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Video Surveillance Of Nesting Whooping Cranes, Timothy A. Dellinger, Martin J. Folk

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

The primary objective of the whooping crane (Grus americana) recovery plan is to establish and maintain 3 selfsustaining wild populations, 1 being a non-migratory Florida population. From 1993 to 2005, we released 289 captive cranes in central Florida, with 31 surviving as of 1 June 2008. From 1995 to 2008 we monitored 68 nests of the Florida population; from those, only 32 chicks hatched and 9 fledged. It often was not apparent why nests failed, and it was not practical to conduct labor-intensive observations at nests; therefore, we collected behavioral data using 12-volt VHS video surveillance cameras at …

Assessing Sandhill Crane Flight Alterations To Power Lines In Southcentral Wisconsin, Kimberly H. Ness, Anne E. Lacy

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

We examined how weather and power line type affected abrupt flight alterations of sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis tabida) near electric lines in south-central Wisconsin at 4 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fall crane roost count sites near the Wisconsin River in Adams, Columbia, and Iowa counties between September and November 2007. We selected 4 distribution (10-12 m tall, <50 kV) and 2 transmission lines (>20 m tall, >110 kV) in high crane density areas near corn fields within 1.6 km of either the Wisconsin River or local roosting wetland. We recorded frequencies of 3 types of abrupt flight alterations near power lines across 1-2 …

Mississippi Sandhill Crane Chicks Produced From Cryopreserved Semen, Anahid M. Pahlawanian, Megan L. Savoie, Vanessa Peery, Betsy L. Dresser, S. P. Leibo

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

The Mississippi sandhill crane (MSC, Grus canadensis pulla), 1 of 6 subspecies of sandhill cranes, is classified as critically endangered and was placed on the United States' List of Endangered Fish and Wildlife in 1973. For 13 years starting in 1996, the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species (ACRES) and Freeport-McMoran Species Survival Center (SSC) in New Orleans have been contributing to the MSC Recovery Program. Through successful captive propagation of MSCs by use of natural breeding and artificial insemination, more than 150 chicks raised at SSC have been released into the wild population at the MSC National …

The Effects Of Anticoagulant Choice And Sample Processing Time On Hematologic Values Of Juvenile Whooping Cranes, Joan Maurer, Betsy Reichenberg, Cristin Kelley, Barry K. Hartup

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Blood collected from juvenile whooping cranes (Grus americana) in 2007 and 2008 was divided and placed in either the anticoagulant lithium heparin (LiHep) or tri-potassium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (K3EDTA) for diagnostic hematology. Thin smears were prepared from the anticoagulated blood in the field with no delay and in the laboratory after a 4-6-hour delay, and then used to determine differential and total leukocyte counts. Manual heterophil and eosinophil counts were greater in LiHep-treated samples compared to K3EDTA samples (P < 0.05), but there was no difference in the total leukocyte concentration or differential leukocyte counts between anticoagulants based on blood smears prepared with no delay (n = 15). Marked differences were noted in relative heterophil (P < 0.05) and lymphocyte (P < 0.05) counts and total leukocyte (P < 0.05) concentrations of K3EDTA-treated samples processed after the delay (n = 7), suggesting a negative effect on lymphocyte integrity from the anticoagulant. Microscopically, lymphocytes were more intact and easily differentiated from thrombocytes in LiHep-treated samples than K3EDTA, but modest thrombocyte clumping in the LiHep samples was a concern. Either anticoagulant appears adequate for diagnostic hematology in juvenile whooping cranes based on this limited analysis, but blood smears should be prepared immediately under controlled conditions for best results.

Reproductive Health And Performance Of The Florida Flock Of Introduced Whooping Cranes, Marilyn G. Spalding, Martin J. Folk, Stephen A. Nesbitt, Richard Kiltie

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

We retrospectively examined the reproductive parameters of 122 breeding-age whooping cranes (Grus americana) in a reintroduced flock in central Florida from 1992 to 2007. The flock performed poorly when compared with an existing wild flock for all reproductive parameters when controlled for age. Pairs first formed in 1995, nested in 1999, and the first chick fledged in 2002. By 2007, 19 of 63 clutches produced 25 chicks, 9 of which fledged. Drought conditions were ruled out as the sole cause of failure when the drought lessened and productivity increased, but not in all years. We examined adult health, …

