Population Biology Commons^™

Evaluating Lethal And Nonlethal Management Options For Urban Coyotes, Stewart W. Breck, Sharon A. Poessel, Mary Ann Bonnell

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Human-coyote conflict in urban environments is a growing issue in cities throughout the United States with the primary problem being the development of problem individuals that are overly bold and aggressive with people and pets. Little research has focused on management options to deal with this conflict. We better define lethal and nonlethal management strategies associated with proactive and reactive management of coyotes with an emphasis on management of problem individuals. We then provide data from research in the Denver Metropolitan Area (DMA) that focused on reactive lethal removal of problem coyotes and reactive nonlethal hazing (i.e., community-level hazing, a …

Big Brains Stabilize Populations And Facilitate Colonization Of Variable Habitats In Birds, Trevor S. Fristoe, Andrew N. Iwaniuk, Carlos A. Botero

Biology Faculty Research

The cognitive buffer hypothesis posits that environmental variability can be a major driver of the evolution of cognition because an enhanced ability to produce flexible behavioural responses facilitates coping with the unexpected. Although comparative evidence supports different aspects of this hypothesis, a direct connection between cognition and the ability to survive a variable and unpredictable environment has yet to be demonstrated. Here, we use complementary demographic and evolutionary analyses to show that among birds, the mechanistic premise of this hypothesis is well supported but the implied direction of causality is not. Specifically, we show that although population dynamics are more …

First Report Of A Population Of Western Blacknose Dace (Rhinichthys Obtusus) In The Brushy Creek System Of The Black Warrior River Drainage, Alabama, Eric Bauer, Malorie M. Hayes

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

Alabama is home to the southernmost populations of Rhinichthys obtusus, the Western Blacknose Dace. Within Alabama, R. obtusus is found in the Tennessee, Coosa, and Black Warrior River basins, but its presence in the Black Warrior River drainage has been limited. Until now, R. obtusus in the Black Warrior drainage has only been reported as collections of 1 to 4 specimens at a time in the Sipsey Fork drainage. Herein, we report two novel occurrences of R. obtusus in the headwaters of the Brushy Creek system in the Black Warrior River drainage including a singleton and a large population. …

Rehabilitation Of An Injured Golden Eagle (Aquila Chrysaetos): A Case Study, Fida Muhammad Khan, Fakhar-I- Abbas, Abu Ul Hassan Faiz

Journal of Bioresource Management

Habitat destruction and anthropogenic activities cause wild birds to migrate towards urban areas in search of food and sometimes nesting in high-roof buildings, where they are caught by local people using different techniques and are further used for hunting or recreational purposes. An injured Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) was found entangled in bushes near the vicinity of Balkasar Research Complex, Chakwal, Pakistan. After complete physical examination, a wound on the right wing and closed leg fracture was diagnosed. The successful treatment was done by anti-parasitic and anti-bacterial drugs with careful monitoring. Splint was adjusted after aligning the fractured …

Effects Of A Prescribed Burn On The Adult Butterfly Assemblage Of A Coastal Grassland, J. Nicole Desha, Joseph Colbert, Kimberly M. Andrews, Scott Coleman, C. Tate Holbrook

Georgia Journal of Science

Coastal grasslands are globally threatened by development and natural succession. In the southeastern United States, these increasingly rare ecosystems are being managed using prescribed fire, but ecological responses to fire management are largely unknown, particularly among nontargeted species. We tested for short-term effects of controlled burning on the abundance and species richness of adult butterflies, which utilize coastal grasslands for nectaring resources and as migratory stopover sites. In February 2015, four plots of coastal grassland on Little St. Simons Island, GA were burned and paired with unburned (control) plots of equal size. Throughout the following summer-fall flight season, we conducted …

Diet And Habitat Analysis Of Barn Owls (Tyto Alba) Nesting At Ponca State Park, Ann Spilker, Joseph A. Gubanyi

Nebraska Bird Review

In 2015 Barn Owls (Tyto alba) nested on the floor of a grain bin in Ponca State Park, Dixon County. Seven nestlings were observed (Figure 1). It is believed that 6 fledged (one carcass was found on the floor of the bin September 26). Barn Owls were not observed the following spring (Jan Johnson, personal communication). Because there are few records of Barn Owls in the region, we collected data to better understand the Barn Owl nesting in Ponca State Park. Barn Owl prey and their importance to reproductive success has been well documented (Marti et al. 2005; Gubanyi et …

