I monitored female desert mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus crooki) (n = 7) with radio telemetry in the Belmont and Bighorn mountains, Arizona, 1991. I examined habitat use, size of seasonal ranges, predation by coyotes, and behavior, and I identified fawning and fawn rearing habitat. Female desert mule deer preferred the montane vegetation associations and avoided creosote flats (Larrea tridentata) during fawning. Size of seasonal ranges were smaller in the 2 weeks postpartum (X = 3.75 km2 than in the 2 weeks prior to fawning (X = 6.71 km2 Activity during the first or last 4 hours of daylight differed 2 weeks postpartum and the remainder of the year (P = 0.034). Female desert mule deer were less active during daylight 2 weeks postpartum. Females during fawning were not any closer to water than the remainder of the year.

I examined the influence of human disturbance on Coues white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus couesi) by subjecting deer within separate but similar areas to different levels of disturbance during breeding seasons, 1990-91 and 1991-92. Marked does (n=7) were seldom found outside their harmonic mean core areas (χ² = 7.140, 6 df), or harmonic mean home ranges (χ² = 1.030, 6 df). In summer 1992, I collected reproductive information from 10 adult females within each area. Fetal rates within the control and treatment areas were 1.3 fetuses/female and 1.1 fetuses/female, respectively. The corpora albicantia counts, reflecting the 1991 fetal rate, were 0.9 for the control, and 1.1 for the treatment areas. Calculated conception dates within both areas showed a peak in early January and their distributions were not significantly different (P=0.32). There was no difference in reproduction or movement in response to increased disturbance of 60 hunter-days/15km².

Little dietary information exists for northern goshawks (Accipiter gentilis) in the southwestern United States. I conducted 1,539 hours of direct observation at 20 active goshawk nests in ponderosa pine forests on the North Kaibab Ranger District, Arizona, 1990-1992. I recorded 385 prey deliveries at a mean delivery rate of 0.25/hr. I identified 63 deliveries to class, and 307 to genus or species. Golden-mantled ground squirrels (Spermophilus lateralis) and cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus spp.) were the most common mammalian prey species (41%). Stellar's jays (Cyanocitta stelleri) and northern flickers (Colaptes auratus) were the most common avian prey species (16%). Mammals and birds accounted for 76 and 24% of the prey observed, and mammals accounted for 94% of the biomass used by northern goshawks. I compared the characterization of diet of northern goshawks based on direct observation to the characterization of diet based on prey remains. Diet based on prey remains differed from diet based on direct observation for individual prey species and the proportion of mammals and birds. Goshawk diet information based on prey remains should be interpreted cautiously. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Leisure opportunities seem necessary for individual well-being, as they provide satisfaction to many levels and types of needs and wants. This research deals with identifying and assessing the beneficial outcomes of those leisure opportunities acquired from various recreational experiences. The study used Brown, Miller, and Carr Canyon in Eastern Huachuca Mountains of the Coronado National Forest in Southern Arizona as study sites for assessing the relationship between experiences and benefits. The findings suggest that there was a 100% congruence between the recreational experiences sought and the ability of these sites to provide them. The correlation between perceived beneficial outcomes of recreational experiences and the visitors' abilities to acquire such outcomes in these settings were significantly positive. The most significant benefit documented in this study was to improve one's physical fitness. It seemed to be positively correlated with each of the four experiences stated in this study, i.e., to learn more about nature, to get away from the usual demands of life, of being in the wilderness area and experiencing a sense of adventure, and spend time with family and/or friends.

I present model for incorporating public attitudes in wildlife management involving desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) in Pusch Ridge Wilderness (PRW), Arizona. I conducted a mail survey on 4 user-groups including. The Access Fund (TAF), La Reserve Homeowners Association (LRH), Southern Arizona Hiking Club (SAHC), and white-tailed deer hunters (WTH). Support for translocating sheep into PRW ranged from 59%-80%. Support for banning dogs from PRW to reduce stress to bighorn sheep ranged from 49%-79%. A majority (53%-66%) of each user-group, except WTH supported seasonal closures during lambing season to reduce stress to bighorn sheep. A majority of each user-group (60%-74%) supported using prescribed fires to reduce wildfire hazards and improve habitat for sheep. This information will help agencies develop goals and objectives for bighorn sheep and recreation management in PRW.

No description available.

