Research Archives - AgriLife Extension Wildlife & Fisheries

Experimental System to Test Larval Flounder Live Feed Enrichments

January 11, 2019 by Teri Gaston

Master’s student, Grayson Clark, and Research Associate Brian Ray spent 2 days in Corpus Christi this week, at the TPWD CCA Marine Development Center, setting up an experimental system to test larval flounder live feed enrichments as part of the SRAC grant the Aquacultural Research and Teaching Facility was awarded last fall. See the original story here.

They plan for the system to be stocked with new hatched larval flounder from TPWD Sea Center Texas on January 21. Dr. Ivonne Blandon is working with ARTF personnel to run this first phase of the work in Corpus. Dr. Blandon, who works as Natural Resource Specialist for Texas Parks & Wildlife Department Coastal Hatcheries, is a recent WFSC graduate under Dr. Gelwick. A similar system will be set up at the ARTF and run follow up studies with flounder and other estuarine species (red drum and spotted seatrout).

To see more about what the Aquacultural Research and Teaching Facility entails, head over to the ARTF Facility‘s page. For information on how to Give to the Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Department to support our research and opportunities, visit our Giving page.

Southern Flounder Clones: A Potential Remedy for a Species in Decline

January 4, 2019 by Teri Gaston

Southern flounder are “floundering” as wild population densities decline. One of the big three sportfish in Texas, along with redfish and spotted seatrout, southern flounder are a sought after gamefish of commercial and recreational importance. Due to overharvest, accidental bycatch, water temperature rise and other factors, the flounder numbers are declining in Texas waterways. Along with Texas Parks and Wildlife, Texas A&M University’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries’ Dr. Todd Sink and graduate research assistant Elizabeth Silvy have developed a methodology that may aid stock enhancement programs that promote the flounder fishery.

The inherent cause of stock decline can be attributed to the fact that male flounder outnumber female flounder in the wild, and that larval flounder are temperature dependent when it comes time to form gonads. If temperatures are too high or too low, a majority of the offspring produced will be male. This has been proven true in the wild as well as in stock enhancement programs currently run by TPWD. To produce a hearty wild flounder stock, or even promote hatchery numbers, a majority of the offspring must be female, as one male can mate with a hundred females.

Using gynogeneitic clones of female flounder, broodstock females that are genetically female and physically male are created. These female/male flounder can then be bred back to wild females collected from TPWD’s stock enhancement programs to produce all female progeny to be release in the wild.

How does it work? After milt (flounder sperm) and eggs are collected from adult fish, the milt is subjected to a UV irradiation treatment that renders the DNA within useless for passing on to the offspring. The UV irradiated milt is then mixed with eggs collected from the female flounder. These fertilized eggs are subjected to different shock treatments using either a hydrostatic pressure chamber or a cold water bath. This causes the egg to retain the second polar body and hatch as a gynogenetic clone of the female flounder.

Once the larvae are developed, they are subjected to a methyltestosterone treatment that will aid in the development of male reproductive organs in a genetically female fish. These fish will never be released into the wild; instead they will be kept as broodstock to breed with female flounder collected from the wild to maintain genetic diversity. These fish will only produce genetically and physically female flounder that have not been altered in any way. These offspring can then be released into the wild to supplement wild populations.

So, the next time you eat a flounder, know that there’s more that goes intro flounder production than just butter and crab meat.

USDA Southern Regional Aquaculture Center Grant to evaluate probiotics in finfish hatcheries

January 4, 2019 by Teri Gaston

Lead scientists, Dr. Delbert Gatlin from TAMU and Dr. Mike Frinsko from North Carolina State, along with cooperators from Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, University of Alabama at Birmingham, NCSU Raleigh and Texas Agrilife Extension (Dr. Todd Sink), have recently been awarded a grant from the USDA Southern Regional Aquaculture Center to evaluate probiotics in finfish hatcheries to improve larval production.

Trials to determine the effectiveness of various probiotics and prebiotics in larval production will be performed with southern flounder, red drum, and striped bass.

The portion of the TAMU team involved in the project visited TPWD’s Sea Center Texas marine fish hatchery on Tuesday. The team was involved in a training session lead by Sea Center’s hatchery manager, Paul Cason. Current southern flounder and red drum larval culture methods were shared in an effort to maximize the impact of the research on TPWD’s stock enhancement activities.

