J. D. Sole

Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea)-dominated fields provide poor northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) brood rearing habitat. Burning, disking, and herbicide applications have been recommended to improve bobwhite habitat within fescue-dominated fields. We implemented fall burning, fall disking, spring burning, spring disking, spring herbicide application, summer burning, and summer disking in fescue-dominated fields on 4 wildlife management areas across Kentucky. We sampled invertebrate populations and vegetative structure in summers 1992 and 1993 to determine if bobwhite brood rearing...

Habitat structure and composition were measured at 51 ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) trap sites in a mixed-mesophytic forest in eastern Kentucky. High midstory stem density, low herbaceous stem density, high abundance of dead wood at ground level, and high abundance of evergreen herbs, greenbriars (Smilax spp.), and pines (Pinus spp.) contributed significantly to prediction of ruffed grouse captures. A discriminant model was tested on independent data and correctly classified 70% of 50 capture sites but misclassified 60% of 48 non-capture sites as capture sites. Nineteen of 23 sites that...