Monitoring in the context of structured decision-making and adaptive management
J. E. Lyons, M.C. Runge, H. P. Laskowski, W. L. Kendall
2008, Journal of Wildlife Management (72) 1683-1692
In a natural resource management setting, monitoring is a crucial component of an informed process for making decisions, and monitoring design should be driven by the decision context and associated uncertainties. Monitoring itself can play >3 roles. First, it is important for state-dependent decision-making, as when managers need...
Methods for estimating the amount of vernal pool habitat in the northeastern United States
R. Van Meter, L.L. Bailey, E.H.C. Grant
2008, Wetlands (28) 585-593
The loss of small, seasonal wetlands is a major concern for a variety of state, local, and federal organizations in the northeastern U.S. Identifying and estimating the number of vernal pools within a given region is critical to developing long-term conservation and management strategies for these unique habitats and their...
Juvenile survival in a tropical population of roseate terns: Interannual variation and effect of tick parasitism
David Monticelli, Jaime A. Ramos, James E. Hines, James D. Nichols, Jeffrey A. Spendelow
2008, Marine Ecology Progress Series (365) 277-287
Many demographic studies on long-lived seabirds have focused on the estimation of adult survival, but much less is known about survival during the early years of life, especially in tropical species. We report analyses of a capture–recapture dataset of 685 roseate terns ringed as fledglings and adults between 1998 and...
Comparative analysis of distribution and abundance of West Nile and Eastern Equine Encephalomyelitis virus vectors in Suffolk County, New York, using human population density and land use/cover data
I. Rochlin, K. Harding, H. S. Ginsberg, S.R. Campbell
2008, Journal of Medical Entomology (45) 563-571
Five years of CDC light trap data from Suffolk County, NY, were analyzed to compare the applicability of human population density (HPD) and land use/cover (LUC) classification systems to describe mosquito abundance and to determine whether certain mosquito species of medical importance tend to be more common in urban (defined...
A double-observer method to estimate detection rate during aerial waterfowl surveys
M.D. Koneff, J. Andrew Royle, M.C. Otto, J.S. Wortham, J.K. Bidwell
2008, Journal of Wildlife Management (72) 1641-649
We evaluated double-observer methods for aerial surveys as a means to adjust counts of waterfowl for incomplete detection. We conducted our study in eastern Canada and the northeast United States utilizing 3 aerial-survey crews flying 3 different types of fixed-wing aircraft. We reconciled counts of front- and rear-seat...
Apparent tolerance of turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) to the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac
Barnett A. Rattner, M.A. Whitehead, G. Gasper, C.U. Meteyer, W.A. Link, M.A. Taggart, A.A. Meharg, O. H. Pattee, D.J. Pain
2008, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (27) 2341-2345
The nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drug diclofenac is extremely toxic to Old World Gyps vultures (median lethal dose ∼0.1–0.2 mg/kg), evoking visceral gout, renal necrosis, and mortality within a few days of exposure. Unintentional secondary poisoning of vultures that fed upon carcasses of diclofenac‐treated livestock decimated populations in the Indian subcontinent. Because of the...
Seasonal movements and migration of Pallas's Gulls Larus ichthyaetus from Qinghai Lake, China
S.B. Muzaffar, John Y. Takekawa, D.J. Prosser, David C. Douglas, B. Yan, Z. Xing, Y. Hou, E.C. Palm, S. H. Newman
2008, Forktail (24) 100-107
We studied the seasonal movements and migration often Pallas's Gulls Larus ichthyaetus trom Qinghai Lake to assess migratory routes and stopover areas. Each individual was captured and equipped with an 18 g solar-powered Platform Transmitter Terminal (PIT) to track its movements from September 2007 to May 2008. Six...
Sources of variation in detection of wading birds from aerial surveys in the Florida Everglades
M.J. Conroy, J.T. Peterson, O.L. Bass, C.J. Fonnesbeck, J.E. Howell, C. T. Moore, J.P. Runge
2008, The Auk (125) 731-741
We conducted dual-observer trials to estimate detection probabilities (probability that a group that is present and available is detected) for fixed-wing aerial surveys of wading birds in the Everglades system, Florida. Detection probability ranged from <0.2 to similar to 0.75 and varied according to species, group size, observer, and...
