Determinants of a Quality Wild Turkey Hunting Season

According to the National Wild Turkey Federation, there has been a 450% increase in the number of licensed wild turkey hunters since 1973. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of research articles focusing specifically on turkey hunting. Most human dimensions of wildlife research have focused on either deer or waterfowl hunting. In this study, dimensions of hunting quality, days afield, and harvest were examined among a sample of 739 Virginia fall turkey hunters. Quality of a hunting season, rather than a specific hunt, was examined. Principal components analysis (PCA) revealed five domains of attributes of a high-quality turkey-hunting season: wildlife interaction, education, being away, social interaction, and hunting skills. The domains of hunting quality revealed by the PCA are similar to domains found previously for spring turkey hunters as well as other types of hunters. Also examined were hunter perceptions of overall hunting quality, the number of days spent hunting turkeys during the fall season, and harvest success. For comparative purposes and agency needs, hunters were segmented into three categories based on days spent hunting: low frequency (1 to 2 days), medium frequency (3 to 4 days), and high frequency (≥5 days). The influence of these variables to respondents’ perceptions of overall quality was examined using a series of regression models. Variables found to be significant predictors of quality were wildlife interaction and harvest success. Hunters who killed a turkey reported a significantly higher quality season than those who did not kill a turkey.     

Irradiance-induced changes in the photobiology of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Halophila johnsonii</Emphasis>

The endangered seagrass Halophila johnsonii Eiseman, exhibits high-light adapted photophysiology consistent with its distribution in intertidal and shallow subtidal (0–3 m) coastal-lagoon habitats along 200 km of southeastern Florida. To examine the short-term responses of this seagrass to three controlled-irradiance treatments (PAR + UVA + UVB [full spectrum], PAR + UVA, and PAR only), greenhouse-acclimated plants were transferred to outdoor mesocosms during July–August 2002. Chlorophyll fluorescence, UV fluorescence, and samples for pigment extraction were collected in the greenhouse, prior to moving the plants outside and on days 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 10, and 21 of the 24-day experiment. Typical of sun-adapted plants, effective quantum yields measured by pulse-amplitude modulated (PAM) fluorometry were relatively low in all treatments, ranging from 0.46 ± 0.09 (PAR only) to 0.58 ± 0.08 (PAR + UVA + UVB). In the PAR only treatments, there were strong effects on days 1 and 4, presumably because the irradiance in the greenhouse not only lacked all λ<400 nm, but also had low irradiance maxima (∼700 μmol photons m⁻² s⁻¹, compared with ∼1,500 μmol photons m⁻² s⁻¹ outside at midday). There were few treatment differences between PAR only and PAR + UVA treatments indicating little effect of UVA radiation on this species. Differences in effective quantum yields and relative electron transport rates between the PAR only and PAR + UVA + UVB treatments on day 4 indicated rapid acclimation to UVB radiation. Tissues of H. johnsonii contained compounds that absorbed strongly in the UV, with a λ_max at ∼345 nm (depending on the extraction solvent). Absorption peak maxima and minima changed over the course of the experiment but there were no significant light-treatment differences in any pigment parameters. Percent UV shield values, measured using a newly developed UVA PAM fluorometer, were highest the day after plants were transferred from the greenhouse to the outdoor mesocosms and declined significantly to pretreatment levels in all treatments by day 21. Percent UV shield exhibited a significant positive relationship with UV-absorbing pigment (UVP) absorbance, however, the absence of treatment effects suggests that the wavelengths inducing pigment synthesis must lie between 400 and 700 nm (PAR). The results indicate that H. johnsonii rapidly acclimates to high UVB and PAR which may largely explain its distribution in intertidal and shallow subtidal areas.     

LOS ALAMOS FOREST FIRE IMPACT MODELING1

ABSTRACT: A controlled burn at Bandelier National Monument got out of control and burned about 43,000 acres (17,400 hectares) near Los Alamos, New Mexico, in May 2000. The wildfire caused dramatic changes in infiltration capacity and wettability of soils in many of the watersheds above Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and destroyed the duff layer, dramatically reducing the interception and infiltration capacity of the formerly forested watersheds. These sudden changes in basin hydrology necessitated a rapid assessment of hydrology and hydraulics for the canyons running through LANL property to evaluate flood risk, plan emergency flood protection measures, and assess potential sediment and actinide transport. This paper presents the results of hydrologic and hydraulic modeling of Los Alamos Canyon following the wildfire. The large scale modeling effort, with over 13,000 cross sections for the hydraulic model (5,000 for Los Alamos Canyon, 8,000 for Guaje Canyon), relied heavily on a geographic information system (GIS) for model input and floodplain delineation. The HEC‐geoRAS model provided good integration between the hydraulic model (HEC‐RAS, Version 3.0.1) and the GIS (ArcView, v. 3.3). These modeling results are being used in drainage master planning efforts at LANL and in the development of sediment transport models using HEC‐6T. Sediment transport modeling results will be used to develop actinide transport models for the canyons at LANL.     

