Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

An exploratory study was conducted on paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) anglers at Lake of the Ozarks near Warsaw, Missouri, to learn about their social and cultural aspects, such as activity involvement and place dependence in relation to travel distance. Although Lake of the Ozarks is a premier fishery in the state of Missouri, little is known about these participants. An on-site survey was completed and returned by 423 out of 595 anglers (71% response rate). Respondents were middle-aged men who lived in rural areas in Missouri, and traveled a median distance of 179.3 km (one way) to this location. The average angler started this activity at age 25.9 and had been a participant for 11.2 years. Socialization and harvest were important reasons for angling participation. Significant differences were found between proximate and distant paddlefish anglers on activity involvement and place dependence.

Despite its importance to anglers, the Arkansas River spotted bass (Micropterus punctulatus) fishery has not been intensively studied or managed. Thus, spotted bass populations in the lower nine navigation pools of the Arkansas River were assessed during 2004-2005 using nighttime boatmounted electrofishing. Across years and pools, size structure measures were within acceptable ranges for black basses (mean PSDQ = 38, range 21-56; mean PSDP = 10, range 0-19). Theoretical maximum sizes generated from growth models were not large for spotted bass (mean L∞ = 395 mm TL, range 351-429 mm total length), though populations exhibited good condition and growth. Total annual mortality estimated from catch curves averaged 49% and ranged from 43%-57% across pools. Although population metrics exhibited few longitudinal relationships within the Arkansas River, spotted bass populations compared favorably to other populations from similar impounded river systems.

Adult alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (A. aestivalis) (collectively referred to as river herring) have rarely been trapped and transported during the spawning period to restore spawning runs in southern coastal U.S. watersheds, though this is a common practice in New England. We tested the feasibility of this practice in North Carolina to develop a protocol to assist in restocking and conservation efforts. River herring were collected using pound nets in the Scuppernong River at Columbia, North Carolina, from February-April 2007. Fish were removed from pound nets, placed into an oxygenated 833-L holding tank, and transported approximately 30 min to Lake Phelps, a natural Carolina Bay lake on the Albemarle-Pamlico peninsula with an outlet to Albemarle Sound. The density of river herring in the tank was maintained < 1 fish / 3.78 L-1.

A primary responsibility of wildlife resources agencies is to determine a species' conservation status. Two widely utilized protocols for status determination are those of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and NatureServe. This study compares the risk categorization for 58 species of aquatic wildlife extant in North Carolina. The IUCN and NatureServe protocols produced threat rankings that were correlated with each other but very different in terms of how they classified risk. The NatureServe protocol most often placed a species as being in a higher threat category than did the IUCN protocol. Differences mainly appeared to be due to how the protocols treat species with restricted geographic range. Resource managers should be aware of the relative performances and reasons for discrepancies of these two protocols when determining conservation status for a species.

Adult striped bass (Morone saxitilis) are vulnerable to high summer water temperatures and low dissolved oxygen (DO) in southern reservoirs, potentially resulting in poor body condition and elevated mortality. In Lake Buchanan, Texas, mean relative weights for striped bass >500 mm ranged from 77 to 84 from 2002-2007 in spring surveys when relative weight should be maximized. Two hypotheses were tested that could explain the observed poor condition of Lake Buchanan adult striped bass in spring: (1) lack of available prey, or (2) lack of suitable habitat during the previous summer. Striped bass condition was monitored monthly from August 2007 to March 2008 and additionally in October 2008 and February 2009. Sampling of vertical and horizontal forage distributions was conducted concurrently from September 2007 to March 2008.

Studies assessing whether there are differences in angling susceptibility between northern largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides salmoides (NLMB) and Florida largemouth bass M. s. floridanus, (FLMB) have typically been conducted at small study sites and have produced inconsistent results. Thus it is unclear how these results translate to natural populations, particularly those in large bodies of water. We evaluated the genetic composition (seven microsatellite loci) of angled and electrofished collections of LMB from five Texas reservoirs and related these results to angling susceptibility between these subspecies. In the angled collections, a single reservoir exhibited lower FLMB influence (proportion of FLMB alleles) than was found in the elecrofished collection (Pinkston, P < 0.001). Two populations had fewer non-introgressed FLMB in the angled sample than in the electrofished sample (Pinkston and O. H. Ivie; P = 0.010 and 0.030, respectively).

