Jimmy D. Taylor II

Feeding Behavior and Diet of Free-ranging Black-crowned Night Herons on a Catfish Aquaculture Facility in Mississippi

The impacts of many species of piscivorous birds on aquaculture are well documented in the southeastern United States; however, specific studies of black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) in these areas are lacking. Because black-crowned night herons opportunistically exploit abundant food resources and inhabit an important catfish production area, we initiated a study to assess their use of and potential impacts on a catfish aquaculture facility. We conducted a biweekly survey October 2004-September 2006 on Harvest Select Farms near Inverness, Mississippi, to quantify year-...

Quantifying Amphibian Richness in Southeastern Forests

Despite numerous museum records and published range maps, gaps exist in current knowledge of the abundance and distribution of many amphibian species. Furthermore, because of the unique life histories among amphibians, several techniques conducted across several diurnal and seasonal time scales are needed to detect species presence. We conducted surveys at fixed points within forests on a military land base in east-central Mississippi to quantify amphibian richness using anuran call counts and time-constrained area searches, 1998-2000. Concomitantly, we completely enclosed 3 ephemeral...