Wildlife Publications
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Filter Total Items: 165
Preliminary evaluation of behavioral response of nesting waterbirds to small unmanned aircraft flight
Small unmanned aircraft systems present an emerging technology with the potential to survey colonial waterbird populations while reducing disturbance in comparison to traditional ground counts. Recent research with these systems has been performed on some colonially nesting avian species; however, none have focused on wading bird species. During 2015–2016, this study tested the behavioral response
Authors
Kaitlyn Reintsma, Peter C. McGowan, Carl R. Callahan, Tom Collier, David Gray, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Diann J. Prosser
Occupancy modeling species–environment relationships with non‐ignorable survey designs
Statistical models supporting inferences about species occurrence patterns in relation to environmental gradients are fundamental to ecology and conservation biology. A common implicit assumption is that the sampling design is ignorable and does not need to be formally accounted for in analyses. The analyst assumes data are representative of the desired population and statistical modeling proceeds
Authors
Kathryn M. Irvine, Thomas J. Rodhouse, Wilson J. Wright, Anthony R. Olsen
Quantifying climate sensitivity and climate-driven change in North American amphibian communities
Changing climate will impact species’ ranges only when environmental variability directly impacts the demography of local populations. However, measurement of demographic responses to climate change has largely been limited to single species and locations. Here we show that amphibian communities are responsive to climatic variability, using >500,000 time-series observations for 81 species across 8
Authors
David A.W. Miller, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Erin L. Muths, Staci M. Amburgey, M. J. Adams, Maxwell B. Joseph, J. Hardin Waddle, Pieter T.J. Johnson, Maureen E. Ryan, Benedikt R. Schmidt, Daniel L. Calhoun, Courtney L. Davis, Robert N. Fisher, David M. Green, Blake R. Hossack, Tracy A.G. Rittenhouse, Susan C. Walls, Larissa L. Bailey, Sam S. Cruickshank, Gary M. Fellers, Thomas A. Gorman, Carola A. Haas, Ward Hughson, David S. Pilliod, Steven J. Price, Andrew M. Ray, Walter Sadinski, Daniel Saenz, William J. Barichivich, Adrianne B. Brand, Cheryl S. Brehme, Rosi Dagit, Katy S. Delaney, Brad M. Glorioso, Lee B. Kats, Patrick M. Kleeman, Christopher Pearl, Carlton J. Rochester, Seth P. D. Riley, Mark F. Roth, Brent Sigafus
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), Southwest Biological Science Center, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
Differential changes in the onset of spring across US National Wildlife Refuges and North American migratory bird flyways
Warming temperatures associated with climate change can have indirect effects on migratory birds that rely on seasonally available food resources and habitats that vary across spatial and temporal scales. We used two heat-based indices of spring onset, the First Leaf Index (FLI) and the First Bloom Index (FBI), as proxies of habitat change for the period 1901 to 2012 at three spatial scales: the U
Authors
Eric K. Waller, Theresa M. Crimmins, Jessica J. Walker, Erin E. Posthumus, Jake Weltzin
Evidence that climate sets the lower elevation range limit in a high‐elevation endemic salamander
A frequent assumption in ecology is that biotic interactions are more important than abiotic factors in determining lower elevational range limits (i.e., the “warm edge” of a species distribution). However, for species with narrow environmental tolerances, theory suggests the presence of a strong environmental gradient can lead to persistence, even in the presence of competition. The relative impo
Authors
Evan H. Campbell Grant, Adrianne B. Brand, Stephan F. J. De Wekker, Temple R. Lee, John E. B. Wofford
State‐space modelling of the flight behaviour of a soaring bird provides new insights to migratory strategies
Characterising the spatiotemporal variation of animal behaviour can elucidate the way individuals interact with their environment and allocate energy. Increasing sophistication of tracking technologies paired with novel analytical approaches allows the characterisation of movement dynamics even when an individual is not directly observable.In this study, high‐resolution movement data collected via
Authors
Enrico Pirotta, Todd E. Katzner, Tricia A. Miller, Adam E. Duerr, Melissa A. Braham, Leslie New
National Park Service and the USA National Phenology Network
Understanding the seasonal cycles of plants and animals, how
they are changing, and how they can inform management,
operations, and interpretation is critical to the mission of the
National Park Service (NPS): to preserve unimpaired the natural
and cultural resources and values of the National Park System
for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future
generations.
