On March 26, 1986, Governor Gerald L. Baliles appointed the Commission on Excellence in Education and charged them with the responsibility of bringing him recommendations for specific actions to place Virginia in the top ten states in the Quality of education it offers. The Commission's Report, entitled Excellence in Education: A Plan for Virginia's Future. contained thirty-six recommendations and was submitted to the Governor in October, 1986. Specifically this study was designed to determine how and why the thirty-six recommendations were made by the Commission. Those key actors or decision makers and those key factors that were most influential in developing the thirty-six recommendations made by the Commission were to be identified. A third purpose of this study was to determine whether the impact of the Commission's Report had met or exceeded the expectations of those responsible for the report. / Ed. D.

Plans to construct a wetland to replace wetland losses has become a common feature of permit requests. The purpose of this project is to suggest a methodology for quantifying the effectiveness of palustrine forested wetland construction in Virginia. Wetlands constructed by ~ne Virginia Department of Transportation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were surveyed and Wagner Road constructed wetland in Petersburg, Virginia was selected as the primary study site. Chapter One of the present study suggests a method for early assessment of revegetation success utilizing weighted averages of colonizing vegetation. An adjacent reference site was chosen that was in close proximity to the constructed site and was used for comparison. Results from the Wagner Road site and the reference wetland indicated that colonizing vegetation weighted averages provide a more sensitive measure of revegetation success than the methods described in the federal wetland delineation manual. / Ph. D.

This study describes the biostratigrapaic distribution of Meramecian conodonts from three measured sections of the Greenbrier Limestone (Meramecian-Lower Chesterian), located in the Greendale and Hurricane Ridge Synclines of southwestern Virginia and southern West Virginia. The Little Valley Formation, Hillsdale Limestone and lower portions of the "Denmar-Gasper" and "Ste. Genevieve" Formations, consisting of rocks deposited in a variety of shallow carbonate-ramp environments, were investigated. Two new multielement conodont apparatuses were recognized: Kladognathus sp. A and Hindeognathus ("Apatognathus") laevipostica. Elements of Kladognathus sp. A are morphologically distinct from homologous elements of the K. levis-K. tenuis group. Evolutionary change from K. levis to K. tenuis is marked by slight Sa and Sb element changes, and the addition of an X element, DE Lambdagnathus fragilidens. Species of Kladognathus are promising Meramecian biostratigraphic markers. Also recognized in this study are species of: Cavusgqnathus, Gnathodus, Hindeodus, Idioprioniodus, Lochriea, Rhachistognathus, “Spathognathodus," Synprioniodina? and Taphrognathus. Meramecian formations in the study area can be correlated with the Mississippian stratotype (Illinois Basin) based on the following zones: Taphrognathus varians - "Apatognathus," "A." scalenus - Cavusgnathus aad Gnathodus bilineatus - Cavusgnathus charactus. Southward thickening of the "A." scalenus zone from the Hurricane Ridge Syncline (11 m) to the Greendale Syncline (180-200 m) reflects higher rates of sedimentation and subsidence in the depositional area of the latter. In addition, thinness of the zone in the Hurricane Ridge Syncline may be due to a hiatus between this zone and the younger G. bilineatus zone. This hiatus is not indicated by conodont faunas from the Greendale Syncline, which preserves a more complete Meramecian biostratigraphic record. Conodont and litahologic evidence for a coeval hiatus exists in other areas of eastern North America: the Illinois Basin stratotype, eastern Kentucky, Southern Ohio and eastern Tennessee. / Master of Science

