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2005

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Alien Birds In North America – Challenges For Wildlife Managers, Michael L. Avery, Eric A. Tillman Jan 2005

Alien Birds In North America – Challenges For Wildlife Managers, Michael L. Avery, Eric A. Tillman

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

In Executive Order 13112 “Invasive Species”, an alien species is defined as one “that is not native” to a particular ecosystem. In North America today, there are nearly 100 alien bird species with self-sustaining populations. These include numerous game birds (primarily gallinaceous birds) and escaped pet birds (primarily psittacine species). Others, such as house sparrows (Passer domesticus), European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), and mute swan (Cygnus olor), were originally introduced for aesthetic reasons or to control agricultural insect pests. The establishment of alien bird populations through purposeful or accidental introductions has resulted in numerous problems …

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Overview Of Impacts Of Feral And Introduced Ungulates On The Environment In The Eastern United States And Caribbean, Martin Lowney, Paul Schoenfeld, William Haglan, Gary Witmer Jan 2005

Overview Of Impacts Of Feral And Introduced Ungulates On The Environment In The Eastern United States And Caribbean, Martin Lowney, Paul Schoenfeld, William Haglan, Gary Witmer

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

Non-native wild and feral ungulates have been introduced throughout the world for many centuries. Often the reasons for introductions were narrow in scope and benefits or the ungulates escaped or were released. Justifications for some introductions have included providing hunting opportunity, meeting cultural and dietary needs of people, fund raising, and aesthetics. Evaluations about the impacts to the environment, native wildlife, livestock, and people were most likely looked at in a narrow prism or not fully evaluated. Ungulates commonly introduced in the Eastern United States and Caribbean islands over the last 150 years included white-tailed deer, sika deer, hogs, horses, …

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The Role Of Raccoons In The Ecology Of Bovine Tuberculosis, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Holly Smith, Justin Stevenson Jan 2005

The Role Of Raccoons In The Ecology Of Bovine Tuberculosis, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Holly Smith, Justin Stevenson

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

Bovine tuberculosis is a contagious bacterial disease that has had significant socioeconomic impacts on the region of northern lower Michigan. The role raccoons may play in the ecology and maintenance of the disease on farms in the core disease is unknown. Preliminary results of 61 radio collared raccoons have yielded a better understanding of raccoon movement and habitat use within an agricultural complex. Preliminary analysis of raccoons suggests annual home range sizes of .824 km2 and .608 km2 for males and females, respectively. Additionally raccoons and cattle have been documented at resource interfaces, further illustrating the potential for …

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Bovine Tb Eradication Project – Recognizing Hot Button Issues, Bridget Kavanagh-Patrick Jan 2005

Bovine Tb Eradication Project – Recognizing Hot Button Issues, Bridget Kavanagh-Patrick

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

The Michigan Departments of Agriculture, Community Health, and Natural Resources, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Michigan State University work cooperatively together as the bovine TB eradication project partners. The interagency group combines expertise in epidemiology, veterinary and human medicine, pathology, wildlife biology, animal husbandry, regulatory law and policy and risk communications. The stakeholders, those impacted by the disease, include agriculture and tourism industry representatives, “Mom-and-Pop” businesses, hunters, wildlife enthusiasts, farmers, Local Health Departments and legislators. The regulatory agencies are the above mentioned project partners, excluding MSU and USDA Wildlife Services, both of which offer services to agencies and stakeholders. …

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Monitoring Raccoon Rabies In Alabama: The Potential Effects Of Habitat And Demographics, Wendy Arjo, Christine Fisher, James Armstrong, Dana Johnson, Frank Boyd Jan 2005

Monitoring Raccoon Rabies In Alabama: The Potential Effects Of Habitat And Demographics, Wendy Arjo, Christine Fisher, James Armstrong, Dana Johnson, Frank Boyd

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

Density, morphometrics, and disease prevalence of raccoon populations were determined in 4 habitats (agriculture, riverine, managed, and forested) in central Alabama. In addition we monitored 71 collared raccoons to determine survival. Density estimates were similar in the agriculture (ag) and riverine habitats in central Alabama with 8 raccoons/km2, and lower in the forested habitat at 5 raccoons/ km2. Retention of juveniles did not appear to contribute to observed higher populations in the riverine and ag habitat. Although the riverine and ag, possibly due to supplemental resources, likely provide better habitat for raccoons, we found only body …

