Reginald J. Stapper

A Comparison of Precision for Three Deer Survey Techniques

Morning-drive, evening-drive, and night spotlight surveys for deer (Odicoleus virginianus and 0. hemionus) were conducted each quarter on 3 National Park Service (NPS) areas in Texas and New Mexico from January 1987 to March 1988. Spotlight surveys resulted in a larger number of deer seen on all 3 sites. Spotlight surveys had significantly (P = 0.002) greater precision than morning or evening surveys. Increasing beyond 3 the number of consecutive days surveys were conducted did not significantly improve the precision of morning surveys (P = 0.328) or spotlight surveys (P = 0.719). A power...

Evaluation of Two Lures for Furbearer Scent-station Surveys

Two odor attractants, Carman's Distant Canine Call (CDCC) and W-U lure, were monitored simultaneously at scent-station transects in 5 units of the Big Thicket National Preserve, Texas. We examined transects for furbearer tracks for 3 consecutive days quarterly from January 1987 through March 1988. Significantly (X2 = 26.9, df = 1, P < 0.01) greater numbers of furbearers were attracted to scent stations with CDCC than to those with W-U lure. We recommend CDCC over W-U lure for attracting furbearers to scent stations in Southeastern pine habitats.

A Comparison of Scent-station Surveys and Track Counts for Monitoring Furbearers

Scent-station and track-count transects were monitored simultaneously in 5 units of the Big Thicket National Preserve. We examined these transects for furbearer tracks for 3 consecutive days every 3 months from January 1987 through March 1988. Greater species diversity and species richness of furbearers were recorded on track-count surveys than on scent-station surveys on 4 of the 5 study units. The number of monitoring periods with no record of a species group was compared between the 2 techniques. Track-count surveys recorded "no presence" of a species group less often than scent-station...