In Canada’s eastern boreal forest region, partial-harvest silviculture has garnered increasing support for maintaining wildlife species and habitat structure associated with late-successional forests. If late-successional species can find suitable habitat in managed stands that retain a certain number, type, and pattern of live trees, then partial harvesting might represent a viable tool for maintaining species associated with old and complex forests. I used several indirect forms of inference to evaluate whether late-successional vertebrate species can be maintained within partially harvested stands in the eastern boreal forest. A meta-analysis of studies across North America showed that no bird species decreased in abundance by half where light harvesting retained at least 70% of live trees. However, adverse effects occurred at lower levels of retention, with some bird species unlikely to use harvested stands with less than 50% retention until appropriate habitat structure returned. A spatially explicit stand dynamics model showed that while partial harvesting can promote development of understory saplings, downed wood, and heterogeneity, it can also induce long-term decreases in the abundances of large trees and snags. Consequently, species dependent on the latter, such as brown creepers (Certhia americana) and northern flying squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus), were projected to be more susceptible to partial harvesting than those associated with other types of structure. At a more detailed scale, a neighbourhood model developed from live-trapping data revealed that southern red-backed voles (Myodes gapperi) exhibited local associations with several late-successional features within boreal mixedwood stands. Their associations with some features depended on stand-level habitat conditions, which suggested that vole habitat in managed stands could be improved by retaining live trees and downed wood. A spatially explicit model of optimal home range establishment that incorporated these relationships fit vole abundance data marginally better than an aspatial habitat model. When the home range model was applied to simulated partially harvested stands, it predicted that spatial heterogeneity could have a positive effect on vole abundance, but only at harvest intensities of 70-90% with suppressed shrub cover. With careful attention to issues such as these, partial-harvest silviculture could be useful in maintaining vertebrate biodiversity within eastern boreal forests.

The goal of this research was to document the influence of Line 1 Hereford cattle, developed by the United States Department of Agriculture at its research facility in Miles City, Montana, on Hereford populations in the United States, South Africa, Canada, Australia, Great Britain, and Uruguay. Line 1 Hereford cattle were line-bred at the USDA-Agricultural Research Service station of Fort Keogh in Miles City, Montana since 1934. The dissemination of germplasm from Fort Keogh began with the earliest recorded sales in 1948. Analytical approaches made use of both recorded pedigree and genomic markers. Pedigree records numbering nearly 14 million from the American Hereford Association, and 3 million from the Canadian Hereford Association were randomly sampled five times for each year from 1980-2008. Sampled animals were pseudo-mated to Line 1 sires, inbreeding coefficients of the resulting progeny were calculated and relationships of the sampled individuals to Line 1 were estimated as twice the maximum inbreeding coefficient. The Line 1 Hereford population was found to be ancestral to 82% of the current population of purebred Hereford cattle in the United States. The number of Hereford cattle in the Unites States that were related to Line 1 has increased by more than 2% per year. The greatest concentrations of Line 1 genetics were found in the central and Midwestern regions of the country, but Line 1 genetics were found in 48 of the 50 states. Proportion of Hereford cattle registered in Canada that were related to Line 1 increased from 26% to 68% between 1980 and 2007. Animals recorded in the Canadian Herdbook that had ancestors in the American Herdbook were found in 8 of the 9 provinces and of these, animals related to Line 1 Hereford were found in 6 provinces. Two hundred forty animals sampled from the Line 1 herd at Fort Keogh and 311 sires representative of the Hereford breed in the U.S. were genotyped for 50K SNP. Resulting genotypes were used to assess the probability that the animals sampled from the U.S. population were members of Line 1 Hereford. The average probability of membership was 0.20 and the regression of pedigree relationship on genomic probability of membership was 1.73 ± 0.11 (r = 0.65). A similar analysis of the relationship between Line 1 and a sample of the South African Hereford (n = 36) population was conducted using 34 microsatellite loci. It was found that the probability that South African Hereford cattle were descendants of the Line 1 Hereford population was 0.38 ± 0.08. Pedigree relationship of Hereford cattle registered in South Africa with Line 1 was 24%. Obtaining complete herdbooks from other countries proved infeasible. Therefore, pedigrees of highly used sires were used as inferred from the accuracy of their genetic evaluation for direct effects on weaning weight from Hereford populations in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Uruguay with that of Line 1 Hereford. Those estimated relationships were 0.22, 0.30, and 0.23, respectively. The apparent presence the Line 1 Hereford cattle maintain in Hereford cattle around the world is highly important. The observed relationship of Line 1 Hereford with other Hereford populations is indicative of the far-reaching and profound impact of a long-term research program.

