Sampling design trade-offs in occupancy studies with imperfect detection: Examples and software
L.L. Bailey, J.E. Hines, J.D. Nichols, Darryl I. MacKenzie
2007, Ecological Applications (17) 281-290
Researchers have used occupancy, or probability of occupancy, as a response or state variable in a variety of studies (e.g., habitat modeling), and occupancy is increasingly favored by numerous state, federal, and international agencies engaged in monitoring programs. Recent advances in estimation methods have emphasized that reliable inferences can...
Dermal insecticide residues from birds inhabiting an orchard
N.B. Vyas, J. W. Spann, C.S. Hulse, S. Gentry, S.L. Borges
2007, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (133) 209-214
The US Environmental Protection Agency conducts risk assessments of insecticide applications to wild birds using a model that is limited to the dietary route of exposure. However, free-flying birds are also exposed to insecticides via the inhalation and dermal routes. We measured azinphos-methyl residues on the skin plus feathers and...
Herbivory by resident geese: The loss and recovery of wild rice along the tidal Patuxent River
G. Michael Haramis, Gregory D. Kearns
2007, Journal of Wildlife Management (71) 788-794
Well known for a fall spectacle of maturing wild rice (Zizania aquatica) and migrant waterbirds, the tidal freshwater marshes of the Patuxent River, Maryland, USA, experienced a major decline in wild rice during the 1990s. We conducted experiments in 1999 and 2000 with fenced exclosures and discovered herbivory by resident...
Hydrologic connectivity and the contribution of stream headwaters to ecological integrity at regional scales
Mary C. Freeman, C. M. Pringle, C.R. Jackson
2007, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (43) 5-14
Cumulatively, headwater streams contribute to maintaining hydrologic connectivity and ecosystem integrity at regional scales. Hydrologic connectivity is the water-mediated transport of matter, energy and organisms within or between elements of the hydrologic cycle. Headwater streams compose over two-thirds of total stream length in a typical river drainage and...
Concerns regarding a call for pluralism of information theory and hypothesis testing
P.M. Lukacs, W.L. Thompson, W. L. Kendall, W.R. Gould, P.F. Doherty Jr., K.P. Burnham, David R. Anderson
2007, Journal of Applied Ecology (44) 456-460
1. Stephens et al. (2005) argue for 'pluralism' in statistical analysis, combining null hypothesis testing and information-theoretic (I-T) methods. We show that I-T methods are more informative even in single variable problems and we provide an ecological example. 2. I-T methods allow inferences to be made from multiple models simultaneously....
Adult tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) survival on the polychlorinated biphenyl-contaminated Housatonic River, Massachusetts, USA
Christine M. Custer, T. W. Custer, J.E. Hines, J.D. Nichols, P.M. Dummer
2007, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (26) 1056-1065
Tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) were captured and banded at six sites that differed in polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination levels in the Housatonic River watershed, western Massachusetts, USA, from 2000 through 2004 to test the prediction that apparent survival rates of females in more contaminated areas were lower than those from...
A multivariate assessment of changes in wetland habitat for waterbirds at Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge, Maine, USA
L.A. Hierl, C.S. Loftin, J. R. Longcore, D.G. McAuley, D.L. Urban
2007, Wetlands (27) 141-152
We assessed changes in vegetative structure of 49 impoundments at Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR), Maine, USA, between the periods 1984-1985 to 2002 with a multivariate, adaptive approach that may be useful in a variety of wetland and other habitat management situations. We used Mahalanobis Distance (MD) analysis to...
Deer exposed to exceptionally high concentrations of lead near the Continental Mine in Idaho, USA
W. N. Beyer, G. Gaston, R. Brazzle, A.F. O'Connell Jr., D. J. Audet
2007, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (26) 1040-1046
Habitat surrounding the inactive Continental Mine in northern Idaho, USA, supports bear (Ursus arctos, Ursus americanus), moose (Alces alces), elk (Cervus elaphus), woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou), and abundant mule (Odocoileus hemionus) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Tailings on the mining site were capped and remediated in 2003 to reduce...
