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International Crane Foundation Sponsored Environmental Education: Conservation Of The Cuban Sandhill Crane, Korie M. Klink

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

The International Crane Foundation (ICF) has supported crane conservation, education and research activities in Cuba since 1995. Groups of American educators and researchers visit the island, contributing to annual crane festivals, school activities, survey work, assessments and cross-cultural communication. The goals of ICF’s environmental education program in Cuba are to: Disseminate information about ICF and crane conservation to American and Cuban educators and students, and to empower them to carry on ICF’s mission in their classrooms and communities; Participate actively in the Cuban Crane Festival while interacting with and supporting Cuban educators, biologists, and professionals; Develop activities, educational programs and …

Genetic Assessment Of Non-Migratory Sandhill Crane Populations, K. L. Jones, F. Chavez-Ramirez, X. Galvez-Aguilera, L. Torella, M. V. Ashley

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Partial migration, the tendency of a segment of a population to remain resident while others migrate between their seasonal breeding and wintering ranges, is well known for many bird species. The objective of this study is to quantify the population structure and historical and recent gene flow patterns among non-migratory sandhills using microsatellite DNA genotyping of a large number of sandhills collected from six populations; and to assess if the population subdivisions are consistent with theories of partial migration. Our results indicate a complex web of gene flow within non-migratory populations, as well as between migratory and non-migratory populations. Gene …

Proceedings Of The Ninth North American Crane Workshop, January 17–20, 2003, Table Of Contents

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

No abstract provided.

Reintroduction Techniques: Post-Release Performance Of Sandhill Cranes (1) Released Into Wild Flocks And (2) Led On Migration By Ultralight Aircraft, Richard P. Urbanek, Joseph W. Duff, Scott R. Swengel, Lara E. A. Fondow

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Two methods of reintroducing a migratory population of whooping cranes (Grus americana) were tested with costume/ isolation-reared juvenile greater sandhill cranes (G. canadensis tabida): (1) release into wild flocks during autumn staging and (2) leading on autumn migration by ultralight aircraft. Birds in the first group were released singly, and all integrated quickly into the wild flocks and adopted similar behavioral patterns. Birds in the second group were led to winter on an inland site on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Most of the birds led by ultralight aircraft remained in their juvenile cohort through the …

Sandhill Crane Use Of Managed Chufa Wetlands In New Mexico, John P. Taylor, Loren M. Smith

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Natural wetland food plants help meet energetic requirements for sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis). Chufa (Cyperus esculentus) tubers were found to be a prominent item in the winter diet of cranes in New Mexico and Texas. In 1996 and 1997, chufa production was compared among mowing, discing, and sustained-flooding treatments intended to enhance chufa tuber growth. Sandhill crane numbers were monitored on wetlands during winter flooding to determine treatment preferences. No differences in sandhill crane use of treated wetlands were found in 1996, however in 1997, crane use was higher on disked field than sustained flood fields …

An Adaptive Approach To Channel Management On The Platte River, Kent Pfeiffer, Paul Currier

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

The mission of the Platte River Whooping Crane Maintenance Trust is to protect and manage habitat in the Platte valley for whooping cranes, sandhill cranes, and other migratory birds. The plan for meeting this mission calls for the creation and maintenance of eleven habitat complexes distributed through the central Platte valley. Each habitat complex is intended to consist of 1,000 ha of wet meadows and adjacent roost habitat of open, unvegetated river channel. Reduced flows in the river have caused its channel to narrow with banks that are often heavily wooded. Formerly mobile sand bars have stabilized and support dense …

Migration Chronology, Routes, And Distribution Of Pacific Flyway Population Lesser Sandhill Cranes, Michael J. Petrula, Thomas C. Rothe

