Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

A total of 276 attempts was made to immobilize white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) using succinylcholine chloride (SC). SC was injected in powder form by dart in 256 deer (mostly free-ranging) and in solution in 20 deer (all captive). Details of dose levels, age, sex, bodyweight, whether immobilized, time interval injection to immobilization and survival rates were recorded. For the SC solution injected animals, packed cell volumes (PCV) were recorded prior to and at several intervals after injection. Among those deer injected with powdered SC, a 64.1 percent capture rate was obtained (63.6 percent for adults, 65.5 percent for fawns). Fatalities were recorded in 8.6 percent of attempts with adults and in 13.8 percent of attempts with fawns. The non-lethal, successful, dose range for adults was 0.078 to 0.265 mg/ kg. The lethal dose range for adults was 0.141 to 0.298 mg/kg; the lethal dose range for fawns was 0.176 to 0.229 mgj kg.

Ducks were inventoried monthly over a 2-year period in order to compare usage of management units in the Louisiana coastal marshes. Areas inventoried were brackish and fresh water impoundments, which were managed for ducks. and marsh pump-out units, managed for beef cattle. In addition, natural marshes nearby were sampled as a control. Water depth readings were taken monthly and vegetation was sampled annually to provide information on factors affecting duck usage. Greatest duck usage was in the fresh water impoundments. but usage of the brackish impoundments was very similar to that of the control areas. Marsh pump-outs received lowest duck usage, and birds were present only after heavy rainfall temporarily flooded the areas. The major factors affecting duck were the types of vegetation, water depth, and time of year.

Between 1970 and 1973, 180 white ibis (Eudocimus albus) 140 adult and 40 nestlings, were collected from four fresh water and three salt water sites and their stomach contents identified. Crustacean and aquatic insects were the major food items totaling 86.4% of the total food volume. Differences exist between stomach contents of ibis collected from fresh water and salt water habitats. Those collected from fresh water habitats contained more insects and snails while those from salt water sites contained more insects of certain families and crabs.

Dogs were used to chase female white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in a 2.04Q-acre enclosure at Radford Army Ammunition Plant, Dublin, Virginia, during late pregnancy from April to June 1972 (Phase I) and throughout pregnancy from October 1972 through May 1973 (Phase II) to determine the effect on reproduction. During Phase I, trained deer hounds were used to chase approximately 40 percent of the deer in the study area; the other 60 percent were used as a control. During Phase II, hounds and other dogs were used for chasing deer on the entire study area. All healthy deer easily escaped the chase dogs, but a badly deformed piebald fawn was caught. Neighborhood dogs apparently killed one additional young fawn during the study, but the problem is not serious because of the protective behavior of the does and the secretive nature of young fawns.

Fat from the marrow tissue of the femuf (FMl) of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) was found to be a poor standard with which to verify that the fat in the tissue of the mandibular cavity (Men was an indicator of condition. Fat from the tissue of the mandibular cavity (MCT) was found to separate into more distinguishable condition classes than was fat from the femur marrow tissue (FMT). MCT fat appeared to be utilized prior to the utilization of FMT fat. Percent MCT fat was found to vary between the right and left mandibles of the same animal. Animals 2.5 years or older had much less variation between the MCT fat levels of the right and left mandible than did animals 1,5 years or less.

Food preferences were determined for white-tailed deer (Odcoileus viginianus) in marshes and spoil arreas along the Louisiana coast by using feeding trials with captive deer and browse surveys. Fifty species were offered to 3 deer during the feeding trials. The species selected in largest amounts were Leploch/oa fascicularis, Scirpus olneyi, Iva annua, Echinochloa walteri, and Aeschynomene virginica. Preferred food plants during the browse surveys along marsh levees were Paspalum vaginatum, Mikania scandens, Bocapa monnieri, Panicum dichotomiflorum, and Leptochloa fascicularis.

