Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

Relative abundances ofgray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis), fox squirrels (Sciurus niger), and swamp rabbits (Sylvilagus aquaticus) were determined in three main forest types of the A tchafalaya River Basin. Squirrel observations and rabbit fecal pellets were used to index population densities. Squirrel abundance varied by overstory type (P<0.0l) and was highest in bottomland hardwoods (CeltisFraxinus- Liquidambar-Ulmus). A significant difference was not indicated between squirrel densities in cypress-tupelo (Taxodium-Nyssa) or cottonwood-willow-sycamore (Populus-Salix-Platanus). Rabbit abundance varied by overstory type (P<0.0l) with highest densities in bottomland hardwoods and lowest densities in cypress-tupelo.

During the 1974-75 trapping season an evaluation of the No.2 Victor leg-hold trap and the 220 Conibear trap was conducted in nine study areas consisting of fresh and brackish marsh along the Louisiana coast. Twenty-three trappers produced 10,671 trap nights of evaluation with the No.2 Victor and 7,567 trap nights of evaluation with the 220 Conibear. The No.2 Victor caught significantly more (p<05) nutria (Myocastor coypus) in both fresh and brackish marsh study areas. There was no statistical difference (p>.05) in the number ofmuskrat (Ondatra zibethicus rivalicius) taken with the two traps. The No.2 Victor caught significantly more (p<05) non-target animals (birds) than did the No.2 Victor. The 220 Conibear did not kill trapped nutria consistently, with 9.7 percent of the adults and 10. 7 percent of the immature alive in the trap.

Increasing interest and attention to the application of mathematical modeling to large-scale wildlife management problems has given rise to questions concerning the appropriateness and reliability of these procedures to this problem area. An introduction to basic modeling concepts is presented. The characteristics and current status of wildlife management problems are discussed in conjunction with the capabilities and limitations of these procedures.

A study of the bird usage of spoil banks in the intermediate marshes of southwestern Louisiana was conducted from late February 1973 to mid-April 1974 along the Superior Canal spoil bank system within Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, Cameron Parish, Louisiana. During the study period we recorded 75 bird species on the banks. In summer we found seven species nesting and 17 other species feeding and/or resting on the banks. In fall, winter, and spring 72 bird species were sighted and/or mist netted on the banks, including spring and fall migrants, and winter and permanent residents of southern Louisiana. The spoil banks' year-round dense cover and high ground were the probable reasons for the bank usage by a diverse group of birds.

The effects of weirs on aquatic vegetation were investigated at 3 separate areas along the Louisiana coast. In each area, aquatic vegetation was more abundant in ponds affected by weirs than in adjacent control ponds. Comparisons were also made among areas, between pond sizes, and within individual ponds relative to abundance and distribution of aquatic plants.

A team of experienced biologists developed line charts to inventory the important components of wildlife habitat and transformation charts to convert the inventoried characteristics to habitat values for specific species for a Maryland Piedmont watershed. The line chart system gave results equivalent to the procedure recently developed by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service with less field time. In addition, the line charts display the basis for all conclusions, provide a simplified base for determining future conditions, and are easily adapted to computer analysis. The value ratings from this system provide a firm foundation for assessing the effects on wildlife habitat of water resource project alternatives and for planning any needed mitigating or compensation measures.

In February, 1975, an outbreak of fowl cholera caused the death of 18,000 wild waterfowl, primarily American coots (Fulica americana), at Back Bay, Virginia. To arrest the epornitic, coots were treated with aerial application of a wetting agent, rendered flightless, collected from the water, and humanely destroyed. Over 6,000 coots were depopulated. Pertinent field observations are described for this control endeavor.

A modified Gerking sampler was used to sample standing crops of invertebrates associated with aquatic plants common to Alabama and Mississippi. Appearance and disappearance of the aquatic plant communities sampled were also ascertained. The aquatic plants which persisted during the winter months were Wolffiella floridana and Hydrocotyle ranunculoides. Two other aquatic plant species which produced large standing crops of invertebrates were Cabomba caroliniana and Ceratophyllum demersum; however, these plants did not persist in winter and early spring when a source of invertebrates is important in the diet of the female nesting wood duck.

During 1975 and 1976, a total of 75 Canada goose (Branta canadeneis) nests were located in the Eufaula area. Of all nesting attempts found, 41 percent in 1975 and 51 percent in 1976 hatched at least one gosling. Nest mortality. was due mainly to high water levels with predation, human interference, and competition for nesting territories also contributing. Minimum number of goslings raised per successful nest was 1.5 in 1975 and 2.9 in 1976. At least 81 goslings were raised to flight stage during these two nesting seasons. The flock at Eufaula has expanded by more than 200 percent since 1969.

Winter and summer bird numbers were determined for four aquatic habitats in Miller's Lake, Evangeline Parish, Louisiana. As the succession of the vegetation progressed from open water to water tupelos (Nyssa aquatica), the number of bird species occurring in each habitat increased during both seasons, and the number of individuals and avian species diversity increased during summer. Bird numbers in each habitat were higher in winter than summer. In the more structurally complex aquatic habitats avian densities and species richness were higher than in upland areas of similar vegetative complexity.

