Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse) are a sagebrush obligate species and as such an indicator of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) habitat quality and quantity. Sage-grouse populations have declined across western North America. This decline has been attributed to habitat loss and degradation of the sagebrush ecosystem. To determine factors that may cause localized declines in sage-grouse populations, managers may need site-specific information on the ecology and habitat use patterns of meta-populations. This information is currently lacking for sage-grouse populations that inhabit the Bear Lake Plateau and Valley (BLPV), encompassing parts of Idaho, Utah and Wyoming. I captured, radio-marked and monitored 153 sage-grouse in the BLPV from 2010–2012 to assess nest success, brood survival, mortality factors, and habitat use. Reproductive success was lower than range-wide averages, with especially low success in 2011. Nesting and brood rearing both showed higher success rates in 2012. Survival was very similar to estimates found elsewhere. Females had higher survival rates than males, and yearlings had higher survival probability than adults. Sage-grouse mortality was highest in summer and spring, and lowest in fall. Individual sage-grouse completed large scale movements, often using habitats in Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. Important factors in sage-grouse habitat selection included distance to major road, distance to habitat edge, distance to vertical structure (i.e., communication towers, wind turbines, and transmission lines), and vegetation cover types. Sage-grouse tended to avoid major road and vertical structures (i.e., communication towers, wind turbines, and transmission lines). They also selected habitat further away from habitat edge. Vegetation types preferred by sage-grouse included shrubland habitats, wet meadows, and grassland. MaxEnt models did not place highest importance on sagebrush habitats, which are critical for sage-grouse presence. This could have occurred because the vegetation layers used in the model did not assess habitat quality. Models produced using the ten landscape variables and BLPV sage-grouse locations ranked good to excellent fits. State-defined habitat covered a larger extent than MaxEnt predicted habitat. MaxEnt predicted habitat areas may be used to further refine state identified core areas to assist in prioritization of conservation efforts to protect the BLPV sage-grouse population.

I described the spawning ecology of the Bear Lake Bonneville cutthroat trout (BLBCT) in St. Charles Creek. I tracked cutthroat trout with used radio telemetry. I conducted redd counts to describe spawning conditions. Most cutthroat trout in the Big Arm strayed into the Bear River. Cutthroat trout migrations in the Little Arm and main fork were very limited (<4 km). Redd distributions showed very similar patterns between 1989, 2000 and 2001 with most redds being built in the lowest kilometer of stream. Artificial fish transportation changed the redd distribution in 2002. More redds were built in the main fork and redds were distributed throughout the stream. Redds built in the main fork were characterized by lower levels of fine sediment and higher water velocities as compared to the redds built on the Little Arm. The results of this research will be used to aid resource managers in developing a management plan for wild BLBCT.

Primary objectives of this study were: (1) to compare the food habits of healthy and botulism intoxicated American avocets and blacknecked stilts for qualitative and quantitative differences, (2) to determine .which invertebrates found in the tracts of intoxicated and healthy birds contained type C toxin, and (3) to explain apparent susceptibilities among different sexes, ages and species of birds. Based on percent utilization and occurrence of food items in the esophagus , the diets of healthy and intoxicated birds were similar. However, intoxicated avocets consumed higher proportions of Gastropoda and intoxicated stilts more Hydrophilidae larvae than did healthy birds. Because of similarities in diets of healthy and intoxicated birds, birds probably became intoxicated from eating randomly toxic foods and not because of differences in diet or food preference. Examinations of esophageal contents of avocets and stilts better described recently consumed food items than did examinations of gizzard contents. Soft-bodied invertebrates were rendered unidentifiable in the gizzard. The esophageal contents of juvenile avocets and stilts contained greater proportions of animal matter than did those of adults. Only three of 86 food samples analyzed were definitely positive for type C botulism toxin. These were: one sample of Tendipedidae larvae and two of pooled gizzard contents which included fragments of Corixidae, Hydrophilidae adults, seeds and vegetative fibers. Only three of 86 food samples analyzed were definitely positive for type C botulism toxin. These were: one sample of Tendipedidae larvae and two of pooled gizzard contents which included fragments of Corixidae, Hydrophilidae adults, seeds and vegetative fibers.

Seasonal utilization of sago pondweed (Potamogeton pectinatus L.) by waterfowl was studied at Bear River Miqratory Bird Refuge by comparing amounts of sago production on a series of plots on Unit Four. One plot was available to carp and waterfowl; one only to carp; and one available to neither. The cage used to eliminate carp and waterfowl use of a plot caused a significant increase in sago production. The increase was attributed to less turbidity and less wind and wave action within the cage. Carp distribution was limited to deep-water portions of Unit Four, a small area, and they had no significant effect on sago production. Therefore, sago production from carp and open plots was compared to determine utilization of sago by waterfowl. Waterfowl utilization of sago in summer and spring was not significant; however, 52 percent of the tuber crop was used by waterfowl in fall. The method of study did not allow detection of waterfowl use of windrowed or submersed seed. Water depths between 2 and 10 inches had little or no effect on waterfowl use of tubers in fall; however depths between 5 and 14 inches in spring and 4 and 13 inches in summer may have prevented full use of tubers. Tubers were most available to ducks in the first 6 inches of soil but were utili zed to 8 inch depths. A series of 50 foot-square pens (2,500 square feet) were stocked with semi-domestic mallards to determine the effect of certain levels of utilization on sago growth. Sago seemed to recover well after heavy spring utilization. Results concerning the effect of summer utilization on production were not conclusive. Sago recovered well in spring after waterfowl had consumed 52 percent of the tuber crop the previous fall.

