Francisco Vilella, PhD (Former Employee)
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 25
Nest survival modelling using a multi-species approach in forests managed for timber and biofuel feedstock
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) intercropping is a novel forest management practice for biomass production intended to generate cellulosic feedstocks within intensively managed loblolly pine‐dominated landscapes. These pine plantations are important for early‐successional bird species, as short rotation times continually maintain early‐successional habitat. We tested the efficacy of using community
Authors
Zachary G. Loman, Adrian P. Monroe, Samuel K. Riffell, Darren A. Miller, Francisco Vilella, Bradley R. Wheat, Scott A. Rush, James A. Martin
Conservation status assessment of an endangered insular raptor: the Sharp-shinned Hawk in Puerto Rico
Sharp‐shinned Hawks (Accipiter striatus) are forest raptors that are widely distributed in the Americas. A subspecies endemic to Puerto Rico (A. s. venator) is listed as endangered and restricted to mature and old secondary montane forests and shade coffee plantations. However, recent information about the population status and distribution of Puerto Rican Sharp‐shinned Hawks is lacking. We develo
Authors
Julio C. Gallardo, Francisco Vilella
White-cheeked Pintail duckling and brood survival across wetland types at Humacao Nature Reserve, Puerto Rico
Duckling survival is an important influence on recruitment in several North American Anas species. White-cheeked Pintail (Anas bahamensis) breeding in Puerto Rico encounter a variety of wetland types that may influence duckling survival. We monitored fates of 92 radio-tagged ducklings in 31 broods in 5 wetland habitat types at Humacao Nature Reserve in southeastern Puerto Rico from 2000 to 2002. W
Authors
J. Brian Davis, Francisco Vilella, Joseph D. Lancaster, Marisel Lopez-Flores, Richard M. Kaminski, José A. Cruz-Burgos
Scale-dependent habitat selection and size-based dominance in adult male American alligators
Habitat selection is an active behavioral process that may vary across spatial and temporal scales. Animals choose an area of primary utilization (i.e., home range) then make decisions focused on resource needs within patches. Dominance may affect the spatial distribution of conspecifics and concomitant habitat selection. Size-dependent social dominance hierarchies have been documented in captive
Authors
Bradley A. Strickland, Francisco Vilella, Jerrold L. Belant
A GIS model of habitat suitability for Solanum conocarpum (Solanaceae) in St. John, US Virgin Islands
Solanum conocarpum (Solanaceae) (Marron Bacora) is a rare, dry-forest shrub endemic to the island of St. John, US Virgin Islands, considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act. Given its status as a species of conservation concern, we incorporated environmental characteristics of 3 observed populations and 5 additional known locations into a geographic information system (GIS) analysis t
Authors
Matthew D. Palumbo, Jonathan P. Fleming, Omar A. Monsegur, Francisco Vilella
Waterbird use of catfish ponds and migratory bird habitat initiative wetlands in Mississippi
Aquaculture can provide important surrogate habitats for waterbirds. In response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the National Resource Conservation Service enacted the Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative through which incentivized landowners provided wetland habitats for migrating waterbirds. Diversity and abundance of waterbirds in six production and four idled aquaculture facilities in th
Authors
James S. Feaga, Francisco Vilella, Richard M. Kaminski, J. Brian Davis
Comprehensive framework for ecological assessment of the Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) established and funded the Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative (MBHI), with the goal of improving and increasing wetland habitats on private lands to benefit wintering and migrating waterbirds displaced from oil-impacted coastal wetlands. The NRCS and conservation par
Authors
J. Brian Davis, Elisabeth B. Webb, Richard M. Kaminski, Philip J. Barbour, Francisco Vilella
Survival of female white-cheeked pintails during brood rearing in Puerto Rico
Anas bahamensis (White-cheeked Pintail) is widely distributed across the Caribbean islands and South America. The species is classified as threatened in Puerto Rico and a species of least concern across most of its range. Little demographic data exist for the species, particularly during the breeding season. During 2000-2002, we radiomarked 31 incubating females at the Humacao Nature Reserve (Huma
