Morphological adaptation with no mitochondrial DNA differentiation in the coastal plain swamp sparrow
R. Greenberg, P.J. Cordero, Sam Droege, R.C. Fleischer
1998, The Auk (115) 706-712
We estimated genetic differentiation between morphologically distinct tidal marsh populations of Swamp Sparrows (Melospiza georgiana nigrescens) and the more widespread inland populations (M. g. georgiana and M. g. ericrypta). The tidal marsh populations are consistently grayer with more extensive black markings (particularly in the crown), and their bills are larger....
Size-sex variation in survival rates and abundance of pig frogs, Rana grylio, in northern Florida wetlands
K.V. Wood, J.D. Nichols, H.F. Percival, J.E. Hines
1998, Journal of Herpetology (32) 527-535
During 1991-1993, we conducted capture-recapture studies on pig frogs, Rana grylio, in seven study locations in northcentral Florida. Resulting data were used to test hypotheses about variation in survival probability over different size-sex classes of pig frogs. We developed multistate capture-recapture models for the resulting data and used...
The role of introduced species in the degradation of island ecosystems: A case history of Guam
Thomas H. Fritts, Gordon H. Rodda
1998, Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics (29) 113-140
The accidental introduction of the brown treesnake (Boiga irregularis) on Guam around 1950 induced a cascade of extirpations that may be unprecedented among historical extinction events in taxonomic scope and severity. Birds, bats, and reptiles were affected, and by 1990 most forested areas on Guam retained only three native vertebrates,...
Checklists: An under-used tool for the inventory and monitoring of plants and animals
Sam Droege, A. Cyr, J. Larivee
1998, Conservation Biology (12) 1134-1138
Checklists are widely used to catalog field observations of plants and animals. We used 25 years of bird checklist data from the Études des Populations d’Oiseaux du Quebec program to examine the ability of checklists to produce reliable conservation, management, and ecological information. We found that checklists can provide reliable...
Tick population trends and forest type
H. S. Ginsberg, Kerwin E. Hyland, Renjie Hu, T.J. Daniels, R.C. Falco
1998, Science (281) 347-351
No abstract available. ...
Possible mechanisms for sensitivity to organophosphorus and carbamate insecticides in eastern screech-owls and American kestrels
N.B. Vyas, L.A. Thiele, S.C. Garland
1998, Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part C: Pharmacology, Toxicology and Endocrinology (120) 151-157
Effects of a single dietary exposure to fenthion and carbofuran on the survival, feeding behavior and brain ChE activity of eastern screech-owls, Otus asio and American kestrels, Falco sparverius, were evaluated. Birds were exposed to fenthion (23.6–189.0 ppm) or carbofuran (31.7–253.6 ppm) via meatballs. Carbofuran-exposed owls ate either ≤10% or...
Breeding biology of Acadian flycatchers in a bottomland hardwood forest
R.R. Wilson, R.J. Cooper
1998, The Wilson Bulletin (110) 226-232
From 1993-1995, we located and monitored 601 Acadian Flycatcher (Empidonax virescens) nests in a large contiguous tract of bottomland hardwood forest on the White River National Wildlife Refuge, Arkansas. Annual reproductive success was significantly different among years; ranging from 10-25% (Mayfield estimate) over the three years of the study....
The taxonomic status of the Yucatan brown brocket, Mazama pandora (Mammalia: Cervidae)
R.A. Medellin, A. L. Gardner, J.M. Aranda
1998, Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington (111) 1-14
The Yucatan brown brocket deer, described as Mazama pandora, is now treated as a subspecies of either the common brown brocket, Mazama gouazoubira, or of the red brocket, M. americana. Analysis of brocket deer from Mexico and Central and South America, reveals that the Yucatan brown brocket is sympatric...
Lack of developmental and reproductive toxicity of 2,3,3',4,4'-pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB-105) in ring-necked pheasants
M. W. Hornung, L. Miller, B. Goodman, M. J. Melancon, R. E. Peterson
1998, Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology (35) 646-653
Mono-ortho PCBs are global contaminants of wildlife with the potential to produce toxicity by an aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)–mediated mechanism. To determine the potency of 2,3,3′,4,4′-pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB 105) for producing reproductive and developmental toxicity, adult ring-necked pheasant hens (Phasianus colchicus) were orally dosed with 0, 0.06, 0.6, or 6 mg PCB...
Diets of nestling gull-billed terns in coastal Virginia
R.M. Erwin, T.B. Eyler, Jeff S. Hatfield, S. McGary
1998, Colonial Waterbirds (21) 323-327
We studied the diets of nestling Gull-billed Terns (Sterna nilotica) at colonies in coastal Virginia during the breeding seasons of 1995 and 1996 as part of a long-term study of the species. No previous quantitative assessments had been made of diets of this species anywhere along the Atlantic Coast,...
Monitoring populations of plants and animals
J.P. Gibbs, Sam Droege, P. Eagle
1998, BioScience (48) 935-940
No abstract available....
The seventy-second Christmas bird count. 302. Southern Dorchester County, Md
C.S. Robbins
1998, Condor (100) 264-265
We located 511 Acadian Flycatcher (Empidonax virescens) nests in bottomland hardwood forest of eastern Arkansas. Microhabitat characteristics were measured and their relationship with nest success evaluated. Fifty-two percent of all nesting attempts resulted in predation. Attributes of nest placement were similar between successful and unsuccessful nests, although...