In an east Texas pine-hardwood forest moderately stocked with white-tailed deer. average utilization of 73 recorded species of browse was 18 percent. Fifteen to 20 species furnished most of the browse diet. On the average. laurel greenbrier was grazed most heavily. Although most deciduous species received heaviest use in spring and summer, many of them were also eaten in fall and winter. Heavy browsing during winter was confined primarily to evergreens.

The rumen contents of 384 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) collected seasonally from the Savannah River Project in South Carolina were compared with 184 rumen samples collected from six widely scattered areas throughout the Southeastern Coastal Plain. The two sets of rumina differed significantly in the volume of hardened woody twigs and fungi in the spring, dry leaves and fungi in the fall, and succulent twigs in the winter. The decision to collect local samples or rely on regionwide completed studies will depend on the intensity of management and the feasibility of collecting local information. If data on broad plant categories and plant parts such as green leaves, twigs, and fruits are sufficient for management purposes, regionwide studies can be helpful. If the manager needs data on consumption of individual plant species by deer in his area, local sampling is advisable.

In a densely wooded, 243-ha enclosure in the Arkansas Ozarks deer ate sizable quantities of elban rye and Japanese honeysuckle planted on four clearings ranging in size from 0.69 to 2.31 ha. The number ofdeer observed. the amount of time spent feeding, and the amount of rye and honeysuckle eaten were all greatest during the fall and winter of a year when acorns were scarce. Some ladino clover, which was also planted on clearings, was eaten in the spring and summer. The frequency of deer visits did not vary with size of clearing, but small clearings tended to be more heavily grazed than large ones. Feeding activity was greatest during the hours from 1600 to 0400.

During the period January through March 1973. white-tailed deer (Odcoileus virginianus) forage was analyzed for availability mineral content crude protein, and digestibility on Short Mountain Public Hunting Area. West Virginia. Carrying capacity was estimated using both quantitative and qualitative aspects of the available forage. On the basis of available dry matter 20.99 deer days per acre could be supported. This compares to 16.91 deer days per acre for digestible dry matter and 20.30 deer days per acre for crude protein. Phosphorus, supporting 12.11 deer days per acre and potassium, supporting 16.67 deer days per acre. could also limit deer numbers. Carrying capacity may be over-estimated when using available dry matter and the effect of forage quality on health and productivity of the deer heard must be considered.

A technique is presented (or delineating regions for improved deer management and planning. A G-value algorithm which maximizes the ratio between inter-county variability and statewide-variability among deer kill at each stage of grouping, was used to delineate most similar counties. The criterion used for preliminary regionalization in Virginia was deer kill per potential huntable land area per number of hunting days. Six regions resulted with an effectiveness rating of 0.9253. Comparisons made with present deer regions and state planning districts suggest a lower effectiveness in present regionalization. A concept of dynamic regionalization is proposed as an alternative to present methods.

Ovaries, anterior pituitary glands and pineal glands of 206 white-tailed deer collected from 6 areas of the Southeast over a 3 year period during the four seasons of the year were examined. Ovaries were sliced and all follicular and luteal structures ≥1 mm were measured and counted. Significant seasonal effects were found on ovarian weight, average diameter of the 2 largest fullicles, and anterior pituitary weights. Follicular development was greatest in the summer and fall seasons although large follicles were present on ovaries during all seasons. Ovarian weights were greatest during the winter and anterior pituitary weights were greatest in summer. Ovarian and anterior pituitary weights increased significantly with age but the size and number offollides did not. Little relationship was found between follicular measurements and ovulation or fetal rates when data were examined for each of the areas.

Relationships between pre-breeding (March) and post-breeding (December) populations, and certain characteristics of reproductive effort are described for a population of bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) in western Tennessee. Numbers of quail on the 2100-acre study area ranged from 681 to 1269 in March, and from 1007 to 1587 in December during the period December. 1966 to March, 1974. A total of 1571 nests were studied to determine such items as hatching rate of nests with eggs (23.0%) and clutch size (x = 11.9 eggs). Of all variables examined, total number of nests found on the nesting area showed the strongest positive correlation with post-breeding population size (r=0.81) and summer gain (r=0.72). The predictive value of "total nests" for post-breeding populations was high (R22=0.65).

Wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo osceola) on a study area in Florida nested 1.4 miles from winter release sites and 1.2 miles from their late winter range. Net distance and direction of movement of 12 hens from winter range to nesting sites was only about 0.2 miles west. The hens usually roosted within one mile of their nests during the laying period (mean distance 0.8). Renesting was within one mile (mean 0.8) ofthe first nest. Two hens radio-tracked during the laying period used 100 to 200 acres daily and usually roosted 'ess than one mile from their nests. Laying was in late morning through early afternoon. Hens tended to visit their nests for about one hour during the first half of the laying period, but remained progressively longer with each egg laid after the sixth or seventh. During the period of incubating behavior, hens left their nests about every two days (mean 1.86) for about two hours (mean 1.95) but were extremely variable in this.

Eight eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris Viellot) gobblers were captured on the Britt Research Area in McCormick County. South Carolina, during February and March of 1973. They were equipped with numbered leg bands. colored vinyl patagial streamers, and radio transmitters and were released at the sites of capture. The turkeys were located several times daily from the time of release until the primary breeding season ended in middle June using both telemetric and visual observations. Average minimum home ranges during the breeding season for two adult and five juvenile gobblers were determined to be 93.5 and 95.0 hectares. respectively. Three adult and five juvenile gobblers dispersed an average 4.57 and 1.47 kilometers. respectively from their capture and release sites over a four months period. Several aspects of habitat utilization by gobblers were studied.

A Bobwhite population in the Georgia Piedmont was censused periodically throughout the year by bird dogs, baiting and sightings, and trapping. The population (on a 100 acre basis) varied from alate summer high of I5.3 birds to the year later figure of 2.7 adult quail. Average weekly losses calculated for each different interval were: 1 September to 1 November-2.8 percent. 1 November to 1 April-2.0 percent, 1 April to 1 July-3.2 percent, and 1 July to 1 September-3.3 percent (summer figure for adult birds only).

Mercury levels in tissues of mammals collected in Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina were compared using hair mercury concentration as an index of total mercury content. Bobcats (Lynx rufus), raccoons (Procyon lotor), opossum (Didelphis marsupialis) and gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) from the Lower Coastal Plain of Georgia had higher mercury levels than specimens from the Upper Coastal Plain of Piedmont. The highest individual mercury levels in raccoons and bobcats occurred in specimens from the Georgia Lower Coastal Plain flatwoods. Skeletal muscle and liver of individual raccoons and bobcats taken in the coastal flatwoods exceeded the 0.5 ppm limit for mercury in human foodstuffs. No pattern of mercury accumulation was detected in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Hair analysis revealed elevated mercury levels in mammals from a region exposed to mercury pollution.

Ninety-four specimens of rail, crab. and snail collected at ten separate locations along the Georgia Coast between October, 1971, and September, 1973 were analysed for residual mercury. Excessive concentrations of mercury were found in specimens of clapper rail, sora, and periwinkle snail, collected from the Brunswick and Savannah estuaries. Actual concentrations within these two river systems ranged from 0.11 ppm. in one sample of sora breast muscle to 16.8 ppm. in periwinkle snail tissue (fresh wet weight basis). Mercury contamination exceeded the F.D.A. tolerance level of 0.50 ppm. in all clapper rail breast muscle samples taken from the Brunswick estuary, west of the Highway #17 bridge. Analysis of specimens taken outside of the Brunswick and Savannah estuaries indicated varYlng degrees of contamination, particularly in rails. although still well below the F.D.A. limit.