Pre-metamorphic larval southern flounder

Dr. Delbert Gatlin and TPWD hatchery manager Paul Cason

Delbert Gatlin and graduate student Grayson Clark

CCA Texas Advocacy Director and Assistant Director visited the ARTF

November 27, 2018 by Teri Gaston

CCA Texas Advocacy Director Shane Bonnot and CCA Texas Assistant Director Drew Adams visited the ARTF on Wednesday, November 14. ARTF faculty and staff had the opportunity to visit with CCA Texas representatives and share the latest in TAMU research in fisheries and aquaculture. Much common ground was found in the missions of the two agencies and a good time was had by all. You can hear more of the conversation on CCA’s podcast here: https://ccatexas.org/coastal-advocacy-adventures-podcast-episode-31-texas-am-aquaculture-research-and-teaching-facility/

Dr. Todd Sink introduces CCA Texas Advocacy Director Shane Bonnot and CCA Texas Assistant Director Drew Adams to his Cobia marine brood fish at feeding time.

To see more about what the Aquacultural Research and Teaching Facility entails, head over to the ARTF Facility‘s page. For information on how to Give to the Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Department to support research and opportunities, visit the Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences’ Giving page.

Summertime pond management requires planning and caution

July 26, 2016 by

Writer: Adam Russell, 903-834-6191, adam.russell@ag.tamu.edu
Contact: Dr. Billy Higginbotham, 903-834-6191, b-higginbotham@tamu.edu

OVERTON – Phone calls about out-of-control aquatic vegetation are a common midsummer occurrence, said Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service wildlife and fisheries specialist Dr. Billy Higginbotham.

However, he said, pond owners should proceed with caution when treating aquatic weeds in ponds where fish are important resources.

Dr. Billy Higginbotham, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service wildlife and fisheries specialist, said pond owners should be cautious during summer months when controlling or eradicating aquatic vegetation to avoid fish kills. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo by Robert Burns)

Higginbotham said thinning or eradicating aquatic vegetation can improve the overall environment for the pond and increase the pond’s utility for recreation, livestock watering and/or irrigation. However, in larger ponds managed for largemouth bass and appropriate forage species, some degree of aquatic vegetation coverage may provide beneficial habitat and harbor food items.

Because of potentially extensive coverage, there are dozens of native and invasive species of aquatic vegetation that cause ecological and economic impacts throughout Texas, he said. And positive identification is the key to successful control of aquatic vegetation.

“I recommend people use the AgriLife Extension website http://aquaplant.tamu.edu for assistance in identification and control recommendations,” Higginbotham said. “There is a wealth of information available to help guide landowners.”

The site assists with identification including descriptions and photos and also provides treatment advice, such as whether biologic controls are available and gives multiple herbicide options, their effectiveness and how to calculate the area and volume of ponds for applications.

Higginbotham said landowners should treat ponds in stages if maintaining fish populations is important. Treating an entire pond with herbicides during the hotter months can create an oxygen debt, due to decomposing vegetation, especially algae and other submerged vegetation, and cause fish losses.

“This is typically a summertime problem because water at higher temperatures holds less oxygen than would be possible at cooler temperatures,” he said. “If treatment is necessary during the heat of the summer, break the pond up into sections and treat only 15-20 percent of the pond at a time with one week in between treatments.”

Higginbotham said lower water levels typically found in late summer can also aid landowners who want to renovate their ponds. Reduced volume of water requires fewer treatment chemicals to remove the existing fish population, which might include undesirable species, in order to establish and support fish species that offer better angling opportunities.

“Landowners with unbalanced fish populations may also want to remove existing fish populations and start over, especially in smaller ponds less than one surface acre in size that lend themselves more for the management of single species that accept a pelleted ration, such as channel or blue catfish, hybrid stripers or hybrid sunfish,” he said.

Removal of existing species not easily managed in these smaller ponds, or that will compete directly with the desired fish species or in some cases prey directly upon stocked fingerlings, can be accomplished using rotenone.

Rotenone is a restricted use pesticide, therefore pond owners need a Texas Department of Agriculture pesticide applicator license to purchase and use, or must hire a licensed applicator, Higginbotham said.

The liquid formulation of rotenone is easier to use, Higginbotham said, because it mixes easily with water and can be applied by pump or by mixing into the prop wash of a small outboard motor. Protective gear should be worn during the application process including eyewear, gloves and long sleeves to avoid skin contact with the pesticide.

Rotenone prevents the fish from taking oxygen from the water. Fish should begin surfacing within 30 minutes of the application, depending on species. The fish, however, cannot be consumed because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has not established residue levels for rotenone.

