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Publications

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center staff publish results of their research in USGS series reports and in peer-reviewed journals. Publication links are below.  Information on all USGS publications can be found at the USGS Publications Warehouse.

Filter Total Items: 1907

Nongame bird communities on managed grasslands in North Dakota

Grazed native prairie, unmanipulated native prairie, and planted alfalfa-wheatgrass habitats each supported prairie bird species unique to that habitat type. Comparisons of the three habitats, using community coefficients and overlap indices, showed that grazed and alfalfa-wheatgrass habitats supported the most dissimilar or unique bird communities. All three habitat types, or habitats with simila
Authors
Rochelle B. Renken, James J. Dinsmore

Breeding birds and vegetation structure in western North Dakota wooded draws

Populations and distribution of breeding birds occupying wooded draws were studied in a five-county region of western North Dakota during June 1982. Wooded draw vegetation was dominated by green ash, which occurred in 96% of the draws sampled. Chokecherry and juneberry were the most frequent shrub species. I recorded 49 bird species in the 30 draws censused. Rufous-sided towhee, brown-headed cowbi
Authors
C. A. Faanes

Fall and winter foods of northern pintails in the Sacramento Valley, California

Food habits of northern pintails (Anas acuta) were investigated on 3 national wildlife refuges in the western portion of the Sacramento Valley, California, from August to March 1979-82. Pintails consumed 97% (aggregate % dry wt) plant food during diurnal foraging on national wildlife refuge rice, summer-irrigated, and summer-dry habitats from August through January. Invertebrate use increased to 2
Authors
Michael R. Miller

Spatial relations between sympatric coyotes and red foxes in North Dakota

Spatial relations between coyotes (Canis latrans) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) on a 360-km2 area in North Dakota were studied during 1977-78. Coyote families occupied large (mean = 61.2 km2), relatively exclusive territories that encompassed about one-half of the study area. Fox families occupied much smaller (mean = 11.9 km2), relatively exclusive, territories that overlapped perimeters of coyot
Authors
A. B. Sargeant, S.H. Allen, J.O. Hastings

Responses of three prairie ground squirrel species, Spermophilus franklinii, S. richardsonii, and S. tridecemlineatus, to duck eggs

Franklin's Ground Squirrels (Spermophilus franklinii) preyed on eggs in 29 of 30 tests in which they were exposed to two Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) or two Blue-winged Teal (A. discors) eggs and their discovery of eggs was confirmed. No Richardson's (S. richardsonii) or Thirteen-lined (S. tridecemlineatus) ground squirrels preyed on eggs in 104 and 54 similar tests, respectively. Franklin's Groun
Authors
A. B. Sargeant, M.A. Sovada, R. J. Greenwood

A decoy trap for breeding-season mallards in North Dakota

A modified decoy trap was effective for capturing wild adult male and female mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) during the 1980-81 breeding seasons in North Dakota. Key features contributing to the trap's success included a central decoy cylinder, large capture compartments with spring-door openings, an adjustable trigger mechanism with a balanced door attachment that was resistant to trap movement, an
Authors
D.E. Sharp, J. T. Lokemoen

Hydrology and chemistry of selected prairie wetlands in the Cottonwood Lake area, Stutsman County, North Dakota, 1979-82

The relation of hydrologic setting and temporal variability in hydrology to nutrient content and geochemical characteristics of a group of prairie wetlands and adjacent ground water was studied during the period 1979-82. Although data were collected from many wetlands and wells at the study site, emphasis in this report primarily is on four wetlands two seasonal and two semipermanent and four well
Authors
J. W. LaBaugh, T. C. Winter, V. A. Adomaitis, G.A. Swanson

Climatic data for the Cottonwood Lake area, Stutsman County, North Dakota, 1983

Research on the hydrology of the Cottonwood Lake area, Stutsman County, North Dakota, includes study of evaporation. Climatic data needed for energy-budget and mass-transfer evaporation studies that were collected during 1983 include water-surface temperature, sediment temperature, dry-bulb and wet-bulb air temperature, vapor pressure at and above the water surface, wind speed, and short-and long-
Authors
A.M. Sturrock, B.A. Hanson, J.L. Scarborough, T. C. Winter

Bird behavior and mortality in relation to power lines in prairie habitats

Research was conducted to determine the magnitude of avian mortality caused by power transmission lines in prairie habitats during the two spring and two fall migration periods between July 1980 and May 1982. Searches for dead birds were made at least twice weekly during each migration period. Study sites were selected to include 'worst-case' situations involving potentially large concentrations o
Authors
C. A. Faanes

[Book review] Harrier, hawk of the marshes: the hawk that is ruled by a mouse, by Frances Hamerstrom

Review of: Harrier, hawk of the marshes: the hawk that is ruled by a mouse. Frances Hamerstrom. Smithsonian Books; First Edition edition (August 1986). 158 p. ISBN: 0874745381.
Authors
J. T. Lokemoen

Captive-reared Aleutian Canada Geese migrate to the Marshall Islands

No abstract available.
Authors
Paul F. Springer, Forrest B. Lee, William L. Schipper, Daniel R. Yparraguirre