Ornithology Commons^™

Examining Whooping Crane Breeding Season Foraging Behavior In The Eastern Migratory Population, Hillary L. Thompson, Anik Levac, Megan J. Fitzpatrick

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Agricultural fields may provide an important supplementary foraging habitat for whooping cranes (Grus americana) in the reintroduced Eastern Migratory Population (EMP). We developed methods and gathered preliminary data regarding whooping crane foraging efficiency and habitat use to better understand the use of agricultural fields by breeding cranes. We generated a simple null hypothesis that cranes would spend more time in the habitat type (wetlands vs. agricultural fields) in which they were able to obtain a higher foraging efficiency to maximize food intake, along with several alternative hypotheses pertaining to reasons cranes may prefer wetlands or agricultural fields during …

0841: Mary Lois Garrett Collection, 1941-1954, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

This collection spans the years 1941-1954, with the bulk of the research covering the years 1950-1954. File contents were maintained in the way in which they were originally received, but folders have been arranged in a more chronological order. Some notes are entirely handwritten, while logs and records consist of typed templates which have been filled-in by hand. Notes contain illustrations of birds and nests, graphs of bird activity during observance, and descriptions of bird behavior. Nesting logs have mostly been filled out by Mary Lois Garrett, but other authors contributed, including Twila Hessin, Ruth Geib, and an unspecified ornithology …

Reproductive Promiscuity In The Variegated Fairy-Wren: An Alternative Reproductive Strategy In The Absence Of Helpers?, Allison E. Johnson, Stephen Pruett-Jones

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Cooperative breeding, in which auxiliary group members help rear related, but nondescendent young, is often explained by kin selection. Reproductive monogamy is predicted in cooperatively breeding systems, as monogamy increases intragroup relatedness and maximizes auxiliary inclusive fitness. While monogamy is observed across many systems, including eusocial insects and cooperatively breeding mammals, some cooperatively breeding birds exhibit high rates of extrapair paternity. Here we quantify paternity and examine the role of auxiliaries on extrapair paternity in the highly cooperative variegated fairy-wren, Malurus lamberti, a species with both male and female auxiliaries. Extrapair paternity occurred in 55.4% of nests, and 39.8% …

The Role Of Song In Reproductive Isolation In A New Secondary Contact Zone Of White-Crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia Leucophrys), William Brooks

Summer Research

Within the past thirty years, two formerly isolated subspecies of white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys) have formed an overlap in geographic range. This creates a natural experiment in speciation and reproductive isolation. Understanding how song acts as a reproductive barrier in this overlap can contribute to our understanding of behavioral isolation. We preformed playback experiments on territorial males to measure subspecific vocal discrimination. Additionally, we looked to see if hybridization was occurring. In the playback experiments we found that Z. l. pugetensis discriminates more strongly between songs, while Z. l. gambelii demonstrates little to no difference in response. We …

Ainsworth Fall Field Days, Janis Paseka

Nebraska Bird Review

The 2018 NOU Fall Field Days took place in and around Ainsworth on Sep. 14 – 16, with 48 in attendance. It was a hot and windy weekend, but 137 species were located. Two Sandhill Cranes in the Niobrara River at the Carns Bridge attracted birders, especially since the two cooperatively moved from one side of the river to the other, allowing county listers to count them in both. The bird of the weekend, however, was the Red-naped Sapsucker at Plum Creek Valley WMA. It was a county bird for everyone, a state bird for many and a life bird …

Effects Of Rearing Environment On Behavior Of Captive-Reared Whooping Cranes, Christy L. Sadowski, Glenn H. Olsen, M. Elsbeth Mcphee

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Whooping cranes (Grus americana) are 1 of the most endangered bird species in North America. In 1999 the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership was formed to establish a migratory population of whooping cranes in eastern North America. These efforts have been extremely successful in terms of adult survival but reproductive success post-release has been low. One hypothesis developed to explain such low reproductive success is that captive-rearing techniques fail to prepare the birds to be effective parents. Captive-reared whooping cranes at the U.S. Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, Maryland, are either reared by humans in crane costumes …

Mixing Of Two Greater Sandhill Crane Populations In Northeast Oregon, M. Cathy Nowak, Krista J. Mougey, Daniel P. Collins, Blake A. Grisham

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area in northeast Oregon hosts a small group of nesting greater sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis tabida). There were no data on where these birds wintered, and we had no understanding of how these birds fit into the larger picture of western sandhill crane population delineation. ODFW began color-banding pre-fledging colts in 2007 and added satellite tracking with platform transmitter terminals (PTTs) in 2015. To date, we have captured 15 colts and 13 adults and marked them with color bands. We also fitted 1 colt and 8 adult …

Mississippi Sandhill Crane Conservation Update 2014-2016, Scott G. Hereford, Angela J. Dedrickson

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

To manage crane habitat during 2014-2016, 5,826 ha were treated with prescribed burns, 298 ha of woody vegetation were removed, 94 ha of invasive plants were chemically treated, and 8 ha of crops were planted. There were 247 predators removed. We acclimated and released 29 captive-reared juveniles. We began testing drones (unmanned aerial systems [UAS]), to locate nests. We detected an average of 34 nests per year with 6 fledglings each year. The December 2016 population was 129 cranes, up 9% from the previous 3 years.

