a majority of the site, and (3) the proper type of water control structures that enable water to be supplied, distributed, and discharged effectively at desired rates. The size and location of structures are important, but timing, speed, and duration of drawdowns and flooding also have important effects on plant composition, plant production, and avian use. …

13.1.3. Life History Strategies And Habitat Needs Of The Northern Pintail, Leigh H. Fredrickson, Mickey E. Heitmeyer

Waterfowl Management Handbook

The northern pintail (hereafter pintail) is a common dabbling duck distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Since 1955, the breeding population in North America has averaged 5,566,000, fluctuating between 10,124,000 (1956) and 2,471,000 (1989; Fig. 1). Pintail numbers are especially sensitive to habitat conditions that reflect the wet–dry cycle in the shortgrass prairie breeding areas of south-central Canada and the northern Great Plains of the United States. Populations of pintails also are affected by habitat conditions in key wintering areas, such as the Central Valley of California and Gulf Coast marshes. When wintering areas are fairly dry, birds have fewer resources …

Survey Of The Damage Caused To Trees By Goats, Steve Gherardi, Dick Mills, Tim Johnson

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

The damage that goats can cause to trees is one of the major problems associated with their farming in the agricultural areas of Australia. It is also considered one of the main hindrances to the development of the goat industry. The Department of Agriculture s Goat Industry Development Unit surveyed mohair and cashmere producers to determine the prevalence of tree damage and its extent and severity; why producers believed goats damaged trees; and how producers minimised or prevented this damage.

13.4.7. Managing Beaver To Benefit Waterfowl, James K. Ringelman

Waterfowl Management Handbook

Aside from humans, no other organism has the capacity to modify its environment as much as the beaver. In doing so, beaver create wetlands that provide valuable waterfowl habitats. Because beavers are widely distributed in North America (Fig. 1), beaver ponds can benefit waterfowl during breeding, migrating, and wintering periods. Mismanaged beaver populations, however, can severely degrade riparian habitats and become a costly problem. The key to successfully managing beaver for waterfowl benefits is understanding the values of beaver ponds in meeting the seasonal needs of waterfowl. Beaver populations must then be managed to provide these benefits in a self-sustaining …

13.4.18. Chufa Biology And Management, James R. Kelley Jr., Leigh H. Fredrickson

Waterfowl Management Handbook

Chufa (Cyperus esculentus) is an emergent perennial sedge that is common in seasonally flooded wetlands. Although chufa is common in many States, it is most abundant in the Southeast, including the Mississippi alluvial valley (Fig. 1). Belowground biomass of chufa, especially the tubers, serves as a valuable food source for waterfowl and cranes. Chufa tubers rank tenth among the most important waterfowl foods in the United States.

Lake Mead Nutrient Enhancement Project, Peter D. Vaux, Larry J. Paulson, Nevada Department Of Wildlife, National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration

Publications (WR)

The Lake Mead Fertilization Project is a research program designed to investigate the potential for using large-scale artificial fertilization to enhance the game fisheries of this reservoir through an increase in the population of threadfin shad, the system's primary forage species. A substantial decline in the population of largemouth bass, together with poor condition of adult striped bass, are the two major issues affecting the Lake Mead game fisheries. Both issues have been hypothesized to be a result of an inadequate amount of forage in the reservoir. Previous studies have in turn suggested that a major factor limiting the shad …

The Impact Of Mining And Mining Exploration On Range Resources And Pastoral Pursuits In The Pilbara, Gascoyne, Murchison And Goldfields Regions Of Western Australia, H J. Pringle, G A. Carter, J L. James, R E Y O'Connor

Resource management technical reports

Mining activity occurs very widely over relatively small areas of the rangelands. However, it is an intense landuse which can create significant offsite effects. Mining activity is most common around metamorphic 'greenstone' belts and broad drainages. Pastoralists reported both benefits and adverse affects as a consequence of mining activity. The main grievances related to unnecessary and excessive disturbance of pastoral land and the failure of operators to inform the pastoralist of their intentions.

Land Management Manual. Merredin Advisory District, F. Frost, M Howell

Natural resources published reports

Farming by soil type recognizes that each major soil unit has specific land use capabilities. 'When developing a farm management programme, understanding and appreciating the productive potential and degradation hazard of each soil unit ensures that production systems can be developed which are 'sustainable. The aim of this land management manual is to describe the climatic and geological features of the district and provide definitions of each of the major soil units and 'current management recommendations. The material is designed to be used as an information base for farm planners.

