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University of Tennessee, Knoxville

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Winter Survival And Habitat Selection By Translocated Northern Bobwhite In The New Jersey Pine Barrens: Preliminary Results, Kaili R. Stevens, Philip M. Coppola, Christopher K. Williams, Theron M. Terhune Ii, John P. Parke, John Cecil Nov 2017

Winter Survival And Habitat Selection By Translocated Northern Bobwhite In The New Jersey Pine Barrens: Preliminary Results, Kaili R. Stevens, Philip M. Coppola, Christopher K. Williams, Theron M. Terhune Ii, John P. Parke, John Cecil

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) populations have been experiencing precipitous range-wide declines for more than 50 years; some of the steepest declines occurring in the Mid-Atlantic states. These declines are largely attributed to habitat deterioration from urban sprawl, change in forest management, and intensive farming. This ongoing study aims to evaluate the efficacy of translocating wild bobwhites into the New Jersey Pine Barrens as a means to restore their historic populations. Translocation has proven relatively successful in augmenting bobwhite populations in other regions as well as restoring populations of gallinaceous species. This portion of the study aims to investigate …

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Summer Survival Of Translocated Northern Bobwhite In The New Jersey Pine Barrens: Preliminary Results, Philip M. Coppola, Kaili R. Stevens, Christopher K. Williams, Theron M. Terhune Ii, John P. Parke, John Cecil Nov 2017

Summer Survival Of Translocated Northern Bobwhite In The New Jersey Pine Barrens: Preliminary Results, Philip M. Coppola, Kaili R. Stevens, Christopher K. Williams, Theron M. Terhune Ii, John P. Parke, John Cecil

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) have declined precipitously since the 1960s, largely due to habitat deterioration and changes in land use; some of the highest declines have been observed in the Mid-Atlantic States. In other regions, attempts to augment bobwhite populations have been relatively successful using translocation. As part of a long-term restocking program, focal areas for translocation in the mid-Atlantic region were identified by biologists at a National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative (NBCI) workshop. The objective of this project is to evaluate translocation to restore bobwhite populations in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, a focal area designated with a …

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Parent-Reared Bobwhite Survival In The Texas Rolling Plains, Mark A. Thomas, C. Brad Dabbert Nov 2017

Parent-Reared Bobwhite Survival In The Texas Rolling Plains, Mark A. Thomas, C. Brad Dabbert

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Considerable research has been accomplished over the past 6 decades on the possible reasons for decline in the northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus), henceforth known as the bobwhite. Restoring or restocking bobwhite populations by augmentation in areas that once held significant numbers has been a focus for many wildlife agencies and managers. Three main methods for augmentation of bobwhites currently exist: release of pen-raised birds, release of juvenile birds reared by Surrogator®, and translocation of wild bobwhites from one area to another. Of these 3 methods, only translocation has accomplished the goal of reestablishing bobwhite populations. Recently …

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Testing Northern Bobwhite Reintroduction Techniques In The Northern Edge Of Their Range, William Macaluso, Christopher K. Williams, Theron M. Terhune Ii Nov 2017

Testing Northern Bobwhite Reintroduction Techniques In The Northern Edge Of Their Range, William Macaluso, Christopher K. Williams, Theron M. Terhune Ii

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Pen-rearing young frequently fails as a reintroduction technique in game birds because of low postrelease survival rates in the wild. This may be caused by a combination of poor genetics from domestication, unhealthy birds, birds that do not exhibit wild behavior, or birds that are unfamiliar with their surroundings after hard releases. Recent research suggests that parent-rearing, involving pre- and posthatch imprinting of wild-strain northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) chicks by adults, may be a viable option for restoring populations. Imprinting potentially causes reintroduced birds to exhibit more natural behavior. We tested this method against a slightly modified traditional …

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The Effect Of Age-At-Release On Survival Of Adoptive Parent-Reared Bobwhite Chicks, Kyle D. Lunsford, Theron M. Terhune Ii, James A. Martin Nov 2017