Winter habitat of Kirtland's warbler: an endangered nearctic/neotropical migrant
P.W. Sykes Jr., M.H. Clench
1998, The Wilson Bulletin (110) 244-261
Habitats of Kirtland?s Warbler (Dendroica kirtlandii) on the wintering grounds in the Bahama Archipelago are presented based upon data from 29 specimens, two bandings, and 67 sightings of at least 61 individuals on 13 islands scattered through the region. Major emphasis is placed on a study site in central...
First breeding records of whooping swan and brambling in North America at Attu Island, Alaska
P.W. Sykes Jr., D.W. Sonneborn
1998, Condor (100) 162-164
We document the first breeding records of Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus) and Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla) in Alaska and North America on Attu Island in the Western Aleutians in the spring of 1996. Five cygnets were seen with adults and the nest located, and a territorial pair of Bramblings was...
Shorebird use of managed wetlands in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley
Daniel J. Twedt, Curtis O. Nelms, Virginia Rettig, S. Ray Aycock
1998, American Midland Naturalist (140) 140-152
We assessed shorebird densities on managed wetland habitats during fall and winter within the primarily agricultural landscape of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. From November through March, shorebird densities were greater on soybean fields than on rice or moist-soil fields. Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) and Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) were...
Satellite tracking of threatened species
Murray Williams, A. Lunsford, D. Ellis, J. Robinson, P. Coronado, W. Campbell
1998, Argos Newsletter (No. 53) 17
In 1990, a joint effort of two U.S. federal agencies, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, began. We initially joined forces in a project that used satellite telemetry to discover the winter home of a tiny dwindling population of Siberian Cranes. Since then several...
Blood changes in mallards exposed to white phosphorus
Donald W. Sparling, S. Vann, Robert A. Grove
1998, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (17) 2521-2529
White phosphorus (P4) has been extensively used by the military for various purposes, including marking artillery impacts and as an obscurant. Target practice in an Alaskan tidal marsh during the last 4 decades has deposited large amounts of P4 particles in sediments and water, which have resulted in die-offs of...
History and tradition, or contemporary ornithology? Why ornithological journals should not have bird names
J.V. Remsen Jr., J.A. Kushlan, B.A. Loiselle
1998, The Auk (115) 252-253
Ask any non-ornithologist to predict the prestige of the following journals, based on the name alone: American Birds, Auk, Bluebird, Condor, Emu, Forktail, Gerfaut, Ibis, Journal of Avian Biology, and Journal of Field Ornithology. The results always will be that the first one and the last two are placed in...
Brood sizes of sympatric American black ducks and mallards in Maine
J. R. Longcore, D.A. Clugston, D.G. McAuley
1998, Journal of Wildlife Management (62) 142-151
The long-term decline of the American black duck (Anas rubripes) population has been attributed to lower productivity of black ducks that might have been excluded from fertile agricultural wetlands by mallards (Anas platyrhynchos). We monitored broods on 53 wetlands in 1993 and on 58 wetlands in 1994 to determine mean...
Validity of the Red Wolf: Response to Roy et al.
R. M. Nowak, N.E. Federoff
1998, Conservation Biology (12) 722-725
No access available....
Effects of radio transmitters on migrating wood thrushes
L.A. Powell, D.G. Krementz, J. D. Lang, M.J. Conroy
1998, Journal of Field Ornithology (69) 306-315
We quantified the effects of radio transmitters on Wood Thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina) using 4 yr of banding and telemetry data from Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. Flight performance models suggest that the 1.6-g transmitter shortens the migratory range of Wood Thrushes by only 60 km, and the estimated migratory...
Reservoir competence of Microtus pennsylvanicus (Rodentia: Cricetidae) for the Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi
D. Markowski, H. S. Ginsberg, K.E. Hyland, R. Hu
1998, Journal of Medical Entomology (35) 804-808
The reservoir competence of the meadow vole, Microtus pennsylvanicus Ord, for the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi Johnson, Schmid, Hyde, Steigerwalt & Brenner was established on Patience Island, RI. Meadow voles were collected from 5 locations throughout Rhode Island. At 4 of the field sites, M. pennsylvanicus represented only 4.0% (n = 141) of the animals captured....
Managing island biotas: Can indigenous species be protected from introduced predators such as the brown treesnake?
G.H. Rodda, T. H. Fritts, G. Perry, E.W. Campbell III
1998, Transactions of the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference (63) 95-108
Outcome of aggressive interactions between American black ducks and mallards during the breeding season
D.G. McAuley, D.A. Clugston, J. R. Longcore
1998, Journal of Wildlife Management (62) 134-141
American black duck (Anas rubripes) numbers have declined during the past several decades, while mallards (A. platyrhynchos) have expanded their range eastward. Competitive exclusion of black ducks from wetlands by mallards has been proposed as a principal cause of the decline. We studied a sympatric population of black ducks and...
Inference methods for spatial variation in species richness and community composition when not all species are detected
J.D. Nichols, T. Boulinier, J.E. Hines, K. H. Pollock, J.R. Sauer
1998, Conservation Biology (12) 1390-1398
Inferences about spatial variation in species richness and community composition are important both to ecological hypotheses about the structure and function of communities and to community-level conservation and management. Few sampling programs for animal communities provide censuses, and usually some species in surveyed areas are not detected. Thus, counts of...