The study was undertaken as a part of the research program of the Agricultural Engineering Department of the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station to determine a method of planting corn in a vegetative residue mulch seedbed which would result in stand and yields as good as obtained in planting in a conventionally prepared seedbed. Yields obtained in the first experiments in Virginia were very low because methods used in preparing the mulch seedbed, which had proven successful in other locations in the United States, proved unsuited in that they did not kill the perennials and legumes in the vegetative residue. This factor was overcome in 1947 when the “double-cut plow” was introduced for preparing the residue mulch seedbed. However, the initial stands and yields were still not as good as for corn grown on a mulch seedbed in experiments conducted since that time. This experiment was conducted on eight main plots. Mulch seedbeds were prepared on four of the plots using the “double-cut plow” method, and on the other four the seedbeds were prepared by the conventional turn-plow method. The plots were arranged to conform to a randomised split-plot design. Six planting methods were devised by modifying a conventional two-row, tractor-mounted corn planter with fertilizer attachment. The plots were planted, using six treatments randomized in each of the eight plots, on May 10, under fair conditions. The performance of the planting equipment was good except in the planting of the first three plots in treatment P3, the first treatment planted. Stand counts and apparent vigor data were taken before each of the three cultivations. A stand count, without apparent vigor observations, was taken just prior to silking. A study was made at the time of the initial stand count in an effort to determine the causes of germination failures of seed planted. An application of 500 pounds of nitrate of soda as a side dressing was made at the time of the second cultivation. Commercial 4-12-4 fertilizer was applied to the corn at planting at a rate of 500 pounds per acre. The second plowing was delayed because of rain and resulted in weed growth in the rows. These weeds were head out just prior to the silking period. Silking dates of the corn, as an index of maturity, were determined for each planting and seedbed preparation treatment. The samples for yield were gathered in early October and placed in an artificial drier. They were shelled and weighed, and yield data were recorded in mid-October. The general condition of the harvested grain was good. There was almost a total absence of lodging when the harvest was made. The most successful, in providing initial stands and yields of grain, were those planting treatments in which mechanical means were used for pushing the mulch aside in the path of the planter. Glods, in the mulch plots where mechanical means were not employed to push the vegetative residue mulch layer away from the path of the planter, were found to interfere with young plants coming to the surface. Results of this study indicate that corn grown in a residue mulch seedbed was at a slight disadvantage in apparent vigor during the early part of the growing season, but at no appreciable disadvantage in maturing. The data did show that there was a larger loss in stand in mulch plots than in check. While the statistical analysis of variance of the initial stand count and yield data showed no significant differences, the variations did indicate definite trends. / Master of Science

For a number of years Virginia wildlfe biologists have thought that a critical review of past and game conditions in Virginia would serve as an excellent background tor planning future game management activities in the state. No study such as this has been attempted in Virginia; however, other states (e.g., Vermont and New Hampshire, have compiled historical summaries of past wildlife conditions within their borders. Generally these works have been limited to the compilation of historical facts; no ideas for future management plans were rpoposed. No historical summary and critical review based on such a summary has been undertaken so fas as is known. In order to collect the most pertinent information on the history of Virginia's wildlife... / Ph. D.

Wild turkey mortality rates, habitat use patterns, and recruitment were investigated on intensively managed pine forest of the Central Piedmont. Thirty-two adults and poults were captured with adult dosages of alpha-chloralose. Poults were easily sedated and usually recovered 1 day sooner than adults. The annual mortality rate for marked turkeys was 85%; September-February mortality was 65% (N=17), and March-August mortality was 57% (N=21). Turkeys that died during hunting seasons were recovered significantly (p < 0.05) closer to roads than those that died out of hunting seasons. High mortality during the hunting seasons and the association of hunting season mortality with roads suggests a crippling loss to legal harvest ratio as high as 4:1. Use of young pine plantations, hardwood leave strips, large stands of mixed hardwoods, mature pine stands, and fields was not significantly different (p > 0.1) from availability. Turkeys were associated with edges while on their winter and prenesting ranges. Nests were located in a variety of stand types, near edges, and in heavier cover than generally available. Nesting success was 48%. Post critical period brood survival was 90%. These data indicate that wild turkeys can adapt to the early stages of forest conversion for intensive pine management. / Master of Science

Peripheral capture locations have been used traditionally for predicting biological range limits. Maps based on these data may be inaccurate and may not provide useful information regarding the ranges of endangered species. A method was presented for predicting probable ranges of mammals based on the distribution of environmental factors associated with areas where animals have been known to occur. These factors were determined primarily from the literature. They were assigned relative weights based on frequency of occurrence in the literature. Computer technology was used to analyze an existing database stored at a cellular level to describe the probable distribution of the factors over large areas. Geomorphological, topographic, land-use, and physiographic data were included in the analyses. The method was applied to three mammals endangered in Virginia -- water shrew (Sorex palustris), northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus), and Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis). Computer maps were produced showing the distribution of areas potentially favorable to each species in one of two study areas in Virginia. Maps produced by this method provide more information about ranges and range dynamics than tbos€ produced by traditional methods. Specifically, areas least likely to be favorable are shown as are those more likely to provide conditions suitable to the continued existence of the animal. Maps produced by this method may be useful for initial identification of critical areas, preliminary planning activities, endangered species management generally, and multiple range analyses. The method may be useful for range analyses of non-endangered species whenever information about range dynamics is needed. / Master of Science

M.S.

