Life Sciences Commons^™

Winter Diet Of Bobolink, A Long-Distance Migratory Grassland Bird, Inferred From Feather Isotopes, Rosalind B. Renfrew, Jason M. Hill, Daniel H. Kim, Christopher Romanek, Noah G. Perlut

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Effective conservation of migratory bird populations depends on advancements in our understanding of processes throughout the life cycle. Fundamental information about wintering ecology (e.g., habitat use and diet composition) remains limited, which limits assessment of threats to populations during winter. Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) is a year-round grassland obligate and Nearctic-Neotropical migrant that undergoes 2 complete molts each year, including a complete prealternate molt on the South American wintering grounds. This unusual winter molt provides a rare opportunity to examine, using stable isotope analysis, the timing and contribution of foraging resources in the Bobolink diet prior to northbound migration from disparate …

Columbia River Basin Salmon And Steelhead Long-Term Recovery Situation Assessment, Oregon Solutions, William D. Ruckelshaus Center

National Policy Consensus Center Publications and Reports

In the fall of 2012, after consulting with a wide range of salmon recovery partners, NOAA Fisheries asked Oregon Consensus and the William D. Ruckelshaus Center (university-based, neutral, third-party institutions devoted to promoting collaborative governance and consensusbased public policy) to conduct an independent, impartial situation assessment to explore regional views about how best to approach comprehensive, long-term salmon and steelhead recovery in the Basin. The centers assembled an Assessment Team comprised of practitioners and academics from Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

The Assessment Team conducted 206 semi-structured interviews with individuals selected for their knowledge of, engagement in, and/or concern for salmon …

Transcriptomic Analysis Of Maternally Provisioned Cues For Phenotypic Plasticity In The Annual Killifish, Austrofundulus Limnaeus, Amie L. Romney, Jason E. Podrabsky

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Genotype and environment can interact during development to produce novel adaptive traits that support life in extreme conditions. The development of the annual killifsh Austrofundulus limnaeus is unique among vertebrates because the embryos have distinct cell movements that separate epiboly from axis formation during early development, can enter into a state of metabolic dormancy known as diapause and can survive extreme environmental conditions. The ability to enter into diapause can be maternally programmed, with young females producing embryos that do not enter into diapause. Alternately, embryos can be programmed to “escape” from diapause and develop directly by both maternal …

Factors Affecting Snowy Plover Chick Survival In A Managed Population, Stephen J. Dinsmore, Eleanor P. Gaines, Scott F. Pearson, David J. Lauten, Kathleen J. Castelein

Institute for Natural Resources Publications

Understanding survival of precocial chicks in the period immediately following hatching has important conservation implications because population growth is often sensitive to post-hatching survival. We studied federally threatened Western Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus nivosus) broods at the northern limit of their range in coastal Oregon (n ¼ 1,157) and Washington (n ¼ 84) from 1991 to 2011 in an attempt to understand seasonal, annual, and spatial patterns of chick survival. In Oregon, plover chick survival increased with age, varied between sites, and was greater at sites with predator management. The mean probability of surviving from hatch to fledging at 28 …