MAMMALOGY LESSONS

Mammalogy student preparing museum specimens for visitors to the Biodiversity Lab at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

INDEXSpeaker Mary Freeman ............. 3Eugene Hester receives 2013 Outstanding Alumni Award ..... 4

David Whitehurst receives Seth Gordon Award .............................. 5Student abstracts ...............7-11

Program Information and Faculty AchievementsFisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology

NC STATE UNIVERSITY

Online at http://Cnr.nCsu.edu/Fer/neWs/FWCB_neWsletter.php VOlume 10, issue 4 deCemBer 15, 2013

mOre On mammalOgy Class aCtiVities, page 2 Photos courtesy of Roland Kays

mammalogy lessonsstudents prepare specimens for the biodiversity lab

Wild Foods Supper Invite....... 12 Research Publications ..................... 13Research Presentations .................. 13

NCSU Graduate student and Museum mammalogy collection manager Ben Hess helps students save tissue samples for research.

FWCB students Rebecca Owens (left) and Summer Higdon (right) chat over their mammal specimens.

FWCB undergraduate students measure a specimen as part of Mammalogy class.

2Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology

The Fall 2013 Mammalogy class was a whizz-bang tour of the subject that included a wide variety of hands on experiences. Lab exercises included preparing muse-um specimens, conducting necropsies of wild animals at the NCSU Vet School, anesthetizing animals in the field, and touring the Duke Lemur Center. During the semes-ter, students conducted independent field projects using GPS collars to track the movement of campus raccoons and opossums, and using camera traps to monitor mam-

mal populations in the local state park. However, the highlight for many students were the two field trips. One group headed to the Smokey Mountains to trap small mammals and observe the reintroduced elk population, while another group road-tripped to the Smithsonian to see the worlds largest mammal collections, including two warehouses full of whales, and the National Zoo’s endangered species breeding program in Front Royal, VA.

The bull elk at Smokey Mountains National Park put on a good show of animal behavior for the mammalogy field trip.

Students get to learn about mammal biology and managing the throngs of tourists attracted to them at the elk herd in western NC.

Mammalogy class suited up for animal dissections at the NCSU Veterinary School necropsy lab.

Student determining the cause of death for a local squirrel at the NCSU Veterinary School necropsy lab.

mammalogy tour2013 mammalogy students got a whirlwind tour

The College of Natural Resources hosted Mary Freeman from the Uni-versity of Georgia on Monday, who spoke about the lack of awareness of ecological problems.

Freeman, a research ecologist for the United States Geological Survey Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, lectured audiences mainly about river basin ecology in the Southeast. She said human settlements have taken a toll on fish populations in the South-east. By comparing descriptions from the first ichthyologists in North Amer-ica to today’s known species, Free-man said scientist have identified 39 species and 18 subspecies that are now extinct.

“Most of these have happened in my lifetime,” Freeman said.

The lecture, “Informing Conserva-tion of a Biological Treasure Close to Home,” covered problems associated with biological diversity and the eco-logical importance of fish in the south-eastern United States.

Freeman said that as of 2010, there are about 1,200 species of freshwater fish identified in North America. About one-half of those live in the Southeast.

“Really, though, we’re not aware of this fauna,” Freeman said.

Freeman said humans impact the river ecology in three ways: dams, changing land use, and water supply.

Freeman said that dams along the Alabama, Coosa and Tallapoosa Riv-ers have harmed many aquatic spe-cies in the region, such as the Ameri-

can eel, which has disappeared from the Upper Coosa River.

Freeman’s lecture also covered her and her colleagues’ involvement in housing development in the Etowah River Basin in Georgia during the past few years. They found that many species of fish were sensitive to the creation of impervious land cover, which includes structures made from impenetrable materials such as con-crete or asphalt. Freeman said they developed a habitat conservation plan to diminish the impact of develop-ment on river ecology.

Freeman said that determining the effect of human water usage is diffi-cult due to an imprecise knowledge of river flow in specific areas. However, old rainfall data was applied to new simulation software to model the cur-rent state of the rivers, as well as pre-

dict the effects of water withdrawal and storage.

This simulation software was ap-plied to study the effects of water us-age on the ACF River Basin, which spans regions in Georgia, Alabama and Florida. Freeman compared the basin to a “political hot potato.”

Freeman said that more recently, she and her group at USGS applied the simulation software to study the ef-fects of climate change on fish popu-lations.

