Reproduction of Northern Bobwhites in Semiarid Environments

1988 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred S. Guthery ◽  
Nancy E. Koerth ◽  
David S. Smith
2020 ◽  
Vol 91 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-198
Author(s):  
Loren Merrill ◽  
Stephen A. Tyndel ◽  
Michael P. Ward ◽  
Thomas J. Benson ◽  
Jinelle H. Sperry

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 191-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy L. Farthing ◽  
Thomas W. Schwertner ◽  
Heather A. Mathewson ◽  
Kimberly A. Guay

Gossypol, a secondary plant compound found in cotton (Gossypium spp.), is known to be toxic to a variety of animals, particularly monogastric mammals and birds. Because ruminants are resistant to gossypol, whole cottonseed and cottonseed meal have been used as a feed supplement for many decades. Concerns over gossypol toxicity arise because of its presence in cottonseed products, particularly livestock and wildlife feed. The concentration of cottonseed in the environment near livestock and wildlife feeding stations presents the possibility that it may be ingested in significant amounts by non-target wild animals, resulting in inadvertent gossypol dosing. A species of significant economic and cultural value is the Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus). However, there are no published data regarding if Northern Bobwhites would consume cottonseed meal given the opportunity. We assessed selection for or against cottonseed meal by performing a dietary preference study. Birds (n =120) were given the choice between commercial game bird feed, scratch grains, and cottonseed meal containing 0.74% total gossypol. We measured feed consumption for five days. The birds’ diet consisted of 51.74% game bird feed, 37.72% scratch grains, and 10.54% cottonseed meal, and percentages varied significantly among all feed types (P≤0.001, n =360). We concluded that Northern Bobwhites selected against the cottonseed meal in favour of the game bird feed first and the scratch grains second. Our results suggest that given the choice, Northern Bobwhites will select against cottonseed meal if other feed choices are available.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 794-809 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salvadora Martínez-López ◽  
Maria Jose Martínez-Sánchez ◽  
Carmen Pérez-Sirvent ◽  
Jaume Bech ◽  
Maria del Carmen Gómez Martínez ◽  
...  

1982 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 531 ◽  
Author(s):  
DA Grantz ◽  
AE Hall

Earliness of an indeterminate crop, Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp., was studied to aid development of selection techniques for improving adaptation to semiarid environments. Earliness was based upon the time of first appearance of floral buds and flowers, proportion of shoot dry matter in reproductive parts at midseason, and time of maturity. A cowpea land race, Chino 3, was earlier than cultivars California Blackeye No. 3 and No. 5, with respect to all of these criteria. Time to flowering from different sowing dates was related to heat units, which were calculated from daily mean air temperature above a base temperature of c. 10�C. The proportions of shoot dry matter in reproductive parts during early stages of pod-filling were greater with moderate drought but were unaffected by severe drought, compared with the response of adequately irrigated plants. Widely spaced plants exhibited greater proportions of shoot dry matter in reproductive parts at midseason than did closely spaced plants. Adaptation of cowpeas to semiarid environments may be improved by selecting for early partitioning of carbohydrates to reproductive parts. Selection for early partitioning may be more effective in adequately watered conditions, owing to extreme variability under drought, and at wide and precise spacing.


2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 649-655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah M. Ertl ◽  
Miguel A. Mora ◽  
Diane E. Boellstorff ◽  
Donald Brightsmith ◽  
Katherine Carson

Palaios ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (9) ◽  
pp. 620-638 ◽  
Author(s):  
DANIEL I. HEMBREE ◽  
JON J. SMITH ◽  
ILYA V. BUYNEVICH ◽  
BRIAN F. PLATT

2012 ◽  
Vol 367 (1606) ◽  
pp. 3076-3086 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew D. Thomas

Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are an important source of organic carbon, and affect a range of ecosystem functions in arid and semiarid environments. Yet the impact of grazing disturbance on crust properties and soil CO 2 efflux remain poorly studied, particularly in African ecosystems. The effects of burial under wind-blown sand, disaggregation and removal of BSCs on seasonal variations in soil CO 2 efflux, soil organic carbon, chlorophyll a and scytonemin were investigated at two sites in the Kalahari of southern Botswana. Field experiments were employed to isolate CO 2 efflux originating from BSCs in order to estimate the C exchange within the crust. Organic carbon was not evenly distributed through the soil profile but concentrated in the BSC. Soil CO 2 efflux was higher in Kalahari Sand than in calcrete soils, but rates varied significantly with seasonal changes in moisture and temperature. BSCs at both sites were a small net sink of C to the soil. Soil CO 2 efflux was significantly higher in sand soils where the BSC was removed, and on calcrete where the BSC was buried under sand. The BSC removal and burial under sand also significantly reduced chlorophyll a , organic carbon and scytonemin . Disaggregation of the soil crust, however, led to increases in chlorophyll a and organic carbon. The data confirm the importance of BSCs for C cycling in drylands and indicate intensive grazing, which destroys BSCs through trampling and burial, will adversely affect C sequestration and storage. Managed grazing, where soil surfaces are only lightly disturbed, would help maintain a positive carbon balance in African drylands.


2017 ◽  
pp. 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan Golubov ◽  
María C. Mandujano ◽  
Luis E. Eguiarte

Arid and semi-arid environments contain relatively high species diversity and are subject to intense use, in particular extensive cattle grazing. The expansion of perennial species in to the grasslands decreases the value of the rangeland, because it makes necessary to control the shrubs, which is not practical in the long term. This paper is a bibliographic review of the ecological importance of the Prosopis (mequite) genus. We compiled information on all the species associated to mesquite (ca. 208 genera and 600 species from different taxa) and we propase that it is important to conserve the mesquites in order to maintain the diversity of the other associated species. We also stress the importance of mesquite as a keystone species in the balance of nitrogen and carbon in the arid and semiarid environments soils. We conclude that the conservation of the mesquites is very relevant, in particular in areas where people want to remove them and convert the environment to grasslands.


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