Artificial Nest Sites for Wood Turtles

Scientists built an artificial nesting mound for wood turtles in the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey when development and invasive plants made the original site less viable. A paper in the journal Northeastern Naturalist describes the successful transfer of nesting turtles from one site to the other. The mound has produced 142 nestling wood turtles in four years.

But more important than describing the success, the paper gives an idea what was required to produce it. The artificial mound was just 100 meters from the old mound. Nest-bound females were fetched from the old site and hand-carried to the new site. While one turtle returned to the artificial mound for the next three years, several others were brought back from the old site in another year.

Read the whole article, subscription or fee required.

Photo: cliff1066(TM) via Flickr

Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease – Update

It is the season of biting midges, and therefore the season for epizootic hemorrhagic disease in deer.

In Kansas, there have been several reports of dead or dieing deer. Two of those cases have been confirmed as epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD), or EH, as this article in InfoZine that reported the outbreak calls it. Read the story here.

EHD is cited as the likely source of dead and dieing deer in Montana, in this article from the Liberty County Times.

Read the ProMed entries on both these events for background, wise commentary and corrections to the articles. The comments are at the bottom of the page in [brackets]. Read it here.

There is a possible outbreak in North Dakota. It is still being investigated. Read the story in the Bismark Tribune.

And finally, two weeks ago New Jersey announced a possible outbreak of EHD. We posted that as an addition to that week’s wildlife disease update, but in case you missed it, here’s the press release.

Late addition: On Sept. 7, 2011, New York State has announced that the death of 100 deer in Rockland County two weeks ago was caused by EHD. Read the press release here.

Photo: A healthy deer. Photo credit: Steve Hillebrand, courtesy US Fish and Wildlife

Animals on the Move

Feral swine are moving into southern New York State, from scattered toe-holds in the northern part of the state. (Hopewell Evening Tribune)

Armadillos are heading north, perhaps because milder winters let them survive in unexpected places.(The Daily Climate)

Bears are returning to previously-burned regions of Arizona. Arizona Game and Fish warns returning home-owners in bear-prone areas to throw away spoiled food at the landfill. This is probably a good idea for residents returning to flooded areas in other states as well.

While there have been plenty of black bear sightings in urban and suburban areas all over the country, bears are causing more than the usual ruckus in densely populated New Jersey. (Newark Star-Ledger) See this article (Nyack Patch) and these articles also.

And in Greenwich, Connecticut, people are still seeing mountain lions. (Hartford Courant) (See last week’s post.)

Photo: John and Karen Hollingsworth, courtesy of US Fish and Wildlife Service

More Cervid Contraception: GonaCon and Elk

Rocky Mountain National Park was the site of a study of the effectiveness of GonaCon, a wildlife contraceptive in elk. The park has quite an elk problem. With no predators to worry about, the elk eat, wander through nearby Estes Park, stroll the golf course, eat some more, and make lots of baby elk. They have altered the park’s ecosystem by not allowing willows and aspens to grow.

Culling is the foundation of the park’s plan to reduce the herd, but of course, that bothers some people. A lot. This excellent story in New West has all the details on the elk in the park and the GonaCon study.

If you are unaware or need a refresher of why wildlife managers would welcome an effective and inexpensive wildlife contraceptive, here are a few articles.  New Jersey Hills/The Progress. (Utah) Standard-Examiner. The New York Times.  (And yes, that’s a little heavy on the New Jersey deer, but no place does suburban deer quite like NJ.)

Read more in New West.

Photo: A bull elk, I don’t know where. Probably not in the Rocky Mountain National Park. Credit: Gary Zahm, courtesy of US Fish and Wildlife Service

Spring research round-up

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Black duck
The New York State Department of Envirnmental Conservation and the New York Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (located at Cornell University) are conducting two black bear research projects in south-central New York this season. One study will estimate bear population density using a genetic (DNA) identification technique. The other will study bear movements and habitat selection in core bear ranges and fringe areas. Read more.
Also this spring, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program is teaming up with Montclair State University and the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey for the state’s first broad-based scientific study of chytrid fungus. The study seeks to find out if chytrid fungus is having an impact on the state’s amphibian populations. More info from the State of New Jersey.
This winter the Massachusetts Fish and Wildlife Department studied black ducks along the state’s coast. The department is concerned about the birds because their numbers have been declining. Read about the study in this article from the Cape Codder, via the WickedLocal Eastham blog. The study will continue for three more years.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife recently completed catfish research in the Wabash River. There had been no harvest limits on large catfish in the state, and the public had expressed concerns about fishing pressure. The state is looking into regulating the fishery. Some info on the regs from the Indiana General Assembly. A report on catfish in the Wabash River.
Photo: US Fish and Wildlife Dept.