SEAFWA 2016

AUTHORS: Keri Landry, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

ABSTRACT: The Louisiana Natural Heritage Program (LNHP) housed within the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) is currently assessing the gopher tortoise's status and working on measures to restore habitat for this species in the state. LNHP is committed to determining a population estimate and distribution for tortoises in Louisiana and working with managers and landowners to improve priority habitat on public and private lands. Data from ongoing survey and habitat conservation efforts will be discussed.

AUTHORS: B. Nicole Hodges, Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Mississippi State University; Jeanne C. Jones, Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Mississippi State University; Michael S. Cox, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences Mississippi State University; Lisa Y. Yager, USDA Forest Service; Bruce D. Leopold, Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Mississippi State University; Matthew G. Hinderliter, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Michael K. Crosby, Department of Natural Science Shorter University; Kathy R. Shelton, MS Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks

ABSTRACT: Populations of gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) in Mississippi exhibit limited recruitment despite recovery efforts implemented since federal listing under the Endangered Species Act in 1987.  In 2008, mortality associated with metabolic bone disease was detected in juvenile gopher tortoises in south Mississippi. We theorized that skeletal malformations in these tortoises were potentially linked to nutritional deficiencies.  Forage quality can play a role in reproductive success and growth rates of tortoises, thus, we investigated calcium, potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus levels in tortoise forage plants and effects of habitat management and soil suitability classes on nutrient levels in 11 plant growth forms. In forage samples collected during summers of 2012 – 2013 across all plant growth forms (N = 1,590), cacti exhibited greatest levels of the four nutrients, and forbs exhibited the next greatest levels of calcium and potassium (P < 0.01).  Forage samples exhibited greatest levels of calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus in mowed areas compared to areas that were burned (P < 0.01).  A greater understanding of nutrient content within different plant growth forms will allow biologists to better assess plant community characteristics related to nutritional quality available to gopher tortoises. Also, greater knowledge of forage quality existing on different soil types under varying habitat management regimes can be useful in planning and implementing gopher tortoise habitat management and restoration. 

AUTHORS: Jean P. Elbers, School of Renewable Natural Resources, Louisiana State University and AgCenter, Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Mary B. Brown, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL; Sabrina S. Taylor, School of Renewable Natural Resources, Louisiana State University and AgCenter, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

AUTHORS: Jeff Boundy, Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries

ABSTRACT: Snakes were trapped in a sandhill (historic longleaf pine) community in northern Louisiana between 2004 and 2016. Eighteen species of snakes were detected. Relative proportion of individuals for each species, differential habitat use, seasonal occurrence, and trap type success were determined.

AUTHORS: Charles Battaglia, Natural Heritage Program Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries; Emlyn Smith, U.S. Forest Service Catahoula District Kisatchie National Forest Louisiana; Josh Pierce, U.S. Forest Service Nacogdoches Texas

ABSTRACT: The Louisiana Pinesnake (Pituophis ruthveni) faces a myriad of threats, including unsuitable land management practices, habitat fragmentation, and lack of prescribed fire. This species is a candidate for the federal list of threatened and endangered species and is scheduled for listing determination in 2016. Louisiana Pinesnake Conservation Working Group has been focusing on pinesnake conservation for several years. This informal working group consists of government agencies, non-profit organizations, and private industry and has been meeting for more than a decade in order to further conservation efforts rangewide. In addition, there has been an effort to reintroduce this species in presumably unoccupied habitat in its historic range, the Catahoula district of the Kisatchie National Forest. An overview of the Louisiana Pinesnake conservation and reintroduction efforts in Louisiana will be presented.

AUTHORS: Kristy D. Capelle, Michael D. Kaller, William E. Kelso - School of Renewable Natural Resources Louisiana State University Agricultural Center; Ruth M. Elsey, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

ABSTRACT: Since 1986, ranching programs in Louisiana have required the release of juvenile alligators raised from eggs collected from wild nests to maintain alligator populations throughout the state. Over the years, the proportion and size of released ranched alligators has been modified, based on harvest data and preliminary survival estimates. This project assessed long-term data (1991-2014) from the release program to estimate survival from harvested alligators released as part of the program. Specifically, the management objective of this project was to determine the impact of release length on survival, based on harvested farm-release marked alligators. First, wildlife and fishery harvest models and general survival models were evaluated to determine best fit to the data. Estimates of annual instantaneous survival based on release length were 0.89 (female), 0.87 (male), and 0.88 (all). Second, once the best fitting model for overall release length-survival of the farm-released alligators was established, environmental data including precipitation and temperature from alligator release areas were added into the models to investigate their influences on survival estimates. Male alligator survival was higher in warmer and wetter years. Female alligator survival was higher in wetter years, and longer release length enhanced survival over time. Alligator survival in response to additional environmental variables and market value data will continue to be evaluated to give a better understanding of the effects of economic factors and extreme weather events on future management of American alligators in Louisiana.

