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2015

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The Development And Validation Of Implicit Measures Of Emotional Intelligence, Louis Leo Oberdiear Jan 2015

The Development And Validation Of Implicit Measures Of Emotional Intelligence, Louis Leo Oberdiear

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Emotional intelligence (EI) has attracted much attention in the decades since Goleman's (1995) claim that EI is important for success in a wide range of social and professional roles. With this interest has come much debate about whether EI should be defined and measured as a set of abilities or as a set of dispositional self-perceptions. The latter is typically assessed with self-report measures that are susceptible to contamination related to inaccurate self-knowledge and impression management artifacts – problems that may be mitigated by implicit measures. This research used Implicit Association Test (IAT) procedures to develop implicit measures of EI …

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Tropical Forest Responses To Large-Scale Experiments, Aaron B. Shiels, Grizelle Gonzalez Jan 2015

Tropical Forest Responses To Large-Scale Experiments, Aaron B. Shiels, Grizelle Gonzalez

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Although artificial by nature, experiments are a necessary part of ecology if we are to understand key mechanisms driving ecosystem structure and function. Experiments range in scale from microscopic to landscape; large-scale experiments are typically more logistically challenging than are small-scale experiments or observational studies. Recently, researchers have been interested in utilizing large-scale experiments to determine how forests respond to environmental change. Large-scale experiments have been more common in temperate than in tropical forests, yet tropical forests contain over half of the world’s species in just 7 percent of the world’s land area. Key threats to tropical biodiversity, such as …

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Human–Carnivore Interactions: Lessons Learned From Communities In The American West, Julie K. Young, Zhao Ma, Ann Laudati, Joel Berger Jan 2015

Human–Carnivore Interactions: Lessons Learned From Communities In The American West, Julie K. Young, Zhao Ma, Ann Laudati, Joel Berger

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Types, causes, and intensity of human–carnivore interactions are related to historical context, management policy, and human perception. We used four rural communities in the American West with varying histories and management policies to assess the complexities of human–carnivore interactions and to determine factors influencing individual willingness to coexist with carnivores. By analyzing focus group and interview data from 49 community members, we found that human perceptions towards carnivores and their management were influenced by self-perceived knowledge about carnivores, ability to be heard and have a voice in management decisions, and economic concerns rather than ecological factors. Willingness to coexist with …

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Cascading Effects Of Canopy Opening And Debris Deposition From A Large-Scale Hurricane Experiment In A Tropical Rain Forest, Aaron B. Shiels, Grizelle Gonzalez, D. Jean Lodge, Michael R. Willig, Jess K. Zimmerman Jan 2015

Cascading Effects Of Canopy Opening And Debris Deposition From A Large-Scale Hurricane Experiment In A Tropical Rain Forest, Aaron B. Shiels, Grizelle Gonzalez, D. Jean Lodge, Michael R. Willig, Jess K. Zimmerman

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Intense hurricanes disturb many tropical forests, but the key mechanisms driving post-hurricane forest changes are not fully understood. In Puerto Rico, we used a replicated factorial experiment to determine the mechanisms of forest change associated with canopy openness and organic matter (debris) addition. Cascading effects from canopy openness accounted for most of the shifts in the forest biota and biotic processes, which included increased plant recruitment and richness, as well as the decreased abundance and diversity of several animal groups. Canopy opening decreased litterfall and litter moisture, thereby inhibiting lignin-degrading fungi, which slowed decomposition. Debris addition temporarily increased tree basal …

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Ecological Role Of Vertebrate Scavengers, James C. Beasley, Zach H. Olson, Travis L. Devault Jan 2015

Ecological Role Of Vertebrate Scavengers, James C. Beasley, Zach H. Olson, Travis L. Devault

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Scavenging, or the consumption of dead animal matter, has been documented for a wide array of vertebrate taxa by naturalists and researchers for centuries. Yet, until recently, the importance of scavenging-derived nutrients to many vertebrate species has been largely unknown (DeVault et a1. 2003; Beasley et al. 2012b; Barton et al. 2013). As a result, the role vertebrate scavenging plays in food-web dynamics relative to that of microbes and invertebrates has been greatly underestimated (Wilson and Wolkovich 2011) and has thus become an important area of research. Indeed, in some ecosystems, vertebrates have been documented to assimilate as much as …

