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Ornithology Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Ornithology

Studies Of Avian Nasal Mites (Acari: Rhinonyssidae And Ereynetidae) And Their Interaction With The Brood Parasite Brown-Headed Cowbird (Molothrus Ater: Icteridae) And Phylogenetic Inferences Of The Genus Ptilonyssus (Rhinonyssidae) On Different Passerine Hosts Associated To Three States In The Us, Alexis D. Hilario Perez Dec 2021

Studies Of Avian Nasal Mites (Acari: Rhinonyssidae And Ereynetidae) And Their Interaction With The Brood Parasite Brown-Headed Cowbird (Molothrus Ater: Icteridae) And Phylogenetic Inferences Of The Genus Ptilonyssus (Rhinonyssidae) On Different Passerine Hosts Associated To Three States In The Us, Alexis D. Hilario Perez

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nasal mites are endoparasites that spend their entire life cycle inside the nasal cavities and respiratory passages of birds. The Brown-Headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) (BHCO) is an icterid bird that uses brood parasitism as a reproductive strategy in which it lays an egg in the nest of a different bird species and allows the host to raise its young. Interestingly, nasal mites reported from cowbirds represent the same species found infesting other icterids and other common host groups. In the first study, I examined how diversity and host prevalence might change in a large sample size of BHCO associated with …


Seasonal Plumage Condition Variation And The Thermal Value Of The Feather Coats Of House Sparrows (Passer Domesticus), Jordana Mf Graveley, Margaret Rubega, Kevin R. Burgio Apr 2021

Seasonal Plumage Condition Variation And The Thermal Value Of The Feather Coats Of House Sparrows (Passer Domesticus), Jordana Mf Graveley, Margaret Rubega, Kevin R. Burgio

Honors Scholar Theses

Feathers are critical to how birds thermoregulate, and thus their total energy balance. The feather coat insulates birds by trapping air next to the skin and acting as a physical barrier to heat loss. Despite previous work studying thermal balance in birds, relatively few studies have focused on the thermal contribution of the feather coat alone; most studies have focused on physiological and behavioral responses. Moreover, to our knowledge, no studies have directly measured the effect of feather wear through the annual cycle on the thermal performance of the feather coat. To address this, we used a thermal camera to …


A Decision Tool To Identify Population Management Strategies For Common Ravens And Other Avian Predators, Andrea F. Currylow, Brenda J. Hanley, Kerry L. Holcomb, Timothy Shields, Stephen Boland, William I. Boarman, Mercy Vaughn Jan 2021

A Decision Tool To Identify Population Management Strategies For Common Ravens And Other Avian Predators, Andrea F. Currylow, Brenda J. Hanley, Kerry L. Holcomb, Timothy Shields, Stephen Boland, William I. Boarman, Mercy Vaughn

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Some avian species have developed the capacity to leverage resource subsidies associated with human manipulated landscapes to increase population densities in habitats with naturally low carrying capacities. Elevated corvid densities and new territory establishment have led to an unsustainable increase in depredation pressure on sympatric native wildlife prey populations as well as in crop damage. Yet, subsidized predator removal programs aimed at reducing densities are likely most effective longer-term when conducted in tandem with subsidy control, habitat management, and robust assessment monitoring programs. We developed decision support software that leverages stage structured Lefkovitch population matrices to compare and identify treatment …