Development of Techniques for Distribution of Baits To Raccoon for Chemosterilant Studies

Sudan Red IV, Sudan Black B, and demethylchlortetracycline (DMCT) were tested as physiological markers in baits for raccoon (Procyon lotor). DMCT was readily detected in the jawbone of raccoons given 50 mg when examined under an ultraviolet light at period of 7, 30, 75, and 450 days following treatment. Seven days after administering 75 mg of Sudan Red IV, it could not be detected in fat deposits. Sudan Black B, administered in similar dosage, could not be detected at 30 days. A total of 1826 chicken eggs containing 50 mg DMCT was distributed on a 25 square-mile study area between August 20 and September 15, 1970. Animals were later collected on that area from September 27 to December 31, 1970 and during April, 1971. Thirty-one raccoons were collected and 27 (88 percent) were marked. Of 21 skunks (mephitis mephitis) collected, 6 (29 percent) were marked. It appears that a raccoon population could be controlled if a chemical available for distribution in late summer or fall that would render an animal sterile the next breeding season. Diethylstilbestrol (DES), which is effective only during the breeding season, was field tested. Female raccoons were collected and maximum uterine swellings for each embryo in the uterus were measured to determine embryo age and date of conception. Dates of conception of raccoon in Brookings County, 1971, extended from February 14 to March 7, a span of 22 days. In the field study on evaluation of DES, baits were distributed in March, 1971; however, raccoons collected had not consumed baits. An operational baiting technique during this period of the year is needed. Tail, hind-foot, body, and rump-to-crown length measurements were found to be reliable to estimate embryo age. These measurements follow a quadratic curve when plotted against embryo age (P\u3c0.01)

Raising Wood Ducks

Numbered among Nature\u27s most colorful creatures, wood ducks willingly accept a helping hand from man in establishing new homes. These birds adapt well to suitable habitat, and you can play an important part in bringing the wood duck to locations where they do not now nest. For groups or individuals who are willing to expend the effort necessary to undertake a wood duck restoration project anti see it to completion, it is an exceptional gift from today\u27s generation to those of decades and centuries to come. Many areas in Nebraska provide suitable wood duck habitat, but do not have a breeding population of wood ducks. Wood ducks seldom pioneer these spots, until a hen is forced out of another area because of a lack of nesting sites. This process could take several years, if it occurs at all. Wood duck releases offer a way to establish birds in areas where habitat is adequate. Careful release-site selection, nest-box placement, and annual maintenance can mean a local breeding population. Building and installing nesting boxes can also increase the number of wood ducks in an area where a breeding population already exists

A MODEL TO EXPLAIN PARTICIPATION IN NEW YORK'S AGRICULTURAL DISTRICTS AND USE-VALUE ASSESSMENT PROGRAMS

Logit regression models are estimated to identify factors affecting decisions to enroll farmland in New York's agricultural districts program and participate in the use-value assessment program. The results suggest that the districts law is consistent with preserving the best farmland at the rural-urban fringe and that the decision to enroll in agricultural districts affects in a recursive fashion the decision to participate in the use-value assessment program. Short-term monetary gains are the overriding considerations in applying for use-value exemptions. This may lead to additional erosion of the tax base via tax preferences for agricultural land.Land Economics/Use,

Research notes: Five marker genes independent of ms2

In 1976 several crosses were made to determine if any linkage existed between ms2 and selected genes from the Genetic Type Collection (Bernard and Weiss, 1973). The results from the F2 generation are presented in Table 1 with a= XV, b= xV, c= Xy and d= xy for the gene pairs listed in the form Xx and Vy. The ratio of products method (Irrmer and Henderson, 1943) was used to determine the percentage recombination

Research notes: Pollen movement to male sterile soybeans in southern Illinois

The effective use of genetic male sterility in soybeans requires controlled pollen movement. Soybean pollen is carried by insects with bees usually considered the most likely candidate in Illinois. The following experiment was designed to determine how far soybean pollen can be carried to fertilize male sterile soybeans when pollen is also available from adjacent plants

USDA Soybean Germplasm Report

We would like to use the Soybean Genetics Newsletter as a means of making an annual report on the USDA soybean germplasm collection at Urbana, Illinois, U.S.A. In September 1978, Randall L. Nelson accepted a position of research geneticist with the USDA and has been assigned to work with the soybean germplasm collection at Urbana. His major duties will be evaluation and utilization of the collection and, with your cooperation, compilation of data already collected on the soybean germplasm

Langevin Thermostat for Rigid Body Dynamics

We present a new method for isothermal rigid body simulations using the quaternion representation and Langevin dynamics. It can be combined with the traditional Langevin or gradient (Brownian) dynamics for the translational degrees of freedom to correctly sample the NVT distribution in a simulation of rigid molecules. We propose simple, quasi-symplectic second-order numerical integrators and test their performance on the TIP4P model of water. We also investigate the optimal choice of thermostat parameters.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figures, 1 tabl

The Divine Clockwork: Bohr's correspondence principle and Nelson's stochastic mechanics for the atomic elliptic state

We consider the Bohr correspondence limit of the Schrodinger wave function for an atomic elliptic state. We analyse this limit in the context of Nelson's stochastic mechanics, exposing an underlying deterministic dynamical system in which trajectories converge to Keplerian motion on an ellipse. This solves the long standing problem of obtaining Kepler's laws of planetary motion in a quantum mechanical setting. In this quantum mechanical setting, local mild instabilities occur in the Kelperian orbit for eccentricities greater than 1/\sqrt{2} which do not occur classically.Comment: 42 pages, 18 figures, with typos corrected, updated abstract and updated section 6.