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Flight Feather Molt In Yellow-Headed Blackbirds (Xanthocephalus Xanthocephalus) In North Dakota, Daniel J. Twedt, George M. Linz Jan 2015

Flight Feather Molt In Yellow-Headed Blackbirds (Xanthocephalus Xanthocephalus) In North Dakota, Daniel J. Twedt, George M. Linz

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Yellow-headed Blackbirds (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) in central North Dakota undergo prebasic molt or prejuvenile molt during late summer. Nestling Yellow-headed Blackbirds initiate a complete prejuvenile molt, grow their primary and secondary regimes in about 40 days, completing molt after they leave the nest by the first week in August. Remiges are not replaced during the subsequent preformative molt, being retained until the second prebasic molt. Nonlinear (logistic) regression of primary remex growth during definitive prebasic molts of Yellow-headed Blackbirds indicated 38 days were required to complete the linear phase of growth (between 10% and 90% of total primary length). Males added …

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Impact Of Capture And Transportation Methods On Survival Of Small Rodents During Relocation Events, Roger A. Baldwin, Ryan Meinerz, Holly E. Jantz, Gary W. Witmer Jan 2015

Impact Of Capture And Transportation Methods On Survival Of Small Rodents During Relocation Events, Roger A. Baldwin, Ryan Meinerz, Holly E. Jantz, Gary W. Witmer

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Capture and transportation of wild rodents is needed to supply study animals for laboratory or enclosure studies and for translocation of threatened and endangered species. Stress of captured rodents must be minimized to maximize survival. Methods to limit stress include minimizing capture and transportation durations, providing sufficiently sized housing with adequate nesting materials and foods, and ensuring that animals are maintained in comfortable environmental conditions. We utilized these techniques to capture and transport California voles (Microtus californicus) and pocket gophers (Thomomys bottae) from California to Colorado to determine their rate of survival during this process. We …

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Evaluation Of Rhodamine B As A Biomarker For Assessing Bait Acceptance In Wild Pigs, James Beasley, Sarah C. Webster, Olin E. Rhodes Jr., Fred L. Cunningham Jan 2015

Evaluation Of Rhodamine B As A Biomarker For Assessing Bait Acceptance In Wild Pigs, James Beasley, Sarah C. Webster, Olin E. Rhodes Jr., Fred L. Cunningham

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Worldwide, there is growing interest in the use of pharmaceutical baits to control populations of wild pigs (Sus scrofa). In this study we evaluated the utility of Rhodamine B (RB), a chemical marker commonly used in wildlife research and management, as a potential biomarker for quantifying bait uptake in wild pigs. Thirty wild pigs were live-trapped, transported to a captive facility on the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site located in South Carolina, USA, during autumn 2013, and administered RB orally at a dosage of 30mg/kg. Eight vibrissae and guard hairs were collected pre- and post-RB exposure (7 …

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Cwd Prions Remain Infectious After Passage Through The Digestive System Of Coyotes (Canis Latrans), Tracy A. Nichols, Justin W. Fischer, Terry R. Spraker, Qingzhong Kong, Kurt C. Vercauteren Jan 2015

Cwd Prions Remain Infectious After Passage Through The Digestive System Of Coyotes (Canis Latrans), Tracy A. Nichols, Justin W. Fischer, Terry R. Spraker, Qingzhong Kong, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a geographically expanding prion disease of wild and captive cervids in North America. Disease can be transmitted directly, animal to animal, or indirectly via the environment. CWD contamination can occur residually in the environment via soil, water, and forage following deposition of bodily fluids such as urine, saliva, and feces, or by the decomposition of carcasses. Recent work has indicated that plants may even take up prions into the stems and leaves. When a carcass or gut pile is present in the environment, a large number of avian and mammalian species visit and consume the …

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Evaluation Of 9,10 Anthraquinone Application To Pre-Seed Set Sunflowers For Repelling Blackbirds, Megan D. Niner, George M. Linz, Mark E. Clark Jan 2015

Evaluation Of 9,10 Anthraquinone Application To Pre-Seed Set Sunflowers For Repelling Blackbirds, Megan D. Niner, George M. Linz, Mark E. Clark