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Managers of migratory game birds require accurate information about bird movements to delineate populations, protect important habitats, and regulate harvest. Data describing movements of sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) belonging to the Pacific Flyway Population (PFP) are lacking. We used satellite telemetry to monitor movements of PFP lesser sandhill cranes (Grus c. canadensis) captured in the upper Cook Inlet and Bristol Bay regions of Alaska. Satellite transmitters were deployed on 19 flightless young (colts) and 3 adults over 3-years (2000-2002). Chronology, routes, and stopover or staging areas were identified for fall and spring migration periods. On average, …

Ecology Of The Missouri River. Progress Report, Dingell-Johnson Project F-75-R-23, Supplement I - Missouri River Creel Survey, Bellevue To Camp Creek, 2 April Through 14 October 2005, Gerald Mestl

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

This report describes Missouri River activities and results related to a channelized Missouri River creel survey conducted from 2 April through 14 October 2005. This is the sixth of a planned annual creel survey to be conducted on alternating sections of the channelized Missouri River to measure changes in recreational fishing activity, especially those changes due to large scale habitat restoration efforts. We returned to the Bellevue to Camp Creek reach in 2005 because we had to cancel the creel on this reach in 2004 after the second creel period due to lack of personnel. Future reports will contain additional …

Aggregate Measures Of Ecosystem Services: Can We Take The Pulse Of Nature?, Laura A. Meyerson, Jill Baron, Jerry M. Melillo, Robert J. Naiman, Robin I. O'Malley, Gordon Orians, Margaret A. Palmer, Alexander S. P. Pfaff, Steven W. Running, Osvaldo E. Sala

Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences Faculty Publications

National scale aggregate indicators of ecosystem services are useful for stimulating and supporting a broad public discussion about trends in the provision of these services. There are important considerations involved in producing an aggregate indicator, including whether the scientific and technological capacity exists, how to address varying perceptions of the societal importance of different services, and how to communicate information about these services to both decision makers and the general public. Although the challenges are formidable, they are not insurmountable. Quantification of ecosystem services and dissemination of information to decision makers and the public is critical for the responsible and …

Knowing When To Draw The Line: Designing More Informative Ecological Experiments, Kathryn L. Cottingham, Jay T. Lennon, Bryan L. Brown

Dartmouth Scholarship

Linear regression and analysis of variance (ANOVA) are two of the most widely used statistical techniques in ecology. Regression quantitatively describes the relationship between a response variable and one or more continuous independent variables, while ANOVA determines whether a response variable differs among discrete values of the independent variable(s). Designing experiments with discrete factors is straightforward because ANOVA is the only option, but what is the best way to design experiments involving continuous factors? Should ecologists prefer experiments with few treatments and many replicates analyzed with ANOVA, or experiments with many treatments and few replicates per treatment analyzed with regression? …

Status And Trends In Water Quality And Living Resources In The Virginia Chesapeake Bay: York River (1985-2003), Daniel M. Dauer

Status and Trends for Virginia Chesapeake Bay

The Virginia Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries continue to show some environmental trends indicating progress toward restoration of a more balanced and healthy ecosystem. However, the Bay system remains degraded and some areas and indicators show continuing degradation. Progress in reducing nutrient inputs has made demonstrable improvements and we expect that continued progress toward nutrient reduction goals, along with appropriate fisheries management and chemical contaminant controls, will result in additional improvements to the Bay. Findings from the last 18 years of the monitoring programs are highlighted below. In 1995, the Virginia DEQ instituted changes to its analytical techniques for …

Benthic Fisheries Ecology In A Changing Environment: Unraveling Process To Achieve Prediction, Mark J. Butler Iv

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Marine fisheries and the ecosystems that sustain them are increasingly beset by environmental deterioration, and the problem is particularly acute in coastal zones where human Populations are increasing. In the best of circumstances, fishery managers are faced with the multiple, often conflicting, demands of resource users, politicians, and scientists when considering strategies for resource management. A further challenge is that management decisions must be made against a backdrop of a deteriorating environment and the shifting status of coastal ecosystem integrity. Traditional tools for single-species management may be inadequate in these settings. Furthermore. the necessary empirical data to appropriately parameterize models …

