Digital Commons Network^™

Genome Sequence Of Staphylococcus Pseudintermedius Strain E140, An St71 European-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Isolate, Arshnee Moodley, Matthew C. Riley, Stephen A. Kania, Luca Guardabassi

United States Army: Publications

We report the first genome sequence of the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP) strain E140, isolated from a canine bite wound infection in Denmark. This strain represents the dominant clonal lineage associated with canine MRSP infections in Europe.

Role Of Nitrogen Limitation In Transformation Of Rdx (Hexahydro- 1,3,5-Trinitro-1,3,5-Triazine) By Gordonia Sp. Strain Ktr9, Karl J. Indest, Dawn E. Hancock, Carina M. Jung, Jed O. Eberly, William W. Mohn, Lindsay D. Eltis, Fiona H. Crocker

United States Army: Publications

The transcriptome of RDX (hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine)-degrading strain Gordonia sp. strain KTR9 and its glnR mutant were studied as a function of nitrogen availability to further investigate the observed ammonium-mediated inhibition of RDX degradation. The results indicate that nitrogen availability is a major determinant of RDX degradation and xplA gene expression in KTR9.

Ifitm-2 And Ifitm-3 But Not Ifitm-1 Restrict Rift Valley Fever Virus, Rajini Mudhasani, Julie P. Tran, Cary Retterer, Sheli R. Radoshitzky, Krishna P. Kota, Louis A. Altamura, Jeffrey M. Smith, Beverly Z. Packard, Jens H. Kuhn, Julie Costantino, Aura R. Garrison, Connie S. Schmaljohn, I-Chueh Huang, Michael Farzan, Sina Bavari

United States Army: Publications

We show that interferon-induced transmembrane protein 1 (IFITM-1), IFITM-2, and IFITM-3 exhibit a broad spectrum of antiviral activity against several members of the Bunyaviridae family, including Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV), La Crosse virus, Andes virus, and Hantaan virus, all of which can cause severe disease in humans and animals. We found that RVFV was restricted by IFITM-2 and -3 but not by IFITM-1, whereas the remaining viruses were equally restricted by all IFITMs. Indeed, at low doses of alpha interferon (IFNα), IFITM-2 and -3 mediated more than half of the antiviral activity of IFNα against RVFV. IFITM-2 and -3 …

Transgenic Parasites Stably Expressing Full-Length Plasmodium Falciparum Circumsporozoite Protein As A Model For Vaccine Down- Selection In Mice Using Sterile Protection As An Endpoint, Michael D. Porter, Jennifer Nicki, Christopher D. Pool, Margot Debot, Ratish M. Illam, Clara Brando, Brooke Bozick, Patricia De La Vega, Divya Angra, Roberta Spaccapelo, Andrea Crisanti, Jittawadee R. Murphy, Jason W. Bennett, Robert J. Schwenk, Christian F. Ockenhouse, Sheetij Dutta

United States Army: Publications

Circumsporozoite protein (CSP) of Plasmodium falciparum is a protective human malaria vaccine candidate. There is an urgent need for models that can rapidly down-select novel CSP-based vaccine candidates. In the present study, the mouse-mosquito transmission cycle of a transgenic Plasmodium berghei malaria parasite stably expressing a functional full-length P. falciparum CSP was optimized to consistently produce infective sporozoites for protection studies. A minimal sporozoite challenge dose was established, and protection was defined as the absence of blood-stage parasites 14 days after intravenous challenge. The specificity of protection was confirmed by vaccinating mice with multiple CSP constructs of differing lengths and …

Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus Replicon Particle Vaccine Protects Nonhuman Primates From Intramuscular And Aerosol Challenge With Ebolavirus, Andrew S. Herbert, Ana I. Kuehne, James F. Barth, Ramon A. Ortiz, Donald K. Nichols, Samantha E. Zak, Spencer W. Stonier, Majidat A. Muhammad, Russell R. Bakken, Laura I. Prugar, Gene G. Olinger, Jennifer L. Groebner, John S. Lee, William D. Pratt, Max Custer, Kurt I. Kamrud, Jonathan F. Smith, Mary Kate Hart, John M. Dye

