T. B. Wigley

We compared rat, mouse, and museum special snap traps to determine if differences existed in capture efficiency of small mammals and whether type of trap affected indices of richness, evenness, and diversity. Small mammals were trapped in 57 streamside study areas in 1990 to 1995 in the Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas. Efficiency of mouse traps was equal to or greater than that of museum special traps in capturing all small mammal species. Rat traps were most efficient for capturing the 2 largest small mammal species recorded, the eastern wood rat (Neotoma floridana) and the cotton rat (...

Air and ground crews conducted a search for carcasses of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) on Yazoo National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) following a 5-day, either-sex muzzleloader hunt. The search covered 48.4% of the refuge>s 5,047 ha. A total of 8 carcasses was found with muzzleloader wounds. Based on the area covered, an estimate of 16.5 unretrieved deer (23.9% of the 69 deer harvested) was calculated. Interviewed hunters reported 16 unretrieved deer or 23.2% of the total harvest. All 8 carcasses found were adult does. This differed from the harvest results in which only 32% were...

A mail questionnaire was used to determine behaviors of Mississippi nonindustrial private forest landowners toward hunting on their lands. Seventy-three percent (516 of 704) of the questionnaires were returned. A telephone survey of nonrespondents indicated negligible bias in the mail survey. About 45% of the respondents posted their land and 43% allowed no hunting by the general public. At least 77% of the respondents allowed hunting on their lands. Since only 6% of the respondents leased hunting rights, most hunting was by the landowner, family or guests. Timber was the most important...