Freeman ended by highlighting the lack of awareness of ecological diver-sity in southeast United States river basins and the importance of out-reach.

“You can’t appreciate things you don’t know about,” Freeman said.

Freeman also emphasized the un-certainty inherent in pure modeling, saying that accurate predictions can only be made with up-to-date field data.

“We’ve got to invest in monitoring,” Freeman said. “We’ve got to invest in field work.”

Monday’s event celebrated the 2013 Frederick and Joan Barkalow Distin-guished Conservationist Lecture. This annual lecture was created in honor of Fred Barkalow, founder of N.C. State’s Wildlife Program and former Zoology Department Head. The purpose of the lecture is to bring leading scientists and conservation-ists to inform N.C. State students about the science and policies of con-servation.


Freeman discusses importance of ecological awareness

guest speaker: mary Freeman

Photos courtesy of USGSMary Freeman


By Joe Hightower

Dr. F. Eugene Hester is a Wendell, North Carolina, native who earned his BS (1954) and MS degrees (1956) in Wildlife and Conservation Man-agement at NCSU and PhD at Auburn University. He became an assistant professor of Zoology at NCSU in 1959 and taught Vertebrate Zoology in 1961–1962. He served as the first Unit Leader for the NC Cooperative Fish-ery Research Unit from 1963 to 1971, and taught several fisheries courses

and trained numerous graduate stu-dents during that period. He then moved to Washington, DC, to the po-sition of Chief, Division of Fishery Research within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He became Associ-ate Director for all USFWS research in 1973, and Deputy Director in 1981. During his tenure as Deputy Director, he served in an acting capacity as Di-rector of the USFWS. Dr. Hester later became Associate Director for Natu-ral Resources in the National Park Service. In addition to his numerous

professional accomplishments (which include publishing a number of scien-tific journal articles and receiving the highest awards given by the Depart-ment of the Interior), Dr. Hester is also a highly accomplished photographer and freelance writer. His photographs have been printed in over 60 publica-tions, including 45 cover photos for Wildlife in North Carolina. He has written two books on wood ducks and published many articles in Wildlife in North Carolina and popular maga-zines such as Our State.

hester receives 2013 College of agriculture and life sciences Outstanding alumni award

Dr. Hester received his award from Dean Rich Linton at a college ceremony on October 11, 2013, at the N.C. State University Club.

hester Began his Career as an assistant prOFessOr OF zOOlOgy at nCsu in 1959


The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) is proud to announce David K. Whitehurst, Di-rector, Bureau of Wildlife Resources, has been awarded the Seth Gordon Award at the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ (AFWA) 103rd Annual Meeting held September 10th in Portland, Oregon.

The Seth Gordon Award is AFWA’s highest honor. Es-tablished in 1970, it is given to recognize the lifetime achievements of natural resource administrators who have worked steadfastly and effectively towards the ‘best use’ of North American natural resources, and to honor an in-dividual for his/her outstanding career in fish and wildlife conservation.

“It’s a great honor for the Department to see David rec-ognized by the country’s leading wildlife professionals for his years of hard work and his passion for protecting and conserving Virginia’s rich wildlife and natural resources,” said VDGIF Executive Director, Bob Duncan. “David’s contributions to fish and wildlife management have made a huge impact on the lives of everyone who cherish the outdoors and on the thousands of species of animals that thrive in the Commonwealth.”

A North Carolina native, Whitehurst received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from North Carolina State University. During his 38-year career at the VDGIF, David White-hurst has been instrumental in bringing science-based management to the Commonwealth’s fisheries and wild-life conservation programs. His numerous conservation achievements include: restoring and enhancing the striped bass programs at Kerr Reservoir and Smith Mountain Lake, which provide excellent public fishing opportuni-ties; driving the acquisition of the Department’s Stewarts Creek Wildlife Management Area; establishing the 845-acre Briery Creek Lake, a premier largemouth bass fish-ery; taking a leading role in efforts to restore waterways for anadromous fish, including the breaching of the Em-brey Dam on the Rappahannock River; establishing a fish-way on Bosher’s Dam on the James which opened hun-dreds of miles of river to spawning fish; establishing the Virginia Master Naturalist Program; developing the Vir-ginia Birding and Wildlife Trail, which provides wildlife viewing opportunities while bringing in millions in tour-ism dollars to the communities through which trail loops run; developing the Virginia Wildlife Action Plan, a com-prehensive plan which documents species of greatest con-servation need in Virginia; and establishing the Aquatic

Wildlife Conservation Center to propagate and recover endangered aquatic species.

