This investigation was concerned primarily with the estimation of fish, rabbit, and squirrel populations on various areas on the Virginia Polytechnic Institute College Farms at Blacksburg, Virginia. Particular attention was given to the capture-recapture method and other related methods of population estimation, and the evaluation, wherever feasible, of these methods by determining as accurately as possible the animal populations as determined by intensive trapping and pond drainage. 2. A total of 1,181 fish were marked during a period of 12 days. Fifty-nine rabbits and 200 squirrels were marked during a period of approximately 7,890 trap-nights. 3. Both the Krumholz method and the Schumacher and Eschmeyer method give a reasonably accurate and certainly usable estimate of fish pond populations. 4. The Krumholz method, as used in this study for a comparison with the Lincoln Index estimates of mammal populations, is not suited for use in calculating estimates when the number of captures and recaptures has been low for an area. 5. The number of animals seen per hour per acre varies greatly with the habitat, season, and the time of day; however, this technique could be a useful index to abundance when such records have been kept for a considerable period of time for the same area. 6. The efficiency and accuracy of population estimates based on short precensus and census periods are not constant because the number of individual captured and recaptured varies too greatly with the species and its environment. Table 11 is a summary of the population estimates of squirrels and rabbits on the three wooded study areas. [see document for table] 7. The Lincoln Index method of population estimation, when applied to data obtained through four or more months of continuous squirrel trapping yielded an estimate that varied from 1.31 to 1.72 times the number of animals tagged on the area. The average variation was 1.537 with a standard deviation of 0.278. The Lincoln Index estimates of the rabbit populations varied from 1.78 to 1.96 times the number of animals tagged on the area. The average variation was 1.868 with a standard deviation of 0.0925. When this method of censusing is used, the variation should be kept in mind, and any population figure based on the Lincoln Index should also contain a statement as to whether or not the figure was adjusted. 8. The use of kill data from a squirrel harvest substituted for a census period of trapping yielded an estimate that was probably more inaccurate than that obtained by any other method. However, it is entirely possible that an insufficient number of animals had been marked prior to the harvest in order to obtain an acceptable estimate by this method. 9. The ratio of marked squirrels per leaf nest was fairly constant. If the four marked squirrels that were removed by hunting on Study Area III were not included in the total number of tagged animals on that area, the marked squirrel:leaf nest ratio would be 13:1 on Study Areas II and III and 13.1:1 on Study Area IV. The leaf nest counts were made in mid-April, after the nest had been subjected to the snow, sleet, and wind of winter. However, a leaf nest count made in mid-December on one study area gave the same number as the later count. The only disadvantage to using this method is that it should be used at a tie of year when there are no leaves on the trees in order to insure a complete count. / Master of Science

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Göteborg University, 2003. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (MTech. degree in Nature Conservation.)--Tshwane University of Technology, 2011. / Effective management and conservation of wildlife populations requires reliable estimates of population size, which are however usually difficult and costly to obtain. This study investigated the efficiency of two aerial counting techniques used in estimating wildlife populations, namely systematic reconnaissance flights and aerial distance sampling. In Tanzania systematic reconnaissance flights has long been the method of choice for aerial surveys, but aerial distance sampling potentially offers a more statistically robust sampling method. These two methods where compared to evaluate their all-round effectiveness for survey objectives in Tanzania. The study further assessed the impact of sampling designs and intensities on estimates of population parameters.