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Most nonlethal methods available for reducing blackbird (Icteridae) damage to sunflowers rely on fright responses (e.g., propane cannons, distress calls, pyrotechnics, raptor silhouettes) that birds quickly learn to ignore. Chemicals that cause taste or feeding aversions have potential to overcome the spatial and behavioral limitations of frightening methods. Anthraquinone (AQ) is an effective feeding repellent as a seed treatment to deter birds from eating freshly planted grains. In the United States, foliar application of AQ is not permitted on food crops except on small experimental plots. In August 2013, we applied 37.4 L/ha of an aqueous mix consisting of 15.1 …

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Multi-Trophic Level Feeding Interactions Among Two Native And Two Non-Native Species: Implications For The Endangered Reticulated Flatwoods Salamander (Ambystoma Bishopi), Kelly C. Jones, Brandon K. Rincon, Thomas A. Gorman, Carola A. Haas, Richard M. Engeman Jan 2015

Multi-Trophic Level Feeding Interactions Among Two Native And Two Non-Native Species: Implications For The Endangered Reticulated Flatwoods Salamander (Ambystoma Bishopi), Kelly C. Jones, Brandon K. Rincon, Thomas A. Gorman, Carola A. Haas, Richard M. Engeman

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Eglin Air Force Base (Eglin) in Florida is one of few remaining public lands where the Reticulated Flatwoods Salamander (Ambystoma bishopi) occurs, and it represents the only remaining location within the entire range of this endangered species to have two populations that both occur in wetland complexes with >2 occupied wetlands (Gorman et al., 2009). The decline of the species has been rapid and few remaining breeding locations for this species remain. It was listed as federally endangered in 2009 (USFWS, 2009). Flatwoods salamanders depend on complex herbaceous vegetation for all aspects of their life history and while …

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Serologic Survey Of Snowshoe Hares (Lepus Americanus) In The Greater Yellowstone Area For Brucellosis, Tularemia, And Snowshoe Hare Virus, Jack Rhyan, Dan Tyers, Jeremy Zimmer, Kristen Lewandowski, Steve Hennager, John Young, Ryan Pappert, Amanda Panella, Olga Kosoy Jan 2015

Serologic Survey Of Snowshoe Hares (Lepus Americanus) In The Greater Yellowstone Area For Brucellosis, Tularemia, And Snowshoe Hare Virus, Jack Rhyan, Dan Tyers, Jeremy Zimmer, Kristen Lewandowski, Steve Hennager, John Young, Ryan Pappert, Amanda Panella, Olga Kosoy

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We examined sera from snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) livetrapped in the northern Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA), US, for antibodies to Brucella abortus, Francisella tularensis, and snowshoe hare virus (SSHV). Zero of 90, 0 of 67, and 40 of 100 samples were antibody positive for B. abortus, F. tularensis, and SSHV, respectively. Hares were trapped from 2009 to 2012, and of the six animals that were captured twice with at least 1 yr between captures, four developed antibody to SSHV, indicating active exposure to the agent, These findings suggest snowshoe hares in the GYA do not play …

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Food Habits Of Adult Male White-Tailed Deer Determined By Camera Collars, Michael J. Lavelle, Chad R. Blass, Justin W. Fischer, Scott E. Hygnstrom, David G. Hewitt, Kurt C. Vercauteren Jan 2015

Food Habits Of Adult Male White-Tailed Deer Determined By Camera Collars, Michael J. Lavelle, Chad R. Blass, Justin W. Fischer, Scott E. Hygnstrom, David G. Hewitt, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Many factors influence what and why animals select the foods they eat. Several methods have been used to estimate food habits of herbivores, but they all have limitations such as defining available foods and misrepresenting particular forages. We evaluated plant consumption by adult male white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) with camera collars in a semi-enclosed population in southern Texas, USA, during late autumn 2010. We collected 1,241 videos taken at all times of the day and night from 15 camera collars and confirmed consumption of 40 plant species with an 84% probability of identification. Diets of individual deer varied …

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Evaluating The Reliability Of Field Identification And Morphometric Classifications For Carnivore Scats Confirmed With Genetic Analysis, Robert C. Lonsinger, Eric M. Gese, Lisette P. Waits Jan 2015

