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Publications

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

Filter Total Items: 16785

Organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, and mercury in osprey eggs – 1970-79 – And their relationships to shell thinning and productivity

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) eggs were collected in 14 states in 1970–79 and analyzed for organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and mercury. Moderate shell thinning occurred in eggs from several areas. DDE was detected in all eggs, PCBs in 99%, DDD in 96%, dieldrin in 52%, and other compounds less frequently. Concentrations of DDT and its metabolites declined in eggs from Cape
Authors
Stanley N. Wiemeyer, Christine M. Bunck, Alexander J. Krynitsky

Pesticide contamination and hatching success of waterbirds in Mississippi

Waterfowl wintering on the Yazoo National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) were contaminated (ltoreq 4 ppm wet wt) with dichloro diphenyl trichloroethane (DDT) and 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis-(p-chlorophenyl) ethylene (DDE), but residues were below levels known to affect waterfowl. Eggs of some nesting waterbirds contained higher than expected levels of DDE, especially those of green-backed herons (Butorides stri
Authors
D. H. White, W. J. Fleming, K.L. Ensor

Turkey vulture surveys in Cuba

Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura), were surveyed monthly in Cuba from March 1982-January 1983. A total of 25371 vultures were tallied in 7186 km (3.5 vultures/transect km) of roadside counting along main highways leading from the city of La Habana (northwestern Cuba) to the city of Las Tunas (southeast). Numbers of vultures counted declined substantially beyond 200 m from the transect road. Dens
Authors
C. Wotzkow, J. W. Wiley

Host selection by the shiny cowbird

Factors important in Shiny Cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis) host selection were examined within the mangrove community in Puerto Rico. Cowbirds did not parasitize birds in proportion to their abundance. The cowbird breeding season coincided with those of its major hosts, which were 'high-quality' foster species (i.e., species that fledge .gtoreq. 55% of cowbirds hatched: Yellow Warbler, Dendroica p
Authors
J. W. Wiley

The breeding bug survey

No abstract available.
Authors
M. C. Perry

Reproduction in black-crowned night-herons fed selenium

No abstract available.
Authors
G. J. Smith, G. H. Heinz, D. J. Hoffman, J. W. Spann, A. J. Krynitsky

Effects of dietary fluoride on reproduction in eastern screech-owls

Sixty-six eastern screech-owls (Otus asio) were paired and randomly assigned to dietary treatment groups of 0, 40, or 200 ppm (mg/kg) fluoride (as sodium fluoride) in November 1981. Hatching success was adversely affected at the 200 ppm (mg/kg) level, suggesting potential detrimental impacts to wild populations exposed to fluoride pollution. Eggshell thickness was unaffected. Although fluoride con
Authors
O. H. Pattee, Stanley N. Wiemeyer, D. M. Swineford

A field test for differences in condition among trapped and shot mallards

We tested predictions from the condition bias hypothesis (Weatherland and Greenwood 1981) regarding the effects of sampling methods of body weights of mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) at White River National Wildlife Refuge (WRNWR), Arkansas, during 24 November-8 December 1985. Body weights of 84 mallards caught with unbaited rocket nets in a natural wetland were used as experimental controls and com
Authors
K. J. Reinecke, C.W. Shaiffer