Effective Evaluation of Equine Extension Programs

Evaluation has become a more significant component of planning and delivering extension programs, as federal partners and granting agencies are requesting information on program and integrated grant outcomes, including participant learning gains, behavior change, and program-generated impacts. Effective evaluation of equine extension programs involves a balance between asking enough well-designed questions to obtain desired information and keeping the evaluation tool brief enough to encourage participant completion. For most faculties, the difficulty with evaluation lies in developing appropriate and useful questions. The objective of this article was to share examples of questions successfully used to evaluate six key equine extension program areas: participant demographics, program logistics, participant behavior change, participant knowledge gain, teaching effectiveness, and program impact. Data generated by postprogram evaluations can be a source of statistically sound information that can be shared with administration, stakeholders, and granting agencies. Extension personnel can use evaluation data to improve planning and delivery of extension programs and to demonstrate teaching ability and program impacts.     

Influence of agricultural landscape structure on a Southern High Plains,USA, amphibian assemblage

Landscape structure can influence demographics of spatially structured populations, particularly less vagile organisms such as amphibians. We examined the influence of agricultural landscape structure on community composition and relative abundance of the 4 most common amphibians in the Southern High Plains of central USA. Amphibian populations were monitored using pitfall traps and drift fence at 16 playa wetlands (8 playas/year) in 1999 and 2000. We quantified landscape structure surrounding each playa via estimating 13 spatial metrics that indexed playa isolation and inter-playa landscape complexity. Multivariate ordination and univariate correlations and regressions indicated that landscape structure was associated with community composition and relative abundance for 2 of the 4 amphibians. Spadefoots (Spea multiplicata, S. bombifrons) generally were positively associated with decreasing inter-playa distance and increasing inter-playa landscape complexity. Great Plains toads (Bufo cognatus) and barred tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum mavortium) usually were negatively associated with spadefoots but not influenced by landscape structure. Composition and relative abundance patterns were related to amphibian body size, which can influence species vagility and perception to landscape permeability. Spatial separation of these species in the multivariate ordination also may have been a consequence of differential competitive ability among species. These results suggest agricultural landscape structure may influence abundance and composition of spatially structured amphibian populations. This also is the first applied documentation that inter-patch landscape complexity can affect intra-patch community composition of amphibians as predicted by metapopulation theory. In the Southern High Plains, landscape complexity is positively associated with agricultural cultivation. Agricultural cultivation increases sedimentation, decreases hydroperiod, alters amphibian community dynamics, and negatively impacts postmetamorphic body size of amphibians in playa wetlands. Thus, conservation efforts should focus on preserving or restoring native landscape structure, hydroperiod, and connectivity among playas to maintain native amphibian populations and historic inter-playa movement.     

Estimation of roaming dog populations in Timor Leste

The continued spread of rabies through the eastern islands of Indonesia poses a risk of rabies introduction to Timor Leste. To prepare for such an incursion and to undertake surveillance activities, the size and distribution of the roaming dog population needs to be estimated. We present the results of the first such surveys ever undertaken in Timor Leste.     

Orangutan population density, forest structure and fruit availability in hand-logged and unlogged peat swamp forests in West Kalimantan, Indonesia

We investigated the population density of Bornean orangutans Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus and aspects of habitat quality in a selectively hand-logged peat swamp forest in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, and in a comparable unlogged forest nearby. We conducted orangutan nest surveys, measured different parameters of forest structure, recorded monthly changes in fruit availability, and noted the sex and the stage of maturity of orangutans encountered. Nest density, an index of orangutan population density, was 21% lower in the logged area. The forest, logged 2 years previously, had fewer large food trees and a greater number of canopy gaps. We discuss these differences in relation to the lower orangutan nest density in the logged forest. Significantly fewer adult orangutans were observed in the logged study area. We hypothesize that fully adult orangutans, particularly females, are the most severely affected by hand-logging.     

