Sex ratio estimation and survival analysis for Orthetrum coerulescens (Odonata, Libellulidae)
M. Kery, L. Juillerat
2004, Canadian Journal of Zoology (82) 399-406
There is controversy over whether uneven sex ratios observed in mature dragonfly populations are a mere artifact resulting from the higher observability of males. Previous studies have at best made indirect inference about sex ratios by analysis of survival or recapture rates. Here, we obtain direct estimates of sex ratio...
Estimation of tiger densities in the tropical dry forests of Panna, Central India, using photographic capture-recapture sampling
K.Ullas Karanth, Raghunandan S. Chundawat, James D. Nichols, N. Samba Kumar
2004, Animal Conservation (7) 285-290
Tropical dry-deciduous forests comprise more than 45% of the tiger (Panthera tigris) habitat in India. However, in the absence of rigorously derived estimates of ecological densities of tigers in dry forests, critical baseline data for managing tiger populations are lacking. In this study tiger densities were estimated using photographic capture–recapture...
A specimen of the Varied Thrush from Florida
G.E. Woolfenden, R.C. Banks
2004, Florida Field Naturalist (32) 48-50
Forty-fifth supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds
R.C. Banks, C. Cicero, J.L. Dunn, A.W. Kratter, P.C. Rasmussen, J.V. Remsen Jr., J.D. Rising, D.F. Stotz
2004, The Auk (121) 985-995
This is the fourth Supplement since 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 between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2003....
Arsenic hazards to humans, plants, and animals from gold mining
R. Eisler
2004, Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology (180) 133-165
Arsenic sources to the biosphere associated with gold mining include waste soil and rocks, residual water from ore concentrations, roasting of some types of gold-containing ores to remove sulfur and sulfur oxides, and bacterially-enhanced leaching. Arsenic concentrations near gold mining operations were elevated in abiotic materials and biota: maximum total...
Phosphorus amendment reduces bioavailability of lead to mallards ingesting contaminated sediments
G. H. Heinz, D. J. Hoffman, D. J. Audet
2004, Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology (46) 534-541
Lead poisoning of waterfowl has been reported for decades in the Coeur d'Alene River Basin in Idaho as a result of the ingestion of lead-contaminated sediments. We conducted a study to determine whether the addition of phosphoric acid to sediments would reduce the bioavailability of lead to mallards (Anas platyrhynchos)....
Extinction rate estimates for plant populations in revisitation studies: Importance of detectability
M. Kery
2004, Conservation Biology (18) 570-574
Many researchers have obtained extinction-rate estimates for plant populations by comparing historical and current records of occurrence. A population that is no longer found is assumed to have gone extinct. Extinction can then be related to characteristics of these populations, such as habitat type, size, or species, to...
Effects of the mosquito larvicide GB-1111 on bird eggs
D. J. Hoffman, P.H. Albers, M. J. Melancon, A.K. Miles
2004, Environmental Pollution (127) 353-358
Golden Bear Oil (GB-1111; legal trade name for GB-1313) is a petroleum distillate used in the United States and other countries as a mosquito larvicide. As part of an evaluation of the potential effects of GB-1111 on birds, fertile eggs of mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) and bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) were incubated...
Monitoring programs need to take into account imperfect species detectability
M. Kery, Hans Schmid
2004, Basic and Applied Ecology (5) 65-73
Biodiversiry monitoring is important to identify biological units in need of conservation and to check the effectiveness of conservation actions. Programs generally monitor species richness and its changes (trend). Usually, no correction is made for imperfect species detectability. Instead, it is assumed that each species present has...
Detecting warning signs of trouble within population fluctuations: using capture-recapture modeling to uncover changes in population dynamics leading to declines
J. A. Spendelow, J.D. Nichols, W. L. Kendall, J.E. Hines, Jeff S. Hatfield, I.C.T. Nisbet
2004, Annual Meeting of the Association of Field Ornithologists and the Wilson Ornithological Society Program and Abstracts P42
An intensive mark-recapture/resighting program has been carried out on the Roseate Terns nesting at Falkner Island, Connecticut, since the late 1980s as part of a regional study of the metapopulation dynamics and ecology of the endangered Northwest Atlantic breeding population of this species. Substantial losses of tern eggs and...
Gold concentrations in abiotic materials, plants, and animals: A synoptic review
R. Eisler
2004, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (90) 73-88
Gold (Au) is ubiquitous in the environment and mined commercially at numerous locations worldwide. It is also an allergen that induces dermatitis in sensitive individuals. Gold concentrations were comparatively elevated in samples collected near gold mining and processing facilities, although no data were found for birds and non-human mammals. Maximum...
Mercury accumulation and loss in mallard eggs
G. H. Heinz, D. J. Hoffman
2004, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (23) 222-224
Female mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) were fed diets containing 5, 10, or 20 ppm mercury as methylmercury chloride. One egg was collected from each bird before the start of the mercury diets and 15 eggs were collected from each bird while it was being fed mercury. The mercury diets were then...
Investigating species co-occurrence patterns when species are detected imperfectly
D.I. MacKenzie, L.L. Bailey, J.D. Nichols
2004, Journal of Animal Ecology (73) 546-555
1. Over the last 30 years there has been a great deal of interest in investigating patterns of species co-occurrence across a number of locations, which has led to the development of numerous methods to determine whether there is evidence that a particular pattern may not have occurred by random...