United States Army: Publications

There are no vaccines or therapeutics currently approved for the prevention or treatment of ebolavirus infection. Previously, a replicon vaccine based on Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) demonstrated protective efficacy against Marburg virus in nonhuman primates. Here, we report the protective efficacy of Sudan virus (SUDV)- and Ebola virus (EBOV)-specific VEEV replicon particle (VRP) vaccines in nonhuman primates. VRP vaccines were developed to express the glycoprotein (GP) of either SUDV or EBOV. A single intramuscular vaccination of cynomolgus macaques with VRP expressing SUDV GP provided complete protection against intramuscular challenge with SUDV. Vaccination against SUDV and subsequent survival of SUDV …

Evaluation Of Sunlight-Exposed Pyrethroid-Treated Netting For The Control Of Face Fly And Housefly (Diptera: Muscidae), George W. Peck, Holly J. Ferguson, Jane T. Lepage, Vincent R. Hebert, Sally D. O'Neal, Douglas B. Walsh

United States Army: Publications

BACKGROUND: Faceflies, Musca autumnalis DeGeer (Diptera: Muscidae),and houseflies, Musca domestica L. (Diptera: Muscidae), have a significant impact on livestock and dairy production throughout North America. Pyrethroid insecticide efficacy can be affected by exposure to direct sunlight, and the rate of photodegradation is substrate and formulation dependent. Insecticidetreated netting (ITN) is finding new applications in crop and livestock production systems. A baseline study using long-duration no-choice assays has been carried out to gauge the effectiveness of ITN treated with β-cyfluthrin, λ-cyhalothrin and bifenthrin on face flies and houseflies.

RESULTS: After 12 weeks in direct sunlight, ITN treated with β-cyfluthrin was still …

Characterization Of The Uukuniemi Virus Group (Phlebovirus: Bunyaviridae): Evidence For Seven Distinct Species, Gustavo Oalacios, Nazir Savji, Amelia Tracassos Da Rosa, Hilda Guzman, Xuejie Yu, Aaloki Desai, Gail Emilia Rosen, Stephen Hutchison, W. Ian Lipkin, Robert Tesh

United States Army: Publications

Evolutionary insights into the phleboviruses are limited because of an imprecise classification scheme based on partial nucleotide sequences and scattered antigenic relationships. In this report, the serologic and phylogenetic relationships of the Uukuniemi group viruses and their relationships with other recently characterized tick-borne phleboviruses are described using full length genome sequences. We propose that the viruses currently included in the Uukuniemi virus group be assigned to five different species as follows: Uukuniemi virus, EgAn 1825-61 virus, Fin V707 virus, Chizé virus, and Zaliv Terpenia virus would be classified into the Uukuniemi species; Murre virus, RML-105-105355 …

Immunization Of Mice With Formalin-Inactivated Spores From Avirulent Bacillus Cereus Strains Provides Significant Protection From Challenge With Bacillus Anthracis Ames, James M. Vergis, Christopher K. Cote, Joel Bozue, Farhang Alem, Christy L. Ventura, Susan L. Welkos, Alison D. O’Brien

United States Army: Publications

Bacillus anthracis spores are the infectious form of the organism for humans and animals. However, the approved human vaccine in the United States is derived from a vegetative culture filtrate of a toxigenic, nonencapsulated B. anthracis strain that primarily contains protective antigen (PA). Immunization of mice with purified spore proteins and formalin-inactivated spores (FIS) from a nonencapsulated, nontoxigenic B. anthracis strain confers protection against B. anthracis challenge when PA is also administered. To investigate the capacity of the spore particle to act as a vaccine without PA, we immunized mice subcutaneously with FIS from nontoxigenic, nonencapsulated B. cereus strain G9241 …

Characterization Of The Burkholderia Thailandensis Sos Response By Using Whole-Transcriptome Shotgun Sequencing, Ricky L. Ulrich, David Deshazer, Tara A. Kenny, Melanie P. Ulrich, Anna Moravusova, Timonthy Opperman, Sina Bavari, Terry L. Bowlin, Donald T. Molr, Rekha G. Panchal