Landowners should wait at least two to three weeks to restock the pond after the rotenone application, he said. It is safe for livestock to consume water that has been treated with rotenone, except for swine.

For more information about Rotenone use, go to http://bit.ly/29YsdQB or contact your local AgriLife Extension agent.

Stocked fish ponds more susceptible to oxygen depletion during summer months

June 23, 2016 by

June 18, 2016

Writer: Adam Russell, 903-834-6191, adam.russell@ag.tamu.edu
Contact: Billy Higginbotham, 903-834-6191, billy.higginbotham@ag.tamu.edu

OVERTON – A Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service expert said landowners should watch for oxygen depletion in stock ponds as we enter the dog days of summer.

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service wildlife specialist Dr. Billy Higginbotham checks the pH balance in a stocked fish pond. Higginbotham said pond owners should watch for signs of oxygen depletion during still summer days. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photograph by Adam Russell)

Dr. Billy Higginbotham, AgriLife Extension Service wildlife specialist in Overton, said landowners with stocked fish ponds should be aware of possible problems with oxygen depletion as hot, still days become more prevalent.

The summer months, between June and September, when the outside air is increasingly hot and pond water temperatures climb, are the time of year when oxygen depletions occur most for a variety of reasons, he said. Improper aquatic weed control, too many pounds of fish and the weather all contribute.

Higginbotham said typical ponds can sustain 1,000 pounds of fish per surface acre through summer months. When the environment is optimized and the pond owner stocks heavily, especially channel and blue catfish, and feeds heavily with floating fish rations, the density level can be easily met and exceeded.

Oxygen production via photosynthesis can slow or stop from several hot, still, cloudy days and fish continue to use oxygen until it falls below 3 parts per million gallons which stresses fish, Higginbotham said. Fish will begin swimming to the surface to try to obtain enough oxygen to survive at the air-water interface.

Higginbotham recommends checking the pond at daybreak when oxygen levels are at their lowest daily levels. The pond owner should act quickly if fish are surfacing for air.

Larger fish are affected by low oxygen levels more than smaller fish, he said.

“It’s almost as if they are gasping for air at the air-water interface,” Higginbotham said. “That’s a clear sign of oxygen depletion and the pond owner should act quickly to avoid a complete die-off of their fish.”

Pond owners can produce more oxygen for fish in various ways.

Backing a boat engine into the pond and circulating the water is one way to create more oxygen, Higginbotham said. Pond owners can also place a water pump in a shallow portion of the pond and spray water along the surface to circulate water along the air-water interface.

Once oxygen levels are restored, Higginbotham said pond owners should investigate the pond conditions that contributed to the depletion. He recommends thinning fish populations to reduce the pounds of fish the pond supports going into the mid-summer months when hot, still cloudy days are prevalent.

Controlling aquatic vegetation can also contribute to oxygen depletion, Higginbotham said. Oxygen is removed from water as plant tissue decomposes, which can create a scenario where a die off might occur.

Weed control efforts should be done gradually, about 15-20 percent of the vegetation at a time and with a week break between treatments, he said.

An aeration system is a good investment for landowners to avoid problems or prevent future problems, Higginbotham said.

“Watch very carefully as we enter these still, cloudy days, the dog days of summer,” Higginbotham said. “Be mindful of oxygen depletion and the possibility of losing fish populations.”

AgriLife Research scientists study wild pig impact on bobwhite quail populations

April 7, 2016 by

By: Paul Schattenberg

UVALDE — As part of an effort to understand the reasons behind the decline in wild quail populations, researchers from Texas A&M AgriLife Research have studied whether the continued increase in numbers and distribution of wild pigs, commonly referred to as feral hogs, may be a contributing factor.

According to data from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, within the South Texas Plains ecoregion bobwhite populations have been consistently low since the mid-1990s and to date have shown few signs of recovery despite land-management efforts to improve populations.

“Wild pigs are known to eat the eggs of ground-nesting birds, but whether they impact wild quail populations is unknown,” said Dr. Susan Cooper, AgriLife Research natural resource ecologist at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Uvalde, who served as lead study investigator.

Wild pigs, commonly known as feral hogs, are known to predate quail nests and eat their eggs. (Texas A&M AgriLife Research photo)

Cooper said nest predation studies using artificial nests baited with quail or chicken eggs, as well as in-vivo field experience, showed wild pigs invade the nests of bobwhite quail to consume their eggs.

