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Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 7th (1976)

PROCEEDINGS SEVENTH VERTEBRATE PEST CONFERENCE

Vampire Bat Control Programs In Latin America, Rodrigo Gonzalez, G. Clay Mitchell

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 7th (1976)

Studies in Mexico in 1972 showed that diphacinone (Diphenadione)¹ (2-diphenylacetyl-1, 3-indandione) was effective in reducing both vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) populations and the incidence of bat-transmitted rabies in cattle. Two highly selective methods were developed: treating cattle systemically and treating vampire bats topically. Since 1972, Denver Wildlife Research Center personnel have assisted Latin American Ministries of Agriculture in developing control campaigns. Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guyana, Panama, Venezuela, and Nicaragua have either undertaken or are considering operational vampire bat control programs.

The Role Of The Pest Control Advisor In Vertebrate Pest Control, James T. Hallett

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 7th (1976)

California State legislation as passed in 1971 established the Agricultural Pest Control Advisors Licensing program with the intent of providing agriculture with competent and professional personnel who make pest control recommendations. Today, nearly 4,000 advisors are licensed in California and approximately 1350 are licensed vertebrate pest control advisors. Recent amendments to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act will add new responsibilities to the advisor by requiring certification of both private and commercial applicators throughout the U.S. beginning in 1977. More than one-half of the vertebrate pest control advisors are employed in agrichemical sales while the remainder are employed by …

Hazards To Wildlife Associated With Underground Strychnine Baiting For Pocket Gophers, Paul L. Hegdal, Thomas A. Gatz

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 7th (1976)

Under an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) contract, we evaluated the hazards associated with strychnine baiting for pocket gophers (Geomys bursarius) with the burrow-builder. On the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge, Minnesota, we treated 662 ha (1638 acres) with 0.5 percent strychnine-treated bait. Treated fields were scattered throughout 10 sections. Control was effective--data from pocket gopher activity plots showed 87.5 ± 5.9 percent reductions in activity. Populations of other small rodents (while quite low) significantly declined on the treated area, but significantly increased on the control area. To measure secondary effects we equipped 36 raptors and 36 mammalian predators with …

A Philosophy Of Vertebrate Pest Control, Walter E. Howard

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 7th (1976)

Vertebrate pest problems are foremost economic, political and social rather than biological anomalies. Students are often turned away from vertebrate control, which is applied ecology, by professors who know only theory and do not understand the ecology of man-modified environments. Applied ecologists seeking alternative methods of vertebrate control benefit environment far more than the negative, anti-control approach based on half-truths that are used for self-serving purposes by many protectionist organizations and government leaders in CEQ, EPA and USDI. A healthy ethic, with deep ecological conscience, would be to appreciate the glory of death in nature, for death means life to …

Design: A Critical Need In Pest-Damage Control Experiments, Charles R. Ingram

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 7th (1976)

The manner in which an experiment is conducted determines the inferences that can be made from the results of the analysis of the experiment. This paper emphasizes the critical need in pest-damage control (PDC) experiments for a detailed planning process (i.e., the design of experiments) by exampling improper designs that prohibit a researcher from making valid inferences about his hypotheses of interest. Emphasis is placed on identification of experimental units, determination of restrictions on the randomization procedure, and specification of treatment forms of pest control materials. A list of some specific actions to strengthen PDC experiments is given.

Control Of The European Mole, Talpa Eruopaea, M. Lund

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 7th (1976)

Common methods for mole control are baiting with earthworms impregnated with thallium sulphate or strychnine, gassing with pellets developing phosphine, and trapping. Seasonal cycles in burrowing activity make it difficult to evaluate results of expensive control campaigns and may give a false impression of efficiency.