Status And Trends In Water Quality And Living Resources In The Virginia Chesapeake Bay: Rappahannock River (1985-2003), Daniel M. Dauer, Harold G. Marshall, John R. Donat, Michael F. Lane, Suzanne C. Doughten, Frederick A. Hoffman

Status and Trends for Virginia Chesapeake Bay

The Virginia Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries continue to show some environmental trends indicating progress toward restoration of a more balanced and healthy ecosystem. However, the Bay system remains degraded and some areas and indicators show continuing degradation. Progress in reducing nutrient inputs has made demonstrable improvements and we expect that continued progress toward nutrient reduction goals, along with appropriate fisheries management and chemical contaminant controls, will result in additional improvements to the Bay. Findings from the last 18 years of the monitoring programs are highlighted below. In 1995, the Virginia DEQ instituted changes to its analytical techniques for …

Status And Trends In Water Quality And Living Resources In The Virginia Chesapeake Bay: James River (1985-2003), Daniel M. Dauer, Harold G. Marshall, John R. Donat, Michael F. Lane, Suzanne C. Doughten, Frederick A. Hoffman

Status and Trends for Virginia Chesapeake Bay

The Virginia Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries continue to show some environmental trends indicating progress toward restoration of a more balanced and healthy ecosystem. However, the Bay system remains degraded and some areas and indicators show continuing degradation. Progress in reducing nutrient inputs has made demonstrable improvements and we expect that continued progress toward nutrient reduction goals, along with appropriate fisheries management and chemical contaminant controls, will result in additional improvements to the Bay. Findings from the last 18 years of the monitoring programs are highlighted below.

In 1995, the Virginia DEQ instituted changes to its analytical techniques for …

Landscape Ecology Of Birds On Mount Leconte, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Andreas P. Damalas

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Landbirds form a significant component of wildlife resources in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The present study explored how forest structure and composition of deciduous-coniferous ecotones influenced diversity, richness, and relative abundance of bird species and how bird species responded to the spruce-fir community.

Using a form of the variable-circular plot method, I conducted audio-visual censuses of diurnal birds on Mount LeConte. I established 212 geo-referenced census points on six trails, which were used as gradient-oriented transects (gradsects). I measured habitat characteristics at the same census points. I used forest community types for each point on gradsects to delineate …

Are Leptodactylus Didymus And L. Mystaceus Phylogenetically Sibling Species (Amphibia, Anura, Leptodactylidae)?, Rafael O. De Sá, W. R. Heyer, Arley Camargo

Biology Faculty Publications

The Leptodactylus fuscus species group consists of 25 currently recognized species; within this species group and distributed throughout the Amazon Basin, Atlantic Forests, Gran Chaco, and cerrados is the L. mystaceus species complex. This species complex consists of L. didymus, L. elenae, L. mystaceus, L. notoaktites, and L. spixi. Adult morphologies have been used to distinguish these species from each other except for L. didymus and L. mystaceus (Heyer, 1978; Heyer et al., 1996). Leptodactylus didymus and L. mystaceus are morphologically indistinguishable; the species are recognizable only by the characteristics of their advertisement calls: non-pulsed in L. didymus and pulsed …

Population Dynamics Of Oryzomys Palustris And Microtus Pennsylvanicus In Virginia Tidal Marshes, Christopher P. Bloch, Robert K. Rose

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Oryzomys palustris (marsh rice rat) and Microtus pennsylvanicus (meadow vole) cohabit coastal marshes in the mid-Atlantic US. Both were live-trapped for 23 months at two tidal marsh sites in Virginia to assess their demography near the margins of their distributions. In the presence of dense vegetation, population dynamics of the two species were seasonal and positively correlated, with densities declining through the winter. At the more sparsely vegetated site, densities of both species were lower, and densities of M. pennsylvanicus were negatively correlated with those of O. palustris. Patterns of reproduction differed between the species. O. palustris was reproductively …

Can We Have It Both Ways?, L. James Gibson

Perspective Digest

No abstract provided.