He is also the recipient of a number of awards and hon-ors, including the River Conservationist of the Year award from the Virginia Wildlife Federation and the Conserva-tionist of the Year award from Trout Unlimited in 1993. In 1997, he was recognized by WWBT TV in Richmond for his efforts to restore anadromous fish populations in the James River, and in 1999 he received the Professional Ser-vice Award from the Virginia Chapter of the American Fisheries Society. The Virginia Society of Ornithology recognized his contributions to bird conservation and the development of the Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail in 2002. In 2004, he received the Coastal America Partner-ship Award from President Bush for his efforts as a team leader in a multi-organization project to remove Embrey Dam from the Rappahannock River. In 2005, he received the Dr. Henry S. Mosby Award from the Virginia Chapter of The Wildlife Society for outstanding contributions to the wise management of Virginia’s wildlife resources; and he was given a Special Recognition Award from Watch-able Wildlife, Inc., for the establishment of the Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail. In 2012, Whitehurst was the recipient of the Clarence W. Watson Award, bestowed by the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agen-cies for career achievement in fish and wildlife conserva-tion.

david k. Whitehurst receives seth gordon award

David K. Whitehurst, Director, Bureau of Wildlife Resources, has been awarded the Seth Gordon Award at the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ (AFWA) 103rd Annual Meeting held September 10th in Portland, Oregon.


Guest post by M. Nils Peterson, Tarla Rai Peterson, and Jaianguo Liu

Paul Ehrlich was taken to task for alarmist language in The Population Bomb, but his book, and its hyperbolic title, played a major role in turning the tide of human overpopulation.

The metaphor of a housing bomb is apt in many ways. Rapid declines in numbers of people sharing homes are leading to explosive growth in housing that is not directly related to population growth. The physical footprint of each U.S. house has more than doubled over the last 60 years, in-creasing the impact of each home. Rampant housing specu-lation has left “zombie sub-divisions” in otherwise idyllic locations around the globe, including the Yellowstone area in the United States and many regions of Spain. Boom and bust cycles in real-estate values have obliterated the retire-ment savings of millions around the world. Demographic trends including aging, increased wealth, equal rights for women, increased freedom for young singles, and better ed-ucation all drive down household size and drive up house size. These trends have shifted the major threat to sustain-ability from growing numbers of people to growing per-capita consumption, and that consumption takes place pri-marily through households. Households are responsible for the most energy use of any sector, and they use that energy inefficiently. They drive water consumption and waste pro-duction, and their patterns on the landscape drive social un-rest, obesity, and oil dependence.

Despite the enormity of inefficient energy use, The Hous-ing Bomb is not a doomsday book. We discovered numer-ous ways to defuse the housing bomb that are unbelievably easy, even self-serving, for individual homeowners. Our book highlights ways homeowners can cut their energy and water use in half while saving rather than spending money, and increasing rather than decreasing their quality of life. We highlight how the most self-serving cities are obsessed with complete streets and conservation sub-divisions, and how states and nations can overcome obesity and oil depen-dence by tackling the housing bomb. We know our esti-mates are conservative because every time we share these insights in presentations at least one audience member shares a brilliant new way to make housing more sustain-able, something that pays for itself, costs very little initially, and requires no sacrifice from the home owner. Last time, it was a water heater timer. Unlike solutions to the population

bomb, which required culturally difficult decisions about family planning, the housing bomb can be defused simply by waking people up to the incredible opportunities we have to make housing more sustainable. At the same time, the alarmist language is honest. The bomb is ticking, and it’s up to everyone to defuse it!

M. Nils Peterson is an associate professor in the Depart-ment of Forestry and Environmental Resources at North Carolina State University. Tarla Rai Peterson is the Boone and Crockett Chair in Wildlife and Conservation Policy at Texas A& M University and a professor of environmental communication at the Swedish

University of Agricultural Sciences. Jianguo Liu is the Rachel Carson Chair in Sustainability, a University Distin-guished Professor, and the director of the Center for Sys-tems Integration and Sustainability at Michigan State Uni-versity. Their latest book, The Housing Bomb: Why Our Addiction to Houses Is Destroying the Environment and Threatening Our Society, is available from JHU Press.

is “the housing Bomb” too alarmist?