Laser-induced fluorescence and fast gas chromatography/mass spectrometry with subsurface thermal extraction of organics: Field analytical technologies for expediting site characterization and cleanup

This article describes new field-based technologies that support the Dynamic Workplan/Adaptive Sampling and Analysis Program employed to better characterize hazardous waste sites at lower cost. A laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) probe was designed and field-tested with a cone penetrometer (CP) for investigating petroleum contaminants present at under-ground tank farms. The LIF produced real-time quantitative data for naphthalene and semiquantitative results for total petroleum hydrocarbons and diesel range organics. Two different projects are described employing fast gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) in the field. A 70-foot heated transfer line and probe were used in combination with a cone penetrometer to thermally extract (TE) subsurface soil-bound semivolatile organics. In the second project, soil samples were collected by a Geoprobe^TM and brought to the surface for analysis. The direct measurement TECP data produced semiquantitative results while the more conventional means of collecting and analyzing samples produced risk analysis quality data in the field. A new set of mass spectrometry algorithms provided the technology breakthrough for identifying and quantifying a wide range of Environmental-Protection-Agency-listed target compounds in the presence of high levels of matrix (petroleum) interferents under fast, 7 min/sample, GC conditions.     

Nitrogen saturation induced during winter by experimental NH4NO3 addition to a forested catchment

To investigate the potential risk of 'nitrogen saturation' in Scandinavian boreal forests, the authors are experimentally adding 30-50 kg N ha(-1) year(-1) as NH4NO3 in precipitation to an entire 0.52-ha 80-year-old spruce forested catchment at G?rdsj?n, near Gothenburg on the Swedish west coast. NO3 concentrations in runoff increased from 0 to about 7 microeq liter(-1) (maximum pulse of 43 microeq liter(-1)). The increase occurred in winter; during the April-October growing season, NO3 concentrations were very low. The speed of the response suggests that these forests are already close to saturation.     

Predator inspection behaviour in three-spined sticklebacks (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Gasterosteus aculeatus</Emphasis>): body size,local predation pressure and cooperation

The apparently maladaptive tendency of fish to approach and inspect potential predators has been explained in terms of useful information gathering or as a signal to the predator that it has been seen. We examined this behaviour in 16 populations of wild-caught stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) from ponds with and without predatory perch (Perca fluviatilis). Three large and three small individuals per population were each exposed to three model predators differing in realism. A final cooperative treatment entailed pairing subjects with a second individual from the same population, but of the alternative size class, during predator presentation. As might be expected, predator inspection behaviour was much greater in the predator-sympatric populations, and only these fish increased their level of inspection as the models became incrementally more realistic. This suggests that reductions occur in the level of costly inspection behaviour in populations without predators. Subject body size had no effect on inspection effort, which suggests a limited role for experience (we assumed larger fish to be older than smaller fish), at least over the relative age differences utilized. However, small predator-sympatric fish were the only subjects to increase inspection significantly when in a cooperative context, perhaps reflecting the inherent value of a relatively larger partner in this context. These results confirm that levels of predator inspection are both population- and situation-dependent, suggesting a trade-off in the potential costs and benefits of this behaviour.Communicated by C. St. Mary     

Variability in adult group compositions of a prosimian primate

Many species fall into specific mating-system categories, and that category is usually associated with a suite of behavioral and morphological characteristics. Several lemur species, including Propithecus diadema edwardsi, have been labeled "idiosyncratic" because variation in socionomic sex ratios among groups is consistent with wide variation in social structure. We used several hypotheses founded in behavioral ecology to assess variability in P. d. edwardsi. First we examined 46 group-mating seasons to quantify variability. We then tested predictions that the number of males per group would increase as the number of adult females increased, and the number of males would increase as female mating synchrony increased. Examining variation in offspring survival relative to the number of adult males in a group may tell us which composition is likely to persist into the future, so we also hypothesized that as the number of males in a group increased, fertility and offspring survival would increase. We found an equal distribution of polygynous, polygynandrous, pairs, and polyandrous groups. Furthermore, female distribution and mating synchrony did not predict the number of males, and offspring survival was not correlated with the number of males. Since infants survived equally well in groups of all compositions, sifakas experienced no pressure to maintain a particular number of adult males per adult female. The small number of adults per group (mean=3.2) may result from balancing feeding competition against predator detection. Augmenting the mate pool available from the group with mates from neighboring groups may promote the notable variability seen in the adult group compositions of sifakas.     

Reproductive success,relative abundance and population structure of two species of Nephtys in an estuarine beach

During 1978 and 1979 specimens of Nephtys hombergii in the River Tyne estuary (North East England) became gravid during the winter but did not spawn in the spring breeding season; instead their gametes were resorbed. The drastic effects of these spawning failures were apparent in the population structure in 1980, when the 1978 and 1979 year-classes were shown to be virtually absent, by the size of the individuals in the population and the numbers of growth lines in their jaws. The population structure in 1975, by contrast, indicated that recruitment during the preceding 4 to 5 yr had been good. Spawning was also effective in 1980, and an 0 group was detected in August 1980. Comparable data has been obtained for N. caeca, which occurs in the same beach. It shows that recruitment of this species during 1976–1980 was consistently good, whereas analysis of the age-class frequencies suggests that recruitment of N. caeca was poor in 1973 and 1975. The dominance relationship of the two species in the beach has been reversed during the period 1975–1980. It is suggested that the sympatric distribution of the two species is maintained in part by periodic reproductive failure. The causes of this are not yet known; possible reasons, including the extremely cold conditions experienced in 1978–1979 are discussed. The difference in frequency of the 1978, 1979 and 1980 year classes will now permit a rigorous evaluation of the relationship between the number of growth lines in the jaws and age in N. hombergii.