A Retrospective Of Whooping Cranes In Captivity, Cindi Barrett, Thomas V. Stehn

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Early records of captive whooping cranes (Grus americana) were compiled from historical files kept at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and other literature. Additional early records of captive whooping cranes in Europe were discovered. Annual numbers and location for all captive whooping cranes were tabulated. Starting in 1949, initial attempts at breeding the species in captivity were conducted opportunistically with a few injured birds captured from the wild. Acaptive breeding flock was started in 1966 at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Maryland, from second eggs collected in Canada from the only remaining wild flock. In 1989, the flock …

Changes In Winter Whooping Crane Territories And Range 1950–2006, Thomas V. Stehn, Felipe Prieto

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

The whooping crane (Grus americana) winters on the Texas coast primarily in salt marsh habitat. The location of adult whooping crane winter territories during 9 winters between 1950 and 2006 was derived from aerial census data digitized onto infrared photos using GIS software. Range expansion, including changes in distribution and size of winter territories, was analyzed over a 57-year period as flock size increased by 765%. Crane pairs have opted to establish territories in or close to the traditional winter area rather than moving long distances along the coast. This distribution seems based on the preference of the …

Habitat Selection Of Eastern Migratory Whooping Cranes On Their Wintering Grounds, Lara E. A. Fondow, Stanley A. Temple

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

As a monitoring technician for the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership, I (LEAF) noted that birds in years following release selected wintering habitats that differed greatly from those into which they were initially released. An analysis of the habitat preferences of these birds was needed in order to determine any possible implications to the reintroduction efforts. During the winters of 2004-2005 and 2005-2006, I recorded the locations, habitat use, social associations, and behaviors of all migratory whooping cranes (Grus americana) at known locations in Florida. I used compositional analysis to determine whether habitat use was random at the following …

A Natural History Study Of Bufo A. Americanus, The Eastern American Toad, And The Phenology Of Spring Breeders In Southwest West Virginia, Tomi Maria Bergstrom

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Natural history traits have not been thoroughly collected and analyzed on the "common hoptoad," Bufo a. americanus (eastern American toad) in West Virginia. Updating natural history information is important to understand the present population status (Jackson, 2001). I chose to have two study sites at opposing physiographic regions to constitute a better understanding of B. a. americanus natural history in WV. The study was initiated in spring 2008 at Beech Fork State Park and Green Bottom Swamp Wildlife Refuge (in Mason and Cabell counties) and in 2009 incorporated Canaan Valley of Tucker County. Ten natural history morphometrics and characters were …

Waterfowl Of North America: Frontmatter & Preface, Paul A. Johnsgard

Waterfowl of North America, Revised Edition (2010) by Paul A. Johnsgard

Contents
Lists of tables and maps
List of plates
Preface

It was with a considerable degree of hesitation that, during the winter of 1970-71, I sat down and contemplated the scope and structure of a possible book on the waterfowl of North America. On my bookshelf behind me were copies of A. C. Bent's Life Histories of North American Wild Fowl, F. H. Kortright's The Ducks, Geese, and Swans of North America, and Jean Delacour's The Waterfowl of the World. My task, as I saw it, was to try to develop a book that might be useful …

Waterfowl Of North America: Pochards (Fresh Water Diving Ducks), Tribe Aythyini, Paul A. Johnsgard

Waterfowl of North America, Revised Edition (2010) by Paul A. Johnsgard

Until recent classifications by Jean Delacour and others, the pochard group was not taxonomically distinguished from the more marine-adapted sea ducks, here included in the following tribe Mergini. Nevertheless, the pochards are a readily definable group of mostly medium-sized ducks that differ from their close relatives, the surface-feeding ducks, in several respects. Their legs are situated somewhat farther back on the body, so that they are less adept at walking on land; their feet and associated webs are larger, increasing diving effectiveness (reflected by the increased length of the outer toes); and their bills are generally broad, heavy, and adapted …

The Index Of Biological Integrity And The Bootstrap: Can Random Sampling Error Affect Stream Impairment Decisions?, Christine L. Dolph, Aleksey Y. Sheshukov, Christopher J. Chizinski, Bruce Vondracek, Bruce N. Wilson