AUTHORS: Katrina Hucks, University of Louisiana at Lafayette; Paul Leberg, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

ABSTRACT: Coastal systems are facing many challenges including climate change, sea level rise, storm surge, and erosion, all of which contribute to land loss. In Louisiana, this has led to the development of the coastal master plan supported by Habitat Suitability Index models to predict wildlife responses under various management scenarios. However, these models were not originally intended for this purpose and their functionality at large spatial scales is unclear. The goal of this project is to use Maxent to predict how various bird distributions might change with coastal restoration and management. During the summer of 2015, we surveyed southern Louisiana for Mottled Duck, Brown Pelican, and Roseate Spoonbill. We measured salinity, temperature, water depth, SAV presence and cover, and recorded surrounding vegetation. Using a predictive vegetation model, we projected the probability of occurrence for each target species. We had strong model fit for all models. Important variables for Mottled Duck were water, Schoenoplectus californicus, bare ground, Paspalum vaginatum, and Typha domingensis. Important variables for Brown Pelican were water, Spartina alterniflora, T. domingensis, Sagittaria lancifolia, and Taxodium distichum. Important variables for Roseate Spoonbill were water, bare ground, S. californicus, T. domingensis, and SAV. We plan to incorporate other environmental variables in future analyses to project habitat changes over a 50 year period. These results will help us understand how coastal change is affecting distributions of avifauna in southern Louisiana.

AUTHORS: Ryan J. Askren, Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Division of Agriculture; Douglas C. Osborne, Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, Division of Agriculture

ABSTRACT: The midcontinent population of greater white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons frontalis) has gained considerable attention in recent years from an evident increase in population abundance and perceived shift in winter distribution from the Central to Mississippi Flyway. Understanding species distribution is key to effective management and monitoring of harvested species. Migratory and wintering distributions are dynamic and may be altered due to long-term landscape changes thus necessitating frequent reassessment of the distribution of white-fronts. The most current literature on white-front distribution may be outdate and not representative of perceived changes likely due to changes in agriculture practices and climate change. The objective of this research was to provide the most up to date assessment of temporal and spatial distribution of white-fronts during fall migration and winter. GPS-equipped solar-powered PTTs were deployed in Nunavut during 2014 and Alaska during 2014 and 2015. Dynamic Brownian Bridge Movement Modelling was used to map utilization distributions of transmitter marked white-fronts. This is a novel technique that has profound implications for understanding space use by waterfowl yet has received little attention to date. Average latitudes of band recoveries by 7-day periods during fall migration were used to corroborate the timing of movements of transmitter marked white-fronts. White-fronts had a mean arrival date (±SE) of Sept. 14 (±1.9 days) to the staging areas in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan and departure of Oct. 26 (±2.6 days). Information from this research will aid in population surveys and introduce novel techniques for examining spatial use.

AUTHORS: Cassandra G. Skaggs, Renewable Natural Resources, Louisiana State University AgCenter; Kevin M. Ringelman, Renewable Natural Resources, Louisiana State University AgCenter; Kaylan Carrlson, Ducks Unlimited; Tanner Gue, Ducks Unlimited; Chuck Loesch, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service; Frank Rohwer, Delta Waterfowl; Michael L. Szymanski, North Dakota Game and Fish Department

ABSTRACT: The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) is responsible for producing more than half of the dabbling ducks in North America, many of which winter or migrate through Louisiana. The PPR in northwestern North Dakota coincides with the Bakken shale formation, where rapidly accelerating oil and gas development has the potential to impact more than 1 million duck pairs. Our goal is to assess the effect of energy development in the Bakken on waterfowl nest density and success. We selected sites that were stratified by the intensity of energy development as measured by the number of well pads present (Control: 0, Low: 1, Medium: 2-3, High: >3). We searched for waterfowl nests on at least two 32-ha grassland replicates on each of 28 plots (7 in each category) between 30 April-30 June 2015 and 28 April-15 July 2016. We searched for nests every three weeks using a chain drag and revisited every 5-7 days to determine nest fate. In 2015 and 2016, we searched over 2,600 hectares and found over 2,531 nests total. Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), and Gadwall (Anas strepera) comprised 75% of nests that were located. Preliminary results suggest nest survival weakly increases with the intensity of petroleum development. While areas of high extraction activity may lead to an increase in nest success, an irreversible decrease in nest density could lower the waterfowl production capacity of the region due to habitat loss and fragmentation.

AUTHORS: Mirka Zapletal, University of Louisiana at Lafayette; Dr. Paul Leberg, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

ABSTRACT: Dietary analysis provides information on predator trophic roles. We investigated the diets of coyotes and raccoons at eight barrier beach sites in coastal Louisiana, from Cypremort Point SP in the west to East Grande Terre in the east. We analyzed 59 coyote and 30 raccoon scats across broad prey categories to reveal patterns in dietary breadth, evenness, and prey volume. Coyotes exhibited significantly greater dietary breadth than raccoons (Wilcoxon, X^2 = 4.27, df = 1, P = 0.039), but dietary evenness did not differ between species (Wilcoxon, X^2 = 0.00, df = 1, P = 1.00). Coyote diet was dominated by mammalian prey (especially lagomorphs), grasses, and other plant materials, while raccoons consumed crustaceans, insects, and grasses more than other types of prey. Coyote dietary breadth was significantly influenced by rabbit presence (Wilcoxon, X^2 = 3.86, df = 1, P = 0.0495), suggesting that coyotes consumed fewer types of prey when rabbits are an available resource. We investigated changes in volume of prey in scats across environmental gradients (i.e. site size, vegetative complexity); as site isolation increased, raccoons consumed a greater volume of small mammal prey. Coyotes consumed smaller volumes of crustaceans and birds in sites with rabbits. Our results suggest that carnivore diet varies by species and responds to habitat complexity and prey availability. These patterns have conservation implications in coastal Louisiana where prey species include managed seabird populations and rising sea levels will alter habitat and prey availability. Carnivore management should employ species-specific strategies.