The Housing Bomb is available online at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Housing-Bomb-Environment-Threatening/dp/1421410656


We evaluated the effectiveness of medetomidine and butorphanol as a substitute for xylazine in ketamine-based field immobilization protocols for bobcats (Lynx rufus). During 2008 and 2009, 11 bobcats were immobi-lized with an intramuscular combina-tion of ketamine (10 mg/kg)-xylazine (0.75 mg/kg) (KX) or ketamine (4 mg/kg)-medetomidine (40 mcg/kg)-bu-torphanol (0.4 mg/kg) (KMB). Time to initial sedation, recumbency, full anesthesia, head up, sternal, standing, full recovery, and total processing times were recorded. The KX combi-nation had a median time to full anes-thesia of 10 minutes, a median recov-ery time of 46 minutes, and a median total processing time of 83 minutes. Alternatively, the KMB combination had a median time to full anesthesia of 21 minutes, a median recovery time of 18 minutes, and a median total pro-cessing time of 64 minutes. Median HR, RR, RT, and SpO2 were within acceptable limits for both protocols. Though both protocols provided safe and reliable sedation, the benefits of using medetomidine and butorphanol to lower ketamine doses and decrease processing time for brief nonsurgical sedation of bobcats in the field are presented.

Monitoring mammals is becoming increasingly important as changing climate and increased urbanization affect populations. We designed and implemented surveys applicable to forested wetlands. Observed species richness, individual detection and cost per species detected were used to evaluate the efficiency of survey tech-

niques. Visual observations produced the highest species richness estimate (14). Trapping was the most expensive technique ($4,024, $61 per individual) but provided age structure and popu-lation estimates through mark-recap-ture analysis. Camera trapping was relatively expensive ($1,865) and de-tected the most individuals (n = 673) which resulted in low per individual cost ($3 per individual). Visual obser-vations and camera trapping docu-mented species not detected by any other methods; mink (Mustela vison) and feral hog (Sus scrofa). Each tech-nique produced different indices and species richness values. Our results

indicate that, although camera trap-ping was a cost effective way to detect mammals, land managers should use a variety of monitoring techniques specific to forested wetlands.

Understanding changes in behaviors of prey and predators based on lunar il-lumination provides insight into im-portant life history, behavioral ecology, and survival information. The objec-tives of this research were to determine if bobcat movement rates differed by period of day (dark, moon, crepuscu-lar, day), lunar illumination (< 10%, 10 - < 50%, 50 - < 90%, > 90%), and moon

Aimee Rockhill studied the ecology of bobcats in coastal North Carolina.

the ecology of Bobcats in Coastal north Carolina (under the direCtiOn OF drs. ChristOpher s. depernO and rOger a. pOWell)

aBstraCt: aimee pauline rOCkhill

Please see, Rockhill Page 9


Over the past two decades, an increase in resident (non-migratory) Canada geese (Branta canadensis) in suburban areas of the United States has height-ened the awareness of human-goose in-teractions and the associated risks to hu-man health and safety. Resident geese may cause goose-aircraft collisions, transmit zoonotic diseases, decrease water quality through fecal deposition, and show aggression toward humans. In response, we evaluated resident Canada goose movements at and around a sub-urban airport, tested geese for zoonotic diseases, and provided monitoring strat-egies for geese. In 2008, we neck- and leg-banded 763 resident geese at 14 sites in and around Greensboro, North Caro-lina. We affixed satellite transmitters to a subset of geese and collected fecal samples for analysis. To evaluate goose movements, we resighted the geese with spotting scopes 2-3 times per week for 18 months and analyzed telemetry data. We calculated survival rates, home range sizes, and core areas, and evalu-ated the speed, altitude, and distance of goose movements. Additionally, we monitored site recolonization of nui-sance geese after conducting a lethal re-moval. The annual survival of marked geese was 0.9 and the frequency of sat-ellite-tagged goose movements peaked daily within the first 2 hours after sun-rise and again at sunset, and all goose movements occurred at altitudes ≤ 64 m. We determined that 2.8% of goose movements occurred during the molt (1 Jun-15 Jul), 20.7% during post-molt I 2008 (16 Jul-31 Oct), 15.2% during post-

molt II (1 Nov-31 Jan), 32.3% during breeding/nesting (1 Feb-31 May), and 29.0% during post-molt I 2009 (16 Jul-31 Oct). The mean distance travelled per day by satellite-tagged geese was be-tween 2.0 km (SE = 0.3) and 4.9 km (SE = 0.4) with results varying by sex and season. The mean fixed kernel home range and core area estimates (95 and

