Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

The Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission's Nongame Wildlife Program developed a ranking system to identify and prioritize those taxa within the state most in need of research and conservation efforts in order to focus limited staff and financial resources where they are most needed and can be most effective. Wading birds were identified as a priority group of taxa in need of conservation attention. An innovative plan was developed for addressing the conservation needs of that group. Components of the plan include a statewide nesting colonial wading bird survey, colony selection for inclusion in the project, colony site surveys, prioritization of selected colonies, development of site-specific conservation plans, development of general protection and management guidelines, establishment of a volunteer network to conduct management and monitoring activities, and evaluation.

North Carolina's colony-nesting waterbirds probably existed for thousands of years along nearly 500 km of coastal estuaries and barrier islands. Suffering from the effects of over-harvest by plume hunters and extensive loss of habitat due to coastal development, these birds began to receive notice during the 1970s. Studies of coastal community succession began in 1970 and quickly determined that dredged material islands provide essential habitat for colony-nesting waterbirds. In 1976, coastwide censuses were initiated to survey the 20-22 species suspected to nest in the state. Surveys in 1976, 1977, and 1983 brought to light a need for cooperative management for these species. In 1988, a Cooperative Agreement to conserve these species and their habitats was adopted by 11 state, federal, and private agencies. For the past 4 years, the cooperating agencies have successfully continued this coastwide conservation effort.

Aerial overflights were used to assess impacts of the application of habitat management guidelines to 24 experimental and 38 control bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) nesting territories. No significant differences in productivity were found between nests where management guidelines had been applied and control nests where no development had occurred. No changes in the minimums called for in the guidelines or their application are indicated at this time.

In 1988 the Georgia Department of Natural Resources contracted the Survey Research Center of the University of Georgia to conduct a telephone survey of public attitudes toward nongame wildlife. Phone numbers of potential respondents were selected using random digit dialing, a method that allowed all telephone households (97% of all Georgia households) an equal chance of being selected. Respondents were asked a series of 17 questions of which 12 pertained to interest in and support of nongame wildlife and 5 related to demographics. A total of 541 individuals were surveyed. Over 81% of the respondents expressed at least some interest in nongame wildlife. These and other data were used to assist administrators charting the direction of Georgia's nongame wildlife conservation efforts.

North Carolina's State Endangered Species Act for Animals was established in 1987. Since that time, approximately 200 species have been listed as endangered, threatened, or species of special concern. The act, however, provides few ways to prevent take of these species or to conserve the listed species' habitats. Therefore, state regulatory agencies have been establishing procedures for conserving wetland and aquatic endangered and threatened species. Approximately half of the listed species are aquatic; therefore, significant aquatic habitat conservation is expected during the next decade.

The results of biological inventories and information about land uses in a North Carolina subbasin are linked to conservation directives. The product identifies the biological and ecological importance of a region which may be severely impacted by human developments if measures are not undertaken to conserve the rich fauna of the region.

A molluscan survey of the Swift Creek basin in North Carolina was conducted during the summer of 1992. One hundred eighteen stations on Swift Creek and its tributaries were intensively explored for molluscan species. Thirty-six molluscan species, including 15 gastropods and 21 bivalve species, were collected.

Survival and longevity were estimated for the endangered Florida grasshopper sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum floridanus) from resightings of 48 colorbanded adult males during 1989-1992. Annual survival rate was 0.598 and mean life expectancy was 2.95 years (1.95 years for sparrows >1 year old). The high survival rate and longevity of the subspecies may facilitate the recovery of populations remaining in good breeding habitat. Annual recruitment of 5.4 young per pair is needed to maintain a stable population of grasshopper sparrows on the study area. Information on population dynamics may help evaluate recovery efforts. Additional information is needed on the fecundity of the Florida subspecies.

In October 1989, researchers at the U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station (WES) initiated a project to investigate the historical loss of critical whooping crane (Grus americana) habitat on the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. Vegetation on the area was categorized into 11 habitat types and manually delineated on aerial photos of the area from 1930, 1957, 1986, and 1988. Habitat type maps for each year were digitized into a Geographic Information System (GIS) database that included soils, topography, and National Wetland Inventory data. Preliminary GIS analysis of habitat type data indicated a progressive loss of 2 habitat types, tidal flats and tidal ponds, and a gradual increase in the marsh vegetation type. In 1930 and 1957, tidal flats comprised approximately 7% (454 ha) and 8% (500 ha) of the study area, respectively, but that number decreased to approximately 2% (134 ha) of the area in 1988.

The Santa Rosa beach mouse (Peromyscus polionotus leucocephalus) occurs on a single barrier island in northwest Florida, but its distribution on the island is poorly known. In 1991-92 we searched for mouse tracks at 1-km intervals along the 78-ktn island and set traps at 23 locations. Beach mice occurred in beach and interior dune habitats across most (96%) of the undeveloped stretches (57 km) of the island. Beach mice were significantly less common in areas developed for residential or commercial use and tracks were found along just 7 of 21 km of developed land. We captured only 3 house mice (Mus musculus), all near buildings. Tracks of house cats (Felis catus) were significantly more common in developed areas. Predation by cats has likely reduced or eliminated beach mouse populations along developed beaches and at the undeveloped east end of the island. Habitat loss and house cats in 3 developed areas have apparently separated the beach mouse population into 4 isolated units.

