Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

Between 1969 and 1972 335 elk (Cervus canadensis) were transplanted from Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge to eastern Oklahoma. Three releases (151 elk) were in the oak-hickory forest type in northeastern Oklahoma, and five releases (184 elk) were in the oak-pine forest type in the southeastern part of the state. Cumulative known mortality in the northeastern releases (December 31, 1971) was 31 animals while known cumulative calf crop was 33 animals. Minimum population size at this time (reliable sightings) was 148 for the Northeast. Cumulative known mortality in the southeastern releases (December 31, 1971) was 24 animals while known calf crop was 39 animals. Minimum population size at this time (reliable sightings) was 117 for the Southeast. Due to terrain and elk behavior, population estimates for the Northeast are thought to be reasonably accurate ,vhile Southeast estimates are probably significantly lower than actual population size.

It has generally been accepted that the public attitude toward ownership and usage of firearms has undergone considerable change as the American population has become more urbanized. This study examines the attitudes of Middle Tennesseans toward hunting and the use and control of firearms (nonpistol) by individ uals. An areal analysis was conducted to determine differences of opinion within the population according to the type of residence - rural, town or city. A random sample was conducted during October 1971 by personal questionnaire in a city of approximately 450,000, a town of 17,000, and from rural dwellers of Middle Tennessee. The sample was confined to adult males because of the traditional masculine nature of hunting and the use of guns. The total sample consisted of 270 individuals; 5S from rural, areas, 72 from small towns and 143 from the city. In an analysis of Table I, differences between the three groups become readily apparent.

In response to a need for information on wood duck habitat in north Alabama for use in a TVA regional land-use planning report, a quick method of assessing overall streamside breeding habitat was developed and executed in 1970. Biologists from TVA and the Alabama Department of Conservation participated. All streams large enough to be noted on each road map of the II counties were visited at all points crossed by roads. The immediate habitat was rated as good, fair, or poor and! or none. The following criteria were used: Good: Wide mix of 14" + dbh hardwoods, overmature trees visible, little human disturbance. Fair: Good mix of hardwoods up to 14", few overmature trees, some human activity. Poor and! or Non-habitat: Hardwoods generally 10" or less, high human activity; or habitat destroyed. Results of the survey are given in Table I. Nearly 1,600 miles of such streams were visited in approximately two manmonths' time.

A boat-mounted ladder-stand was constructed to facilitate inspection of duck nest boxes that were mounted on poles between six and eight feet above water. This device allowed a large number of boxes to be inspected in a short period of time without having to set up and take down a ladder at each box. The ladderstand was constructed from materials readily available. The need to inspect nest boxes, which must be mounted high over water to protect them from floods, often involves a considerable amount of effort. A boat is usually used to transport an extension ladder to each box; the ladder is then set in the water and supported against the tree or pole holding the box. After inspection, the ladder must be extracted from the mud, placed back in the boat, and the procedure repeated at each box.

A study of the age and sex structure in a selected beaver (Castor canadensis carolinensis) population was conducted from January 1971 to January 1972 in Green County, Georgia. Twenty-four beavers were trapped from four colonies in the study area. The animals were aged by cranial measurements and dental cementum and sexed by necropsy. There was no significant sex ratio difference in the kit and yearling classes. The sex ratio for the 2-year-old and adult classes was 13 males to 7 females. The sex ratio for the total population was 14 males to 10 females. The four study colonies averaged six beavers per colony.

Techniques developed by trial and error in 23 years of field work with wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) in Florida are described. Capture methods employing traps, cannon nets, and orally administered drugs are described only briefly because they have been adequately described in other papers. Methods and equipment for baiting, observing, handling, holding, banding, and releasing wild turkeys are discussed.