50% UD) were 991.8 ha (SE = 241.1) and 120.4 ha (SE = 24.6), respectively. The controlled removal of 60 resident geese from 1 site eliminated 24.2% of those initially marked at the site in 2008, but individual geese quickly recolonized the site following removal. The move-

Elizabeth Rutledge studied the impacts of resident Canada goose movements on zoonotic disease transmission and human safety at suburban airports.

impacts of resident Canada goose movements on zoonotic disease transmission and human safety at suburban airports

(under the direCtiOn OF drs. ChristOpher s. depernO and ChristOpher e. mOOrman)

aBstraCt: martha elizaBeth rutledge

Please see, Rutledge Page 9


phase (new, full). Bobcats had high movement rates during crepuscular and day periods and low movement rates during dark periods. Bobcats had highest movement rates during day-time when nighttime illumination was low (new moon) and higher movement rates during nighttime when lunar illu-mination was high (full moon). These behaviors are consistent with prey

availability being affected by light lev-el and by limited vision by bobcats dur-ing darkness.

The surrogate species approach is being adopted by many organizations that are faced with diminishing bud-gets and reduced staff. We selected bobcat as a surrogate to guide research on University owned property in North Carolina. We tested the Habitat Suitability Index model developed for bobcats in 1987. Although time con-suming, the HSI worked well enough to use as a starting approach for as-

sessing land cover suitability for bob-cat throughout the Southeast. Further, we used the synoptic model to simul-taneously estimate land cover and space use of bobcats. The top synoptic model included all environmental co-variates that were hypothesized to af-fect bobcat land cover selection. Ben-efits of the surrogate species approach included: access to information about other mammals, detailed information of land cover structure, and identifica-tion of travel corridors used by bob-cats and likely other meso-mammals.

rockhill Continued from page 7

ments of resident Canada geese on or adjacent to the airport and rapid recolo-nization of the removal site suggests that removals should be conducted frequent-ly and on larger spatial scales to reduce the potential for goose-aircraft colli-sions.

We used novel spatial mark-resight techniques to estimate seasonal chang-es in adult resident goose densities. The model determined that goose densities varied by sex and season, ranging from 11.1 individuals/km2 (SE = 0.2) during

breeding/nesting to 16.0 individuals/km2 (SE = 0.3) during post-molt II. These results provide species-specific ecological information and are useful for determining when and where man-agement strategies are needed to achieve desired population numbers to reduce negative human-goose interac-tions in suburban areas.

With regard to disease testing, all de-tected campylobacters were C. jejuni and prevalence in 2008 and 2009 was 5.0% and 16.0%, respectively. Salmo-nella was not detected. All C. jejuni isolates were susceptible to a panel of six antimicrobial agents (tetracycline, streptomycin, erythromycin, kanamy-

cin, nalidixic acid, and ciprofloxacin). Multilocus sequence typing of repre-sentative isolates revealed six sequence types, of which two (ST-3708 and ST-4368) were new, two (ST-702 and ST-4080) were detected previously among C. jejuni from geese, and two (ST-991 and ST-4071) were first reported in C. jejuni from an environmental water source and a human case of illness. These results indicate a diverse popu-lation of antibiotic-susceptible C. jejuni in resident Canada geese in and around Greensboro, North Carolina and sug-gest a need for additional assessment of the public health risk associated with resident geese in suburban areas.

rutledge Continued from page 8

enhance wildlife habitat

$50 you can help enhance wildlife habitat in your backyard. all proceeds benefit the leopold Wildlife Clubif interested contact dr. Chris deperno ([email protected])

