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Trace Elements In The Aquatic Bird Food Chain At The North Ponds, Texaco Refinery Casper, Wyoming, Kimberly Dickerson, Pedro Ramirez Jr.

United States Fish and Wildlife: Staff Publications

The objectives of this study were to determine nesting success of aquatic birds, trace element concentrations in the aquatic food chain, and whether trace elements were biomagnifying through the aquatic food chain of ponds at the inactive Texaco Refinery, in Evansville, Wyoming. Trace element concentrations in samples collected from the Texaco Refinery were compared to those found in samples collected from a background site, Pathfinder National Wildlife Refuge.

The ponds at the inactive refinery provided a source of water to aquatic birds in an otherwise arid landscape. Nesting success for shorebirds using an island in Pond 1 was greater than …

Kirtland’S Warbler Dendroica Kirtlandii

United States Fish and Wildlife: Staff Publications

The first Kirtland’s warbler in North America was identified in 1851 from a specimen collected on Dr. Jared Kirtland’s farm near Cleveland, Ohio. Biologists did not learn where it nested until 1903 when they found a warbler nest in Michigan. Today, Kirtland’s warbler faces two significant threats: lack of crucial young jack pine forest habitat and the parasitic cowbird.

A pair of Kirtland’s warblers requires at least eight acres of young jack pine forest to nest, but usually needs 30 to 40 acres to raise a nest of young. Its exacting nesting habitat requirements, as well as cowbird parasitism, caused …

Contaminants Information Bulletin: Environmental Contaminants In Sedimente From Oilfield Produced Water Discharge Points, Pedro Ramirez Jr.

United States Fish and Wildlife: Staff Publications

Oilfield produced water is generated from the extraction of oil mixed with groundwater. A separator is used to physically remove the water from the oil; however, the produced water can contain residual amounts of oil. Additionally, malfunction of the separator equipment can cause inefficient separation and result in higher amounts of oil in the water. The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WY DEQ) regulates the discharge of produced waters under the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) .WY DEQ permits 10 µg/l of oil in produced water discharged into regulated waters of the state. Produced water discharges are not permitted …

Caribou Rangifer Tarandus Caribou

United States Fish and Wildlife: Staff Publications

Caribou are the largest members of the reindeer family (Rangifer tarandus) and are native to the arctic and sub-arctic regions of Siberia, North America and Greenland. Reindeer, which are traditionally herded in northern Europe and Eurasia, were introduced into Alaska in 1892. Although some herding of reindeer continues in Alaska today, many of the introduced reindeer interbred with caribou. The four caribou subspecies—barren ground, Peary’s, tundra and woodland—differ greatly in range, size, coloration, behavior, food habits and habitat use.

Caribou are a medium-sized member of the deer family and stand about 31⁄2 feet tall at the shoulder. Females …

Florida Panther Puma [Felis] Concolor Coryi

United States Fish and Wildlife: Staff Publications

There are only 30 to 50 adult Florida panthers left in the wild, making Florida's official state animal one of the most endangered mammals in the world. At one time perhaps 3,000 or more Florida panthers ranged throughout Florida, northward through Georgia, parts of South Carolina, and Tennessee, and westward through Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and possibly eastern Texas. Today, the Florida panther's range is limited to parts of southern Florida, including the Big Cypress Swamp and the Everglades.

Initially, the Florida panter's decline was due to excessive hunting because of an unfounded fear for livestock and human safety. More …

Desert Tortoise Gopherus Agassizii

United States Fish and Wildlife: Staff Publications

Desert tortoises, also known as desert turtles or gopher tortoises, currently are found in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah, as well as parts of Mexico, and in the Mojave, Colorado, Sonoran and Sinaloan deserts. As the result of various human activities over the past 150 years, tortoises have been eliminated or reduced in large portions of their range in California and in areas near Las Vegas and St. George, Utah.

Desert tortoise population densities range from just a few per square mile to more than 200 per square mile. Although the number of desert tortoises in the world is unknown, …

Sea Turtles

United States Fish and Wildlife: Staff Publications

Of the six sea turtle species that are found in the U.S. waters or that nest on U.S. beaches, all are designated as either threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Endangered status means a species is considered in danger of exinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range; threatened means it is likely to become endangered.

Six of the seven sea turtles species are listed as endangered or threatened: green, Kemp's ridley, olive ridley, hawksbill, loggerhead and leatherback sea turtles. Only one species, the flatback sea turtle, is not considered threatened with extinction at this time. …