The Effect Of Age-At-Release On Survival Of Adoptive Parent-Reared Bobwhite Chicks, Kyle D. Lunsford, Theron M. Terhune Ii, James A. Martin

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Translocation of wild northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) to restore local populations is a viable conservation tool under some scenarios; however, the supply of wild bobwhites is limited. Bobwhites can be artificially propagated, as an alternative to translocation, using methods that mimic natural brood-rearing. The parent-rearing adoptive process (PRAP) uses wild-strain bobwhite adults to brood and foster newly hatched wild-strain chicks in outdoor aviaries that emulate a natural environment. Adoptive parent-reared bobwhites have higher survival rates than artificially-reared bobwhites but only a single age-of-release (i.e., 6-weeks) has been tested. We tested the effect of age-at-release (3, 6, and 9-weeks) …

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Experiences In Northern Bobwhite Propagation And Translocation In Ohio, 1978-2012, Mark J. Wiley, Nathan J. Stricker Nov 2017

Experiences In Northern Bobwhite Propagation And Translocation In Ohio, 1978-2012, Mark J. Wiley, Nathan J. Stricker

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Ohio once boasted a population of 7 million northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus). Catastrophic blizzards during 1976–1977 and 1977–1978 brought winter quail mortalities of 85% and 80%, respectively. Ohio’s bobwhite population was 430,000 in 1978, a 90% reduction from 1976. Remnant quail populations were small, isolated, and incapable of rapid recovery. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) initiated a statewide stocking effort to expedite population growth. The ODNR chose to propagate wild quail in captivity and release first-generation progeny (F1). Throughout 1980–1986, the ODNR released 65,000 F1 quail statewide. The ODNR monitored population response with North American Breeding …

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Contributions Of Translocation To Northern Bobwhite Population Recovery, D. Clay Sisson, Theron M. Terhune Ii, William E. Palmer, Reggie Thackston Nov 2017

Contributions Of Translocation To Northern Bobwhite Population Recovery, D. Clay Sisson, Theron M. Terhune Ii, William E. Palmer, Reggie Thackston

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

The National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative (NBCI 2.0) is a range-wide plan for recovering northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus; hereafter, bobwhite[s]). Using geospatial analysis informed by expertise from practitioners, the plan categorizes landscapes into restoration potential by weighing biological constraints and opportunities such that targeted habitat management will produce bobwhite population growth. A fundamental assumption of the NBCI 2.0 for achieving recovery goals is that bobwhite source populations currently exist on the landscape at densities necessary to (re)colonize newly established or improved habitat. However, we have found that these source populations can be very low or non-existent, especially in northern …

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Connecting Land Ethics And Entrepreneurship Through Experiential Learning In Bobwhite Centric Outdoor Education Program, Greta M. Bowling, Ashleigh P. Tynes, Kelly S. Reyna Nov 2017

Connecting Land Ethics And Entrepreneurship Through Experiential Learning In Bobwhite Centric Outdoor Education Program, Greta M. Bowling, Ashleigh P. Tynes, Kelly S. Reyna

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

The majority of today’s youth have the ability to utilize consumer technology on a regular basis. This access has exacerbated the disconnect between adolescents and the natural environment by reducing the amount of time spent outdoors. To compound this disconnect, the continued use of traditional classroom settings along with the ‘‘sit-and-get’’ style of facilitation, widens the gap between inert knowledge and applied knowledge. The transformation from theory to practice witnessed in outdoor science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education has been shown to foster the assimilation and retention of STEM concepts. Therefore, educational institutions have begun to cultivate the implementation …

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Partnering For Quail In South Carolina: A Cooperative Approach Making A Difference, Gary M. Peters, Michael Wayne Hook, Mark S. Garner, Jeffrey M. Magniez, Charles W. Mckinney, Jordan S. Nanney Nov 2017

Partnering For Quail In South Carolina: A Cooperative Approach Making A Difference, Gary M. Peters, Michael Wayne Hook, Mark S. Garner, Jeffrey M. Magniez, Charles W. Mckinney, Jordan S. Nanney