Bat boxes and wood duck boxes


Fire-dependent longleaf pine forests of the southeastern United States are an important forest type for southeastern fox squirrels (Sciurus niger niger), a species of high conser-vation priority in the region. Prescribed fire is used as a land management tool to maintain the ecological integrity of southeastern longleaf pine forest systems. Historically, dor-mant-season prescribed burning was common, but in an ef-fort to mimic natural fire regimes, resource managers have transitioned to more growing-season burns. Growing-sea-son burns may reduce hardwood trees within longleaf pine forests and because a large percentage of the fox squirrel diet is hard mast, a reduction in hardwoods could reduce habitat quality for squirrels. To investigate relationships be-tween growing-season prescribed fire and fox squirrel hab-itat selection we captured and radiocollared southeastern fox squirrels on Fort Bragg, North Carolina, USA. We used compositional analysis to assess fox squirrel home range se-lection and used resource utilization functions (RUFs) to in-vestigate relationships between specific habitat covariates (i.e., trees/ha, distance to road, number of growing-season fires) and within home range habitat selection of fox squir-rels. When selecting home ranges on Fort Bragg, fox squir-rels selected southern yellow pine (i.e., primarily longleaf pine types) over other cover types. Within the home range, fox squirrels selected areas in close proximity to riparian zones.

Because most studies have focused on habitat use and not population demographics, we estimated survival rates using the Kaplan-Meier staggered entry design. Also, we calcu-lated composite and seasonal 99% kernel density home range estimates for male and female fox

squirrels. During our study, 22 radiocollared fox squirrels died; 8 were depredated, 2 were hunter harvested, and 12 died of unknown causes. Survival rates differed among the seasons when the sexes were combined (X2 = 11.61, P = 0.03); survival was greatest in the winter and lowest in the fall. Male annual survival (0.35, 95% CI = 0.07 – 0.63) was lower than female annual survival (0.66, 95% CI = 0.41 – 0.91), but the statistical difference was weak (X2 = 2.64, P = 0.10). Male home ranges were larger than female home rang-

es (F1 = 14.257, P < 0.001), potentially exposing them to greater predation risk. High mortality of male fox squirrels may warrant reevaluation of harvest regulations for declin-ing, hunted southeastern fox squirrel populations. In addi-tion, large space requirements and concentrated use near ri-parian areas may be indicative of patchy forage availability on the landscape.

Annemarie Prince studied habitat selection, survival, and home range size of the south-eastern fox squirrel.

habitat selection, survival, and home range size of the southeastern Fox squirrel

(under the direCtiOn OF ChristOpher mOOrman and ChristOpher depernO)

aBstraCt: annemarie prinCe


Over the past century, the wide-spread suppression of fire has dra-matically altered the structure and composition of forests previously maintained by fire. As a result, wild-life species associated with fire-maintained ecosystems have drasti-cally declined. In an effort to mitigate this decline, forest manag-ers use fire to restore these commu-nities in a variety of ecological and geographical contexts. To aid resto-ration goals, the natural history of certain wildlife species can be used to infer ecosystem processes. We used species of birds associated with two distinct habitat types, to guide the management and restoration of fire-maintained ecosystems. In the Atlantic Coastal Plain, longleaf pine historically dominated the land-scape but is now limited to isolated patches. We investigated the distri-bution of Bachman’s sparrow to il-lustrate the implications of this shift in landscape context. Our results suggest focusing restoration efforts on large areas of high connectivity will facilitate the dispersal and oc-currence of longleaf pine-associated species. In the mountains of the western United States, the varied to-pography and weather patterns re-sult in high variation in fire frequen-cy and severity, both locally and regionally. We investigated how the abundance of early successional species changed with time and across different burn severities fol-lowing wildfire. These species re-

sponded primarily to moderate and high severities, on both short and long time scales. Establishing and maintaining early successional veg-etation by reincorporating high se-verity fire in shrub-dominated habi-tats will help to mitigate declines of

early successional birds that are oth-erwise rare or absent in the montane West. In both cases, mimicking the historical disturbance regime helps to establish and conserve the habitat conditions required by bird species of concern.