The continual increase in elephant numbers across southern Africa raises concern, though the interventions to manage these populations are more contentious. Within small, enclosed reserves active management is necessary to limit elephant impact. Various management tools exist with which to control fluctuations in elephant population numbers or density and simulate natural large stochastic events to control population growth. During this study, undertaken in the Munyawana Conservancy, KwaZulu-Natal, and Pilanesberg National Park, North West Province, South Africa, several management options were implemented. In order to lower the population numbers, family groups were translocated from the Munyawana Conservancy to other reserves, while to reduce population growth rate an immunocontraception was implemented. Both conservation areas introduced older bulls to normalise the bull population age structure, and expanded the conservation area by inclusion of new land to reduce population density. The influence of these management interventions on the elephant population were measured by their social, behavioural, spatial and movement responses. The older bull introduction was successful as bulls set up exclusive bull areas. There was a quick, subtle affect on the bull groups' size immediately after the older bull introduction, while there was no immediate change within the resident bulls' musth behaviour or duration. During area expansion, elephants appeared to perceive the new unexplored area as a threat although this threat became reduced through time as they became more familiar with it. The spatial scale of response was relatively small, while the temporal scale of response was relatively large. Rotational immunocontraception was shown to be a successful tool to alter herd structure by aging the population and maintaining a low population growth rate. The process of immunocontraception darting had no significant effect on herd associations and movement rates, accordingly the duration of the disruption effects were short lived. During multi-management interventions, no differences were found within the elephant social grouping. Management interventions may pose unforeseen social risks and different populations may respond differently to management induced stress. Therefore, interventions need to be considered for each elephant population which will achieve the conservation area's objectives with the most effective outcome, but with lowest holistic impact. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2012.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Göteborg University, 2003. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis is serving as a study report on 15 years or wildlife research performed at the 11,422-acre Broad Run Wildlife Research Area, also known at the Broad Run Management Area, in Craig County, Virginia, Incorporated in this thesis is a synthesis of all pertinent data, conclusions, evaluations, and recommendations emanating from the 17 theses written from studies undertaken at Broad Run. From these 17 theses there has been gleaned 193 results which are included in this thesis. These results took the form as either facts, summary conclusions, distilled background discussions, or as evaluations on information unearthed or research performed. Five works emanating from studies at Broad Run concerned attempts to quantify browse and mast. Four theses concerned the wild turkey, its movements, distribution, and abundance as influenced by wildlife management practices. Three theses concerned deer, its abundance and the influence, if any, on its population by dogs. Two theses were concerned with such wildlife practices as agricultural clearings and herbicide use, while the remaining theses were on the subjects of wild grapes, birth control in foxes, climate as an influence on the deer hunter, and the influence of forest habitat on songbird populations. / Master of Science

The current plight of biodiversity decline has led ecologists, resource managers and policy makers to search for new approaches to reverse the gloomy trend. The aims of the present study were to investigate the potential contribution of indigenous knowledge systems in wildlife management/conservation as a basis in improving community based natural resources management projects in Botswana and to asses the link between indigenous ecological principles and conventional ecological approaches in wildlife conservation. For the purpose of this research, hunting was chosen as a parameter for assessment of the indigenous conservation/management strategies. The choice was based on the knowledge that hunting, as a consumptive form of wildlife utilisation, plays a pivotal role in the long-term viability and sustainability of wildlife populations. The research approach made use of documentary data, traditional gathering, interviews involving key informants and focus groups and participant observation. The nature and purpose of the research called for snowball sampling technique which ensured purposive sampling. The greatest challenge that face indigenous knowledge systems is that they lack systematic documentation as they are only in the minds of local people and they are orally transmitted between generations. The threat towards this knowledge base is that it is often marginalised and lost in the modern times due to fragmentation and homogenisation of cultures and traditional institutions that supported it. It was through the urgent need dictated by this status quo that this research project was conceived in an attempt to document, understand and cautiously interpret the systems and practices for potential contribution to conventional natural resources management strategies. Research findings showed that communities had resource management and conservation strategies based on sound ecological principles though these were marginalised in favour of conventional inadequate conservation attempts that had no relevance to the cultures resident within the ecosystems. It is these resource use strategies together with the traditional institutions and structures which regulated them, that suggestions and recommendations made by this research calls for their revitalisation and policy, legal and institutional reforms and harmonisation to accommodate and give way to the adoption process in conventional conservation endeavours. / Thesis (M.Env.Dev.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1997.

Instream Flow Incremental Methodology (IFIM) and Habitat Evaluation Procedure (HEP), require the use of habitat preference curves to model the habitat requirements of fish. The accuracy of these curves has been questioned, particularly when they are applied outside the geographic area for which they were developed. Depth, velocity, substrate, and cover preference curves were developed for adult and juvenile smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieui) in Wet Beaver Creek, Arizona, and were compared to those from previous habitat preference studies in Virginia, Oklahoma, and Arizona. Curves for fishes in Wet Beaver Creek also were compared to curves developed using information from the scientific literature. Additionally, curves were developed for adult and subadult roundtail chub (Gila robusta) in Wet Beaver Creek, and adult roundtail chub and razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus) in Fossil Creek. The curves for adult roundtail chub were compared between these two locations. Velocity and depth preference curves, for both adult and juvenile smallmouth bass, appeared transferrable among locations. Minor differences between the depth curves were attributable to sampling techniques. Substrate preference curves were not transferrable; smallmouth bass seemed to use whatever substrates were locally available. No conclusion concerning the transferability of cover curves could be made because the definitions used for cover varied widely among investigators. Depth, velocity and substrate preferences of roundtail chub differed between the two streams studied, even though these streams were in the same drainage. The differences may have been related to the presence of smallmouth bass in Wet Beaver Creek; smallmouth bass were not present in Fossil Creek. Habitat preference curves based on depth, velocity, substrate, and cover parameters were developed for razorback suckers in Fossil Creek. No curves have been developed previously for razorback suckers in the lower Colorado River Basin; therefore, no comparisons were possible. This species was probably introduced into Fossil Creek and the habitat preference defined in this study may not represent razorback suckers throughout their range. Razorback suckers do not appear to have successfully spawned in Fossil Creek. This lack of success may reflect the absence of suitable habitat or simply indicate the fish have not reached sexual maturity.

