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Publications

Filter Total Items: 1990

Effects of experimental removal of barred owls on population demography of northern spotted owls in Washington and Oregon—2016 progress report

Evidence indicates that competition with invasive barred owls (Strix varia) is causing rapid declines in populations of northern spotted owls (S. occidentalis caurina), and that the long-term persistence of spotted owls may be in question without additional management intervention. A pilot study in California showed that removal of barred owls in combination with habitat conservation may be able t
Authors
J. David Wiens, Katie M. Dugger, Krista E. Lewicki, David C. Simon

Quantifying the demographic cost of human-related mortality to a raptor population

Raptors are exposed to a wide variety of human-related mortality agents, and yet population-level effects are rarely quantified. Doing so requires modeling vital rates in the context of species life-history, behavior, and population dynamics theory. In this paper, we explore the details of such an analysis by focusing on the demography of a resident, tree-nesting population of golden eagles (Aquil
Authors
W. Grainger Hunt, David Wiens, Peter R. Law, Mark R. Fuller, Teresa L. Hunt, Daniel E. Driscoll, Ronald E. Jackman

Polygamy slows down population divergence in shorebirds

Sexual selection may act as a promotor of speciation since divergent mate choice and competition for mates can rapidly lead to reproductive isolation. Alternatively, sexual selection may also retard speciation since polygamous individuals can access additional mates by increased breeding dispersal. High breeding dispersal should hence increase gene flow and reduce diversification in polygamous spe
Authors
Josephine D'Urban Jackson, Natalie dos Remedios, Kathryn Maher, Sama Zefania, Susan M. Haig, Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Donald Blomqvist, Terry Burke, Michael W. Bruford, Tamás Székely, Clemens Küpper

Counterintuitive roles of experience and weather on migratory performance

Migration allows animals to live in resource-rich but seasonally variable environments. Because of the costs of migration, there is selective pressure to capitalize on variation in weather to optimize migratory performance. To test the degree to which migratory performance (defined as speed of migration) of Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) was determined by age- and season-specific responses to v
Authors
Adrian I. Rus, Adam E. Duerr, Tricia A. Miller, James R. Belthoff, Todd E. Katzner

Fungal and bacterial contributions to nitrogen cycling in cheatgrass-invaded and uninvaded native sagebrush soils of the western USA

AimThere is interest in determining how cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) modifies N cycling in sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) soils of the western USA.MethodsTo gain insight into the roles of fungi and bacteria in N cycling of cheatgrass-invaded and uninvaded sagebrush soils, the fungal protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide (CHX), and the bacteriocidal compound, bronopol (BRO) were com
Authors
Nicole DeCrappeo, Elizabeth J. DeLorenze, Andrew T Giguere, David A. Pyke, Peter J. Bottomley

Climate drives adaptive genetic responses associated with survival in big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata)

A genecological approach was used to explore genetic variation for survival in Artemisia tridentata(big sagebrush). Artemisia tridentata is a widespread and foundational shrub species in western North America. This species has become extremely fragmented, to the detriment of dependent wildlife, and efforts to restore it are now a land management priority. Common-garden experiments were established
Authors
Lindsay Chaney, Bryce A. Richardson, Matthew J. Germino

Species composition, timing, and weather correlates of autumn open-water crossings by raptors migrating along the East-Asian Oceanic Flyway

Raptor migration rarely involves long-distance movements across open oceans. One exception occurs along the East-Asian Oceanic Flyway. We collected migration data at two terrestrial hawkwatch sites along this flyway to better understand open-ocean movements along this largely overwater corridor. At the northern end of the Philippines, at Basco on the island of Batan, we recorded 7587 migratory rap
Authors
Camille B. Concepcion, Patricia T. Dumandan, Medel R. Silvosa, Keith L. Bildstein, Todd E. Katzner

Effects of experimentally reduced snowpack and passive warming on montane meadow plant phenology and floral resources

Climate change can have a broad range of effects on ecosystems and organisms, and early responses may include shifts in vegetation phenology and productivity that may not coincide with the energetics and forage timing of higher trophic levels. We evaluated phenology, annual height growth, and foliar frost responses of forbs to a factorial experiment of snow removal (SR) and warming in a high-eleva
Authors
J.A. Sherwood, D.M. Debinski, P.C. Caragea, Matthew J. Germino

Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) telemetry and associated habitat data collected in a geodatabase from the upper Boise River, southwestern Idaho

Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus), listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, are among the more thermally sensitive of coldwater species in North America. The Boise River upstream of Arrowrock Dam in southwestern Idaho (including Arrowrock Reservoir) provides habitat for one of the southernmost populations of bull trout. The presence of the species in Arrowrock Reservoir poses impli
Authors
Dorene E. MacCoy, Zachary M. Shephard, Joseph R. Benjamin, Dmitri T. Vidergar, Anthony F. Prisciandaro

Distribution, nesting activities, and age-class of territorial pairs of golden eagles at the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area, California, 2014–16

The substantial numbers of golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) killed by collisions with oldgeneration wind turbines each year at the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area (APWRA) in California has been well documented from previous studies. Few eagle nests have been documented in the APWRA, however, and adults and subadults 3+ years of age killed by turbines were generally not associated with nearby ter
Authors
Patrick S. Kolar, J. David Wiens

Status and trends of dam removal research in the United States

Aging infrastructure coupled with growing interest in river restoration has driven a dramatic increase in the practice of dam removal. With this increase, there has been a proliferation of studies that assess the physical and ecological responses of rivers to these removals. As more dams are considered for removal, scientific information from these dam-removal studies will increasingly be called u
Authors
James Bellmore, Jeffrey J. Duda, Laura Craig, Samantha L. Greene, Christian E. Torgersen, Mathias J. Collins, Katherine Vittum