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Multimetric indices, such as the Index of Biological Integrity (IBI), are increasingly used bymanagement agencies to determine whether surface water quality is impaired. However, important questions about the variability of these indices have not been thoroughly addressed in the scientific literature. In this study, we used a bootstrap approach to quantify variability associated with fish IBIs developed for streams in two Minnesota river basins. We further placed this variability into a management context by comparing it to impairment thresholds currently used in water quality determinations for Minnesota streams. We found that 95% confidence intervals ranged as high as 40 points …

Macroecology Of Caribbean Bats: Effects Of Area, Elevation, Latitude, And Hurricane-Induced Disturbance, Michael R. Willig, Steven J. Presley, Christopher P. Bloch, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Understanding the geographic and environmental characteristics of islands that affect aspects of biodiversity is a major theme in ecology (Begon et al. 2006; Krebs 2001) and biogeography (Cox and Moore 2000; Drakare et al. 2006; Lomolino et al. 2006). Such understanding has become particularly relevant over the past century because human activities on continents have fragmented natural landscapes, often creating islands of isolated habitat dispersed within a sea of land uses that include agriculture, forestry, and various degrees of urban and suburban development. The increasingly fragmented or islandlike structure of mainland habitats has critical ramifications to conservation biology, as it …

Observations Of Reproduction In Mountain Lions From Nebraska, Sam Wilson, Justin D. Hoffman, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Occurrences of mountain lions (Puma concolor) in Nebraska have been steadily increasing; however, reproductive activity in mountain lions has not been documented in the state. We present the first evidence of mountain lion reproduction in Nebraska since mountain lions recolonized the state in the early 1990s. On 28 February 2007, a spotted kitten was hit by a vehicle in northwestern Nebraska; and based on body length and weight, we estimate its age at 3.9 months. On 20 December 2008, a female mountain lion and spotted kitten were photographed in the northwestern part of the state. On 9 May …

Waterfowl Of North America: Stiff-Tailed Ducks, Tribe Oxyurini, Paul A. Johnsgard

Waterfowl of North America, Revised Edition (2010) by Paul A. Johnsgard

This bizarre group of diving ducks differs from the rest of the Anatidae in so many respects that by any standard it demands special attention. Of the eight species that are presently recognized, most are placed in the genus Oxyura, which name refers to the stiffened, elongated tail feathers typical of the group. In these species the tail feathers extend well beyond the rather short tail coverts and are usually narrow-vaned, so that the individual rectrices tend to separate when spread. The feet are unusually large, and the legs are placed farther to the rear of the body than …

Ducks, Geese, And Swans Of The World: Tribe Dendrocygnini (Whistling Or Tree Ducks), Paul A. Johnsgard

Ducks, Geese, and Swans of the World by Paul A. Johnsgard

Spotted Whistling Duck
Plumed Whistling Duck
Fulvous Whistling Duck
Wandering Whistling Duck
Lesser Whistling Duck
White-faced Whistling Duck
Cuban Whistling Duck
Magellan Goose
Black-bellied Whistling Duck
White-backed Duck

The whistling ducks are a group of nine species, eight of which are readily placed in the single genus Dendrocygna, or "tree ducks." However, they are not primarily perching birds, and thus "whistling ducks" is a better vernacular designation than the frequently used "tree ducks." In nearly all species both sexes utter a clear, often multisyllabic whistle that readily identifies the bird as to its species and apparently provides important communication signals …

Ducks, Geese, And Swans Of The World: Tribe Tadornini (Sheldgeese And Shelducks), Paul A. Johnsgard

Ducks, Geese, and Swans of the World by Paul A. Johnsgard

Blue-winged Goose
Andean Goose
Magellan Goose
Kelp Goose
Ashy-headed Sheldgoose
Ruddy-headed Sheldgoose
Orinoco Goose
Egyptian Goose
Ruddy Shelduck
Cape Shelduck
Australian Shelduck
New Zealand Shelduck
Crested Shelduck
Northern (Common) Shelduck
Radjah Shelduck

The most gooselike species of the subfamily Anatinae are the sheldgeese, which together with the closely related shelducks constitute the tribe Tadornini. This group of 14 species has a worldwide distribution except for North America. The typical sheldgeese are grazing birds, the ecological counterparts of the true geese, while the shelducks are mostly wading and dabbling birds, frequently feeding to a large extent on aquatic invertebrates. In all …

