Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2003

International and Area Studies

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Articles 1 - 15 of 15

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

New Nesting Dates For Some Breeding Birds In North Dakota, Lawrence D. Igl, Harold A. Kantrud Oct 2003

New Nesting Dates For Some Breeding Birds In North Dakota, Lawrence D. Igl, Harold A. Kantrud

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

There have been few published nest records for North Dakota (e.g., Haas 1985, Kantrud 1992, Buhl and Shaffer 2000) since Robert E. Stewart published Breeding Birds of North Dakota in 1975. For several species, we report dates for eggs, nestlings, or fledglings that occurred outside the intervals reported by Stewart (1975). For comparison, we provide nesting dates for breeding birds in South Dakota (Tallman et aI. 2002).

Go to article

Guidelines For Finding Nests Of Passerine Birds In Tallgrass Prairie, Maiken Winter, Shawn E. Hawks, Jill A. Shaffer, Douglas H. Johnson Jul 2003

Guidelines For Finding Nests Of Passerine Birds In Tallgrass Prairie, Maiken Winter, Shawn E. Hawks, Jill A. Shaffer, Douglas H. Johnson

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

The productivity of birds is one of the most critical components of their natural history affected by habitat quality. Birds might occur at high densities in a given habitat patch but have low nesting success. Such "population sinks" would not be detected if observers relied solely on estimates of bird density. Therefore, it is essential to monitor nests and determine their outcomes. Although interest in grassland-nesting passerines has increased greatly during the last decade, we still know little about factors affecting their nesting success. To stimulate more research in this area, we summarize several methods for nest-searching and provide suggestions …

Go to article

Brown-Headed Cowbirds In Grasslands: Their Habitats, Hosts, And Response To Management, Jill A. Shaffer, Christopher M. Goldade, Meghan F. Dinkins, Douglas H. Johnson, Lawrence D. Igl, Betty R. Euliss Jun 2003

Brown-Headed Cowbirds In Grasslands: Their Habitats, Hosts, And Response To Management, Jill A. Shaffer, Christopher M. Goldade, Meghan F. Dinkins, Douglas H. Johnson, Lawrence D. Igl, Betty R. Euliss

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

The brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) is an obligate brood parasite whose numbers have increased in recent decades to the potential detriment of the species that they parasitize. Thus, most management efforts focus on discouraging brown-headed cowbird parasitism or controlling brown-headed cowbird populations. Keys to discouraging brown-headed cowbird parasitism or controlling populations of brown-headed cowbirds in the Great Plains are maintaining large expanses of grassland, eliminating foraging areas (e.g., feedlots) and perch sites, and reducing the extent of overgrazed pastures.

Go to article

Pheasants Of The World . . . Again, Brent E. Jamison Jun 2003

Pheasants Of The World . . . Again, Brent E. Jamison

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

The newest edition of Johnsgard's overview of the pheasants of the world is arranged in two parts, as was the first edition. Part One is entitled Comparative Biology and is divided into eight chapters: relationships and classification, hybridization and zoogeographic patterns, growth and behavioral development, general and social behavior, ecology and population biology, comparative mating systems and social signaling devices, reproductive biology, and aviculture and conservation. Part Two, Taxonomic Keys and Species Accounts, forms the bulk of the text. Part Two begins with keys to subfamilies, tribes, and the 16 genera. An account for each species follows the generic key. …

Go to article

American Avocet Nesting On Constructed Islands In North Dakota, Ann L. Dahl, Douglas H. Johnson, Lawrence D. Igl, Kathy L. Baer, Terry L. Shaffer, Michael A. Johnson, Ronald E. Reynolds Jun 2003

American Avocet Nesting On Constructed Islands In North Dakota, Ann L. Dahl, Douglas H. Johnson, Lawrence D. Igl, Kathy L. Baer, Terry L. Shaffer, Michael A. Johnson, Ronald E. Reynolds

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

We related American avocet (Recurvirostra americana) nesting on 30 earthen constructed islands in wetlands of the Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota to characteristics of the islands and the surrounding landscape. We found 174 American avocet nests on 10 of the 30 islands; eight islands had four or more nests each. Most (85.9%) clutches contained four eggs. The majority of nests were found in upland graminoids (57.9%) or on unvegetated ground (31.6%). We found little evidence of nest predation or abandonment and concluded that most (84.5%) clutches hatched. Islands with beaches had a higher nest density (mean number …

