The purposes of this investigation which was conducted from September 1954 through October 1955, were (1) to determine the differences in available nutrients in selected deer browse species growing on different soils, (2) to investigate the variations in available soil nutrients as they may relate to chemical composition of selected deer browse species, and (3) to determine the variations in available nutrients in the selected browse species during different seasons of the year. The current year’s growth of twigs from flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), black locust (Robina pseudoacacia), and red maple (Acer rubrum) were collected at two-month intervals on study areas whose soils had arisen from either Brallier, Clinton, Huntersville chert, or Martinsburg shale geological formations. A proximate analysis was run on each browse collection. In addition to the above three species, rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum) and buffalo nut (Pyrularia pubera) were collected from the Brallier study area and analyzed. One-third of the samples of dogwood, locust, and maple that were collected after leaf fall in October 1955, were analyzed for calcium, phosphorus, cobalt, and manganese. Soil samples were collected on each area and analyzed by a flame spectrophotometer, LeMotte Soil Testing Outfit, and a rapid method. The soil which arose from the Brallier study area was lowest in value for phosphorous and second highest in values for total exchangeable cations and organic matter. The Clinton study area values were second highest in pH, phosphorous, and base saturation, and was highest in organic matter and manganese content. The chert values were the next lowest for phosphorus and lowest for pH, calcium, total exchangeable cations, and base saturation. The shale study area soil gave the highest values for pH, calcium, phosphorous, base saturation, and total exchangeable cations although it was lowest in organic matter. Of the three browse species collected from all the study areas, dogwood was generally high in moisture content, ether extract, ash, and nitrogen-free extract while being average in protein and low in crude fiber. Locust was high in protein and crude fiber and low in moisture, ether extract, and nitrogen-free extract. Maple was generally high in ether extract, crude fiber, and nitrogen-free extract and low in protein and ash. Rhododendron and buffalo nut were collected from the Brallier study area only. In comparison with the other three species on that area, rhododendron was very high in moisture and nitrogen-free extract; average to low in protein, ether extract, and crude fiber; average to high in ash. Buffalo nut was very high in moisture, protein, and ash; average in ether extract and crude fiber; and low in nitrogen-free extract. Seasonal trends in nutrient values for three browse species collected in all areas were observed. Protein content rose generally during the dormant months. Moisture content decreased from June through December and was followed by a rise that lasted until June. There was a rise in ether extract from September through June whereas the level of ash content was erratic during this period. Crude fiber was fairly stable in red maple and black locust although erratic in dogwood. There was a decrease in the nitrogen-free extract during the winter. Trends and consistencies in the nutritive values of the three species collected on all study areas, based on the study area on which they occur, are generally in the order of being high or low for one or two individual species rather than for all the species, or else they are considerably erratic. The different species have different nutritive values when growing on the same soil. During April and August, the different soils have their greatest effect on the nutritive values of plants; moisture content is greatly affected by the soil, and protein content is only slightly less affected. Except for the months of February and August, at least three of the six nutritive qualities of the plants were affected by the interaction between the plant and the soil. Analyses for minor elements reveal that black locust had the highest phosphorous and cobalt content; dogwood had the highest calcium content; red maple had the highest manganese content. On three of the four study areas, the manganese content of red maple exceeded the toxic level for bovines. On the chert area, dogwood and red maple were deficient, by bovine standards, in cobalt. / Ph. D.

no abstract provided by author / Master of Science

No description available.

A study was conducted on the North Slope of the Uinta Mountains from January, 1972 through June, 1974, to determine the effects of three simulated levels of moose utilization on the crude protein content, phosphorus content, digestibility and vigor of willow plants. A comparison was also made on the crude protein content, phosphorus content and digestibility of current year's versus past years' willow growth. Finally, the validity of direct and indirect population enumeration methods was compared for the possible development of a standardized moose survey technique. Clipping caused a highly significant increase in crude protein and phosphorus content between treatment levels. There was also a highly significant increase in digestibility between years. Plant vigor comparisons were confounded by additional sources of mortality and the effects of environmental variables. A comparison of the nutrient content and digestibility of 1 t o 5 year-old willow growth showed that crude protein content, phosphor us content and digestibility decreased with increasing twig age. Additional factors are discussed which indicate that the carrying capacity of the winter range is larger than previously described. A poor correlation was found be tween direct aerial moose observations and indirect population estimates from pellet-group counts.