No description available.

<p> The state and federally endangered California clapper rail (<i> Rallus longirostris obsoletus</i>) has declined in abundance and been reduced in range and now occupies fragmented intertidal saltmarsh only within San Francisco Bay. Historically extensive salt marsh habitats existed in San Francisco Bay and today, remnants are largely restricted to the water's edge with dikes and levees separating marshland from modified habitats unsuitable for clapper rails. Clapper rail population abundance has roughly tracked a series of positive and negative impacts including market hunting at the turn of the 20th century, widespread habitat reduction and fragmentation, and invasive species introduction and eradication programs. Despite these changes, rail populations have been subject to the ebb and flow of the tides, which regularly inundate salt marsh habitats. The influence that tides have on vertebrate species living in intertidal saltmarsh should be substantial, but the relationship between tide and California clapper rails is poorly understood. This research identified important ways in which tides influenced demographic processes, space use, and resource selection in California clapper rails. Tidal inundation in San Francisco Bay saltmarshes creates zonation in plant communities, typically with tall monocots in the low marsh (<i>Spartina </i> sp.), short pickleweed (<i>Sarcocornia pacifica</i>) in mid-elevation ranges, and gumplant (<i>Grindela humilis</i>) in the high marsh. Invasive Spartina (<i>Spartina foliosa x alterniflora </i>) grows taller and thicker than native Pacific cordgrass (<i> Spartina foliosa</i>). Invasive Spartina also grows lower onto mudflats, further up into pickleweed areas, and provided both nesting habitat and tidal refuge for clapper rails. In Chapter 1, I examined survival rates of California clapper rails. Specifically, I investigated whether seasonal patterns observed in the early 1990s were still evident and assessed the influence that Invasive Spartina and the degree of tidal inundation on weekly survival rates in four South San Francisco Bay salt marshes. Between January 2007 and March 2010, California clapper rail annual survival was 73% greater in Spartina-dominated marshes (&Scirc; = 0.482) than in a control marsh dominated by native vegetation (&Scirc; = 0.278). Lower survival also occurred during periods when tide height was greatest and during the winter. Survival patterns were consistent with Invasive Spartina providing increased refuge cover from predators during tidal extremes which flood native vegetation, particularly during the winter when the vegetation senesces. Tide heights also strongly influenced selection for artificial habitats provided adjacent to one marsh during the winters of 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. Ten floating islands equipped with canopies providing cover were monitored using time-lapse cameras for evidence of clapper rail use. Clapper rails regularly used artificial islands once tides reached heights equal to the average surface elevation of the marsh. When tides had inundated the marsh plan, observed use of the artificial islands was more than 300 times expected use based on the surface area provided. Probability of use varied among the islands and low levels of use were observed at night. Endemic saltmarsh species are increasingly at risk from habitat change resulting from sea-level rise and development of adjacent uplands. Escape cover during tidal inundation may therefore need to be supplemented if species are to survive. I developed a new method to estimate space use accounting for individual movement phases within non-stationary relocation datasets using simulated radio-telemetry data. To define movement phases I used a nonparametric, multivariate test to detect change points in the mean or variance of a sequence of x,y coordinates. Once all phases (change points) were identified, Gaussian kernel density analysis was used to estimate space use during each phase, which I termed change-point utilization distributions (CPUDs). One advantage of this technique is that the location of change points can subsequently be tested for relationships with conditions that might trigger a change in how individuals use space. Change points in clapper rail movement were associated with a variety of environmental and biotic variables including high tides, nesting activity, intrusion by neighboring clapper rails, and transient movements outside the home range. Change points occurred more than twice as frequently during the highest observed tides relative to all other tide heights. Another use of CPUDs is that space use patterns of adjacent individuals can be evaluated for joint overlap only during specific time periods when overlap occurs. I used CPUDs developed for California clapper rails and identified the point within overlapping space-use estimates where each individual had priority access to the resources within its utilization distribution (i.e. the lowest kernel density isopleth that was common to two overlapping individuals). This provided an estimate of the spatial region at which individuals exhibited territoriality. During the breeding season, space use distributions overlapped less and average territory size increased relative to the non-breeding seasons. Population density implied by these territory sizes (1.38 birds/ha) is comparable to density estimates during the 1970s and 1980s. Together these findings show the great degree to which clapper rail behavior and demography can be influenced by the tides that populations experience. It is my hope that conservation efforts for this species, particularly in the arena of habitat restoration may benefit from this research.</p>