Vocalizations Influence Roost-Site Selection In Overwintering Cavity-Nesting Birds In Eastern Washington, Shelby M. Hunter

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

Primary cavity-nesting birds are keystone species because the annual tree cavities they excavate become critical habitat for other species. In eastern Washington, most primary cavity-nesting birds are year-round residents. They increase overwinter survival by night roosting in cavities and forming flocks. The timing of roost site selection can impact the quality of a roost site, thus selecting a roost site too late reduces the odds of selecting the most favorable microclimate available. Birds in flocks use alarm calls to warn of threats and contact calls to promote group cohesion. My study asks if timing of roost site selection and vocalizations …

Role Of Nest Site Microclimate And Food Availability In Chick Development And Reproductive Success In Black-Legged Kittiwakes (Rissa Tridactyla), Lindsay Mae Lacey

Honors Theses

Seabirds are marine top predators, and as such are often studied as bioindicators of climate shifts (Oswald and Arnold 2012). Though many studies have analyzed the effect of macroclimatic variation on marine prey species availability and thus seabirds, few have analyzed effects of microclimate - fine spatial patterns of climate (Mantua and Hare 2002; Hatch 2013; Kim and Monaghan 2005a). I tested the hypothesis that localized temperature and humidity at nest sites interact with food availability to alter black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) nest site quality, chick body condition during growth and development, and reproductive parameters including Julian lay …

Development Of An Avian Index Of Biological Integrity For Kentucky Wetlands, Kaitlyn Kelly

Online Theses and Dissertations

Bird communities are frequently used as bioindicators to assess environmental conditions, including in wetland habitats. I developed an avian index of biological integrity (IBI) for wetlands of Kentucky as an intensive assessment method to supplement an existing rapid assessment method used in regulatory programs. Birds are useful indicators because they are sensitive to environmental changes, abundant in various landscapes, occupy higher trophic levels, and can be sampled in a cost-effective manner. Breeding bird point count data from 103 sites were used to calculate a set of 49 avian community metrics. Avian metrics were tested for correlation with independent landscape, hydrology …

Variation In Mass And Wing Loading Of Nestling American Kestrels: Possible Effects Of Nestling Behavior And Adult Provisioning Behavior, Doug Mitchell

Online Theses and Dissertations

Among birds, the rapid growth rates of altricial young help reduce mortality by reducing the amount of time spent in the nest. However, in species where a high degree of maneuverability and speed is required (i.e. aerial insectivores), it is important that nestlings not gain excess weight. Nestlings in some species must attain an efficient wing loading just prior to fledging to facilitate mobility for hunting and evading predators. My objective was to examine the mass of nestling American Kestrels (Falco sparverius) during the mid- to late nestling period and specifically to determine the possible effects of attaching small lead …

Quantifying False Positives In Avian Survey Data, Kaitlyn M. Strickfaden

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Imperfect detection is a known issue when conducting count-based surveys in wildlife studies. False positive detections, observed occurrences of individuals that truly are not present, are often assumed to not occur. This assumption can bias detection rates and create misleading results when calculating population estimates. Survey methods such as the dependent double-observer method are suggested to reduce the occurrence of false positives (Nichols et al. 2000). My study quantified and compared rates of false positives in a single-observer method and a dependent double-observer method using computer-generated auditory surveys. I categorized volunteer observers as either inexperienced or experienced and asked them …

The Molecular Analysis Of Hawaiian Bird Diets, Alissa C. Scinto

Honors Theses and Capstones

The aim of this project is to utilize high-throughput molecular methods to investigate the diets of three non-native and one native Hawaiian bird species. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has made it possible to produce thousands of sequencing reads of DNA in a relatively short amount of time. This metabarcoding technology has been used to identify a range of different taxa, from bacteria in the human gut to fungi in the soil. More recently, this approach has been used to identify insects in the diets of birds and other species, including bees and bats. Samples underwent genomic sequencing using a targeted approach …

Foraging Habitat Of Pileated Woodpeckers In Relation To A Managed Landscape On The Hoopa Valley Reservation, Northwestern California, Dawn Michelle Blake