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

The National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative (NBCI) identified 15 national quail focal areas throughout the distribution of the northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) in June 2016. The first NBCI Focal Area on U.S. Forest Service System land emerged from the existing 16,200-hectare Indian Creek Woodland and Savanna Restoration Initiative (ICWSRI). The ICWSRI is an ongoing collaborative project involving partners from 10 agencies and organizations in the Piedmont of South Carolina. Cooperation among federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGO), and private landowners, combined with assistance programs such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) have currently resulted in 2,547 hectares …

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Response Of Grassland Birds To Agricultural Intensity At Different Spatial Scales In Texas, Anna Matthews, M. Clay Green, James Giocomo Nov 2017

Response Of Grassland Birds To Agricultural Intensity At Different Spatial Scales In Texas, Anna Matthews, M. Clay Green, James Giocomo

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

The decline in grassland birds is often associated with habitat loss due to intensity of conversion to agricultural lands and the alterations of natural disturbances. We sought to identify agricultural effects at differing scales that correlate to Texas grassland bird abundance, especially northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus). Ninety-five roadside routes were surveyed in 20 Texas counties ranging from the Oklahoma border to the coastal plains. We conducted point counts in May and June from 2013 to 2016. To estimate the coarse effects of agriculture on bird abundance at a county level, we used number of cattle and area of …

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Evaluating Temporal Differences In Land Cover: Implications For Managing Bobwhite At The Landscape Scale In Virginia, Scott D. Klopfer, Daniel A. Cross, Kevin Mcguckin, Jay E. Howell, K. Marc Puckett Nov 2017

Evaluating Temporal Differences In Land Cover: Implications For Managing Bobwhite At The Landscape Scale In Virginia, Scott D. Klopfer, Daniel A. Cross, Kevin Mcguckin, Jay E. Howell, K. Marc Puckett

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) populations have declined substantially across large portions of their range. A number of factors may be contributing to that decline including disease, predation, pesticides, and habitat loss. Of these, habitat loss has emerged as the primary factor. Habitat loss has occurred at large and small scales. It is relatively easy to evaluate bobwhite habitat at the micro scale, but evaluating habitat change at the landscape scale is difficult. The goal of this pilot study was to evaluate a novel technique using aerial imagery and line transects to evaluate both contemporary and historic landscapes effectively, …

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Utility Of Fine Resolution Land Cover Data For Modeling Northern Bobwhite Abundance In The Oaks And Prairies Of Oklahoma, Nicolas Jaffe, Timothy O'Connell, James Giocomo Nov 2017

Utility Of Fine Resolution Land Cover Data For Modeling Northern Bobwhite Abundance In The Oaks And Prairies Of Oklahoma, Nicolas Jaffe, Timothy O'Connell, James Giocomo

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Management of northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) requires landscape-level planning to promote sustainable populations. Limitations in time and resources necessitate the use of large geographic datasets to efficiently evaluate habitat suitability across landscapes. Many such datasets, however, are limited by a lack of detailed and current information relevant to regional management efforts. To meet this need, regional partners recently released the Oklahoma Ecological Systems Mapping (OESM) product, which offers high spatial and thematic resolution vegetation data, current to 2015. We evaluated the utility of the new OESM product for modelling abundance of northern bobwhite and other grassland birds, relating …

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Impacts Of Habitat Fragmentation On Northern Bobwhites In The Gulf Coast Prairie Landscape Conservation Cooperative, Katherine S. Miller, Leonard A. Brennan, Humberto L. Perotto-Baldivieso, Fidel Hernández, Eric D. Grahmann, Atiye Z. Okay, X. Ben Wu, Markus J. Peterson, Heather Hannusch, Jose Mata, Jaclyn Robles Nov 2017

Impacts Of Habitat Fragmentation On Northern Bobwhites In The Gulf Coast Prairie Landscape Conservation Cooperative, Katherine S. Miller, Leonard A. Brennan, Humberto L. Perotto-Baldivieso, Fidel Hernández, Eric D. Grahmann, Atiye Z. Okay, X. Ben Wu, Markus J. Peterson, Heather Hannusch, Jose Mata, Jaclyn Robles

