Thesis (M.S.)--University of Delaware, 2008. / Principal faculty advisor: Christopher K. Williams, Dept. of Entomology & Wildlife Ecology. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Delaware, 2009. / Principal faculty advisor: Christopher K. Williams, Dept. of Entomology & Wildlife Ecology. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--Auburn University, 2010. / Abstract. Includes bibliographic references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1932. / Typescript. With this are bound: Quail winter food and cover / By Paul L. Errington. Reprinted from American game, July-Dec. 1931, 12 p.-- Wild life management : an integration of ends in land use / By Paul L. Errington. Reprinted from American game, Mar.-June 1932, [4] p.-- Technique of raptor food habits study / By Paul L. Errington. Reprinted from Condor, vol. XXXIV (Mar.-Apr. 1932), p. 75-86 -- Food habits of southern Wisconsin raptors : Part I. Owls / By Paul L. Errington. Reprinted from Condor, vol. XXXIV (July 1932), p. 176-186 -- Mobility of the northern bob-white as indicated by banding returns / By Paul L. Errington. Reprinted from Bird-banding, vol. IV, no. 1 (Jan. 1933), 7 p.-- Food habits of southern Wisconsin raptors : Part II. Hawks / By Paul L. Errington. Reprinted from Condor, vol. XXXV (Jan. 1933) p. 19-29 -- The wintering of the Wisconsin bobwhite / Paul L. Errington. Reprinted from Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, vol. 28 (1933), p. 1-35. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [220-221]).

Annual abundance of northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) and scaled quail (Callipepla squamata) fluctuates drastically in Texas, which complicates a quail manager’s ability to forecast quail abundance for the ensuing hunting season. The Texas Quail Index (TQI) was a 5-year citizen-science project that evaluated several indices of quail abundance and habitat parameters as predictors of quail abundance during the ensuing fall. I found that spring cock-call counts explained 41% of the variation in fall covey-call counts for all study sites in year 1–4, and 89% of the variation in year 5. Further investigation revealed that year 5 was a drought year and had a significantly lower percentage of juveniles in the hunter’s bag. These results suggest that during drought years, fall quail abundance is more predictable than during non-drought years and that low breeding success may be the reason. If these data are correct, quail managers should have a better ability to predict the declines of their fall quail abundance in the dry years. The TQI relied on citizen scientists (cooperators) to collect data. Since most (66.1%) cooperators dropped out of the program, and <8% of all data sets were complete, I surveyed the cooperators by mail to determine the rate and cause of cooperator decline and to identify characteristics of a reliable cooperator (i.e., one that did not drop out of the study). I found that cooperator participation declined earlier each year for year 1–4, and that year 5 demonstrated a steady trend with the least amount of cooperators. Most respondents who dropped out (61.5%) reported their motive for leaving was that it was too time consuming. I found no difference in mean cooperator demographics, satisfaction, or landownership goals between those respondents who dropped out and those that did not. However, 38% of those who dropped out were not completely satisfied with communication from TQI coordinators compared to only 15% of those who did not drop out, indicating that communication, or perhaps overall volunteer management, might have been improved. Future studies should maintain better communication with participants, require less time, and provide an incentive for retention.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Auburn University, 2006. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1994. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 48-53). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1992. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 30-36). Also available via the Internet.

Previous studies have indicated that concurrent multimodal stimulation can interfere with prenatal perceptual learning. However, the nature and extent of this interference is not well understood. This study further assessed this issue by exposing three groups of bobwhite quail embryos to (a) no unusual prenatal stimulation, (b) a bobwhite maternal call, or (c) a maternal call + light compound in the period prior to hatching. Experiments differed in terms of the types of stimuli presented during postnatal preference tests (Exp 1 = familiar call vs. unfamiliar call; Exp 2 = familiar compound vs. unfamiliar compound; Exp 3 = familiar compound verses unfamiliar call; Exp 4 = familiar call vs. unfamiliar compound). Embryos receiving no supplemental stimulation showed no preference between stimulus events in all testing conditions. Embryos receiving exposure to a unimodal call preferred the familiar call over the unfamiliar call regardless of the presence or absence of patterned light during testing. Embryos receiving concurrent audio-visual exposure showed no preference between stimulus events in Exp 1 and Exp 4, but did prefer the familiar call when it was paired with light during testing (Exp 2 and 3). These findings suggest that concurrent multimodal stimulation does not interfere with prenatal perceptual learning by overwhelming the young organism's limited attentional capacities. Rather, multimodal biases what information is attended to during exposure and subsequent testing. Results are discussed within an attentional-bias framework, which maintains that young organisms tend to initially process non-redundant compound events as integrative units rather than processing the components of the compound separately. / Master of Science

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