A mortality of saw-grass (Cladium jamaicense) and other plants occurred between 1957 and 1961 in southwestern Louisiana involving 162,000 ha.of marsh. Flooding and high salinities associated with Hurricane Audrey (June 1957) and subsequent droughts are blamed. Plant succession in an area affected by the die-off was studied by line-intercept transects on the Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge from 1958 through 1974. In 1958, 86 percent of the area sampled by the transect lines was open water while only 2 percent was open water in 1974. In 1974, bulltongue (Sagittaria lancifolia) occupied 71 percent of the transects and. white waterlily (Nymphaea odorata) 12 percent. Alligatorweed (Alternanthera philoxeroides), spikerushes (Eleocharis spp.), floating heart (Nymphoides aquatica), bvuttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), and willow (Salix nigra) were common associates ranked in order of abundance. During spring droughts (1960-1965) annual grasses and sedges were abundant.

One hundred and fifty-eight questionnaires were mailed to Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission wildlife officers, wildlife biologists and managers, and private and federal foresters in June 1975. The questionnaire asked for information on the distribution, relative abundance, and trends in feral hog (Sus scrofa) populations from 1965 to 1975 in Florida. Results from the 117 respondents indicated that feral hogs were present in 66 of the 67 counties, that the densest populations are in large, heavily forested tracts, and that populations have decreased or remained approximately stable during the past ten years.

The effects of continuous spring and summer flooding on bottomland hardwoods at Rathbun Reservoir in southern Iowa and Carlyle Reservoir in southwestern Illinois were investigated. Substantial mortality occurred in nearly all species subjected to continuous flooding for 83 days after leafing out, 99 days after last freeze or a total of 129 days after the onset offlooding in mid-March.

Silastic tube-type implants containing diethylstilbestrol (DES) were placed subcutaneously in five male white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Implants were recovered from four deer and determined to have a mean daily release rate of 205 ug. At this rate DES drastically suppressed antler growth, but the velvet was shed and bone antlers were formed. Treated males had significantly lower testes weights than controls. However, DES affected spermatogenesis but the response was not uniform, ranging from almost complete cessation to limited sperm production. The round spermatid population was significantly (P < 0.05) reduced in the DES group. Morphologically, the Leydig cells in treated deer appeared different from those in the control animals. The epididymides were unaffected by treatment. The treatment affected the secretory cells of the Cowper's and prostrate glands in three of the four deer and the secretory cells of the seminal vesicles in all four.

Neither the frequency nor quantity of mast crops of running oak (Quercus pumila, Walt) were measurably increased by fertilizer treatments using N, P, and K singly and in combinations at levels 0 and 112 kg per ha.

Muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) were collected from river and creek study areas in East Tennessee from July 1972 to June 1973. An imbalance in sex ratios was found to be seasonal and an overall sex ratio approaching 1:1 is likely the actual case. Significantly heavier body weights of river versus creek animals likely reflects the more abundant and/or higher quality food supply present on the river than on the small creek. Adult male muskrats from the river tended to exhibit expected patterns of deposition and utilization of internal body fat, with increased fat levels from spring through fall and decreased amounts from winter to spring. Nonpregnant females exhibited a decrease in body fat from winter through summer while fat deposition occurred in pregnant females from spring to summer. Adults of the river contained more internal body fat than their creek counterparts over the winter, again indicating the better nutritional conditions on the river study area.

This paper describes a technique to evaluate the breeding habitat of the mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) utilizing a "windshield approach" capable of identifying habitat parameters correlated with call counts. Habitat parameters accounted for up to 77.8 and 97.8 percent of the variation in call counts within transect intervals and transects, respectively, when regression analyses were conducted within ecological areas. Techniques presented can be used to evaluate the habitat of any game or non-game species for which transects are used to obtain population data, can be modified to include particular plants important to a given wildlife species. and may be useful in monitoring annual or long term changes in wildlife habitat.

Several problems associated with introduced species are discussed as are problems caused when native species are removed to new areas. Data from a survey of states on laws governing importation of exotics and on control ofanimal holding facilities are presented.

The Southeastern Wildlife Law Enforcement Research Project was initiated in 1976 by cooperative efforts and funding among Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, the Wildlife Management Institute, the American Petroleum Institute, the National Wildlife Federation, and the wildlife agencies of Virginia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. Progress has included staffing, problem analysis, two publications, massive data collection, and initiation of two projects on agent allocation and crimeload prediction. Minor problems encountered are discussed, studies on agent deployment summarized, future plans outlined, and agencies invited to participate.

A self-administered questionnaire survey of 104 Mississippi game law cooperators (i.e. persons who report wildlife violations) was conducted in 1975. In addition, violation reports received from cooperators were analyzed. Generally, cooperators thought game law enforcement was "ineffective" but "fair," and that agents made "too few" arrests. Most cooperators felt "good" toward game laws but thought fines levied against violators were "too low. "All cooperators opposed violators. The majority of cooperators reported that "a lot" of violations occurred in their residence county. All cooperators were Caucasians, nine of every 10 were males, and ages were widely distributed. The most frequently cited occupation was industrial work. The majority of cooperators were homeowners living on a farm or in open country. The most frequently cited income level was $14,000 or more a year.

A survey of fish on 33 southeastern National Forests was conducted during the period July 1972 through July 1975. Of the 470 species listed, 442 are recognized in American Fisheries Society Special Publication No.6. Another 28 species or groups ofspecies, recognized or under study since this publication, are also included. The Shortnose sturgeon, Acipenser brevirostrum, is the only fish on the current endangered or threatened register likely found on the Forests, although 20 species ofknown or probable occurrence on National Forest lands have been recommended for such status.