Tigers and their prey: Predicting carnivore densities from prey abundance
K. U. Karanth, J.D. Nichols, S. Kumar, W.A. Link, J.E. Hines
2004, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (101) 4854-4858
The goal of ecology is to understand interactions that determine the distribution and abundance of organisms. In principle, ecologists should be able to identify a small number of limiting resources for a species of interest, estimate densities of these resources at different locations across the landscape, and then use these...
Native bees and plant pollination
H. S. Ginsberg
2004, Rhode Island Naturalist (11) 1-3
Bees are important pollinators, but evidence suggests that numbers of some species are declining. Decreases have been documented in the honey bee, Apis mellifera (which was introduced to North America), but there are no monitoring programs for the vast majority of native species, so we cannot be sure about...
Tumor prevalence and biomarkers of exposure in brown bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus) from Back River, Furnace Creek, and Tuckahoe River, Maryland
A.E. Pinkney, J.C. Harshbarger, E.B. May, M. J. Melancon
2004, Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology (46) 492-501
Brown bullheads (Ameiurus nebulosus) were collected from 2 locations near Baltimore, Maryland, Back River and Furnace Creek, and 1 (reference) location, Tuckahoe River, to compare the prevalence of tumors (liver and skin) and visible skin lesions (fin erosion and abnormal barbels). Cytochrome P450 activity measured as ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase, biliary PAH-like fluorescent...
Role of manganese oxides in the exposure of mute swans (Cygnus olor) to Pb and other elements in the Chesapeake Bay, USA
W. N. Beyer, D. Day
2004, Environmental Pollution (129) 229-235
The aims of this study are to estimate exposure of waterfowl to elements in contaminated sediments in the Chesapeake Bay and to consider the potential role of Mn in influencing bioavailability and exposure. Metal concentrations were measured in livers and digesta taken from mute swans living on the Aberdeen Proving Ground,...
Comparative dynamics of small mammal populations in treefall gaps and surrounding understorey within Amazonian rainforest
H. Beck, M.S. Gaines, J.E. Hines, J.D. Nichols
2004, Oikos (106) 27-38
Variation in food resource availability can have profound effects on habitat selection and dynamics of populations. Previous studies reported higher food resource availability and fruit removal in treefall gaps than in the understorey. Therefore, gaps have been considered 'keystone habitat' for Neotropical frugivore birds. Here we test if this prediction...
Sediment-quality assessment of the Lower Oconee River
P. J. Lasier, P. V. Winger, J.L. Shelton Jr., K. J. Bogenrieder
2004, Southeastern Naturalist (3) 139-154
Sediment quality was assessed at multiple sites in the lower Oconee River, GA to identify contaminants potentially affecting the survival of an endemic ?At-Risk? species of fish, the robust redhorse (Moxostoma robustum). Five major tributaries that drain urban and agricultural watersheds enter this stretch of river and several carry...
Mercury hazards from gold mining to humans, plants, and animals
R. Eisler
2004, Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology (181) 139-198
Mercury contamination of the environment from historical and ongoing mining practices that rely on mercury amalgamation for gold extraction is widespread. Contamination was particularly severe in the immediate vicinity of gold extraction and refining operations; however, mercury, especially in the form of water-soluble methylmercury, may be transported to pristine areas...
Passive tick surveillance, dog seropositivity, and incidence of human Lyme disease
Jaree L. Johnson, Howard S. Ginsberg, Elyes Zhioua, Ulysses G. Whitworth, Daniel Markowski, Kerwin E. Hyland, Renjie Hu
2004, Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases (4) 137-142
Data on nymphal Ixodes scapularis ticks submitted by the public to the University of Rhode Island Tick Research Laboratory for testing from 1991 to 2000 were compared with human case data from the Rhode Island Department of Health to determine the efficacy of passive tick surveillance at assessing...
Mammalian sensitivity to elemental gold (Au?)
R. Eisler
2004, Biological Trace Element Research (100) 1-18
There is increasing documentation of allergic contact dermatitis and other effects from gold jewelry, gold dental restorations, and gold implants. These effects were especially pronounced among females wearing body-piercing gold objects. One estimate of the prevalence of gold allergy worldwide is 13%, as judged by patch tests with monovalent...
Book review: Handbook of the birds of the world, Volume 8, Broadbills to Tapaculos
Mary Gustafson
2004, The Wilson Bulletin (116) 368-369
No abstract available.Review info: Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 8, Broadbills to Tapaculos. Edited by Josep del Hoyo, Andrew Elliott, and David Christie. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. 2003: 845 pp., 81 color plates, over 470 color photographs, 672 maps. ISBN: 8487334504, $195.00 (cloth)...
Atlantic Flyway review: Region IV - Fall 2003: Robbins Nest, Laurel, MD (390-0765)
Chandler S. Robbins
2004, North American Bird Bander (29) 126-126
The most notable finding at this station in 2003 was the sharp decline in recaptures of previously banded birds and most especially a Crash in the chickadee and titmouse populations. In the autumn of 2001, I recaptured 36 birds banded in previous autumns, but I caught only 24 returns in...
Stream salamanders as indicators of stream quality in Maryland, USA
M.T. Southerland, R.E. Jung, D.P. Baxter, I.C. Chellman, G. Mercurio, J.H. Volstad
2004, Applied Herpetology (2) 23-46
Biological indicators are critical to the protection of small, headwater streams and the ecological values they provide. Maryland and other state monitoring programs have determined that fish indicators are ineffective in small streams, where stream salamanders may replace fish as top predators. Because of their life history, physiology,...
