No abstract

Designs to enrich the environment are crucial in the effort to fully address the biological needs of domestic animals. Although enrichment programs have been shown to improve health and welfare, little is known of their potential for application to commercial broiler breeder environments. We investigated the potential benefits of cover panels for broiler breeder reproductive performance in a commercial setting. This demonstration trial occurred on 5 commercial broiler breeder farms, each with a control and panel treatment room containing approximately 7,000 females and 800 males. Reproductive performance was measured from 25 to 60 wk by the number of eggs laid per female per week as well as weekly fertility and hatchability rates. The location of marked males was recorded weekly to quantify male movement. Access to cover panels improved egg production by 2.1% and maintained better hatchability and fertility throughout the breeding cycle (significant interactions of age and panel treatment) leading to an additional 4.5 chicks/female. Male home ranges, based on minimum convex polygons, were larger in the enriched (259 +/- 24.4 m(2)) vs. control flocks (184 +/- 23.1 m(2)). Providing enrichment in the form of cover panels improved reproductive performance, most likely by increasing males' mating opportunities and reducing female stress. We found a clear economic benefit to providing enrichment, an estimated $3 million if all breeder houses within the participating company were outfitted with the panels. These results demonstrate that environmental enrichment is not only beneficial for broiler breeder welfare, but can also be economically advantageous, resulting in a win-win situation for poultry welfare and production.

Understanding population status and trends is important for developing and evaluating man-

24Decisions regarding landscape management, restoration, and land acquisition typically 25 depend on land managers' interpretation of how wildlife selects habitat. Such 26 assessments are particularly important for umbrella species like the endangered Florida 27 panther (Puma concolor coryi), whose survival requires vast wildlands. Some 28 interpretations of habitat selection by panthers have been criticized for using only 29 morning locations in defining habitat use. We assessed habitat selection using a 30Euclidean distance analysis (EDA) and location data collected throughout the diel period 31 from GPS collars deployed on 20 independent Florida panthers. We corroborated aspects 32 of earlier analyses by demonstrating selection of forested habitats by panthers. We also 33confirmed selection of open habitats (i.e., marsh-shrub-swamps, prairie-grasslands), a 34 novel result. Habitat selection did not vary by sex or season but varied by time of day. 35Panthers were located closer to wetland forests in the daytime and used prairie-36 2 grasslands more at night. Our assessment of the effect of patch size on selection of forest 1 habitat revealed that panthers were not solely reliant on large patches (> 500 ha) but 2 utilized patches of all sizes (≤ 1 ha, > 5-10 ha, > 1000 ha, etc.). Our results emphasize the 3 importance of collecting panther location data throughout the diel period when assessing 4 habitat selection. Conservation strategies for panthers should consider a mosaic of 5 habitats, a methodology that will protect other sensitive flora and fauna in South Florida. 6 7

The Alligator Snapping Turtle, Macrochelys temminckii, is a large, aquatic turtle limited to river systems that drain into the Gulf of Mexico. Previous molecular analyses using both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA suggested that Macrochelys exhibits significant genetic variation across its range that includes three distinct genetic assemblages (western, central, and eastern = Suwannee). However, no taxonomic revision or morphological analyses have been conducted previously. In this study, we test previous hypotheses of distinct geographic assemblages by examining morphology, reanalyzing phylogeographic genetic structure, and estimating divergence dating among lineages in a coalescent framework using Bayesian inference. We reviewed the fossil record and discuss phylogeographic and taxonomic implications of the existence of three distinct evolutionary lineages. We measured cranial (n=145) and post-cranial (n=104) material on field-captured individuals and museum specimens. We analyzed 420 base pairs (bp) of mitochondrial DNA sequence data for 158 Macrochelys. We examined fossil Macrochelys from ca. 15-16 million years ago (Ma) to the present to better assess historical distributions and evaluate named fossil taxa. The morphological and molecular data both indicate significant geographical variation and suggest three species-level breaks among genetic lineages that correspond to previously hypothesized genetic assemblages. The holotype of Macrochelys temminckii is from the western lineage. Therefore, we describe two new species as Macrochelys apalachicolae sp. nov. from the central lineage and Macrochelys suwanniensis sp. nov. from the eastern lineage (Suwannee River drainage). Our estimates of divergence times suggest that the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of M. temminckii (western) and M. apalachicolae (central) existed 3.2-8.9 Ma during the late Miocene to late Pliocene, whereas M. temminckii-M. apalachicolae and M. suwanniensis last shared a MRCA 5.5-13.4 Ma during the mid-Miocene to early Pliocene. Examination of fossil material revealed that the fossil taxon M. floridana is actually a large Chelydra. Our taxonomic revision of Macrochelys has conservation and management implications in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.