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

The northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) has experienced range wide declines over the last several decades, primarily due to loss and fragmentation of habitat. As populations decline, there is a need for understanding factors that impact bobwhite population persistence at local and regional spatial scales. Our goal was to assess changes in land use and their relationship to bobwhite declines at 3 different spatial scales (region, county, and home range) in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. We used North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data from 1974-2014 to create abundance maps and trends. At the regional scale, we compared bobwhite …

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Landscape-Scale Geospatial Assessment Of Open Pine And Natural Grassland Condition For Northern Bobwhite In The Gulf Coastal Plains And Ozarks, Toby Gray, Kristine Evans, Todd Jones-Farrand Nov 2017

Landscape-Scale Geospatial Assessment Of Open Pine And Natural Grassland Condition For Northern Bobwhite In The Gulf Coastal Plains And Ozarks, Toby Gray, Kristine Evans, Todd Jones-Farrand

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

The National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative 2.0 (NBCI) suggests >13 million acres of pine forests and >600,000 acres of grasslands have high potential for northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) conservation in the Southeast. The Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) identifies northern bobwhite as one of 15 indicator species for open pine/woodland/savanna and grassland/prairie ecological systems, and describes specific habitat conditions considered desirable as measurable landscape endpoints in each system as part of an Integrated Science Agenda (ISA). The ISA suggests bobwhite are limited by the habitat characteristics associated with basal area and canopy cover in pine …

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Data-Driven Planning For The Conservation Of Grassland Birds In The Central Hardwoods Bird Conservation Region, Cara J. Joos, Jane A. Fitzgerald, Christopher M. Lituma, James Giocomo, Larry Heggemann Nov 2017

Data-Driven Planning For The Conservation Of Grassland Birds In The Central Hardwoods Bird Conservation Region, Cara J. Joos, Jane A. Fitzgerald, Christopher M. Lituma, James Giocomo, Larry Heggemann

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

The Central Hardwoods Joint Venture held two workshops in 2006 to delineate bobwhite focus areas across the Central Hardwoods Bird Conservation Region (BCR) for targeting on-the-ground conservation efforts. From 2008 – 2012, we conducted randomized sets of point counts within counties containing bobwhite focal areas to assess the efficacy of that method for monitoring grassland birds within focal areas, and to assess relationships of conservation practices with bird species occupancy and abundance. We collected data on nine species of Partners in Flight priority species, including northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus). Land cover types within a 200-m buffer of each …

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A Method For Setting Northern Bobwhite Population And Habitat Objectives For Large Landscape Partnerships, James Giocomo, William Vermillion, Stephen Demaso, Barry Wilson, Jon Hayes, Kenneth Gee, Jesús Franco, Aimee Roberson, Robert Perez, Jeff Raasch, Bill Bartush, Benjamin Kahler Nov 2017

A Method For Setting Northern Bobwhite Population And Habitat Objectives For Large Landscape Partnerships, James Giocomo, William Vermillion, Stephen Demaso, Barry Wilson, Jon Hayes, Kenneth Gee, Jesús Franco, Aimee Roberson, Robert Perez, Jeff Raasch, Bill Bartush, Benjamin Kahler

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Population and habitat objectives are the foundation for many conservation actions. Often objectives set at one scale are difficult to translate to larger or smaller scales. Three bird habitat Joint Ventures, Gulf Coast, Oaks & Prairies, and Rio Grande, working cooperatively with the Gulf Coast Prairie Landscape Conservation Cooperative, have a common objective to stabilize northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) populations in four Bird Conservation Regions. We cooperatively developed a method using the North American Breeding Bird Survey trend for several scenarios with different time horizons (10-, 20-, 30-year, or longer), the spring home range size, and the per …

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How Many Are There? Estimating The North American Northern Bobwhite Population Size For Conservation Planning Purposes, James Giocomo, William Vermillion, Stephen Demaso, Arvind Panjabi Nov 2017

How Many Are There? Estimating The North American Northern Bobwhite Population Size For Conservation Planning Purposes, James Giocomo, William Vermillion, Stephen Demaso, Arvind Panjabi

