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Articles 1 - 10 of 10
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Effects Of Roadside Transect Width On Waterfowl And Wetland Estimates, Jane E. Austin, H. Thomas Sklebar, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Thomas K. Buhl
Effects Of Roadside Transect Width On Waterfowl And Wetland Estimates, Jane E. Austin, H. Thomas Sklebar, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Thomas K. Buhl
USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Strip transects located along roads are commonly used to estimate waterfowl populations and characterize associated wetland habitat. We used data collected in May and early June, 1995, on forty-five 40-km2 plots in North Dakota to evaluate bias of 800-m and 400-m wide roadside transects for sampling wetlands relative to a larger (40-km2) scale and to compare duck abundance at the two widths. Densities of all basins combined and of seasonal basins considered alone were biased high for both transect widths, but mean bias did not differ from zero for temporary or semipermanent basins. Biases did not occur …
Effects Of Water Conditions On Clutch Size, Egg Volume, And Hatchling Mass Of Mallards And Gadwalls In The Prairie Pothole Region, Pamela Pietz, Gary Krapu, Deborah Buhl, David A. Brandt
Effects Of Water Conditions On Clutch Size, Egg Volume, And Hatchling Mass Of Mallards And Gadwalls In The Prairie Pothole Region, Pamela Pietz, Gary Krapu, Deborah Buhl, David A. Brandt
USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
We examined the relationship between local water conditions (measured as the percent of total area of basins covered by water) and clutch size, egg volume, and hatchling mass of Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) and Gadwalls (A. strepera) on four study sites in the Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota and Minnesota, 1988–1994. We also examined the relationship between pond density and clutch size of Mallards and Gadwalls, using data collected at another North Dakota site, 1966–1981. For Mallards, we found no relationships to be significant. For Gadwalls, clutch size increased with percent basin area wet and pond …
American Bittern Depredates Sora, Jane E. Austin, Michael V. Slivinski
American Bittern Depredates Sora, Jane E. Austin, Michael V. Slivinski
USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
The American bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) is an opportunistic predator that forages on a wide variety of foods, primarily insects, amphibians, fishes, snakes, and small mammals (reviewed in Gibbs et al. 1992). To our knowledge, there are no published reports documenting American bittern depredation on birds. We report observations of an American bittern attempting to consume a sora (Porzana carolina).
Temporal Flexibility Of Reproduction In Temperate-Breeding Dabbling Ducks, Gary Krapu
Temporal Flexibility Of Reproduction In Temperate-Breeding Dabbling Ducks, Gary Krapu
USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
I compared nesting intervals during three consecutive years in five species of temperate-nesting dabbling ducks (Mallard [Anas platyrhynchos], Northern Pintail [Anas acuta], Northern Shoveler [Anas clypeata], Blue-winged Teal [Anas discors], Gadwall [Anas strepera]) and assessed whether differences existed in timing of refractoriness. Most nesting by females of all five species ended by the summer solstice. Nesting ended earliest for Northern Shovelers and Northern Pintails and latest for Gadwalls. Some Mallards, Blue-winged Teal, and Gadwalls continued to nest into mid- and late summer, whereas Northern Shovelers and Northern Pintails did not. …
Wolf-Bison Interactions In Yellowstone National Park, Douglas Smith, L. David Mech, Mary Meagher, Wendy Clark, Rosemary Jaffe, Michael Phillips, John A. Mack
Wolf-Bison Interactions In Yellowstone National Park, Douglas Smith, L. David Mech, Mary Meagher, Wendy Clark, Rosemary Jaffe, Michael Phillips, John A. Mack
USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
We studied interactions of reintroduced wolves (Canis lupus) with bison (Bison bison) in Yellowstone National Park. Only 2 of 41 wolves in this study had been exposed to bison before their translocation. Wolves were more successful killing elk (Cervus elaphus) than bison, and elk were more abundant than bison, so elk were the primary prey of wolves. Except for a lone emaciated bison calf killed by 8 1-year-old wolves 21 days after their release, the 1st documented kill occurred 25 months after wolves were released. Fourteen bison kills were documented from April 1995 through …
