Life Sciences Commons^™

Activity Patterns, Movement Ecology, And Habitat Utilization Of Black Bears In The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, Howard B. Quigley

Masters Theses

Radio-collars were fitted on 22 black bears captured on a 155 km² study area in the northwest portion of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, between June 1978 and December 1979.

Activity monitors in radio-collars indicated that bears exhibited crepuscular daily patterns of activity which were modified seasonally; activity was highest during the day in all seasons but night time activity was highest during fall. Most seasonal variations in diet patterns of activity are attributed to changes in foraging patterns. Monthly activity levels were lowest in the postdenning months of April and May and the predenning months of …

Distribution And Characteristics Of Balsam Woolly Aphid Infestations In The Great Smoky Mountains, C. Christopher Eagar

Masters Theses

The balsam woolly aphid was inadvertently introduced into North America in Maine around 1900 and has subsequently spread throughout the eastern spruce-fir forests. Within the past 20 years the aphid has become a serious pest of Fraser fir in the Southern Appalachians, causing concern for the scenic and scientific resources of the spruce-fir forests. Fraser fir is highly susceptible to attack by the aphid with mortality occurring within 2 to 5 years following colonization. This rapid mortality in combination with the phenomenal reproductive potential of the aphid threatens the existence of Fraser fir. Investigations were conducted within the Great Smoky …

Comparison Of Forest Cover Prior To And Following Disturbance In Two Areas Of The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Weaver H. Mccracken Iii

Masters Theses

Prelogging forest cover and the nature and intensity of logging disturbance for two areas in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park were characterized using written records, photographs, interviews and, where available, virgin stands on similar sites. Present seral position and stand character were determined from fixed-area plots established on sties for which previous forest cover and intensity of disturbance had been determined.

A low- to mid-elevation hardwood forest occupying a north-facing drainage on the Tennessee side of the Park was determined to have been mixed mesophytic in character prior to logging and was most intensively disturbed by skidder logging near …

A Test Of Cultural Treatments Selected To Improve The Chemical And Physical Characteristics Of Reclaimed Surface Mine Spoil For The Growth Of Loblolly Pine In East Tennessee, Thomas L. Simpson

Masters Theses

Three surface mine spoil areas in East Tennessee were selected for testing the influence of the State reclamation requirements and selected supplementary treatments on the survival and growth of pines recommended for planting on various sites. A high elevation (2,800 feet) test near Caryville, Tennessee, was discarded because of poor survival of white pine and site modification by contractors working in the area.

Fertilizer tests on two established loblolly pine plantations, one on new and the other on old spoil from mining the Sewanee coal seam near Cagle, Tennessee (1,850 feet), indicated that N additions of both 50 and 100 …

Balsam Woolly Aphid Infestation Of Fraser Fir In The Great Smoky Mountains, Kristine D. Johnson

Masters Theses

The balsam woolly aphid (Adelges piceae (Ratz.)) has within the last decade become a serious pest on Fraser fir (Abies fraseri (Pursh.) Poir.) in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, causing concern for the scenic and scientific resources of the spruce-fir forests. In order to determine and anticipate the nature and impact of the balsam woolly aphid in this area, a research project was designed to investigate some of the relevant biotic factors.

Objectives of this study were: (1) to determine relationships between levels of infestation, as indicated by aphid population and damage on individual trees, the respective …

Economics Of Timber Resource Availability In A Tennessee Timbershed, John Lee Wells

Masters Theses

A study of an eleven-county Tennessee timbershed was conducted in order to: (1) estimate the proportion of the aggregate timber resource actually available for harvest; and (2) search out motives for withholding timber from the market from otherwise commercial forest lands, by United States Forest Service definitions.

The procedures used in meeting the objectives of the study involved the use of a stratified random sample of seventy-six private nonindustrial owners and personal interviews. Owners to be interviewed were selected from county tax roles on a stratified basis of size of forest acres owned. Timber volume and growth estimates were extrapolated …

Evergreen Tree Species For Urban Use In Eastern Tennessee, Vivian Orr Potter

Masters Theses

The objective of this study was to determine which of five tree species was best suited for urban conditions in eastern Tennessee with respect to certain criteria. The species included eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L.), eastern hemlock [Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr.], Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst.], southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora L.), and eastern red-cedar (Juniperus virginiana L.). The criteria used for comparing the species were resistance to disease, resistance to insect pests, range of soil fertility adaptability, range of soil pH adaptability, and aesthetic appeal.

Questionnaires were sent to nurserymen …

Phospholipid And Myoglobin Concentrations In Ground Bovine Extensor, Semitendinosus, And Gastrocnemius, Carla S. Hall

Masters Theses

A possible quantitative relationship between phospholipid and extractable myoglobin, or between their rates of change during the heating of beef was investigated. Three muscles--extensor, semitendinosus, and gastrocnemius--were chosen for study at three heating end points--55°, 66°, and 77°C.

The investigated relationship was not shown statistically across the muscles or age categories represented by the samples used. The effects of several variables on the muscle components studied were analyzed individually.

Extractable myoglobin decreased as internal end point temperature increased. Increasing end point temperature also resulted in increased phospholipid concentration, dry weight basis, and total lipid, wet weight basis. Neither myoglobin nor …

Hikers In The Great Smoky Mountains National Park - Their Attitudes, Characteristics, And Implications For Management, Gary C. Marsh

Masters Theses

The main objective of this study was to obtain information about trail users, primarily hikers, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP), which would aid decision-makers in managing the wilderness resource for optimum benefits from hiking trails. I nformation was gathered by the use of a questionnaire to determine various socioeconomic characteristics of users, their motivations for hiking, and their attitudes toward trail use and management within the GSMNP.

The questionnaire was administered in a personal interview with respondents as they were hiking on selected trails within the park. Five-hundred and fifty-eight interviews were completed at eleven sampling locations …

Hardwood Flooring Yields From Appalachian Red Oak Lumber, Hollis R. Large

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the size and grade of red oak lumber on the quantity and quality of hardwood flooring yield. The data were to provide information which may be used by flooring producers in determining the optimum input lumber mix under varying market conditions.

Three grades of kiln-dried red oak lumber, 1, 2, and 3A common, were selected for study. Each of the three grades were subdivided into four size classes based on lumber width and length. The size classes consisted of lumber less than eight inches wide and less than eight …

Natural Variation In Abies Of The Southern Appalachians, John F. Robinson

Masters Theses

Determinations were made of several foliage, seed, and cone characteristics from material collected throughout the ranges of Abies fraseri in high elevations of Tennessee, North Carolina, and southern Virginia; Abies balsamea var phanerolepis in West Virginia and northern Virginia; and Abies balsamea from its southernmost distribution in Pennsylvania and southern New York.

Natural variation was investigated to determine relationships among these taxa, especially with reference to possible hybridity of A. balsamea var phanerolepis in West Virginia and northern Virginia. Much variation was found among species groups among stands within groups. Variation patterns suggested sampling from a north-south cline. Stand values …

A Study Of The Cyperaceae Of Tennessee, J. K. Underwood

Masters Theses

There is a definite field of usefulness for an up-to-date and comprehensive treatment of the species of Cyperaceae found growing without cultivation within the borders of the State of Tennessee. With this in mind, the writer set about gathering material for the studies presented herewith. A large portion of the work done in connection with this thesis was accomplished during the last two years. Field studies and collections were made in many localities in the eastern half of Tennessee. For material collected west of Nashville, reference has been made to specimens deposited in The University of Tennessee herbarium by A. …