Helmut K. Buechner

Territorial Behavior in Uganda Kob.

Territorial behavior of the Uganda kob, Adenota kob thomasi (P. L. Sclater), is largely the defense of small, fixed territories within a central area of concentrated territorial activity. This area is surrounded by a zone of more widely spaced territories. Females enter the territorial ground throughout the year for the purpose of breeding.

The Range Vegetation of Kerr County, Texas, in Relation to Livestock and White-Tailed Deer

Introduction 697 Succession -706 The Problem . 697 Segregation 708 Methods of Investigation 698 Principal Vegetative Areas 708 Acknowledgments 698 The Liveoak-Shinoak Divide709 Previous Investigations 699 The Blackjack Divide ----------7-----719 The Liveoak-Spanish Oak Habitat Factors -. ... 699 Erosion Area 724 Climate 699 The Cedar Brakes 729 Physiography -700 The Riparian Community GroupJ732 Soils------------------------------702 Interrelationships of Vegetation, Anthropic Influences -702 Livestock and Deer -734

The Reproductive Cycle of the Chukar

This is a 2-year study (1958-60) of the reproductive cycle of the chukar (Alectoris graeca) in southeastern Washington. Pairing occurred from early February to late March, with birds over 1 year of age being the first to form pairs. The pair bond appeared to endure until early in the incubation period. Testicular recrudescence began during late January, progressing at a relatively gradual and constant rate; the full breeding condition appeared to be reached by late March and persisted about 3 months; and regression was two-phased, occurring largely within 4 to 6 weeks. Ovarian and oviducal cycles were timed similarly. Recrudescence began about February 1 and progressed in two phases, a period of gradual change followed by a period of rapid development before the onset of egg laying. Most females laid the first egg between mid-March and mid-April. Six captive females laid 221 eggs at a mean rate of 1.3 days per egg. Renesting persisted following loss of eggs prior to hatching; some females continued to lay until mid-July. Dates for initiation of incubation ranged from about April 19 to July 19, hatching from about May 1 to mid-August (peak about June 21). Regression of ovaries and oviducts occurred in two stages, a short period of extremely rapid change during incubation followed by a long period of gradual change. The present study provides a more detailed understanding of the reproductive cycle of the chukar than has been available previously and serves as a basis for future ecological and physiological investigations. Relatively few data are available on the reproductive cycle of the chukar. Galbreath and Moreland (1953) in Washington, Christensen (1954) in Nevada, and Harper et al. (1958) in California report primarily on releases, successful establishment, ecology, and general life history. Reproductive behavior is discussed only in general in these papers. This investigation was supported in part by funds provided for biological and medical research by the State of Washington Initiative Measure No. 171. The Washington Department of Game provided a collecting permit and funds to conduct studies during the summer of 1959. We wish to thank Dr. Irven O. Buss for his helpful suggestions, Dr. Richard A. Parker for assistance with statistical analyses, and Dr. Robert L. Eng for his comments concerning the manuscript. STUDY AREA The investigation was conducted on a 47-square-mile study area located adjacent to the Snake River in Whitman County, Washington. The steep, rocky, and deeply cut breaks of the Snake River Canyon characterize the area. A vertical drop of about 1,900 feet extends over an average distance of 2 miles from rolling farmlands adjacent to the upper margin of the Canyon to the Snake River. The slopes are covered by sagebrush-grassland type vegetation heavily interspersed by basalt outcroppings and talus slides. Daubenmire (1942) describes the vegetation of the area as within the Agropyron spicatumrr-Poa secunda vegetation zone. However, prevailing cover types vary as a result of edaphic and disturbance factors. The area is semiarid, receiving about 13 inches of precipitation annually. The chukar population on the study area resulted from releases of 700 game-farm birds stocked in several groups along the Snake River in Whitman County, Washington, during March and April, 1951 (Galbreath and Moreland 1953). The research

Satellites for Research on Free-Roaming Animals

Earth-oriented satellite technology provides new opportunities to delve more effectively and more deeply than previously possible into some aspects of the behavior, physiology, and ecology of free-roaming animals in their natural ecosystems, especially in remote areas. These opportunities come at a time when an urgent need exists for accurate information about the migratory patterns of endangered species of whales; the movements and habits of polar bears throughout the Arctic; migrations of caribou in regions of projected oil pipelines; the migratory behavior and island-finding system in commercially important species of large sea turtles; the relationships of African elephants and plains game to changes in vegetation induced by subsistence cultivation, new fire regimes, and overgrazing by domestic livestock; and similar problems affecting the future of the total world ecosystem. Investigations along these lines are now feasible; and with miniaturization and new systems concepts for reducing power requirements, ultralightweight instrument packages for tracking migrating birds, even small ones, by satellite may soon become a reality. The capabilities of existing satellite systems and some applications in biological research are considered in the present paper.

Winter-Range Utilization by Elk and Mule Deer in Southeastern Washington

rT1 HE objective of this study was to determine the utilization of winterrange forage by elk, Cervus canadensis nelsoni and mule deer, Odocoileus hemionus hemionus, at different levels of population density. Some indication of the carrying capacity of grassland communities grazed by elk and deer alone is evident from the data presented here, and may be useful for comparison with ranges open to livestock grazing.

CENSUSING ELK BY AIRPLANE IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS OF WASHINGTON

The objectives of this study were: (1) To conduct an aerial census of elk (Cervus canadensis nelsoni Bailey) on their winter range in the Blue Mountains of southeastern Washington during the late winter and early spring of 1949 and 1950, (2) to test the accuracy of these aerial counts by comparing them with ground counts made on the same land and by comparing repeated aerial counts over the same area, and (3) to determine the practicability of an air-census technique in rugged terrain. We extend grateful acknowledgment to Hobart G. Jenkins who piloted a Cessna 140 for fourteen hours during the study. Recognition is also given to Arthur E. Haines, Clifford A. Moser, and John M. Parrish, wildlife students, who acted as observers on three of the

A Contribution Toward a World Program in Tropical Biology

Fig. 2. Fort Amador and Bay of Panama, on outskirts of Panama City, where the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute has facilities for research in marine biology. By comparison with North Temperate Zones, knowledge of biology in the tropics is in an incipient stage, yet this region seems to hold greater promise for the emergence of new biological principles and concepts than any other. With this thought in mind, 60 scientists from the United States and Latin America met for a Conference on Tropical Biology,1 in Panama, November 10-12, 1966, and urged the Smithsonian Institution to use its unique attributes to lead in the development of a world program in tropical biology. Such a program is relevant to the International Biological Programme theme of broadening the productivity base for human populations. In 1965 approximately 1.1 billion people (1/3 of the world population) made their home in about 70 sovereign nations in the worlds tropics. Despite the natural richness in variety of species and the high rate of conversion of solar energy to plant and animal life, tropical ecosystems (living communities, including man, and their total environments considered as functional wholes) are readily destroyed through overexploitation by man. Degradation of most tropical ecosystems is now a world concern, since all nations are ultimately affected. Soil erosion on overgrazed savannas in Kenya and bedrock washing of steep mountain slopes denuded of tropical forests in Ecuador illustrate the deterioration of environments under the pressure of expanding human populations. The most urgent world problem today is the establishment of harmonious relationships between human