Paul Taillie studied the use of distribution and abundance of birds to guide management of fire-maintained forest ecosystems.

using distribution and abundance of Birds to guide management of Fire-maintained Forest ecosystems

(under the direCtiOn OF Chris mOOrman and nils petersOn)

aBstraCt: paul j. taillie


The Leopold Wildlife Club and Student Fisheries Society at NCSU would like to invite everyone to attend our 3rd annual Wild Foods Supper. The Wild Foods Supper will be held on January 25, 2014 at the VFW Post 7383 located at 522 Reedy Creek Road Cary, NC 27513. We are asking for a donation of $15 per person. There will be a buffet dinner, cooking contest, game calling contest, silent auction, raffle, and door prizes for the attendees. The buffet dinner will be composed of a variety of wild foods which will be prepared in many ways. Food check-in for the cooking contest will occur from 5:00-6:00pm and the meal will begin at 6:00pm. Questions should be directed to Michael Biggerstaff ([email protected]) or Dr. Chris Moor-man ([email protected]).

get your wild foods supper tickets


publications & presentations

research publicationsArchambault, J. M., W. G. Cope, and T. J. Kwak. 2013. Burrowing, byssus, and biomarkers: behavioral and

physiological indicators of sublethal thermal stress in freshwater mussels (Unionidae). Marine and Freshwater Behaviour and Physiology 46: 229-250.

Fisk, J. M. II, T. J. Kwak, R. J. Heise, and F. W. Sessions. 2013. Redd dewatering effects on hatching and larval survival of the robust redhorse. River Research and Applications 29: 574-581.

Flowers, H. J., and J. E. Hightower. 2013. A Novel Approach to Surveying Sturgeon Using Side-scan Sonar and Occupancy Modeling. Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science 5:211-223.

Heise, R. J., W. G. Cope, T. J. Kwak, and C. B. Eads. 2013. Short-term effects of small dam removal on a freshwater mussel assemblage. Walkerana: Journal of the Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society 16: 41-52.

Maggi, R. G., M. C. Chitwood, S. Kennedy-Stoskopf, and C. S. DePerno. 2013. Novel hemotropic Mycoplasma species in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Comparative Immunology, Microbiology, and Infectious Diseases 36:607-611.

McVey, J. M., D. T. Cobb, R. A. Powell, M. K. Stoskopf, J. Boling, L. P. Waits, and C. E. Moorman. 2013. Diets of sympatric red wolves and coyotes in northeastern North Carolina. Journal of Mammalogy 94:1141-1148.

Yu, X., J. Wang, R. Kays, P. Jansen, T. Wang, and T. Huang. 2013. Automated identification of animal species in camera trap images. EURASIP Journal on Image and Video Processing 52.

Weaver, D. M., and T. J. Kwak. 2013. Assessing effects of stocked trout on nongame fish assemblages in southern Appalachian Mountain streams. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 142: 1495-1507.

research presentationsChitwood, M. C., M. A. Lashley, C. E. Moorman, M. B. Elfelt, J. C. Kilgo, and C. S. DePerno. 2013. White-tailed

deer fawn space use and movement distance in a predator-dominated landscape. 20th Annual Conference of The Wildlife Society, Wisconsin Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Chitwood, M. C., M. A. Lashley, C. E. Moorman, C. A. Harper, and C. S. DePerno. 2013. Does poor soil productivity indicate poor diet quality for ungulates? 20th Annual Conference of The Wildlife Society, Wisconsin Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Fritts.S, C. Moorman, D. Hazel, J. Homyack, S. Castleberry, C. Farrell, and S. Grodsky. 2013. Reptile and amphibian response to biomass harvesting guidelines in intensively managed pine plantations in Wildlife Response to Intensive Management of Eastern Forests Symposium. The Wildlife Society 20th Annual Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.


Publications & Presentations

Fritts, S., C. E. Moorman, and D. Hazel. 2013. Efficacy of biomass harvesting guidelines in an operational setting. Weyerhaeuser Sustainability Meeting, New Bern, North Carolina.

Garner, L., C. Moorman, D. Cobb, and B. Gardner. 2013. Estimating occupancy of the American alligator in North Carolina. The Wildlife Society 20th Annual Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Grodsky, S. M., C. E. Moorman, S. R. Fritts, S. B. Castleberry, and T. B. Wigley. 2013. Effects of biomass harvesting guidelines on avian habitat use in Wildlife Response to Intensive Management of Eastern Forests Symposium. The Wildlife Society 20th Annual Conference. Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Grodsky, S. M., C. E. Moorman, S. R. Fritts, S. B. Castleberry, and T. B. Wigley. 2013. Effects of biomass harvesting guidelines on avian habitat use. The Wildlife Society 20th annual Conference. Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Grodsky, S. C. E. Moorman, S. R. Fritts, S. B. Castleberry, and T. B. Wigley. 2013. Effects of biomass harvesting guidelines on avian habitat use. Weyerhaeuser Sustainability Meeting, New Bern, North Carolina.

