Life Sciences Commons^™

Ectoparasites Of Geomys Bursarius Illinoensis, Rick L. Miller

Masters Theses

This study was conducted to determine what ectoparasitic organisms are found on the pairie pocket gophers, Geomys burasrius, occurring in an isolated population in northeastern Illinois. The study area was a five hectare grassland community composed predominately of sandy soil, located in northeastern Iriquois Co., two miles north and three miles east of Beaverville, IL.

A total of 19 pocket gophers were captured from October 2 to November 17, 1983. Blood was collected and smears were made in the field. Hosts were examined for ectoparasites in the laboratory. Six hundred and nine ectoparasitic organisms were isolated representing a mean …

An Analysis Of Waterfowl Hunter Activity And Harvest On Selected Public Hunting Areas In Illinois, Gary E. Potts

Masters Theses

Hunter activity and waterfowl harvest were studied on 11 public waterfowl hunting areas (PHA) in Illinois which utilized 1, 2, or 3-year duck blind allocation systems from 1979-1983. The number of individual hunters, man-days, and average man-days hunted per season varied for each area in each year. The average man-days hunted per season for all study areas was 5.7 with a range of 4.4 to 6.4. Highly significant correlations existed between blind-days and man-days (r=.99), blind-days and man-hours (r=.97), and man-days and man-hours (r=.98) suggesting that the three variables are equally valid for evaluating hunter activity. On 1-year duck blind …

Factors Affecting The Predator-Prey Relationship Between Predaceous Diving Beetle Larvae (Dytiscus Fasciventris) And Two Anuran Tadpole Species (Bufo Americanus And Hyla Crucifer), Todd S. Campbell

Masters Theses

It has previously been demonstrated that American toad (Bufo americanus) tadpoles are more vulnerable to predation by diving beetle larvae (Dytiscus fasciventris) than are spring peeper (Hyla crucifer) tadpoles. A laboratory study was undertaken to further delineate factors that contribute to the differential vulnerability observed. Beetle larvae are more effective tadpole predators in shallow, than in deep, water and appear to prefer to adopt a "sit-and-wait" predator strategy while clinging to emergent vegetation. Depth preference experiments in the laboratory indicated that both tadpole species prefer deep areas to shallow areas irrespective of whether a …

The Hold-Release Mechanism In The Family Crotalidae, Ronald K. Easter

Masters Theses

Strike/release vs. strike/hold feeding behavior was observed for 5 Crotalus atrox and 5 Agkistrodon piscivorous. Two sizes of warm blooded prey were offered to the rattlesnakes on alternate weeks. Cottonmouths were offered, alternately, fish or mice of equal size. Although data varied among individual subjects, cottonmouths offered fish demonstrated the strike/hold behavior significantly more often than the strike/release behavior; cottonmouths offered mice struck and released significantly more often than they struck and held. It is concluded that the strike/hold strategy in sreponse to fish is adventageous because the danger of holding such prey is minimal and the release of …