Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

Roosting blackbirds and starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) caused extensive damage to a 4-hectare, 14-year old loblally pine (Pinus taeda) stand near Shannon, Georgia. Over a 4-year period, a one million-bird roosting population killed 96 percent of the pines on a 2-hectare area, which resulted in a loss of $51.80 per hectare. Black and white panchromatic and infrared film exposed from 150 to 250 meters altitude effectively delineated areas of tree stress and mortality. Approximately 1 hectare of the roost site treated with surfactant solution at the rate of 61.2 liters per hectare during a test in 1969 showed no adverse effect on roost vegetation.

Relationships between heart girth and body weight were determined in 545 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) killed in South Carolina during the period September 1965 to December 1966. Data for heart girth, total body weight, and "hog-dressed" weight were recorded for 102 male fawns. 127 female fawns. 113 adult males, and 203 adult females. Data for males and females were pooled. Prediction equations developed for hog-dressed weight. (W, lb.) based on heart girth, (H, in.) were: W = 3.9499H - 55.6158 (R' = 0.71) for fawns; and W = 5.6037H - 94.0982 (R' ~ 0.74) for adults. Prediction equations developed for total body weight were: W = 5.3003H - 74.1489 (R' = 0.69) for fawns; and W = 6.5520H -95.0128 (R' =0.74) for adults.

The frequency of chronic debilitation of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) due to traumatic injuries was estimated from necropsy records on 1,002 animals collected for scientific purposes throughout the southeastern United States. Evidence of previous injury was present in 76 deer (7.6 percent). Percentages of injured deer did not vary significantly according to sex, physical condition, or six-month periods associated with high or low hunting pressure. Incidence of injury increased with age for both sexes but was statistically significant only for does. The cause of most injuries was not determined although 30 percent were related to gunshot or arrow wound. It appears that traumatic injuries due to gunshot or highway collision usually are fatal and result in very little chronic debilitation in the few deer that survive.

Repellents were tested in 1970 in an effort to control white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianusl damage to plantea loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) seedlings on areas converted from mature pine with hardwood understory to large even-aged pine plantations. Test sites represented various site preparation methods that, after planting, were receiving extensive deer damage in Sumter County, Alabama. The most promising chemical deer repellents, according to previous studies, and two non-chemical deterrents (plastic bags and clipped seedlings) were tested In this study, Arasan, Z.I.P., andZAC were found to be effective treatments. Plastic bags and copper carbonate were even more effective, but the labor involved in the use of plastic bags were prohibitive and copper carbonate had a toxic effect on young pine seedlings. The clipped seedling treatment prevented deer from pulling these seedlings out of the ground.

Allele frequency data for the b-hemoglobin locus from 452 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from the Savannah River Plant were examined for spatial subdivision of the herd. The usefulness of electrophoretic techniques to gather genetic information for analysis of spatial subdivision is demonstrated. Significant spatial heterogeneity was found; thus, the herd probably consists of more than one functional population. The potential use of these populations as independent management units is discussed.

Thirty-five white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) fawns 1 to 28 days of age were captured in 1974 and 1975. Survival and causes of mortality were determined by radio telemetry. Average annual mortality was 87.9 percent, based on a 63 percent mortality rate in 1974 and a 96 percent mortality rate in 1975. Predation by coyotes (Canis latrans) and bobcats (Lynx rufus) was involved in 96.6 percent of the observed mortality. Salmonellosis was detected in three 1975 fawns at capture but clinical symptoms of the disease were not noted during the study. Coyote and bobcat predation combined to exert long-term postnatal pressure (up to 16 weeks) on the fawn segment of the deer herd. Study results suggest the experimental use of short-term seasonal predator control to allow fawn survival to increase on those portions of the county open to deer hunting, but compensatory natural mortality may offset this anticipated gain.

An east Texas pine-hardwood forest was clearcut in 1972, and selected sites were burned, chopped, KG bladed, or left untreated in the winter of 1973-1974. Crude protein, calcium, and phosphorus content in leaves and twigs of four browse species were measured in April, September, and November after site preparation. Among site treatments, burning usually resulted in highest nutrient contents, followed by chopping, control, and KG blading. The levels of crude protein and phosphorus in all browse were highest in April, but declined in deciduous plants as the seasons advanced; evergreens held fairly constant levels through September and November. Calcium was low in spring but increased toward fall. Leaves contained more of the measured nutrients than twigs.

A study was made to determine the effects of site conversion on the production of forage for deer on industrial timberlands in an eastern North Carolina pond-pine pocosin. Natural as well as site prepared regenerated stands were sampled. The diversity of species was significantly greater on regenerated sites than either of the two types of natural sites. As a result of site conversion forage production was increased reaching a maximum of 728 kilograms per hectare during the fourth growing season compared to a maximum of ]00 kilograms per hectare for the natural sites. A decline in both species diversity and forage production occurred during the fifth growing season following site preparation. When compared to un-fertilized sites, fertilization with triple super-phosphate applied during site preparation increased forage production for several years without significantly increasing species diversity.

Winter home ranges for 19 telemetered cottontails (Sylvilagus floridanus) aueraged 2.8 ha for males and 2.2 ha for females. Home ranges determined from retrap and reobseruation data for ear-tagged rabbits aueraged 5.6 ha for males and 1.2 ha for females. Cottontails preferred smaller areas within their existing home ranges for diurnal couer. The area within each rabbit's home range in which the rabbit was found in 80 percent or more of the diurnal readings was designated as the diurnal couer preference range IDCPR). Destruction of the DCPR couer appears to stimulate the relocation of home ranges and the concomitant formation of winter concentrations of cottontails, Three winter concentrations of cottontails were located and 75 percent of the rabbits flushed during this study were flushed from areas regarded as concentrations. The tendency of cottontails to flush decreased as couer became harder for hunters and dogs to penetrate.

This paper emphasizes the value of urban wildlife as environmental monitors for hazards of public health concern. A comprehensive model, utilizing gray squirrels, (Sciurus carolinensis) was developed through the collaboration of wildlife biologists and investigators in allied disciplines. This study includes 1) documentation of the diseases and parasites of squirrels which are potentially pathogenic for humans, 2) evaluation of the squirrel as an indicator of radioactive materials, pesticides and heavy metals and 3) baseline information on the biology and physiology of the species.

Reproductive data on the gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) were obtained from 215 litters born in nest boxes in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain regions of Virginia over a 4-year period and from 110 adult and subadult females collected in the Mountain Region over a 12-month period. Two distinct parturition periods were determined from the data; these were February-March and July-August. Eighty percent of all litters in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain were born in these 4 months. Parturition may have occurred slightly later and litter size may have been slightly smaller in the Mountain Region. Comparison of these data with those of similar studies elsewhere indicate that latitude has little effect on breeding season or litter size of the gray squirrel.

For comparative purposes four census techniques were applied to livetrapping data from native cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) populations in two beagle field trial enclosures. On both areas the Virginia Polytechnic Institute-Grouped Lincoln Index, the Schnabel and the Schumacher-Eschmeyer methods yielded similar estimates; the Eberhardt method yielded estimates which were approximately double the others. Stocking of rabbits on both enclosures provided populations of known density for testing the accuracy of the estimators. The Eberhardt method showed a tendency to overestimate cottontail populations; however, it was consistently more accurate than the other methods tested. Other evidence which supports the use of the Eberhardt method is discussed.

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.