75 research outputs found
Mule Deer
No full textA complete guide to the history, biology, hunting, and management of mule deer in Utah. The author, Dennis D. Austin, is a retired research scientist with more than thirty years of experience working as a wildlife biologist for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.Includes bibliographical references and index.A complete guide to the history, biology, hunting, and management of mule deer in Utah. The author, Dennis D. Austin, is a retired research scientist with more than thirty years of experience working as a wildlife biologist for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.Print version record.Preface; Acknowledgments; Historical Overview; Mule Deer Biology; Hunters, Hunting, and Harvest; Determining Management Decisions; Epilogue; Appendix; Literature Cited; About the Author; Index.Electronic reproduction.Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002.digitizedJSTO
Pathogen exposure patterns among sympatric populations of bighorn sheep, mule deer and cattle
No full textSympatric bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis, n = 31), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus, n = 38), and domestic cattle (n = 26) in the San Bernardino Mountains of southern California (USA) were sampled for the presence of Psoroptes spp. mites and for serological evidence of exposure to bluetongue virus (BTV) and Babesia spp. From 1991 to 1994, Psoroptes spp. infestations were found on 12 (44%) of 27 bighorn sheep. No mites were found on mule deer or cattle. The BTV serum antibody prevalence in a cohort of 26 cattle ranged from 17 to 89%. There was no evidence of exposure to BTV in the bighorn sheep or mule deer. The cumulative serum antibody prevalence of Babesia spp. during the study was 35% in 26 bighorn sheep and 85% in 20 mule deer, while antibodies were not detected in a cohort of cattle when they were sampled in May (n = 23) and December (n = 22) of 1992. It is suggested that exposure patterns to BTV, Psoroptes spp. and Babesia spp. differs between sympatric cattle, mule deer and bighorn sheep in the San Bernardino Mountains.ID: 6631; Accession Number: 19972208674. Publication Type: Journal Article. Language: English. Number of References: 22 ref. Subject Subsets: Veterinary Science; Veterinary Science; Medical & Veterinary Entomology; ProtozoologySource type: Electronic(1)http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lah&AN=19972208674&site=ehost-liv
Mule Deer: A Handbook for Utah Hunters and Landowners
No full textMule deer are a familiar sight to residents of Utah and the Intermountain West. Sportsmen hunt them, others seek a glimpse of them while hiking or camping, drivers dodge them, and homeowners sometimes delight, sometimes fret as deer visit backyards and gardens. Deer, many of which live in the towns, cities, and farms that sprawl over their historical habitat, sometimes seem ubiquitous. Useful information about them, either scientific or practical, is less widespread. In this handbook, Dennis Austin fills that need for information, offering a one-stop reference packed with up-to-date knowledge and practical advice on mule deer. Data on deer herds, analysis of their habitat and forage needs, their seasonal cycles, understanding of their relationships with livestock and predators, wildlife management policies, what landowners should know about dealing with deer, practical considerations for hunters, and much moreýall can be found here in this complete, well-illustrated guide to the history, biology, hunting, and management of mule deer.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/usupress_pubs/1166/thumbnail.jp
Seroprevalence of two Babesia spp. isolates in selected bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) populations in California
No full textSera from 111 Ovis canadensis and 95 Odocoileus hemionus from california, USA, were tested using an indirect immunofluorescence assay for antibodies to 2 isolates of Babesia spp. recently obtained from these hosts in California. The study populations were from 6 locations: 3 areas of real or potential sympatry of bighorn sheep and deer, one area with deer only, and 2 areas with bighorn sheep only. Antibody titres from seroreactive individuals were similar with both babesial isolate antigens, and seroprevalence was highest in the areas of host sympatry. A moderate to high seroprevalence in some of the study populations was evidence that babesial parasites may be common in bighorn sheep and mule deer in some areas of California.ID: 6682; Accession Number: 19960802029. Publication Type: Journal Article. Language: English. Number of References: 17 ref. Subject Subsets: Veterinary Science; ProtozoologySource type: Electronic(1)http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lah&AN=19960802029&site=ehost-liv
Contemporary hybridization between female mule deer and male white-tailed deer in west Texas differs from the hypothesized sex mating patterns recovered from ancient hybridization events