Project personnel contacted ranchers, farmers, highway maintenance crews, farm and ranch laborers, Game Management Officers, and other interested persons to receive prompt reports of nests of Rio Grande turkey (Meleagris gallopavo intermedia) found incidentally during the 1968, 1969, 1970, and 1971 nesting seasons. One hundred and twenty-one turkey nests were found during the four year period in the Edwards Plateau of Texas. Upon locations, nests were observed by project personnel and data recorded on nesting forms. Laying began in late February and continued through late August. Laying was started in the latest nest the eighth day of August. Average clutch size was 10.37 eggs in 71 nests observed after incubation began. Forty-seven nests produced 414 poults from 462 eggs leaving 2 fully developed embryos unhatched and 45 infertile eggs in the nests.

A wild turkey (Meleagris gal/opavo silvestris) population was established near Auburn, Alabama be releasing 26 wild-captured birds during 1965 and early 1966. From March 1965 through June 1972 dynamics of the population were studied. Continued observation on the population, most individual of which wjre marked, was the primary method of study. A total of 2,362 positive identifications of individually marked turkeys was made. Direct count estimates of spring-breeding populations and late-summer populations were made each year from 1965 through 1971, excluding 1969, on the 7,293 acre study area. Late summer counts gave hen-poult ratios and estimates of total reproductive success. Hunting was not allowed during the first 5 years after the original release. Harvest data collected from hunter permit questionnaires and personal interviews showed that 1.8 and 1.2 legal turkeys were harvested per square mile on the study area during the springs of 1971 and 1972, respectively.

A telemetric study was conducted on adult male alligators [Alligator mississippiensis (Daudin)] on Rockefeller Refuge from April 14, 1971 through March 18, 1972. Fourteen alligators were captured, tagged, marked for identification purposes, outfitted with color coded neck-collar radio transmitters, and released at their respective capture sites. A directional receiving unit was used to follow their daily movements. The size of the animals ranged from 8'3" to 10'5.5". Minimum home range sizes and habitat preferences were determined for eleven of the alligators under investigation. Radio signals were not detected d uring the majority of the winter dormancy period which extended from the end of December through mid-February. The longest movement recorded was 33 airline miles from the capture site.

A stratified, random sample of hunters on the Ocala National Forest produced 1,598 questionnaires which were coded and analyzed at Florida State University's Computing Center. One section of the survey explored hunter attitudes concerning other hunters and toward hunting white-tailed deer with dogs. This paper discusses the results from part of the survey. The cooperation of personnel in the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission and U. S. Forest Service in conducting the interviews is gratefully acknowledged.

A Game Department was added to the Texas Fish and Oyster Commission in 1907, and three functions branched from this department. Law Enforcement was formed first, with wildlife restoration following and becoming sophisticated by the addition of wildlife pathology in 1963. In these 9 years, some 2,000 necropies have been performed on various species of wildlife to develop disease backgrounds. The benefits of pathological study have been: (I) background data on diseases (2) game management implications as related to disease study and implementation of disease controls (3) forensic pathology development which has proven valuable to Law Enforcement for convictions of game violators. Game was plentiful in Texas in 1821 but declined drastically during the ensuing 50 years due to uncontrolled hunting (Texas Game, Fish, and Oyster Commission, 1927). Public concern over dwindling wildlife resources caused legislation to be enacted providing for game warden to be employed.

The influence of weather factors on the number of hunter-deer contacts was investigated. Findings indicate that moderate rainfall contributes to an increase in deer sightings per hunter hour. An important aspect of modern deer herd management is the identification of and, ultimately, an expression of the relative importance of the many factors which influence the annual deer harvest. The influence of weather on deer harvest has been a subject of controversy for many years. Numerous investigators have recognized the importancc of weather as it affects deer activity (Hahn 1949; Barick 1952; Severinghaus and Cheatum 1956; Banasiak 1961; Tester and Heezen 1965; Behrend 1966), hunter activity (Swift 1937; Yeager and Denney 1959; White 1968), and the total season's kill (Fobes 1945; Schultz 1957; and Gwynn 1964).