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Three bird habitat Joint Ventures, Gulf Coast, Oaks & Prairies, and Rio Grande, developed a method to set spring population and habitat objectives for northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) populations in four Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). The method requires an estimate of current population size that can be stepped down to the management unit of interest. Several methods have been designed to estimate range-wide populations over the past two decades for fall (post-breeding) and spring (pre-breeding). The 2002 Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative (NBCI) provided an estimate of 6,714,000 birds for the 1999 breeding population. The 2007 Partners in Flight …

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Automated Identification And Mapping Of Woody Habitat Using Digital Ortho Imagery, Keith Wethington Nov 2017

Automated Identification And Mapping Of Woody Habitat Using Digital Ortho Imagery, Keith Wethington

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) restoration efforts operate at multiple spatial scales, from landscape (regional) levels to farm level (local). Choosing proper data sources, analysis techniques, and accounting for differences in scale (minimum mapping unit) between sources are critical first steps to successfully delivering habitat information useful for broad regional planning efforts and site specific research and management activities. To this end, we compared 3 methods of creating a habitat map and associated data: National Landcover Dataset (NLCD) 2006, hand digitized from 2010 National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery, and an Interactive Supervised Classification of 1-m NAIP imagery using …

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The Law Of Interspersion And The Principle Of Edge: Old Arguments And A New Synthesis, Mark M. Mcconnell, L. Wes Burger Jr., James A. Martin Nov 2017

The Law Of Interspersion And The Principle Of Edge: Old Arguments And A New Synthesis, Mark M. Mcconnell, L. Wes Burger Jr., James A. Martin

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Leopold’s interspersion hypothesis has experienced fluctuating acceptance, opposition and neglect due to its unintentional ambiguous description and seemingly simplistically universal application. Originally developed to describe the positive association between animal density and habitat heterogeneity in the landscape, the hypothesis has been mischaracterized as the principle of edge resulting from Guthery and Bingham’s (1992) assertion that the interspersion hypothesis could be modeled by the amount of ‘high contrast’ edge and that edge density and interspersion were synonymous. We contend that Leopold’s original intention was not to promote more edge density is always better but rather to promote interspersion of habitat types …

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Uncertainty And The Entanglement Of Habitat Loss And Fragmentation Effects In The Management Of Northern Bobwhite, Mason H. Cline, Richard B. Chandler, Clinton T. Moore, James A. Martin Nov 2017

Uncertainty And The Entanglement Of Habitat Loss And Fragmentation Effects In The Management Of Northern Bobwhite, Mason H. Cline, Richard B. Chandler, Clinton T. Moore, James A. Martin

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

There is a need to understand the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) and other grassland bird species and relate this to conservation action and delivery, especially in areas of intensive anthropogenic development. Through our research, we investigated the factors contributing to habitat loss and fragmentation in order to prioritize management within the Gulf Coast Prairie Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GCP LCC) region of Texas, USA. For this geographic region, we completed these objectives: analyzed grassland bird habitat loss and fragmentation resulting from oil and gas development, which has become especially rapid in this …

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Response Of Northern Bobwhite To Longleaf Pine Ecosystem Enhancement Through The State Wildlife Grant Program, Adam B. Butler, John P. Gruchy, Richard Hamrick, Matt Elliot Nov 2017

Response Of Northern Bobwhite To Longleaf Pine Ecosystem Enhancement Through The State Wildlife Grant Program, Adam B. Butler, John P. Gruchy, Richard Hamrick, Matt Elliot

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

The State Wildlife Grant (SWG) program provides funding through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to benefit species of greatest conservation need as recognized by State Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Plans (SCWCPs). The northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) is an important game bird that shares habitat overlap with many priority species identified within SCWCPs. Specifically, in longleaf pine forests the Federally Threatened gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) is dependent upon similar understory conditions as are bobwhite. As part of a multistate competitive SWG funded to enhance gopher tortoise habitat, we applied selective herbicide treatments and prescribed fire to longleaf …

