Yellowstone grizzly bear investigations: Annual report of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team, 2003
Charles C. Schwartz, Mark A. Haroldson, editor(s)
2004, Report
The contents of this Annual Report summarize results of monitoring and research from the 2003 field season. The report also contains a summary of nuisance grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) management actions. The study team continues to work on issues associated with counts of unduplicated females with cubs-of-the-year (COY). These counts...
Geospatial techniques for developing a sampling frame of watersheds across a region
Robert E. Gresswell, Douglas S. Bateman, George Lienkaemper, T.J. Guy
2004, Conference Paper
Current land-management decisions that affect the persistence of native salmonids are often influenced by studies of individual sites that are selected based on judgment and convenience. Although this approach is useful for some purposes, extrapolating results to areas that were not sampled is statistically inappropriate because the sampling design is...
Integrating association data and disease dynamics: an illustration using African Buffalo in Kruger National Park
Paul C. Cross, James O. Lloyd-Smith, Justin A. Bowers, Craig T. Hay, Markus Hofmeyr, Wayne M. Getz
2004, Annales Zoologici Fennici (41) 879-892
Recognition is a prerequisite for non-random association amongst individuals. We explore how non-random association patterns (i.e. who spends time with whom) affect disease dynamics. We estimated the amount of time individuals spent together per month using radio-tracking data from African buffalo and incorporated these data into a dynamic social network...
Natural avalanches and transportation: A case study from Glacier National Park, Montana, USA
B.A. Reardon, Daniel B. Fagre, R.W. Steiner
2004, Conference Paper, Proceedings of The International Snow Science Workshop
In January 2004, two natural avalanches (destructive class 3) derailed a freight train in John F. Stevens Canyon, on the southern boundary of Glacier National Park. The railroad tracks were closed for 29 hours due to cleanup and lingering avalanche hazard, backing up 112km of trains and shutting down Amtrak’s...
Modeling survival: application of the Andersen-Gill model to Yellowstone grizzly bears
Christopher J. Johnson, Mark S. Boyce, Charles C. Schwartz, Mark A. Haroldson
2004, Journal of Wildlife Management (68) 966-978
Wildlife ecologists often use the Kaplan-Meier procedure or Cox proportional hazards model to estimate survival rates, distributions, and magnitude of risk factors. The Andersen-Gill formulation (A-G) of the Cox proportional hazards model has seen limited application to mark-resight data but has a number of advantages, including the ability to accommodate...
What limits the Serengeti zebra population?
Sophie Grange, Patrick Duncan, Jean-Michel Gaillard, Anthony R.E. Sinclair, Peter J. Gogan, Craig Packer, Heribert Hofer, East Marion
2004, Oecologia (140) 523-532
The populations of the ecologically dominant ungulates in the Serengeti ecosystem (zebra, wildebeest and buffalo) have shown markedly different trends since the 1960s: the two ruminants both irrupted after the elimination of rinderpest in 1960, while the zebras have remained stable. The ruminants are resource limited (though parts of the...
Effects of management practices on grassland birds: Brewer's sparrow
Brett L. Walker
2004, Report, Effects of management practices on grassland birds
Information on the habitat requirements and effects of habitat management on grassland birds were summarized from information in more than 5,500 published and unpublished papers. A range map is provided to indicate the relative densities of the species in North America, based on Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data. Although birds...
Late Quaternary evolution of channel and lobe complexes of Monterey Fan
Andrea Fildani, William R. Normark
2004, Marine Geology (206) 199-223
The modern Monterey submarine fan, one of the largest deep-water deposits off the western US, is composed of two major turbidite systems: the Neogene Lower Turbidite System (LTS) and the late Quarternary Upper Turbidite System (UTS). The areally extensive LTS is a distal deposit with low-relief, poorly defined channels,...
The LISST-SL streamlined isokinetic suspended-sediment profiler
John R. Gray, Yogesh C. Agrawal, H. Charles Pottsmith
2004, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the Ninth International Symposium on River sedimentation: October 18-21, 2004 Yichang, China
The new manually deployed Laser In Situ Scattering Transmissometer-StreamLined profiler (LISST-SL) represents a major technological advance for suspended-sediment measurements in rivers. The LISST-SL is being designed to provide real-time data on sediment concentrations and particle-size distributions. A pressure sensor and current meter provide real-time depth and ambient velocity...
Mineral resource of the month: feldspar
Michael J. Potter
2004, Geotimes (2004)
The United States is the third leading producer of feldspar worldwide, after Italy and Turkey, according to data published by the U.S. Geological Survey. Foreign analysts indicate that China is also a leading feldspar producer, but official production data are not available. Feldspars are aluminum silicate minerals that contain varying...
The Colorado Plateau: cultural, biological, and physical research
Kenneth L. Cole
Charles van Riper III, editor(s)
2004, Book
Stretching from the four corners of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah, the Colorado Plateau is a natural laboratory for a wide range of studies. This volume presents 23 original articles drawn from more than 100 research projects presented at the Sixth Biennial Conference of Research on the Colorado Plateau....