United States Army: Publications

The bacterial SOS response is a well-characterized regulatory network encoded by most prokaryotic bacterial species and is involved in DNA repair. In addition to nucleic acid repair, the SOS response is involved in pathogenicity, stress-induced mutagenesis, and the emergence and dissemination of antibiotic resistance. Using high-throughput sequencing technology (SOLiD RNASeq), we analyzed the Burkholderia thailandensis global SOS response to the fluoroquinolone antibiotic, ciprofloxacin (CIP), and the DNA-damaging chemical, mitomycin C (MMC). We demonstrate that a B. thailandensis recA mutant (RU0643) is approximately 4- fold more sensitive to CIP in contrast to the parental strain B. thailandensis DW503. Our RNA-Seq results …

Characterization Of Amiba2446, A Novel Bacteriolytic Enzyme Active Against Bacillus Species, Krunal K. Mehta, Elena E. Paskaleva, Saba Azizi-Ghannad, Daniel J. Ley, Martin A. Page, Jonathan S. Dordick, Ravl S. Kane

United States Army: Publications

There continues to be a need for developing efficient and environmentally friendly treatments for Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax. One emerging approach for inactivation of vegetative B. anthracis is the use of bacteriophage endolysins or lytic enzymes encoded by bacterial genomes (autolysins) with highly evolved specificity toward bacterium-specific peptidoglycan cell walls. In this work, we performed in silico analysis of the genome of Bacillus anthracis strain Ames, using a consensus binding domain amino acid sequence as a probe, and identified a novel lytic enzyme that we termed AmiBA2446. This enzyme exists as a homodimer, as determined by …

Inducing Humoral And Cellular Responses To Multiple Sporozoite And Liver-Stage Malaria Antigens Using Exogenous Plasmid Dna, B. Ferraro, K. T. Talbott, A. Balakrishnan, N. Cisper, M. P. Morrow, N. A. Hutnick, D. J. Myles, D. J. Shedlock, N. Obeng-Adjel, J. Yan, A. K. K. Kayatani, N. Richie, W. Cabrera, R. Shiver, A. S. Khan, A. S. Brown, M. Yang, U. Willie-Reece, A. J. Birkett, N. Y. Sardesai, D. B. Weiner

United States Army: Publications

A vaccine candidate that elicits humoral and cellular responses to multiple sporozoite and liver-stage antigens may be able to confer protection against Plasmodium falciparum malaria; however, a technology for formulating and delivering such a vaccine has remained elusive. Here, we report the preclinical assessment of an optimizedDNAvaccine approach that targets four P. falciparum antigens: circumsporozoite protein (CSP), liver stage antigen 1 (LSA1), thrombospondin-related anonymous protein (TRAP), and cell-traversal protein for ookinetes and sporozoites (CelTOS). Synthetic DNA sequences were designed for each antigen with modifications to improve expression and were delivered using in vivo electroporation (EP). Immunogenicity was evaluated in mice …

Ixodid Ticks Associated With Feral Swine In Texas, David M. Sanders, Anthony L. Schuster, P. Wesley Mccardle, Otto F. Strey, Terry L. Blankenship, Pete D. Teel

United States Army: Publications

Ixodid ticks were collected from feral swine in eight Texas ecoregions from 2008-2011. Sixty-two percent of 806 feral swine were infested with one or more of the following species: Amblyomma americanum, A. cajennense, A. maculatum, Dermacentor albipictus, D. halli, D. variabilis, and Ixodes scapularis. Juvenile and adult feral swine of both sexes were found to serve as host to ixodid ticks. Longitudinal surveys of feral swine at four geographic locations show persistent year-round tick infestations of all gender-age classes for tick species common to their respective geographic locations and …

Comparative Studies Of Differential Gene Calling Using Rna-Seq Data, Ximeng Zheng, Etsuko N. Moriyama

Center for Plant Science Innovation: Faculty Publications

Background: With its massive amount of data, gene-expression profiling by RNA-Seq has many advantanges compared with microarray experiments. RNA-Seq analysis, however, is fundamentally different from microarray data analysis. Techniques developed for analyzing microarray data thus cannot be directly applicable for the digital gene expression data. Several statistical methods have been developed for identifying differentially expressed genes specifically from RNA-Seq data over the past few years.
Results: In this study, we examined the performance of differential gene-calling methods using RNA-Seq data in practical situations. We focused on two representative methods: one parametric method, DESeq, and one nonparametric method, NOISeq. …