A plan was initiated in 1960 for establishing a local nesting colony of Canada geese (Branta canadensis) on Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana; however, little information was available on Canada goose nesting along the gulf coast. Previous reports on establishing local nesting populations dealt mostly with attempts in north central and northeastern states (U.S. Department of the Interior, 1958; Clark and Nightingale, 1960). Therefore, much of the earlier work on this project was experimental in nature. The purpose of this study was to compare the breeding behavior of Canada geese of different source and age groups and to evaluate the value of each group toward the establishment of a home-grown flock. The comparison of Canada geese from different sources was made by determining the percentage of adult birds in each group which nested. The groups compared were: hand-reared giant Canada geese (B. c. maxima), wildtrapped Canada geese (B. c.

Web-tagging and banding returns from Wood Ducks (Aix ~ponsa) returning to their natal area after their first migration indicated that four times as many females returned as males. The proportion of returning ducks that had been banded as well as web-tagged was, however, the same for males and females. Most researchers who investigate pre-flight survival of Wood Ducks, utilize the technique of marking nestlings and recovering them after they reach flight stage. The proced ures outlined by Grice and Rogers (1965) are most often followed. In this method, a portion of the ducks that had been web-tagged as nestlings are trapped as they reach flight stage, banded and released. This produces, in the wild population, two types of marked birds: those which are web-tagged only (single marked); and those which are web-tagged and banded (double marked).

Transects established to measure whitewing nesting success have revealed that doves are subject to heavy (50-75 percent of the eggs laid) nesting predation. Prior research (Blankinship's study in 1964-1965) has indicated that whitewing (Zenaida asiatica) production can be increased 100 percent if boat-tailed grackle (Cassidix mexicanus) numbers are controlled during the nesting season. This project was initiated in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas in 1967 to determine the effects of grackle control on white-winged dove and grackle nesting success. Work with poisons as a grackle control technique began in 1961. Anticoagulants, 1080, DRC-1339, DRC-1861, and methoxymol were some of the chemicals tried. DRC-1339 (3-chloro-p-toluidine Hydrochloride), a slow acting uremic poison, appeared to have the best chance for success. Cage studies determined that DRC-1339 is lethal to grackles at 1-1.5 mg! kg, while it takes 5.6 mg! kg to kill whitewings.

Our study was designed to determine if a large outdoor enclosure is suitable for evaluating the shelter requirements of gray squirrels. We designed and tested an escape-proof enclosure to determine how many squirrels could be maintained without overpopulation, and to determine if reproduction would occur. A 2-acre area in a stand of mixed hardwood about 40 years old with low mast production and few den sites was selected in the West Virginia University Forest, II miles east of Morgantown. The tree canopy was removed from a 30-foot wide strip centered on the fence line, leaving approximately 1.5 acres of canopy inside the enclosure. The squirrel-proof fence was 7.5 feet high with a 3-foot strip of 28-gage sheet metal attached above the 5-foot high base course of I-inch mesh wire. A 3-foot wide I-inch mesh wire was laid on the ground and attached to the bottomofthe fence to prevent animals from going underneath.

The main objective of this project was to determine if sonagrams could be used to assess the number of different birds using a single woodcock singing ground. Earlier work showed that individual male woodcock could be distinguished by their peent call. Weather permitting, two singing sites near Morgantown, West Virginia, were monitored every other day from April 3-28, 1972. Birds using the sites were recorded and voice prints (sonagrams) were made of the peent call. "T' test comparisons of frequency and width of the peent sonagram showed only one bird using each site. However, one bird was mistnetted at the singing site on April 18 and no further calling occurred until April 26, Based on voice prints, this was a different male. Management implications and technical problems are discussed.

Nonreproductive populations of adult largemouth bass have been found in a number of lakes. In all cases, these environments are characterized as highly eutrophic and over-crowded with bream and forage species. Reproductive failure was demonstrated to be due to a refusal ofthe adult population to spawn. Ripened ovaries were retained long after the spawning season and the deteriorated ova eventually reabsorbed. In some cases, only a portion of the adult largemouth bass population spawned, yet produced substantial yearclasses. Reproductive inhibition was attributed to the excretion and build up of a hormone like repressive factor by over-crowded bream and forage species. Largemouth bass reproduction was induced by Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin injections in at least I and perhaps 2 nonreproductive lakes. Eutrophic, over-crowded conditions, identical to those found in non-productive lakes, were created in four hatchery ponds.