Evaluating The Reliability Of Field Identification And Morphometric Classifications For Carnivore Scats Confirmed With Genetic Analysis, Robert C. Lonsinger, Eric M. Gese, Lisette P. Waits

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Scat surveys are commonly used to monitor carnivore populations. Scats of sympatric carnivores can be difficult to differentiate and field-based identification can be misleading. We evaluated the success of field-based species identification for scats of 2 sympatric carnivores—coyotes (Canis latrans) and kit foxes (Vulpes macrotis). We conducted scat surveys in the Great Basin desert of Utah, USA, during the winter and summer of 2013, and we detected 1,680 carnivore scats. We classified scats based on field identification, recorded morphometricmeasurements, and collected fecalDNA samples for molecular species identification. We subsequently evaluated the classification success of field identification …

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Contact Heterogeneities In Feral Swine: Implications For Disease Management And Future Research, Kim M. Pepin, Amy J. Davis, James C. Beasley, Raoul Boughton, Tyler A. Campbell, Susan M. Cooper, Wesson D. Gaston, Steve Hartley, John C. Kilgo, Samantha M. Wisely, A. Christy Wyckoff, Kurt C. Vercauteren Jan 2015

Contact Heterogeneities In Feral Swine: Implications For Disease Management And Future Research, Kim M. Pepin, Amy J. Davis, James C. Beasley, Raoul Boughton, Tyler A. Campbell, Susan M. Cooper, Wesson D. Gaston, Steve Hartley, John C. Kilgo, Samantha M. Wisely, A. Christy Wyckoff, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Contact rates vary widely among individuals in socially structured wildlife populations. Understanding the interplay of factors responsible for this variation is essential for planning effective disease management. Feral swine (Sus scrofa) are a socially structured species which pose an increasing threat to livestock and human health, and little is known about contact structure. We analyzed 11 GPS data sets from across the United States to understand the interplay of ecological and demographic factors on variation in co-location rates, a proxy for contact rates. Between-sounder contact rates strongly depended on the distance among home ranges (less contact among sounders …

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Exposure Of Feral Swine (Sus Scrofa) In The United States To Selected Pathogens, John A. Baroch, Carl A. Gagnon, Sonia Lacouture, Marcelo Gottschalk Jan 2015

Exposure Of Feral Swine (Sus Scrofa) In The United States To Selected Pathogens, John A. Baroch, Carl A. Gagnon, Sonia Lacouture, Marcelo Gottschalk

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Feral swine (Sus scrofa) are widely distributed in the United States. In 2011 and 2012, serum samples and tonsils were recovered from 162 and 37 feral swine, respectively, in the US to evaluate exposure to important swine endemic pathogens. Antibodies against porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) and porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) were found in 2.5% and 25.3% of tested sera, respectively. Positive serological reactions against Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae have been detected in 19.7% and 69.7% of animals. More than 15% of animals presented antibodies against these 2 pathogens simultaneously. Most animals were also …

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Evaluating Fladry Designs To Improve Utility As A Nonlethal Management Tool To Reduce Livestock Depredation, Julie K. Young, Elizabeth Miller, Anna Essex Jan 2015

Evaluating Fladry Designs To Improve Utility As A Nonlethal Management Tool To Reduce Livestock Depredation, Julie K. Young, Elizabeth Miller, Anna Essex

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Nonlethal deterrents against carnivores are important components to protecting livestock and conserving carnivore populations. However, the performance of the visual deterrent called fladry, a historical tool used to defend livestock from carnivores, is often hindered by design flaws that eventually reduce its effectiveness. Our purpose was to identify a fladry design that reduces coiling (i.e., wrapping of individual flags tight to the rope from which they hang) and maintains free movement of the deterrent in the wind. We created 6 new designs, replicated designs using 2 materials (nylon and marine vinyl), and compared them with the design most commonly used …

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Widespread Detection Of Antibodies To Leptospira In Feral Swine In The United States, K. K. Pedersen, K. L. Pabilonia, T. D. Anderson, S. N. Bevins, C. R. Hicks, J. M. Kloft, Thomas J. Deliberto Jan 2015

