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Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Phenology, Habitat Use, And The Impacts Of Wetland Management On Autumn Migrating Rails In Missouri, Auriel M.V. Fournier Jan 2017

Phenology, Habitat Use, And The Impacts Of Wetland Management On Autumn Migrating Rails In Missouri, Auriel M.V. Fournier

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rails (Family: Rallidae) are among the least studied birds in North America, in large part due to their elusive nature. As a wetland-dependent species, understanding the timing of their migration and their habitat needs during migration is especially important since management needs to be timed to balance the needs of many species. I developed and verified a new distance sampling based nocturnal ATV spotlight survey because traditional call-broadcast surveys are not effective during autumn migration because of the drop off in call rate after the breeding season. These surveys allow us to ask point-level questions about what habitats rails select …


Phylogeography Of A Vanishing North American Songbird: The Painted Bunting (Passerina Ciris), Connie Ann Herr Aug 2011

Phylogeography Of A Vanishing North American Songbird: The Painted Bunting (Passerina Ciris), Connie Ann Herr

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Studies of genetic variation within and between species can provide insights into their evolutionary history as well as important information for conserving biodiversity. An understanding of population processes can assist in the conservation of biodiversity by contrasting current versus historical patterns, and the processes that have generated these patterns. Genetic differentiation often coincides with significant geological or climatic changes that have shaped the sizes and locations of the species geographic range and altered the connectivity between populations over time. Phylogenetic and population genetic analyses can also provide a statistical framework for the investigation of how human processes such as habitat …


Factors Affecting Reproductive Success In Hosts Of The Bronzed Cowbird (Molothrus Aeneus) In The Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas, Christopher R. Hathcock May 2000

Factors Affecting Reproductive Success In Hosts Of The Bronzed Cowbird (Molothrus Aeneus) In The Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas, Christopher R. Hathcock

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

During 1997–99, brood parasitism by the Bronzed Cowbird ( Molothrus aeneus), nest predation, and nest sites were examined in selected songbird species in southern Texas. I found a significantly lower parasitism rate in the Long-billed Thrasher (Toxostoma longirostre ) and Olive Sparrow (Arremonops rufivirgatus) than did Carter (1984) at the same site in the early 1980's. High rates of cowbird visitation to Altamira Oriole (Icterus gularis) nests suggest that cowbirds frequently attempt to parasitize this species. However, orioles probably puncture-eject cowbird eggs from their nests most of the time. Orioles experienced a significantly lower …


Breeding Densities And Habitat Of Riparian Birds Along The Lower Rio Grande, Texas, Corinna Elizabeth Rupert Dec 1997

Breeding Densities And Habitat Of Riparian Birds Along The Lower Rio Grande, Texas, Corinna Elizabeth Rupert

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The breeding biology of Snowy Plovers (Charadrius alexanderinus) was studied at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in coastal southern Texas. During 1995 and 1996 nests were found most often in high sand flat habitat and less frequently in low sand flat. Nest sites were dominated by open flat but had more rocks, pebbles and debris than control sites. Only 24% of the clutches hatched, while 67% were eaten by predators and 9% were flooded. Forty-three percent of Snowy Plover nests were within Least Tern (Sterna antillarum) colonies and these nests had a significantly greater chance of hatching than nests placed …