Jimmy D. Taylor

Composition of Beaver Colonies in Damage Sites of the Southeastern United States

Natural resource managers faced with resolving beaver damage may make decisions based on classic literature suggesting that beavers (Castor canadensis) are monogamous breeders that live in colonies composed of a breeding pair of adults, their offspring, and occasionally the offspring from the previous year; and that beavers typically breed during the winter months and bear their offspring in the spring. We analyzed colony composition at 89 damage sites in seven southeastern states and found deviations from these classic studies. Colony size ranged from 2 to 18 individuals (χ = 5.66, SE...

Bird Communities on Conservation Buffers and Mowed Field Edges of Two Agricultural Land Bases in Mississippi

Wildlife Outstanding Technical Paper

We conducted a 13-year study to determine bird species richness and abundance in field edges maintained in conservation buffers and mowed field edges on two agricultural experiment stations in Mississippi. Both experiment stations were intensively managed for agricultural row crop and dairy production with field edges managed with frequent mowing and herbicide application. Habitat reclamation and management on 41 ha of field edges was initiated on each farm in 1988 and included selective spraying herbicides to control agronomic grasses, cessation of annual mowing, protection from livestock...