A study was undertaken to explore relationships between wetland characteristics which make them efficient water purifiers versus their ability to serve as wildlife habitat. The effects of designing constructed wetlands for improved habitat on water treatment efficiencies were quantified. Results indicate that some sacrifice in treatment efficiency is required and that the degree of efficiency reduction is dependant upon pollutant loading rates. However, sacrifice in efficiency is much smaller than increase in habitat quality, and can be offset by increasing wetland area. A practical, theoretical application was then attempted.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Tim Keane / Wildcat Creek in Riley County, KS has repeatedly flooded in the past 5 years causing significant damage to the watershed, private property, and community livelihood. Strategically placing wetlands throughout the watershed can help reduce stormwater runoff, increase infiltration, and increase wildlife habitat. A watershed assessment was completed to determine the best location for wetlands in the Wildcat Creek Basin. Two watershed-scale plans for wetlands were derived and evaluated based upon estimation of stormwater runoff and quality of wildlife habitat. Wetlands were then examined and incorporated into existing land cover and land uses at the site-scale for an existing golf course. Three proposals for the nine hole course (for best golf experience, wildlife habitat, and wetland creation) were developed to reflect expansion options from a Par 30 to a Par 34 or 35 course. Each proposal was evaluated based on wetland capacity from estimated stormwater runoff, quality of wildlife habitat, playability of the golf course for all skill levels, and cost of implementation. After this evaluation, the wetland proposal was moved forward and further developed into a proposal that is best suited for the site. Following wetland implementation, stormwater runoff can be collected on-site to prevent runoff and flooding at the golf course and downstream. In order to solve flooding problems in the Wildcat Creek watershed, a series of wetlands can be implemented at the smaller site scale, like the Wildcat Creek Golf Course site, throughout the watershed. Wetlands are one component of a larger stormwater management system that is needed to reduce flooding of the Wildcat Creek and the flood-prone area of Manhattan, KS.

No description available.

Understanding energetic potential of habitat patches is important for management designed to provide adequate habitat for wildlife species. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) has a high density of black bears that have been studied intensively from 1968-1997; habitats within the Park are relatively undisturbed, and similar vegetative cover types can be found throughout the southern Appalachian mountains. Black bear reproduction in the Park has been correlated to hard mast production, however little work has been done to assess the importance of soft mast. Geographic Information System (GIS) based habitat use models have been developed for bears in the Park, yet the importance of foods in determining habitat selection, and the possibility of sexual habitat segregation due to food availability have not yet been determined. The primary objectives of the study included estimation of the location, timing, and amount of caloric production by 19 important black bear foods and determination of the significance of caloric production by mast type, season, overstory vegetation type, and plant species. Secondary objectives were to test for correlation of bear habitat use with estimated caloric production from mast, and to test for sexual segregation of habitats based on caloric production. This study was limited to the northwest quadrant of GSMNP during 1995.

Oak wilt is a fatal disease of oaks caused by the fungus Ceratocystis fagacearum. Loss or degradation of habitat due to the disease may negatively affect the federally endangered golden-cheeked warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia). To assess the impact of oak wilt on golden-cheeked warblers, I investigated its influence on habitat selection and quality. I used remote sensing to estimate the amount of potential golden-cheeked warbler habitat currently affected by oak wilt, to predict the amount of potential habitat likely to be affected in the near future, and to assess the current probability of warbler occupancy in areas affected by oak wilt historically. I also quantified vegetative characteristics to assess overstory vegetation and regeneration in areas affected by the disease. I found proportional occupancy and territory density in unaffected areas to be, respectively, 3.5 and 1.8 times that of affected areas. Pairing success was 27% lower for territories containing oak wilt but fledging success was not affected. I estimated that 6.9% of potential golden-cheeked warbler habitat and 7.7% of the total area within my study region was affected by oak wilt in 2008. By 2018, I predicted that 13.3% of potential golden-cheeked warbler habitat and 16.0% of the study region would be affected by the disease. Using historical imagery, I found that areas affected by oak wilt in the past are less likely to be classified as current potential warbler habitat than areas never affected by the disease. I found no differences between the understory vegetation of affected and unaffected areas but that oaks were more common in the overstory than in the understory, suggesting that species composition in affected areas may shift in the years following an outbreak of the disease. My results suggest that the presence of oak wilt negatively influences habitat selection and quality for golden-cheeked warblers, likely due to reduced canopy cover in susceptible oak species. Additionally, oak wilt frequently occurs in golden-cheeked warbler habitat and will continue to spread into warbler habitat in the coming years. Future management efforts should address the threat oak wilt poses to golden-cheeked warblers by incorporating applicable preventative measures.