Thes oil units described are for the Merredin advisory district …

The Effect Of Seasonal Cattle Grazing On California Bighorn Sheep Habitat Use, Melanie J. Steinkamp

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The effect of seasonal cattle grazing on a newly reintroduced population of California bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis californiana) in Big Cottonwood Canyon, Idaho, was studied. The hypothesis that bighorn sheep avoid cattle was tested. The issue of avoidance between bighorn sheep and livestock is arguable. Some studies have found that bighorn sheep avoid cattle while others have found no response of bighorn sheep to cattle.

Evidence was found to document the avoidance of cattle by bighorn sheep. The size of the bighorn's home range and core area decreased with the movement of cattle into areas of high bighorn …

A Descriptive Study Of Range Livestock Operations In The Somali Central Rangelands, Abdinasir M. Abdulle

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Information on livestock operations, particularly what kind of livestock operations are practiced in the Somali central rangelands, and how these operations differ for different herders in different vegetation types and farming systems, could serve as a major tool in making management decisions. This study provides a detailed description of range livestock operations in the Somali Central Rangelands. It also answers some important management questions.

Range livestock operations were inventoried through personal interviews with the owners and herders. Data are supplemented by previous nation-wide and regional survey statistics. Herd productivity data which include herd structures, age, age-related sales, slaughters, gifts, and …

The Effects Of Disease, Prey Fluctuation, And Clear-Cutting On American Marten In Newfoundland, Canada, Richard J. Fredrickson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Individual variation in survival and behavior of American marten (Martes americana) was studied in relation to disease, prey fluctuation, and clear-cutting from 10 January 1986 through 20 August 1987 in Newfoundland, Canada. Thirty-seven of forty marten captured on the study area were telemetered and monitored for part or all of the study.

Marten mortality was concentrated in two intervals, fall 1986 and late winter 1987. Mortality during fall 1986 was attributable to encephalitis, while marten deaths during late winter 1987 resulted from predation and starvation attributable to the prey decline. Nonsuppurative encephalitis was first detected 7 October 1986; …

Cost-Effective Wilderness Fire Management: A Case Study In Southern California, Christian A. Childers, Douglas D. Piirto

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

Federal wilderness fire management policies have been scrutinized since the catastrophic fires in the Greater Yellowstone Area in 1988. While wilderness tire management objectives are still aimed at recreating natural fire regimes, all USDA Forest Service fire management programs must be cost-effective. Since current Forest Service economic analyses do not fully represent the value of fire to wilderness, a cost-effectiveness analysis was developed to compare wilderness fire management options. The analytical procedure is briefly reviewed, illustrated through a southern California case study and case study results are discussed. These results suggest that containment of some tires may be more cost-effective …

Lamb Predation In Patagonian Ranches, J. Bellati, J. Von Thungen

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 14th (1990)

Lamb predation in Patagonia, Argentina, is considered by ranchers as the cause of one of their greatest losses and limits sheep production. Patagonian red fox (Dusicyon culpaeus) is the main predator and the magnitude of the problem reflects its distribution and abundance. Since 1979, the Bariloche Experimental Station of the Instituto Nacional de Technologia Agropecuaria (INTA) has performed 8 studies, totaling 1,717 lamb necropsies, with the purpose of determining the relative importance of predation and other causes of lamb mortality. This paper analyzes the causes of lamb mortality, with special reference to red fox and carnivorous bird predation. …

Rodent Problems In Range Rehabilitation, Richard Everett, Steve Monsen

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 14th (1990)

Seed predation by rodents has limited successful re-establishment of desirable shrubs, forbs, and grasses on degraded western rangelands. We need to develop methods that temporarily reduce rodent numbers or their predation of planted seed if we are to establish diverse rangeland plant communities. Range site conversion treatments of chaining, prescribed burning, spraying, or drilling have not been effective in reducing deer mice populations. However, seed predation has been reduced by adopting seeding strategies that mimic natural seed predation avoidance mechanisms. Seedings have been designed to mimic the "satiation" strategy for plant establishment by providing more seed and sacrifice foods than …

Reproduction And Population Structure Of Pocket Gophers (Thomomvs Bottae) From Irrigated Alfalfa Fields, Susan C. Loeb

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 14th (1990)

