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The Situation Of Grain-Eating Birds In Somalia, Richard L. Bruggers

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 9th (1980)

Research into the biology and control of pest birds in Somalia has continued intermittently since 1971 under UNDP funding of four projects. Data have been gathered on the identification, distribution, and status of the principal pest species to agriculture. These species include the Red-billed Quelea (Quelea quelea), of which northern and southern races occur, and several other ploceid weavers (Ploceus spp.) which may damage cereal crops. The movements, food habits, and corresponding impact of these species on agriculture in Somalia are discussed in detail. As a result of the information obtained during these years of research, emphasis has recently shifted …

Armadillos: Problems And Control, Patricia A. Chamberlain

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 9th (1980)

The nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) has been successful in extending its range throughout the southeastern states. It occupies such a diverse range of habitats that its effects on its surroundings depend largely on where it is located. It offers benefits from its burrowing and eating patterns by creating dens for furbearers and destroying large quantities of injurious insects and their larva. Those same activities in urban and suburban areas are now being recognized as a source of considerable nuisance and moderate damage. Damage is most severe from July through early November. They have been recognized in connection with several diseases …

Proceedings: Ninth Vertebrate Pest Conference

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 9th (1980)

Proceedings: Ninth Vertebrate Pest Conference

Socioeconomic And Ecological Aspects Of Field Rat Control In Tropical And Subtropical Countries, Hans Kurylas

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 9th (1980)

The vital question, as to the cause of the permanent increase in field rat populations throughout most tropical and subtropical areas, has been the subject of researchers and fieldmen during the past years, in the hope of finding an answer to this problem. Man has made his way through history wherein he was gradually able to renounce nature and establish his own man-made cultural frame. Unlike other mammals, man has no natural instincts to guide him through life. Brain and spirit have to compensate for lack of physical capabilities and instincts. Man was forced to change his natural surroundings in …

Closing Remarks ─ Ninth Vertebrate Pest Conference , Rex E. Marsh

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 9th (1980)

Closing Remarks

Keynote Address ─ New Concepts In Wildlife Management, Lester Mccann

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 9th (1980)

New Concepts in Wildlife Management

Taste-Aversion Learning And Its Implications For Rodent Control, Robert J. Robbins

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 9th (1980)

Although bait shyness has long been recognized as a problem to be overcome in the control of vertebrate pests, it has recently been suggested that the phenomenon might be turned to an advantage and used as an alternative, non-lethal form of control. Unfortunately, this technique has not proven to be as useful as hoped, as the work which has been done on coyotes is inconclusive at best and some recent work on rodents has cast serious doubts upon the method's potential. However, an extensive literature dealing with the formation of poison-based food aversions now exists, and insights gained from these …

The Habits And Influence On The Environment Of The Old World Porcupine Hystrix Cristata L. In The Northernmost Part Of Its Range, L. Santini

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 9th (1980)

The Crested porcupine (Hystrix cristata L.) has been shown to have considerably increased in numbers, and to have occupied new territories in Tuscany, which is the northernmost part of its range. New data on its ecology and biology, and the negative effects of an excessive density of these rodents on the rural and natural environment are reported. Since this species is protected by law in Italy, because of its high value from the faunistic point of view, some possible techniques, to be improved upon, for the capture and redistribution of live specimens are discussed.

Development Of A Simple Two-Ingredient Pyrotechnic Fumigant, Peter J. Savarie, James R. Tigner, Donald J. Elias, David J. Hayes

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 9th (1980)

In laboratory tests with adult coyotes (Canis latrans) a pyrotechnic fumigant containing two active ingredients, sodium nitrate and charcoal, was found to be just as effective as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Gas Cartridge that contains six active and two inactive ingredients. The two-ingredient cartridge produces high concentrations of carbon monoxide. Field tests with cartridges containing 240 g of 65% sodium nitrate and 35% charcoal produced a 96% mortality rate in coyote pups. A cartridge containing 65 g of 65% sodium nitrate and 35% charcoal was effective in both laboratory and field tests on wild Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus). …

Studies Of The Toxicity Of Vacor (Rh-787) On The Reproductive Biology Of Rattus Rattus Rufescens, Y. Saxena, P.P. Sharma, M. Zutshi