Checking Your Brain At The Church Door?, Allen Shepherd

Journal of the Adventist Theological Society

No abstract provided.

Circulation, Mixing And The Distribution Of Remineralized Nutrients, Larry P. Atkinson, John Huthnance, Jose L. Blanco

CCPO Publications

No abstract provided.

Decline And Recovery Of A High Arctic Wolf-Prey System, L. David Mech

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

A long-existing system of wolves (Canis lupus), muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus), and arctic hares (Lepus arcticus) in a 2600 km² area of Canada’s High Arctic (80° N latitude) began collapsing in 1997 because of unusual adverse summer weather but recovered to a level at which all three species were reproducing by 2004. Recovery of wolf presence and reproduction appeared to be more dependent on muskox increase than on hare increase.

Un vieux système biologique composé de loups (Canis lupus), de boeufs musqués (Ovibos moschatus) et de lièvres arctiques (Lepus …

Bears Remain Top Summer Predators, Shannon M. Barber, L. David Mech, P. J. White

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

In the ten years since wolves (Canis lupus) were restored to Yellowstone National Park (YNP), elk (Cervus elaphus) numbers have substantially decreased. The northern range elk herd is the largest elk herd in Yellowstone, and constitutes the majority of the park’s elk population. During 1994–2005, early winter counts of northern Yellowstone elk decreased from 19,045 to 9,545. Also, during winters 2000–2004, calf:cow ratios declined from 29:100 to 12:100, and were among the lowest recorded during the past several decades. Though many factors (e.g., predation, hunting, and drought) likely contributed to this decreasing abundance and low recruitment, …

Geographic And Ontogenetic Variation In The Contact Calls Of The Kea, Alan B. Bond, Judy Diamond

Papers in Behavior in Biological Sciences

Regional and ontogenetic variation in the contact calls of the kea (Nestor notabilis), an omnivorous and socially complex New Zealand parrot, were examined throughout the range of the species. We recorded samples of kee-ah contact calls from sixteen resident adults and eleven juveniles and demonstrated significant differences between age classes in the acoustic form of the vocalization. Canonical correlation analysis revealed a gradient in the form of the kee-ah call in both adults and juveniles along and across the escarpment of the Southern Alps, the primary longitudinal mountain range on the South Island of New Zealand. Although the …

Terrestrial Behavior Of Ateles Spp., Christina J. Campbell, Filippo Aureli, Colin A. Chapman, Gabriel Ramos-Fernández, Kim Matthews, Sabrina E. Russo, Scott Suarez, Laura Vick

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Spider monkeys (Ateles spp.) are well known for their highly arboreal lifestyle, spending much of their time in the highest levels of the canopy and rarely venturing to the ground. To investigate terrestriality by Ateles and to illuminate the conditions under which spider monkeys venture to the ground, we analyzed ad libitum data from 5 study sites, covering 2 species and 5 subspecies. Three of the sites are in Central/North America: Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama (Ateles geoffroyi panamensis), Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica (A. g. frontatus), and Punta Laguna, Mexico (A. g. yucatanensis). The 2 remaining sites are …

Complex Signal Function: Developing A Framework Of Testable Hypotheses, Eileen Hebets, Daniel R. Papaj

Eileen Hebets Publications

The basic building blocks of communication are signals, assembled in various sequences and combinations, and used in virtually all inter- and intra-specific interactions. While signal evolution has long been a focus of study, there has been a recent resurgence of interest and research in the complexity of animal displays. Much past research on signal evolution has focused on sensory specialists, or on single signals in isolation, but many animal displays involve complex signaling, or the combination of more than one signal or related component, often serially and overlapping, frequently across multiple sensory modalities. Here, we build a framework of functional …