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The Pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) is associated with older forest stages—larger diameter trees and snags for roosting, nesting and foraging, but they also use managed forests. The Hoopa Reservation is approximately 37,000 ha of mostly forested area with an array of seral stages. The Hoopa Tribe manages timber, and explicitly provides habitat for woodpeckers according to the Tribe’s Forest Management Plan (FMP). No formal study has assessed woodpecker habitat at Hoopa, and habitat has not been well described in this region. I captured eleven woodpeckers and outfitted them with transmitters between 2009 and 2014, and I used resource …

Migratory Patterns And Population Genetic Structure In A Declining Wetland-Dependent Songbird, Matthew G. Desaix

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding migratory connectivity is essential for assessing the drivers behind population dynamics and for implementing effective management in migratory species. Genetic markers provide a means to describe migratory connectivity, as well as incorporate population genetic analyses, however genetic markers can be uninformative for species with weak genetic structure. In this study, we evaluate range-wide population genetic structure and migratory connectivity in the prothonotary warbler, Protonotaria citrea, a wetland-dependent neotropical migratory songbird, using high-resolution genetic markers. We reveal regional genetic structure between sampling sites in the Mississippi River Valley and the Atlantic Seaboard with overall weak genetic differentiation among populations …

Analysing Intonation Of The Pied Butcherbird, Jean-Michel Maujean

Theses : Honours

Native to Australia, the Pied Butcherbird has been extensively studied and transcribed by previous composers, notably including Olivier Messiaen. This may be due to richness and diversity in each bird’s repertoire, along with parallels drawn from Western Tonality. Hollis Taylor has conducted extensive study in this field, notably with an analysis of a transcription made by Messiaen, that was incorporated in his piece Éclairs sur l'au- delà (1988-91). Coupled with the original field recording, Taylor’s analysis and Messiaen’s score, this study will reanalyse the original recording from which Messiaen made his transcription.

Zoomusicology is a practice that represents the …

Ms Environmental Biology Capstone Project, Taylor Readyhough

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Life in a zoo brings a score of stressors into the lives of captive animals, including artificial light, crowds of visitors, and increased noise levels. Stress especially impacts captive birds, and continued exposure to these stressors can negatively affect birds’ reproductive success and overall well-being. Staff at the Denver Zoo noticed increased aggression between a male and female pair of great Indian hornbills during the winter of 2016. This behavioral shift coincided with Zoo Lights, a holiday event that results in the hornbills’ exhibit remaining open to the public for approximately four extra hours through the entire month of December. …

Diet And Space Use Of The Martial Eagle (Polemaetus Bellicosus) In The Maasai Mara Region Of Kenya, Richard Stratton Hatfield

Theses and Dissertations--Forestry and Natural Resources

The martial eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus) is a vulnerable species that is declining throughout large portions of its range. There is an urgent need to improve understanding of this species’ ecology to inform its conservation. I equipped 20 adult martial eagles with global positioning system backpack transmitters to characterize diet and space use of the species in the Maasai Mara region of Kenya. The resulting high-resolution transmitter data sets allowed for the rapid location of kills and provided a means to estimate home range size. From November 2016 to April 2018, 191 kills were identified from 206 kill location …

Impact Of Giant Miscanthus (Miscanthus X Giganteus) Cultivation On Midwestern Farmland Birds, Matthew Craffey

Masters Theses

Giant Miscanthus (Miscanthus x giganteus) is a promising bioenergy feedstock, newly introduced to North America. However, the qualities that make Giant Miscanthus an attractive bioenergy feedstock may pose challenges to local wildlife. To assess the impacts of Giant Miscanthus on Midwestern farmland birds, I conducted point count and vegetation surveys at three sites in east-central Illinois where Giant Miscanthus was being cultivated. I used occupancy modeling to assess the relative influence of Giant Miscanthus on five species relative to other habitat and landscape characteristics. Dickcissel (Spiza Americana), Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna), and Red-Winged Blackbird …

Wintering American Black Duck Ecology Of Central Appalachia, Sara E. Yannuzzi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The American black duck (Anas rubripes) is a species of dabbling duck found only in the northeastern part of North America, and widely hunted until its decline. Since the 1950s, the total population has decreased by 53%. Habitat degradation and decline of wintering and breeding wetlands, historic overharvest, and interactions with the mallard (A. platyrhynchos) are attributed as some of the main causes of the black duck population’s decrease. Many policies and taxa- and habitat-specific joint ventures have since been created to aid in studying and improving North American wetlands and black duck populations throughout both their breeding and wintering …

Using A Custom Landscape Classification To Understand The Factors Driving Site Occupancy By A Rapidly Declining Migratory Songbird, Elizabeth K. Schold