Widespread Detection Of Antibodies To Leptospira In Feral Swine In The United States, K. K. Pedersen, K. L. Pabilonia, T. D. Anderson, S. N. Bevins, C. R. Hicks, J. M. Kloft, Thomas J. Deliberto

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

As feral swine continue to expand their geographical range and distribution across the United States, their involvement in crop damage, livestock predation, and pathogen transmission is likely to increase. Despite the relatively recent discovery of feral swine involvement in the aetiology of a variety of pathogens, their propensity to transmit and carry a wide variety of pathogens is disconcerting. We examined sera from 2055 feral swine for antibody presence to six serovars of Leptospira that can also infect humans, livestock or domestic animals. About 13% of all samples tested positive for at least one serovar, suggesting that Leptospira infection is …

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Anticoagulant Rodenticide Exposure And Toxicosis In Coyotes (Canis Latrans) In The Denver Metropolitan Area, Sharon A. Poessel, Stewart W. Breck, Karen A. Fox, Eric M. Gese Jan 2015

Anticoagulant Rodenticide Exposure And Toxicosis In Coyotes (Canis Latrans) In The Denver Metropolitan Area, Sharon A. Poessel, Stewart W. Breck, Karen A. Fox, Eric M. Gese

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Anticoagulant rodenticides are widely used in urban areas to control rodent pests and are responsible for secondary poisoning in many nontarget wildlife species. We tested the livers of five coyotes (Canis latrans) in the Denver Metropolitan Area, Colorado, US, for anticoagulant rodenticides. All five livers were positive for brodifacoum, with values ranging from 95 ppb to 320 ppb, and one liver was positive for bromadiolone, with a value of 885 ppb. Both of these rodenticides are second-generation anticoagulants, which are more potent and more likely to cause secondary poisoning than first-generation anticoagulants due to their accumulation and persistence …

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The Effect Of Social Context And Social Scale On The Perception Of Relationships In Monk Parakeets, Elizabeth A. Hobson, Darlene J. John, Tiffany L. Mcintosh, Michael L. Avery, Timonthy F. Wright Jan 2015

The Effect Of Social Context And Social Scale On The Perception Of Relationships In Monk Parakeets, Elizabeth A. Hobson, Darlene J. John, Tiffany L. Mcintosh, Michael L. Avery, Timonthy F. Wright

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Social relationships formed within a network of interacting group members can have a profound impact on an individual’s behavior and fitness. However, we have little understanding of how individuals perceive their relationships and how this perception relates to our external measures of interactions. We investigated the perception of affiliative and agonistic relationships at both the dyadic and emergent social levels in two captive groups of monk parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus, n = 21 and 19) using social network analysis and playback experiments. At the dyadic social scale, individuals directed less aggression towards their strong affiliative partners and more aggression …

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Is Anthropogenic Cougar Mortality Compensated By Changes In Natural Mortality In Utah? Insight From Long-Term Studies, Michael L. Wolfe, David N. Koons, David C. Stoner, Patricia Terletzky, Eric M. Gese, David M. Choate, Lise M. Aubry Jan 2015

Is Anthropogenic Cougar Mortality Compensated By Changes In Natural Mortality In Utah? Insight From Long-Term Studies, Michael L. Wolfe, David N. Koons, David C. Stoner, Patricia Terletzky, Eric M. Gese, David M. Choate, Lise M. Aubry

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Understanding the interplay between exploitation and natural mortality is essential to guiding sustainable conservation of wildlife. Exploitation of carnivores by humans has long been thought to result in compensatory reductions of natural mortality among survivors. If rates of human exploitation exceed natural mortality, however, such actions will ‘add’ to overall mortality and could imperil the sustainability of such actions. We applied competing risk analyses to >/= 16 years of data for heavily harvested and semi-protected cougar populations in Utah to test the additive and compensatory mortality hypotheses, while accounting for parameter uncertainty. We additionally tested for presence of the two …

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Evaluating Landowner-Based Beaver Relocation As A Tool To Restore Salmon Habitat, V. M. Petro, J. D. Taylor Ii, D. M. Sanchez Jan 2015

Evaluating Landowner-Based Beaver Relocation As A Tool To Restore Salmon Habitat, V. M. Petro, J. D. Taylor Ii, D. M. Sanchez