Lashley, M. A., A. P. Rockhill, M. C. Chitwood, P. S. Basinger, G. R. Karns, K. A. Adams, L. I. Muller, C. A. Harper, S. S. Ditchkoff, M. C. Conner, C. E. Moorman, and C. S. DePerno. 2013. The influence of lunar illumination on trait-mediated predation risk in cervids. In: Predation risk: Importance of indirect effects on vertebrate species. 20th Annual Conference of The Wildlife Society, Wisconsin Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Moorman, C. E., C. H. Greenberg, A. L. Raybuck, C. E. Snoberger, D. M. Simon, G. S. Warburton, C. Sundol, T. Seiboldt, T. Keyser, and T. Waldrop. 2013. Effects of prescribed fire on reptiles and amphibians in southern Appalachian hardwood forest in Effects of Wildlife Fire and Fire Management on Amphibians and Reptiles. The Wildlife Society 20th Annual Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Parker, L., and C. S. DePerno. Reptile and Amphibian Diversity Survey at Hill Demonstration Forest in Durham, North Carolina. 9th Annual State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium, James H. Barnhardt Student Activity Center’s Halton Arena, University of North Carolina-Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina.

Quist, M. C., M. E. Mather, D. L. Parrish, S. R. Chipps, T. J. Kwak, and C. P. Paukert. 2013. The voices of reality: why effective fisheries education is challenging and practical ways to move forward. 143rd Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society, Little Rock, Arkansas.

popular pressKilburg, E. L., C. E. Moorman, and C. S. DePerno. 2013. Burning during the nesting season: Desirable of disastrous

for turkey management? The Upland Gazette, Wildlife Conservation and Habitat Management Fall 2013:4-5.

awardsKen Pollock received a special recognition award from the Biometrics Working Group of the Wildlife Society.

Christopher S. DePerno, Ph.D.Associate Professor, Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology

the neWsletter Compiled and edited by:

Department of ForestryCollege of Natural ResourcesNorth Carolina State UniversityTurner House, Box 7646Raleigh, NC 27695-7646919-513-7559 (office)

919-334-8935 (cell)919-515-5110 (fax)[email protected]

Steve Allen Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology graduatedesign and editing336-209-5093 (cell) [email protected]

got a story idea or a great photo?Send your article submissions or pictures of North Carolina’s native wildlife to [email protected].

OrganizatiOns and OppOrtunitiesNorth Carolina State University Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology

students and faculty are active in a number of peer and industry organizations devoted to aspects of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology.

The Leopold Wildlife Club offers students the opportunity to network and learn from professionals in wildlife science and management. Meetings are held twice a month and typically feature speakers on a variety of topics. Past speakers have included falconers, fishing guides, taxidermists, decoy carvers and more.

The Student Fisheries Society is a sub-unit of the North Carolina Chapter of the American Fisheries Society. It encourages the exchange of fisheries and aquatic science information among students, faculty and regional professionals while also providing career guidance to students. The American Fisheries Soci-ety is the oldest and largest not-for-profit professional society for government, academic and industry scientists associated with conservation, development and management of fishery resources in North America.

The NC Chapter of The Wildlife Society provides a forum for wildlife pro-fessionals and others to interact to improve wildlife conservation and manage-ment while fostering high professional standards and ethics within all related fields. It is an acknowledged source of current scientific information and exper-tise and acts as a collective voice on matters relating to wildlife biology, manage-ment, education and policy.

summer Camp student endOWments

Please consider giving to our two Summer Camp student endowments. These endowments help undergraduate students attend the Fisheries and Wildlife Sum-mer Camp. For more information on how to contribute, contact Dr. Chris Moor-man at 919-515-5578 or [email protected]

phil dOerr endOWment Fund

Also, you may consider giving to the Phil Doerr Endowment Fund. The en-dowment, established with the North Carolina Natural Resources Foundation, will be used to fund an annual award to assist undergraduate or graduate student(s) in gaining valuable field experience. For more information on how to contribute, contact Dr. Chris Moorman at 919-515-5578 or [email protected]

read BaCk issues OnlineIf you missed the last issue of the Fisheries and Wildlife newsletter you can catch up on back issues on the department’s Web site under the news tab.

http://cnr.ncsu.edu/fer/news/FWCB_newsletter.php


MAMMALOGY LESSONS

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