A study was conducted to investigate the influence of antioxidant source and fatty acid saturation in a standard finishing diet on apparent digestibility, production performance, fatty acid composition and oxidative stability of lamb. The four dietary treatments consisted of the same basal diet (187 g CP- and 355 g NDF/kg DM) differing in the lipid source (30 g/kg of either saturated beef tallow or unsaturated soyabean oil) and type of antioxidant included (125 g/ton of either a synthetic or natural antioxidant). Eighty-four S.A. Mutton Merino lambs (27.64 ± 1.72 kg) were randomly allocated to the four dietary treatments (n=21 lambs per treatment) and subdivided into seven replicates per treatment (n=3 lambs per replicate). After dietary adaptation of 8 days all lambs received the experimental diets for the remaining period (41 days). A digestibility study was conducted over a 12-day period (4-day adaptation to the faecal bags followed by an 8-day collection period). Seven lambs per treatment were randomly selected and slaughtered at completion of the production study. Physical carcass characteristics, muscle pH, muscle- and subcutaneous fatty acid composition, as well as meat oxidative- (malonaldehyde content) and colour stability was measured. The apparent NDF digestibility was reduced (P =0.0548) with the inclusion of unsaturated soyabean oil in the diet compared to saturated beef tallow. This was associated with a significant (P <0.05) lower digestible NDF and ME content in the experimental diet. No significant (P >0.05) differences in dry matter intake, daily gain and feed efficiency of lambs occurred. The addition of unsaturated soyabean oil significantly increased (P =0.0003) the efficiency of ME utilisation in the diet. Lipid saturation level in finishing diets for lambs did not influence (P >0.05) the physical carcass characteristics and meat pH of lambs. Saturated beef tallow increased (P <0.05) the monounsaturated palmitoleic- and oleic acid content of lamb subcutaneous and/or muscle tissue, whereas the more unsaturated soyabean oil increased (P <0.05) the polyunsaturated linoleic acid, α-linolenic acid and CLA content of both muscle fat and subcutaneous lipid tissue. Monounsaturated vaccenic acid was increased in lamb meat when unsaturated soyabean oil was included in combination with the natural antioxidant. The total PUFA, total n-6 fatty acid and PUFA:SFA ratio of lamb meat increased (P <0.05) with the inclusion of the more unsaturated soyabean oil in the diet. A higher (P <0.0001) n-6:n-3 ratio occurred in the intramuscular fat of lambs fed the unsaturated soyabean oil diet. Unsaturated soyabean oil negatively influenced (P <0.05) the oxidative stability of lamb meat on days 0 (fresh) and 90 (frozen), compared to saturated tallow. The inclusion of a synthetic compared to a natural antioxidant in the diet decreased (P =0.0672) the apparent digestibility of NDF, which was also associated with a significantly (P =0.0159) lower digestible NDF content of the experimental diet. The meat pH measured 45 minutes after slaughter was significantly (P =0.009) decreased when a synthetic antioxidant was added to the diet. Meat pH measured at 24 hours post slaughter was lower (P =0.0433) when a natural antioxidant was added to the diet. With the exception of the natural antioxidant that increased (P <0.05) the saturated palmitic- and monounsaturated palmitoleic acid content of subcutaneous and/or muscle fat, and decreased (P <0.05) the monounsaturated stearic acid content of intramuscular fat, dietary antioxidant type did not to effect (P >0.05) the fatty acid composition of lamb meat, neither the colour- nor oxidative stability. These results suggest that the fatty acid profile of lamb can be manipulated by the saturation level of the lipid source included in the diet. However, the replacement of saturated tallow with unsaturated soyabean oil did not result, from a human health point of view, in the desirable PUFA:SFA and n-6:n-3 ratios in muscle fat and subcutaneous lipid tissue. Therefore, the manipulation of the fatty acid content of finishing diets to achieve the desirable ratios within lamb meat, as well as the optimal inclusion level of a bioflavonoid antioxidant warrants further research.

Up to the 1980âs marginal soils were successfully ploughed for crop production, but unfortunately those soils soon proved to be marginal. Due to high input costs, the Department of Agriculture soon implemented the âsoil conversion schemeâ to promote the conversion of those ploughed marginal soils to permanent pastures. It was especially the low maize prices that triggered the conversion scheme in the 1980âs. Regardless the implementation of the soil conversion scheme, many farmers unfortunately just abandoned some of these marginal fields which resulted in many hectares of unproductive previously cultivated fields, being referred to as abandoned fields. The aim of this study was to investigate a few abandoned fields at a single location in the semi-arid central Free State in an attempt to gather information on the dynamics of such disturbed ecosystems and identify their restoration potential. The study investigated the interaction between plant and soil variables to quantify the impact of different soil physical and chemical characteristics on vegetation dynamics (species composition and density). The species richness, as well as the influence of different soil characteristics were determined to identify which might have the biggest influence on the recovery potential of the disturbed area. The soil seed bank was also investigated to quantify the survival potential of climax grass species on abandoned fields, and why these species do not establish voluntarily on these disturbed areas. The main aim of the study was to quantify the influence of soil characteristics on the vegetation dynamics of abandoned fields. The results clearly showed that marginal soils, withdrawn from cash-crop cultivation, are among the most seriously degraded areas with low soil fertility (N and C content). It is creating a more favourable habitat for pioneer grass species. This study sheds more light on the poor natural rehabilitation rate of abandoned fields in the semi-arid Free State Province of South Africa. It was proven that the establishment of climax vegetation might be largely influenced by phosphorus (P), cation exchange capacity (CEC), nitrogen (N), carbon (C), soil compaction and the composition of the soil seed bank. It was note worthy that some of the abandoned fields still showed very slow progress in natural restoration after 20 years. The areas that showed least recovery needed to be cultivated and established with a cultivated pasture like Digitaria eriantha sub. eriantha. On the other hand, other areas recovered to such an extent that oversowing or the placement of Themeda triandra sheafs might improve restoration. The best recovered areas can only be upgraded in productivity by scientific management strategies which include long resting periods. Drastic human interference is an absolute necessity to speed up the process of plant succession (rehabilitation). Future investigation might include long-term trials to monitor the reaction of vegetation and soil characteristics to the introduction of organic matter as well as the seed of climax grass species.