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Relocating American beavers (Castor canadensis) from unwanted sites to desirable sites (i.e., where damage exceeds stakeholder capacity) has been posited as a method to enhance in-stream habitat for salmonids in the Pacific Northwest region of the US; however, no studies have evaluated this method. From September–December 2011, we trapped and relocated 38 nuisance beavers using guidelines available to Oregon landowners. Release sites were selected from models that identified high values of beaverdamhabitat suitability and where dams would increase intrinsic potential of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch). Mean distance moved from release sites within 16 weeks post-release was 3.3 …

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Assessment Of Population Structure Of Coyotes In East-Central Alabama Using Microsatellite Dna, Dalinda L. Damm, James B. Armstrong, Wendy M. Arjo, Antoinette J. Piaggio Jan 2015

Assessment Of Population Structure Of Coyotes In East-Central Alabama Using Microsatellite Dna, Dalinda L. Damm, James B. Armstrong, Wendy M. Arjo, Antoinette J. Piaggio

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Canis latrans (Coyotes) are a management concern in the southeastern US because of their potential impacts on agriculture, other wildlife species, and human health and safety. This region is part of a recent range expansion by Coyotes, and information about their population structure in the southeastern US is lacking. In this study, we used microsatellite DNA to assess genetic diversity and population structure among Coyotes in east-central Alabama. We detected high genetic diversity (HE = 0.78) and no population structure across the total sampling area. Additionally, we investigated population structure between urban and rural groups. We detected low but …

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Assessing Chemical Control Of Earthworms At Airports, Thomas W. Seamans, Bradley F. Blackwell, Glen E. Bernhardt, Daniel A. Potter Jan 2015

Assessing Chemical Control Of Earthworms At Airports, Thomas W. Seamans, Bradley F. Blackwell, Glen E. Bernhardt, Daniel A. Potter

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Earthworms originating from Europe (e.g., Lumbricus spp., Aporrectodea spp.), which are common in the United States and southern Canada can create hazardous conditions at airports by attracting birds that pose a threat to aircraft. These nonnative earthworms are also considered pests on golf courses and sports fields, as well as having detrimental effects on temperate boreal forests. No toxicants or repellents are currently registered for earthworm control in the United States. Our purpose was to identify products that could be used to repel or suppress nonnative earthworms on airports or other managed sites where they pose a hazard or nuisance. …

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Avian Bornaviruses In North American Gulls, Jianhua Guo, Ian Tizard, John A. Baroch, H L. Shivaprasad, Susan L. Payne Jan 2015

Avian Bornaviruses In North American Gulls, Jianhua Guo, Ian Tizard, John A. Baroch, H L. Shivaprasad, Susan L. Payne

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Avian bornaviruses, recently described members of the family Bornaviridae, have been isolated from captive parrots and passerines as well as wild waterfowl in which they may cause lethal neurologic disease. We report detection of avian bornavirus RNA in the brains of apparently healthy gulls. We tested 439 gull brain samples from 18 states, primarily in the northeastern US, using a reversetranscriptase PCR assay with primers designed to detect a conserved region of the bornavirus M gene. Nine birds yielded a PCR product of appropriate size. Sequencing of PCR products indicated that the virus was closely related to aquatic bird bornavirus …

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Modeling The Cost Of Bird Strikes To Us Civil Aircraft, Aaron M. Anderson, David S. Carpenter, Michael J. Begier, Bradley F. Blackwell, Travis L. Devault, Stephanie A. Shwiff Jan 2015

Modeling The Cost Of Bird Strikes To Us Civil Aircraft, Aaron M. Anderson, David S. Carpenter, Michael J. Begier, Bradley F. Blackwell, Travis L. Devault, Stephanie A. Shwiff

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The objective of our analysis is to develop a model of damage costs that arise from collisions between aircraft and birds, based on data drawn from the Federal Aviation Administration National Wildlife Strike Database (NWSD). We develop a two-part model, composed of two separate statistical models, that accounts for the effects of aircraft mass category, engine type, component of the aircraft struck, and the size and number of birds struck. Our results indicate the size of bird, number of birds, and engine ingestions are the largest determinants of strike-related costs. More generally, our result is a model that provides a …