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 9th (1980)

Investigations on damage, losses and diseases attributed to rodents in India are well documented by Barnett and Prakash (1975), Fitzwater and Prakash (1973). The toxicity of rodenticides on the rodents have been studied by several investigators such as Cowan (1978), Marsh and Howard (1975, 1977). Some rodenticides are less potent and induce overall deleterious effects on biological systems but not on mortality. Therefore, studies on the effects of these agents on the reproductive biology would be of significance as reported by D'souza and Batra (1975). Srivastava et al. (1979) investigated the bait shyness as shown by rodents in case of …

Rat Control In Coconut Palms In Colombia, Danilo Valencia

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 9th (1980)

The black rat (Rattus rattus) causes severe damage to coconut (Cocos nucifera) crops in Colombia. These rodents climb to the crown of producing palms and often nest there. Damage results from the rats gnawing the shells of the coconuts until they penetrate to the endosperm; the perforated nuts will fall within a period of 15 days and are unsuitable for harvest.
Since 1972, the Colombian Agricultural Research Institute (Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario or ICA), through its Vertebrate Control Program, has been conducting a series of investigations to obtain information about the characteristics of this damage and the best means of reducing …

Environmental Manipulation In Roof Rat Control Programs, Gene Zdunowski

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 9th (1980)

The control of roof rat Rattus rattus involves not just chemical and physical suppression, exclusion, and sanitation in an integrated environmental manipulation approach, but in order for the environmental manipulative technique to work, the environmental-behavioral habits of the individuals living in these roof rat infested areas must be modified. Once a target area of known rodent infestation has been initially impacted and environmentally improved upon, the task by the homeowner to continue to practice environmental manipulation must be ongoing. Continued maintenance of the environmentally improved area by staff knowledgeable in environmental manipulation and behavioral modification is the only way to …

Deratization Of Budapest And Five Years Of Follow-Up Control Measures, Daniel Bajomi

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 9th (1980)

A brief review of deratization carried out in Budapest (.2 million inhabitants) is given. As a result of an extensive eradication project initial infestation level of premises amounting to 33% decreased below 0.5%. Materials and techniques employed for the preservation of a rat free state as well as the method how to determine the size of the remainder of the rat population are described. "Idealized premises" were introduced allowing comparison between rat infestations of various areas. Report on the relationship between rat population and temperature, on the areal dispersion of population and on how re-infestation occurs. Finally conclusions are drawn …

Opening Comments — Ninth Vertebrate Pest Conference, Jerry P. Clark

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 9th (1980)

Welcoming Statment

Use Of Toxicants For Coyote Control By Livestock Producers In Alberta, Michael J. Dorrance

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 9th (1980)

This paper examines and evaluates the use of strychnine baits and cyanide guns for coyote (Canis latrans) control by livestock producers in Alberta. Livestock predation occurred almost exclusively during spring, summer, and fall; livestock predation was negligible during winter. In contrast, use of toxicants was negligible in spring, distributed rather evenly through the summer and fall, and most intense in mid-winter. Forty-eight percent of the producers set toxicants in response to predation, and 1/2 of these apparently resolved their predator problems. Fifty-five percent of the producers set toxicants for preventive control, predominantly during October-February when the effectiveness of control was …

Conference Participants

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 9th (1980)

A total of 347 people registered at the Conference. The participants came from 33 states, the District of Columbia, and 20 other countries: Australia, Canada, Colombia, Egypt, England, Ethiopia, Fed. Rep. Germany, India, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Tanzania, Thailand, and Venezuela. The wide representation from the United States and from countries throughout the world contributes to the success of the Conference by providing a highly diversified exchange of ideas and information.