No full textIntrogressive hybridization between members of Odocoileus was examined using the mitochondrial Cytochrome-b (maternal marker) and paternal Sex-determining Region Y (Sry) genes. Eight out of 130 free-ranging individuals from the Panhandle and Trans-Pecos regions of Texas were determined to possess the mitochondrial haplotype of mule deer (O. hemionus Rafinesque, 1817) and the paternal haplotype of white-tailed deer (O. virginianus Rafinesque, 1832). Results indicated that hybridization between deer species in Texas (6.15%) was more broadly distributed than previously reported. Previous studies demonstrated that ancient hybridization events (1.32 mya) involved the capture of the white-tailed deer mitochondrial genome by mule deer, indicating a male mule deer x a female white-tailed deer directionality relevant to hybridization. Alternatively, contemporary hybridization events indicated a reversal in directionality and suggested a cross between a female mule deer x a male white-tailed deer. The Sry gene and species assignment based on morphological characters consistently were in agreement. Further, phylogenetic relationships between O. v. couesi and O. h. eremicus warrant additional investigation as recent hybridization (>200 years) may be a mechanism that allowed these two subspecies to evolve a unique evolutionary trajectory.The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the pdf file of the accepted manuscript may differ slightly from what is displayed on the item page. The information in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript reflects the original submission by the author
Effects of nitrogen fertilization on the nutritional quality of mule deer winter forages
No full textJanuary 1972.Includes bibliographic references (pages 62-64).Winter mortality resulting from starvation has been a serious problem on mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) ranges throughout much of the western United States. Such losses have occurred in Colorado during recent years after snow concentrated animals on areas having inadequate food supplies. Associated with their interest in reducing starvation losses, the Colorado Game, Fish and Parks Division began testing fertilizer and 2, 4-D treatments to improve forage conditions on winter feeding sites used by mule deer in Middle Park, Colorado. This study undertook to determine how nitrogen treatments affected the nutritional quality of two forage plants on winter range. Ammonium nitrate fertilizer (33% N) treatments supplying 30, 60, 90, and 120 pounds of elemental nitrogen per acre were applied to three study sites during early November, 1969. An untreated plot on each site served as a control. Bluebunch wheatgrass (Agropyron spicatum Pursh) and big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) current annual growth collected from the fertilized plots during May, June, September, and December of 1970 and March, 1971 were analyzed for crude protein, cell-wall constituents, calcium, and phosphorus. Separate analyses were performed on leaf and twig portions of big sagebrush. The in vitro digestibilities of all forage samples were determined in duplicate and big sagebrush leaves were analyzed for volatile-oil content. Nitrogen fertilization failed to increase significantly (P >0.05) the concentration of crude protein in big sagebrush tissues during May and September but increased significantly (P 0.05) the concentrations of cell-wall constituents, calcium, phosphorus, or volatile oils in the tissues or the in vitro digestibility of the forages. Concentrations of all measured nutrients in the forages and the digestibilities of the forages varied among study sites and among collection dates
"Not a portion of the Galaxy must be denied him": Isaac Asimov's early Foundation stories and the future of social liberalism
No full textPresented as part of the Academic Track at the 76th World Science Fiction Convention, San José, August 16th – 20th, 2018.
Fixed up in the early 1950s into a series of three novels, the Foundation stories represent what is perhaps Isaac Asimov’s most sustained engagement with social liberalism, a political ideology which formed the basis of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal and which explicitly seeks to balance the freedom of the individual against the interests and welfare of the larger community to which that individual belongs. Ultimately, as this paper argues, the Foundation’s commitment to this ideology is only partial, as their commitment is sorely tested by the arrival of the Mule, a mutant whose unexpected conquest of the Galaxy rests on psychic abilities which grant him a form of absolute and unpredictable freedom which far exceeds that of any other individual. Faced with the Mule’s irrepressible liberty, that part of the Foundation which secretly controls the rest eventually decides that the freedom of the individual must be at least partly subsumed to the larger project of ensuring the welfare of society as a whole. In this sense, it is safeguarding the present and future wellbeing of the galactic community that is the real objective of Asimov’s Foundation, and not social liberalism’s nearly impossible goal of attempting to balance perfectly the freedom of individuals and their social welfare.Not peer reviewe
Suffering the Sons of Eve: Animal Ethics in al-Maʿarrī’s Epistle of the Horse and the Mule
No full textIn the year 1021 CE, blind author and skeptic Abū l-ʿAlāʾ al-Maʿarrī (d. 1057 CE) wrote Risālat al-ṣāhil wa-l-shāḥij (The Epistle of the Horse and the Mule), a winding prose work populated by animal characters who talk about poetry, grammar, riddles, and Syrian society on the eve of the crusades. Traditionally forgotten as a source for al-Maʿarrī’s pacifism, and his vegan worldview, the Ṣāhil lets readers see his thinking on animals more than most other works. After a brief survey of animals in Islam, which shows a mainstream desire for balance between human and non-human needs, as well as exceptional cases that strongly uphold animals as subjects per se and which stand as key inter-texts for al-Maʿarrī, this paper considers how the Ṣāhil champions non-human creatures through images of animal cruelty deployed to shock readers into compassion, and through poetry and popular sayings (amthāl) recast in a zoocentric mold. It, therefore, advocates with more fervor than anthropocentric Islamic writings on animals, such as Kalīlah wa-Dimnah or the letters of the Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ. However, this happens in a way that makes it hard to pin down the sources of al-Maʿarrī’s thought. Furthermore, al-Maʿarrī seems to contradict himself when, for example, he employs literal meaning when it comes to animal justice, even as he avoids literalism in other contexts. This calls his concern for animals into question in one sense, but in another, it affirms such concern insofar as his self-contradictions show an active mind working through animal ethics in real time
