Digital Commons Network^™

Kansas Attitudes On Prairie Dog Control, Charles D. Lees, F. Robert Henderson

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

In Kansas prairie dog management is primarily determined by private individuals and local government agencies. We conducted a mail survey of 350 affected landowners as a means to evaluate the effectiveness of current prairie dog control. The same survey was also sent to 350 randomly selected state residents within the general prairie dog range. We evaluated people's perceptions of prairie dogs, the effectiveness of control methods, costs of control, and reasons for poor response to control techniques. Results indicate people that have previously been involved in prairie dog control on lands they manage have different opinions about prairie dogs than …

Black-Footed Ferret Recovery, Dean E. Biggins, Ronald A. Crew

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

The captive population of black-footed ferrets increased from 24 to 58 animals in 1988, and was split to provide the species added protection against extinction. Experimental reintroductions may begin in 1991. In some areas, "experimental population" designations as authorized under Section 10 (j) of the Endangered Species Act may be used to provide wider management latitude. The Black-footed Ferret Interstate Coordinating Committee oversees much of the work related to reintroduction. Expanded effort to locate wild ferrets now includes a $10,000 reward offer. Research focuses on captive breeding, reintroduction techniques, disease, and habitat. A new Recovery Plan was approved in 1988.

Experimental Applications Of High-Tensile Wire And Other Fencing To Control Big Game Damage In Northwest Colorado, A. Eugene Byrne

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Conventional fencing methods V-mesh wire, square mesh wire and wood panels are compared to experimental methods - 15 wire hightensile wire fences; electric high-tensile wire fences of three designs; baited electric fences; hog panel fences; plastic mesh fences and visqueen wrapped haystacks. Total cost of materials, cost per ft./yr. and comments concerning estimates of efficacy are discussed. The V-mesh wire, hog panel and plastic mesh fences all have a very high cost per ft. and cost per ft./yr. rating and should probably not be used. High-tensile and square mesh wire fences are effective and cheaper alternatives. Modern high-tensile wire electric …

Trophy Game Animal Damage In Wyoming, Ron Iversons

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Wyoming is perhaps one of the most liberal and unique states of the fifty states on compensation for game and trophy game animal damage. Trophy game animals as defined by statute in Wyoming includes the Cougar (Mt. Lion), Black Bear, and the Grizzly Bear. According to statute Wyoming is responsible for damages incurred by these species to livestock, land, crops, improvements, and extraordinary grasses. Since the statutes were enacted Wyoming has been faced with a variety of complaints and damage claims caused by these species. Damage complaints received by the Department have covered a broad spectrum, ranging from the stockman …

The Landowner's View And Recommendations On Wildlife Damage, Michael G. Leroux

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Conflict between landowners and state and federal agencies is prevalent in today's society. This report attempts to provide understanding of the landowners views on wildlife damage and offer some solutions to be considered.

Estimating Domestic Sheep Losses To Mountain Lions, Frederick G. Lindzey, Connie Wilbur

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Large, native-range pastures were searched for dead domestic sheep in the Southern Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming. The proportion of dead sheep that had been killed by mountain lions was 23%. Search methods, however, resulted in unequal probabilities of finding sheep that were killed by mountain lions and sheep that died of other causes.

Status Of Strychnine, Compound 1080, And Registered Alternatives, Steve D. Palmateer

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

This paper reveals the current regulatory status of 1080 and strychnine relevant to data call-in actions, administrative hearings, and litigation outside of FIFRA. All strychnine prairie dog claims are cancelled as well as all label claims requiring a tolerance. The 1080 technical is cancelled and all rodenticide uses have been issued a notice of intent to deny.

Effects Of Grackle Damage Control Techniques In Citrus On Nesting Success Of Non-Target Species, John H. Rappole, Wan R. Tipton, Arlo H. Kane, Rafael H. Flores

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Several techniques were tested to reduce the damage caused by great-tailed grackles to citrus in the lower Rio Grande Valley of southern Texas: monofilament line, eyespot balloons, pyrotechnics, and grackle nest removal. Ten species were found nesting in the treated groves, but only the mourning dove, white-winged dove, and great-tailed grackle in significant numbers. Nesting success was not reduced significantly by any treatment but observations indicate that cannon treatments are likely to have a negative impact on overall nesting success for several species.