Mammalian Nest Predation In Mississippi Sandhill Cranes, Rose Butler

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Low recruitment is the largest challenge facing the recovery of the critically endangered Mississippi sandhill crane (MSC, Grus canadensis pulla). Lack of information on nest predation and the impacts of specific nest predator species hinder effective management to lower nest predation rates. I have completed my first year of a 2-year research project on mammalian predation at the MSC National Wildlife Refuge in Gautier, Mississippi. I aim to identify common nest predators, determine if nest predation rates are higher in certain nesting habitats than others, and if different mammalian predators are more common in certain nesting habitats than others. …

Effects Of Changes In Agriculture And Abundance Of Snow Geese On Carrying Capacity Of Sandhill Cranes During Spring, Aaron T. Pearse, Gary L. Krapu, David A. Brandt

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

The Central Platte River Valley (CPRV) in Nebraska is a key spring staging area for approximately 80% of the midcontinent population of sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis). Evidence that cranes currently are acquiring fat less efficiently than in the past along with a large increase in use of the CPRVby snow geese (Chen caerulescens) led us to evaluate waste-corn availability and index spatial and temporal variation in abundance of sandhill cranes and waterfowl using the CPRV. We also developed a predictive model to assess impact of changes in availability of corn under past, present, and potential future conditions. Predicted …

Whooping Crane Titers In Response To Eastern Equine Encephalitis Immunization, Glenn H. Olsen

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) is a viral disease caused by a vector-borne alphavirus. Various bird species, primarily native passerines in eastern North America, act as reservoir hosts without suffering clinical disease. When outbreaks occur, the disease is maintained and amplified through a mosquito-wild bird-mosquito cycle. EEE does not cause morbidity or mortality in North American passerines, but does cause mortality in some non-native birds such as pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) and emus (Dromiceius novaehollandiae) (Tengelsen et al. 2001) plus horses (Main 1979) and humans. Between September and December 1984, EEE killed 7 of 39 captive whooping cranes …

The Impact Of Rare Taxa On A Fish Index Of Biotic Integrity, Haibo Wan, Christopher J. Chizinski, Christine L. Dolph, Bruce Vondracek, Bruce N. Wilson

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

The index of biotic integrity (IBI) is a commonly used bioassessment tool that integrates abundance and richness measures to assess water quality. In developing IBIs that are both responsive to human disturbance and resistant to natural variability and sampling error, water managersmust decide how to weigh information about rare and abundant taxa, which in turn requires an understanding of the sensitivity of indices to rare taxa. Herein, we investigated the influence of rare fish taxa (within the lower 5% of rank abundance curves) on IBI metric and total scores for stream sites in two of Minnesota’smajor river basins, the St. …

Ducks, Geese, And Swans Of The World: Tribe Cereopsini (Cape Barren Goose), Paul A. Johnsgard

Ducks, Geese, and Swans of the World by Paul A. Johnsgard

Cape Barren Goose
Several recent studies have suggested that this unusual Australian gooselike bird is not very closely related to either the true geese or the sheldgeese, although it shares some traits with both groups. It has some unique traits, such as its unusually swollen bill, its adaptations to a terrestrial existence on the coastline and islands of the Bass Strait, and its very simple syringeal structure. Like the freckled duck, it is perhaps best considered as a survivor of a group transitional between the two major subfamilies of waterfowl that exist at the present time.

Ducks, Geese, And Swans Of The World: Tribe Anatini (Dabbling Or Surface-Feeding Ducks), Paul A. Johnsgard

Ducks, Geese, and Swans of the World by Paul A. Johnsgard

Blue Duck ● Salvadori Duck ● African Black Duck ● Eurasian Wigeon ● American Wigeon ● Chiloe Wigeon ● Falcated Duck ● Gadwall ● Baikal Teal ● Green-winged Teal ● Speckled Teal ● Cape Teal ● Madagascan Teal ● Gray Teal ● Chestnut Teal ● Brown Teal ● Mallard ● North American Black Duck ● Meller Duck ● Yellow-billed Duck ● Gray Duck ● Philippine Duck ● Bronze-winged Duck ● Crested Duck ● Pintail ● Brown Pintail ● White-cheeked Pintail ● Red-billed Pintail ● Silver Teal ● Hottentot Teal ● Garganey ● Blue-winged Teal ● Cinnamon Teal ● Red Shoveler …

The World’S Waterfowl In The 21st Century: A 2010 Supplement To Ducks, Geese, And Swans Of The World, Paul A. Johnsgard