Pocket gophers were collected from irrigated alfalfa fields (IRR) and non-irrigated fallow fields (NIRR) in Davis, California, for 2 years. Reproduction was continuous in IRR fields with very little seasonal variation in reproductive activity. In contrast, reproduction in NIRR fields occurred primarily during the rainy season (winter and spring). Females in IRR fields produced approximately twice as many litters per year (3.6-3.9) as females in NIRR habitats (1.7). The high reproductive potential of adult females in IRR fields coupled with the early age of sexual maturity among young females suggests that population recovery after control measures is likely to be …

Vertebrate Pests Of Uk Agriculture: Present Problems And Future Solutions, Anthony R. Hardy

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 14th (1990)

The status of damage by vertebrate pests to growing and stored agricultural crops is reviewed in the light of changing patterns of agricultural practice and land use within the UK. Significant problems and existing management techniques are briefly discussed. The results of recent research by the Agricultural Department and Advisory Service (ADAS) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food are explored to indicate the future direction of vertebrate pest management to reduce crop damage. Recent changes in legislation and public attitudes impose constraints on some of the approaches to solving problems. The continued role of traditional control methods is …

Rodents As A Food Source, Lynwood A. Fiedler

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 14th (1990)

Rodents, one of several kinds of vertebrates included in the human diet, are very suitable as human food. More than 71 genera and 89 species of rodents, mostly hystricomorphs, have been consumed by man. Some have even been domesticated for private or commercial production of food for human consumption. Rodents in the temperate world serve only as a supplement to the regular diet of humans; but in the tropical world, they are widely accepted and a popular source of protein. Although harvesting field rats for human food is beneficial, it is not an effective pest control strategy. Consuming rodents in …

Survival Of Trout Strains As Affected By Limnological Parameters, Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh, Timothy Modde, Chris Luecke, Cheryl Courtney

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Juvenile rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss. (ca. 80 mm S.L.) stocked into mid-elevation reservoirs in Utah are vulnerable to predation from piscivorous fish and birds. I determined how effectively juvenile trout used cover to avoid these predators by using direct observations (snorkel transects) on habitat selection in two reservoirs. Observations of juvenile trout were conducted within five weeks of stocking in 1988 and 1989. During the day juvenile trout were abundant in complex inshore habitats. Juvenile trout actively fed during the day but the time of peak feeding was variable. Large Daphnia made of > 95% of the diet of juvenile trout. …

The Probe, Issue 99 - January/February 1990

The Probe: Newsletter of the National Animal Damage Control Association

THE PROBE National Animal Damage Control Association
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1990
NADCA Election Results
APHIS Activity Report
Predator Meeting Conference
Treasurer’s Report
Letters to Ye Ed
Personnel
ADC Research
New Products
Animal Rights

Anasazi Basketmaker: Papers From The 1990 Wetherill-Grand Gulch Symposium, Victoria M. Atkins, Lisa Mcclanahan

Elusive Documents

No abstract provided.

Fisheries Research Report No. 87 - The Recreational Marron Fishery In Western Australia, Summarised Research Statistics, 1971-1987, N. M. Morrissy, C. J. Fellows

Fisheries Research Reports

The freshwater crayfish Cherax tenuimanus, called marron, provides an important recreational fishery in the south-west of Western Australia. The annual fishing catch and fishing effort have been monitored by a log book research programme and an end-of season telephone survey since the 1971/72 season.

Following the 1986/87 fishing season, the fishery remained closed for two seasons (1987/88 and 1988/89) to permit stocks to recover from the effects of high total fishing effort and unfavourable water conditions over the preceding seasons

This paper provides a detailed account of the catch and effort statistics to the close of the 1986/87 fishing season, …

13.2.10. Decoy Traps For Ducks, James K. Ringelman

Waterfowl Management Handbook

Waterfowl managers and researchers must often capture ducks to band, mark, or measure. During fall and winter, cannon nets, walk-in bait traps, or swim-in traps with funnel entrances are commonly used to capture ducks. However, all of these use bait, usually grain, to lure birds. During the breeding and post-breeding periods, when the diet of many dabbling duck species is dominated by aquatic invertebrates, birds often respond poorly to bait traps. Many diving ducks do not respond to bait traps at any time of the year. Decoy traps are an effective alternative to bait traps in spring and early summer …

13.2.12. Artificial Nest Structures For Canada Geese, I. J. Ball

Waterfowl Management Handbook

Under natural conditions, Canada geese are protected from predatory mammals by selecting nest sites on islands, muskrat lodges, cliffs, or snags, or nests made by ospreys or other motors. The limited availability of safe natural sites seems to hold many goose populations below limits set by other habitat factors. The use of artificial structures to provide safe nest sites for Canada geese in North America began more than 50 years ago; structures are now among the most widely used, and most successful, of goose management practices.