Mammals And Birds Affecting Food Production And Storage In Nigeria, Oluwadare Funmilayo

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 9th (1980)

The systematic study of the roles of vertebrate pests in agriculture in Nigeria is relatively very young, having spanned only two decades. During this period the species composition of vertebrate pests has been determined in some important crop plants like cocoa (Taylor 1961, Everard 1968), oil palm (Greaves 1964), maize (Everard 1966; Funmilayo 1976) and rice (Funmilayo and Akande 1977). The ecology of a few important pest species has been studied. Because of its devastating destruction of many graminaceous crops in Nigeria and over most parts of Africa, the red-billed quelea (Quelea quelea) has been studied more intensively than other …

Recent Developments In Anticoagulant Rodenticide Resistance Studies: Surveillance And Application In The United States, Stephen C. Frantz, Constance M. Padula

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 9th (1980)

Since anticoagulant rodenticide resistance was first discovered in the United States in 1971, it has become apparent that the phenomenon is widespread. In cooperation with the Center for Disease Control, a nationwide surveillance program was initiated in 1977 to obtain statistically valid samples of rats from federally funded projects of the Urban Rat Control Program. A summary is given of the basic sampling, testing, and analysis components of this study. Problems encountered in all aspects of the first three years of the program are discussed along with results from the 40 completed samples. The 16 cities with significant Anticoagulant Resistance …

Red Kangaroo Management In Western Australia, C.D. Gooding

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 9th (1980)

The Red Kangaroo is the dominant native grazing herbivore over much of the arid rangeland area of Western Australia, where the species exists side by side with introduced livestock. The numbers are such that Red Kangaroos can be utilized as the basis for a commercial harvesting industry provided the population is managed on a sustained yield basis. The WA Management Programme is designed to take account of the need for conservation of the species and for protection of the livestock industry and the rangelands on which both kangaroos and the livestock industry depend.

Plague Studies In California — The Roles Of Various Species Of Sylvatic Rodents In Plague Ecology In California, Bernard C. Nelson

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 9th (1980)

The status of our knowledge of the roles of various sylvatic rodents in plague ecology in California is reviewed. Two theories, Pavlovsky's doctrine of focality of zoonotic diseases and Baltazard's proposal that plague is maintained in nature in resistant rodent species, form the framework for our understanding of the occurrence and persistence of plague. The concepts of resistance, reservoir species, susceptibility, and recipient species are defined and discussed. The ecological attributes that appear to enhance the role of certain rodent species as reservoirs are proposed, and the ecological features that appear to produce epizootics are briefly outlined. Based on current …

Predator Damage Control, 1980: Recent History And Current Status, Dale A. Wade

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 9th (1980)

This review summarizes executive and other actions relating to cancellation of the predacides in 1972 and related events. A chronology of these actions and events is appended (Appendix A). Predator damage control operations, and research findings over the past decade, are briefly reviewed and related political decisions are discussed.

Water Current, Volume 12, No. 2, March/April 1980

Water Current Newsletter

Nebraska's Water: Twenty-Five Years of Change
Research Overview
Proposals Submitted to OWRT
Water Center's Five-Year Research Planning Program
New Staff Members
Recent Staff Activities
208 Program Shifted to DEC
Geothermal Research
Support for Water Research
Animal Escape Ramps for Concrete-Lined Canals
Domenici/Moynihan Compromise Introduced
EPA Groundwater Study
WRC Budget Cuts
US Water Scientist Takes UNESCO Post
Research Review: Suitability of Region-Wide Irrigation Scheduling by Local Evapotranspiration Measurement

Agricultural Experiment Station News March 1980

Agricultural Research Division: News and Annual Reports

CONTENTS:
FROM THE DIRECTOR'S DESK
PERSONNEL ACTION
GRANTS & CONTRACTS
GENERAL NOTES
NEBRASKA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION PUBLICATIONS - February 1980
BULLETINS PRINTED

Book Reviews [March 1980], R. G. Cortelyou

Nebraska Bird Review

Reviews of three books: Birds of the Great Plains: Breeding Species and Their Distribution by Paul A. Johnsgard, Welcome the Birds to Your Home by Jane and Will Curtis, and Birding Areas of Iowa by Peter C. Peterson.

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 12, Number 1. March, 1980

The Prairie Naturalist

RESIDUAL SEEDS AS POTENTIAL SPRING WATERFOWL FOODS IN SMALL, MAN-MADE IMPOUNDMENTS ▪ G. A. Baldassarre

NOTES ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF BATS FROM BADLANDS NATIONAL MONUMENT, SOUTH DAKOTA ▪ J. P. Farney and J. K. Jones, Jr.

