Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 6 of 6
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Assessing Multiple Endpoints Of Atrazine Ingestion On Gravid Northern Watersnakes (Nerodia Sipedon) And Their Offspring, Lorin A. Neuman-Lee, Karen F. Gaines, Kyle A. Baumgartner, Jayme R. Voorhees, James M. Novak, Stephen J. Mullin
Assessing Multiple Endpoints Of Atrazine Ingestion On Gravid Northern Watersnakes (Nerodia Sipedon) And Their Offspring, Lorin A. Neuman-Lee, Karen F. Gaines, Kyle A. Baumgartner, Jayme R. Voorhees, James M. Novak, Stephen J. Mullin
Faculty Research & Creative Activity
Ecotoxicological studies that focus on a single endpoint might not accurately and completely represent the true ecological effects of a contaminant. Exposure to atrazine, a widely used herbicide, disrupts endocrine function and sexual development in amphibians, but studies involving live-bearing reptiles are lacking. This study tracks several effects of atrazine ingestion from female Northern Watersnakes (Nerodia sipedon) to their offspring exposed in utero. Twenty-five gravid N. sipedon were fed fish dosed with one of the four levels of atrazine (0, 2, 20, or 200 ppb) twice weekly for the entirety of their gestation period. Endpoints for the mothers included blood …
A Spatially Explicit Model To Predict Radiocesium Body Burdens Of White- Tailed Deer On The U.S. Department Of Energy's Savannah River Site, Christopher W. Bobryk, Karen F. Gaines, James M. Novak, Susan A. Blas
A Spatially Explicit Model To Predict Radiocesium Body Burdens Of White- Tailed Deer On The U.S. Department Of Energy's Savannah River Site, Christopher W. Bobryk, Karen F. Gaines, James M. Novak, Susan A. Blas
Faculty Research & Creative Activity
We developed a spatially explicit exposure model to interpolate and predict radiocesium (137Cs) body burdens found in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) on the U.S. Department of Energy’s (USDOE) Savannah River Site (SRS) to gain insight into and differentiate between the main contributing sources of this radionuclide for use in harvest management strategies that focus on minimizing human risk. Hunting has been allowed from permanent stands as a mechanism to manage the deer herd since 1965. All animals are monitored in the field for gross beta and gamma activity levels, providing a spatially explicit dataset. The models described here use the …
Responses Of Bats To Forest Fragmentation In The Mississippi River Alluvial Valley, Arkansas, Usa, Rex E. Medlin Jr., Matthew B. Connior, Karen F. Gaines, Thomas S. Risch
Responses Of Bats To Forest Fragmentation In The Mississippi River Alluvial Valley, Arkansas, Usa, Rex E. Medlin Jr., Matthew B. Connior, Karen F. Gaines, Thomas S. Risch
Faculty Research & Creative Activity
Intense conversion of bottomland hardwood forests to rice and soybeans in the Mississippi River Valley of Arkansas has restricted the remaining forest to isolated fragments. Habitat fragmentation has proven to be detrimental to population sustainability of several species, and is the subject of intense study with often species and latitude specific responses. We compared both coarse land area classes and landscape fragmentation metrics from six 30 km × 30 km subsets centered on publicly owned management areas to bat captures obtained from a 2005 population study. Patch density was the strongest predictor of total captures (R 2 = 0.801, p …
Nest Characteristics Of The Clapper Rail In Coastal Georgia, Karen F. Gaines, James C. Cumbee Jr., Warren L. Stephens Jr.
Nest Characteristics Of The Clapper Rail In Coastal Georgia, Karen F. Gaines, James C. Cumbee Jr., Warren L. Stephens Jr.
Faculty Research & Creative Activity
The nesting habitat of the Clapper Rail (Rallus longirostris) is not well studied in the southeastern United States. We documented Clapper Rail nest characteristics and surrounding habitats near Brunswick on the Georgia coast. Of 159 nests found, only 29 were active. Although some nests may have been abandoned or never used, many could have been depredated. Nests were constructed farther away from tidal influences than in those populations studied in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Clapper Rails also tended to nest near tidal pools as frequently as tidal creeks, contrasting with other Atlantic coast studies. The greater tidal …
Coastal Habitat Use By Wood Storks During The Non-Breeding Season, A. L. Bryan Jr., Karen F. Gaines, C. S. Eldridge
Coastal Habitat Use By Wood Storks During The Non-Breeding Season, A. L. Bryan Jr., Karen F. Gaines, C. S. Eldridge
Faculty Research & Creative Activity
We documented roosting and foraging habitat use by Wood Storks during the post-breeding season in the coastal zone of Georgia from 1994-1998. Larger, more persistent aggregations of roosting storks typically oc- curred in enclosed wetlands on large estuarine islands. Smaller, more ephemeral aggregations tended to occur on salt marsh/upland ecotones, where storks appeared to be waiting for local conditions (tide levels) to become suit- able for foraging. Examination of habitat types within a 2-km radius of the larger (mean > 10 storks/survey) vs. smaller (mean <10 storks/survey) roosts showed that surrounding habitat structure, including those used for for- aging, were similar. Foraging storks typically fed in close proximity (median = 0.5 km) to large roosts, much closer than storks using coastal wetlands during the breeding season. Tidal creeks were used almost exclusively as foraging habitat (92%). Storks and other wading birds were almost always present when the study bird arrived. The foraging patterns of study birds and four storks carrying radios suggested that storks often used the same foraging sites and/ or marsh systems in the non-breeding season. Coastal Wood Storks apparently selected roosting sites based on the presence of conspecifics, abundant local prey, or possibly as shelter from adverse weather conditions
The Effects Of Drought On Foraging Habitat Selection Of Breeding Wood Storks In Coastal Georgia, Karen F. Gaines, A. Lawrence Bryan Jr., Philip M. Dixon
The Effects Of Drought On Foraging Habitat Selection Of Breeding Wood Storks In Coastal Georgia, Karen F. Gaines, A. Lawrence Bryan Jr., Philip M. Dixon
Faculty Research & Creative Activity
Foraging habitat use by Wood Storks (Mycteria americana) during the breeding season was studied for three coastal colonies during a drought year and compared to habitat use during normal rainfall years. Information on the distribution of wetland habitat types was derived using U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wetland In- ventory (NWI) data within a Geographic Information System (GIS). Foraging locations were obtained by following storks from their colonies in a fixed-winged aircraft. Differences in hydrologic condition and, the resulting prey availability in coastal zone freshwater wetlands greatly affected foraging habitat use and breeding success of the three stork colonies. …