Authors
Jake Weltzin, Theresa M. Crimmins, Erin E. Posthumus, Alyssa Rosemartin
USA National Phenology Network supports decision making
The USA National Phenology Network is a federally-funded, nationalscale science and monitoring initiative focused on phenology as a tool to understand how plants, animals, and landscapes respond to environmental variation and change.
Authors
Jake Weltzin, Theresa M. Crimmins, Erin E. Posthumus, Alyssa Rosemartin
Phenology forecasts predict pest seasonal activity to support decision making
The USA National Phenology Network (USANPN) produces and distributes daily national phenology maps – or Pheno Forecasts – indicating when key pest species may be most susceptible to management as part of a growing suite of phenology map products. The USA-NPN’s Pheno Forecast maps show when key pest species, including emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis), apple maggot (Rhagoletis pomonella), lil
Authors
Jake Weltzin, Theresa M. Crimmins, Erin Posthumous, Alyssaa Rosemartin, Katharine L. Gerst
A new tool for studying waterfowl immune and metabolic responses: Molecular level analysis using kinome profiling
Here, we describe the design of an Anas‐specific kinome peptide array that can be used to study the immunometabolic responses of mallard and American black duck to pathogens, contaminants, and environmental stress. The peptide arrays contain 2,642 unique phosphorylate‐able peptide sequences representing 1,900 proteins. These proteins cover a wide array of metabolic and immunological processes, and
Authors
Giovanni Pagano, Casey Johnson, Caldwell Hahn, Ryan J. Arsenault
The influence of spatiotemporally decoupled land use on honey bee colony health and pollination service delivery
Societal dependence on insects for pollination of agricultural crops has risen amidst concerns over pollinator declines. Habitat loss and lack of forage have been implicated in the decline of both managed and native pollinators. Land use changes in the Northern Great Plains of the US, a region supporting over 1 million honey bee colonies annually, have shifted away from historical grassland ecos
Authors
Matthew Smart, Clint R.V. Otto, Benjamin Carlson, Cali L. Roth
Post-fledging movements and habitat associations of White-tailed Sea Eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) in Central Asia
Behavior of young birds can have important consequences for population dynamics. We investigated the autumnal post-fledging movements of 3 White-tailed Sea Eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) hatched in Kazakhstan. All 3 eagles traveled south, flying on average 25–108 km/d. Movement was nonrandom, with eagles generally traveling near mosaics of forest, open areas, and water, and rarely using areas with
Authors
Evgeny A. Bragin, Sharon Poessel, Michael J. Lanzone, Todd E. Katzner
Past role and future outlook of the Conservation Reserve Program for supporting honey bees in the Great Plains
Human dependence on insect pollinators continues to grow even as pollinators face global declines. The Northern Great Plains (NGP), a region often referred to as America’s last honey bee (Apis mellifera) refuge, has undergone rapid land-cover change due to cropland expansion and weakened land conservation programs. We conducted a trend analysis and estimated conversion rates of Conservation Reserv
Authors
Clint R.V. Otto, Haochi Zheng, Alisa L. Gallant, Rich Iovanna, Benjamin L. Carlson, Matthew Smart, Skip Hyberg
Rapid departure of Roseate Terns (Sterna dougallii) following large-scale nest failure
Nest failure of most pairs of Roseate Terns (Sterna dougallii) at Falkner Island, Connecticut, in 2002-2003 (due mainly to predation by Black-crowned Night-herons [Nycticorax nycticorax]) was followed by the rapid departure of many of the failed individuals in both years. Nine failed pairs (16.7%) stayed while 40 (74.1%) of 54 unsuccessful pairs left within 2 d following nest failure in 2002, and
Authors
Jeffrey A. Spendelow, Adam J. Eichenwald
Freshwater mussel survey for the Columbia Dam removal, Paulins Kill, New Jersey
