Joseph D. Clark

The Louisiana black bear (Ursus americanus luteolus) was listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act as Threatened in 1992. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service cites loss of habitat as the primary cause of population decline, along with human-related mortality as a secondary cause. One of the delisting criteria in the Recovery Plan for the Louisiana black bear is that two of the three subpopulations must be viable, one in the Tensas River Basin and one of the two in the Atchafalaya River Basin. To determine population viability, accurate estimates of basic population parameters...

Extent and types of damage caused by black bears (Ursus americanus) and landowner attitudes and perceptions of bears were determined by mail survey in Arkansas. Based on 1,353 returned surveys, monetary losses of livestock production attributed to bears appeared to be minimal, but honey production losses were more significant. Nevertheless, only 4.6% of the landowners stated that the damage was intolerable. Eighty-three percent of the respondents indicated that black bear populations should be increased or maintained at their present levels. Respondents that favored lower bear populations...

Data for assessing trends in river otter (Lutra canadensis) distribution and abundance are difficult to collect because monitoring techniques are currently unavailable, prohibitively expensive, or are applicable only to small areas. Scent-station and field-sign techniques for gathering such information were evaluated in 52 counties and 6 physiographic regions of Georgia from 1983 through 1986. Indices derived from scent-station and field-sign surveys were correlated (P < 0.01). Scent-station surveys were discontinued in 1985 and 1986, and field-sign surveys were used exclusively in all...

Stomach contents of 59 black bears (Ursus americanus) killed by hunters in Arkansas from 1981 to 1986 were examined. Acorns (Quercus spp.) comprised 34.1% of the total volume examined and occurred in 66.1% of the stomachs. Fruits of pokeweed (Phytolacca americana), hickory (Carya spp.), persimmon (Diospyros virginiana), black gum (Nyssa sylvatica), Carolina buckthorn (Rhamnus caroliniana), devil's walkingstick (Aralia spinosa), and wild grapes (Vitis spp.) were commonly consumed by bears. Acorn and hickory nut consumption positively correlated with mast survey data collected in Arkansas...

A method of habitat assessment known as Habitat Evaluation Procedures has been developed by the U.S. Department of Interior Fish and Wildlife Service. A linear relationship is assumed to exist between an area's Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) and carrying capacity. The objective of this study was to determine whether an HSI model for clapper rail (Rallus longirostris) is valid for predicting habitat suitability for this species in Georgia. Call-count surveys were conducted for clapper rail on 12 40-ha areas of tidal salt marsh during the winter and the spring of 1982-1983. Call counts and...