Authors
Marisel Lopez-Flores, J. Brian Davis, Francisco Vilella, Richard M. Kaminski, José A. Cruz-Burgos, Joseph D. Lancaster
Waterfowl in Cuba: Current status and distribution
Cuba and its satellite islands represent the largest landmass in the Caribbean archipelago and a major repository of the region’s biodiversity. Approximately 13.4% of the Cuban territory is covered by wetlands, encompassing approximately 1.48 million ha which includes mangroves, flooded savannas, peatlands, freshwater swamp forests and various types of managed wetlands. Here, we synthesise informa
Authors
Pedro Blanco Rodríquez, Francisco Vilella, Bárbara Sánchez Oria
Red-cockaded Woodpecker Picoides borealis Microhabitat Characteristics and Reproductive Success in a Loblolly-Shortleaf Pine Forest
We investigated the relationship between red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) reproductive success and microhabitat characteristics in a southeastern loblolly (Pinus taeda) and shortleaf (P. echinata) pine forest. From 1997 to 1999, we recorded reproductive success parameters of 41 red-cockaded woodpecker groups at the Bienville National Forest, Mississippi. Microhabitat characteristics wer
Authors
Douglas R. Wood, L. Wesley Burger, Francisco Vilella
Provisioning of nestling Dickcissels in native warm-season grass field buffers
We used video cameras in 2008–2009 to record provisioning activities at Dickcissel (Spiza americana) nests in and around Conservation Reserve Program field buffers in north-central Mississippi, USA. We simultaneously observed foraging flight distances of parents. Provisioning rate (P = 0.412), biomass (P = 0.161), and foraging distance (P = 0.159) did not increase with nestling age. Parents
Authors
K. L. Mitchell, Samuel K. Riffell, L. Wes Burger, Francisco Vilella
Survival of captive-reared Puerto Rican Parrots released in the Caribbean National Forest
We report first-year survival for 34 captive-reared Puerto Rican Parrots (Amazona vittata) released in the Caribbean National Forest, Puerto Rico between 2000 and 2002. The purpose of the releases were to increase population size and the potential number of breeding individuals of the sole extant wild population, and to refine release protocols for eventual reintroduction of a second wild populati
Authors
Thomas H. White, Jaime A. Collazo, Francisco Vilella
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 25
Nest survival modelling using a multi-species approach in forests managed for timber and biofuel feedstock
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) intercropping is a novel forest management practice for biomass production intended to generate cellulosic feedstocks within intensively managed loblolly pine‐dominated landscapes. These pine plantations are important for early‐successional bird species, as short rotation times continually maintain early‐successional habitat. We tested the efficacy of using community
Authors
Zachary G. Loman, Adrian P. Monroe, Samuel K. Riffell, Darren A. Miller, Francisco Vilella, Bradley R. Wheat, Scott A. Rush, James A. Martin
Conservation status assessment of an endangered insular raptor: the Sharp-shinned Hawk in Puerto Rico
Sharp‐shinned Hawks (Accipiter striatus) are forest raptors that are widely distributed in the Americas. A subspecies endemic to Puerto Rico (A. s. venator) is listed as endangered and restricted to mature and old secondary montane forests and shade coffee plantations. However, recent information about the population status and distribution of Puerto Rican Sharp‐shinned Hawks is lacking. We develo
Authors
Julio C. Gallardo, Francisco Vilella
White-cheeked Pintail duckling and brood survival across wetland types at Humacao Nature Reserve, Puerto Rico
Duckling survival is an important influence on recruitment in several North American Anas species. White-cheeked Pintail (Anas bahamensis) breeding in Puerto Rico encounter a variety of wetland types that may influence duckling survival. We monitored fates of 92 radio-tagged ducklings in 31 broods in 5 wetland habitat types at Humacao Nature Reserve in southeastern Puerto Rico from 2000 to 2002. W
Authors
J. Brian Davis, Francisco Vilella, Joseph D. Lancaster, Marisel Lopez-Flores, Richard M. Kaminski, José A. Cruz-Burgos
Scale-dependent habitat selection and size-based dominance in adult male American alligators
Habitat selection is an active behavioral process that may vary across spatial and temporal scales. Animals choose an area of primary utilization (i.e., home range) then make decisions focused on resource needs within patches. Dominance may affect the spatial distribution of conspecifics and concomitant habitat selection. Size-dependent social dominance hierarchies have been documented in captive