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National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative Focus Area Monitoring In The 2c Focus Area, Missouri, Beth Emmerich, W. T. White, E. Lee Metcalf Nov 2017

National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative Focus Area Monitoring In The 2c Focus Area, Missouri, Beth Emmerich, W. T. White, E. Lee Metcalf

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) began establishing Quail Focus Areas (QFAs) on private lands in 2004. The goal of QFAs is to increase and expand quail habitat management efforts at a larger scale. Because most (93%) of Missouri’s landscape is in private ownership, habitat improvement programs on private lands have greater potential to impact quail populations than on public lands alone. In spring of 2013, a group of MDC staff and Quail Forever biologists began monitoring bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) and songbirds in a portion of the 2C QFA in Carroll County, Missouri as well as in …

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Habitat Space Used By Northern Bobwhites And Texas Tortoises On South Texas Rangelands, Ross O. Couvillon, Leonard A. Brennan, Fidel Hernández, Bart M. Ballard, Thomas V. Dailey Nov 2017

Habitat Space Used By Northern Bobwhites And Texas Tortoises On South Texas Rangelands, Ross O. Couvillon, Leonard A. Brennan, Fidel Hernández, Bart M. Ballard, Thomas V. Dailey

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

South Texas rangelands are increasingly managed for recreational hunting, particularly northern bobwhite (Colinus virgianus). Effects of habitat management for game species on non-game species are largely unknown. Large private ranches used for recreational hunting could also provide habitat for the threatened Texas tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri). We studied habitat use of Texas tortoises and northern bobwhites on a private ranch in South Texas that undergoes active habitat management. In 2015, tortoises (n = 12) and bobwhite hens (n = 42) were tracked during their active and breeding seasons, respectively, with radio-telemetry. Satellite images were analyzed …

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Effects Of Tanglehead Expansion On Bobwhite Habitat Use In South Texas, John T. Edwards, Fidel Hernández, David B. Webster, Leonard A. Brennan, Chad J. Parent, Fred C. Bryant Nov 2017

Effects Of Tanglehead Expansion On Bobwhite Habitat Use In South Texas, John T. Edwards, Fidel Hernández, David B. Webster, Leonard A. Brennan, Chad J. Parent, Fred C. Bryant

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Usable space for northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) has been reduced across a large portion of South Texas rangelands due to the spread of non-native, invasive grasses. A native grass, tanglehead (Heteropogon contortus) has rapidly expanded its dominance in the western Sand Sheet of South Texas within the last 10-15 years. It has formed high-density monocultures, similar to non-native grasses, which are associated with losses of forb and grass diversity as well as bare ground, which are key components of bobwhite habitat. The objectives of our research were to 1) determine selection-avoidance of habitat features by bobwhites, …

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An Evaluation Of Northern Bobwhite Conservation Research: A Call For Large-Scale Studies, Lex J. Gomez, Kelly S. Reyna Nov 2017

An Evaluation Of Northern Bobwhite Conservation Research: A Call For Large-Scale Studies, Lex J. Gomez, Kelly S. Reyna

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) populations have declined throughout the species’ range since the 1960s. Habitat loss and degradation are thought to have largely contributed to this decline by reducing the amount of space and resources required to sustain viable quail populations. Previous studies have attempted to address this issue by focusing on ranch-level management of bobwhites instead of on the effectiveness of large-scale techniques. Here, we review current and historical studies that have facilitated the implementation of management techniques on multiple scales. In doing so, we will also reveal the shortcomings of such studies by highlighting their narrowed …

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Long-Term Population Stability In The Greater Red Hills Region Amidst Range-Wide Declines: A Case For Integrated Management, Theron M. Terhune Ii, D. Clay Sisson, William E. Palmer, Shane D. Wellendorf Nov 2017

Long-Term Population Stability In The Greater Red Hills Region Amidst Range-Wide Declines: A Case For Integrated Management, Theron M. Terhune Ii, D. Clay Sisson, William E. Palmer, Shane D. Wellendorf