“Our study was able to demonstrate that on semi-arid rangeland, differences in habitat use and selection by Northern bobwhites and wild pigs should limit interaction between the species,” she said.

However, she noted, the study also showed there are still opportunities for quail nest depredation by wild pigs due to riparian areas providing access to drier upland areas.

By comparing the habitat use of quail and wild pigs, Cooper and her fellow scientists hoped to provide guidance on the rangeland sites where control of the feral swine might have the greatest positive impact on northern bobwhite quail populations. To achieve this, the scientists solicited the cooperation of the owner of an 84,000-acre-plus, low-fenced ranch in Zavala County used for game production and cattle grazing.

“We combined GPS data on the movements of 40 feral hogs collected in a prior study, with 10 years of spring call-count data available for quail on the ranch and three nearby properties,” Cooper said.

To get information on their habitat preferences, wild pigs were trapped and outfitted with a GPS collar. (Texas A&M AgriLife research photo)

The call counts were made annually from 2004 to 2014 during mating season — mid-April through May. Quail rooster calls were recorded at 10 call stations spaced equidistantly along about a 10-mile route on each ranch. Information on habitat use and selection by wild pigs was based on two years of data collected on the main study ranch using GPS-collared wild pigs whose movements were recorded every 15 minutes.

“Through combining these studies, our goal was to identify habitats within South Texas rangeland in which wild pigs were most likely to overlap in distribution with the bobwhites,” Cooper said.

Cooper said the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service had determined the soil types of the study ranch were predominantly clays and clay-loams with a small area of deep sandy soil..

“The most characteristic woody plant on the ranches was honey mesquite, which was growing in combination with pricklypear cactus and a diverse array of drought-tolerant shrubs,” Cooper said. “Riparian areas were predominantly narrow bands of dense shrubs and mesquite trees along drainage areas. In contrast, the sandy areas provided an open prairie habitat.”

Research results showed bobwhites on the study ranch strongly preferred the area with deep sandy soil. In contrast, wild pigs favored areas underlain by clay soils, and especially riparian areas of that soil type. On the other three ranches, which lacked the sandy soils, the bobwhites showed no clear preference for any particular ecological site.

“There is a thermoregulatory requirement for wild pigs to stay near riparian areas because, like their domesticated relatives, they have no sweat glands and the water and cool ground in these locations help regulate their body temperature,” Cooper said.

She said in spring and summer, when quail have nests on the ground that are vulnerable to predation by mammals, feral hogs were typically in the vicinity of water and riparian habitats that make unsuitable nesting habitat for quail.

The study showed the greatest overlap in habitat selection by wild pigs and bobwhites occurred early in the quail-breeding season when the swine were more often located in the clay-loam areas.

“These shrub dominated sites, while not highly preferred by bobwhites as long-term habitats, are used extensively for nesting,” she said. “However, most locations of wild pigs within clay-loam areas were not in native vegetation but fallow fields too sparsely vegetated to be of use to nesting quails. Thus chances of the swine locating quail nests were less than may be expected.”

However, Cooper noted, the network of creeks and drainages allowed hogs to infiltrate into drier rangeland areas where quail do nest.

“The special distribution of creeks and drainages may provide these opportunistic omnivores with travel routes into the drier upland areas preferred by bobwhites as a habitat for establishing their nests,” she said.

AgriLife Research investigators study effects of aflatoxins on quail reproduction

April 7, 2016 by

By: Paul Schattenberg

UVALDE – In an effort to discover find what’s causing the decline of Texas wild quail populations, Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists investigated whether regular ingestion of low levels of aflatoxins by bobwhite and scaled quail may impacttheir ability to reproduce.

VIDEO: Quail and Afaltoxin Study: https://youtu.be/KV1r1ZONWDE

The study on aflatoxin ingestion by quail addressed what might occur if quail consumed grain-based feed infected by these fungal toxins. The study’s purpose was to see if repeated consumption of low levels aflotoxins might affect quail reproduction. (Texas A&M AgriLife Research photo)

“In trying to identify reasons behind the decline in quail populations in Texas, we determined it would be worthwhile to study whether aflatoxins, which are fungal toxins that contaminate grain, might be a concern,” said Dr. Susan Cooper, AgriLife Research wildlife ecologist at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Uvalde.

“We wondered whether eating grain-based feed supplements for wildlife, especially deer corn, might possibly expose quail to chronic low levels of aflatoxin poisoning, thereby affecting their reproductive ability.”