Optimal control of Atlantic population Canada geese
C.E. Hauser, M.C. Runge, E.G. Cooch, Fred A. Johnson, W.F. Harvey IV
2007, Ecological Modelling (201) 27-36
Management of Canada geese (Branta canadensis) can be a balance between providing sustained harvest opportunity while not allowing populations to become overabundant and cause damage. In this paper, we focus on the Atlantic population of Canada geese and use stochastic dynamic programming to determine the optimal harvest strategy over a...
Importance of well-designed monitoring programs for the conservation of endangered species: Case study of the Snail Kite
J. Martin, W.M. Kitchens, J.E. Hines
2007, Conservation Biology (21) 472-481
Monitoring natural populations is often a necessary step to establish the conservation status of species and to help improve management decisions. Nevertheless, many monitoring programs do not effectively address primary sources of variability in monitoring data, which ultimately may limit the utility of monitoring in identifying declines and improving management....
Iteroparity in the variable environment of the salamander Ambystoma tigrinum
D.R. Church, L.L. Bailey, H.M. Wilbur, W. L. Kendall, J.E. Hines
2007, Ecology (88) 891-903
Simultaneous estimation of survival, reproduction, and movement is essential to understanding how species maximize lifetime reproduction in environments that vary across space and time. We conducted a four-year, capture–recapture study of three populations of eastern tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum tigrinum) and used multistate mark–recapture statistical methods to estimate the manner...
A large-scale deforestation experiment: Effects of patch area and isolation on Amazon birds
G. Ferraz, J.D. Nichols, J.E. Hines, P.C. Stouffer, R.O. Bierregaard, T.E. Lovejoy
2007, Science (315) 238-241
As compared with extensive contiguous areas, small isolated habitat patches lack many species. Some species disappear after isolation; others are rarely found in any small patch, regardless of isolation. We used a 13-year data set of bird captures from a large landscape-manipulation experiment in a Brazilian Amazon forest...
The potential of fruit trees to enhance converted habitats for migrating birds in southern Mexico
M.S. Foster
2007, Bird Conservation International (17) 45-61
Migration routes used by Nearctic migrant birds can cover great distances; they also differ among species, within species, and between years and seasons. As a result, migration routes for an entire migratory avifauna can encompass broad geographic areas, making it impossible to protect continuous stretches of habitat sufficient to...
Biomechanical factors contributing to self-organization in seagrass landscapes
M.S. Fonseca, M.A.R. Koehl, B.S. Kopp
2007, Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology (340) 227-246
Field observations have revealed that when water flow is consistently from one direction, seagrass shoots align in rows perpendicular to the primary axis of flow direction. In this study, live Zostera marina shoots were arranged either randomly or in rows perpendicular to the flow direction and tested in a seawater...
Water level management and contaminant exposure to tree swallows nesting on the Upper Mississippi River
T. W. Custer, P.M. Dummer, Christine M. Custer, A.U. Li, D. Warburton, M. J. Melancon, D. J. Hoffman, C. W. Matson, J. W. Bickham
2007, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (133) 335-345
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducted a water drawdown on Navigation Pool 8 of the Upper Mississippi River during the summers of 2001 and 2002 to increase aquatic vegetation production and thereby improve fish and wildlife habitat. Flooding of previously dried wetlands, however, may increase the rate of...
Mercury and growth of tree swallows at Acadia National Park, and at Orono, Maine, USA
Jerry R. Longcore, Reza Dineli, Terry A. Haines
2007, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (126) 117-127
In 1997 and 1998 we weighed nestling tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) and measured selected body components at two colonies: Acadia National Park on Mt. Desert Island, and at Orono, ME. We used differences in mean growth variables among individual nestlings to evaluate differences between colonies, years, and amount of...
Effects of habitat change along Breeding Bird Survey routes in the central Appalachians on Cerulean Warbler population
P. McElhone, P.W. Wood, D. Dawson
2007, Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (61) 131 (abs)
The cerulean warbler (Dendroica cerulea) is one of the highest priority bird species in the eastern United States because populations have declined 4.3% annually during 1966?2005 based on Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data. Habitat loss and fragmentation due to land use changes is thought to be one of the...
