Poultry or Avian Science Commons^™

Summer Field Report, June–July 2011, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

The effects of major drought in the southwest United States on bird life in Nebraska has yet to be determined, as has the effect of the historic inundation of the Missouri River bottom lands from Gavins Point Dam to Rulo in eastern Nebraska. The water level at McConaughy is coincidentally at a maximum, ensuring that breeding habitat for Piping Plover and Least Tern was much reduced in the state overall. On the other hand, bottom lands wetlands above the flood level were expanded; Black-necked Stilts initiated a late nesting in Dakota Co in flooded fields that also attracted thousands of …

Nebraska Bird Review (September 2011) 79(3), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Summer Field Report, June–July 2011 ... 82

2010 (22nd) Report of the NOU Records Committee ... 99

2011 Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) Statewide Nesting Survey ... 112

Subscription and Organization Information ... 115

Subscription And Organization Information [September 2011]

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review is published quarterly by the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, Inc., as its official journal, and is sent to members not in arrears of dues. Annual subscription rates (on a calendar-year basis only): $15 in the United States, $18 in Canada, and $30 in all other countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $4 each, postpaid, in the United States, $5 in Canada, and $8 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Anita Breckbill, NOU Librarian, c/o Music Library, WMB 30, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0101.

Memberships in the NOU (on a calendar-year basis only): Active Household …

2011 Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus Leucocephalus) Statewide Nesting Survey, Joel G. Jorgensen, Lisa Yager, Lauren R. Dinan

Nebraska Bird Review

The Bald Eagle (Halioeetus leucocephalus) was extirpated as a breeding species in Nebraska for most of the 20th Century. Nebraska's first active, successful, modern Bald Eagle nest was near Valley, Douglas County, in 1991 (Farrar 1991). Jorgensen et al. (2010) summarized modern Bald Eagle nesting records in Nebraska from 1950 to 2009. Jorgensen et al. (2010) noted the highest annual count of active nests was 54 in 2007. In this note we summarize the 2011 Bald Eagle nesting records in Nebraska.

Phylogeography Of A Vanishing North American Songbird: The Painted Bunting (Passerina Ciris), Connie Ann Herr

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Studies of genetic variation within and between species can provide insights into their evolutionary history as well as important information for conserving biodiversity. An understanding of population processes can assist in the conservation of biodiversity by contrasting current versus historical patterns, and the processes that have generated these patterns. Genetic differentiation often coincides with significant geological or climatic changes that have shaped the sizes and locations of the species geographic range and altered the connectivity between populations over time. Phylogenetic and population genetic analyses can also provide a statistical framework for the investigation of how human processes such as habitat …

Investigation Of In-Package Ozonation: The Effectiveness Of Ozone To Inactive Salmonella Enteritidis On Raw, Shell Eggs, Austin Donner

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

Food production, handling, and distribution practices pose a constant threat to the quality and safety of food products. The objective of this research is to evaluate an innovative in-package ozonation process to reduce Salmonella enteritidis on raw, shell eggs. Previous research has shown that in-package ozonation eliminates contaminants from outside sources, reduces pathogens, and extends shelf life. In this study, raw, shell eggs were inoculated with Salmonella enteritidis and exposed to ozonation treatment. Microbial recoveries were then tested to determine bacterial reductions. Measurements included: relative humidity (34 percent at 5^oC), surface temperatures (^oC), ozone concentrations, bacterial …

Effect Of Floor Density On Growth Performance Of Pearl Grey Guinea Fowl Replacement Pullets, Samuel N. Nahashon, Nathaniel Adefope, D. Wright

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Little is known of the optimal floor density for the Pearl Grey (PG) guinea fowl pullet. Hence, the objective of this study was to determine the effect of varying floor density on the growth performance of PG guinea fowl pullets. In 3 replicates, 1-d-old guinea keets (n = 786) were weighed individually and randomly assigned to floor pens covered with pine wood shavings at 80, 69, 60, and 53 birds/pen, equivalent to densities of 18, 15.6, 13.6, and 12 birds/m2, respectively. The birds were allowed feeder space of 2.3, 2.7, 3.1, and 3.5 cm/bird, respectively, and water space of 1.2, …

