Double sampling to estimate density and population trends in birds
Jonathan Bart, Susan L. Earnst
2002, The Auk (119) 36-45
We present a method for estimating density of nesting birds based on double sampling. The approach involves surveying a large sample of plots using a rapid method such as uncorrected point counts, variable circular plot counts, or the recently suggested double-observer method. A subsample of those plots is also surveyed...
Effects of dietary methylmercury on reproduction of fathead minnows
C.R. Hammerschmidt, M.B. Sandheinrich, J.G. Wiener, R.G. Rada
2002, Environmental Science & Technology (36) 877-883
We examined effects of dietary methylmercury (MeHg) on reproduction of fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas). Juvenile fish were fed one of four diets until sexual maturity (phase 1): a control diet (0.06 μg Hg g-1 dry weight) and three diets contaminated with MeHg at 0.88 (low), 4.11 (medium), and 8.46 μg...
Wisconsin: A summary of cooperative water-resources investigations 2002
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
2002, Report
The objectives of this study are to provide continuous discharge records for selected rivers at specific sites to supply the needs for regulation, analytical studies, definition of statistical properties, trends analysis, determination of the occurrence, and distribution of water in streams for planning. The project is also designed to determine...
PCR und ELISA - Alternativen zum Maustest für die Analyse des Botulismus-Neurotoxin-C1 Giftbildungspotentiales in Umweltproben? [PCR and ELISA - in vitro alternatives to the mouse-bioassay for assessing the botulinum-neurotoxin-C1 production potential in environmental samples?]
T.C. Zechmeister, A.H. Farnleitner, Tonie E. Rocke, F. Pittner, R. Rosengarten, R.L. Mach, A. Herzig, A.K.T. Kirschner
2002, ALTEX (19) 49-54
Botulism is one of the most important bird diseases world-wide and is caused by the intoxication with Botulinum-Neurotoxin-C1 (BoNt-C1), which is produced by toxigenic clostridia under appropriate conditions. Avian botulism leads regularly to large losses among the migrating bird populations breeding and resting at the saltwater pools of the Austrian...
Paleoenvironmental history of the Rocky Mountain Region during the past 20,000 years
C. Whitlock, M.A. Reasoner, C.H. Key
Jill S. Baron, editor(s)
2002, Book chapter, Rocky Mountain futures: An ecological perspective
No abstract available....
Biogeochemical and biochemical pathway investigations of cadmium in subarctic ecosystems using a cadmium accumulator species (willow)
L. P. Gough, R. F. Sanzolone, J.G. Crock, A. L. Foster, P. J. Lamothe, C. M. Ager, C. A. Gent
2002, Bulletin 2191-4
This study focuses on a portion of the Fortymile River and Goodpaster River watersheds (fig. 1) in the Eagle and Big Delta 1:250,000-scale quadrangles, respectively....
An appeal to undergraduate wildlife programs: send scientists to learn statistics
W. L. Kendall, W.R. Gould
2002, Wildlife Society Bulletin (30) 623-627
Undergraduate wildlife students taking introductory statistics too often are poorly prepared and insufficiently motivated to learn statistics. We have also encountered too many wildlife professionals, even with graduate degrees, who exhibit an aversion to thinking statistically, either relying too heavily on statisticians or avoiding statistics altogether. We believe...
Development of oak plantations established for wildlife
D.J. Twedt, R.R. Wilson
2002, Forest Ecology and Management (162) 287-298
Extensive areas that are currently in agricultural production within the Mississippi Alluvial Valley are being restored to bottomland hardwood forests. Oaks (Quercus sp.), sown as seeds (acorns) or planted as seedlings, are the predominant trees established on most afforested sites. To compare stand development and natural invasion on...
