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Articles 1 - 9 of 9
Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Digestibility Of Common Forage Plants And Energetic Requirements Of The Black-Tailed Prairie Dog, Maureen A. Beckstead
Digestibility Of Common Forage Plants And Energetic Requirements Of The Black-Tailed Prairie Dog, Maureen A. Beckstead
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) assimilated 51.5 percent of the wheatgrass (Agropyron intermedium) they consumed; thus, they would have to consume 0.148 kcal · g-1 · day-l in order to obtain the 0.076 kcal · g-1 · day-1 they would require to maintain their weight. Prairie dogs assimilated 31.5 percent of the buffalograss/blue grama mixture (Buchloe dactyloides/Bouteloua gracilis) they were fed. They would have to consume 0.229 kcal · g-1 · day-1 of this forage to assimilate 0.072 kcal · g-1 · day-1 and maintain their weight. The proximate composition of forages fed in feeding trials was similar to that …
Biology Of The Porcupine (Erethizon Dorsatum) In Northwestern South Dakota, Judith Johnson
Biology Of The Porcupine (Erethizon Dorsatum) In Northwestern South Dakota, Judith Johnson
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The summer home ranges, food habits, cover preferences, population dynamics, metabolic rates, growth rates, and taxonomic characteristics were determined for porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum) in northwestern South Dakota. The summer home ranges were 158.2 ha for adult females, 90.4 ha for juveniles, and 57.9 ha for adult males. The population was 34 percent adult males, 16 percent juvenile males, 34 percent adult females, and 15 percent juvenile females. The preferred daytime cover choice was silver buffaloberry (Shepherdia argentea), followed by snowberry (Symphoricarpos occidentalis), earth dens, forbs, and low brush. Shrubs were the most important item in the diet, then trees, forbs, …
Factors Affecting Waterfowl Brood Use Of Stock Ponds In South Dakota, Gene D. Mack
Factors Affecting Waterfowl Brood Use Of Stock Ponds In South Dakota, Gene D. Mack
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
A July waterfowl brood survey was conducted from 1973 to 1976 on stock ponds located within four physiographic strata in South Dakota. Information was collected on weather, stock pond characteristics, land use and the condition of other wetlands located within the quarter section (64.8 ha) study plots. Multiple regression and multiple discriminant analyses were sued to determine the importance of these variables in influencing brood use of stock ponds. Vegetation type, distribution of emergent vegetation and pond size were important in determining if broods of any particular species utilized a pond or not. Shoreline distance was particularly important in explaining …
Estimate Of Production By A Population Of Fathead Minnows, Pimpephales Promelas, In A South Dakota Prairie Wetland, Ronald D. Payer
Estimate Of Production By A Population Of Fathead Minnows, Pimpephales Promelas, In A South Dakota Prairie Wetland, Ronald D. Payer
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Estimates of production and population densities were obtained for an autochthonous population of fathead minnows, Pimephales promelas Rafinesque, in a South Dakota prairie wetland. The study was conducted from May to September of 1976. Population estimates were obtained using a Schnabel-type mark and recapture model. Fish were marked either by fin clipping or granular fluorescent pigments driven into the dermal tissue. Production estimates were derived both arithmetically and graphically. The estimated population of adult fathead minnows declined from 194 in May and June to 26 in July. Production by adults was estimated at 0.10 kg, or 0.0007 gm/m²/yr. The population …
Variables Associated With Breeding Waterfowl On South Dakota Stock Ponds, Jay A. Roberson
Variables Associated With Breeding Waterfowl On South Dakota Stock Ponds, Jay A. Roberson
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Use of stock watering ponds by indicated breeding pairs of waterfowl was measured in the western two-thirds of South Dakota from 1973 to 1976. Multiple regression and discriminant analyses were used to describe the habitat associated with pairs of each species. Habitat variables explained 35-47 percent of the variation in pairs having small home ranges and 26-35 percent of the variation in pairs having large home ranges. Shoreline distance account for more variation in mallard (Anas Platyrhmchos) and blue-winged teal (A. discors) pairs than any other single variable. Ponds used by these pairs and shoreline distances that averaged 590 m …