Observers monitored a reintroduced peregrine falcon population in western North Carolina from 1987 to 1992. Five of 9 occupied territories produced 19 fledgling peregrines during the study. Productivity for the period was 0.59 young fledged per territory-holding pair per year when using the full data set and 0.79 young fledged per territory-holding pair per year when we dropped marginal territories and 1 adult-subadult pair from the data set. Both estimates of productivity were below that thought necessary for a self-sustaining population. Biologists should improve their monitoring of the region's peregrine falcon population to gain age-specific natality and mortality data.

Surveys covering over 1,161,140 ha in Arkansas from 1988-1991 revealed abundant sign of several native and domesticated mammal species, but none from the mountain lion (Felis concolor). Because of our intensive methodology and the equivocal nature of previous documentation, we suggest there are no wild, reproducing populations of mountain lions in Arkansas. Extensive forests in the state, however, may provide suitable habitat for mountain lion reintroduction experiments.

A program was implemented by the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission (Commission) to collect information on the scope and magnitude of the commercial trade in native species of amphibians and reptiles to improve management of this wildlife resource. During the first 2 years of the reporting program (1 Jul 1990-30 Jun 1992), 1,050 salamanders (12 species), 41,493 anurans (18 species), 8,669 turtles (13 species), 19,346 lizards (13 species), and 49,240 snakes (35 species) were reported collected from the wild and sold in the pet trade. Most of the salamanders (85%), 42% of the anurans, 34% of the turtles, and 13% of the snakes came from the Panhandle. Most of the lizards (80%) and snakes (76%), 50% of the turtles, and 27% of the anurans came from Lake Okeechobee south. The seasonality of harvest of anurans, turtles, lizards, and snakes by the major collectors varied between northern and southern Florida.

In 1989 and 1990 a green salamander (Aneides aeneus) habitat study was conducted in the mountains of Oconee, Pickens, and Greenville counties, South Carolina. Based upon the topographic characteristics of 14 known green salamander sites in South Carolina, a list of criteria was developed to identify areas of potential habitat in the state. Twenty-four 7.5' topographic maps containing areas with possible habitat were subdivided into 0.16-km2 sections and evaluated to determine the number of potential green salamander habitat areas. Of 15,789 sections in the study area, 670 grids (107.20 km2) had a high probability of potential green salamander habitat. Another 33% of the moderate probability sites contained potential habitat, totalling 2,631 grids (420.96 km2) of green salamander habitat in South Carolina.

A previously studied (1981-1987) gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) population in northern Florida was surveyed during May-June 1992 to determine tortoise response to large-scale timber removal (1988). Two of 3 burrow concentrations were in or near ecotones between the clearcut and older pine stands. Eighteen of 23 (78%) recaptured tortoises were found in the same general location after clearcutting as before. One female had moved 1.3 km from her previous capture location. Only 13% of all previously-marked tortoises were recaptured in 1992. Size and sex class distributions were not different before and after clearcutting. Mean clutch size of gopher tortoises following clearcutting was larger, growth rate (carapace length) was faster, and size-related gain in mass was greater than for tortoises prior to clearcutting.

Widespread concern for neotropical migratory birds should be tempered with a review of the status of all landbirds, regardless of migratory status. A relationship exists between the proportion of declining neotropical migrants and temperate migrants, but not residents, among Southeastern physiographic areas. However, within physiographic areas where proportions of declining neotropical migrants are high, proportions of declining temperate migrants and residents are not as high. Nevertheless, concern for temperate migrant and resident species in some physiographic areas is justified in addition to concern for neotropical migrants. Rather than debating about which species are declining, we should identify habitats (with associated species assemblages) in need of conservation. In the Southeast, high priority habitats for avian conservation are likely to be determined principally by neotropical migrants with some temperate migrant and resident species of high concern.

Birds were censused annually from 4 250- x 80-m transects in a young pine plantation from age 2 to 17 to assess changes in the bird community. Bird abundance was low and the bird community was the least diverse when the pine plantation was sparsely vegetated at age 2. As the plantation developed rapidly into the shrub stage, the bird community became more abundant and diverse. Bird abundance increased consistently until plantation age 6, but then declined as the pine canopy closed and shaded out lower deciduous vegetation. Bird species diversity increased gradually during the early years, was highest at plantation age 10 and 11, then decreased. In the latter stages (age 12-17) early successional avian species were virtually gone, a few shrub-associated species persisted, and some species associated with older stands had invaded the plantation.

