PB 1769 A Guide to Successful Wildlife Food Plots Blending Science with Common Sense

Planting food plots is by far the most popular habitat management practice among landowners wanting to enhance wildlife habitat. NOTE: Hard copies of this publication are currently unavailable. A newer version of this title is available: https://extension.tennessee.edu/publications/Documents/PB1874.pdf

PB1633 Improving Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat

Information on wildlife needs, management concepts, a discussion of which trees and shrubs to plant, benefits of landscaping for wildlife, how to provide shelter, and tips on attracting and feeding birds

SP704-A Potential Impacts on Wildlife of Switchgrass Grown for Biofuels

Version 3.

Efficacy of a Preemergence Herbicide Following Postemergence Control to Reduce Sericea Lespedeza in Old Fields Managed for Northern Bobwhite

Sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata; hereafter, sericea) is a nonnative forb that commonly invades sites managed for northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus; hereafter, bobwhite). Sericea can reduce habitat quality for bobwhite as it outcompetes native plants that provide forage and cover. Bobwhite eat sericea seed, but seed are relatively indigestible and may limit nutrition intake and reduce the fecundity rate. Postemergence herbicides, including glyphosate, triclopyr, and fluroxypyr+triclopyr, control standing sericea, but do not provide preemergence control, which would increase long-term control because sericea annually produces large amounts of hard seed with high dormancy rates. Imazapic is labeled to provide preemergence control, but no study has evaluated preemergence applications of imazapic following postemergence herbicides to control sericea and promote native plants important for bobwhite. Additionally, data evaluating various rates of imazapic to control sericea are lacking. We currently are evaluating the efficacy of glyphosate and fluroxypyr+triclopyr, applied alone post-emergence and in conjunction with 3 preemergence rates of imazapic, to reduce coverage of sericea at 4 sites in Tennessee and Alabama, USA. We split each site into 8 treatment units and control and assigned the following treatments: glyphosate, fluroxypyr+triclopyr, glyphosate with 48, 96, and 144 ml/ha (4, 8, and 12 oz/acre) imazapic, and fluroxypyr+triclopyr with 48, 96, and 144 ml/ha imazapic. We applied 767 ml/ha (2 qt/acre) glyphosate and 192 ml/ha (16 oz/acre) fluroxypyr+triclopyr in August 2018 to control established sericea. We measured coverage of native forbs, native grasses, and sericea during the 2019 and 2020 growing seasons to determine the efficacy of treatments on sericea and the native plant community. Both glyphosate and fluroxypyr+triclopyr reduced sericea coverage 1 and 2 growing seasons following treatment, but we documented no difference in reduction of sericea coverage between postemergence treatments. We will apply imazapic in March 2021 at 3 different rates to determine whether a preemergence application improves sericea control. Our results on the effectiveness of a preemergence application after postemergence applications should provide valuable information to managers trying to control sericea on lands managed for bobwhite

Messaging, Marketing, and Identity: Content Analysis of Waterfowl Hunting Videos

Abstract Media has been documented to significantly impact children and adolescents’ behavior, attitudes, cultural norms, identity development, and normative behaviors. We conducted a content analysis of three waterfowl hunting videos to determine what images and words were being conveyed to hunters, and a mail survey of Illinois waterfowl hunters to test how age may influence viewing of waterfowl hunting media. In particular, we hypothesized that: 1) age will influence whether hunters have watched waterfowl hunting media, and 2) age will influence how often hunters watch them. Overall, 82% of waterfowl hunters had watched waterfowl hunting media. Age influenced whether hunters, and how often hunters, had watched them; younger hunters were more likely to have watched the media and watched them significantly more often. Media watching also influenced hunters’ expectations, their identity as a waterfowl hunter, and their perception of the number of birds they harvest when compared to others. Results suggest that media influences waterfowl hunters’ expectations, identity, and behavior, all of which play an important role in how we will manage for waterfowl hunters in the future

Causes and sources of water quality impairment in the Upper Chehalis River, Washington