Cottontail rabbit, Sylvilagus floridanus, utilization of 16 artificial burrows was studied during the winters of 1976-1977 and 1977-1978. The burrows were located in Delaware County, Indiana, in four vegetative cover types including ungrazed deciduous forest, fescue grassland, wildlife plantings, and multiflora rose hedgerow. Each burrow consisted of a lay-up chamber made from the upper portion of a 55-gallon steel drum set on top of the ground. Two entrances made of slotted plastic drainage pipe extended in opposite directions. Soil was filled around the burrows and over the entrance tunnels. Cottontails found in the burrows were captured, marked by ear tagging, sexed, weighed, measured and released.Burrow utilization was noted in each cover type with greatest usage occurring in the multiflora rose hedgerow and in the forest. Snow cover and low ambient air temperature seemed to be the two most important factors contributing to burrow usage.Ball State UniversityMuncie, IN 47306

Understanding energetic potential of habitat patches is important for management designed to provide adequate habitat for wildlife species. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) has a high density of black bears that have been studied intensively from 1968-1997; habitats within the Park are relatively undisturbed, and similar vegetative cover types can be found throughout the southern Appalachian mountains. Black bear reproduction in the Park has been correlated to hard mast production, however little work has been done to assess the importance of soft mast. Geographic Information System (GIS) based habitat use models have been developed for bears in the Park, yet the importance of foods in determining habitat selection, and the possibility of sexual habitat segregation due to food availability have not yet been determined. The primary objectives of the study included estimation of the location, timing, and amount of caloric production by 19 important black bear foods and determination of the significance of caloric production by mast type, season, overstory vegetation type, and plant species. Secondary objectives were to test for correlation of bear habitat use with estimated caloric production from mast, and to test for sexual segregation of habitats based on caloric production. This study was limited to the northwest quadrant of GSMNP during 1995.

No description available.

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), a native warm-season grass, has been investigated as a renewable energy crop that may provide viable wildlife habitat. This study investigated small mammal populations in switchgrass, hay, and corn to assess the relative habitat quality. Four, three-night trapping sessions were conducted at four locations in Kentucky using Sherman livetraps. Trapping occurred in spring (before first hay harvest), summer, fall (before switchgrass and corn harvest), and winter (post-harvest). Relative abundance of small mammals, calculated using a capture per unit effort index (per 100 trapnights), and mean taxonomic richness were used to compare habitats. Switchgrass had a significantly greater mean taxonomic richness than hay but not corn; however, four genera were captured in switchgrass and only two in corn. Switchgrass had a greater relative abundance of small mammals than hay during the summer, and corn and hay during the fall. Vegetative cover was positively correlated with relative abundance of small mammals. No-till corn and three year old switchgrass had a greater relative abundance of small mammals than conventionally tilled corn and two year old switchgrass, respectively. In conclusion, switchgrass stands managed as a renewable energy crop has the potential to be viable wildlife habitat for some small mammal species.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential for protecting critical resplendent quetzal habitat on private lands bordering the south-western edge of the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, Costa Rica. First, a habitat analysis was made of 12 forest patches using a 10% strip method to obtain an importance value for the Lauraceae fed on by the resplendent quetzal. Second, a landowner survey was conducted using a structured interview questionnaire to determine landowner attitudes, and the possible factors influencing these attitudes, towards forested land, wildlife, the resplendent quetzal and potential habitat protection incentives. Significant differences were found between forest patch importance values for the Lauraceae suggesting that for conservation purposes careful forest patch selection is important. Most landowners were found to value their forested land more than their land under other uses and to favor technical forest management assistance over leasing. If funding can be made available there is a good chance that resplendent quetzal habitat can be adequately protected and managed through providing assistance to those landowners with the most critical forest patches. / Department of Natural Resources