Raccoon (Procyon lotor) Activity is Better Predicted by Water Availability than Land Cover in a Moderately Fragmented Landscape

Citation: Heske, E. J., & Ahlers, A. A. (2016). Raccoon (Procyon lotor) Activity is Better Predicted by Water Availability than Land Cover in a Moderately Fragmented Landscape. Northeastern Naturalist, 23(3), 352-363. doi:10.1656/045.023.0302Citation: Heske, E., and Ahlers, A. (2016). Raccoon (Procyon lotor) Activity is Better Predicted by Water Availability than Land Cover in a Moderately Fragmented Landscape. Northeastern Naturalist, 23(3), 352-363. https://doi.org/10.1656/045.023.0302Procyon lotor (Raccoon) is a habitat and dietary generalist that reaches its greatest population densities in heterogeneous, moderately fragmented landscapes. Even within such landscapes, a variety of natural and anthropogenic habitat variables can influence the local activity of Raccoons, and therefore their potential impact as nest predators. We examined Raccoon activity at 34 baited track-stations over 3 summers in forested ravines in the Shawnee National Forest (SNF), IL. We found that the dependability of water at a survey site was the best predictor of Raccoon activity, overshadowing any potential influences of land cover in the surrounding landscape. Landscape-level effects on Raccoon population size and density are likely widespread throughout moderately fragmented regions like the SNF, but variation in local activity can be predicted by the distribution of critical resources (e.g., water, den sites)

Habitat Use by Small Mammals in an Intensively Managed Grassland Wildlife Sanctuary Final Report for FY97

Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Grant no. 1997-022Wunpublishednot peer reviewedOpe

Effects of human state park visitation rates on escape behavior of white-tailed deer

State parks are typically established to preserve natural or native habitats for wildlife while simultaneously providing recreational experiences for humans. However, because of their proximity to urban centers, the level of human visitation associated with state parks may be highly variable. Little information has been published regarding the effect of human visitation levels on wildlife escape behavior in state parks. We evaluated flight initiation distances (FIDs) and buff er distances (i.e., the difference between alert and flight distances) for white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus; deer) from September 2013 to August 2014 at 3 state parks in east-central Illinois with different human visitation rates. Deer FIDs were lower in a high-visitation park and higher in a low-visitation park. The buff er distances were higher in a high-visitation park and lower in a low-visitation park. Other social (sex, group size, presence of juveniles) and environmental (cover, weather, season) variables that might affect escape behavior did not account for the relationships with park attendance. These results suggest that deer within state parks either habituate to human activity or spatially segregate based on personality (e.g., degree of shyness or boldness). Based on our findings, high levels of human visitation in parks can have a significant impact on the behavior of local wildlife

Experimental study of the effects of mammalian hard mast predators on acorn survival and germination

Illinois Wildlife Preservation Fundunpublishednot peer reviewedOpe

Nutritional Quality of Leaves and Unripe Fruit Consumed as Famine Foods by the Flying Foxes of Samoa

Many tropical herbivores alter their diets throughout the year in response to different levels of food availability. Fruit bats, including Pteropus samoensis Peale and Pteropus tonganus Quoy & Gaimard, are phytophagous species that may increase their consumption of foods such as unripe fruit and leaves in periods of low fruit diversity and volume. These periods include the tropical dry season or following the frequent hurricanes that batter the Samoan Archipelago. We examined the nutritional composition of leaves and immature fruits and compared the levels of organic and mineral nutrients with those of ripe fruit. We used principal components analysis (PCA) to examine patterns of variation in nutrient components of leaves, unripe fruit, and ripe fruit, as well as to compare the mean levels of nutrients. Overall, unripe fruit provided levels of nutrients comparable with those of ripe fruit of the same species for many organic and mineral components. Unripe fruit were only half as rich in iron as ripe fruit, but unripe fruit had high levels of calcium compared with ripe fruit of the same species. Leaves are often cited as a rich source of protein for fruit bats, and our results were consistent with this suggestion. Leaves were also found to be rich in zinc, manganese, and calcium. Therefore, flying foxes and other herbivores probably do not avoid unripe fruits and leaves because of their low nutrient levels. It may be that these famine foods are not normally consumed because of the presence of secondary compounds, low concentrations of palatable sugars, or a distasteful and hard pericarp on unripe fruits

Special Issue in honor of Dr. William Z. Lidicker, Jr.

[Extract] It is our pleasure to introduce this Special Section of Therya in honor of the many professional and mammalogical accomplishments of Dr. William Z. (Bill) Lidicker, Jr. (Figure 1). Bill rocketed through his graduate career. After obtaining a BS from Cornell University in 1953, he began graduate studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign under the direction of Donald F. Hoffmeister. He completed his MS in 1954 and his PhD in 1957, both under the mentorship of Dr. Hoffmeister

International Veterinary Epilepsy Task Force consensus report on epilepsy definition, classification and terminology in companion animals

Dogs with epilepsy are among the commonest neurological patients in veterinary practice and therefore have historically attracted much attention with regard to definitions, clinical approach and management. A number of classification proposals for canine epilepsy have been published during the years reflecting always in parts the current proposals coming from the human epilepsy organisation the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE). It has however not been possible to gain agreed consensus, “a common language”, for the classification and terminology used between veterinary and human neurologists and neuroscientists, practitioners, neuropharmacologists and neuropathologists. This has led to an unfortunate situation where different veterinary publications and textbook chapters on epilepsy merely reflect individual author preferences with respect to terminology, which can be confusing to the readers and influence the definition and diagnosis of epilepsy in first line practice and research studies. In this document the International Veterinary Epilepsy Task Force (IVETF) discusses current understanding of canine epilepsy and presents our 2015 proposal for terminology and classification of epilepsy and epileptic seizures. We propose a classification system which reflects new thoughts from the human ILAE but also roots in former well accepted terminology. We think that this classification system can be used by all stakeholders

International Veterinary Epilepsy Task Force recommendations for a veterinary epilepsy-specific MRI protocol

Epilepsy is one of the most common chronic neurological diseases in veterinary practice. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is regarded as an important diagnostic test to reach the diagnosis of idiopathic epilepsy. However, given that the diagnosis requires the exclusion of other differentials for seizures, the parameters for MRI examination should allow the detection of subtle lesions which may not be obvious with existing techniques. In addition, there are several differentials for idiopathic epilepsy in humans, for example some focal cortical dysplasias, which may only apparent with special sequences, imaging planes and/or particular techniques used in performing the MRI scan. As a result, there is a need to standardize MRI examination in veterinary patients with techniques that reliably diagnose subtle lesions, identify post-seizure changes, and which will allow for future identification of underlying causes of seizures not yet apparent in the veterinary literature. There is a need for a standardized veterinary epilepsy-specific MRI protocol which will facilitate more detailed examination of areas susceptible to generating and perpetuating seizures, is cost efficient, simple to perform and can be adapted for both low and high field scanners. Standardisation of imaging will improve clinical communication and uniformity of case definition between research studies. A 6–7 sequence epilepsy-specific MRI protocol for veterinary patients is proposed and further advanced MR and functional imaging is reviewed

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Habitat use by Small Mammals in an Intensively Managed Grassland Wildlife Sanctuary- Final Year

Final Report for FY 99 issued June 1999Report issued on: June 1999INHS Technical Report prepared for unspecified recipien