The Nebraska Bird Review, Volume 85 September 2017 Number 3

Nebraska Bird Review

Summer Field Report, June - July 2017, by W. Ross Silcock …94

Diet and Habitat Analysis of Barn Owls (Tyto alba) Nesting at Ponca State Park, by Ann Spilker and Joseph Gubanyi … 121

2016 (28th) Report of the NOU Records Committee, by Mark A. Brogie …128

Subscription and Organization Information … 143

Summer Field Report, June - July 2017, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

Changes in breeding ranges and numbers of Nebraska breeding birds are the primary focus of a Summer Seasonal Report. Every year there are changes to be noted; this year is no exception. Although most of the phenomena listed below are examples of dispersing individuals without breeding evidence, these often indicate breeding range expansion. White-winged Doves are becoming numerous in southern and western Nebraska, although breeding in far eastern Nebraska was only the 5th report for the state. Chuckwill’s- widow continues to creep westward in the south; the westernmost report to date was of one that crossed the 100-mile gap from …

2016 (28th) Report Of The Nou Records Committee, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

The functions and methods of the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee (NOURC) are described in its bylaws (NOURC 2010). The committee’s purpose is to provide a procedure for documenting unusual bird sightings and to establish a list of all documented birds for Nebraska. Accidental and casual species for which the NOURC seeks documentation (NOURC Review List) can be found at the NOU website: www.NOUbirds.org. All records mentioned here are available to interested persons at the NOU archives at the University of Nebraska State Museum (UNSM), Lincoln, NE. Interested parties should contact the current NOU Librarian, whose address can be found …

European Starlings, H. Jeffrey Homan, Ron J. Johnson, James R. Thiele, George M. Linz

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris, Figure 1) are an invasive species in the United States. The first recorded release of the birds was in 1890 in New York City’s Central Park. Because starlings easily adapt to a variety of habitats, nest sites and food sources, the birds spread quickly across the country. Today, there are about 150 million starlings in North America. Conflicts between people and starlings occur mostly in agricultural settings. Conflicts can occur during winter in urban and suburban environments, especially in business districts.

Starlings damage apples, blueberries, cherries, figs, grapes, peaches, and strawberries. Besides causing direct losses from …

Climate Matching Drives Spread Rate But Not Establishment Success In Recent Unintentional Bird Introductions, Pedro Abellán, José L. Tella, Martina Carrete, Laura Cardador, José D. Anadón

Publications and Research

Understanding factors driving successful invasions is one of the cornerstones of invasion biology. Bird invasions have been frequently used as study models, and the foundation of current knowledge largely relies on species purposefully introduced during the 19th and early 20th centuries in countries colonized by Europeans. However, the profile of exotic bird species has changed radically in the last decades, as birds are now mostly introduced into the invasion process through unplanned releases from the worldwide pet and avicultural trade. Here we assessed the role of the three main drivers of invasion success (i.e., event-, species-, and location-level factors) on …

Current Status Of American Bullfrog, Lithobates Catesbeianus, Invasion In Uruguay And Exploration Of Chytrid Infection, Gabriel Laufer, Noelia Gobel, Claudio Borteiro, Alvaro Soutullo, Claudio Martinez-Debat, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

The American bullfrog Lithobates catesbeianus is an invasive species that can strongly affect native amphibian communities through competition, predation, or introduction of diseases. This frog has invaded multiple areas in South America, for which niche models predict suitable environments across much of the continent. This paper reveals the state of the invasion of this species in Uruguay and its possible relationship with the chytrid pathogenic fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Surveys at invaded sites were conducted from 2007 to 2015, identified two populations undergoing recent range expansion (one of them exponential), two populations that failed to establish, and a new record …

Habitat Associations With Small Mammal Communities At Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, Stephanie Anne Ellison

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to aid the National Park Service at Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield with the reported habitat monitoring and management goals through vegetation and wildlife surveys within the park. I provided a description of two major habitat types that are of ecological concern, which included non-native ruderal grasslands and upland deciduous woodlands and forests. I evaluated small mammal communities to determine factors that may affect the detection of individual species and examined habitat associations with occupancy, as small mammals are good indicators of habitat quality. My study highlights the need to manage invasive species such as …

Nesting Success Of The Barn Owl (Tyto Alba) Using Nest Boxes In Southwest Missouri, Robert Grant Dickerson