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Carnivore Incidents With U.S. Civil Aircraft, Alexander R. Crain, Jerrold L. Belant, Travis L. Devault Jan 2015

Carnivore Incidents With U.S. Civil Aircraft, Alexander R. Crain, Jerrold L. Belant, Travis L. Devault

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wildlife incidents with aircraft are of concern in the United States as they pose a risk to human safety and economic losses for the aviation industry. Most previous research on wildlife-aircraft incidents has emphasized birds, bats, and ungulates. We queried the Federal Aviation Administration’s National Wildlife Strike Database from 1990 to 2012 to characterize carnivore incidents with U.S. civil aircraft. We found 1016 carnivore incidents with aircraft representing at least 16 species, with coyotes (n = 404) being the species most frequently struck. California and Texas had the most reported incidents and incidents were most likely to occur at …

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Influence Of Simulated Double-Crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax Auritus, Predation On Multiple-Batch Production Of Channel Catfish,Ictalurus Punctatus, Brian S. Dorr, Carole R. Engle Jan 2015

Influence Of Simulated Double-Crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax Auritus, Predation On Multiple-Batch Production Of Channel Catfish,Ictalurus Punctatus, Brian S. Dorr, Carole R. Engle

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The double-crested cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus, is considered the primary depredating bird species on commercially produced channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, in the southeastern USA. We simulated different levels of cormorant predation on losses at harvest and economic effects on channel catfish production in a multiple-batch cropping system. We observed significant (P<0.05) declines in catfish production at increasing levels of cormorant predation in this study. This decline was mitigated by increased individual growth of catfish at higher predation rates (i.e., lower catfish densities). This mitigating effect produced a non-linear relationship with total kg of catfish harvested per pond resulting in a non-linear incremental increase in breakeven price related to predation. Costs of production ($/kg) increased with increasing predation levels up to very high levels of predation with a cumulative maximum increase in breakeven price of $0.143/kg. These results indicate that losses at harvest due to cormorant predation occur immediately but are mitigated in part by compensatory growth of individual catfish. Losses due to cormorant predation in multi-batch systems can be considerable, but there is not a 1:1 relationship between losses and kg of catfish harvested due to compensatory factors.

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Shared Genetic Diversity Across The Global Invasive Range Of The Monk Parakeet Suggests A Common Restricted Geographic Origin And The Possibility Of Convergent Selection, Pim Edelaar, Severine Roques, Elizabeth A. Hobson, Anders Gonçalves Da Silva, Michael L. Avery, Michael A. Russello, Juan C. Senar, Timothy F. Wright, Martina Carrete, José L. Tella Jan 2015

Shared Genetic Diversity Across The Global Invasive Range Of The Monk Parakeet Suggests A Common Restricted Geographic Origin And The Possibility Of Convergent Selection, Pim Edelaar, Severine Roques, Elizabeth A. Hobson, Anders Gonçalves Da Silva, Michael L. Avery, Michael A. Russello, Juan C. Senar, Timothy F. Wright, Martina Carrete, José L. Tella

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

While genetic diversity is hypothesized to be an important factor explaining invasion success, there is no consensus yet on how variation in source populations or demographic processes affects invasiveness. We used mitochondrial DNA haplotypic and microsatellite genotypic data to investigate levels of genetic variation and reconstruct the history of replicate invasions on three continents in a globally invasive bird, the monk parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus). We evaluated whether genetic diversity at invasive sites could be explained by (i) the native source populations from which they were derived and (ii) demographic bottlenecks during introduction. Genetic data indicated a localized source …

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Erratum: The Socioecology Of Monk Parakeets: Insights Into Parrot Social Complexity, Elizabeth A. Hobson, Michael L. Avery, Timothy F. Wright Jan 2015

Erratum: The Socioecology Of Monk Parakeets: Insights Into Parrot Social Complexity, Elizabeth A. Hobson, Michael L. Avery, Timothy F. Wright

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Our recent work on Monk Parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus) reported dominance steepness values that were inaccurate because of a bug in the analysis program. Updated steepness values are more moderate than initially reported, which places captive Monk Parakeet groups midway between egalitarianism and despotism.

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