Objectives and metrics for wildlife monitoring
J.R. Sauer, M. G. Knutson
2008, Journal of Wildlife Management (72) 1663-1664
Monitoring surveys allow managers to document system status and provide the quantitative basis for management decision-making, and large amounts of effort and funding are devoted to monitoring. Still, monitoring surveys often fall short of providing required information; inadequacies exist in survey designs, analyses procedures, or in the ability to...
Forty-ninth supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American birds
Richard C. Banks, R. Terry Chesser, Carla Cicero, Jon L. Dunn, Andrew W. Kratter, Irby J. Lovette, Pamela C. Rasmussen, J.V. Remsen Jr., James D. Rising, Douglas F. Stotz, Kevin Winker
2008, The Auk (125) 756-766
This is the eighth Supplement since the publication of the 7th edition of the Check-list of North American Birds (American Ornithologists’ Union [AOU] 1998). It summarizes decisions made by the AOU’s Committee on Classification and Nomenclature-North and Middle America between 1 January and 31 December 2007....
Rachel Carson's legacy for research and monitoring at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
J.R. Sauer
2008, INformation 32-33
Multi-scale occupancy estimation and modelling using multiple detection methods
James D. Nichols, Larissa L. Bailey, Allan F. O’Connell, Neil W. Talancy, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Andrew T. Gilbert, Elizabeth M. Annand, Thomas P. Husband, James E. Hines
2008, Journal of Applied Ecology (45) 1321-1329
Occupancy estimation and modelling based on detection–nondetection data provide an effective way of exploring change in a species’ distribution across time and space in cases where the species is not always detected with certainty. Today, many monitoring programmes target multiple species, or life stages within a species, requiring the use...
Potential effects of mixed infections in ticks on transmission dynamics of pathogens: comparative analysis of published records
Howard S. Ginsberg
2008, Experimental and Applied Acarology (46) 29-41
Ticks are often infected with more than one pathogen, and several field surveys have documented nonrandom levels of coinfection. Levels of coinfection by pathogens in four tick species were analyzed using published infection data. Coinfection patterns of pathogens in field-collected ticks include numerous cases of higher or lower...
A hierarchical model for estimating change in American Woodcock populations
J.R. Sauer, W.A. Link, W. L. Kendall, J.R. Kelley, D.K. Niven
2008, Journal of Wildlife Management (72) 204-214
The Singing-Ground Survey (SGS) is a primary source of information on population change for American woodcock (Scolopax minor). We analyzed the SGS using a hierarchical log-linear model and compared the estimates of change and annual indices of abundance to a route regression analysis of SGS data. We also grouped SGS...
Winter bird population studies and project prairie birds for surveying grassland birds
D.J. Twedt, P.B. Hamel, M.S. Woodrey
2008, Southeastern Naturalist (7) 11-18
We compared 2 survey methods for assessing winter bird communities in temperate grasslands: Winter Bird Population Study surveys are area-searches that have long been used in a variety of habitats whereas Project Prairie Bird surveys employ active-flushing techniques on strip-transects and are intended for use in grasslands. We used...
Osmotic tolerance of avian spermatozoa: Influence of time, temperature, cryoprotectant and membrane ion pump function on sperm viability
J.M. Blanco, J.A. Long, G. Gee, A.M. Donoghue, D.E. Wildt
2008, Cryobiology (56) 8-14
Potential factors influencing sperm survival under hypertonic conditions were evaluated in the Sandhill crane (Grus canadensis) and turkey (Meleagridis gallopavo). Sperm osmotolerance (300-3000 mOsm/kg) was evaluated after: (1) equilibration times of 2, 10, 45 and 60 min at 4 ?C versus 21 ?C; (2) pre-equilibrating with dimethylacetamide (DMA) or...
Hierarchical Bayes estimation of species richness and occupancy in spatially replicated surveys
M. Kery, J. Andrew Royle
2008, Journal of Applied Ecology (45) 589-598
1. Species richness is the most widely used biodiversity metric, but cannot be observed directly as, typically, some species are overlooked. Imperfect detectability must therefore be accounted for to obtain unbiased species-richness estimates. When richness is assessed at multiple sites, two approaches can be used to estimate species...