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has been annually stocking Florida largemouth bass (FLMB, Micropterus salmoides floridanus) at rates of 250 fish ha-1 into small dendritic sections of two large Arkansas reservoirs, Lake DeGray and Lake Ouachita, since 2006 and 2007, respectively, to alter local pre-existent northern largemouth bass (NLMB, Micropterus s. salmoides) populations. The management goal for these actions is to have 40% of the local largemouth bass (LMB) population possessing FLMB alleles within eight years of the initiation of the stocking program. Microsatellite analysis of ~1200 LMB were performed prior to and post stocking three and five years for Lake DeGray and three years for Lake Ouachita populations to measure progress towards this management goal. Stocked FLMB represented 2%-3% of sampled fish for both lakes. Following five years of stocking FLMB into Lake DeGray, 10% of the sample was identified F1 LMB.

Emphasis on catfish management has increased in Tennessee, and in 2003 the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency adopted new regulations protecting trophy-sized catfish by restricting recreational harvest of catfish >864 mm to one fish per day and eliminating all commercial harvest of catfish >864 mm. A statewide survey on licensed catfish anglers was conducted in fall 2000, 2005 and 2006 to determine if angler responses changed following implementation of these regulations. Before the regulation change, catfish anglers generally supported protecting trophy-sized catfish but angler responses for managing catfish as a sportfish were equally divided between support and opposition. Catfish anglers surveyed in 2005 and 2006 had not diminished their support for the regulation, but support for managing catfish as a sportfish had increased by 75% over the previous survey.

In 2010, we conducted a follow-up survey of anglers who responded to the 2009 Texas Statewide Angler Survey and indicated that they fished for catfish in the previous year or listed catfish as a preferred species. The follow-up survey assessed demographics, fishing methods, areas fished, species preferences, attitudes, and satisfaction of Texas catfish anglers. Only 26% of respondents considered catfish to be their primary species sought. We grouped anglers by their preferred species, but observed few demographic differences among these groups. Most (≥70%) catfish anglers preferred to catch and harvest the fish they caught. Most respondents (82%) lived within or close to urban centers and preferred to fish in areas that were close to home as long as they were free of litter, noise, and other people.

During 2002-2003, we trapped and banded 1870 mourning doves (Zenaida macroura) in Hell Creek Wildlife Management Area located in northern Mississippi. Of these, we recovered 152 banded doves and recorded 845 live recaptures. We calculated apparent weekly survival using live recaptures model in Program MARK. Best model yielded adult survival estimates of >0.90 through week 13, then declined to 0.88 by week 15. Juvenile survival estimates followed a similar trend with >0.90 through week 13, then dropping to 0.85 by week 15. Annual survival rate of mourning doves in northern Mississippi was 0.32 (SE 0.07). Recapture probability of AHY doves was 0.014 (SE = 0.01 - 0.13); HY doves exhibited greater recapture probability, ranging from 0.04 (SE = 0.01) to 0.13 (SE = 0.01). We used simulations to examine the influence of number of releases and reporting rates on precision of mean survival estimates.

Artificially feeding deer is controversial, particularly in North America. Our objective was to determine if published literature supports the hypothesis that supplemental feeding of deer leads to overuse of palatable plants and vegetation degradation. We found 16 papers regarding the feeding of deer through a search of the literature since 1989. Recent studies have not provided conclusive evidence that supplemental feeding of deer enables herbivores to concentrate feeding on the most palatable native foods in their environment or that it results in degradation of vegetation within the area. Providing supplemental feed does promote localized vegetation degradation by congregating animals near feeders.

Antlers contribute greatly to the life history and ecology of most species in the deer family (Cervidae). Diet composition and quality, precipitation, age, antler size, dominance rank, and demographic parameters (e.g., adult sex ratio, density) of the population may explain variation in antler breakage rates between individuals and subpopulations. Our objectives were to examine the effects of some of these variables on probability of antler breakage and provide a general description of antler breakage patterns in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). From 2001-2010, we collected 487 shed antlers from captive white-tailed deer managed at relatively high densities with a sex ratio skewed towards males. Overall antler breakage rate was 30% with approximately 51% of antlered males possessing ≥1 broken antler (at least one antler point or the main beam broken).