Review And Results Of Sodium Cyanide Spring Loaded Ejector Mechanism (Scslem) Experimental Programs , Raymond W. Matheny

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 7th (1976)

Sodium cyanide was cancelled for use in predator control in March 1972 along with strychnine and 1080 mainly because of the indiscriminate use of these poisons which posed an imminent hazard and danger to the environment. After due consideration, the EPA Administrator in January 1974 authorized approval of experimental use permits (under Section 5 of FIFRA as amended) for use of sodium cyanide in the M-44 device (SCSLEM) in order to accumulate information necessary to support registration consideration. Subsequently nine permits were issued for this purpose. In August 1975, a public hearing was held in Washington, D.C. to respond to …

Pest Bird Damage Control In Cattle Feedlots: The Integrated Systems Approach, Thomas K. Palmer

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 7th (1976)

The cattle feedlot affords an ideal habitat for large concentrations of birds. Several species are primarily involved in feed depredations and contamination. The development of an integrated systems approach to control involves the interaction of - human attitude, cultural control practices and application of bird damage control techniques, each of which is a dynamic system in itself.

Contamination Of Forest Ecosystems By Sodium Fluoroacetate (Compound 1080)*, J.A. Peters

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 7th (1976)

Predictive and conceptual models are used to examine the contamination, toxicology, and residues of sodium fluoroacetate (Compound 1080) in relation to its application in vertebrate pest control programs on forest and pastoral lands.

As a pesticide, the toxin appears to be neither mobile nor persistent. Exceedingly slender opportunities exist therefore for significant contamination of susceptible components of the environment.

Olfactory Responses Of Deer Mice To Douglas-Fir Seed Volatiles, C. Raymond Record, Rex E. Marsh, Walter E. Howard, Donald J. Stern

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 7th (1976)

An attempt was made to identify the olfactory cues produced by Douglas-fir seeds which attract deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) to the seeds. The olfactometers used are described, and the merits of different statistical analyses of the data are discussed. The odors produced by whole Douglas-fir seed and by the endosperm were preferred among the fractions tested to date. Deer mice were repelled by Douglas-fir turpentine, cedar oil, and, to a lesser degree, one extract.

Control Of The Oregon Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus Beldingi Oregonus), Warren C. Sauer

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 7th (1976)

Attempts to reduce populations of Spermophilus beldingi oregonus have centered around the application of Compound 10.80 and strychnine baits. Additional population reduction techniques were investigated for possible employment into the squirrel program. Techniques which show much promise are: hand baited chopped gree bait (.01% chlorophacinone) broadcast (10 pounds per acre) and hand baited grain bait with .01% chlorophacinone and .05% fumarin, and bait stations using .01%, .05% chlorophacinone grain bait (100 and 200 foot spacing) and .05% fumarin grain bait (100 foot spacing).

In addition, the concentration of Compound 1080 on chopped green bait can be reduced to 1/4 oz. …

Operational Aspects Of Successful Ground Squirrel Control By Aerial Application Of Grain Bait, Conrad Schilling

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 7th (1976)

By County Ordinance the County Agricultural Commissioner has been charged with rodent suppression in Fresno County, California. For nine years personnel from the Agricultural Commissioner's Office have conducted a county operated and funded program of ground squirrel suppression through the use of aerially applied zinc phosphide treated squirrel oat groats. Planning procedures, relative costs and operational aspects of the program are outlined. This technique of ground squirrel suppression has been shown to have many advantages over hand application of rodent baits. No known hazards to non-target wildlife species have been demonstrated.

Opening Comments—Seventh Vertebrate Pest Conference, Charles C. Siebe

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 7th (1976)

On behalf of the Vertebrate Pest Council, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the Seventh Vertebrate Pest Conference. We are pleased that the American Society for Testing and Materials held its first Symposium on Test Methods for Vertebrate Pest Control and Management Materials in conjunction with our Conference, and we congratulate Symposium Chairman Rex Marsh for the excellent program that was presented. The concerns and challenges of today's society mandate that we be knowledgeable and up-to-date concerning the use of vertebrate pest damage control methods and materials and the impacts of our programs on the environment.

Keynote Address—The Role Of Education In Vertebrate Pest Control, Gustav A. Swanson

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 7th (1976)

Lack of adequate information is emphasized as a major problem in attaining effective control of damage by vertebrate pests, and it is stressed that the problem is widespread in all elements of the public, including those directly involved, like producers and government officials, as well as those only indirectly involved, like the average citizen. A number of specific examples are cited to illustrate the problems of uninformed or inadequately informed publics.

