Animal Sciences Commons^™

Effects Of Inactivated Mycobacterium Bovis Vaccination On Molokai-Origin Wild Pigs Experimentally Infected With Virulent M. Bovis, Pauline Nol, Morgan Wehte, Richard A. Bowen, Suelee Robbe-Austerman, Tyler Thacker, Kristina Lantz, Jack Rhyan, Laurie A. Baeten, Ramón A. Juste, Iker A. Sevilla, Christian Gortazar, Joaquín Vicente

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The wild pig population on Molokai, Hawaii, USA is a possible reservoir for bovine tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium bovis, and has been implicated in decades past as the source of disease for the island’s domestic cattle. Heat-inactivated vaccines have been effective for reducing disease prevalence in wild boar in Spain and could prove useful for managing M. bovis in Molokai wild pigs. We designed an experiment to test this vaccine in wild pigs of Molokai genetics. Fifteen 3–4-month-old pigs were orally administered 10⁶–10⁷ colony forming units (cfu) of heat-inactivated M. bovis (Vaccinates; n = 8; 0.2 …

Assessing Population Genetic Structure Of Eastern Phoebes At A Migratory Stopover Site, Daniel Jones

Biology Theses

Migration is an energetically costly and stressful event and migratory stopover sites are important areas along the migratory route that birds stop at to rest and refuel. Migration timing and routes vary across and even within species, including differences between sexes, ages and populations. Most genetic studies of migratory birds occur on breeding grounds, but when breeding locations are not known, it is likely that genetic patterns can be assessed accurately at migratory stopover sites if certain conditions exist. First, if a species is philopatric – where individuals return to the same sites every year, gene flow across geographically separated …

Economic Estimates Of Invasive Wild Pig Damage To Crops In 12 Us States, Sophie Mckee, Aaron Anderson, Keith Carlisle, Stephanie A. Shwiff

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We report the results of a survey on invasive wild pig (Sus scrofa L.) damage and control in 12 US states (Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas). The crops chosen for this study represent the “second-tier” in terms of economic importance after the six crops that were the subject of Anderson et al. (2016). The survey was distributed by the USDA National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS) in the summer of 2019 to a sample of producers in each of the states (except California) of the following six crops: hay, pecans (Carya …

Rabies Management Implications Based On Raccoon Population Density Indexes, Dennis Slate, Brandi D. Saidy, Ashlee Simmons, Kathleen M. Nelson, Amy Davis, Timothy P. Algeo, Stacey A. Elmore, Richard B. Chipman

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

An estimate or index of target species density is important in determining oral rabies vaccination (ORV) bait densities to control and eliminate specific rabies variants. From 1997–2011, we indexed raccoon (Procyon lotor) densities 253 times based on cumulative captures on 163 sites from Maine to Alabama, USA, near ORV zones created to prevent raccoon rabies from spreading to new areas. We conducted indexing under a common cage trapping protocol near the time of annual ORV to aid in bait density decisions. Unique raccoons (n = 8,415) accounted for 68.0% of captures (n = 12,367). We recaptured raccoons 2,669 times. We …

The Role Of Dislodgement In The Territorial Ecology Of The Owl Limpet, Lottia Gigantea, Ryan T. Kabala, Natalie Swinford, Maria J. Mason, William G. Wright

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Ascertaining the risks and benefits of different behaviors is a central goal of research on territoriality. Although most territorial behavior is ritualized, with concomitant reduced risks for both residents and intruders, this ritualization is generally found to be underpinned by rare, highly consequential, interactions. The agonistic behavior of the intertidal owl limpet, Lottia gigantea, involves defense of a feeding territory, and includes a relatively explosive thrusting response by territory holders against intruding conspecifics. We here ask whether this thrusting behavior is capable of entirely dislodging intruders from their rocky wave-swept substratum, thereby ridding the resident of future challenges by …

Range Extension For Dekay’S Brownsnake (Storeria Dekayi) In South-Central Nebraska, Macy K. Cool, Keith Geluso

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Dekay’s Brownsnake (Storeria dekayi) generally occurs in southeastern parts of the state, where the species was known from 16 counties. Herein, we update the distribution of S. dekayi in the state and briefly comment on habitat and abundance from observations in September and October 2018. We documented 7 new county records that extend its distribution in south-central Nebraska. We observed that S. dekayi does not only reside in mesic wooded habitats in Nebraska but also occupies open environments, including areas with upland grasslands and row-crop agriculture. Dekay’s Brownsnake currently is listed as a species of concern …