Factors influencing the accumulation of fallout cesium-137 in mule deer
No full textMay 1965.Includes bibliographical references (pages 131-142).Author's name on piece is Floyd Ward Whicker.Covers not scanned.Print version deaccessioned 2021.This investigation was concerned with factors influencing the accumulation of fallout cesium-137 in a wild population of mule deer, Odocoileus hemionus, in the Cache la Poudre drainage of north-central Colorado. Air, precipitation, soils, twelve deer forage species, and deer were sampled periodically from various elevations within the study area over a three year period. Experimental sampling designs were primarily factorial with sufficient replication to allow statistical treatment of data. Materials were assayed for Cs-137 using the technique of gamma-ray spectrometry. Air concentrations of Cs-137 were maximal in 1963. Concentrations were significantly higher during spring and early summer months of each year. Maximum deposition of Cs-137 by precipitation in 1964 occurred during April, May, and June. Measurable quantities of fallout were transported by dust, pollens, and other air-borne debris during dry, windy periods. The majority of Cs-137 in soils was located in the 0-1 inch layer. Soil radio activity generally increased with elevation and associated higher average precipitation rates. Maximum vegetational levels of Cs-137 were observed in 1963. Species collected during the summer and fall above 8,500 feet were generally higher in cesium than species collected during the winter and spring from lower elevations. Significant differences between species growing on the same plots were found. Significant differences in Cs-137 concentrations of given species between locations were also encountered. The location effect was attributed mostly to phenomena associated with elevation. Leaves were generally higher in Cs-137 than stems. Maximum levels of Cs-137 in deer were observed in 1963. Maximum levels within years occurred during the summer months in animals collected above 8,500 feet elevation. Regression analyses of muscle Cs-137 versus elevation indicated significant correlations. Evidence indicated a high degree of correlation between Cs-137 levels in vegetation and deer. It was concluded that the degree of foliage contamination and food habits were the most important factors contributing to Cs-137 burdens in deer. A Cs-137/K discrimination factor between the diet and muscle of 0.9 was estimated from the rumen samples. Neither sex nor age produced statistically significant variations in muscles Cs-137. Inhalation, the drinking of surface waters, and the ingestion of snow were minor sources of Cs-137 intake by deer in comparison to the ingestions of forage
Morphological and behavioral adaptations of moose to climate, snow, and forage
No full textThis thesis focuses on the behavioural and morphological adaptations of moose to snow and climate: specifically, seasonal migration, habitat choice, and following behaviour, plus the relationships among morphology, climate, snow, and seasonality. I examine intake and availability of winter forage, and perform one of the first large-scale tests of a widely used optimal foraging model by videotaping free-ranging moose making their own choices. The study of seasonal migration and habitat choice showed that the effect of snow differs with variation in snow severity: in locations with large differences in snow depths in a short distance, snow depth is important, but in locations where snow depth is less variable, snow quality emerges as more important. The thesis is one of the first to use a new method to evaluate the importance of snow quality. Testing between competing hypotheses to explain morphology, the importance of snow was further emphasized relative to temperature and latitude. In snowier areas, moose had larger hooves and longer legs than expected from their size and age. Morphology both conformed to, and was in opposition to some of the most well-known ecogeographical rules: in areas with cold winters, moose were heavier (Bergmann’s rule) and had shorter ears (Allen’s rule). There was also some evidence that moose morphology was related to heat stress during summer. The quality of the two main winter forages (birch and willows) differed within and between species. Willows had more available browse, and lower levels of secondary defence compounds than birch, but also less nitrogen and more fibre. These differences in forage quality also emerged in the test of the Spalinger-Hobbs model, as moose preferentially fed on willow, which was also the faster food to ingest. Most importantly, the analysis revealed that the foraging parameters varied within a foraging bout, and thus parameterizing the model from only the first few minutes of a bout would greatly mis-estimate intake. In the face of climate change, my results emphasize the need for research relating behaviour and morphology to environmental conditions. As moose are well adapted to snow and winter conditions, climate change may have negative consequences on southern populations as temperatures will rise, and some ranges may become unsuitable
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