Cover Use And Activity Time Budget Of Blue-Winged Teal, Mallard, And Pintail Broods, James K. Ringelman
Cover Use And Activity Time Budget Of Blue-Winged Teal, Mallard, And Pintail Broods, James K. Ringelman
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Blue-winged teal (Anas discors), mallard (A. platyrhynchos), and pintail (A. acuta) broods were observed on 17 days between 25 June and 30 July, 1976. Brood activities and cover uses were recorded continuously from first light until dark. Observations of 269 broods from three wetlands were evaluated by species and brood age-class. Activity time budgets revealed significant (p<.01) age specific differences in total feeding time and visibility among age-classes of all species combined and age-classes of blue-winged teal broods. Feeding modes also varied among age-classes. Daily patterns of cover use varied among brood age-classes and species. Morning and evening feeding peaks became more pronounced, and overall visibility increased, with brood age. Interspecific differences in daily activity patterns were observed among broods of the same age-class. Duration of active periods increased with age in blue-winged teal broods. Active periods recurred at regular intervals in all broods throughout the day, suggestive of polycyclic behavior patterns similar to those of adult ducks. A progressive increase in brood visibility was attributed primarily to seasonal changes in brood age structure and to wetland water loss. Temperature and wind speed influenced brood visibility during most observation days. Climatic conditions favorable to nighttime brood activity influenced brood behavior during the following day. Accuracy of present brood inventory techniques could be improved if considerations were made for brood behavior patterns and environmental factors which alter brood cover use.
Population, Home Range, And Dispersal Of Red Foxes In East-Central South Dakota, James D. Sweeting
Population, Home Range, And Dispersal Of Red Foxes In East-Central South Dakota, James D. Sweeting
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The population, dispersal movements and summer home range of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) were studied in east-central South Dakota during 1974 and 1975. The spring population density of foxes on a 23,319 ha study area declined from 9.2 families/township in 1974 to 7.6 families/township in 1975. Fifty-four percent of 130 foxes tagged in spring, 1974 and 1975 were recovered during the first year following tagging. Hunting and trapping accounted for 18.0 and 77.8 percent, respectively. Recoveries revealed that dispersing juvenile male foxes were more mobile than juvenile females; juvenile foxes traveled a mean distance of 39 km for males and …
Food, Growth, And Reproduction Of White Crappies (Pomixis Annularis) And Black Crappies (P. Nigromaculatus) In Lake Poinsett, South Dakota, Thomas R. Busiahn
Food, Growth, And Reproduction Of White Crappies (Pomixis Annularis) And Black Crappies (P. Nigromaculatus) In Lake Poinsett, South Dakota, Thomas R. Busiahn
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The food habits, food selectivity, growth, condition, and population structures of the white crappies (Pomoxis annularis) and black crappies (P. nigromaculatus) in Lake Poinsett, South Dakota, were studied from May, 1975, to May, 1976. The total food volume of 173 adult white crappies consisted of 59.0% plankton1o crustaceans, 25.2 % insects, 14.5 % fish, and 1.3 % miscellaneous organisms. The food volume of 39 adult black crappies consisted of 39.0 % planktonic crustaceans, 3.5 % insects, 57.8 % fish, and 0.7 % miscellaneous organisms. Both species selected Daphnia pulex over other zooplankton and probably contributed to its decline from 193.8/l …
Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Of The Unchannelized Missouri River In South Dakota, James R. Clapp
Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Of The Unchannelized Missouri River In South Dakota, James R. Clapp
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Areas of eight habitats were identified, delineated, and measured along the unchannelized Missouri River in South Dakota. Agricultural and urban developments existed on 60 percent of the land within 1 km of the river. Six habitat types made up the non-developed land in the study area: cottonwood-dogwood (16 percent), cottonwood-willow (9 percent), elm-oak (7 percent), cattail marsh (3 percent), sand dune (3 percent), and sand bar (1 percent). All non-developed habitats except sand bar were sampled to obtain vegetative composition and to determine their value to wildlife. The value of each habitat to nine faunal groups of wildlife was subjectively …