Authors
Bradley A. Strickland, Francisco Vilella, Jerrold L. Belant
A GIS model of habitat suitability for Solanum conocarpum (Solanaceae) in St. John, US Virgin Islands
Solanum conocarpum (Solanaceae) (Marron Bacora) is a rare, dry-forest shrub endemic to the island of St. John, US Virgin Islands, considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act. Given its status as a species of conservation concern, we incorporated environmental characteristics of 3 observed populations and 5 additional known locations into a geographic information system (GIS) analysis t
Authors
Matthew D. Palumbo, Jonathan P. Fleming, Omar A. Monsegur, Francisco Vilella
Waterbird use of catfish ponds and migratory bird habitat initiative wetlands in Mississippi
Aquaculture can provide important surrogate habitats for waterbirds. In response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the National Resource Conservation Service enacted the Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative through which incentivized landowners provided wetland habitats for migrating waterbirds. Diversity and abundance of waterbirds in six production and four idled aquaculture facilities in th
Authors
James S. Feaga, Francisco Vilella, Richard M. Kaminski, J. Brian Davis
Comprehensive framework for ecological assessment of the Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) established and funded the Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative (MBHI), with the goal of improving and increasing wetland habitats on private lands to benefit wintering and migrating waterbirds displaced from oil-impacted coastal wetlands. The NRCS and conservation par
Authors
J. Brian Davis, Elisabeth B. Webb, Richard M. Kaminski, Philip J. Barbour, Francisco Vilella
Survival of female white-cheeked pintails during brood rearing in Puerto Rico
Anas bahamensis (White-cheeked Pintail) is widely distributed across the Caribbean islands and South America. The species is classified as threatened in Puerto Rico and a species of least concern across most of its range. Little demographic data exist for the species, particularly during the breeding season. During 2000-2002, we radiomarked 31 incubating females at the Humacao Nature Reserve (Huma
Authors
Marisel Lopez-Flores, J. Brian Davis, Francisco Vilella, Richard M. Kaminski, José A. Cruz-Burgos, Joseph D. Lancaster
Waterfowl in Cuba: Current status and distribution
Cuba and its satellite islands represent the largest landmass in the Caribbean archipelago and a major repository of the region’s biodiversity. Approximately 13.4% of the Cuban territory is covered by wetlands, encompassing approximately 1.48 million ha which includes mangroves, flooded savannas, peatlands, freshwater swamp forests and various types of managed wetlands. Here, we synthesise informa
Authors
Pedro Blanco Rodríquez, Francisco Vilella, Bárbara Sánchez Oria
Red-cockaded Woodpecker Picoides borealis Microhabitat Characteristics and Reproductive Success in a Loblolly-Shortleaf Pine Forest
We investigated the relationship between red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) reproductive success and microhabitat characteristics in a southeastern loblolly (Pinus taeda) and shortleaf (P. echinata) pine forest. From 1997 to 1999, we recorded reproductive success parameters of 41 red-cockaded woodpecker groups at the Bienville National Forest, Mississippi. Microhabitat characteristics wer
Authors
Douglas R. Wood, L. Wesley Burger, Francisco Vilella
Provisioning of nestling Dickcissels in native warm-season grass field buffers
We used video cameras in 2008–2009 to record provisioning activities at Dickcissel (Spiza americana) nests in and around Conservation Reserve Program field buffers in north-central Mississippi, USA. We simultaneously observed foraging flight distances of parents. Provisioning rate (P = 0.412), biomass (P = 0.161), and foraging distance (P = 0.159) did not increase with nestling age. Parents
Authors
K. L. Mitchell, Samuel K. Riffell, L. Wes Burger, Francisco Vilella
Survival of captive-reared Puerto Rican Parrots released in the Caribbean National Forest
We report first-year survival for 34 captive-reared Puerto Rican Parrots (Amazona vittata) released in the Caribbean National Forest, Puerto Rico between 2000 and 2002. The purpose of the releases were to increase population size and the potential number of breeding individuals of the sole extant wild population, and to refine release protocols for eventual reintroduction of a second wild populati
Authors
Thomas H. White, Jaime A. Collazo, Francisco Vilella