Sediment ingestion rates in waterfowl (Anatidae) and their use in environmental risk assessment
W. Nelson Beyer, Matthew C. Perry, Peter C. Osenton
2008, Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management (4) 246-251
When waterfowl (Anatidae) ingest sediment as they feed, they are exposed to the environmental contaminants in those sediments. The rate of ingestion may be key to assessing environmental risk. Rates of sediment ingestion were estimated as from <2% to 22% in 16 species of waterfowl collected in the northeastern United...
Estimation and correction of visibility bias in aerial surveys of wintering ducks
A.T. Pearse, P.D. Gerard, S.J. Dinsmore, R.M. Kaminski, K. J. Reinecke
2008, Journal of Wildlife Management (72) 808-813
Incomplete detection of all individuals leading to negative bias in abundance estimates is a pervasive source of error in aerial surveys of wildlife, and correcting that bias is a critical step in improving surveys. We conducted experiments using duck decoys as surrogates for live ducks to estimate bias associated...
Concentrations of metals in blood and feathers of nestling ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) in Chesapeake and Delaware Bays
Barnett A. Rattner, N. H. Golden, P. C. Toschik, P. C. McGowan, T. W. Custer
2008, Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology (54) 114-122
In 2000, 2001, and 2002, blood and feather samples were collected from 40–45-day-old nestling ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) from Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay and River. Concentrations of 18 metals, metalloids, and other elements were determined in these samples by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy, and Hg concentrations were measured by cold...
Effect of climate fluctuations on long-term vegetation dynamics in Carolina bay wetlands
C.L. Stroh, D. De Steven, G.R. Guntenspergen
2008, Wetlands (28) 17-27
Carolina bays and similar depression wetlands of the U.S. Southeastern Coastal Plain have hydrologic regimes that are driven primarily by rainfall. Therefore, climate fluctuations such as drought cycles have the potential to shape long-term vegetation dynamics. Models suggest two potential long-term responses to hydrologic fluctuations, either cyclic change...
The Overmyer mastodon (Mammut americanum) from Fulton County, Indiana
Neal Woodman, J. W. Branstrator
2008, American Midland Naturalist (159) 125-146
In June 1978 the partial skeleton of an American mastodon, Mammut americanum, was salvaged from a drainage ditch in Fulton County, north-central Indiana. The remains were recovered mostly from ca. 170–260 cm below the current land surface in marl overlain by peat and peaty marl. The stratigraphy of the site...
Managing visitor impacts in parks: A multi-method study of the effectiveness of alternative management practices
L.O. Park, J. L. Marion, R.E. Manning, S.R. Lawson, C. Jacobi
2008, Journal of Park and Recreation Administration (26) 97-121
How can recreation use be managed to control associated environmental impacts? What management practices are most effective and why? This study explored these and related questions through a series of experimental ?treatments? and associated ?controls? at the summit of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park, a heavily used...
Hierarchical modeling of cluster size in wildlife surveys
J. Andrew Royle
2008, Journal of Agricultural, Biological, and Environmental Statistics (13) 23-36
Clusters or groups of individuals are the fundamental unit of observation in many wildlife sampling problems, including aerial surveys of waterfowl, marine mammals, and ungulates. Explicit accounting of cluster size in models for estimating abundance is necessary because detection of individuals within clusters is not independent and detectability of...
Variability in triactinomyxon production from Tubifex tubifex populations from the same mitochondrial DNA lineage infected with Myxobolus cerebralis, the causative agent of whirling disease in salmonids
C. Rasmussen, J. Zickovich, J. R. Winton, B.L. Kerans
2008, Journal of Parasitology (94) 700-708
Myxobolus cerebralis, the causative agent of whirling disease, infects both salmonid fish and an aquatic oligochaete, Tubifex tubifex. Although M. cerebralis has been detected in river drainages throughout the United States, disease severity among wild fish populations has been highly variable. Tubifex tubifex populations have been genetically characterized using sequences...