Evaluation Of Ecological Risk To Populations Of A Threatened Plant From An Invasive Biocontrol Insect, Svata M. Louda, Tatyana A. Rand, A. E. Arnett, A. S. Mcclay, K. Shea, K. Mceachern

Svata M. Louda Publications

Controversy exists over estimation of ecological risk in biological control. At present, the risk to the rare, federally listed Pitcher’s thistle (Cirsium pitcheri) in North America from Rhinocyllus conicus, a biological control weevil now feeding on many native thistles, is unknown. We hypothesized that quantification of host specificity and potential phenological overlap between insect and plant would improve assessment of the magnitude of risk. In laboratory host specificity tests, we found no significant difference in R. conicus feeding or oviposition preference between the rare C. pitcheri and the targeted exotic weed (Carduus nutans) or between …

Possible Recent Range Expansion Of Alcataenia Longicervica (Eucestoda: Dilepididae) Parasitic In Murres Uria Spp. (Alcidae) Into The North Atlantic [Short Communications], Sabir B. Muzaffar, Eric P. Hoberg, Ian L. Jones

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

A wide range of helminths has been recorded from murres Uria spp. (Threlfall 1971, reviewed by Hoberg 1984a, Muzaffar & Jones 2004). Of the cyclophyllidean cestodes that parasitize murres, the genus Alcataenia Spasskaya 1971 (Dilepididae) is represented by ten species, eight of which are restricted and specific to the auks; the other two species occur in gulls (Laridae). The intermediate hosts of Alcataenia are euphausiid crustaceans such as species of Thysanoessa (Shimazu 1975), which also form an important dietary component of breeding and wintering murres, particularly Thick-billed Murres Uria lomvia (Gaston & Noble 1985, Birkhead & Nettleship 1987, Elliot et …

Caudal Polymorphism And Cephalic Morphology Among First-Stage Larvae Of Parelaphostrongylus Odocoilei (Protostrongylidae: Elaphostrongylinae) In Dall’S Sheep From The Mackenzie Mountains, Canada, Eric P. Hoberg, Emily J. Jenkins, Benjamin Rosenthal, Mayee Wong, Eric F. Erbe, Susan J. Kutz, Lydden Polley

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

We demonstrate polymorphism in the structure of the tail among first-stage larvae of Parelaphostrongylus odocoilei (Protostrongylidae). Two distinct larvae, both with a characteristic dorsal spine, include (1) a morphotype with a kinked conical tail marked by three distinct transverse folds or joints and a symmetrical terminal tail spike and (2) a morphotype with a digitate terminal region lacking folds or joints and with an asymmetrical, subterminal tail spike. These divergent larval forms had been postulated as perhaps representing distinct species of elaphostrongyline nematodes. Application of a multilocus approach using ITS-2 sequences from the nuclear genome and COX-II sequences from the …

Natural History And Karyology Of The Yucatán Vesper Mouse, Otonyctomys Hatti, Hugh H. Genoways, Robert M. Timm, Mark D. Engstrom

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Seventeen specimens of the rare Yucatán vesper mouse, Otonyctomys hatti, are now known from Belize, Guatemala, and the Mexican states of Campeche, Quintana Roo, and Yucatán. We herein report a second specimen of O. hatti, from Belize, extending the known geographic range of the species 95 km to the southeast in the country. This is the first location at which O. hatti has been taken sympatrically with the Central American vesper mouse, Nyctomys sumichrasti. We also report data on three additional specimens of O. hatti from Campeche. Nyctomys and Otonyctomys share similar habits and habitat requirements, and …

The Status And Impact Of The Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus Haematodus Moluccanus) In South-West Western Australia, Tamara Chapman

Agriculture reports

This report provides a summary of the biology and ecology of the rainbow lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus moluccanus), examines the status and management of the rainbow lorikeet in other regions; assesses the threats posed by the feral population in south-west Western Australia; and formulates the aims and objectives for an integrated pest management program.