Other Environmental Sciences Commons^™

A Report On Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs In Nebraska-- Their Biology, Behavior, Ecology, Management, And Responses To A Visual Barrier Fence

Dissertations & Theses in Natural Resources

I examined the effects of a visual barrier fence, which had a see-through visibility of 600/0, on the foraging, vigilance, and aggressive behaviors of adult female black-tailed prairie dogs from June through August 1990 in central Nebraska. I also examined changes in their home ranges and use of an area in response to this fence. Prairie dogs prefer an open view of their surroundings. Therefore, I expected animals near a visual barrier to spend more time in vigilance and aggression, and less time foraging. Adult female prairie dogs exposed to the visual barrier devoted more time to foraging and less …

A Review Of Vegetation Phenological Metrics Extraction Using Time-Series, Multispectral Satellite Data, Brian Wardlow

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Vegetation dynamics and phenology play an important role in inter-annual vegetation changes in terrestrial ecosystems and are key indicators of climate-vegetation interactions, land use/land cover changes, and variation in year-to-year vegetation productivity. Satellite remote sensing data have been widely used for vegetation phenology monitoring over large geographic domains using various types of observations and methods over the past several decades. The goal of this paper is to present a detailed review of existing methods for phenology detection and emerging new techniques based on the analysis of time-series, multispectral remote sensing imagery. This paper summarizes the objective and applications of detecting …

Movement Of Smallmouth Bass Within The Beaver Island Archipelago, Northern Lake Michigan., Mark Kaemingk

Papers in Natural Resources

Fish movement may vary across a wide array of aquatic ecosystems and may be related to the overall size of the system inhabited. We investigated movement of smallmouth bass in Lake Michigan because this information is lacking for larger systems. A total of 16 smallmouth bass were surgically implanted with ultrasonic transmitters within the Beaver Archipelago, northern Lake Michigan. During 2007–2008, a maximum of one location per individual was recorded daily during three specific tracking periods – pre-spawn, spawning, and post-spawn – to determine diurnal movement patterns. Movement was evaluated as site fidelity, minimum displacement rate,maximumexcursion rate, and distance from …

Taxonomic Considerations In Listing Subspecies Under The U.S. Endangered Species Act, Thomas Mullins, Susan Haig, Susie Dunham, Pete Loschl, Lisa Sheffield, Erik Beever

USGS Staff -- Published Research

The U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) allows listing of subspecies and other groupings below the rank of species. This provides the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service with a means to target the most critical unit in need of conservation. Although roughly one-quarter of listed taxa are subspecies, these management agencies are hindered by uncertainties about taxonomic standards during listing or delisting activities. In a review of taxonomic publications and societies, we found few subspecies lists and none that stated standardized criteria for determining subspecific taxa. Lack of criteria is attributed to a centuries-old debate …

Pathology Of Chronic Mycoplasma Ovipneumoniae Carriers In A Declining Bighorn Sheep (Ovis Canadensis) Population, Jennifer Malmberg

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) across North America commonly experience populationlimiting epizootics of respiratory disease. Although many cases of bighorn sheep pneumonia are polymicrobial, Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae is most frequently associated with all-age mortality events followed by years of low recruitment. Chronic carriage of M. ovipneumoniae by adult females serves as a source of exposure of naïve juveniles; relatively few ewes may be responsible for maintenance of infection within a herd. Test-and-remove strategies focused on removal of adult females with evidence of persistent or intermittent shedding (hereafter chronic carriers) may reduce prevalence and mitigate mortality. Postmortem confirmation of pneumonia …

Burmese Pythons In Florida: A Synthesis Of Biology, Impacts, And Management Tools, Jacquelyn Guzy

USDA Wildlife Services - Staff Publications

Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) are native to southeastern Asia, however, there is an established invasive population inhabiting much of southern Florida throughout the Greater Everglades Ecosystem. Pythons have severely impacted native species and ecosystems in Florida and represent one of the most intractable invasive-species management issues across the globe. The difficulty stems from a unique combination of inaccessible habitat and the cryptic and resilient nature of pythons that thrive in the subtropical environment of southern Florida, rendering them extremely challenging to detect. Here we provide a comprehensive review and synthesis of the science relevant to managing invasive …

Wyoming Wildlife: A Natural History, Paul Johnsgard, Thomas Mangelsen

Zea E-Books

This book surveys Wyoming’s mammal, bird, reptile, and amphibian faunas. In addition to introducing the state’s geography, geology, climate, and major ecosystems, it provides 65 biological profiles of 72 mammal species, 195 profiles of 196 birds, 9 profiles of 12 reptiles, and 6 profiles of 9 amphibians. There are also species lists of Wyoming’s 117 mammals, 445 birds, 22 reptiles, and 12 amphibians. Also included are descriptions of nearly 50 national and state properties, including parks, forests, preserves, and other public-access natural areas in Wyoming. The book includes a text of more than 150,000 words, nearly 700 references, a glossary …

Promiscuous Mating In Feral Pigs (Sus Scrofa) From Texas, Usa, Randy Deyoung, David Long, David Hewitt, Tyler Campbell, David Long

USDA National Wildlife Research Center - Staff Publications

Context. Feral pigs represent a significant threat to agriculture and ecosystems and are disease reservoirs for pathogens affecting humans, livestock and other wildlife. Information on the behavioural ecology of feral pigs might increase the efficiency and effectiveness of management strategies.

Aims. We assessed the frequency of promiscuous mating in relation to oestrous synchrony in feral pigs from southern Texas, USA, an agroecosystem with a widespread and well established population of feral pigs. An association between multiple paternity of single litters and synchrony of oestrous may indicate alternative mating strategies, such as mateguarding.

Methods. We collected gravid sows at …

Rabies

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Illustrated fact sheet on rabies.

Apparent Tolerance Of Turkey Vultures (Cathartes Aura) To The Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug Diclofenac, William Link, Barnett Rattner, William Link

USGS Staff -- Published Research

The nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac is extremely toxic to Old World Gyps vultures (median lethal dose ~0.1–0.2 mg/kg), evoking visceral gout, renal necrosis, and mortality within a few days of exposure. Unintentional secondary poisoning of vultures that fed upon carcasses of diclofenac-treated livestock decimated populations in the Indian subcontinent. Because of the widespread use of diclofenac and other cyclooxygenase-2 inhibiting drugs, a toxicological study was undertaken in turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) as an initial step in examining sensitivity of New World scavenging birds. Two trials were conducted entailing oral gavage of diclofenac at doses ranging from 0.08 to …