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

All natural habitats possess inherent conservation value, including the presence of rare or endemic species, provision of ecosystem services, historic landmarks, or resources harvested. Large-scale loss of natural habitats and deterioration of fire-mediated habitats has caused precipitous declines of native fauna and flora in the southeastern US. The role of private landholdings in wildlife and conservation is often underestimated, and consumptive use of wildlife is commonly viewed as counterproductive to sustainability. However, in the Greater Red Hills region (GRH) of north Florida and south Georgia, intentional management for northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) on private lands has not only …

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The Role Of Joint Ventures In Northern Bobwhite Conservation, Stephen Demaso Nov 2017

The Role Of Joint Ventures In Northern Bobwhite Conservation, Stephen Demaso

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Partnerships are crucial part of northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) conservation. A key principle is that no single entity can effectively address the complex landscape-level conservation issues to sustain populations and their supporting habitats in perpetuity. Joint Ventures (JVs) use a partnership based approach to deliver specific bird population and habitat objectives within their geography. Currently, 7 of the 12 JVs that occur in the North American bobwhite range have bobwhites listed as a priority species. This presentation will cover various topics including: 1) the history of JVs in North America; 2) an overview of the variety of models …

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Predicting Northern Bobwhite Habitat In Semiarid Rangeland Using Landsat Imagery, Jeffrey G. Whitt, Kelly S. Reyna Nov 2017

Predicting Northern Bobwhite Habitat In Semiarid Rangeland Using Landsat Imagery, Jeffrey G. Whitt, Kelly S. Reyna

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Multiple studies have attempted to model northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) distribution using classified remotely sensed imagery in combination with pattern recognition software. These models tend to be more accurate in humid subtropical regions. To identify bobwhite habitat in subhumid and semiarid rangeland, we performed our own classification on 4 LANDSAT scenes of Clay County, Texas, from July and December 2015. Stands of mature little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) provide excellent bobwhite nesting cover and could be identified using LANDSAT imagery. Habitat was scored from 0 to 1.0 based on estimated range health, presence of little bluestem, and …

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Vegetation And Arthropod Responses To Brush Reduction By Grubbing And Stacking, Carter Crouch, J. Alfonso Ortega-Santos, David B. Wester, Fidel Hernández, Leonard A. Brennan, Greta L. Schuster Nov 2017

Vegetation And Arthropod Responses To Brush Reduction By Grubbing And Stacking, Carter Crouch, J. Alfonso Ortega-Santos, David B. Wester, Fidel Hernández, Leonard A. Brennan, Greta L. Schuster

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Grubbing is a mechanical brush-reduction technique that allows targeting of mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) and huisache (Vachellia farnesiana) and can be used to open lanes for hunting northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus). Follow-up treatments of stacking allow the piling up of downed brush. We initiated this study on the Santa Gertrudis Division of the King Ranch, Inc., Texas, to determine effects of grubbing and stacking on vegetation and arthropod communities important to bobwhite. We hypothesized that grubbing and stacking would be able to selectively remove mesquite and huisache while leaving mixed brush species largely intact. We …

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Temperature Assessment On A Reclaimed Surface Mine During Northern Bobwhite Breeding Season: Considerations For Habitat Management, Donald M. Yow, Jeremy P. Orange, John J. Morgan, Gary Sprandel, Danna L. Baxley, Eric Williams Nov 2017

Temperature Assessment On A Reclaimed Surface Mine During Northern Bobwhite Breeding Season: Considerations For Habitat Management, Donald M. Yow, Jeremy P. Orange, John J. Morgan, Gary Sprandel, Danna L. Baxley, Eric Williams

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Ground-level air temperatures were assessed within 4 distinct habitat areas on a managed reclaimed surface mine at Peabody Wildlife Management Area, Kentucky, 26 June–17 July 2015, during the northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) brood season. Habitat consisted of disked and nondisked areas of native grass and an invasive species, sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata). Disked areas offered more open space for bobwhite mobility and experienced higher average temperatures than nondisked sites. Although statistically significant, differences in air temperature between disked and nondisked areas were likely too small to have practical implications for bobwhite habitat management in Kentucky under …

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