Individual And Population Fitness Consequences Associated With Large Carnivore Use Of Residential Development, Heather Johnson, David L. Lewis, Stewart W. Breck

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Large carnivores are negotiating increasingly developed landscapes, but little is known about how such behavioral plasticity influences their demographic rates and population trends. Some investigators have suggested that the ability of carnivores to behaviorally adapt to human development will enable their persistence, and yet, others have suggested that such landscapes are likely to serve as population sinks or ecological traps. To understand how plasticity in black bear (Ursus americanus) use of residential development influences their population dynamics, we conducted a 6-yr study near Durango, Colorado, USA. Using space-use data on individual bears, we examined the influence of use of residential …

Common Ravens, Luke W. Peebles, Jack O. Spencer Jr.

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

Damage Management Methods for Common Ravens

Type of Control -- Available Management Options

Exclusion -- Often ineffective or impractical

Fertility Control -- None available

Frightening Devices -- Effigies • Pyrotechnics and propane cannons • Lasers and flashing lights

Habitat Modification -- Bale and bury garbage • Install dumpsters with secure lids • Remove or bury dead livestock • Remove abandoned houses, sheds, and barns to eliminate nesting structures

Nest Treatment -- Allowed with proper Federal and State permits; Egg oiling or addling and nest destruction

Repellents -- Methiocarb (EPA Reg. No. 56228-33) • Methyl anthranilate (food-grade grape flavoring agent)

Shooting …

Migratory Flyways May Affect Population Structure In Double‐Crested Cormorants, Steven J.A. Kimble, Brian S. Dorr, Katie C. Hanson-Dorr, Olin E. Rhodes Jr., Travis L. Devault

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Double‐crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) recovered from a demographic bottleneck so well that they are now considered a nuisance species at breeding and wintering grounds across the United States and Canada. Management of this species could be improved by refining genetic population boundaries and assigning individuals to their natal population. Further, recent radio‐telemetry data suggest the existence of Interior and Atlantic migratory flyways, which could reduce gene flow and result in substantial genetic isolation. In this study, we used 1,784 individuals collected across the eastern United States, a large panel of microsatellite markers developed for this species, and individuals banded as …

Effects Of Deepwater Horizon Oil On Feather Structure And Thermoregulation In Gulls: Does Rehabilitation Work?, Katherine Horak, Nicole L. Barrett, Jeremy W. Ellis, Emma M. Campbell, Nicholas G. Dannemiller, Susan A. Shriner

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Impacts of large-scale oil spills on avian species are far-reaching.While media attention often focuses on lethal impacts, sub-lethal effects and the impacts of rehabilitation receive less attention. The objective of our study was to characterize effects of moderate external oiling and subsequent rehabilitation on feather structure and thermoregulation in gulls. We captured 30 wild ring-billed gulls (Larus delawarensis) and randomly assigned each individual to an experimental group: 1) controls, 2) rehabilitated birds (externally oiled, rehabilitated by washing), or 3) oiled birds (externally oiled, not rehabilitated). We externally oiled birds with weathered MC252 Deepwater Horizon oil (water for controls) …

Optimal Bait Density For Delivery Of Acute Toxicants To Vertebrate Pests, Kim M. Pepin, Nathan P. Snow, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Oral baiting is a fundamental method for delivering toxicants to pest species. Planning baiting strategies is challenging because bait-consumption rates depend on dynamic processes including space use and demographics of the target species. To determine cost-effective strategies for optimizing baiting, we developed a spatially explicit model of population dynamics using field-based measures of wild-pig (Sus scrofa) space use, bait consumption, and mortality probabilities. The most cost-effective baiting strategy depended strongly on the population reduction objective and initial density. A wide range of baiting strategies were cost-effective when the objective was 80% population reduction. In contrast, only a narrow range of …

Brodifacoum Residues In Fish Three Years After An Island-Wide Rat Eradication Attempt In The Tropical Pacific, Shane R. Siers, Aaron B. Shiels, Steven F. Volker, Kristen Rex, William C. Pitt

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Invasive rats are known to threaten natural resources and human health and safety. Island-wide rat eradication attempts have been increasing in number and scale during the past several decades, as has the frequency of eradication success. The most common method to remove all rats from an island is to broadcast anticoagulant rodenticide bait into every rat’s home range on the island. Broadcast of toxicants can put humans and other nontarget species in marine and terrestrial environments at risk of exposure. The persistence of anticoagulant residues is somewhat unknown, particularly in marine environments. Three years after ~ 18,000 kg of 25 …

Proceedings Of The Fifteenth North American Crane Workshop, Jane E. Austin, Richard P. Urbanek, Megan E. Brown

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Proceedings of the Fifteenth North American Crane Workshop (2020) edited by Jane E. Austin, Richard P. Urbanek, and Megan E. Brown.

