diet

Spotted bass (Micropterus punctulatus) provide popular recreational fisheries in southeastern U.S. streams. We studied spotted bass population structure and diet from wadeable (< 1 m deep on average, n = 174, 21 sites) and non-wadeable (n = 498, 32 sites) reaches of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin in Mississippi and Louisiana to determine if populations should be managed separately by stream size. Sampling occurred April-November 2009-2012 by hook-and-line angling, boat-mounted electrofishing, and seines. Size structure was similar between stream type and with few quality-sized fish (PSD...

Little is known about the food habits of black bears (Ursus americanus) in Alabama. A major concern is the amount of human influence in the diet of these bears as human and bear populations continue to expand in a finite landscape and bear-human interactions are increasing. To better understand dietary habits of bears, 135 scats were collected during late August to late November 2011-2014. Food items were classified into the categories of fruit, nuts/seeds, insects, anthropogenic, animal hairs, fawn bones, and other. Plant items were classified down to the lowest possible taxon via visual...

We used scat analysis to evaluate the food habits and potential impacts of coyotes (Canis latrans) on white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations in Georgia's Piedmont physiographic region. From March 2010 - February 2011, we analyzed 146 and 207 coyote scats on Cedar Creek (CC) and B. F. Grant (BFG) Wildlife Management Areas, respectively. Although separated by only 8 km, habitat composition and therefore prey availability was dissimilar between sites. We assumed small mammal density was greater on BFG than CC because early successional habitat was more common on BFG (28% of...

The need to understand habitat requirements for bats is becoming more urgent as new risks pose unprecedented challenges to these unique mammals. We undertook a brief, intensive survey to investigate bat habitat use in and around the Apalachicola National Forest during May 2012. Making use of experienced volunteer biologists representing many agencies and organizations, we surveyed 31 sites during three nights of mist netting, capturing 245 bats of eight species. We used logistic regression and cluster analysis to evaluate habitat use and diet. Although data collected during such a brief...