Hunting pressure can lead to drastic changes in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) behavior, though previous studies have focused mainly on females and juvenile males. Adult male white-tailed deer have not been studied in the context of hunting pressure since the advent of GPS technology. During 2006-2007, we deployed GPS collars on nine adult (≥2.5 years old) male white-tailed deer to examine changes in home range (95% fixed kernel) and core area (50% fixed kernel) size, shifts in home range and core area, movement, activity, and vulnerability to harvest during Maryland's two-week firearms season at Chesapeake Farms. Home range and core area size did not change between pre-hunt and hunt periods, and although adult male white-tailed deer movement and activity decreased from pre-hunt to the hunt period, this was at least partially attributable to hunting season coinciding with the post-breeding period.

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are the most important game species in Louisiana and throughout the southeastern United States. Likewise, the forest products industry represents the most important agricultural commodity in Louisiana, and industrial landowners frequently lease their properties to sportsmen specifically for white-tailed deer hunting. We assessed survival, space use, and habitat selection of white-tailed deer on a 3885-ha industrial forest in Union Parish, Louisiana, 2009-2010. We radio-marked 47 (23M, 24F) mature deer and ear-tagged 13 (6M, 7F) fawns. Male home range sizes varied seasonally and were largest during spring, whereas female home range sizes did not differ seasonally. Forest openings were important to both sexes when establishing home ranges, whereas 0- to 4-year-old pine and 13- to 19-year-old pine stands were important when selecting core use areas.

Intensively managed loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) forests are common in the southeastern United States and critical to providing fiber for global wood supply needs. There are concerns regarding possible effects of stand establishment treatments on plant communities, particularly availability and quality of browse for white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). We quantified response of non-pine vegetation productivity at either narrow (4.3 m) or wide (6.1 m) row spacing combined with either piled or scattered woody debris following clearcut harvest in Louisiana. We examined total (kg/ha) and preferred forage production and used crude protein percentages of preferred forage to estimate carrying capacity, based on lactation requirements, in each treatment (n = 16 replicates) for years 4-5-post treatment (2009-2010). We documented 95 genera or species of plants including 36 preferred forage species.

We conducted random mail and open web surveys of Louisiana waterfowl hunters following the 2011-2012 season, asking identical questions about waterfowl hunting effort, success, satisfaction, proposed regulatory actions, and demographics. We received 1,096 usable responses to our mail survey, and 1,286 usable responses to an on-line survey that was open for anyone to answer. Respondents to the web survey hunted much more, harvested more ducks, and were somewhat younger; but we noted similarities across survey methods in attitudes toward proposed regulatory actions. Using five variables measuring hunter effort, success, satisfaction, and demographics, we were able to correctly classify by survey method 65% of survey respondents, exceeding the 51% standard for predictive accuracy.

This research puts pay and contextual data gleaned from state conservation and state patrol agencies in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri, and West Virginia into the context of an anonymous survey of conservation rangers from across the country. Facts about pay, including the number of rangers, starting pay, and pay for experienced rangers is viewed through the lens of responses from 372 rangers in 17 states across the United States. The findings demonstrate that, at least in the states surveyed, state patrol officers generally make higher wages than conservation rangers, a fact not lost on rangers who responded to the survey. Nearly 98% of respondents believe that troopers make more money than rangers; about 86% attribute the difference in pay to politics. Understanding the facts about parity in pay as well as staff perceptions of inequity is important for state agencies attempting to recruit and retain qualified staff.

The Game Management (GM) Section of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Wildlife Resources Division (WRD) implemented several processes in the late 1990s geared toward systematic long-term forest management of state-owned Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs). These included development of 50-year management plans for individual WMAs, expansion of the Forest Management Unit (FMU), and development of a cooperative timber harvest proposal protocol. The effort culminated with a detailed forest stand inventory integrated with desired future stand conditions into a model that produces a timber harvest schedule includes a detailed five-year harvest plan and revenue projection for each inventoried WMA, as well as a state-wide 35-year timber harvest and revenue projection. The model is also structured to incorporate changes in revenue and harvest constraints.

Lethal removal by trapping is the most cost- and time-effective means for managing wild pigs (Sus scrofa); however, there is much debate regarding the effectiveness of continuous-catch doors (trap doors that allow the entry of additional pigs into the trap after the door initially closes). Our objective was to determine entry rates by wild pigs of root, saloon, and trainer continuous-catch doors. We constructed 26 corral traps on four study areas in east-central and southwest Alabama during the summer 2011. We pre-baited each trap for ≥1 week to condition wild pigs to freely enter and leave traps, and we used game cameras to verify conditioning and to identify individuals and sounders. We then randomly assigned a trap door to each trap, set the trap to capture only part of each sounder, and used game cameras to record the behavior of non-captured individuals.