The Swan Peak Formation in the Bear River Range of northern Utah and southeastern Idaho varies in thickness from 0 feet to over 400 feet. It consists of three units: (1) a lower unit of interbedded quartzites, shales, and limestones; (2) A middle unit of interbedded quartzites and shales; (3) An upper unit of nearly homogeneous quartzites. The different sedimentary structures, ichnofossils, body fossils, and mineral compositions of each unit represent different environments of deposition. The lower unit probably was deposited in a shallow-shelf environment, and its sediments grade upward into probably shoreface-, tidal-flat-, and lagoonal deposits of the middle unit. The upper unit is believed to be a shallow-marine sand deposited by south-flowing currents. The lower and middle uits of the Swan Peak Formation consist of a progradational suite of nearshore lithologies formed during the regression of the sea that terminated the early Paleozoic Sauk Sequence. The formation lies disconformably beneath the Ordovician Fish Haven Dolomite, and rests conformably on the underlying Ordovician Garden City Formation. The upper and middle units thin eastward and south-eastward to a feather edge, whereas the lower unit is thickest along an east-west trending belt and thins northward and southward. The lower unit could be time-equivalent to the upper and middle units in the north. Possible estuarine deposits containing detrital hydroxyapatite suggest a local fluvial source in the southeast. The immediate source for much of the sand in the middle and upper units lay northward in Idaho. "Fucoidal markings" within the middle unit appear to be feeding burrows filled with reworked sediment that was consumed or searched for the organic content by littoral to sublittoral benthonic predators or scavengers, probably orthoconic cephalopods.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The Smokey Bear Campaign is one of the most popular and recognized public communication campaigns in the United States. The Advertising Council began the Smokey Bear campaign in 1944 and it is the longest running public communication campaign in the United States. Through a rhetorical narrative methodology, this study analyzed Smokey Bear advertising pieces from its inception through the present. The analysis of the advertising pieces was organized by narrative elements of the campaign, such as narration, themes, characters, and major and minor events with a focus on philanthropic composition relating to awareness and behavior change messaging. The following question is answered: what kind of messaging focus does the Smokey Bear campaign deploy and what aspect of philanthropy does the Smokey Bear campaign seem to be achieving? Conclusions on the philanthropic aspects of public communication campaigns are drawn based on the analysis of the Smokey Bear campaign.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(理学) / 甲第18828号 / 理博第4086号 / 新制||理||1587(附属図書館) / 31779 / 京都大学大学院理学研究科生物科学専攻 / (主査)教授 中野 伸一, 准教授 谷内 茂雄, 教授 高橋 淑子 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Science / Kyoto University / DGAM

I monitored cause-specific mortality and factors influencing mortality risk for white-tailed deer in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA, during two high mortality risk periods: adult female deer during Feb–May, and fawns from birth to 6 months. I observed high rates of predation and starvation for adult female deer during Apr–May, suggesting that late winter represents a survival bottleneck due to nutritional declines. A strong negative relationship existed between snow free days during late winter and mortality risk. Predation was the dominant mortality source for fawns but predation risk decreased with larger birth mass. Black bears and coyotes accounted for most fawn kills at the population level, but wolves and bobcats had greatest per-individual fawn kill rates. My results suggest predation was the dominant mortality source for fawns and adult female deer, but multiple predator species were important and nutritional condition of deer influenced their vulnerability to predation.

Abstract not included. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

This thesis builds on my bachelor thesis "Selected mammals in elementary and secondary education". It deals with the opinions of 8th and 9th grade pupils of elementary schools on the dangers posed by selected mammal species. Among the selected species in this work are brown bear (Ursus arktos), wolf (Canis lupus), lynx (Lynx lynx), fox (Vulpes vulpes), dog (Canis lupus familiaris), and wild boar (Sus strofa). All these animals are found in the territory of the Czech Republic. In addition to the perception of dangers posed by these mammals, the thesis also ascertains knowledge of and attitude towards these selected species. The pupils also expressed their opinions about dog breeds and stated whether they currently had a dog, or had had one in the past, and if so, what kind it was. The study was conducted on the basis of a questionnaire survey. Questionnaires were given out at primary schools in areas, where some of the beasts abide (brown bear, wolf, lynx). The work also contains information about individual mammal species that were studied as well as the introduction of the domestic dog, its domestication and an overview of dog breeds. Key words: bear, wolf, dog, lynx, fox, wild boar, breeds