Importance of sampling design and analysis in animal population studies: a comment on Sergio et al
M. Kery, J. Andrew Royle, Hans Schmid
2008, Journal of Applied Ecology (45) 981-986
1. The use of predators as indicators and umbrellas in conservation has been criticized. In the Trentino region, Sergio et al. (2006; hereafter SEA) counted almost twice as many bird species in quadrats located in raptor territories than in controls. However, SEA detected astonishingly few species. We...
A hierarchical model for spatial capture-recapture data
J. Andrew Royle, K.V. Young
2008, Ecology (89) 2281-2289
Estimating density is a fundamental objective of many animal population studies. Application of methods for estimating population size from ostensibly closed populations is widespread, but ineffective for estimating absolute density because most populations are subject to short-term movements or so-called temporary emigration. This phenomenon invalidates the resulting estimates...
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...
Stream fish occurrence in response to impervious cover, historic land use, and hydrogeomorphic factors
Seth J. Wenger, James T. Peterson, Mary C. Freeman, Byron J. Freeman, D. David Homans
2008, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (65) 1250-1264
We evaluated competing models explaining the occurrence of five stream fishes in an urbanizing watershed to determine the relative importance of (a) impervious surface and other indicators of current land use, (b) historic land use (e.g., agriculture, impoundments), and (c) hydrogeomorphic characteristics (e.g., stream size, elevation, geology). For four of...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Temporal variation in adult survival rates of Roseate Terns during periods of increasing and declining populations
J. A. Spendelow, J.E. Hines, J.D. Nichols, I.C.T. Nisbet, G. Cormons, H. Hays, J.J. Hatch, C.S. Mostello
2008, Waterbirds (31) 309-319
We used 19 years of mark-recapture/resighting data collected on 11, 020 birds from 1988-2006 at five colony sites in Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut, USA, to examine temporal variation in the survival rates of adult Roseate Terns (Sterna dougallii) during periods of overall population increase (1988-2000) and decline (2000-2006)....
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...
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...
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...
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...
Potentiometric Surfaces and Changes in Groundwater Levels in Selected Bedrock Aquifers in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, March-August 2008 and 1988-2008
Christopher A. Sanocki, Susan K. Langer, Jason C. Menard
2008, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5226
This report depicts potentiometric surfaces and groundwater- level changes in three aquifers that underlie the seven-county Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. Approximately 350 groundwater levels were measured in wells from the three aquifers-the Prairie du Chien-Jordan, the Franconia-Ironton-Galesville, and the Mount Simon-Hinckley aquifers-in March and August of 2008. The report presents...
Digital Mapping Techniques '07 - Workshop Proceedings
David R. Soller
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1385
The Digital Mapping Techniques '07 (DMT'07) workshop was attended by 85 technical experts from 49 agencies, universities, and private companies, including representatives from 27 state geological surveys. This year's meeting, the tenth in the annual series, was hosted by the South Carolina Geological Survey, from May 20-23, 2007,...
Environmental contaminant hazards to wildlife at National Capital region and Mid-Atlantic National Park Service units
Barnett A. Rattner, B.K. Ackerson
S. Weber, David Harmon, editor(s)
2008, Book chapter, Rethinking Protected Areas in a Changing World: Proceedings of the 2007 George Wright Society Biennial Conference on parks, protected areas & cultural sites, April 16-20, 2007, St. Paul, Minnesota.
Pollutant data for air, water, soil and biota were compiled from databases and internet sources and by staff interviews at 23 National Park Service (NPS) units in 2005. A metric was derived describing the quality and quantity of data for each park, and in combination with known contaminant threats,...
North American Bird Banding and quantitative population ecology
J.D. Nichols, J. Tautin
William E. Davis Jr., Jerome A. Jackson, John Tautin, editor(s)
2008, Book chapter, Bird Banding in North America: The First Hundred Years
Early bird-banding programs in North America were developed to provide descriptions of bird migration and movement patterns. This initial interest in description quickly evolved into more quantitative interests in two ways. There was (1) interest in quantifying migration and movement patterns, and (2) rapid recognition that re-observations of marked...
Hierarchical modeling and inference in ecology: The analysis of data from populations, metapopulations and communities
J. Andrew Royle, Robert M. Dorazio
2008, Book
A guide to data collection, modeling and inference strategies for biological survey data using Bayesian and classical statistical methods. This book describes a general and flexible framework for modeling and inference in ecological systems based on hierarchical models, with a strict focus on the use of probability models and parametric...
Evaluation of Well-Test Results and the Potential for Basin-Center Gas in the Colulmbia Basin, Central Washington
Matthew Wilson, Thaddeus S. Dyman, Steven M. Condon
2008, Data Series 2184-F-O
Fischer-assays of oil-shale drill cores and rotary cuttings from the greater Green River basin, southwestern Wyoming
U.S. Geological Survey Oil Shale Assessment Team
2008, Open-File Report 2008-1152
Chapter 1 of this CD–ROM is a database of digitized Fischer (shale-oil) assays of cores and cuttings from boreholes drilled in the Eocene Green River oil shale deposits in southwestern Wyoming. Assays of samples from some surface sections are also included. Most of the Fischer assay analyses were made by...
EAARL coastal topography– Northeast barrier islands 2007: Bare earth
Amar Nayegandhi, John Brock, A. H. Sallenger, C. Wayne Wright, Xan Yates, Jamie M. Bonisteel
2008, Data Series 398
These remotely sensed, geographically referenced elevation measurements of Lidar-derived bare earth (BE) topography were produced collaboratively by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Florida Integrated Science Center (FISC), St. Petersburg, FL, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Wallops Flight Facility, VA. This project provides highly detailed and accurate datasets of...
EAARL coastal topography–Northeast Barrier Islands 2007: First surface
Amar Nayegandhi, John Brock, A. H. Sallenger, C. Wayne Wright, Xan Yates, Jamie M. Bonisteel
2008, Data Series 397
These remotely sensed, geographically referenced elevation measurements of Lidar-derived first surface (FS) topography were produced collaboratively by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Florida Integrated Science Center (FISC), St. Petersburg, FL, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Wallops Flight Facility, VA. This project provides highly detailed and accurate datasets...
Field and Laboratory Data From an Earthquake History Study of Scarps in the Hanging Wall of the Tacoma Fault, Mason and Pierce Counties, Washington
Alan R. Nelson, Stephen F. Personius, Brian L. Sherrod, Jason Buck, Lee-Ann Bradley, Gary Henley II, Lee M. Liberty, Harvey M. Kelsey, Robert C. Witter, R.D. Koehler, Elizabeth R. Schermer, Eliza S. Nemser, Trenton T. Cladouhos
2008, Scientific Investigations Map 3060
As part of the effort to assess seismic hazard in the Puget Sound region, we map fault scarps on Airborne Laser Swath Mapping (ALSM, an application of LiDAR) imagery (with 2.5-m elevation contours on 1:4,000-scale maps) and show field and laboratory data from backhoe trenches across the scarps that are...
EAARL coastal topography — Fire Island National Seashore 2007
Amar Nayegandhi, John Brock, C. Wayne Wright, Sara Stevens, Xan Yates, Jamie M. Bonisteel
2008, Data Series 391
These remotely sensed, geographically referenced elevation measurements of Lidar-derived first surface (FS) and bare earth (BE) topography were produced as a collaborative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Florida Integrated Science Center (FISC), St. Petersburg, FL; the National Park Service (NPS), Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network, Kingston, RI; and...