Structures are considered any artificial device, with the exception of earthen or rock islands, …

13.3.5. Ecology Of Northern Prairie Wetlands, Jan Eldridge

Waterfowl Management Handbook

Glaciated wetlands of the prairie pothole region are among the most productive of ecosystems. In terms of primary productivity (vegetation) they rank with the tropical rain forests (Fig. 1). Wetland productivity is controlled by water levels that fluctuate over time. However, primary productivity is highly variable for a variety of reasons including the variance in annual precipitation, the nature of the glacial till, the salinity of the water, the relation of the basin to the groundwater, and the temperature extremes typical of a continental climate.

My purpose is to review the basic patterns that contribute to the productivity of prairie …

Waterlogging Limits Growth On Duplex Soils, Bob Belford, Miles Dracup, David Tennant

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Duplex soils - soils with a sandy topsoil overlying a clayey subsoil -are ividespread in Western Australia's agricultural areas (see map). These soils are potentially highly productive, but crop growth is variable and the soils can become waterlogged. Work on a duplex soil site near Beverley has shoivn that the soil ivaterlogs where the permeability of the clay is low, and that this permeability varies ividely over the site. Waterlogging accounts for an average of half of the variation in wheat yields on this site; surprisingly, lupins have so far appeared less sensitive to waterlogging- The Department of Agriculture and …

Waterlogging : How It Reduces Plant Growth And How Plants Can Overcome Its Effects, Tim Setter, Bob Belford

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Lack of oxygen is the major cause of limited plant growth in waterlogged soils. When soils become waterlogged less gas diffuses to and from the roots through the soil pores; there are changes in concentrations of mineral elements in soil solutions; and toxic products of roots and soil microorganisms begin to accumulate. These changes adversely affect germination, growth and development of plants.

13.3.3. Aquatic Invertebrates Important For Waterfowl Production, Jan Eldridge

Waterfowl Management Handbook

Aquatic invertebrates play a critical role in the diet of female ducks during the breeding season. Most waterfowl hens shift from a winter diet of seeds and plant material to a spring diet of mainly invertebrates. The purpose of this chapter is to give managers a quick reference to the important invertebrate groups that prairie-nesting ducks consume.

Waterfowl species depend differentially on the various groups of invertebrates present in prairie wetlands, but a few generalizations are possible. Snails, crustaceans, and insects are important invertebrate groups for reproducing ducks (Table). Most species of laying hens rely on calcium from snail shells …

13.3.3. Aquatic Invertebrates Important For Waterfowl Production, Jan Eldridge

Waterfowl Management Handbook

Aquatic invertebrates play a critical role in the diet of female ducks during the breeding season. Most waterfowl hens shift from a winter diet of seeds and plant material to a spring diet of mainly invertebrates. The purpose of this chapter is to give managers a quick reference to the important invertebrate groups that prairie-nesting ducks consume.

Waterfowl species depend differentially on the various groups of invertebrates present in prairie wetlands, but a few generalizations are possible. Snails, crustaceans, and insects are important invertebrate groups for reproducing ducks (Table). Most species of laying hens rely on calcium from snail shells …

13.4.2. Economic And Legal Incentives For Waterfowl Management On Private Lands, Richard D. Schultz

Waterfowl Management Handbook

Waterfowl management on public lands in the United States began about 1870 with the establishment of Lake Merritt, a State-owned refuge near Oakland, California. In 1924 the United States established the Upper Mississippi River Wild Life and Fish Refuge, a complex of waterfowl habitats extending from Wabasha, Minnesota, to Rock Island, Illinois. Over the next 50 years, more than 80 million acres of county, State, and Federal lands were acquired across the United States to provide waterfowl production, migration, and wintering habitats. Because of these early (and continuing) efforts, a significant portion of North America’s remaining valuable wetland complexes exists …

13.4.3. Managing Agricultural Foods For Waterfowl, James K. Ringelman

Waterfowl Management Handbook

Agriculture, more than any other human activity, has had a profound influence on North American waterfowl. Most agricultural effects have been detrimental, such as the conversion of grassland nesting cover to cropland, the widespread drainage of wetlands, and the use of pesticides that may poison waterfowl or their food. However, some by-products of agriculture have been beneficial, particularly grain or other foods left as residue after harvest. Many waterfowl are opportunistic feeders, and some species such as Canada geese (Branta canadensis), snow geese (Chen caerulescens), mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), northern pintails (A. acuta), …