Spring Field Report, March 2011 To May 2011, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

There was a nice mix of interesting phenomena this spring, notably a big influx of migrant warblers. Species that are normally uncommon were reported in good numbers, 30 or more each: Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Blackburnian, Palm, and Northern Waterthrush, and species that normally occur in very low numbers approached double digits: Blue-winged, Golden-winged, Cape May, and Baybreasted. Southeastern species continue to expand in se. Nebraska, notably Cerulean and Kentucky Warblers and Summer Tanager. A few rarities showed up, most spectacular an alternate-plumaged female Red Phalarope, the first such record for Nebraska, which was captured on video by Nebraska Non-Game TV. Other …

Annual Meeting At Norfolk

Nebraska Bird Review

Sixty-six members and guests were in attendance for the 112th Annual Meeting of the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, held at the Lifelong Learning Center at Northeast Community College in Norfolk. The meeting was organized by Dave Heidt.

Field trips were led by Mark Brogie, Bill Flack, Dave Heidt, Jan Johnson, Wayne Mollhoff, Don and Janis Paseka, and Duane Wolff. Destinations included the Norfolk cemeteries, Ta-Ha-Zouka Park, Yellowbanks WMA, Olson Nature Preserve, wet meadows along Beaver Creek in Boone Co., Hackberry Creek WMA, Grove Lake WMA, the Plainview sewage lagoon, northern Knox Co., Buckskin Hills WMA, Ponca SP, Elk Point Bend WMA, …

Sarpy County Spring Bird Count, May 14, 2011

Nebraska Bird Review

List of the 174 bird species tallied during the annual Sarpy County Spring Bird Count, May 14, 2011.

Eurasian Wigeon In Sarpy County, Nebraska, Mark Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

On Saturday 14 May 2011 on the Sarpy County Spring Count, Justin Rink, Jim Ducey, Ellen Brogie, and I found a Eurasian Wigeon at LaPlatte Bottoms. When first discovered the bird was in the company of multiple Gadwall and at least one adult male American Wigeon. The bird was a striking adult male bird with a rusty red head and a yellowish forehead. The breast was reddish and contrasted with the gray back and sides. This coloration made the white wing stripe more pronounced than that of the American Wigeon. The bird showed no evidence of hybridization. Multiple observers viewed …

High Species Count At Annual Sarpy County Spring Bird Count, Clem Klaphake

Nebraska Bird Review

On May 14, 2011, participants in the Annual Sarpy County Spring Bird Count tallied 174 species, besting the previous high count of 143 (in 2006 and 2010) by 31 species. There were a few more counters this year than in most previous years, but it was just a good year for many families of birds. There were 28 warbler species seen (previous high was 23 in 2008). Also found were 4 terns, 9 flycatchers, 7 woodpeckers, 12 ducks, 14 shorebirds and 3 grebes. There are often unusual species that show up on the count, as illustrated by a Eurasian Wigeon …

Subscription And Organization Information [June 2011]

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review is published quarterly by the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, Inc., as its official journal, and is sent to members not in arrears of dues. Annual subscription rates (on a calendar-year basis only): $15 in the United States, $18 in Canada, and $30 in all other countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $4 each, postpaid, in the United States, $5 in Canada, and $8 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Anita Breckbill, NOU Librarian, c/o Music Library, WMB 30, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0101 (or at the email address listed below).

Memberships in the NOU …

Nebraska Bird Review (June 2011) 79(2), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Spring Field Report, March 2011 to May 2011 ... 46

High Species Count at Annual Sarpy County Spring Bird Count ... 68

Eurasian Wigeon in Sarpy County, Nebraska ... 69

Sarpy County Spring Bird Count, May 14, 2011 ... 69

Annual Meeting at Norfolk ... 71

Subscription and Organization Information ... 79

Seed Abundance For Waterfowl In Wetlands Managed By The Illinois Department Of Natural Resources, Joshua D. Stafford, Aaron P. Yetter, Christopher S. Hine, Randolph S. Smith, Michelle M. Horath