Local Adaptation Constrains Drought Tolerance In A Tropical Foundation Tree, Kasey E. Barton, Casey Jones, Kyle F. Edwards, Aaron B. Shiels, Tiffany Knight

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

1. Plant species with broad climatic ranges might be more vulnerable to climate change than previously appreciated due to intraspecific variation in climatic stress tolerance. In tropical forests, drought is increasingly frequent and severe, causing widespread declines and altering community dynamics. Yet, little is known about whether foundation tropical trees vary in drought tolerance throughout their distributions, and how intraspecific variation in drought tolerance might contribute to their vulnerability to climate changE.
2. We tested for local adaptation in seedling emergence and establishment with a full-factorial reciprocal transplant experiment including 27 populations and 109,350 seeds along a 3,500 mm precipitation gradient for …

The Effectiveness Of Long-Distance Translocation Of Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes (Crotalus Adamanteus), Allison Grace Kelley

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Translocations have the potential to aim conservation efforts as well as to reduce mortality caused by human activities. Eastern diamondback rattlesnakes (Crotalus adamanteus, EDB) have a limited ability to adapt to habitat loss and fragmentation due to the species’ slow life history and minimal dispersal ability. Because they are a venomous species, they are viewed as nuisance animals and are often killed on sight. We translocated a cohort of EDBs to investigate the potential of using translocations as a conservation and mitigation tool for this species. In July 2018, we translocated twelve adult eastern diamondback rattlesnakes from Parris …

Using Northern Pike And Yellow Perch To Attempt A Trophic Cascade, Bryan Sea

Journal of Earth and Life Science

In the midwestern USA, water clarity has decreased in shallow lakes as a result of large populations of Fathead Minnow Pimephales promelas and agriculture that impact the life that depend on shallow habitats, such as waterfowl, fish, and aquatic plants. Northern Pike Esox lucius and Yellow Perch Perca flavescens were stocked in a few lakes in attempt to create a tropic cascade and reduce populations of nuisance Fathead Minnows. Northern Pike were stocked as fry and Yellow Perch were stocked as adults either pre-spawn or post-spawn. Lake managers hypothesized adult Yellow Perch would spawn and the age-0 Perch would feed …

Spring Field Report, March-May 2020, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

Although there were numerous early arrival dates, most were in the range of historically earliest expected dates; notable, however, was a lone record-early Whiterumped Sandpiper, nicely photographed. Record late by a month was a juvenile Redtailed (Harlan’s) Hawk, also confirmed by photo. Perhaps most prominent this spring were the large numbers of several species. Most eye-popping were record spring totals of 22 Glossy Ibises, 11 Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, 14 Veeries, including five in the Panhandle, 48 Gray-cheeked Thrushes, 20 Bay-breasted Warblers, not long ago a rare bird in spring, 45 Golden-winged Warblers and 27 Canada Warblers, both of which were about …

The Nebraska Bird Review, Volume 88 March 2020 Number 1

Nebraska Bird Review

Winter Field Report, Dec. 2019 - Feb. 2020, by W. Ross Silcock …2

2019-2020 Christmas Bird Counts …18, 27-41

Annual Color Photo Section …19-26

Annual Treasurer's Report for 2019, by Jan Johnson …42

Subscription and Organization Information …43

Intraspecific Aggression Towards Common Bottlenose Dolphin Calves, Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Errol Ronje, Sarah Piwetz, Heidi Whitehead, Keith D. Mullin

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Infanticide has been widely documented throughout the animal kingdom, and has generally been viewed as an evolved, or adaptive behavior for the perpetrators. Infanticide motivated by increased sexual access to females with calves, or the elimination of potential genetic competition in the form of calf-directed aggression or infanticide, has been proposed for delphinids including killer whales, Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, Guiana dolphins, and bottlenose dolphins. However, reports of intraspecific aggression towards bottlenose dolphin calves are relatively infrequent, and accounts of confirmed infanticide are rarer still. Reporting instances of intraspecific calf-directed aggression aids researchers to better understand the socio-behavioral context of these …

