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Publications

These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.

Filter Total Items: 16785

Evaluation of the status of anurans on a refuge in suburban Maryland

Because many anurans have well-defined breeding seasons and male anurans produce loud advertisement calls, surveys of these breeding choruses are believed to provide a dependable means of monitoring population trends. The Patuxent Research Refuge initiated such a calling survey in the spring of 1997, which uses volunteers to collect anuran (frog and toad) calling survey data. The primary goal of i
Authors
S.M. Brander, J. Andrew Royle, M. Eames

Deer exposed to exceptionally high concentrations of lead near the Continental Mine in Idaho, USA

Habitat surrounding the inactive Continental Mine in northern Idaho, USA, supports bear (Ursus arctos, Ursus americanus), moose (Alces alces), elk (Cervus elaphus), woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou), and abundant mule (Odocoileus hemionus) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Tailings on the mining site were capped and remediated in 2003 to reduce environmental exposure of su
Authors
W. N. Beyer, G. Gaston, R. Brazzle, A.F. O'Connell, D. J. Audet

Adult tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) survival on the polychlorinated biphenyl-contaminated Housatonic River, Massachusetts, USA

Tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) were captured and banded at six sites that differed in polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination levels in the Housatonic River watershed, western Massachusetts, USA, from 2000 through 2004 to test the prediction that apparent survival rates of females in more contaminated areas were lower than those from less contaminated areas. We also tested whether plumag
Authors
Christine M. Custer, T. W. Custer, J. E. Hines, J. D. Nichols, P.M. Dummer

A multivariate assessment of changes in wetland habitat for waterbirds at Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge, Maine, USA

We assessed changes in vegetative structure of 49 impoundments at Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR), Maine, USA, between the periods 1984-1985 to 2002 with a multivariate, adaptive approach that may be useful in a variety of wetland and other habitat management situations. We used Mahalanobis Distance (MD) analysis to classify the refuge?s wetlands as poor or good waterbird habitat based
Authors
L.A. Hierl, C.S. Loftin, J. R. Longcore, D.G. McAuley, D.L. Urban

Estimating species-specific suvival and movement when species identification is uncertain

Incorporating uncertainty in the investigation of ecological studies has been the topic of an increasing body of research. In particular, mark-recapture methodology has shown that incorporating uncertainty in the probability of detecting individuals in populations enables accurate estimation of population-level processes such as survival, reproduction, and dispersal. Recent advances in mark-recapt
Authors
J.P. Runge, J. E. Hines, J. D. Nichols

Importance of well-designed monitoring programs for the conservation of endangered species: Case study of the Snail Kite

Monitoring natural populations is often a necessary step to establish the conservation status of species and to help improve management decisions. Nevertheless, many monitoring programs do not effectively address primary sources of variability in monitoring data, which ultimately may limit the utility of monitoring in identifying declines and improving management. To illustrate the importance of t
Authors
J. Martin, W.M. Kitchens, J. E. Hines

Herpetofauna of Mount Roraima, Guiana Shield Region, Northeastern South America

No abstract available.
Authors
R.D. MacCulloch, A. Lathrop, R.P. Reynolds, J.C. Senaris, G.E. Schneider

The potential of fruit trees to enhance converted habitats for migrating birds in southern Mexico

Migration routes used by Nearctic migrant birds can cover great distances; they also differ among species, within species, and between years and seasons. As a result, migration routes for an entire migratory avifauna can encompass broad geographic areas, making it impossible to protect continuous stretches of habitat sufficient to connect the wintering and breeding grounds for most species. Cons
Authors
M.S. Foster

Hydrologic connectivity and the contribution of stream headwaters to ecological integrity at regional scales

Cumulatively, headwater streams contribute to maintaining hydrologic connectivity and ecosystem integrity at regional scales. Hydrologic connectivity is the water-mediated transport of matter, energy and organisms within or between elements of the hydrologic cycle. Headwater streams compose over two-thirds of total stream length in a typical river drainage and directly connect the upland and rip
Authors
Mary C. Freeman, C. M. Pringle, C.R. Jackson

Iteroparity in the variable environment of the salamander Ambystoma tigrinum

Simultaneous estimation of survival, reproduction, and movement is essential to understanding how species maximize lifetime reproduction in environments that vary across space and time. We conducted a four-year, capture–recapture study of three populations of eastern tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum tigrinum) and used multistate mark–recapture statistical methods to estimate the manner in whi
Authors
D.R. Church, L.L. Bailey, H.M. Wilbur, W. L. Kendall, J. E. Hines

Concerns regarding a call for pluralism of information theory and hypothesis testing

1. Stephens et al. (2005) argue for 'pluralism' in statistical analysis, combining null hypothesis testing and information-theoretic (I-T) methods. We show that I-T methods are more informative even in single variable problems and we provide an ecological example. 2. I-T methods allow inferences to be made from multiple models simultaneously. We believe multimodel inference is the future of data a
Authors
P.M. Lukacs, W.L. Thompson, W. L. Kendall, W.R. Gould, P.F. Doherty, K.P. Burnham, D.R. Anderson

Sampling design trade-offs in occupancy studies with imperfect detection: Examples and software

Researchers have used occupancy, or probability of occupancy, as a response or state variable in a variety of studies (e.g., habitat modeling), and occupancy is increasingly favored by numerous state, federal, and international agencies engaged in monitoring programs. Recent advances in estimation methods have emphasized that reliable inferences can be made from these types of studies if detectio
Authors
L.L. Bailey, J. E. Hines, J. D. Nichols, Darryl I. MacKenzie