A Novel Function Prediction Approach Using Protein Overlap Networks, Shide Liang, Dandan Zheng, Daron M. Standley, Huarong Guo, Chi Zhang

Center for Plant Science Innovation: Faculty Publications

Background: Construction of a reliable network remains the bottleneck for network-based protein function prediction. We built an artificial network model called protein overlap network (PON) for the entire genome of yeast, fly, worm, and human, respectively. Each node of the network represents a protein, and two proteins are connected if they share a domain according to InterPro database.
Results: The function of a protein can be predicted by counting the occurrence frequency of GO (gene ontology) terms associated with domains of direct neighbors. The average success rate and coverage were 34.3% and 43.9%, respectively, for the test genomes, …

A Thraustochytrid Diacylglycerol Acyltransferase 2 With Broad Substrate Specificity Strongly Increases Oleic Acid Content In Engineered Arabidopsis Thaliana Seeds, Chunyu Zhang, Umidjon Iskandarov, Elliott T. Klotz, Robyn L. Stevens, Rebecca E. Cahoon, Tara J. Nazarenus, Suzette L. Pereira, Edgar B. Cahoon

Center for Plant Science Innovation: Faculty Publications

Diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) catalyses the last step in acyl-CoA-dependent triacylglycerol (TAG) biosynthesis and is an important determinant of cellular oil content and quality. In this study, a gene, designated TaDGAT2, encoding a type 2 DGAT (DGAT2)-related enzyme was identified from the oleaginous marine protist Thraustochytrium aureum. The deduced TaDGAT2 sequence contains a ~460 amino acid domain most closely related to DGAT2s from Dictyostelium sp. (45–50% identity). Recombinant TaDGAT2 restored TAG biosynthesis to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae H1246 TAG-deficient mutant, and microsomes from the complemented mutant displayed DGAT activity with C16 and C18 saturated and unsaturated fatty acyl-CoA and diacylglycerol …

The Feasibility Of Implementing The Acp-215 At The Dayton Community Blood Center: A Cost-Benefit Analysis, Angela Albrecht

Master of Public Health Program Student Publications

The community blood supply is a limited resource with a relatively short shelf-life. To ensure an adequate supply, a balance must be maintained between the numbers of donors providing blood and blood products required by hospitals to meet patient needs. Any change in the number of blood donors or in the volume of blood required by hospitals can create a blood shortage. During times of disaster, a blood shortage may be inevitable. Additional strategies must be in place to ensure availability of blood for essential transfusions across the community. Cryopreservation of red blood cells to build and maintain a blood …

Nonlinear Granger Causality And Its Application In Decoding Of Human Reaching Intentions, Mengting Liu

Doctoral Dissertations

Multi-electrode recording is a key technology that allows the brain mechanisms of decision making, cognition, and their breakdown in diseases to be studied from a network perspective. As the hypotheses concerning the role of neural interactions in cognitive paradigms become increasingly more elaborate, the ability to evaluate the direction of neural interactions in neural networks holds the key to distinguishing their functional significance.

Granger Causality (GC) is used to detect the directional influence of signals between multiple locations. To extract the nonlinear directional flow, GC was completed through a nonlinear predictive approach using radial basis functions (RBF). Furthermore, to obtain …

Wildlife In Airport Environments: Chapter 10 Managing Turfgrass To Reduce Wildlife Hazards At Airports, Brian E. Washburn, Thomas W. Seamans

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Multiple factors-including safety regulations, economic considerations, location, and attractiveness to wildlife recognized as hazardous to aviation- influence the choice of land cover at airports. The principal land covet at airports within North America has historically been turfgrass, usually coolseason perennial grass species native to Europe. However, recent research has determined that, from a wildlife perspective, not all turf grasses are alike. Some grasses are more palatable to herbivorous hazardous wildlife (e.g., Canada geese [Branta canadensis]) than others, and thus are more likely to increase the potential for wildlife-aircraft collisions when planted near critical airport operating areas. How turfgrasses are managed …