Black Bear, Jimmy D. Taylor, James P. Phillips

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

The American black bear (Ursus americanus, Figure 1) is a challenging species for wildlife agencies to manage due to its size, intelligence, extensive range, food habits, and adaptability, as well as societal views. In North America alone, agencies receive more than 40,000 complaints about black bear annually. Black bears are known as ‘food-driven’ animals, meaning most conflicts result from a bear’s drive to meet its nutritional needs. Not surprisingly, an overwhelming proportion of conflicts are related to their use of anthropogenic (human) food sources, such as garbage, bird food, and crops. Understanding what drives human-bear conflict is the first part …

Sampling The Local Fare: Fishes At The Sam Israel House Pit (45gr76), Soap Lake, Washington, Adam Fruge

All Master's Theses

The Sam Israel site is a precontact archaeological complex with numerous fish bones at the north end of Soap Lake, Washington. Excavated in 1976, the fish remains recovered from there were never fully analyzed prior to this research. Since this inland Columbia Plateau site had thousands of fish bones, it contained untapped potential for our understanding of ancient local fish procurement. As such, I conducted a detailed analysis of 2,862 fish bone specimens from the Sam Israel House Pit locus to: study a larger sample of fish bones in greater detail than was done before; compare the distribution of fishes …

Multi-Isotopic (Δ2h, Δ13c, Δ15n) Tracing Of Molt Origin For European Starlings Associated With U.S. Dairies And Feedlots, Scott Werner, J. W. Fischer, Keith A. Hobson

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Introduced bird species can become invasive in agroecosystems and their management is inhibited if their origin and movements are not well understood. Stable isotope measurements of feathers can be used to infer molt origins and interstate movements in North America. We analyzed stable-hydrogen (δ²H), carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ ¹⁵N) isotope ratios in feathers to better understand the molt origin of European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) collected at dairies and feedlots throughout the United States. Primary feathers were used from 596 adult and 90 juvenile starlings collected during winter at dairies …

Tissue Tropisms Of Avian Influenza A Viruses Affect Their Spillovers From Wild Birds To Pigs, Xiaojian Zhang, Fred L. Cunningham, Lei Li, Katie Hanson-Dorr, Liyuan Liu, Kaitlyn Waters, Minhui Guan, Alicia K. Olivier, Brandon S. Schmit, Jacqueline M. Nolting, Andrew S. Bowman, Mia Kim Torchetti, Thomas J. Deliberto, Xiu-Feng Wan

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wild aquatic birds maintain a large, genetically diverse pool of influenza A viruses (IAVs), which can be transmitted to lower mammals and, ultimately, humans. Through phenotypic analyses of viral replication efficiency, only a small set of avian IAVs were found to replicate well in epithelial cells of the swine upper respiratory tract, and these viruses were shown to infect and cause virus shedding in pigs. Such a phenotypic trait of the viral replication efficiency appears to emerge randomly and is distributed among IAVs across multiple avian species and geographic and temporal orders. It is not determined by receptor binding preference …

Repellent Surface Applications For Pest Birds, Shelagh T. Deliberto, James C. Carlson, Hailey E. Mclean, Caroline S. Olson, Scott J. Werner

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Common pest birds in the United States include the non-native European starling (Sturnus vulgaris), house sparrow (Passer domesticus), and the pigeon (Columba livia domestica), as well as native birds including Canada geese (Branta canadensis) and gull species (Laridae). Large concentrations of pest birds can create human health hazards and monetary losses due to consumption of crops, depredation, and fecal contamination and accumulation. Fecal contamination hazards include the potential spread of zoonotic diseases including antimicrobial-resistant zoonoses and human injury due to the accumulation of fecal material on walking surfaces. Additionally, fecal accumulation causes …

Spatial And Temporal Genetic Structure Of Winter-Run Steelhead (Oncorhynchus Mykiss) Returning To The Mad River, California, Steven R. Fong

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Distinct populations of steelhead in the wild are in decline. The propagation of steelhead in hatcheries has been used to boost population numbers for recreational fisheries and for use in conservation. However, hatchery breeding practices of steelhead can result in changes in genetic structure. I investigated the genetic structure of winter-run steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) returning to the Mad River, California, where a hatchery has been used enhance production for recreational fisheries since 1971. Genetic variability in Mad River steelhead was evaluated using 96 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) among 4203 individuals, including the Mad River and nearby locations, and …