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Estimating Drc-1339 Mortality Using Bioenergetics: A Case Study Of European Starlings, H. Jeffrey Homan, Randal S. Stahl, John Johnston, George M. Linz Jan 2005

Estimating Drc-1339 Mortality Using Bioenergetics: A Case Study Of European Starlings, H. Jeffrey Homan, Randal S. Stahl, John Johnston, George M. Linz

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

We developed a bioenergetics model for European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) that estimated mortality from baitings with CU Bird Carrier pellets treated with 1% DRC-1339 Concentrate and diluted 5:1 (untreated:treated pellets). A bioenergetic analysis of heat and radiative energy exchanges between the starling body surface and surrounding environment was converted to daily caloric demand based on a steady-state energy balance. The amount of Bird Carrier eaten per starling was governed by subroutines in the model that used probability distributions to simulate variability in dietary intake at the bait site. Mortality was estimated through dose-response regression analysis. Compared to onsite …

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Initial Development Of A Web-Based Tool To Increase Hunter Harvest Of Female Ungulates, James Knight, Marc Kenyon, Linda Keddington Jan 2005

Initial Development Of A Web-Based Tool To Increase Hunter Harvest Of Female Ungulates, James Knight, Marc Kenyon, Linda Keddington

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

Landowners and agencies have expressed difficulty finding hunters willing to harvest the female portion of the ungulate populations, and likewise, hunters have expressed difficulty achieving access to private lands. Since 2003, the Montana “DoeCowHunt” website (www.doecowhunt.montana.edu) has provided an avenue to improve hunter-landowner contact and wild ungulate population management. A product of Montana State University Extension Wildlife Program, this website provides a means for hunters and landowners in Montana to contact each other by listing contact information (email address, physical address, and telephone number) for the purpose of harvesting antlerless ungulates. In the first year over 10,000 users visited the …

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Thermal Imaging Applications In Urban Deer Control, Earl Hodnett Jan 2005

Thermal Imaging Applications In Urban Deer Control, Earl Hodnett

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

Control of burgeoning populations of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is a challenging endeavor under the best of circumstances. The challenge is further complicated when control programs are attempted within an urban or suburban area. Wildlife managers often consider management techniques and equipment which have a proven track record. New challenges require new and innovative techniques. The deer management program in Fairfax County, Virginia has employed thermal imaging technology in a variety of ways to better address these unique challenges. In addition to the more commonly used aircraft-mounted FLIR (forward looking infrared), this program utilizes vehicle-mounted and hand-held thermal …

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Nutria: An Invasive Rodent Pest Or Valued Resource?, Susan Jojola, Gary W. Witmer, Dale Nolte Jan 2005

Nutria: An Invasive Rodent Pest Or Valued Resource?, Susan Jojola, Gary W. Witmer, Dale Nolte

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

Nutria or coypu (Myocastor coypus), semi-aquatic rodents native to southern South America, are an invasive species having detrimental impacts mainly in the southern and eastern United States. Nutria were introduced into the U.S. in 1899 for fur farming and became established in several states. Nutria dispersals resulted primarily from releases by fur farmers, escapes during hurricanes or rising floodwaters, or as translocations in an attempt to control nuisance aquatic vegetation. The ravenous appetite of these herbivores can cause damage to agricultural crops and aquatic vegetation, and can alter aquatic ecosystems. Their burrowing habits can weaken irrigation structures and …

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Black-Tailed Prairie Dog Colony Dynamics In South Dakota Over A 10-Year Period, Kathleen Fagerstone, Howard Tietjen, James Glahn, Greg Schenbeck, Jean Bourassa Jan 2005

Black-Tailed Prairie Dog Colony Dynamics In South Dakota Over A 10-Year Period, Kathleen Fagerstone, Howard Tietjen, James Glahn, Greg Schenbeck, Jean Bourassa

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

Between 1968 and 1978, aerial photography was used to monitor distribution of blacktailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) colonies on a 400-square mile area in South Dakota, including parts of Buffalo Gap National Grassland, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, and Badlands National Monument (now Badlands National Park). Aerial photographs were taken of the study area in 1968 and annually from 1974 through 1978 at a scale of 1:20,000 (1968) and 1:15,840 (1974- 1978). Prairie dog colonies were identified on the photographs, outlined, and the outline transferred to USGS topographic maps for colony size measurements. This technique reliably detected changes in …

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Economic Impacts Of Blackbird Damage To The Rice Industry, John Cummings, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Shelagh Tupper Jan 2005