Spillover Benefits Of Wildlife Management To Support Pheasant Populations, Aaron M. Anderson, Karen Gerhardt, Wylie T. Cross, Stephanie A. Shwiff

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) and other upland game populations in Wyoming, USA, have been declining due to changes in agricultural practices, urban development, and predation. Raccoons (Procyon lotor) have been implicated as one of the main predators of pheasant nests. Management of raccoons to support pheasant populations has the direct benefit of increasing pheasant populations and additional spillover benefits to corn producers in the region may occur. We conducted a field study in southeastern Wyoming from July to October 2009 to estimate the increase in corn yield associated with raccoon trapping. Although the primary purpose of the raccoon trapping was …

Deciphering Serology To Understand The Ecology Of Infectious Diseases In Wildlife, Amy T. Gilbert, A. R. Fooks, D. T. S. Hayman, D. L. Horton, T. Muller, R. Plowright, A. J. Peel, R. Bowen, J. L. Wood, J. Miils, A. A. Cunningham, C. E. Rupprecht

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The ecology of infectious disease in wildlife has become a pivotal theme in animal and public health. Studies of infectious disease ecology rely on robust surveillance of pathogens in reservoir hosts, often based on serology, which is the detection of specific antibodies in the blood and is used to infer infection history. However, serological data can be inaccurate for inference to infection history for a variety of reasons. Two major aspects in any serological test can substantially impact results and interpretation of antibody prevalence data: cross-reactivity and cut-off thresholds used to discriminate positive and negative reactions. Given the ubiquitous use …

Global Dynamics Of Three Anticompetitive Systems Of Difference Equations In The Plane, M. Dipippo, Mustafa Kulenovic

Mathematics Faculty Publications

We investigate the global dynamics of several anticompetitive systems of rational difference equations which are special cases of general linear fractional system of the forms

Χ_n+1 = (α₁ + β₁ χ_n + y₁y_n)(A₁ + B₁x_n + C₁y_n), y_n+1 = (α2 + β₂x_n + y₂y_n)/(A₂ + B₂x_n + C₂y_n), n = 0, 1,…, where all parameters and the initial conditions x₀, y_{0 …}

Student Handbook 2013-14, Dmacc

Student Handbooks

No abstract provided.

Hemoglobin Function And Allosteric Regulation In Semi-Fossorial Rodents (Family Sciuridae) With Different Altitudinal Ranges, Inge G. Revsbech, Danielle M. Tufts, Joana Projecto-Garcia, Hideaki Moriyama, Roy E. Weber, Jay F. Storz, Angela Fago

Jay F. Storz Publications

Semi-fossorial ground squirrels face challenges to respiratory gas transport associated with the chronic hypoxia and hypercapnia of underground burrows, and such challenges are compounded in species that are native to high altitude. During hibernation, such species must also contend with vicissitudes of blood gas concentrations and plasma pH caused by episodic breathing. Here, we report an analysis of hemoglobin (Hb) function in six species of marmotine ground squirrels with different altitudinal distributions. Regardless of their native altitude, all species have high Hb–O₂ affinities, mainly due to suppressed sensitivities to allosteric effectors [2,3-diphosphoglycerate (DPG) and chloride ions]. This suppressed anion …

Implications Of United States V. Jones On Dna Collection Form Arrestees: Trespass Prohibited By The Fourth Amendment, Angelique Romero

St. Thomas Law Review

This comment discusses the constitutionality of warrantless DNA collection from arrestees, and proposes an analysis that the Supreme Court should use when deciding on this issue to find that this practice violates the Fourth Amendment. Part II of this comment discusses the general development of DNA collection laws, how the laws have expanded to include persons that have been arrested but not convicted of certain crimes, and the procedures used to collect the DNA samples. In addition, Part II includes a survey of the conflicting decisions by courts across the country and demonstrates the disagreement over the constitutionality of this …

Uncertainty Associated With Estimating A Short-Term (1–3 Hr) Particulate Matter Concentration From A Human-Sighted Visual Range, William C. Malm, Bret A. Schichtel