Go to article

Historical And Recent Records And First Nest Records Of Henslow's Sparrow In North Dakota, Jill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. Igl, Frédérick Vanhove Mar 2003

Historical And Recent Records And First Nest Records Of Henslow's Sparrow In North Dakota, Jill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. Igl, Frédérick Vanhove

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

The northwestern limit of the Henslow's sparrow (Ammodramus henslowii) breeding distribution occurs in southern Minnesota and central Wisconsin. In North Dakota, observations of Henslow's sparrows are reported infrequently, and there are no published nest records in the state. Herein, we summarize and review previous reports of Henslow's sparrows in North Dakota and document the first two nest records of Henslow's sparrow in the state.

Go to article

Differences In Distribution Of Modified Basins And Ducks Relative To Roadside Transects, Jane E. Austin, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, H. Thomas Sklebar, T. K. Buhl Mar 2003

Differences In Distribution Of Modified Basins And Ducks Relative To Roadside Transects, Jane E. Austin, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, H. Thomas Sklebar, T. K. Buhl

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Wetland basins in the Prairie Pothole Region of the U.S. are commonly modified by excavation (e.g., roadside ditches, stock dugouts), partial drainage (ditching), and diking. Differences in the distribution of modified wetlands may affect the predictive accuracy of waterfowl survey data if such wetlands are not distributed randomly in the landscape and if waterfowl are not distributed equally among them. We used data collected on thirty-eight 40-km2 plots in North Dakota to examine the distribution of modified basins relative to roadside transects and their use by five species of dabbling ducks in 1995. The 800-m-wide transects were subdivided into …

Go to article

Nest Parasitism On Constructed Islands In Northwestern North Dakota, Amy L. Zimmerman, Marsha A. Sovada, Tim K. Kessler, Robert K. Murphy Feb 2003

Nest Parasitism On Constructed Islands In Northwestern North Dakota, Amy L. Zimmerman, Marsha A. Sovada, Tim K. Kessler, Robert K. Murphy

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Parasitism of duck nests can reduce host productivity. We examined effects of nest parasitism on success of host nests found on constructed islands in the Fuller-Big Meadows marsh in northwestern North Dakota from 1994 to 2000. We found 1642 duck nests of 10 species on 25 0.3-ha islands. Nine hundred- seventy (59%) of the 1642 nests were parasitized, of which 87% were parasitized by redheads (Aythya americana). The observed parasitism rate was greater than 50% in four of seven years and was highest in 1997 (81 %, n = 252). Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) nests tended to …

Go to article

Genetic Variation In The Midcontinental Population Of Sandhill Cranes, Grus Canadensis, Jessica L. Petersen, Richard Bischof, Gary L. Krapu, Allen L. Szalanski Feb 2003

Genetic Variation In The Midcontinental Population Of Sandhill Cranes, Grus Canadensis, Jessica L. Petersen, Richard Bischof, Gary L. Krapu, Allen L. Szalanski

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Three subspecies of sandhill crane (Grus canadensis) are recognized in the Midcontinental population, the lesser (Grus c. canadensis), Canadian (G. c. rowani), and greater (G. c. tabida). Blood samples collected on the population’s primary spring staging area in Nebraska, U.S.A., were used to resolve the genetic relationship among these subspecies. Phylogenetic analysis of 27 G. canadensis, by DNA sequencing of a 675 bp region of the mtDNA, supports the subspecies designations of G. c. canadensis and G. c. tabida. G. c. rowani individuals were intermediate with each of the other …

Go to article

Native Weeds And Exotic Plants: Relationships To Disturbance In Mixed-Grass Prairie, Diane L. Larson Jan 2003

Native Weeds And Exotic Plants: Relationships To Disturbance In Mixed-Grass Prairie, Diane L. Larson

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Disturbance frequently is implicated in the spread of invasive exotic plants. Disturbances may be broadly categorized as endogenous (e.g., digging by fossorial animals) or exogenous (e.g., construction and maintenance of roads and trails), just as weedy species may be native or exotic in origin. The objective of this study was to characterize and compare exotic and native weedy plant occurrence in and near three classes of disturbance – digging by prairie dogs (an endogenous disturbance to which native plants have had the opportunity to adapt), paved or gravel roads (an exogenous disturbance without natural precedent), and constructed trails (an exogenous …

Go to article

Male Brown-Headed Cowbird Attacks And Kills A Nestling, Lawrence D. Igl Jan 2003

Male Brown-Headed Cowbird Attacks And Kills A Nestling, Lawrence D. Igl

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

I observed a male Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) attack and kill a nestling of an unidentified passerine in a grassland field in Day County, South Dakota, in June 2000. The killing or removal of nestlings by female cowbirds has been reported by others, but this behavior has not been documented previously in male cowbirds.