Water quality problems have been identified in the Chehalis River in the vicinity of Centralia and Chehalis since the 1960's. In 1992, the Washington State Department of Ecology listed four Chehalis River segments, three segments of the Newaukum River, two segments of the Wynoochee River, and three other tributaries - Salzer, Dillenbaugh, and Wildcat Creeks - as Water Quality Limited. Of these twelve waterbody segments, seven either include, or are tributary to, the 9.4 mile stretch of the Chehalis River from Scammon Creek to the Newaukum River (River Mile LRMI 65.8 to RM 75.2), referred to as the Centralia reach. The Chehalis River displays the hydrologic characteristics typical of Western Washington rivers with minimal snowmelt input. Critical low flows occur in later summer, and high flows are almost exclusively associated with intense rainfall. Ambient water quality data show long-term and widespread problems from water quality impairment caused by low dissolved oxygen and high water temperatures during summer low flows, and elevated bacteria counts and turbidity during winter high flows. Since the passage of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act amendments of 1972, water pollution from point source discharges has decreased. This is true in the Chehalis River Basin, yet water quality in the Centralia reach remains badly impaired. Sources of persistent water quality impairment in the Centralia reach include "natural" conditions (the Centralia reach is deep, slow, and stratified); point sources discharges (waste water treatment plants. food-processing waste); storm water runoff from a variety of nonpoint sources; and poor quality water from the Chehalis River upstream and other tributaries of the Centralia reach. Water quality conditions in the Centralia reach resemble the nutrient-rich conditions of many eutrophic lakes in Western Washington, except that nitrogen rather than phosphorus limits algal growth. Data indicate that the Chehalis waste water treatment plant is probably the greatest contributing source of phosphorus loading to the Centralia reach

Measuring public perceptions of sex offenders: reimagining the Community Attitudes Toward Sex Offenders (CATSO) scale

The Community Attitudes Toward Sex Offenders (CATSO) scale is an 18-item self-report questionnaire designed to measure respondents’ attitudes toward sex offenders. Its original factor structure has been questioned by a number of previous studies, and so this paper sought to reimagine the scale as an outcome measure, as opposed to a scale of attitudes. A face validity analysis produced a provisional three-factor structure underlying the CATSO: ‘punitiveness,’ ‘stereotype endorsement,’ and ‘risk perception.’ A sample of 400 British members of the public completed a modified version of the CATSO, the Attitudes Toward Sex Offenders scale, the General Punitiveness Scale, and the Rational-Experiential Inventory. A three-factor structure of a 22-item modified CATSO was supported using half of the sample, with factors being labeled ‘sentencing and management,’ ‘stereotype endorsement,’ and ‘risk perception.’ Confirmatory factor analysis on data from the other half of the sample endorsed the three-factor structure; however, two items were removed in order to improve ratings of model fit. This new 20-item ‘Perceptions of Sex Offenders scale’ has practical utility beyond the measurement of attitudes, and suggestions for its future use are provided

Loss and assimilation: Lived experiences of Brexit for British citizens living in Luxembourg

Inconsistent political realities are associated with mental health issues such as hopelessness, anxiety, and depression. The psychological impact of Brexit is clearly an important and timely issue, but hitherto has been understudied. This study uses a critical realist approach to qualitatively explore the lived experiences of British citizens living in Luxembourg during the Brexit era. The study reports on semi-structured interviews conducted with 6 British citizens aged 18–65. An experientially focused thematic analysis was conducted, exploring two main themes: Loss (with psychological and broader social implications) and Integration (contrasting the mover’s community with the receiving community). This study demonstrates the psychological impact of Brexit and highlights the urgency for future researchers and mental health practitioners alike — both in the UK and overseas — to consider the human consequences associated with political upheaval. Open access materials for this project can be viewed here: https://osf.io/38rg7/?view_only=b8c04dfc3fe5474f9aff4897e370b3e6

Press coverage as a heuristic guide for social decision-making about sexual offenders

We present two studies examining the role of the British press in promoting heuristic-based decision-making about sexual crime. In Study 1, 1014 press articles were used in order to examine the role of the availability heuristic. That is, we used the recent highprofile Jimmy Savile sexual offending scandal to investigate how this case impacted upon press reporting of sexual crime. We found a 295% increase in the frequency of sexual crime coverage after this case, in addition to a 22:1 over-representation of sexual crime prevalence. Linguistically, tabloid stories about sexual crime did not significantly differ in the 12 months following the Jimmy Savile scandal, though broadsheets were less negative in their coverage after the scandal broke. Tabloid headline descriptors of sexual offenders were also substantially more offensive than those used by broadsheets. In Study 2, tabloid readership was associated with more negative attitudes and preferences for harsher punishments for sexual offenders, which we propose may be attributable to the affect heuristic. We discuss our findings within the context of dual-process cognition, and argue that the national press promote heuristic-based thinking about the issue of sexual offending. Future research avenues, and potential implications for press engagement, are also identified