Mercury in tree swallow food, eggs, bodies, and feathers at Acadia National Park, Maine, and an EPA Superfund Site, Ayer, Massachusetts
Jerry R. Longcore, Terry A. Haines, William A. Halteman
2007, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (126) 129-143
We monitored nest boxes during 1997–1999 at Acadia National Park, Mt. Desert Island, ME and at an old-field site in Orono, ME to determine mercury (Hg) uptake in tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) eggs, tissues, and food boluses. Also, in 1998–1999 we monitored nest boxes at Grove Pond and...
Using a novel micro-sampling technique to monitor the effects of methylmercury on the eggs of wild birds
J.D. Klimstra, K.R. Stebbins, G. H. Heinz
2007, Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (61) 129 (abs)
Methylmercury is the predominant chemical form of mercury reported in the eggs of wild birds. The embryo is the life stage at which birds are most sensitive to methylmercury. Protective guidelines have been based largely on captive-breeding studies done with chickens (Gallus domesticus), mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), and ring-necked...
Design and implementation of estimation-based monitoring programs for flora and fauna: A case study on the Cherokee National Forest
J.D. Klimstra, A.F. O'Connell Jr., M.J. Pistrang, L.M. Lewis, J.A. Herrig, J.R. Sauer
2007, Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (61) 126 (abs)
Science-based monitoring of biological resources is important for a greater understanding of ecological systems and for assessment of the target population using theoretic-based management approaches. When selecting variables to monitor, managers first need to carefully consider their objectives, the geographic and temporal scale at which they will operate, and...
Patch-occupancy models indicate human activity as major determinant of forest elephant Loxodonta cyclotis seasonal distribution in an industrial corridor in Gabon
R. Buij, W.J. McShea, P. Campbell, M.E. Lee, F. Dallmeier, S. Guimondou, L. Mackaga, N. Guisseougou, S. Mboumba, J.E. Hines, J.D. Nichols, A. Alonso
2007, Biological Conservation (135) 189-201
The importance of human activity and ecological features in influencing African forest elephant ranging behaviour was investigated in the Rabi-Ndogo corridor of the Gamba Complex of Protected Areas in southwest Gabon. Locations in a wide geographical area with a range of environmental variables were selected for patch-occupancy surveys using...
Natal location influences movement and survival of a spatially structured population of snail kites
J. Martin, W.M. Kitchens, J.E. Hines
2007, Oecologia (153) 291-301
Despite the accepted importance of the need to better understand how natal location affects movement decisions and survival of animals, robust estimates of movement and survival in relation to the natal location are lacking. Our study focuses on movement and survival related to the natal location of snail kites...
Immunotoxicity of trenbolone acetate in Japanese quail
M.J. Quinn, M. McKernan, E.T. Lavoie, M. A. Ottinger
2007, Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A (70) 88-93
Trenbolone acetate is a synthetic androgen that is currently used as a growth promoter in many meat-exporting countries. Despite industry laboratories classifying trenbolone as nonteratogenic, data showed that embryonic exposure to this androgenic chemical altered development of the immune system in Japanese quail. Trenbolone is lipophilic, persistent, and...
Evaluation of Streamflow Gain-Loss Characteristics of Hubbard Creek, in the Vicinity of a Mine-Permit Area, Delta County, Colorado, 2007
Barbara C. Ruddy, Cory A. Williams
2007, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5271
In 2007, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Bowie Mining Company, initiated a study to characterize the streamflow and streamflow gain-loss in a reach of Hubbard Creek in Delta County, Colorado, in the vicinity of a mine-permit area planned for future coal mining. Premining streamflow characteristics and streamflow gain-loss...
Vascular Plant and Vertebrate Inventory of Coronado National Memorial
Brian F. Powell, Don E. Swann, William L. Halvorson
Cecilia A. Schmidt, editor(s)
2007, Open-File Report 2007-1393
We conducted inventories for amphibians and reptiles, birds, and mammals; and summarized past inventories for vascular plants at Coronado National Memorial (NM) in Arizona. We used our data as well as data from previous research to compile species lists for the memorial, assess inventory completeness, and make suggestions on future...
