Life Sciences Commons^™

The Ecology Of The Raccoon (Procyon Lotor) In Cades Coves, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Alan Robert Rabinowitz

Doctoral Dissertations

From September 1979 through September 1980, 288 captures of 153 raccoons were made in Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. Fourteen raccoons were equipped with radio-transmitters to monitor movements, activity patterns, and denning behavior. Measurements, blood samples, and ectoparasites were taken from all animals.

Population density was estimated to be 1 raccoon/17 ha with sex and age ratios indicating a stable population. Parturition occurred in early June with a mean litter size of 2.8 young. Average longevity of raccoons was 30 months with a maximum longevity of approximately 86 months. There were indications of increased male mortality in …

Vegetation Patterns A Half Century Following The Chestnut Blight In The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Ernesto Arends

Masters Theses

Vegetation patterns approximately 50 years after the chestnut blight were examined in forest stands of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Specific objectives of this study were: (1) to determine the present composition of replacement stands following the elimination of chestnut, (2) to examine selected site factors and to relate them to tree species composition, (3) to project future trends in the composition of the replacement stands, and (4) to compare these results with earlier results and predictions of Wood and Shanks (1959) concerning chestnut replacement in the same area.

Data were analyzed from 38 sample plots ranging from 2000 …

Serum And Whole Blood Parameters Of Black Bears In The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Diane Keiser Beeman

Masters Theses

During the summers of 1974, 1975, and 1976, blood samples were taken from 124 black bears (Ursus americanus) captured in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Hematological data were collected on 96 individual bears and serum parameters on 124 bears.

Counts of red cells, white cells, and platelets were performed on whole blood as well as determinations of hemoglobin concentration and hematocrits. Corrected white cell counts, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) were calculated. Serum samples were analyzed for glucose, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, sodium, potassium, chloride, carbon dioxide, uric acid, …

Benthic Insect Community Structure In Cumberland Mountain Streams Twenty-Five Years After Coal Strip Mining, Elizabeth B. Williams

Masters Theses

In order to evaluate long-term impacts of coal strip mining on small stream benthic fauna in the Cumberland Mountains of east Tennessee, four streams, two in watersheds mined twenty-five years ago and two undisturbed, were sampled monthly for six months, January through June, 1979. Benthos was sampled by collecting eight Surber samples, each two ft.² in area, from similar riffles in each stream. At the collection sites pH, dissolved o₂, and velocity were measured. Water samples were analyzed in the laboratory for alkalinity and hardness (measured as mg/1 CaCO₃) and dissolved Fe and SO_{4 …}