Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

The effects of soil and water hardness on growth and survival of red swamp crawfish, Procambarus clarki, were studied in plastic pools. Pools had no soil or Calhoun soil, with water hardnesses adjusted with calcium chloride to 9, 50, 100 or 150 parts per million, or pools had Sharkey soil with water hardnesses of 50, 100, 150 or 200 ppm. Water hardness was the most significant factor affecting growth and survival of crawfish. As water hardness increased, so did the mean weight gain and per cent survival. At 9 ppm water hardness, the presence of soil resulted in similar weight gain per crawfish as in no-soil pools but crawfish survival in pools containing soil was 53 to 77 per cent and only 9 per cent in pools with no soil. Good growth of crawfish occurred in the absence of soil, if water hardness was high. The highest mean weight gain per crawfish and per cent survival were in pools containing Sharkey soil.

Biological and chemical-physical data were obtained from burrows of the red swamp crawfish, Procambarus clarki, and the adjacent ponds and ditch during the burrowing period. Burrows constructed by mature and immature crawfish were of the same general pattern. Burrows usually consisted of an undulating downward channel, varying in depth, devoid of a connection with the adjacent pond or ditch. The tunnel was covered by a chimney or mud plug at the top and was enlarged at its deepest part into a chamber. Variance in the diameter of the channel seemed correlated with the total bodylength of the inhabiting crawfish. Fauna present in burrow water consisted mainly of planktonic crustaceans. In general, the animal groups in burrows were similar to those present in the adjacent pond or ditch but fewer species and numbers occurred in the burrows.

Florida has comparatively few species of large predatory freshwater fishes. Many lakes of the state have an abundance of forage fishes. Therefore, niches may be available for additional desirable predatory species. As far as I know, there is no record of walleye (Stizostedion vitreum) occurring naturally as far south as peninsular Florida. People not familiar with walleye may have the mistaken impression they require cold, deep water. If this were so, an attempt to introduce them into Florida would be absurd. However, there is a strong superficial resemblance between many lakes there and warm, shallow Midwestern lakes that have good walleye populations. Because of this resemblance, I decided to see if walleye could survive in Florida. Permission was obtained to use a privately owned, dug pond, about 0.3-acre in size at Vero Beach, Florida (latitude 27 0 39'). Rotenone was applied for a complete kill, but no fish were found.

Thirty-five turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) hens were instrumented with miniature animal tracking transmitters on a study area in March 1968. Twenty nests were found by directional radio location fixes and one nest was found incidentally. Average clutch size was 9.6 eggs per nest in fourteen nests which were observed after incubation began. Eight nests produced 70 poults from 76 eggs. The other nests failed to hatch because of predation or abandonment due to human disturbance associated with the study. Two incomplete nests contained four and six eggs when they were abandoned, one due to human disturbance, the other because of predation. Predators destroyed four nests before the eggs could be counted. The hens showed a strong preference for nesting in a zone along the edge of the low oak scrub plant association. All except three of the 21 nests were concealed beneath saw palmetto (Seronoa repens).

The home ranges of five white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were determined on the Clark Hill Wildlife Management Area using telemetric equipment. The population density of deer on the 800 acres study area was estimated to be 50-55 deer per square mile (1 deer/12 acres) prior to the managed hunts in 1967. A six year old doe, radio-tracked from April 4, to May 9, 1967, had a home range of 121 acres. The same animal was tracked from October 12, to October 25, 1967, and had a home range area of 87 acres. A three year old doe with a fawn was radio-located from May 18, to July 8, 1967, and ranged on a 40 acre area during this period. The doe and fawn were instrumented from November 16, to December 31, 1967, and had a home range of 78 acres. These animals were never separated while both were instrumented. A 1Y:. year old buck was radio-instrumented from October 12, to November 1, 1967, and from November 13, to November 18, 1967.