Seasonal measures of the animal community and understory vegetation in nine year old slash pine plantations of three different levels of site preparation intensity are compared to mature natural stands. While there appear to be no significant differences in bird, mammal or arthropod populations between the three site preparation intensities of young plantation. responses were significantly different when mature stands were included in the comparison. Bird and small mammal abundance and diversity was much greater in the mature longleaf pine stand than any other habitat type. Low intensity preparation sites generally supported greater numbers of birds and small mammals than the high intensity plots. Preliminary analyses of arthropod abundance at ground level suggest an inverse relation with site preparation intensity while there are no clear differences in the 0.2 to 1.5 m lone. Vegetation succession is more advanced in the higher intensity site preparation plantations.

An intensive multi-mode fee hunting program was installed in 1972 on 400,000 acres of land in Alabama owned by Gulf States Paper Corporation. A profit motive has resulted in the installation of an intensive wildlife management program designed to produce marketable hunting rights. Individual management plans have been written for 28 tracts of land involving over 60,000 acres. Cutting blocks have been reduced from an average of over I,000 acres to approximately 320 acres. Prescribed burning has been increased from once every 30 years to approximately once every 3 years except following planting. Hardwoods are preserved on small tracts, and are thinned by group selection with clearcuts at 60-100 years on larger areas. Scheduled cuts are regularly spaced throughout the entire rotation. Non-forestry habitat improvement practices are applied whenever justified. Animal population and habitat data are used to monitor effects of management.

A habitat evaluation system which employs a systematic plot survey of each stand or unit of a tract to be evaluated is described. Scores are recorded by individual species and stand and/or tract values reflecting habitat quality are quantified. From these values and other observed information, a precise management plan can be written.

The purpose of this study was to determine how an area of low quality unmaintained access affects hunter satisfaction and use of the Canaan Valley in northeastern West Virginia. The 10,120 ha (25,000 acres) northern half of the valley supported a high, well distributed population of hunters during the 1973-74 hunting season. The valley Ooor, where access is the most difficult, supported 67 hunter days per 40.5 ha (100 acres) and the mountainside supported 63 hunter days per 40.5 ha (100 acres). Approximately 10 percent (160) of the hunters using the valley during the] 972-73 season were interviewed by telephone. Hunters were satisfied with road conditions even though the three main access roads into the valley must be negotiated by truck, four-wheel drive vehicle or ATV. A difficult ride into a hunting area may play an important role in the total hunting experience.

Twelve 259 ha (1 mi2) plots of varying clearcut percentages were established in a randomi7.ed complete block design in the central Florida sandhills. Response variables ranged from understory vegetation changes to game species abundance over a period of 13 years. Pine (Pinus spp.) plantation establishment resulted in an increase (P < .05) in understory vegetation biomass and diversity. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginanus) seemed to prefer the partial plantation plots, but there was also a significant seasonal interaction between habitat type and deer usage. Passeriform and Piciform birds and fox squirrels (Sciurus niger) preferred the uncleared plots while gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) and cottontail rabbits (Sulvilagus .I1oridanus) seemed to prefer the plantations. Rodents increased markedly in the first three years after site preparation, but numbers quickly decreased to typically low levels.

This paper reports on a technique that appears successful for establishing bicolor or other perennial wildlife plots on private lands. During the winter of 1973-74, University of Tennessee personnel (with farmers' help) established a total of 127 perennial plots. 0.1 to 0.25 acres each with a tree planter on 19 private farms (average 6.7 plots per farm). A total of 35.2 man-days (excluding travel and farmers' time) was expended. This computes to be 0.28 man-day per plot or 1.85 man-days per farm. Plots were planted from November through April, and plant survival was satisfactory in practically all cases. A growth evaluation survey revealed that 65.1 percent of the plots rated fair or above. Grazing was responsible for poor growth in 24.6 percent of the plots, and 7. J percent of the plots were plowed up when crops were planted-in most cases by laborers who didn't know the plots existed. The most efficient team proved to be a crew of 2 people-one technician and one laborer.