Publications
These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.
Filter Total Items: 16785
New records of Phyllonastes Heyer 1977 (Anura, Brachycephalidae) from Ecuador and Peru
No abstract available.
Authors
D.F. Cisneros-Heredia, R.P. Reynolds
Water level management and contaminant exposure to tree swallows nesting on the Upper Mississippi River
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducted a water drawdown on Navigation Pool 8 of the Upper Mississippi River during the summers of 2001 and 2002 to increase aquatic vegetation production and thereby improve fish and wildlife habitat. Flooding of previously dried wetlands, however, may increase the rate of mercury methylation and make mercury more available to terrestrial vertebrates that feed
Authors
T. W. Custer, P.M. Dummer, Christine M. Custer, A.U. Li, D. Warburton, M. J. Melancon, D. J. Hoffman, C. W. Matson, J. W. Bickham
Optimal control of Atlantic population Canada geese
Management of Canada geese (Branta canadensis) can be a balance between providing sustained harvest opportunity while not allowing populations to become overabundant and cause damage. In this paper, we focus on the Atlantic population of Canada geese and use stochastic dynamic programming to determine the optimal harvest strategy over a range of plausible models for population dynamics. There is e
Authors
C.E. Hauser, M.C. Runge, E.G. Cooch, F.A. Johnson, W.F. Harvey
Biomechanical factors contributing to self-organization in seagrass landscapes
Field observations have revealed that when water flow is consistently from one direction, seagrass shoots align in rows perpendicular to the primary axis of flow direction. In this study, live Zostera marina shoots were arranged either randomly or in rows perpendicular to the flow direction and tested in a seawater flume under unidirectional flow and waves to determine if shoot arrangement: a) inf
Authors
M.S. Fonseca, M.A.R. Koehl, B.S. Kopp
Riparian influences on stream fish assemblage structure in urbanizing streams
We assessed the influence of land cover at multiple spatial extents on fish assemblage integrity, and the degree to which riparian forests can mitigate the negative effects of catchment urbanization on stream fish assemblages. Riparian cover (urban, forest, and agriculture) was determined within 30 m buffers at longitudinal distances of 200 m, 1 km, and the entire network upstream of 59 non-neste
Authors
A.H. Roy, B. J. Freeman, Mary C. Freeman
A large-scale deforestation experiment: Effects of patch area and isolation on Amazon birds
As compared with extensive contiguous areas, small isolated habitat patches lack many species. Some species disappear after isolation; others are rarely found in any small patch, regardless of isolation. We used a 13-year data set of bird captures from a large landscape-manipulation experiment in a Brazilian Amazon forest to model the extinction-colonization dynamics of 55 species and tested bas
Authors
G. Ferraz, J. D. Nichols, J. E. Hines, P.C. Stouffer, R.O. Bierregaard, T.E. Lovejoy
Living in the branches: Population dynamics and ecological processes in dendritic networks
Spatial structure regulates and modifies processes at several levels of ecological organization (e.g. individual/genetic, population and community) and is thus a key component of complex systems, where knowledge at a small scale can be insufficient for understanding system behaviour at a larger scale. Recent syntheses outline potential applications of network theory to ecological systems, but do
Authors
E.H.C. Grant, W.H. Lowe, W.F. Fagan
Minimising visitor impacts to protected areas: The efficacy of low impact education programmes
Protected area managers, tourism providers, and other organisations commonly employ education programmes to address visitation-related impairment of natural and cultural resources, social conditions, and neighbouring communities. These programmes have different names (Leave No Trace, Codes of Conduct, Environmental Guidelines for Tourists) but share common objectives: to sustain opportunities for
Authors
J. L. Marion, S. E. Reid
Effects of dietary PCB exposure on reproduction in the white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus)
Studies of the impact of environmental contaminants on reproduction have typically focused on effects on fertility and subsequent reproductive failure. Contaminants may also impact reproductive output or other aspects of life history through effects on resource acquisition or allocation. We fed successfully breeding female white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) diets containing polychlorinated
Authors
M.B. Voltura, J.B. French
Dermal insecticide residues from birds inhabiting an orchard
The US Environmental Protection Agency conducts risk assessments of insecticide applications to wild birds using a model that is limited to the dietary route of exposure. However, free-flying birds are also exposed to insecticides via the inhalation and dermal routes. We measured azinphos-methyl residues on the skin plus feathers and the feet of brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) in order to q
Authors
N.B. Vyas, J. W. Spann, C.S. Hulse, S. Gentry, S.L. Borges
Effects of habitat change along Breeding Bird Survey routes in the central Appalachians on Cerulean Warbler population
The cerulean warbler (Dendroica cerulea) is one of the highest priority bird species in the eastern United States because populations have declined 4.3% annually during 1966?2005 based on Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data. Habitat loss and fragmentation due to land use changes is thought to be one of the major factors contributing to the decline. BBS routes, the primary source for monitoring bird
Authors
P. McElhone, P.W. Wood, D. Dawson