Effects of Phos-Chek G75-F and Silv-Ex on developing Northern Bobwhite Quail (Colinus virginianus)
D.M. Buscemi, D. J. Hoffman, N.B. Vyas, J. W. Spann, Wayne J. Kuenzel
2002, Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology (43) 330-337
Eggs of nesting birds situated in peripheral areas serving as fire breaks are at risk of being sprayed with fire control chemicals. Acute toxicity tests were conducted by immersing northern bobwhite quail eggs for 10 s in different water-based concentrations of Silv-Ex® (SE), a foam-suppressant chemical, and Phos-Chek® G75-F (PC),...
Sources of variation in breeding-ground fidelity of mallards (Anas platyrhynchos)
P.F. Doherty Jr., J.D. Nichols, J. Tautin, J.E. Voelzer, G.W. Smith, D.S. Benning, V.R. Bentley, J.K. Bidwell, K.S. Bollinger, A.R. Brazda, E.K. Buelna, J.R. Goldsberry, R.J. King, F.H. Roetker, J.W. Solberg, P.P. Thorpe, J.S. Wortham
2002, Behavioral Ecology (13) 543-550
Generalizations used to support hypotheses about the evolution of fidelity to breeding areas in birds include the tendency for fidelity to be greater in adult birds than in yearlings. In ducks, in contrast to most bird species, fidelity is thought to be greater among females than males. Researchers...
Metal concentrations in zebra mussels and sediments from embayments and riverine environments of eastern Lake Erie, southern Lake Ontario, and the Niagara River
T. P. Lowe, D. D. Day
2002, Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology (43) 301-308
Concentrations of 14 metals were studied in the soft tissues of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) and sediments from 16 Great Lakes embayments and riverine environments. Samples were collected in 1993 and 1994 during the early and late autumn period when the body mass of mussels is least affected by reproductive...
Estimating site occupancy rates when detection probabilities are less than one
D.I. MacKenzie, J.D. Nichols, G.B. Lachman, Sam Droege, J. Andrew Royle, C.A. Langtimm
2002, Ecology (83) 2248-2255
Nondetection of a species at a site does not imply that the species is absent unless the probability of detection is 1. We propose a model and likelihood-based method for estimating site occupancy rates when detection probabilities are < 1. The model provides a flexible framework enabling covariate information to...
How should detection probability be incorporated into estimates of relative abundance?
D.I. MacKenzie, W. L. Kendall
2002, Ecology (83) 2387-2393
Determination of the relative abundance of two populations, separated by time or space, is of interest in many ecological situations. We focus on two estimators of relative abundance, which assume that the probability that an individual is detected at least once in the survey is either equal or unequal for...
Behavioral effects of environmental enrichment on harbor seals (Phoca vitulina concolor) and gray seals (Halichoerus grypus)
S. A. Hunter, M. S. Bay, M. L. Martin, Jeffrey S. Hatfield
2002, Zoo Biology (21) 375-387
Zoos and aquariums have been incorporating environmental enrichment into their animal care programs for the past 30 years to increase mental stimulation and promote natural behaviors. However, most attempts to document the effects of enrichment on animal behavior have focused on terrestrial mammals. Staff at the National Aquarium in Baltimore...
Management of the stinging ant Myrmica rubra, using a baited granular formulation of hydramethylnon, 1997
H. S. Ginsberg, C. Lussier, D. Manski, G. Ouellette
2002, Arthropod Management Tests (27)
No abstract available....
Sources of variation in survival and breeding site fidelity in three species of European ducks
Peter Blums, J.D. Nichols, J.E. Hines
2002, Journal of Animal Ecology (71) 438-450
1. We used long-term capture-recapture-recovery data and a modelling approach developed by Burnham (1993) to test a priori predictions about sources of variation in annual survival rates and fidelity within a population of individually marked females in three species of European ducks from a breeding ground study site in Latvia....
