Publications
These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.
Filter Total Items: 16785
Responses to human intruders by birds nesting in colonies: Experimental results and management guidelines
Colonies of nesting wading birds and seabirds were studied at coastal sites in Virginia and North Carolina to determine distances at which birds flushed in response to human intrusion. There were few statistically significant relationships between flushing distances and colony size. Similarly, there were few differences between responses during incubation compared to post-hatching periods.
Authors
R.M. Erwin
Organochlorine contaminants in white-faced ibis eggs in southern Texas
White-faced ibis eggs collected from 2 colonies in southern Texas in 1985 had low mean concentrations of DDE. DDD, the only other organochlorine contaminant detected, was found in only 1 of 20 eggs. DDE concentrations in eggs were not significantly correlated with eggshell thickness. Mean DDE concentrations were significantly higher in eggs collected from nests where not all of the remaining egg
Authors
T. W. Custer, C. A. Mitchell
Observations of predation by red imported fire ants on live-trapped wild cotton rats
No abstract available.
Authors
Edward L. Flickinger
Avian community response to small-scale habitat disturbance in Maine
The effects of small clearcuts (1 - 8 ha) on avian communities in the forest of eastern Maine were studied using point counts during spring 1978 - 1981. Surveys were conducted in uncut (control) and clear-cut (treatment) plots in three stand types: conifer, hardwood, and mixed growth. We used a mark-recapture model and its associated jackknife species richness estimator (N), as an indicator of a
Authors
E.L. Derleth, D.G. McAuley, T.J. Dwyer
Physiological assessment of deer populations by analysis of urine in snow
We compared the nutritional status of free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in 3 natural yards and 1 yard where deer were supplementally fed from 1 January to 31 March 1985 in northeastern Minnesota. We monitored deer nutritonal status by sequential collection and chemical analysis of urine in snow (snow-urine) for urea nitrogen (U), sodium (Na), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), and
Authors
G. D. DelGiudice, L. D. Mech, U. S. Seal
Winter survival of female American black ducks on the Atlantic coast
We used radio telemetry to monitor the winter survival and cause-specific mortality of 227 female American black ducks captured in New Jersey and Virginia, 1983-1985. Mean survival rate for 19 December - 15 February was 0.65. Survival from hunting and nonhunting risk was 0.84 and 0.78, respectively. Causes of nonhunting mortality included predation and emaciation. There were no consistent patte
Authors
M.J. Conroy, G.R. Costanzo, D.B. Stotts
Pesticide residues in Arizona peregrine falcon eggs and prey
No abstract available.
Authors
D. H. Ellis, L.R. DeWeese, T.G. Grubb, L.F. Kiff, D.G. Smith, Walter M. Jarman, David B. Peakall
The decline of an adaptation in the absence of a presumed selection pressure
The colonial nesting Village Weaver (Ploceus cucullatus) lays eggs that vary in ground color and pattern, but individual females lay similar eggs each time. Tests on captive African stocks have shown that females reject eggs of other cohorts if such eggs are sufficiently different. The Village Weaver may have evolved rejection behavior and variable eggs in response to cuckoo parasitism in Africa.
Authors
A. Cruz, James W. Wiley
The eighty-ninth Christmas Bird Count: SD MD Southern Dorchester County, MD
No abstract available.
Authors
C.S. Robbins
The eighty-ninth Christmas Bird Count: OC MD. Ocean City, MD
No abstract available.
Authors
C.S. Robbins
Organochlorine contaminants in eggs of common terns from the Canadian Great Lakes, 1981
To determine if contaminant levels in Common Terns had changed over the last decade, we collected and analyzed eggs from four nesting colonies on the three lower Great Lakes during 1981. DDE and PCBs were detected in every egg from the four colonies. Dieldrin, mirex and trans-nonachlor were detected in more than 45% of the eggs. Seven other organochlorine contaminants (DDD, DDT, hexachlorobenzene,
Authors
C.S. Robbins