Cooper was helped in the study by research assistant Shane Sieckenius and research technician Andrea Silva, both of AgriLife Research in Uvalde.

Cooper said previous research has shown acute dosages of 100 parts per billion of aflatoxin in poultry could cause liver damage or dysfunction, leading to ill health as well as reduced egg production and hatchability.

In wild quail, such effects would result in a decrease in reproductive output and reduction in quail population, she said.

“We knew that experimental doses of even small amounts of aflatoxins may cause liver damage and immunosuppression,” Cooper explained. “So the objective of this study was to determine whether consumption of aflatoxins in feed at those levels likely to be encountered as a result of wild quail eating supplemental feed provided for quail, deer or livestock, would result in a reduction in their reproductive output.”

The researchers conducted feeding trials using 30 northern bobwhites and 30 scaled quail housed in breeding pairs. They initially conducted free-choice trials on three replicate pairs of each type of quail to determine if they could detect the presence of aflatoxin in their feed. The birds could not detect and avoid aflatoxins.

Then for 25 weeks, encompassing the breeding season of March through August, the researchers divided the remaining quail into four groups of three pairs of each species. These 12 pairs of caged northern bobwhites and 12 pairs of scaled quail were fed diets that included twice weekly feedings of 20 grams of corn. The corn had either 0, 25, 50 or 100 parts per billion of aflatoxin B1 added to it prior to consumption by the quail.

“These amounts of aflatoxin — 25, 50 and 100 parts per billion — represented the recommended maximum levels for bird feed and legal limits for wildlife and livestock feed respectively,” Cooper said. “And the feeding schedule mimicked what would occur with wild quail periodically visiting a source of supplemental feed.”

Quail were weighed monthly to see if there was any weight change due to the consumption of grain-based feed with low-level amounts of aflatoxion. (Texas A&M AgriLife Research photo)

The researchers measured any changes in reproductive output and quail health over the six-month breeding period. Reproductive output was measured in terms of number of eggs produced per week as well as the weight of the eggs and their yolks. Health changes were measured by the amount of food consumed by the quail on a weekly basis and by any reduction in weight as measured on a monthly basis.

“We had to extract the birds from the pens using butterfly nets, then put them into a small enclosed cage area to weigh them,” said Sieckenius, who also prepared the corn for adding the aflatoxin. “We collected eggs daily and hard-boiled the eggs collected on the last week of each month to extract the yolks so we could accurately measure their weight.”

Cooper said the results of the study showed intermittent consumption of aflatoxin-contaminated feed had no measurable effect on the body weight, feed consumption and visible health of either species of quail.

“The reproductive output, measured by number of eggs produced, egg weight and yolk weight, was also unaffected,” she said. “Thus, in the short term, it appears that chronic low-level exposure to aflatoxins has no measurable deleterious effects on the health and productivity of quail.”

Cooper said as a result of the study it was possible to conclude that aflatoxins in supplemental feed are unlikely to be a factor contributing to the long-term population decline of northern bobwhite and scaled quail through reduced health or egg production. However, she cautioned that feed should be kept dry to avoid potential contamination with higher levels of aflatoxin that may be harmful.

”This project also does not address any long-term effects of aflatoxin consumption that may become evident when wild quail are exposed to nutritional or environmental stresses,” she said.

Livestock guardian dogs come to area ranches

April 7, 2016 by

By: Steve Byrns

Year-long project involves seven ranches, 22 dogs

Writer: Steve Byrns, 325-653-4576, s-byrns@tamu.edu

Contact: Dr. Reid Redden, 325-653-4576, reid.redden@ag.tamu.edu

SAN ANGELO – The West Texas sheep and goat industry will soon be “going to the dogs” if a team of Texas A&M AgriLife experts has their way.

Dr. Reid Redden and Dr. John Tomecek, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service state sheep and goat specialist and wildlife specialist, respectively, and Dr. John Walker, Texas A&M AgriLife Research resident director, all of San Angelo, are heading a new year-long research project called “Understanding and Expanding the Use of Livestock Guardian Dogs in West Texas.”

“The goal is to place livestock guardian dogs on large West Texas ranches with ranchers who have never used them as a predator management tool,” Redden said.

Redden said 22 dogs, including two backups, arrived shortly after Jan. 1 from a professional livestock guardian dog breeder based in Montana. The dogs, specifically bred and raised to live with and guard sheep and goats, are composite crossbred animals comprised of five large breeds of dogs used for thousands of years for this purpose.