Controlling Raccoon Damage In Urban Areas, David G. Riley

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Raccoons have become a serious problem in many urban and suburban areas. Damage to homes and buildings as well as the spread of diseases to pets are constant problems when high raccoon populations occur. Various control methods can be implemented with positive results.

Planning For Animal Damage Control Programs Within The Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service, Philip S. Gipson, Gary P. Combs

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

The Animal Damage Control Unit (ADC) and the 10 other units of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) have undergone major reorganization. Emphasis is placed on planning and risk analysis. Four levels of planning have been identified: (1) strategic planning for the Agency, (2) strategic planning for each of the 11 units, (3) program design and risk analysis, and (4) operational planning.

Seasonal Effects On Control Methods For The Great-Tailed Grackle, John H. Rappole, Wan R. Tipton, Arlo H. Kane, Rafael H. Flores, John Hobbs, Joe Palacios

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Efficiency of methods used to control damage to citrus fruit by great-tailed grackles was found to vary considerably from season to season. From April - July, the birds congregated in small breeding colonies where they were susceptible to baiting and poisoning. From August - October, the birds could be baited in to and poisoned at watering sites. Intensive shooting and use of pyrotechnics were also used successfully at this time of year to control damage at groves with high grackle concentrations. From late October - March, birds moved over wide areas each day, and were easily frightened from groves by …

An Assessment Of The Urban Wildlife Problem, William D. Fitzwater

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Basic urban wildlife problems include: proper identification of species, shift from agrarian to urban society, different interpretations of humaneness, compassion for individual rather than a population as a whole, and public ignorance of urban pest management. Positive values are esthetics and environmental education opportunities. Negative values are disease transmission, life/injury-threatening situations, damage to buildings/other property, water structures/quality, petty annoyances, and indirect economics.

Urban Nuisance Wildlife Problems In Arizona, Rebecca L. Wright, Leonard L. Ordway

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Arizona has experienced an increase in urbanization of wildlife habitat, which has led to an urban nuisance wildlife problem. The Arizona Game and Fish Department is working to lessen the problem through public education, information packets and use of private pest control companies to remove wildlife for a fee.

Management Problems Encountered With Livestock Guarding Dogs On The University Of California, Hopland Field Station, Robert M. Timm, Robert H. Schmidtz

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Guard dogs are being promoted and utilized as effective predator damage control tools under a variety of livestock management conditions. We report our experience over 1 1/2 years with 5 dogs, primarily Anatolian shepherd and Akbash dog breeds. We discuss a number of behavioral and management problems we have encountered, some of which have not previously been reported in the literature. These include chasing vehicles and wildlife, predation on deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus), and incompatibility of dogs with other predator damage control methods.

Seasonal Variation In Habitat Use By Great-Tailed Grackles In The Lower Rio Grande Valley, John H. Rappole, Arlo H. Kane, Rafael H. Flores, Alan R. Tipton, Nancy Koerth

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Habitat use by great-tailed grackles was measured by performing weekly censuses of birds in 6 different habitat types: chaparral, citrus groves, feed lots, pastures, residential areas, and agricultural fields. We found that use of chaparral, citrus, and residential sites was low during the winter months, increased sharply with commencement of the nesting season in April, and declined again by October. Use of agricultural fields and pasture was irregular. Feed lot use was low during the summer, but high from October - April with October and March migration peaks. An overall sex ratio of 1.3 females/male was observed with skews from …

The Probe, Issue 90 - February 1989

The Probe: Newsletter of the National Animal Damage Control Association

THE PROBE
National Animal Damage Control Association
FEBRUARY 1989
The Innocence of Deer
Euthanizing Cats
Personnel
Letters to Ye Ed
Squirrels & Gopher Bites
Animal Rights Movement
Animals Used in Science and Research

Fisheries Management Paper No.23 - Management Of The South-West Inshore Trawl Fishery., N. Moore

Fisheries Management Papers

This report outlines the management plan for the south west inshore trawl fishery which already operates in coastal waters less than 200 metres deep between Guilderton and Cape Leeuwin.

This management plan takes into account these important concerns and has specifically set aside a strip of coastal area from Cape Bouvard to Cape Leeuwin for recreational usage and for protection of the benthic community, and closed the management zone north of Burns Beach to trawling.

Water Resources Review - February 1989, Annis Water Resources Institute

AWRI Reviews

No abstract provided.