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

Managed wetlands on public lands in Illinois, United States, provide foraging habitats for migrating and wintering waterfowl. However, few studies have estimated abundances of waterfowl foods in mid-migration regions of North America, yet such information is needed to inform management and conservation decision-making. During 2005– 2007, we used a multistage sampling design to estimate moist-soil plant seed production (kg/ha, dry mass) and energetic carrying capacity at sites managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and modeled variation in seed biomass. Average seed biomass among all sites ranged from 1,030.0 6 64.1 (SE) kg/ha in 2005 to 501.5 6 124.1 …

Assessing The Stability, Biological Transfer And Developmental Impact Of Environmentally Relevant Nitrosamines Using A Chicken Egg Model, Nikita Joshi

Environmental Health, Occupational Health, and Toxicology: Dissertations and Student Research

Nitrosamines comprise a large group of potentially toxic compounds occurring in the environment as by-products of various manufacturing, agricultural and natural processes. Nitrosamines are produced from reaction of nitrite with a suitable secondary amine in an acidic matrix; these acidic conditions can occur in environmental media and in the mammalian gastrointestinal (GI) tract. This research focused on the stability, transfer, and impacts of the environmentally relevant nitrosamines, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-nitrosmorpholine (NMOR), and N-nitrosoatrazine (NNAT) (formed from reaction of nitrite with dimethylamine, morpholine, and atrazine), using the chicken egg and embryo model systems. Chicken eggs were used to …

An Ecological Study Of Peregrine Falcons (Falco Peregrinus) At Lake Mead National Recreation Area, 2006-2010, Joseph Graham Barnes

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus) represent an encouraging conservation biology success story in North America during the twentieth century. Their distribution and population size suffered major restrictions after the initiation of widespread application of the synthetic pesticide dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) within the U.S. in the 1940s. The species was federally listed as endangered in the U.S. in 1969 and was then delisted in 1999 after DDT was banned in 1972. Herein, I present my ecological research of peregrines within Lake Mead National Recreation Area (LMNRA), concentrating on the years 2006-2010. This thesis is comprised of two chapters. In the first chapter, I …

A Nebraska Bird-Finding Guide, Paul A. Johnsgard

Zea E-Books Collection

Nebraska lies in the transition zone between North American eastern and western avifaunas and is home to more than 200 breeding and 150 migrant species. This definitive guide to Nebraska birdwatching by the state’s preeminent ornithologist includes a county-by-county rundown of the best sites, a calendar of migrations, an annotated checklist of regularly occurring Nebraska birds, and recommendations for optical equipment, publications and reference materials, and contact information for conservation and ornithological groups. It features 48 maps as well as photographs and drawings by the author.

Paul Johnsgard, Foundation Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, is …

Historic And Contemporary Trends Of The Conservation Reserve Program And Ring-Necked Pheasants In South Dakota, Christopher R. Laingen

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Over the past century, the interactions between agricultural land use and government cropland retirement programs have affected pheasant population change. Two government land retirement programs that returned croplands to grasslands, Soil Bank in the 1960s and the current Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), help to illustrate these connections. From 2007 to 2010, South Dakota lost 41% of its CRP lands and experienced an 18% decline in pheasants per mile. However, because of where CRP expirations have occurred and where pheasant populations are found, some regional variability is seen. Western South Dakota (Region 1) had an 80% increase in pheasants per mile …

Nitric Oxide Synthesis By Chicken Macrophages Results In Coordinated Changes Of Multiple Arginine Transporters, Michael Moulds

Master's Theses

Arginine transport is primarily mediated by the cationic amino acid transporters (CATs) in mammalian cells, but in aves the y⁺, b^0,+ and B^0,+ transport systems have also been observed. Arginine is the limiting catabolic substrate required for the production of nitric oxide (NO), a highly reactive compound that acts as a signaling molecule or killing compound. NO is synthesized by inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) by macrophages for pathogen clearance. In mammals, CAT-2B is responsible for ARG import in the macrophage for NO synthesis, but the chicken CAT-2B isoform does not transport ARG. Therefore the objective …