Economic Impacts Of Blackbird Damage To The Rice Industry, John Cummings, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Shelagh Tupper

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

In cooperation with the Louisiana Rice Research Board, the Louisiana State University Rice Research Station and the USA Rice Federation, we conducted a questionnaire survey in 2002 to estimate the economic impacts of blackbirds on the rice industry in Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, California, and Missouri. Survey areas in rice producing states were identified based on the 2001 National Agricultural Statistic Service’s rice harvest records. The Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices in each state provided a mailing list of farm operators growing rice and approximately one third of the rice farm operators were randomly selected to be surveyed. The questionnaire was …

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Dogs For Reducing Wildlife Damage To Organic Crops: A Case Study, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Nathan Seward, Daniel Hirchert, Michael Jones, Scott F. Beckerman Jan 2005

Dogs For Reducing Wildlife Damage To Organic Crops: A Case Study, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Nathan Seward, Daniel Hirchert, Michael Jones, Scott F. Beckerman

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

Deer (Odocoileus spp.) damage millions of dollars in agricultural crops each year in the United States. A variety of frightening devices and repellants have been developed to reduce crop depredation, however most are effective temporarily (months). Several types of fences are available, but the most effective are expensive, time consuming to install, and may be considered aesthetically displeasing. Additional means to control wildlife damage to agriculture are needed. We evaluated the efficacy of dogs (Canis familiaris) over a several year period for preventing crop damage caused by white-tailed deer (O. virginianus) and other wildlife at …

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Demographic And Spatial Responses Of Coyotes To Changes In Food And Exploitation, Eric Gese Jan 2005

Demographic And Spatial Responses Of Coyotes To Changes In Food And Exploitation, Eric Gese

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

Lethal control for reducing carnivore populations is a contentious issue throughout the world. While computer simulations have been developed modeling the effects of population reduction on coyote (Canis latrans) population parameters, testing these hypotheses with empirical data from the field is lacking. We documented the demographic and spatial responses of coyotes to changes in the levels of food resources and human exploitation on the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site, southeastern Colorado. We captured, radio-collared, and tracked 92 (53 M: 39 F) coyotes from March 1983 to April 1989. Of these, 74 animals were residents from 32 packs, plus 12 …

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Deer-Vehicle Crash Patterns Across Ecoregions In Michigan, Krishnan Sudharsan, Shawn Riley, Brent Riley, Brian Maurer Jan 2005

Deer-Vehicle Crash Patterns Across Ecoregions In Michigan, Krishnan Sudharsan, Shawn Riley, Brent Riley, Brian Maurer

Wildlife Damage Management Conference Proceedings

Deer-vehicle collisions (DVCs) impact the economic and social well being of humans. We examined large-scale patterns behind DVCs across 3 ecoregions: Southern Lower Peninsula (SLP), Northern Lower Peninsula (NLP), and Upper Peninsula (UP) in Michigan. A 3 component conceptual model of DVCs with drivers, deer, and a landscape was the framework of analysis. The conceptual model was parameterized into a parsimonious mathematical model. The dependent variable was DVCs by county by ecoregion and the independent variables were percent forest cover, percent crop cover, mean annual vehicle miles traveled (VMT), and mean deer density index (DDI) by county. A discriminant function …

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Efficient Test Compaction For Pseudo-Random Testing, Sheng Zhang, Sharad C. Seth, Bhargab B. Bhattacharya Jan 2005

Efficient Test Compaction For Pseudo-Random Testing, Sheng Zhang, Sharad C. Seth, Bhargab B. Bhattacharya

School of Computing: Conference and Workshop Papers

Compact set of 3-valued test vectors for random pattern resistant faults are covered in multiple test passes. During a pass, its associated test cube specifies certain bits in the scan chain to be held fixed and others to change pseudo-randomly. We propose an algorithm to find a small number of cubes to cover all the test vectors, thus minimizing total test length. The test-cube finding algorithm repeatedly evaluates small perturbations of the current solution so as to maximize the expected test coverage of the cube. Experimental results show that our algorithm covers the test vectors by test cubes that are …

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Face Recognition Using Landmark-Based Bidimensional Regression, Jiazheng Shi, Ashok Samal, David Marx Jan 2005

Face Recognition Using Landmark-Based Bidimensional Regression, Jiazheng Shi, Ashok Samal, David Marx

School of Computing: Conference and Workshop Papers

This paper studies how biologically meaningful landmarks extracted from face images can be exploited for face recognition using the bidimensional regression. Incorporating the correlation statistics of landmarks, this paper also proposes a new approach called eigenvalue weighted bidimensional regression. Complex principal component analysis is used for computing eigenvalues and removing correlation among landmarks. We evaluate our approach using two standard face databases: the Purdue AR and the NIST FERET. Experimental results show that the bidimensional regression is an efficient method to exploit geometry information of face images.