1. The pear borer is widely distributed in the eastern part of this country. 2. The abdominal cavity of the female was filled with eggs. 3. The incubation period of the eggs averaged 5.6 days at a mean temperature of 76.2 degrees F. 4. The larvae fed mainly on the inner bark and cambium of the trees, but occasionally burrowed slightly into the sapwood. 5. There were six larval stages. 6. Larger larvae devoured smaller larvae on contact with them. 7. Around 85 percent of the borers have a one-year life cycle. 8. The winter was passed by the larva in a silken hibernaculum constructed in the burrow. 9. The pupa was strongly chitinized, and the abdomen was armed with large spines. 10. The pupal stage averaged 23.0 days for the males and 17.44 days for the females. 11. The moths were most active and most of the eggs were deposited between 2:00 and 4:00 p. m. 12. On the female moth there was more yellow than on the male. 13. The average length of life for the males was 4.46 days and for the females 4.96 days. 14. In the andrews orchard 50 to 100 borers per tree were not unusual. 15. The apple is the main host plant of the larvae in Virginia. 16. About 99 percent of the moths emerged between May 15 and July 10. 17. The male moths emerged several days before the female. 18. The females had deposited 33 percent of thelr eggs when they were captured in the bait-pails. 19. The pear borer is sometimes rather extensively attacked by hymenopterous parasites. 20. The borers may be removed with a sharp hawk-bill knife in the fall or early spring. 21. In heavily infested orchards, bait-pails would be economical and quite effective in reducing the number of moths present in the orchard during May and June. 22. The common insecticidal sprays are not effective in killing the larvae. 23. Paradichlorobenzene dissolved in cottonseed oil, white mineral oil, and pine tar oil and applied to the trunks and larger limbs of the trees with a paint brush gave excellent results without injury to the tree. / Master of Science

Shellfish beds in the Chesapeake Bay region are being contaminated with fecal coliform bacteria which can cause the beds to be closed to harvesting. The cause of the bacteria contamination is basically unknown but has been hypothesized to be coming from non-point sources of pollution. The suggested source of the bacteria is on-site waste disposal systems (OSWDS) including septic tanks. Septic tank effluent (STE) may be transported through the soil and contaminate the groundwater. Submarine groundwater discharge (SGWD) may then be providing a conduit into the estuary for the bacteria. Data of OSWDS locations was not available, thus the groundwater transport mechanism was the focus of the study. A comprehensive analysis was performed on fecal coliform concentration measurements taken from 1981 through 1992 in the Chesapeake Bay region. In all, over 191,000 bacteria concentration measurements in the main database were considered. An analysis of various hydrological factors was made to determine how much these factors affected the bacteria most probable number (MPN) concentration levels. Subsets of the data consisting of heavy rain events, low tide and high tide were analyzed which had geometric mean bacteria MPN concentrations of 16.1 fecal coliforms (FC) / 100 mL, 9.4 FC / 100 mL, and 6.9 FC / 100 mL respectively compared to an overall geometric mean of 7.8 FC / 100 mL. Of the factors analyzed, rain events and tidal elevation had the most affect on bacteria MPN levels. Other factors analyzed were secchi depth, salinity, season, and water temperature. Additional data was available for Virginia's Eastern Shore including soil permeability, hydraulic gradient and land use which allowed for a more detailed analysis of samples taken in this area. A multiple regression correlation on bacteria MPN measurements with water quality data of the Eastern Shore yielded an R* value of 22.2% which does not statistically link groundwater transport and high bacteria counts. Many factors, which were calculated using a geographic information system (GIS), were examined, including near shore soil permeability, season, and surface area of water within a 400 meter radius, to determine their contribution to high area of water within a 400 meter radius, to determine their contribution to high bacteria concentration measurements. The factors used in the multiple regression were near shore soil permeability, near shore soil Darcy velocity, near shore soil hydraulic gradient, proximity to shoreline, proximity to wastewater treatment plant, rain in the last two days prior to sample collection, runoff event occurrence, salinity, season, urban land use, agricultural land use, pasture land use, surface area of water in a 400 meter radius, tide elevation, and water temperature. Of these factors, distance upstream, rain, tide and season were determined to have the highest effect on geometric mean bacteria concentrations. Groundwater transport could not be statistically linked to high bacteria MPN counts. Thus OSWDS can not be linked as the source of the contamination. Further research on a more local basis is necessary to examine the relationship between OSWDS usage and bacteria MPN levels. A GIS proved to be a very important tool for examining the effects of the different data sets. / Master of Science