R. A. Lancia

During the summer and fall of 1991 and 1992, 48 (21 M:27 F) white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) fawns were captured and radiocollared (N = 43) on Remington Farms near Chestertown, Maryland. Survival of radio-collared fawns, from 1 week old until the fall hunting season, was 91%. Collared fawn mortality (N = 9) was due to abandonment, tick infestation, infection, and roadkill. Visual locations (N = 1,229) were collected to determine adult accompaniment rates for radio-collared fawns. The likelihood of a fawn being with or without an adult was independent of sex of the fawn (P > 0....

A method for determining the ages of active red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW) (Picoides borealis) cavities was developed based on data from 22 RCW cavity trees downed in the Francis Marion National Forest by Hurricane Hugo. Cavity age was measured in growing seasons of the tree from the date of cavity initiation. Age determination was based macroscopic and microscopic wound responses in wood removed from the side of the cavity entrances. The method was tested on 8 active cavities of known age located in the Sandhills Gamelands, North Carolina. All of the cavity age estimates were within 2...

We determined immediate impacts of clearcutting on breeding bird communities of a tidally-influenced bald cypress (Taxodium distichum)-tupelo (Nyssa spp.) wetland located in the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta, Baldwin County, Alabama, April-June 1987. Seventeen of 45 species detected in first-year clearcuts, forestclearcut edges, and 70-year-old reference stands demonstrated significant (P <0.05) differences in abundance across habitat type. Three species preferred forest interior, 5 preferred edge, 7 preferred interior and edge over clearcut, and 1 preferred clearcut and edge (P <0.05)....

In order to devise an ecologically sound management plan for the wild boar herd in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, data on the impact of these animals on the environment are essential. Soil chemical properties and nutrient concentrations were examined for possible boar impact from 9 high elevation beech gap communities ranging in severity of boar disturbance. Levels of soil organic matter, cation exchange capacity, and acidity, increased on boar-rooted sites, whereas percent base saturation declined. These changes suggested that boar rooting stimulated organic matter decomposition and...

Home ranges and habitat preferences of radio-collared cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus) on an intensive farm and a traditional farm were monitored during 1979-81 in eastern Wake County, North Carolina. On the traditional farm, mean home ranges of males (6.37 ha) were larger (P < 0.05) than those offemales (3.15 ha) . On the intensive farm, mean home ranges of males (2.60 ha) were not larger (P > 0.05) than those of females (2.11 ha). Home ranges of males on the traditional farm were larger (P <0.05) than those of males on the intensive farm; however, home ranges of...