Semi-quantitative mussel surveys, conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Delaware Riverkeeper Network in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy, were completed in the vicinity of the Columbia Dam, on the Paulins Kill, New Jersey, in August 2017 in order to document the mussel species composition and relative abundance prior to removal of the dam. Surveys were conducted from the Brugler R
Authors
Heather S. Galbraith, Carrie J. Blakeslee, Jeffrey C. Cole, Erik L. Silldorff
Genetic mark–recapture improves estimates of maternity colony size for Indiana bats
Genetic mark–recapture methods are increasingly being used to estimate demographic parameters in species where traditional techniques are problematic or imprecise. The federally endangered Indiana bat Myotis sodalis has declined dramatically and threats such as white-nose syndrome continue to afflict this species. To date, important demographic information for Indiana bats has been difficult to es
Authors
Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Jennifer A. Fike, Paul M. Lukacs, Dale W. Sparks, Thomas J. O'Shea, John O. Whitaker
Improving geographically extensive acoustic survey designs for modeling species occurrence with imperfect detection and misidentification
Acoustic recording units (ARUs) enable geographically extensive surveys of sensitive and elusive species. However, a hidden cost of using ARU data for modeling species occupancy is that prohibitive amounts of human verification may be required to correct species identifications made from automated software. Bat acoustic studies exemplify this challenge because large volumes of echolocation calls c
Authors
Katharine M. Banner, Kathryn M. Irvine, Thomas J. Rodhouse, Wilson J. Wright, Rogelio M. Rodriguez, Andrea R. Litt
The utility of point count surveys to predict wildlife interactions with wind energy facilities: An example focused on golden eagles
Wind energy development is rapidly expanding in North America, often accompanied by requirements to survey potential facility locations for existing wildlife. Within the USA, golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) are among the most high-profile species of birds that are at risk from wind turbines. To minimize golden eagle fatalities in areas proposed for wind development, modified point count surveys
Authors
Maitreyi Sur, James R. Belthoff, Emily R. Bjerre, Brian A. Millsap, Todd E. Katzner
Effects of experimental removal of Barred Owls on population demography of Northern Spotted Owls in Washington and Oregon—2017 progress report
Populations of Northern Spotted Owls (Strix occidentalis caurina; hereinafter referred to as Spotted Owl) are declining throughout this subspecies’ geographic range. Evidence indicates that competition with invading populations of Barred Owls (S. varia) has contributed significantly to those declines. A pilot study in California showed that localized removal of Barred Owls coupled with conservatio
Authors
J. David Wiens, Katie M. Dugger, Damon B. Lesmeister, Krista E. Dilione, David C. Simon
MonitoringResources.org—Supporting coordinated and cost-effective natural resource monitoring across organizations
Natural resource managers who oversee the Nation’s resources require data to support informed decision-making at a variety of spatial and temporal scales that often cross typical jurisdictional boundaries such as states, agency regions, and watersheds. These data come from multiple agencies, programs, and sources, often with their own methods and standards for data collection and organization. Coo
Authors
Jennifer M. Bayer, Rebecca A. Scully, Jake Weltzin
Raptor nest-site use in relation to the proximity of coalbed methane development
Raptor nest–site use in relation to the proximity of coalbed–methane development. Energy development such as coalbed–methane (CBM) extraction is a major land use with largely unknown consequences for many animal species. Some raptor species may be especially vulnerable to habitat changes due to energy development given their ecological requirements and population trajectories. Using 12,977 observa
Authors
J.D. Carlile, Lindsey E. Sanders, Anna D. Chalfoun, K.G. Gerow