The Key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium) population has increased from less than 80 individuals in the 1950s to approximately 700 by 2000. Over two-thirds of the Key deer population resides on two islands out of a potential 26 islands within their range. The skewed distribution resulted in high deer densities on Big Pine, No Name, and Big Munson keys. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effects of Key deer herbivory in mangrove, buttonwood, hammock and pineland habitats between islands with low, medium, and high densities of deer. Host-plant choice trials were conducted to determine Key deer selection among plant species. Subsequent analyses on vegetation were then compared by deer preference categories: preferred and nonpreferred plant species. Vegetation quadrats, deer exclosures,nursery plant species, and baseline vegetation data were used to examine the effects of Key deer browsing on plant communities. For most analyses, browsing impacts were not evident for the entire plant assemblage (e.g. all plant species combined, diversity, species richness etc.), but were noticeable when plant species were dichotomized by deer preference. The strongest negative impacts of browsing were seen for highly preferred plant species, such as Bursera simaruba, Erithalis fruticosa, Bumelia celastrina, Rhizophora mangle, Jacquinia keyensis, and Guapira discolor, which all had very low densities on high deer density islands. Some nonpreferred species exhibited a positive relationship with high deer densities, such as Eugenia spp., Piscidia piscipula, and Coccoloba diversifolia among others. Urbanization also influenced Key deer herbivory in that Key deer tend to aggregate in urban environments, which increased browsing pressure in adjacent hammock habitats. Fire played an important role by increasing the percent cover of preferred herbaceous species in pinelands especially in deer exclosure plots. Fire and Key deer browsing also interacted by decreasing hardwood species invasion into pineland habitat. Key deer have a strong influence on plant community structure on islands with large deer herds. Management efforts, such as contraception, public education on the ramifications of feeding wildlife, and sustainable/suspended development of lands in the National Key Deer Refuge is warranted to benefit Key deer and to deter increased browsing pressure.

Thesis (MTech. degree in Nature Conservation.)--Tshwane University of Technology, 2010. / To a varying degree and for a variety of reasons black rhino require large areas of land but increasingly they are moved to smaller properties. Specific spatial and temporal problems are foreseen when keeping black rhino on small properties. The temporal problems under investigation on the Mokopane Biodiversity Conservation Centre where two black rhino are kept on 700 ha are: browse availability, browse utilisation as well as browse quality.

The thesis is focused on the analysis of feeding, comfort and social behavior in a herd of farmed eland (Taurotragus oryx) initiated by the presentation of browse to the tree stand. In 2008 and 2010 were obtained 15-hour video behavior gradually with three different adult males of elands at Czech University of Life Sciences farm at Lány. The aim of this work was to evaluate the accessibility of a limited food source (browse), the frequency of feeding behavior in relation to a rank in the herd, age and sex and find out if the stand can be also used as a enrichment to increase proportion of comfort behavior (scratching, grooming). Adult male in the herd has always been high ranking and no one attacked him, followed by females and juveniles. Access to a limited browse was influenced by the level of aggression of adult female towards the younger and lower ranking ones, these females attacked with the same frequency also the youngs. The dominant male attacked especially the dominant females. The length and frequency of all types of behavior were related to a sex of the individual, the rank and the presence of a calf. With higher rank individuals had longer access to a browse, display longer comfort behavior than lower ranking ones. We can conclude that both types of behavior performed more often males than females. Length and frequency of interactions with browse was supported during absence of calf in vicinity of stand.

No description available.

Browse selection, intake, utilisation, palatability, quality and production are tightly linked and need to be considered together in trying to improve our understanding of browsing dynamics and the interactions between browsers and vegetation. Such an understanding is necessary in order to re-evaluate determinations of browser carrying capacities and evaluating actual and potential impacts of browsing animals on vegetation composition and diversity. Browser carrying capacity is determined by both the quantity and the nutritive value of forage. The measurement of browse quantity and nutritive value and the matching of browse supply to browser demand are central to sustainable utilisation and the monitoring of vegetation health. South African savannas are poorly studied with respect to tree canopy growth and browse production making it difficult to quantify the available browse biomass on which browsing capacity estimations are based, and consequently difficult to estimate levels of browsing that are sustainable. This study addressed these issues by investigating browse dynamics, broadly aiming to (1) explore factors affecting browse production, biomass and nutritive value; (2) develop models to assess and monitor these parameters across seasons and properties; (3) use the resultant models in improving our understanding of how to determine browser carrying capacities. More specifically, our study sought to examine the effects of plant physiognomy, forage nutritive value, canopy stratum, defoliation, temperature, rainfall and soil nutrient status on the browse production of evergreen (Carissa bispinosa, Euclea divinorum, Gymnosporia senegalensis), semi-deciduous (Spirostachys africana, Ziziphus mucronata) and deciduous (Acacia nilotica, Dichrostachys cinerea) savanna tree species from June 2003 – June 2005 in three sites along the northern Zululand coastline of KwaZulu-Natal. Available browse biomass, during the dry season, of four key savanna tree species (A. nilotica, E. divinorum, G. senegalensis, and S. africana) was estimated through the development of allometric regression equations. Non-linear regression was used to investigate the relation between the leaf dry mass (LDM) and canopy volume (CVol) of each of the four tree species. Exponential regression (y = a + brlnx) of the natural logarithm of CVol data provided the most accurate and precise description of the tree CVol – LDM relation. A study was undertaken to determine which factors may influence browse production in a southern African savanna. Regression tree models for the browse production identified that the dominant factors influencing browse production were CVol (m3), season, species and height to the lowest leaves of the tree canopy (HL) (m). The length of the growing season had a marked effect on the production potential of savanna tree species, suggesting that improved conditions for growth, i.e. greater rainfall, soil moisture content and improved soil nutrient availability result in a longer period of rapid sustained growth. Species was identified as an important contributing factor to differences in browse production rates, suggesting the need for the development of species or species group models. Mean annual browse production of evergreen trees was greater than that of deciduous and semi-deciduous trees. Mean quarterly (three monthly) browse production was highest, for all trees, during the wet season, with the greatest difference between wet and dry season production being observed in deciduous forms. Evergreen forms showed continuous growth over the whole study, with enhanced growth over the wet season. Deciduous forms, on the other hand, concentrated growth in spurts, when environmental conditions became favourable, with most production occurring during a short growing season. Browse nutritive value was found to be greatest during the wet season, when growth and photosynthesis are at their greatest. Further, browse nutritive value was greatest in deciduous species. Evergreen trees were found to have greater acid detergent fibre (ADF) concentrations than both the deciduous and semi-deciduous trees. By contrast, crude protein (CP) concentrations were greater in semi-deciduous and deciduous species than in evergreen species. The daily CP requirements for maintenance for an adult impala (45 kg) were met by all species over all three study areas and all seasons. Daily CP requirements for growth and lactation, however, were only ever met by deciduous and semi-deciduous species, though this result was not consistent over study areas and seasons. Predictive models for the production of browse on deciduous, semi-deciduous and evergreen trees in northern Zululand were developed using multivariate adaptive regression spline functions. The best predictors of growing season browse production in all three tree guilds (defined here as a group of trees having a characteristic mode of living) were primarily measurable tree dimensions, while the prevailing environmental conditions had little impact. Differences in the production, nutritive value and available browse biomass between the different tree forms and seasons have a profound effect on the determination of browser carrying capacities and need to be incorporated into any game or conservation management plan. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