Go to article

Effects Of Ungulates And Prairie Dogs On Seed Banks And Vegetation In A North American Mixed-Grass Prairie, Jace T. Fahnestock, Diane L. Larson, Glenn E. Plumb, James K. Detling Jan 2003

Effects Of Ungulates And Prairie Dogs On Seed Banks And Vegetation In A North American Mixed-Grass Prairie, Jace T. Fahnestock, Diane L. Larson, Glenn E. Plumb, James K. Detling

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

The relationship between vegetation cover and soil seed banks was studied in five different ungulate herbivoreprairie dog treatment combinations at three northern mixed-grass prairie sites in Badlands National Park, South Dakota. There were distinct differences in both the seed bank composition and the aboveground vegetation between the off-prairie dog colony treatments and the on-colony treatments. The three on-colony treatments were similar to each other at all three sites with vegetation dominated by the forbs Dyssodia papposa, Hedeoma spp., Sphaeralcea coccinea, Conyza canadensis, and Plantago patagonica and seed banks dominated by the forbs Verbena bracteata and Dyssodia papposa. The …

Go to article

Evaluation Of Landscape Models For Wolverines In The Interier Northwest, United States Of America, Mary M. Rowland, Michael J. Wisdom, Douglas H. Johnson, Barbara C. Wales, Jeffrey P. Copeland, Frank B. Edelmann Jan 2003

Evaluation Of Landscape Models For Wolverines In The Interier Northwest, United States Of America, Mary M. Rowland, Michael J. Wisdom, Douglas H. Johnson, Barbara C. Wales, Jeffrey P. Copeland, Frank B. Edelmann

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

The wolverine (Gulo gulo) is an uncommon, wide-ranging carnivore of conservation con- cern. We evaluated performance of landscape models for wolverines within their historical range at 2 scales in the interior Northwest based on recent observations (n = 421) from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. At the sub-basin scale, simple overlays of habitat and road-density classes were effective in predicting observations of wolverines. At the watershed scale, we used a Bayesian belief network model to provide spatially explicit estimates of relative habitat capability. The model has 3 inputs: amount of habitat, human population density, and road density. …

Go to article

Effects Of Leafy Spurge Infestation On Grassland Birds, Daniel M. Scheiman, Eric K. Bollinger, Douglas H. Johnson Jan 2003

Effects Of Leafy Spurge Infestation On Grassland Birds, Daniel M. Scheiman, Eric K. Bollinger, Douglas H. Johnson

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Grassland bird populations are declining. Invasive plant species may be contributing to these declines by altering habitat quality. However, the effects of invasive plants on grassland birds are largely unknown. Leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula) is an exotic, invasive weed in the northern Great Plains. We examined the effects of leafy spurge infestation on densities of breeding birds, nest-site selection, and nest success in grasslands on the Sheyenne National Grassland (SNG), North Dakota, USA, 1999-2000. We categorized spurge-infested grasslands into 3 groups (low, medium, high), based on the area covered by spurge patches. We surveyed 75 100-m-radius circular points …

Go to article

Sampling Designs For Carnivore Scent-Station Surveys, Glen A. Sargeant, Douglas H. Johnson, William E. Berg Jan 2003

Sampling Designs For Carnivore Scent-Station Surveys, Glen A. Sargeant, Douglas H. Johnson, William E. Berg

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Scent stations usually are deployed in clusters to expedite data collection and increase the number of stations that can be operated for a given cost. Presumed benefits of cluster sampling may not be realized, however, unless cluster sizes are chosen with respect to sampling variation within and among clusters. To encourage and facilitate the use of efficient designs and reporting standards, we used data collected in Minnesota, USA, during 1986-1991 to (1) compare the performance of survey designs with various numbers of stations/cluster; (2) estimate relations between required sample sizes and visitation rates, changes in visitation rates, and error rates; …

Go to article