Demographic analysis of the Canadian Standardbred broodmare herd

This study derives demographic parameters for the Canadian Standardbred broodmare herd by analysis of industry mating reports for the years 1986–1989 inclusive. The reference population for the study was all mares bred to Canadian-registered stallions. Number of matings evaluated ranged from 9169 to 9837 in each year. In establishing the size of the national herd, data from registration files for 1986 also were used to estimate the number of Canadian mares bred to US stallions. The national broodmare herd was estimated to consist of 12 237 mares, of which 7.7% annually were bred to US-registered stallions. An estimated 16.7% of the national herd were inactive (not presented for breeding) in any year. Probability of temporary absence from the breeding herd was influenced by age, decreasing from 2 to 6 years, then increasing thereafter. Age-specific culling rates revealed that mares less than 6 years of age were subject to more intense selection pressure than was evident for mares more than 10 years of age. Inconsistent presentation for breeding appeared to be a feature of the management of young broodmares. Overall herd culling rate was estimated to be 10.5%, equivalent to an average breeding life of 9.5 years. It was determined that the average broodmare breeds for 7.9, or 83%, of available years. The results clearly indicate that the reproductive advantage enjoyed by mares 6 years of age results, in part, from more consistent presentation for breeding.     

Investigating area-sensitivity in shrubland birds: Responses to patch size in a forested landscape

Population declines of shrubland birds in the eastern United States have been attributed to loss of early-successional habitat. Given that shrubland habitats are often ephemeral and patchily distributed, understanding the sensitivity of shrubland birds to patch characteristics is important for conservation. We tested the extent to which patch area was related to shrubland bird density, annual survival, and productivity by examining capture rates, apparent annual survival estimates, and juvenile-to-adult-female ratios for six focal species of shrubland birds in southeastern Ohio. Identical 3 × 3 mist-net grid arrays were set at each of 13 clearcut patches ranging in size from 4 to 16 ha and visited once per week between June and August of 2002–2006. Over the five seasons, 1428 juveniles and 2001 adults of six species were banded. Capture rates for all six species increased with patch area (mean of 44% higher in largest than smallest patch) but this relationship was only significant for the Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens; F_1,11 = 34.2, P < 0.001) and the Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas; F_1,11 = 7.0, P = 0.023). However, after accounting for the effect of bird movements on capture rates, capture rates for only four of the six species increased patch area (mean of 22% higher in largest than smallest patch) and this relationship was only significant for the Yellow-breasted Chat (F_1,11 = 8.9, P = 0.012). Patch area was not a good predictor of apparent annual survival or juvenile-to-adult-female ratios for any species. Overall, we detected limited evidence of area-sensitivity in our system and no evidence that annual survival or productivity differed by patch area.     

Modelling the demographics of the Irish cattle population

In recent years, national authorities have committed very substantial resources to the creation and maintenance of databases capable of recording important animal event data, such as births, deaths and movements. This has primarily been driven by the need to ensure the quality and safety of animal products. However, it can also be used to assist policy makers in decision making. Despite the abundance of animal event data, as yet there is little published information about the use of these data to better understand the demography of cattle populations. This study reports the development of, and outputs from, a demographic model using data routinely collected from the Irish cattle population. The demographic model was based on a series of life tables detailing age-specific probabilities of survival up to a maximum of 17 years. These outputs were used to determine characteristics of the Irish cattle population, including estimated mortality rates, life expectancies and age profiles, and estimated cattle numbers by age and date. Separate life tables were developed for each of the 204 monthly birth cohorts born between January 1989 and December 2005. Within the Irish cattle population, the peak estimated mortality rate occurs at 29–33 months. The estimated life expectancy at birth of cattle in Ireland was 42 months. When the survival rates for all the cohorts within a population are calculated, then it is possible to use these rates as a model for determining future population size and answering cohort specific queries.     

Repeatability of a telephone questionnaire on cat-ownership patterns and pet-owner demographics evaluation in a community in Texas, USA

The repeatability of a telephone questionnaire on cat-ownership patterns, demographics and attitudes towards homeless cats in a community was evaluated. Randomly selected households (n = 100) within Caldwell, Texas, were included in the study. The response percentage was 84% (100/119) among those contacted and 75% (100/134) among all eligible respondents. Repeatability was measured by administering the same survey twice to the first 100 responding subjects, with an average (range) of 48 (25–64) days between interviews. The survey was initially administered from 6 June to 28 June 2005 and the follow-up survey was administered from 19 July to 11 August 2005. Repeatability for most cat-ownership characteristics was fair to good between the two interviews (kappa 0.47–0.82). Knowledge of companion animals and subject attachment to pet questions had good correlations between the two interviews (r_sp 0.52 and 0.60, respectively). Subject-demographic questions had excellent repeatability (kappa 0.66–1.00).