Master's work consists of 100 pages, 97 bibliographic lists are used. The relevance of the research topic is revealed in three interrelated aspects: doctrinal, economic and rule-making. The doctrinal aspect is manifested in the fact that today in the Russian Federation there are no special normative acts that would have a regulatory effect on public relations taking shape between entities on the Internet. The rule-making aspect is expressed in the fact that the tasks set by the leadership of the Russian Federation on the accelerated development of the economy and social sphere give particular relevance to this work. The most significant legislative adjustment will be required in connection with the development of the digital environment. Finally, the economic aspect is due to the need to strengthen government regulation in the field of digital technologies. All this together determines the relevance of the research topic and determines its choice. The aim of the study is a comprehensive, comprehensive study and study of the legal nature and legal characteristics of obligations arising on the Internet when providing Internet services with the aim of generating theoretical and practical conclusions that can be taken into account when reforming the law and improving judicial and law enforcement practice in the analyzed public relations. In pursuance of the research goal, the following specific tasks are set in the work: to consider the legal regulation of Internet services in the Russian Federation; define the concepts of “Internet service” and “legal risk”, substantiate the legally relevant criteria for their classification in order to increase the efficiency of their management; conduct a comprehensive analysis of legal risks associated with the protection of intellectual property; to offer a range of measures to improve legislation in the field of Internet services management. Research methods include general scientific and private scientific methods, in particular the formal legal, comparative legal, logical, statistical method, as well as other methods of economic analysis of private law. / Магистерская работа состоит из 100 страниц, использовано 97 библиографических списков. Актуальность темы исследования раскрывается в трех взаимосвязанных аспектах: доктринальном, экономической и нормотворческом. Доктринальный аспект проявляется в том, что на сегодняшний день в Российской Федерации отсутствуют специальные нормативные акты, которые бы осуществляли регулирующее воздействие на общественные отношения, складывающиеся между субъектами в сети «Интернет». Нормотворческий аспект выражается в том, что особую актуальность настоящей работе придают поставленные руководством Российской Федерации задачи по ускоренному развитию экономики и социальной сферы. Наиболее значимая перестройка законодательства потребуется в связи с развитием цифровой среды. Наконец, экономический аспект обусловлен потребностью усиления государственного регулирования в сфере цифровых технологий. Все это в совокупности обуславливает актуальность темы исследования и определяет ее выбор. Целью исследования является всестороннее, комплексное изучение и исследование правовой природы и юридической характеристики обязательств, возникающих в сети «Интернет» при оказании Интернет-услуг с целью формирования теоретических и практических выводов, которые могут быть учтены при реформировании законодательства и совершенствовании судебной и правоприменительной практики в анализируемой сфере общественных отношений. Во исполнение поставленной цели исследования в работе ставятся следующие конкретные задачи: рассмотреть правовое регулирование интернет-услуг в Российской Федерации; определить понятия «интернет-услуга» и «правовой риск», обосновать юридически значимые критерии их классификации для цели повышения эффективности управления ими; провести комплексный анализ правовых рисков, связанных с защитой интеллектуальной собственности; предложить комплекс мероприятий по совершенствованию законодательства в области управления интернет-услугами. Методы исследования включают в себя общенаучные и частные научные методы, в частности формально-юридический, сравнительно-правовой, логический, статистический метод, а также иные методы экономического анализа частного права.