The influence of range quality on ruffed grouse was assessed through the 

 detailed autopsy of hundreds of birds collected throughout Ontario at all seasons 

 of the year by staff of the Fish and Wildlife Branch. As part of this research, studies 

 of grouse nutrition were begun in co-operation with the Ontario Veterinary College. 

 Our present hypotheses are that survival of grouse broods may be greatly improved 

 through range improvement (clearing and fertilizing plots in mature forests), and 

 hunter success can be increased by attracting grouse to clearings that have been 

 planted with food-producing trees and shrubs. Preliminary field work is now under- 

 way on these programmes. 



Experience with research programmes on nesting geese in the Hudson Bay 

 Lowlands of Ontario resulted in a Department biologist undertaking an aerial survey 

 of Ross' goose populations in the Perry River basin of the Northwest Territories. 

 The project, partially supported by the Canadian Wildlife Service, provided an 

 opportunity for the biologist to compare summer range and nesting locations of 

 Arctic populations to northern Ontario areas which are producing thousands of 

 broods of Canada and snow geese annually. It also gave a measure of Ross' goose 

 production in 1964. 



The collection of data from thousands of autopsies provided the background 

 material for a "Manual of Common Diseases, Parasites and Anomalies of Wildlife 

 in Ontario". This publication had the primary objectives of assisting field staff in 

 the identification of important wildlife diseases and parasites and of providing a 

 means of obtaining current information about their distributions and incidences. 

 The manual is the first of its kind in North America, and to the best of our knowl- 

 edge in the world, and it has gained widespread acceptance by universities, game 

 departments and related agencies. 



Research on the fox-rabies programme in southwestern Ontario has been 

 plagued by many problems, not the least of which is the relative scarcity of foxes 

 in many areas. Progress was made in important techniques associated with the 

 research. The presence or absence of sex chromatin in the somatic cells of animals 

 has been studied by many biologists for several years. However, identification of 

 this chromatin was not possible in preserved tissues until refinement in cell-staining 

 techniques were achieved by the biologist in charge of the rabies research. It is now 

 possible to identify the sex of most rabid foxes from heads or other preserved 

 tissues, an important step in understanding the methods of transmission of rabies in 

 the various age and sex components of a fox population. Improvements were also 

 made in radio receivers and the transmitters used to tag animals for ecological 

 studies. The biologist in charge was invited to take part in a symposium on radio- 

 telemetry held in conjunction with the 30th North American Wildlife Conference. 



Research on moose populations in northwestern Ontario was continued, in an 

 effort to understand the effects of hunting on productivity and the maintenance of 

 optimum numbers. Comparisons of the ages of moose taken from accessible and 

 relatively inaccessible areas showed significantly older classes in the latter locations. 

 Although there may be some selection for trophy animals by "fly-in" hunters, there 

 is probably a real difference between the age structures of populations which are 

 lightly-hunted vs. those which are heavily-hunted. Differences in productivity may 

 be expected between these populations, and these may be of sufficient importance 

 to require variations in management. 



Research on white-tailed deer continued to relate the status of populations 

 with range quality, hunting pressure, winter weather, predators and other factors 

 which affect them. Predictions of gradual recovery of deer numbers in central 

 Ontario, following the severe winters of 1958-59-60, were borne out and confirmed 

 the value of the snow-stations operated throughout the province. Data from these 

 provide measures of the severity of winter conditions, as they affect deer survival. 



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