PRAIRIE CHICKEN DOMINATED SHARP-TAILED GROUSE INTERACTION ▪ R. A. Schmidt

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNTS FOR NORTH DAKOTA— 1979 ▪ R. N. Randall

THIRD NESTING OF CATTLE EGRET IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ R. A. Schmidt

FIRST BREEDING RECORDS OF THE WHITE-FACED IBIS IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ R. A. Schmidt

NOTES

Pinon Jay in North Dakota ▪ R. N Randall, J. Swanick and O. Swanick

Gray-crowned …

The Probe, Issue 5 - March 1980

The Probe: Newsletter of the National Animal Damage Control Association

THE PROBE National Animal Damage Control Association March, 1980
Our first NADCA conference meet scheduled for Flagstaff, AZ has to be cancelled.
As of this issue we hope to go on a regular bimonthly issue basis (March, May, July, etc.) finances permitting.
CALIFORNIA VERTEBRATE PEST CONFERENCE
WONDER CHEMICALS The only wonder is that EPA still permits us to use any chemicals for controlling vertebrate animal damage.
Anderson called Secretary Andrus a "cuttlefish" as the latter is as adept at squirting ink to hide his operations as is the marine squid. Anderson has documented some very questionable, Mafia-linked practices by Andrus …

An Assessment Dependent Upon Technology, F. Gregory Hayden

College of Business: Faculty Publications

"Technology and Economic Dependency: An Institutional Assessment,"' by Thomas De Gregori, deserves serious consideration because it reaches to the heart of a conflict in holistic economic systems analysis and planning. The major issue in the article revolves around divergent views regarding technology. One is that technology should dominate society by being made the primary determinant of policy evaluation criteria. Another view is that technology should be treated as a system entity, albeit a powerful one, which must be evaluated along with others. De Gregori's conclusions are based on the first view.

This comment will consider five aspects of De Gregori's …

Notes On The Natural History Of Bats From Badlands National Monument, South Dakota, John P. Farney, J. Knox Jones Jr.

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Little has been published on the mammalian fauna of Badlands National Monument, a unique ecological area that encompasses parts of Jackson and Pennington counties in South Dakota. By way of example, although five species of bats are herein recorded from the Monument, only one has been reported previously - see Jones and Choate (1978), who listed two specimens of Myotis thysanodes pahasapensis from the Cliff Shelf area. Jones and Genoways (1976b), however, did report several other species from badland areas not far distant from the boundary of the Monument.

In 1970, under sponsorship of the Badlands Natural History Association and …

Seasonal Forage Availability In Relation To Energy Requirements Of Pine Voles In Two Orchard Types, R. L. Lochmiller, J. B. Whelan, R. L. Kirkpatrick

Eastern Pine and Meadow Vole Symposia

Results from previous work on pine vole populations and habitat interactions (Cengel et a1. 1978; Noffsinger 1976) suggested that pine vole populations were quite sensitive to seasonal changes in the quantity, species composition, and nutritive value of available forage. This conclusion was based on decreases in both reproductive performance and physical condition of pine voles collected from abandoned orchards in the fall as compared to voles taken from maintained orchards during the same season. Utilizing information from these investigations, a "follow-up" study was designed to investigate food availability and nutrient composition, food consumption, food digestibility, and energy requirements of pine …

Initial Results Of Chemical Inhibitors And Photoperiodic Influences On Growth And Reproduction In Microtus Pennsylvanicus, Jack A. Cranford, David H. Pistole, Terry L. Derting

Eastern Pine and Meadow Vole Symposia

Recently Berger et al. (1977) have demonstrated reproductive in¬hibition in Microtus montanus as a result of specific plant compounds in natural vegetation. Naturally occurring cinnamic acids and their related vinyl phenols have been demonstrated to have marked effects on uterine weight, inhibition of follicular development and cessation of breeding activity. Compounds having antigonadotrophic and antithryo-tropic activities have been identified in a wide variety of plants (Chury 1967). Bickoff et al. (1959) report that alfalfa contained a non-estrogenic compound which would over ride the estrogenic effect of the plant estrogen coumestrol. Adler (1962) demonstrated that a non-estrogenic compound in alfalfa could …