This study was designed to assess the harvest of a bass fishing tournament and its effect oli the bass population of a lake. The data evaluated here are taken from a total of 2254 largemouth bass weighing an estimated 4419.5 pounds harvested during a three day (29-31 March, 1972) bass fishing tournament held at Lake Lanier, Georgia, a 38,000 acre reservoir. Of the 794 bass sexed by excising gonads, 504 (63.5%) were females. The largest male measured 19.1 inches (3 lb., II oz.) while the longest female was 23.8 inches (7 lb., 4 oz.). Catch rates for the tournament were 0.25 fish per hour and 0.49 pounds per hour. Average bass weight was 1.9 pounds. Total harvest per acre during the tournament was estimated at 0.12 pounds. Cove rotenone samples from 1961-67 indicate bass standing crops from 4.2211.25 pounds per acre in Lake Lanier. Estimated yearly bass harvest (numbers) from four years of creel censusing (1962, 1965-67) ranges from 17,834 to 30,778.

A study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of an extensive release program conducted in conjunction with the B.A.S.S. (Bass Anglers Sportsman Society) Tournament held on Lake Kissimmee and adjoining lakes, Osceola County. Florida. Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) caught by tournament participants were to be released into Lake Kissimmee following weighing and counting by tournament officials. Fish in poor condition and mortalities incurred prior to release were included into an initial mortality estimate of 15.6% by number and 13.7% by weight. A sample offish to be released was taken and held for observation in anchored cages for 14 days to estimate delayed mortality resulting from hooking. handling, and related stresses. Control fish captured by non-angling methods were held simultaneously. Mortality incurred subsequent to release (delayed mortality) was estimated at 15.0% by number for a six day period.

Goezia was first detected in North America at Lake Hollingsworth in Central Florida during June, 1969 (Ware, 1970). A recently introduced population of striped bass, Morone saxatilis, was found to be infected by the nematode. The following year, three additional populations of striped bass were parasitized, located in Lakes Bentley, Parker, and Hunter in the same general area of Florida. The introduction of this parasite into Florida was at first believed to be related to the striped bass stocking program (Gaines and Rogers, 1971). Goezia was reported as a marine nematode and the young stripers had been fed a diet of marine herring during hatchery culture. A similar means of infection had been reported in France (Dollfus, 1935). Later investigations, however, found the worm to be wide-spread in Central Florida and it was apparently endemic to certain watersheds connected with marine environs. The lakes and streams of the St.

The terms intracapillary, interlamellar, cutaneous and visceral are proposed as names for four working forms or categories of Henneguya spp. found in channel catfish. Guidelines for their proper identification are suggested and the severity and incidence of each form are documented. Disease workers in diagnostic laboratories often find it convenient to separate Henneguya spp. infections into forms based on the nature of induced lesions. These forms include the interlamellar form, intracapillary form, which is referred to by many workers as the intralamellar form (Meyer, 1972, personal communication), visceral form, and cutaneous form. These working forms or categories are classified according to their location within the host tissue. The usefulness of such non-taxonomic divisions will be readily apparent when the pathogenicity and frequency of occurence of each form are considered.

When given the task of discussing guidelines for fish disease legislation, it occurred to me that a brief review of the history of the current laws, both good and bad, governing fish diseases might be in order. However, this idea was quickly discarded because the history of fish disease control in the United States is short and dates only from the mid-1950's, and its study serves only to point out the sparsity of control measures and their general lack of uniformity. I was struck by the close parallel of the early development of animal disease control and the present state of the struggle to initiate effective fish disease control measures. Because of this close parallel, I would like to briefly discuss some of the historical aspects of animal disease legislation with the hope that it will point out some of the pitfalls we need to avoid. Prior to 1843, the United States was free of any significant livestock disease problems.