Ducks, Geese, and Swans of the World by Paul A. Johnsgard

Since the 1978 publication of my Ducks, Geese and Swans of the World hundreds if not thousands of publications on the Anatidae have appeared, making a comprehensive literature supplement and text updating impossible. Janet Kear’s (2005) survey of the waterfowl family Anatidae and closely related screamers of the family Anhimidae included more than 3,700 references, of which a significant proportion appeared later than 1978. My revision of the Anseriformes (families Anatidae and Anhimidae) for the 2nd edition of J. C. Peters’ Check-List of the Birds of the World (Johnsgard, 1979) closely followed the classification structure and taxonomic sequence that had …

Wpa News 86 (2010/2011), World Pheasant Association

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Newsletters

WPA News (Winter 2010/2011), number 86

Published by the World Pheasant Association

School Of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences: 2010 Annual Report

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Information and History

On September 4, 2009, The Department of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences was renamed the School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. The School is informally organized into six functional areas: • Undergraduate Teaching • Research and Graduate Studies • Extension • Veterinary Diagnostic Center (VDC) • Great Plains Veterinary Educational Center (GPVEC) • Professional Program in Veterinary Medicine (PPVM) While teaching and research activities bridge the entire faculty, subsets of the faculty are primarily involved with one area, i.e., the undergraduate program, the research and graduate program, the veterinary medical students clinical teaching at the GPVEC, the pre-clinical teaching …

Effect Of Pen Mates On Growth, Backfat Depth, And Longissimus Muscle Area Of Swine, W. L. Hsu, Rodger K. Johnson, L. Dale Van Vleck

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Records on final BW (kg), backfat depth (cm), and LM area (cm²) of pigs from a University of Nebraska Large White/Landrace composite population were analyzed to estimate the effects of pen mates. Measurements were at approximately 180 d of age for 3,524 pigs in 351 pens (9 to 11 pigs per pen) farrowed from 1999 to 2005. The area of each pen was 8.13 m². The full model (M1) included the fixed effects of contemporary group, sex, line, and the covariates of age and inbreeding coefficient, and included random direct genetic, genetic pen-mate, permanent environmental, pen, …

Feed Intake Of Sheep As Affected By Body Weight, Breed, Sex, And Feed Composition, R. M. Lewis, G. C. Emmans

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

The hypotheses tested were that genetic size-scaling for mature BW (A, kg) would reduce variation in intake between kinds of sheep and that quadratic polynomials on u = BW/A with zero intercept would provide good descriptions of the relationship between scaled intake (SI, g/A0.73 d) and degree of maturity in BW (u) across feeds of differing quality. Both sexes of Suffolk sheep from 2 experimental lines (n = 225) and from 3 breed types (Suffolk, Scottish Blackface, and their cross; n = 149) were recorded weekly for ad libitum feed intake and BW; recording of intake was from weaning through, …

The Influence Of Affiliative Relations On Copulatory Behaviors Of Tibetan Macaques (Macaca Thibetana), Laura P. Ginn

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The genus Macaca is the largest and most widely distributed primate genus, but M. thibetana remains understudied. Field research on this species has focused on dominance style, post-conflict behaviors, and the effects of eco-tourism, with limited research on sexual selection. As a sexually dimorphic species with linear hierarchies, rank is expected to play a role in mate choice; however, recent data suggest that male rank is not correlated with mating. This study examined affiliative behaviors of male-female dyads in a free-living group of Tibetan macaques at Mt. Huangshan, China to assess whether affiliative interactions influenced copulation patterns. The proportion of …

Effects Of Uv Light On Local Stream Frog Behavior, John Buie, Eiichiro Uemura, Candy Hwang, D. Lee, Craig Sutter, Evan Mattiasen, Thomas Vandergon, Rodney Honeycutt, Lee Kats

Featured Research

Amphibian declines have been well documented throughout the world. Several studies have examined whether UV radiation from the sun is a possible contributing cause to declining populations. In Southern California, two closely related species of treefrogs, Pseudacris hypochondriaca and Pseudacris cadaverina, coexist in many perennial streams. P. hypochondriaca is primarily nocturnal while P. cadaverina is known to bask in direct sunlight. The purpose of the study is to determine how the two different species of frogs will react under different types of light emitted by a portable flashlight. The light was emitting either UV radiation or visible light, or …