Theses and Dissertations

Land cover classifications are useful in a broad range of ecological applications, yet publicly available classifications are not always useful for the needs of specific projects. Custom classifications are always a possibility, however, they can be financially or computationally out of reach for many researchers. Here we present a custom 1m resolution land cover classification created using freely available imagery and a random forest classification approach. This classification detected shrub cover more accurately and at a finer resolution than previous classifications. With the creation of this map, we were then able to examine landscape factors influencing occupancy dynamics of the …

Do Avian Blood Parasites Influence Hypoxia Physiology In A High Elevation Environment?, Farah Ishtiaq, Sahas Barve

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Montane birds which engage in elevational movements have evolved to cope with fluctuations in environmental hypoxia, through changes in physiological parameters associated with blood oxygen-carrying capacity such as haemoglobin concentration (Hb) and haematocrit (Hct). In particular, elevational migrants which winter at low elevations, encounter varying intensities of avian haemosporidian parasites as they traverse heterogeneous environments. Whilst high intensity parasite infections lead to anaemia, one can expect that the ability to cope with haemosporidian infections should be a key trait for elevational migrants that must be balanced against reducing the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood in response to high elevation. In …

Apparent Survival Of Snowy Plovers Varies Seasonally, Nora C. Papian

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Survival is an important vital rate that contributes to population viability, but is infrequently monitored and studied, especially compared to productivity. Furthermore, factors that limit survival and the relative effect on survival are often unknown. I used mark-resight observations of a small (~350) population of threatened Snowy Plovers (Charadrius nivosus nivosus) to quantify seasonal and annual variation in survival and movement between three coastal locations across ~70 km in Humboldt County, California. The return of individuals to non-breeding flocks at three locations was high between years (75-81%). Movement between three locations varied greatly, although most (n = 137) …

Hunting Habitat Use And Selection Patterns Of Barn Owl (Tyto Alba) In The Urban-Agricultural Setting Of A Prominent Wine Grape Growing Region Of California, Xeronimo A. Castaneda

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Large scale conversion of uncultivated land to agriculture threatens wildlife and can diminish ecosystem services provided by nature. Understanding how wildlife provision ecosystem services may incentivize wildlife conservation in agricultural landscapes. Attracting barn owls (Tyto alba) to nest on farms for pest management has been documented worldwide, but has not been thoroughly evaluated in vineyard agroecosystems. Napa Valley, California is a renowned winegrape growing region, and viticulturists encourage barn owl occupancy to help minimize plant damage from pocket gophers (Thomomys bottae) and voles (Microtus spp.). This study aimed to establish a basis for revealing the …

The Effects Of Forest Degradation On Dna Methylation In Central African Songbirds, Andrew K. Wiegardt

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Environmentally-induced stress can initiate a molecular response through DNA methylation, which can alter gene expression, thereby serving as a mechanism allowing individuals to acclimate to a changing environment within their lifetime. In addition to DNA methylation, the production and release of corticosterone is a physiological mechanism by which birds can cope with acute environmental stressors. To assess how environmental stress impacted DNA methylation and corticosterone, I collected blood and feather samples from three understory avian species (Alethe castanea, Bleda notatus and Pseudalethe poliocephala), along a disturbance gradient in the lowland Guinean rainforest adjacent to the village of …

Sex-Specific Habitat Selection Of Rough-Legged Hawks (Buteo Lagopus) Wintering In Western North America, Genevieve Christa Rozhon

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The rough-legged hawk (Buteo lagopus sanctijohannis) is one of the most under-studied raptor species in North America. As a species that exhibits reversed sexual dimorphism, sex-specific habitat preferences may exist. To investigate rough-legged hawk sex-specific habitat selection preferences, we equipped 17 rough-legged hawks (n = eight females, nine males) with GPS backpacks on their wintering grounds (n = six study areas) during the winter months of 2014 and 2015 in five states in western North America. I analyzed rough-legged hawk habitat selection in relation to sex at four spatial scales: nocturnal roosting site, 50% core range, 95% winter …

Lewis’S Woodpecker Nest Success And Habitat Selection In Cottonwood Floodplain Versus Burned Conifer Forests, William M. Blake

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Breeding habitat selection influences reproductive outcomes. Habitat selection may be adaptive and benefit populations, but it can also be maladaptive with negative consequences for populations. Understanding habitat selection and its influence on reproductive success, especially in species of concern, is critical for effective management. Lewis’s Woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis) is a Species of Concern that has experienced national population declines. We studied its abundance and reproductive success in two commonly selected breeding forest types (i.e., cottonwood floodplain and mixed-conifer burned), and nest-site characteristics (nest availability, food availability, and vegetation attributes) that have the potential to yield strong differences in …