Conservation of neotropical landbird migrants will be compromised if attention is not focused on habitat requirements during migration. Habitat use during migration has profound consequences for a bird's (1) ability to satisfy energetic requirements, (2) vulnerability to predators, and (3) exposure to environmental stress. Largely correlative evidence indicates that landbird migrants select among available habitats on the basis of factors intrinsic to the habitat, such as food availability, habitat structure, and cover in relation to predation risk. Management decisions would be simplified if species could be grouped for the purpose of assessing en route habitat requirements, but our study of habitat use among neotropical landbird migrants along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico points to species-specific patterns of habitat use.

Because bottomland forests of the lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) are valuable as breeding, wintering, and en-route habitat during migration, we investigated the impact of changing land uses in the MAV on avian abundance and diversity at the local and continental scales. Checklist inventories from 5 studies conducted in the MAV during 1985-1992 confirmed that bird species that occur in the MAV represent a substantial proportion of the entire avifauna of eastern North America (ENA). Of 236 landbird species reported for ENA, 200 (85%) occur in the MAV; we recorded 149 landbird species (63%). The frequency distribution of population trends as determined from Breeding Bird Surveys (BBS) varied significantly among species according to migratory status, geographic area, and habitat. Neotropical migrant landbird (NTMB) and temperate species were much more likely to show population declines than increases in the MAV.

Catchability of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) from the Altamaha River, Georgia, was compared with population size of female adult spawners to determine if density-dependent fishing mortality was occurring in that fishery. Mark-recapture techniques and effort and harvest data were utilized to examine this relationship. An inverse power function described the relationship between fishing mortality per unit effort and female population size from 1982 to 1991. The relationship became slightly stronger by holding the flow variable constant. Therefore, shad populations in the Altamaha River are most vulnerable when weak spawning runs are subjected to commercial fishing pressure, and to a lesser extent, when low flows occur.

Cultured shortnose sturgeon juveniles, age 11-330 days, were exposed to different salinity (0-35 ppt) and dissolved oxygen concentrations (2.0-5.0 mg/liter) in a series of experiments designed to examine tolerance levels. Tolerance to increased salinity improved with age. Fish 76 days old experienced 100% mortality in a 96-hour test when exposed to salinities ≥15 ppt while 330-day-old fish tolerated salinities as high as 20 ppt for a duration of 18 hours but exhibited 100% mortality at 30 ppt. Younger fish were also more susceptible to low oxygen concentrations than older fish. In a 6-hour test, fish 64 days old exhibited 86% mortality when exposed to DO concentrations of 2.5 mg/liter. However, sturgeon >100 days old were able to tolerate concentrations of 2.5 mg/liter with <20% mortality.

During 1984-1992, 626 adult shortnose sturgeon (3.5 male:l female) were captured in the Savannah River. Significantly more fish were captured in the lower (rkm 42-75) than the upper (rkm 160-299) river. Radio telemetry data indicated that spawning appeared to occur upriver, between rkm 179 and rkm 278, and that the specific location and time of spawning varied annually. Some individuals spawned in consecutive years, but others apparently did not. Nonspawning fish appeared to remain in the vicinity of the fresh/brackish water interface (ca. rkm 30-40) throughout the spawning season. Most shortnose sturgeon left the freshwater reaches of the river in Spring soon after the spawning season (January-April) and probably did not return until late Autumn/early Winter, just prior to the spawning season.

A total of 4,920 striped bass (Morone saxatilis) were collected from Roanoke River near Weldon, North Carolina, by electrofishing during the spring of 1991 and 1992. Study objectives were to determine sex ratio and age composition of the Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River striped bass spawning stock. Differences in catch per unit effort (CPUE) between years, among year classes, and between sexes were analyzed. Male striped bass represented 83% and 87% of the sample over the 2 years. Nearly all male (99%) and female (91%) striped bass captured were Ages 2 through 4. Ninety-six percent of the fish in 1991 and 89% in 1992 were from the 1988 and 1989 year classes. A greater proportion of striped bass, both male and female, migrated to the spawning grounds at Age 3 than at Age 2 and females did not migrate in equal proportions as males until at least Age 4.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has conducted long term monitoring for shrimp since the mid 1960's. For the purpose of monitoring shrimp populations, the State was divided into 7 Coastal Study Areas. Each of these Areas represented a distinct hydrological basin within the coastal zone. Data collected from sampling locations within each of these Study Areas was used to set shrimp seasons on a statewide basis. Data collected during the early years of the monitoring program indicated that the State's shrimp resources could be divided into 3 distinct management zones. In 1975, the Department instituted the zone concept of shrimp management and began opening shrimp seasons at different times along the coast. This program is the basis on which shrimp are managed in Louisiana.

A total winterkill of threadfin shad (Dorosoma petenense) in B. Everett Jordan Lake, North Carolina, facilitated assessment of their role in the growth and condition of black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus). Reductions in size at age and Wr were observed in Age 3 and older crappie in the year of the winterkill. Reestablishment of threadfin shad in the following year led to improvements in crappie population parameters, and within 2 years of the shad winterkill, crappie growth and condition had returned to pre-kill levels. The presence of a strong gizzard shad (D. cepedianum) year class during the season in which crappie conditions otherwise declined established the superiority of threadfin shad as forage for crappie.