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Ground Water Monitoring Using Smart Sensors, Srikanth Anumalla, Byrav Ramamurthy, David Gosselin Jan 2005

Ground Water Monitoring Using Smart Sensors, Srikanth Anumalla, Byrav Ramamurthy, David Gosselin

School of Computing: Conference and Workshop Papers

Groundwater resources are the principal source of drinking water for about 50 percent of the United States population. Groundwater resources in Nebraska are under increasing stress as there is a rapid growth in their usage. Water managers need more timely and accurate data to assess ground-water conditions to manage adverse situations such as drought and loss of pumpage in agriculture and domestic water supply. Currently groundwater researchers use stand-alone data logging equipment which is labor intensive and the method is not easily scalable if the number of logging locations increases. Commercially available real-time data monitoring solutions are either prohibitively costly …

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Least-Cost Disjoint Paths With Dependent Cost Structure In Wavelength Continuous Optical Wdm Networks, Ajay Todimala, Byrav Ramamurthy Jan 2005

Least-Cost Disjoint Paths With Dependent Cost Structure In Wavelength Continuous Optical Wdm Networks, Ajay Todimala, Byrav Ramamurthy

School of Computing: Conference and Workshop Papers

One of the important issues in establishing a fault tolerant connection in a wavelength division multiplexing optical network is computing a pair of disjoint working and protection paths and a free wavelength along the paths. While most of the earlier research focused only on computing disjoint paths, in this work we consider computing both disjoint paths and a free wavelength along the paths.

The concept of dependent cost structure (DCS) of protection paths to enhance their resource sharing ability was proposed in our earlier work. In this work we extend the concept of DCS of protection paths to wavelength continuous …

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Science-Based Organic Farming 2005: Toward Local And Secure Food Systems, Charles A. Francis, Twyla Hansen, Peter Skelton Jan 2005

Science-Based Organic Farming 2005: Toward Local And Secure Food Systems, Charles A. Francis, Twyla Hansen, Peter Skelton

Publications from the Center for Applied Rural Innovation (CARI)

Organic farming includes growing food and fiber — animals, agronomic crops, horticultural fruits and vegetables, related products — as one dynamic and rapidly evolving component of our complex U.S. food system. Even as more farmers are moving toward organic certification and participation in an environmentally sound and economically lucrative market, questions arise about the long-term social impacts and sustainability of a set of practices that has gone from a movement to an industry. Consolidations in the organic trade have brought multinational corporations to the table, as they have observed a grassroots activity that has grown by 20% per year for …

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Assessing The Cost-Benefits Of Using Type Inference Algorithms To Improve The Representation Of Exceptional Control Flow In Java, Alex Kinneer, Gregg Rothermel Jan 2005

Assessing The Cost-Benefits Of Using Type Inference Algorithms To Improve The Representation Of Exceptional Control Flow In Java, Alex Kinneer, Gregg Rothermel

School of Computing: Technical Reports

Accurate representations of program control flow are important to the soundness and efficiency of program analysis and testing techniques. The Java programming language has introduced structured exception handling features that complicate the task of constructing safe and precise representations of the possible control flow in Java programs. Prior work has considered applying various type inference algorithms to exceptions, but has not yet investigated whether the use of higher cost algorithms is necessarily justified. It is important to understand and assess the tradeoffs associated with the use of more powerful yet costly algorithms, thus we conducted an empirical study to evaluate …

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A New Digital Image Compression Algorithm Based On Nonlinear Dynamical Systems, Chance Glenn, Michael Eastman, Gaurav Paliwal Jan 2005

A New Digital Image Compression Algorithm Based On Nonlinear Dynamical Systems, Chance Glenn, Michael Eastman, Gaurav Paliwal

Presentations and other scholarship

In this paper we discuss the formulation of, and show the results for, a new compression/decompression algorithm called DYNAMAC, that has its basis in nonlinear systems theory. We show that we are able to achieve significant compression of RGB image data while maintaining good image quality. We discuss the implementation of this algorithm in hardware, show that the same process is applicable to other digital forms of data, demonstrate that the decompression process is ideal for streaming applications, and show that the algorithm has an exploitable aspect of encryption useful for digital rights management and secure transmission. We discuss our …