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Several state air quality agencies have developed policies to issue air quality health index (AQI) warnings based on low values of visual range (V_r). Vr has been defined in the context of how far away a black object has to be such that it is just noticeable or visible. This distance at which a landscape feature can just be detected is referred to as the V_r. AQI warnings are based on the levels of particulates (PM_2.5) resulting from fire smoke, often with less than 24-hr average concentrations. Because monitoring data are not available in …

A Fire Severity Mapping System For Real-Time Fire Management Applications And Long-Term Planning: The Firesev Project, Robert E. Keane, Penny M. Morgan, Gregory K. Dillon, Pamela G. Sikkink, Eva C. Karau, Zack A. Holden, Stacy A. Drury

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Accurate, consistent, and timely fire severity maps are needed in all phases of fire management including planning, managing, and rehabilitating wildfires. The problem is that fire severity maps are commonly developed from satellite imagery that is difficult to use for planning wildfire responses before a fire has actually happened and can’t be used for real-time wildfire management because of the timing of the imagery delivery. Moreover, imagery is difficult to use for controlled fires such as prescribed burning. This study, called FIRESEV (FIRE SEVerity Mapping Tools) created a comprehensive set of tools and protocols to deliver, create, and evaluate fire …

An Investigation Of The Differences Between Real Time Mesoscale Analysis And Observed Meteorological Conditions At Raws Stations In The Northeast United States, Joseph J. Charney, Shiyuan Zhong, Michael T. Kiefer, Xiaoqing Zhu, Greg Soter, Adam Cinderich

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

This project investigates the differences between the gridded meteorological fields produced by the Real Time Mesoscale Analysis (RTMA) and observed meteorological conditions at Remote Automated Weather Stations (RAWS) for two years in the northeastern United States. National Weather Service (NWS) fire weather forecasts are produced using the National Digital Forecast Database (NDFD), which is a gridded analysis of meteorological fields generated by forecasters at NWS forecast offices nationwide. The NDFD is verified by comparing its gridded meteorological fields against the RTMA, which is an advanced modeling and data assimilation system that provides the best-available hourly gridded estimate of surface and …

Archival Of Eastern U.S. Fire Scar History Data, Michael C. Stambaugh, Joseph M. Marschall, Richard P. Guyette

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Fire scar histories are a critical fire data source because they form a foundation for defining fire regimes. The objective of this project was to properly archive the data (fire scar event chronologies, tree-ring chronologies) and metadata of eastern U.S. fire scar study sites developed under project #06-3-1-16, “Developing and Using Fire Scar Histories in the Southern and Eastern United States”, PI: Richard Guyette. Datasets to be archived included tree-ring chronologies (annual resolution), fire event chronologies (annual to seasonal resolution), and wood samples. Crossdated tree-ring measurements used to date fire scars have been submitted to the International Tree-Ring Databank. All …

Archiving Data For The National Fire And Fire Surrogate Study (Ffs), James Mclver

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

This final report describes the results of the project ‘Archiving Data for the National Fire and Fire Surrogate study (FFS)’, which was funded by the Joint Fire Science Program ($9,982; Project 12-­‐04-­‐ 01-­‐7) under Task Statement RFA 2012-­‐4 (Dataset Archival Task). To complete this project, we gathered, documented, and archived the complete dataset for the National Fire and Fire Surrogate study, including pre-­‐treatment data, and post-­‐treatment data collected through four years after treatment. The FFS was originally funded by the JFSP in spring 2000 and was completed in spring 2006, at which time a final report was submitted. The study …

Archiving Of Data On Occurrence Of Breeding Birds Associated With Fire Treatments And Controls, Erica Fleishman, Jeanne C. Chambers, David S. Dobkin

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

Since 2001, we have collected data on occupancy and relative abundance of Greater Sage- Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and other species of breeding birds in the central Great Basin, and characterized the vegetation structure and composition of breeding birds’ habitats, through four projects supported by the Joint Fire Science Program (00-2-15, 01B-3-3-01, 05-2-1- 94, and 09-1-08-4). These projects collectively have generated dozens of refereed publications, dozens of invited papers or presentations, multiple M.S. theses and Ph.D. dissertations, and many workshops and field tours. Bird data included in refereed publications to date were based on point counts with a fixed radius of …