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The Barn Owl (Tyto alba) is a medium-sized owl belonging to the family Tytonidae. They raise young within natural cavities and on hard surfaces including nest boxes. The nesting success of Barn Owls, using wooden nest boxes, was studied in southwestern Missouri in 2016. Data were collected on clutch and brood sizes, the numbers of young fledged, and the species and amount of prey found in their regurgitated pellets. Interaction between Barn Owls and Great Horned Owls (Bubo virginianus) was also observed and documented. Nest box occupancy was 30% which is lower than in other studies, however this study included …

Ecology Of The Young-Of-The-Year Emerald Shiner (Notropis Atherinoides) In The Upper Niagara River, New York: Growth, Diversity, And Importance As A Forage Species, Jacob L. Cochran

Great Lakes Center Masters Theses

The emerald shiner (Notropis atherinoides) is a relatively understudied Cyprinid that fills a major keystone role in the Niagara River. Little is known about the emerald shiner’s early life history, such as the ecology of their larval and juvenile stages, which is the focus of this study. In the upper Niagara River, larvae first recruited into sampling gear in early July at a mean water temperature of 23^oC, with larvae appearing into August. Young-of-the-year (YOY) emerald shiners grew an average of 1.5 mm and 31.5 mg a week throughout the growing season with condition peaking during …

Herons And Egrets, Michael D. Hoy

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

Human-Wildlife Conflicts

Landscapes -- Herons and egrets commonly cause damage at aquaculture facilities and recreational fishing waters where fish are held at high densities. In one study, on average wading birds consumed from 4 to 24 golden shiners per day at minnow production facilities in Arkansas. Great blue herons and great egrets commonly feed at catfish production facilities in Mississippi. The tendency for herons and egrets to congregate in large feeding flocks often leads to extensive loss of fish at aquaculture facilities. Fish-eating birds also can have an impact on intensively managed sport fisheries. Damage occurs when herons and egrets …

Environmentally-Driven Variation In The Population Dynamics Of Gulf Menhaden (Brevoortia Patronus), Grant D. Adams

Master's Theses

Gulf Menhaden (Brevoortia patronus) is an abundant forage fish distributed throughout the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM). Gulf Menhaden support the second largest fishery, by weight, in the United States and represent a key linkage between upper and lower trophic levels. Variation in the population dynamics can, therefore, pose consequences for the ecology and economy in the NGOM. Here we aim to understand variation in the individual and population dynamics of Gulf Menhaden throughout ontogeny and how such variation relates to environmental processes. We utilized a suite of fishery-dependent and –independent, remote sensing, modeled, and in situ data …

Evidence Of Multidecadal Recruitment In The Ocean Quahog, Arctica Islandica In The Western Atlantic Ocean, Sara M. Pace

Master's Theses

Ocean quahogs (Arctica islandica) are the longest-lived, non-colonial animals known today, with a maximum life span exceeding 500 years. Limited information is available regarding recruitment, making the sustainable management of this valuable fishery a challenge. The objective of this research was to describe the age structure and growth rates for four populations of ocean quahogs from the mid-Atlantic stock to evaluate long-term recruitment trends. Clams were sectioned for age estimation to develop population age frequencies. Initial colonization began approximately 175-250 years ago depending upon site. All sites experienced an increase in recruitment beginning in the late 1800’s to …

Fleas Of The American Pika: Diversity And Biogeography In North America’S Intermountain West, Niyomi Wijewardena

All NMU Master's Theses

American pikas (Ochotona princeps) are small mammals that are widely distributed across North America’s Intermountain West. Previous investigations revealed five geographically distinct mitochondrial lineages within O. princeps associated with different mountain systems of the Intermountain West. In contrast, diversity of endoparasitic helminths of pikas is not structured geographically in the same way. Instead, there are two primary parasite assemblages, one distributed across southwestern pika populations and one found across the northeastern part of the host range. These contrasting patterns suggest that the shared history of pikas and their parasites had different consequences for the evolutionary trajectories of these …

Life-Shortening Wolbachia Infection Reduces Population Growth Of Aedes Aegypti, Eunho Suh, David R. Mercer, Stephen L. Dobson

Entomology Faculty Publications

Wolbachia bacteria are being introduced into natural populations of vector mosquitoes, with the goal of reducing the transmission of human diseases such as Zika and dengue fever. The successful establishment of Wolbachia infection is largely dependent on the effects of Wolbachia infection to host fitness, but the effects of Wolbachia infection on the individual life-history traits of immature mosquitoes can vary. Here, the effects of life-shortening Wolbachia (wMelPop) on population growth of infected individuals were evaluated by measuring larval survival, developmental time and adult size of Aedes aegypti in intra- (infected or uninfected only) and inter-group (mixed with …