Current Dog Breeding Practices Impacts On Health And Preservation Of Purebred Dogs, Bridget E. Baker

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Estimates Of Red Drum Mortality Via Acoustic Telemetry, T. Reid Nelson, Sean P. Powers

University Faculty and Staff Publications

Subadult (age < 3) Red Drum Sciaenops ocellatus support a valuable recreational fishery, and mortality estimates for young Red Drum are needed for proper management. To obtain these estimates, age-1 and age-2 Red Drum were implanted with acoustic transmitters and external Floy tags in two coastal Alabama rivers (Fowl and Dog rivers). Fates of tagged fish were inferred from stationary receiver detections and active relocations over 1 year. These fates were used in a Bayesian multistate model to estimate instantaneous monthly and annual mortality and emigration rates for each river and overall from both rivers. Instantaneous monthly fishing mortality (F) ranged from 0.001 to 0.112 (annual F = 0.414) in Dog River, from 0.001 to 0.126 in Fowl River (annual F = 0.309), and was 0.001–0.054 (annual F = 0.337) overall. Instantaneous monthly natural mortality (M) ranged from 0.001 to 0.002 (annual M= 0.069) in Dog River, from 0.001 to 0.036 (annual M= 0.178) in Fowl River, and from 0.001 to 0.017 (annual M= 0.090) overall. The overall annual estimate of instantaneous total mortality (Z) was 0.435. The median escapement percentage was estimated at 36.3% (95% posterior credible interval = 19.5–56.0%) using M and Z from the overall model. Unfortunately, the error on this estimate was large and inconclusive as to whether the 30% escapement goal for juvenile Red Drum to the adult population from Dog and Fowl rivers is being met. Monthly residency estimates were typically greater than 0.90, and overall annual residency was estimated at 0.716. Fishing mortality estimates from the current study are higher than recent catch curve estimates that did not include young Red Drum. These results demonstrate that young Red Drum need to be accounted for when generating mortality estimates and provide needed data for the Red Drum recreational fishery.

Habitat Associations And Co-Occurrence Patterns Of Two Estuarine-Dependent Predatory Fishes, Mariah C. Livernois, Sean P. Powers, Mark A. Albins, John F. Mareska

University Faculty and Staff Publications

Estuarine-dependent fishes experience a wide range of environmental conditions, and most species exhibit distinct associations with particular habitats. However, similar species or multiple conspecifics often overlap spatiotemporally, which can result in ecological interactions that have consequences for behaviors that can shape the structure and function of ecosystems. We used a long-term gill-net data set (2001–2015) to investigate the habitat associations and cooccurrence patterns of two estuarine-dependent predatory fishes, Red Drum Sciaenops ocellatus and Spotted Seatrout Cynoscion nebulosus, in coastal Alabama, USA. Both species were associated with similar environmental conditions, primarily low dissolved oxygen and low salinity, especially when temperature was …

Population Demographics Of Silver Carp Hypophthalmichthys Molitrix In Kentucky Lake, Allison M. Lebeda

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Invasive species continue to threaten aquatic ecosystems in the United States. Silver Carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix have successfully infiltrated much of the Mississippi River Basin, including Kentucky Lake – a large reservoir located on the Tennessee River in Western Kentucky. Although Silver Carp have been present in Kentucky Lake for at least a decade, until recently, very little was known about the population, how often successful reproduction is occurring, or the environmental conditions that facilitate strong year-classes. Hence, it is difficult for managers to predict the potential impact of Silver Carp on native species. Silver Carp were collected from Kentucky Lake …

Finding Fishers: Determining The Distribution Of A Rare Forest Mesocarnivore In The Northern Rocky Mountains, Jessica M. Krohner

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The Northern Rocky Mountain fisher population (Pekania pennanti), is classified as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need and is of special concern to state, federal, and tribal entities. In this thesis, we present methods to effectively survey fishers across the northern Rockies of Idaho and Montana, and provide estimates of fisher distribution at a population range-wide scale through occupancy analyses. We also assess factors that influence fisher occurrence through covariate analyses and identify core fisher habitat in the northern Rockies through spatial occupancy modeling. By sampling broadly across the landscape, we provide baseline distributional data for comparison against …