Biochemical And Morphological Characteristics In Maturing Achenes From Purple-Hulled And Oilseed Sunflower Cultivars, Roger W. Bullard, Paul P. Woronecki, Richard A. Dolbeer, J. Russell Mason

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The blackbird feeding preference for sunflower oilseed variety Jacques Discovery (JD) over purple-hulled Neagra de Cluj (NdC) has been attributed to anthocyanin. To test this hypothesis, we compared biochemical and morphological properties in the achene over the maturation period. Comparisons included total phenols, anthocyanin, tannin, fat/oil, protein, nonstructural sugars, and phytomelanin contents, as well as mass properties and moisture content. Only three differences were observed: (1) Hull mass was significantly higher for NdC than JD. (2) Anthocyanins were synthesized by NdC only. (3) JD was higher in oil content. Each of these factors may play a role in reduced preferences …

The Use Of Banding Recovery Data To Estimate Dispersal Rates And Gene Flow In Avian Species: Case Studies In The Red-Winged Blackbird And Common Grackle , William S. Moore, Richard A. Dolbeer

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Dispersal resulting in gene flow strongly affects the evolution of genetic structure in populations. This report describes statistical estimators of dispersal parameters based on USFWS banding recovery records. Finite-area studies of avian species yield estimates of root-mean-square (RMS) dispersal along a transect of about 1 km per generation. In contrast, estimates of RMS dispersal for the Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaiusp hoeniceus) and Common Grackle (Ouiscalus auiscula), based on USFWS banding recovery records, are 94.6 and 111.4 km per generation, respectively. Distributions for both species are extremely leptokurtic, and confidence intervals based on jackknife statistics are large because the estimators are sensitive …

Robustness & Precision Of Parametric & Distribution-Free Tolerance Limits For Two Lifetime Distributions, Wei Kei Shiue, Lee J. Bain

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Research & Creative Works

Exact parametric tolerance limits or confidence limits on reliability are not available for the gamma distribution, and it is, difficult to determine approximate methods which are accurate for all parameter values. The precision lost by using the distribution-free tolerance-limit method based on the first order statistic, compared to using an approximate gamma tolerance limit method is studied. The robustness of the approximate gamma tolerance limit when the true model is Weibull and the robustness of a Weibull tolerance limit when the true model is gamma are also studied. The efficiency of the distribution-free method ranges from about 0.60 to 0.90 …

Fertilizer Value Of Cattle Dunghills In A Pasture Field, Kenneth L. Wells, Steve D. Davis

Soil Science News and Views

There were nearly 2.5 million cattle and calves in Kentucky in 1988. Most of these were maintained under pastureland conditions. Nutrients taken up by pasture plants, consumed by cattle, and re-cycled back onto fields by fecal and urine excretions can be a major source of nutrients for maintaining pastureland productivity. In order to estimate the value of this under grazing conditions, observations were made on a pasture field in Casey County, Kentucky, following stocking of the field with cattle.

First Dinosaur Fossils From Georgia, With Notes On Additional Cretaceous Vertebrates From The State, David R. Schwimmer

Faculty Bibliography

New Collections of Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) vertebrate fossils from Stewart County, Georgia, contain isolated bones from two dinosaur taxa: a hadrossaur (Ornithischia, Ornithopoda) of undetermined genus, and tyrannosaur (Saurischia, Theropoda) comparable to Albertosaurus. Numerous individuals are represented in the collections. The fossils are found at the upper formational contact of the Blufftown Formation but appear to be redeposited from lower down in the unit. These dinosaur fossils probably represent shore-living or river-transported animals preserved in back-barrier or estuarine pericontinental marine environments of deposition.

An Analysis Of The Factors Influencing Eutrophication Within The China Lake Watershed, Student Collective Organized Against Lake Eutrophication, Colby College, Problems In Environmental Science Course (Biology 493), Colby College

Colby College Watershed Study: China Lake (2005, 1989)

Lake eutrophication is the natural process of aging in the lake body with establishment and multiplication of organism over time. The sediment and decaying matter accumulate, gradually filling in the lake basin, transforming the lake from a deep lake to dry land. This process affects the physical make-up of the lake as well as the ecological and biological composition. Eutrophication usually takes thousands of years. However, human interference has greatly accelerated the process by increasing rates of sedimentation and phosphorus loading. China lake has undergone accelerated eutrophication in recent years causing a growing concern for water quality. Algal populations, stimulated …