“Predation on sheep and goats on large West Texas operations is arguably that industry’s biggest problem,” Redden said. “For many ranchers, controlling predators has gotten to the point where it’s almost impossible to effectively conduct predator management by traditional lethal means. So we are looking at new tools for our area, and livestock guardian dogs are a tool that’s been used in other countries and elsewhere in the U.S., but it has not been used very much in West Texas. The main difference is management style, and this management style affects how the dogs work.”

Livestock guardian dogs await assignment to area ranches as part of a year-long study. (Texas A&M AgriLife Communications photo by Steve Byrns)

Redden said the research project aims to investigate and work with cooperating ranchers, located from San Angelo west to Iraan and down to Del Rio, to better understand how livestock guardian dogs work in large expansive pastures.

“We have pastures in the project from between 500 and 5,000 acres,” Redden said. “These are large pastures where sheep can get scattered, making it easier for predators to do damage to the flock. It’s also difficult to spot a problem quickly in a large pasture, especially if it’s rough, brushy country as many West Texas pastures are.”

https://youtu.be/wnbFA1wnrnQ

Redden said the dogs were placed with seven cooperators and on AgriLife property Walker directs. Some ranchers got two dogs and some got four. The dogs, all between six and ten months old and previously bonded with sheep, were placed on the ranches shortly after Jan. 1. Once the dogs were placed on an operation, they were put in a small pen to bond with the sheep on that operation. Then within a few days to a few weeks, they were put out into large pastures.

Throughout the year the dogs are being fitted with GPS collars to track their movements throughout the day and night to see how they are working as a predator management tool.

“The observations thus far on the project have been fairly positive,” Redden said. “Most of the cooperators we’ve talked to have had good luck with the guard dogs. There have been a few issues that needed to be addressed, which is common with guardian dogs. It requires effort and perseverance to make the program work. But we have not had any reported sheep losses from coyotes, the No. 1 predator in Texas.

“One rancher even commented since getting the dogs that he’s seeing ‘repeat appearances’ among his sheep. Before, when his ewes would leave with a lamb, many of those lambs were never seen again, but now he is seeing them again…thus they are making repeat appearances.

“Based on cooperator reports, the guardian dogs have changed the movement patterns among the predators. Overall, we think they are starting to show some real positive effects on all the ranches that we’ve put them on.”

The other part of the project Tomecek oversees centers around the use of game cameras left running throughout the year to measure the traffic of predators such as coyotes, foxes and feral hogs.

Tomecek noted the predator populations were camera-surveyed prior to the livestock guardian dogs being added and will continue to be surveyed throughout the year to understand how the dogs change the predator movement and patterns as the dogs move in and around the ranches.

“Primarily, these livestock guardian dogs are a tool that dissuade predators from getting in the livestock,” Redden said. “One of the things people think is that the dogs are aggressive and go out and kill predators, and that is very rare. Actually the dogs are bonded to the sheep, they stay with them. They are part of the flock, while at the same time they provide protection for the sheep.

“They bark throughout the night to warn predators to avoid the area. They dissuade them from harming the livestock, and the predators go back to their normal prey of mostly rabbits and other small rodents.”

Redden said from a personal standpoint that livestock guardian dogs have kept his family-owned sheep and goat operation going since the 1990s.

“They’re a fantastic tool,” he said. “They do take effort and work to get them implemented and bonded and working on the ranch. But I think it’s a fantastic return on the investment of time and money once guardian dogs are put into place and you understand how to use them and understand how they work. The peace of mind that predation is no longer a problem is the best benefit of all.”

The AgriLife team would like to see the program build industry knowledge and widespread acceptance of livestock guardian dogs. They hope the group of ranchers will evolve into livestock guardian dog ambassadors, willing to help others wanting to use the dogs to remain economically viable in the sheep and goat industry.

“The whole West Texas belief that loose dogs among sheep as always being a bad thing must change, because these dogs don’t behave as most dogs do and must be handled in a totally unique manner,” he said. “It will be a learning experience, not only for the producers involved with this work, but for the whole West Texas ranching community as well.”

For more information on livestock guardian dogs, go to http://sanangelo.tamu.edu/files/2013/08/Livestock-Guardian-Dogs1.pdf . Redden can be reached at 325-653-4576, extension 224 or reid.redden@ag.tamu.edu