A new species of small-eared shrew from Colombia and Venezuela (Mammalia: Soricomorpha: Soricidae: Genus Cryptotis)
N. Woodman
2002, Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington (115) 249-272
Populations of small-eared shrews inhabiting the northern Cordillera Oriental of Colombia and adjoining Venezuelan highlands in the vicinity of Paramo de Tama have been referred alternatively to Cryptotis thomssi or Cryptotis meridensis. Morphological and morphometrical study of this population indicates that it belongs to neither taxon, but represents a...
Hierarchical modeling of population stability and species group attributes from survey data
J.R. Sauer, W.A. Link
2002, Ecology (83) 1743-1751
Many ecological studies require analysis of collections of estimates. For example, population change is routinely estimated for many species from surveys such as the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS), and the species are grouped and used in comparative analyses. We developed a hierarchical model for estimation...
Temporal variation in bird counts within a Hawaiian rainforest
John C. Simon, T.K. Pratt, Kim E. Berlin, James R. Kowalsky, S.G. Fancy, Jeff S. Hatfield
2002, Condor (104) 469-481
We studied monthly and annual variation in density estimates of nine forest bird species along an elevational gradient in an east Maui rainforest. We conducted monthly variable circular-plot counts for 36 consecutive months along transects running downhill from timberline. Density estimates were compared by month, year, and station...
Stable isotope analysis of temporal variation in the diets of pre-fledged Laughing Gulls
A. J. Knoff, Stephen A. Macko, R. Michael Erwin, Kevin M. Brown
2002, Waterbirds (25) 142-148
The δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S stable isotopic values of feathers from pre-fledged Laughing Gulls (Larus atricilla) in coastal Virginia and Jamaica Bay, New York were used to examine dietary variation during the nestling period. The tip portions of the feathers were used to indicate diet during the initiation of...
α1-Antitrypsin polymorphism and systematics of eastern North American wolves
L.D. Mech, N.E. Federoff
2002, Canadian Journal of Zoology (80) 961-963
We used data on the polymorphic status of α1-antitrypsin (α1AT) to study the relationship of Minnesota wolves to the gray wolf (Canis lupus), which was thought to have evolved in Eurasia, and to red wolves (Canis rufus) and coyotes (Canis latrans), which putatively evolved in North America. Recent evidence had...
The use of photographic rates to estimate densities of tigers and other cryptic mammals: a comment on misleading conclusions
C.S. Jennelle, M.C. Runge, D.I. MacKenzie
2002, Animal Conservation (5) 119-120
The search for easy-to-use indices that substitute for direct estimation of animal density is a common theme in wildlife and conservation science, but one fraught with well-known perils (Nichols & Conroy, 1996; Yoccoz, Nichols & Boulinier, 2001; Pollock et al., 2002). To establish the utility of an index as...
Of bugs and birds: Markov Chain Monte Carlo for hierarchical modeling in wildlife research
William A. Link, Emmanuelle Cam, James D. Nichols, Evan G. Cooch
2002, Journal of Wildlife Management (66) 277-291
Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) is a statistical innovation that allows researchers to fit far more complex models to data than is feasible using conventional methods. Despite its widespread use in a variety of scientific fields, MCMC appears to be underutilized in wildlife applications. This may be due to a...
On the estimation of species richness based on the accumulation of previously unrecorded species
E. Cam, J.D. Nichols, J.R. Sauer, J.E. Hines
2002, Ecography (25) 102-108
Estimation of species richness of local communities has become an important topic in community ecology and monitoring. Investigators can seldom enumerate all the species present in the area of interest during sampling sessions. If the location of interest is sampled repeatedly within a short time period, the number...
Species occurrence of marsh birds at Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts
R.M. Erwin, C.J. Conway, S.W. Hadden
2002, Northeastern Naturalist (9) 1-12
We initiated an inventory and a field test of a protocol that could be used for monitoring marsh birds at the Cape Cod National Seashore in eastern Massachusetts during 1999 and 2000, as part of a more comprehensive national effort. Using cassette tapes during call broadcast surveys, we visited...