The Cost Of Predator Damage Control Using Trapping As The Primary Control Technique, Ronald A. Thompson

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 7th (1976)

The justification and economics of the operational animal damage control program in California as conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are discussed. Emphasis is given to the necessity for use of the steel trap. Nearly 83 percent of the depredators are taken by trapping. Annual agricultural losses due to predation were estimated at $4.7 million in California for Fiscal Year 1975. The projected cost-benefit ratio was 1:3.9.

Control Methods For Nuisance Beaver In The Southeastern United States, Edward P. Hill

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 7th (1976)

Strychnine alkaloid baits were consumed by both captive and wild beaver without any apparent hesitation. An approximate minimal acute lethal dose of sodium monofluoro-acetate to beaver of mixed ages and sex was 0.202 mg/kg. Trapping beaver on four study area watersheds in Alabama with No. 330 conibear traps for approximately two weeks in winter during two successive years essentially eliminated beaver. Older individuals were trapped the first year, maturing juveniles and the remaining few adults were trapped the second year, and there was very little reproduction between the trapping periods. Trapping, with its recreational appeal, and income and food potential …

Some Of The Effects Of Domestic Sewage Discharged Into Hickman And Jessamine Creeks In Jessamine County, Kentucky, Henry H. Howell, Mike W. Jones, Robert A. Kuehne

KWRRI Research Reports

A 6-week study was made in the summer of 1971 as an initial effort to determine the extent of pollution that the three sewage disposal plants in Jessamine County, Kentucky, are contributing to its streams. With the rapid population increase in Lexington and nearby municipalities, this study should furnish a basis of comparison for future investigations. Eighteen collecting stations were established in riffle areas of Hickman and Jessamine Creeks, and coliform bacteria, macro-invertebrate populations, fish populations and chemical water quality of each riffle area were studied.

Hickman Creek's flow was augmented by approximately 3,100,000 gallons/day (11,735 -m³/day) from …

Biology Of Nematodes In Desert Ecosystems, D. W. Freckman, R. Mankau

Memorandum

No abstract provided.

Responses And Interactions In Desert Plants As Influenced By Irrigation And Nitrogen Application, R. B. Hunter, E. M. Romney, A. Wallace, H. O. Hill, T. A. Ackerman, J. E. Kinnear

Memorandum

No abstract provided.

Estimation Of Functional Root Biomass And Root And Shoot Response Of Atriplex Confertifolia To Summer Rain, K. C. Hodgkinson, P. S. Johnson, B. E. Norton

Memorandum

No abstract provided.

Demographic Studies Of Sagebrush Insects As Functions Of Various Environmental Factors, T. H. Hsiao, A. K. Temte

Memorandum

No abstract provided.

The Ants Of Arizona: An Ecological Study Of Ants In The Sonoran Desert, C. Gaspar, F. G. Werner

Memorandum

No abstract provided.

Seasonal Use Of Soil Moisture By Larrea Tridentata And Ambrosia Deltoidea, D. R. Cable

Memorandum

No abstract provided.

Plant Demographic Studies Of Desert Annual Communities In Northern Utah Dominated By Non-Native Weedy Species, D. R. Duba, B. E. Norton

Memorandum

No abstract provided.

Jornada Validation Site Report, W. G. Whitford

Memorandum

No abstract provided.

Nitrogen And Phosphorus Constraints On Primary Production In The Great Basin Desert, J. J. Jurinak, D. W. James, A. Van Luik

Memorandum

No abstract provided.

Growth Of Perennials In Response To Varying Moisture And Defoliation Regimes, J. A. Macmahon, B. E. Norton, B. M. Capen

Memorandum

No abstract provided.

Gas Exchange And Productivity Of Sonoran Desert Shrubs, S. R. Szarek, R. M. Woodhouse

Memorandum

No abstract provided.

Abundance And Distribution Of Soil Microarthropods In Rock Valley, Nevada, E. B. Edney, P. J. Franco, J. F. Mcbrayer

Memorandum

No abstract provided.