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Full-Text Articles in Population Biology

Lifetime Reproductive Success Of Female Eastern Kingbirds (Tyrannus Tyrannus): Influence Of Lifespan, Nest Predation And Body Size, Michael T. Murphy Jul 2007

Lifetime Reproductive Success Of Female Eastern Kingbirds (Tyrannus Tyrannus): Influence Of Lifespan, Nest Predation And Body Size, Michael T. Murphy

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

I report on the lifetime reproductive success (LRS) of female Eastern Kingbirds (Tyrannus tyrannus) in central New York. I investigated the major correlates of LRS and specifi cally tested the hypothesis that small body size yields reproductive benefi ts. Lifetime reproductive success varied widely: 15–20% of females failed to fledge young over their life, whereas 50% of young were fledged by 20% of females. Female lifespan varied between one and eight years, and females that died after one breeding season tended to be smaller-bodied than long-lived females (≥2 seasons). I therefore conducted analyses of LRS for the entire sample and …


A Molecular Evaluation Of The North American “Grassland” Sparrow Clade, John Klicka, Garth M. Spellman Apr 2007

A Molecular Evaluation Of The North American “Grassland” Sparrow Clade, John Klicka, Garth M. Spellman

Ornithology Program (HRC)

Because they share several morphological and ecological characters, the North American sparrow (Emberizidae) genera Ammodramus, Passerculus, and Xenospiza have historically been considered members of a well-defined “grassland” sparrow assemblage. Relationships among the 11 members of this group have been the subject of much taxonomic debate, yet no comprehensive molecular assessment of relationships has been done. We investigated these relationships using mitochondrial DNA sequence data that included complete cytochrome-b and ND2 genes. Phylogenetic reconstructions derived via parsimony, likelihood, and Bayesian methods were congruent. The grassland sparrows, as presently configured, are polyphyletic. Pooecetes gramineus, Amphispiza belli (but not A. …


Bird Movement Predicts Buggy Creek Virus Infection In Insect Vectors, Charles R. Brown, Mary Bomberger Brown, Amy T. Moore, Nicholas Komar Jan 2007

Bird Movement Predicts Buggy Creek Virus Infection In Insect Vectors, Charles R. Brown, Mary Bomberger Brown, Amy T. Moore, Nicholas Komar

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Predicting the spatial foci of zoonotic diseases is a major challenge for epidemiologists and disease ecologists. Migratory birds are often thought to be responsible for introducing some aviozoonotic pathogens such as West Nile and avian influenza viruses to a local area, but most information on how bird movement correlates with virus prevalence is anecdotal or indirect. We report that the prevalence of Buggy Creek virus (BCRV) infection in cimicid swallow bugs (Oeciacus vicarius), the principal invertebrate vector for this virus, was directly associated with the likelihood of movement by cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota), an amplifying host …


Ecological Correlates Of Buggy Creek Virus Infection In Oeciacus Vicarius, Southwestern Nebraska, 2004, Amy T. Moore, Eric A. Edwards, Mary Bomberger Brown, Nicholas Komar, Charles R. Brown Jan 2007

Ecological Correlates Of Buggy Creek Virus Infection In Oeciacus Vicarius, Southwestern Nebraska, 2004, Amy T. Moore, Eric A. Edwards, Mary Bomberger Brown, Nicholas Komar, Charles R. Brown

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Buggy Creek virus (family Togaviridae, genus Alphavirus, BCRV) is an alphavirus within the western equine encephalitis virus complex whose primary vector is the swallow bug, Oeciacus vicarius Horvath (Hemiptera: Cimicidae), an ectoparasite of the colonially nesting cliff swallow, Petrochelidon pyrrhonota, that is also a frequent host for the virus.We investigated ecological correlates of BCRV infection in 100-bug pools at 14 different swallow colony sites in southwestern Nebraska from summer 2004, by using plaque assay on Vero cells to identify cytopathic virus and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction to identify noncytopathic viral RNA. We found 26.7% of swallow bug pools …


First Records And First Proven Breeding Of Lesser Grey Shrike, Lanius Minor, In Mongolia, Markus Deutsch, Axel Bräunlich Jan 2007

First Records And First Proven Breeding Of Lesser Grey Shrike, Lanius Minor, In Mongolia, Markus Deutsch, Axel Bräunlich

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

During a trip to the Dzungarian Gobi in southwestern Mongolia, a group of German birdwatchers found several territorial lesser grey shrikes, Lanius minor, and documented an active nest. The species had not previously been recorded from Mongolia. Observations were made near Bulgan gol (Bulgan river; nest coordinates: 46°6’N 91°32’E, 1190 m a.s.l.) in Khovd aimag (Khovd province) on June 24, 2006. Besides two territorial pairs, of which a female could be photographically documented on the nest, at least four more territorial adults were found within an area of about 1.5 km2. Based on these records, an abundance …