Assessment Of Squirrel-Caused Power Outages, J. Chris Hamilton, Ron J. Johnson, Ronald M. Case, Michael W. Riley

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Squirrel-caused power outages in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska, were evaluated by examining company power outage reports and by consulting with power company representatives. Reports showed that squirrel-caused outages at pole-mounted transformers were most prevalent during May, June, and October (48% of total) and between 1 and 4 h after sunrise (38%), patterns that coincide with squirrel dispersal or morning activity periods. In Lincoln, 1980 and 1981, squirrels caused 177 outages per year, which was 24% of all outages and 90% of animal-caused outages. Estimated minimum annual costs were $23 364 for repairs, public relations, and lost revenue while meters were …

Water Quality In Southeastern Minnesota Streams: Observations Along A Gradient Of Land Use And Geology, Nels H. Troelstrup Jr., James A. Perry

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

ABSTRACT-Surface water quality in southeastern Minnesota's driftless area exhibits subregional and local spatial patterns which are highly correlated with subsurface geology and land-use practices. Some variables appear to respond on subregional or watershed scales. Nitrate, specific conductance, alkalinity, and surface water atrazine concentrations were lower in streams originating from the Prairie Du Chien or Jordan sandstone ~quifers of easte:n Fillmore and Houston Counties than those originating from the Galena limestone aquifer m west-central Fillmore County. In addition, the numbers of pollution intolerant and functionally specialized invertebrates in the benthic community were higher in the eastern streams. Gross primary production on …

Nitrogen Management Related To Groundwater Quality In Minnesota, James L. Anderson, Gary L. Malzer, Gyles W. Randall, George W. Rehm

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

ABSTRACT-Minnesota ranks fifth in overall fertilizer nitrogen (FN) use. Nitrogen is essential for crop production; however, there are concerns about this use relative to profitability and potential impacts on groundwater. There are many sources and sinks of nitrogen in ecosystems. The impact of agricultural management practices on groundwater requires that all sources and fates be considered before FN rates are determined. Research is underway to evaluate relationships between FN application for continuous com and movement of nitrate through soil profiles. Growers making N management decisions have to be able to evaluate the complex nature of N in the environment when …

Natural And Anthropogenic Forces Acting On A Forest Lake, M. C. Whiteside, M. B. King, K. Pulling

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

ABS1RACT-Lak~ Itasca, Minnes~ta is located within one of the more popular state parks. Since the turn of the centmy, loggmg, fire protection, and development within the watershed have put modest pressures on the ecosystem. The presence of the University of Minnesota's Biological and Forestry Station on the lake has encouraged research in this region. Consequently there are numerous research reports and papers which are available _at the station's library. We examined data collected over the past 25 years to see if we could detect changes ~~ the lake. We detected no changes in phytoplankton, macrophyte, zooplankton, or zoobenthos com~urnues, but …

Viruses And Drug Resistant Bacteria In Groundwater Of Southeastern Minnesota, Sagar M. Goyal, Daniel Amundson, Robert A. Robinson, Charles P. Gerba

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

ABSTRACT-Karst topography of soils in southeastern Minnesota is responsible for the formation of sinkholes, subsurface cracks, and underground rivers which may enhance the transportation of surface contaminants into groundwater. The present study was conducted to determine the presence of human pathogenic viruses, coliforms, fecal coliforms and coliphages in private rural wells of this area. The occurrence of drug resistance in bacteria isolated from groundwater also was studied. Coliform bacteria were detected at least once from 22 of the 26 sites sampled over 34 months. Water from 10 sites yielded drug-resistant indicator bacteria; 25 of 38 (65.8 percent) total coliforms and …

Geology Of The Pre-Dune Strata, James B. Swinehart, Robert F. Diffendal Jr.

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Over the last 98 million years, four general geological processes have acted to shape the ancient landscapes buried beneath the Sand Hills. Three of these affected the area directly, either depositing sediments on the land surface or eroding it, while a fourth took place west of Nebraska, but affected the region nonetheless.

Shells of clams, oysters, and numerous other kinds of creatures similar to forms that live today in the seas are preserved as fossils in the chalks, limestones, and shales that form the oldest rocks beneath the Sand Hills that will be described. These deposits indicate to geologists that …