Evidence For Edge Effects On Multiple Levels In Tallgrass Prairie, Maiken Winter, Douglas H. Johnson, John Faaborg
Evidence For Edge Effects On Multiple Levels In Tallgrass Prairie, Maiken Winter, Douglas H. Johnson, John Faaborg
USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
We tested how edges affect nest survival and predator distribution in a native tallgrass prairie system in southwestern Missouri using artificial nests, natural nests of Dickcissels (Spiza americana) and Henslow's Sparrows (Ammodramus henslowii), and mammal track stations. Survival of artificial nests was lower within 30 m of forest edge. Nesting success of Dickcissels and Henslow's Sparrows was lower within 50 m to a shrubby edge than at greater distances, whereas fates of nests were not related to distances to roads, agricultural fields, or forests. Evidence from clay eggs placed in artificial nests indicated that mid-sized carnivores …
Waterfowl Research Priorities In The Northern Great Plains, Robert R. Cox, Douglas H. Johnson, Michael A. Johnson, Ronald E. Kirby, Jeffrey W. Nelson, Ronald E. Reynolds
Waterfowl Research Priorities In The Northern Great Plains, Robert R. Cox, Douglas H. Johnson, Michael A. Johnson, Ronald E. Kirby, Jeffrey W. Nelson, Ronald E. Reynolds
USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
It is necessary periodically to identify research priorities so that future research will be directed toward the most pertinent issues in waterfowl ecology and management. To that end, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center convened a quorum of experts on the ecology of breeding waterfowl, the Waterfowl Working Group, to 1) develop a mission statement, 2) identify waterfowl research priorities in the northern Great Plains, and 3) determine the frequency for re-identifying research needs. Research needs (nonprioritized) identified by the group and described in detail herein included: 1) determine effects of landscape factors on demographics and recruitment of ducks in the …
Waterfowl Research Priorities In The Northern Great Plains, Robert R. Cox Jr., Douglas H. Johnson, Michael A. Johnson, Ronald E. Kirby, Jeffrey W Nelson, Ronald E. Reynolds
Waterfowl Research Priorities In The Northern Great Plains, Robert R. Cox Jr., Douglas H. Johnson, Michael A. Johnson, Ronald E. Kirby, Jeffrey W Nelson, Ronald E. Reynolds
USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
It is necessary periodically to identify research priorities so that future research will be directed toward the most pertinent issues in waterfowl ecology and management. To that end, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center convened a quorum of experts on the ecology of breeding waterfowl, the Waterfowl Working Group, to 1) develop a mission statement, 2) identify waterfowl research priorities in the northern Great Plains, and 3) determine the frequency for re-identifying research needs. Research needs (nonprioritized) identified by the group and described in detail herein included: 1) determine effects of landscape factors on demographics and recruitment of ducks in the …
Spring-Staging Ecology Of Waterfowl In Nebraska — Then Versus Now, Robert R. Cox Jr.
Spring-Staging Ecology Of Waterfowl In Nebraska — Then Versus Now, Robert R. Cox Jr.
USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Spring snow storms can influence migration chronology and nutrient-reserve dynamics of waterfowl in Nebraska.
For centuries, the Rainwater Basin and Platte River Valley of central Nebraska have attracted millions of migrating waterfowl during spring. While in this region, females begin to accumulate fat and protein reserves needed for egg-laying and for recruitment of young.
Details Of Extensive Movements By Minnesota Wolves (Canis Lupus), Samuel Merrill, L. David Mech
Details Of Extensive Movements By Minnesota Wolves (Canis Lupus), Samuel Merrill, L. David Mech
USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
We used VHF, GPS and satellite radiocollars to study details of long distance movements by four Minnesota wolves (Canis lupus). Number of locations during our tracking ranged from 14 to 274. Farthest distances reached ranged from 183–494 km, and minimum distances traveled (sums of line segments) ranged from 490–4251 km. Numbers of times wolves crossed state, provincial or interstate highways ranged from 1 to 215. All four of the wolves returned to or near their natal territories after up to 179 d and at least two left again.