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Scanning Photographic Processes, Andrew Davidhazy Jan 2005

Scanning Photographic Processes, Andrew Davidhazy

Presentations and other scholarship

Photographs imply that they are representations of a particular scene in terms height, width and an instant in time. There are cameras that display time itself as a dimension of the final record. These are sometimes called "streak" or “strip” cameras. These cameras can be thought of as strip chart recorders where the subject information is gathered optically. This makes streak cameras powerful tools for non-contact measurement of subject changes over time. But they can also be used for other than purely technical applications. In this presentation several improvised cameras of this type based on film and CCD or solid-state …

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Concurrent System Design: Applied Mathematics & Modeling In Software Engineering Education, Michael Lutz, James Vallino Jan 2005

Concurrent System Design: Applied Mathematics & Modeling In Software Engineering Education, Michael Lutz, James Vallino

Presentations and other scholarship

A hallmark of engineering design is the use of models to explore the consequences of design decisions. Sometimes these models are physical prototypes or informal drawings, but the sine qua non of contemporary practice is the use of formal, mathematical models of system structure and behavior. Whether circuit models in electrical engineering, heat-transfer models in mechanical engineering, or queuing theory models in industrial engineering, mathematics makes it possible to perform rigorous analysis that is the cornerstone of modern engineering. Until recently, such modeling was impractical for software systems. Informal models abounded, such as those created in UML1, but rigorous models …

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Concerning Calculation Of Academic Growth, And Making An Appropriation In Connection Therewith., Colorado General Assembly Jan 2005

Concerning Calculation Of Academic Growth, And Making An Appropriation In Connection Therewith., Colorado General Assembly

Session Laws 2001-Present

No abstract provided.

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Evaluating The Impact Of Production Scheduling On Tool Performance, Amr Arisha, Paul Young Jan 2005

Evaluating The Impact Of Production Scheduling On Tool Performance, Amr Arisha, Paul Young

Conference papers

Scheduling of a semiconductor manufacturing facility is one of the most complex tasks encountered. Confronted with a high technology product market, semiconductor manufacturing is increasingly more dynamic and competitive in the introduction of new products in shorter time intervals. Simulation provides an effective decision support tool in scheduling of semiconductor manufacturing. Simulation model was developed as a risk assessment tool for one of the implant process area. The model examines the impact of production schedule on tool performance by testing different production scenarios. Production ramping, local buffer capacity, product sequence and product mix seem to be influential factors of the …

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New England Journal Of Entrepreneurship, Spring 2005 Jan 2005

New England Journal Of Entrepreneurship, Spring 2005

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

No abstract provided.

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A System Dynamics Approach To Assessing Public Policy Impact On The Sustainable Growth Rate Of New Ventures, Jeff W. Trailer, Kuau Garsson Jan 2005

A System Dynamics Approach To Assessing Public Policy Impact On The Sustainable Growth Rate Of New Ventures, Jeff W. Trailer, Kuau Garsson

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship

The growth of firms is fundamentally based on self-reinforcing feedback loops, one of the most important of which involves cash flow. When profit margin is positive, sales generate cash, which may then be reinvested to finance the operating cash cycle. We analyze simulations of a sustainable growth model of a generic new venture to assess the importance of taxes, and regulatory costs in determining growth. The results suggest that new ventures are particularly vulnerable to public policy effects, since their working capital resource levels are minimal, and they have few options to raise external funds necessary to fuel their initial …

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Summer Soil Temperatures On Algific Talus Slopes In Northeast Iowa, Tom R. Cottrell, Kyle S. Strode Jan 2005

Summer Soil Temperatures On Algific Talus Slopes In Northeast Iowa, Tom R. Cottrell, Kyle S. Strode

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Soil temperatures at 15 cm depth were recorded on a single occasion at multiple grid points on two algific talus slopes during the summer of 1999. To represent and compare soil temperatures over a wider area, soil temperatures were measured (less intensively) at five other algific slopes and three non-algific forested slopes. Algific slopes appear to have greater variation in soil temperatures than non-algific sites. Spatial variation in algific slope soil temperatures ranged from 4-25°C. During the 10 day sample period temporal variation in air temperature at a nearby weather station had a similar range. Isotherm plots reveal a heterogeneous …

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Cover - Table Of Contents Jan 2005

Cover - Table Of Contents

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

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Front Matter Jan 2005

Front Matter

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

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