Summer diet of the Peregrine Falcon in faunistically rich and poor zones of Arizona analyzed with capture-recapture modeling
D. H. Ellis, Catherine H. Ellis, B.A. Sabo, A.M. Rea, J. Dawson, J.K. Fackler, C.T. LaRue, T.G. Grubb, J. Schmitt, D.G. Smith, M. Kery
2004, Condor (106) 873-886
We collected prey remains from 25 Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) territories across Arizona from 1977 to 1988 yielding 58 eyrie-years of data. Along with 793 individual birds (107 species and six additional genera), we found seven mammals and nine insects. In addition, two nestling peregrines were consumed. We found a...
Demographic estimation methods for plants with dormancy
M. Kery, K.B. Gregg
2004, Animal Biodiversity and Conservation (27) 129-131
Demographic studies in plants appear simple because unlike animals, plants do not run away. Plant individuals can be marked with, e.g., plastic tags, but often the coordinates of an individual may be sufficient to identify it. Vascular plants in temperate latitudes have a pronounced seasonal life–cycle, so most plant demographers...
Evaluating mallard adaptive management models with time series
P.B. Conn, W. L. Kendall
2004, Journal of Wildlife Management (68) 1065-1081
Wildlife practitioners concerned with midcontinent mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) management in the United States have instituted a system of adaptive harvest management (AHM) as an objective format for setting harvest regulations. Under the AHM paradigm, predictions from a set of models that reflect key uncertainties about processes underlying population dynamics are...
Movement behavior, dispersal, and the potential for localized management of deer in a suburban environment
W.F. Porter, H.B. Underwood, J.L. Woodard
2004, Journal of Wildlife Management (68) 247-256
We examined the potential for localized management of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to be successful by measuring movements, testing site fidelity, and modeling the effects of dispersal. Fifty-nine females were radiomarked and tracked during 1997 through 2000 in Irondequoit, New York, USA, a suburb of Rochester. We constructed home ranges...
The relationship between species detection probability and local extinction probability
R. Alpizar-Jara, J.D. Nichols, J.E. Hines, J.R. Sauer, K. H. Pollock, C.S. Rosenberry
2004, Oecologia (141) 652-660
In community-level ecological studies, generally not all species present in sampled areas are detected. Many authors have proposed the use of estimation methods that allow detection probabilities that are < 1 and that are heterogeneous among species. These methods can also be used to estimate community-dynamic parameters such...
Influence of weather extremes on the water levels of glaciated prairie wetlands
W.C. Johnson, S.E. Boettcher, K.A. Poiani, G. Guntenspergen
2004, Wetlands (24) 385-398
Orchid Meadows is a long-term wetland research and monitoring site on the Coteau des Prairie in extreme east-central South Dakota, USA. It is a 65-ha Waterfowl Production Area with numerous temporary, seasonal, and semi-permanent wetlands. Ground water and surface water have been monitored at the site from 1987...
Detection of Ehrlichia chaffeensis in adult and nymphal stage lone star ticks (Amblyomma americanum) from Long Island, New York
T.R. Mixson, H. S. Ginsberg, S.R. Campbell, J.W. Sumner, C.D. Paddock
2004, Journal of Medical Entomology (41) 1104-1110
The lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum (L.), has increased in abundance in several regions of the northeastern United States, including areas of Long Island, NY. Adult and nymphal stage A. americanum collected from several sites on Long Island were evaluated for infection with Ehrlichia chaffeensis, the causative agent of human...
Effects of rearing treatment on the behavior of captive whooping cranes (Grus americana)
M.D. Kreger, I. Estevez, Jeff S. Hatfield, G.F. Gee
2004, Applied Animal Behaviour Science (89) 243-261
Small founder populations of whooping cranes are managed to maximize egg production for the purpose of reintroducing young to the wild. This results in an excessive number of hatched chicks that cannot be naturally reared by parents. Hand-rearing techniques have been developed to raise the additional hatches. However,...
On the estimation of dispersal and movement of birds
W. L. Kendall, J.D. Nichols
2004, Condor (106) 720-731
The estimation of dispersal and movement is important to evolutionary and population ecologists, as well as to wildlife managers. We review statistical methodology available to estimate movement probabilities. We begin with cases where individual birds can be marked and their movements estimated with the use of multisite capture-recapture...
Estimating population trends with a linear model: Technical comments
John R. Sauer, William A. Link, J. Andrew Royle
2004, Condor (106) 435-440
Controversy has sometimes arisen over whether there is a need to accommodate the limitations of survey design in estimating population change from the count data collected in bird surveys. Analyses of surveys such as the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) can be quite complex; it is natural to...
Contribution of natural history collection data to biodiversity assessment in national parks
A.F. O'Connell Jr., A.T. Gilbert, Jeff S. Hatfield
2004, Conservation Biology (18) 1254-1261
There has been mounting interest in the use of museum and herbaria collections to assess biodiversity; information is often difficult to locate and access, however, and few recommendations are available for effectively using natural history collections. As part of an effort to inventory vertebrates and vascular plants in U.S. national...
Dynamic use of wetlands by black ducks and mallards: Evidence against competitive exclusion
D.G. McAuley, D.A. Clugston, J. R. Longcore
2004, Wildlife Society Bulletin (32) 465-473
The decline of the American black duck (Anas rubripes) has been attributed to competition from mallards (A. platyrhynchos) that led to exclusive use of fertile wetlands by mallards. Data from annual breeding waterfowl surveys provide instantaneous, single observations of breeding pairs, which are used to estimate breeding population size and...
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...
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...