We investigated effects of growing-season prescribed fire on daily nest survival, nest success, and poult survival of eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) on two similar research sites in southwestern Georgia: the Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center and Silver Lake Wildlife Management Area. We collected daily locations for radio-tagged females throughout the 2011-2012 nesting seasons. Females with nests or poults near or within an active growing-season fire were located hourly. We estimated poult survival using flush counts and incidental sightings until poults were lost or indistinguishable in size from females. We investigated nest survival of 51 nests at the microhabitat and landscape-level using an information theoretic approach, but found no important predictors, most likely from an insufficient sample size.

The eastern small-footed bat (Myotis leibii) is a rarely encountered species that has experienced declines in its populations and is currently being petitioned for federal listing. Throughout most of its range, M. leibii roost in rock fields and talus slopes with low canopy cover and high solar exposure. However, we know little about roost characteristics in the southern portion of its range. Therefore, in summers 2011 and 2012, we studied a male-dominated, bridge-roosting population of M. leibii in the Southern Appalachian Mountains to document the characteristics of their roosts. We tracked 25 individuals via radio telemetry and found 13 natural roosts. Similar to other studies on M. leibii, roosts were in large (width = 68.15 m, height = 15.25 m), south-facing (= 183°) rock expanses.

The red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) (RCW), a species dependent upon mature, fire-maintained pine forests in the Southeastern United States, was listed as endangered in 1970 due to habitat destruction and degradation. With roughly a quarter of RCWs occupying private lands, many landowners were reluctant to maintain habitat attractive to RCWs for fear of Endangered Species Act (ESA) land-use restrictions associated with harboring the birds. The Safe Harbor concept was developed to address this issue: in exchange for voluntary habitat maintenance and enhancement, private landowners are exempted from ESA restrictions for any RCW groups that move onto their property in the future as a result of those habitat improvements. In 1998, South Carolina became the second state to initiate a state-wide Safe Harbor program. Since then, it has grown to include 151 landowner agreements and 299 baseline RCW groups.

The Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) Approach is a method for developing functional indices for specific wetland subclasses based on reference data and the protocols used to apply these indices to the assessment of wetland functions at a site-specific scale. It has been argued that the data collection and analysis process for HGM assessments are overly burdensome for routine application. This HGM rapid assessment procedure for the natural forested wetlands of the Arkansas Delta (HGMRAP) attempts to retain the classification and wetland subclass-specific reference data that correctly grounds the HGM approach, with the ease of use of a rapid assessment. In addition a module for Greentree Reservoirs (GTRs) was created. The original HGM reference data did not include managed systems, such as GTRs, and so the normal HGMRAP procedures cannot be appropriately applied to them. In addition, GTRs are managed to maximize a single function: to attract waterfowl.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Volunteer Stewardship Program (VSP) was established to implement citizen science projects that focus on priority habitats and species, as well as fill data gaps for species of greatest conservation need identified in the Florida State Wildlife Action Plan. The program builds partnerships with conservation agencies and organizations to develop a statewide network of trained volunteers. These volunteers participate in various activities including wildlife research, biological sampling and monitoring, habitat restoration, and laboratory work, as well as education and outreach. Several projects will be presented which highlight volunteer activities, along with project objectives, results, successes, measures learned, and future directions.

The eastern fox squirrel (Sciurus niger) occurs across most of eastern North America, with 10 recognized subspecies in the United States. Six of these occur in the southeastern coastal plain and Piedmont regions and are associated with the fire dependent, pine (Pinus sp.) forests that once dominated the landscape. In Florida, over 90% of the longleaf pine (P. palustris) forests have been lost, and the resulting range contraction and population decline in fox squirrels has led to the protection of two subspecies: the Sherman's fox squirrel (S. n. shermani) and big cypress fox squirrel (S. n. avicennia). Knowledge of distribution and habitat selection is essential for sustainable management; however, this information is lacking for fox squirrels in many parts of their range, particularly in Florida. One way to address this issue is to collect sighting information from the general public.